The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 644 - 557 Oh, New Neighbor

Zhengzheng took out his books from the box and said nonchalantly, "It’s quite simple, using my innate advantages."

"Innate advantages?" Jian Si squatted down beside him, growing ever more curious.

Zhengzheng simply put down what he was holding and patiently explained: "First of all, find young men on the street who aren’t in a hurry; that’s easy to spot. Usually, they walk slowly, their eyes wandering everywhere, basically idle with time on their hands. Secondly, most people are willing to help when it comes to kids. Moreover, when I ask for their help, I tell them I have a sister who’s a stunning beauty and still single." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Jian Si: "..."

"I’m so cute and clever, and you are young and pretty. They have nothing pressing to do, so why not offer their services?" Zhengzheng blinked his eyes, "But according to my observations just now, among these men, only two are single; the others are either married or have girlfriends."

"You can tell that?"

Zhengzheng sighed helplessly: "That brother over there is married; he’s wearing a wedding ring. The other brother doesn’t have a ring, but there’s a light mark on his ring finger, meaning he sneakily took off his ring just now. As for the one with a girlfriend, see that pendant he’s wearing? It’s obviously one of a matching pair, and other than a girlfriend, I can’t think of any reason a guy would wear such a feminine necklace."

"How do you know the other two don’t have girlfriends?"

"Their gazes towards you are very natural, not like the others with a guilty conscience. Plus, they don’t pay much attention to their appearance. If they were in love, they’d probably try to make themselves look more dashing at all times, right?"

Jian Si stared at him silently for a while before suddenly reaching out to pinch his cheek: "Come on out, Detective Conan; I know you’re in this body."

"Stop messing around." Zhengzheng sighed, broke free from her grasp, and wondered which one of them really was the child.

"Miss, where should this go?" One of the presumed single young men came over with a big pack, panting heavily, his features handsome and a smile naturally forming as he spoke.

Jian Si hurriedly said: "Just put it in this room, thanks for your hard work."

"No problem, it’s only right to help when one of you is a child and the other so slight." The young man wiped off his sweat and introduced himself: "My name is Qian Wei, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Jian Si."

Qian Wei extended his hand, but seeing the dirt on his palm, he quickly withdrew it, apologizing with an embarrassed smile: "Sorry, my hands are too dirty."

Many hands make light work, and with everyone’s help, it didn’t take half an hour to move all of Jian Si’s belongings upstairs.

Jian Si went to buy drinks for everyone. Some people had to leave earlier, others left their phone numbers, and soon, the helpers had all dispersed except for Qian Wei.

"I don’t have plans this afternoon, so if there’s any more heavy lifting to do, I notice your windows are a bit worn-out and I could help fix them if you don’t mind."

Jian Si was grateful: "That would be great, thank you."

In their conversation, Jian Si found Qian Wei to be a very cheerful and warm-hearted person. He worked in a bank and had been there since he graduated, already promoted to a manager. Today was his day off, and he had been walking around to buy flowers for his mother’s ritual when he ran into the little imp and was persuaded to help in just a few words.

Actually, what Qian Wei didn’t say was that it was after seeing Jian Si that he became even more determined to help.

Jian Si, with her sweet looks and seemingly gentle and submissive appearance, was like the classic beauty of traditional standards—also his type.

Not only did Qian Wei help fix the windows, but he also personally replaced the toilet.

After washing his hands, Jian Si had already poured a glass of water for him: "Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you all today."

"You’re welcome; it was an honor to serve you." Qian Wei took the cup and took a few hearty gulps.

Thinking about Zhengzheng’s guesses, Jian Si wanted to confirm them, so she casually asked, "Mr. Qian, do you have a girlfriend?"

Qian Wei quickly shook his head: "I don’t have a girlfriend yet."

Jian Si smiled in relief, it seemed Zhengzheng was right after all. However, to Qian Wei, her smile seemed to be a sign of a good impression, thinking that she must have asked about a girlfriend because she was pleased with his answer that he was single.

Qian Wei’s father called to inquire whether he had bought the flowers, reminding him of his errand, and he hurriedly left, but not before exchanging phone numbers with Jian Si.

"Ah, this brother is nice, but he still falls short compared to my real dad," Zhengzheng, who was organizing the bookshelf, suddenly lamented, "Good things must be compared."

Jian Si, folding clothes, replied: "What’s so good about your real dad? He always looks stern, as if the whole world owes him money."

"Don’t forget, he took us in when we were down and out, cleared your suspicions, and has been providing for us without asking for anything in return. I guess only a real dad would be so selfless."

Putting the clothes down, Jian Si walked over: "Do you really want to live with him?"

"I just think it’s a pity you two are not together, with all the mutual admiration."

"Me, admiring him? How could you tell, Detective Conan?"

With a sly smile, Zhengzheng placed a finger over his lips and whispered, "Some secrets should not be revealed."

In reality, there was no particular reason; he simply hoped that their family of three wouldn’t be apart.

Jian Si shook her head: "So, you want me to continue being your sister, or what?"

Zhengzheng lowered his head again and fiddled with his book, saying indifferently, "Rather than a sister, I’d rather have a mom."

Upon hearing this, Jian Si’s nose suddenly felt sour. It seemed that over these years it was all her wild thoughts and presumptuousness. With Zhengzheng’s wise thinking, how could he care about those so-called rumors? Yet, he was just an ordinary child who also needed the care of a mother’s love.

Jian Si said, "Then I understand."

～

After a simple dinner, Jian Si turned on her computer to look for jobs online.

Because many things had happened recently, Jian Si hadn’t gone to work at the daycare, and since she had fallen behind too much, she simply resigned, not wishing to disrupt their normal work routine.

It seemed like life had once again fallen into hardship, and everything had to start from the beginning.

She often wondered if she was a failure as a person, otherwise why would she always live in such difficulty.

Zhengzheng came in, having washed an apple, and said blandly, "Someone is moving in across the hall."

"Just moved in like us?"

"Seems so. Judging by the footsteps, they’re heavier going up and lighter coming down; they’re moving in, not out." Zhengzheng bit into the apple, "Do you want to go out and greet the new neighbors?"

"No need, they’re busy with moving. We’ll have plenty of time to meet later." Jian Si continued to browse for job applications on her computer, "Zhengzheng, let’s discuss something?"

"What is it?"

"How about you go out and work to support me? I think you’re smarter than me, you could do odd jobs at a law firm or something."

Zhengzheng rolled his eyes at her and tossed four words to her: "Lack of ambition."

Jian Si laughed it off and sighed, "It’s really hard to find a job, you know. No education, no experience, my resume just sinks like a stone after I send it out."

"Take it easy, we won’t starve to death." Zhengzheng comforted her, then walked away with his apple.

As he passed the living room, the footsteps from the opposite door were still noisy. He shrugged his shoulders, "Keep it up, dear dad."

Having just mentioned the law firm, Jian Si suddenly had a wonderful idea,

Jian Si acted quickly on this thought, edited her resume, and sent it out to a dozen law firms.

She knew her chances of being hired were almost zero, so after sending out the resumes, she simply forgot about it and focused on tidying up the room.

Jian Si lived in apartment 401, and the one across was 402.

In apartment 402, the newly moved-in belongings had been neatly arranged. The top-notch, expensive moving company even provided cleaning services, which had been completed.

As soon as the cleaning crew left, Nan Zhan opened his computer to check on materials. Recently, there had been no cases that interested him, and he was rather indifferent.

Soon after, Hong Yuan arrived, carrying some food ingredients and daily necessities.

Although he was puzzled as to why the big boss would move twice within a single month, Nan Zhan had his own style, and Hong Yuan wouldn’t ask more questions if he didn’t share.

It was just like him to not know how to cook yet always liked to keep the fridge fully stocked.

"Mr. Nan, would you like me to cook dinner?"

Nan Zhan, looking at his computer, hummed a response.

Hong Yuan rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen, picking out a couple of ingredients that he knew Nan Zhan liked.

Shortly after, two dishes were served on the table.

"Mr. Nan, dinner’s ready." Hong Yuan set the chopsticks in place, "Please eat first, I have some work to deal with."

Nan Zhan closed his computer and came over. Hong Yuan had prepared his favorite dishes, and his cooking suited Nan Zhan’s palate well. But today, Nan Zhan suddenly missed that woman’s cooking.

The solitary dining table seemed to lack something, affecting his appetite, so he called over Hong Yuan who was working.

Sitting across from him, Hong Yuan quickly skimmed through the law firm’s emails, his years of habituation allowing him to automatically ignore the pressure of being with Nan Zhan.

With Hong Yuan by his side, the feeling of loneliness seemed to abate somewhat, and Nan Zhan began to eat methodically.

Only after he finished eating and put down his chopsticks did Hong Yuan say, "Mr. Nan, there’s something I’d like to report to you."