Rebirth: CEO's Sweetheart Reaches the Life Pinnacle!
Chapter 143 - 140

Chapter 143: Chapter 140

She followed Li Si back obediently. The man, seeing she was heading back to the shop, felt reassured. Humming a little tune, he turned and left.

Li Si kept a close eye on the man’s movements. When she was certain he had really gone, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the woman’s lifeless expression, she gave her a nudge and asked, "You really aren’t going to be with him anymore?"

She nodded. Li Si, frustrated by her lack of decisiveness, tried to persuade her, "Since you’re already done with him, what’s there to be afraid of? If he tries this again, come up with a plan! Worst case, change jobs, make it so he can’t find you!"

The woman shook her head bitterly, combing her messy hair with her fingers, revealing a fair and delicate face. She’s actually quite pretty—that was Li Si’s first impression—but her eyes lacked any vitality, like a lifeless pool of stagnant water.

"Thank you!" Her voice was soft, but melodious.

Li Si waved her hand dismissively, "No need! Go back to work, I’m leaving!" She figured Tian Yaruo might still be in the shop, and running into her would be awkward.

Seeing Li Si was about to leave, the woman quickly stepped forward to block her path, mustering up her courage and pleading, "Does your family need a housekeeper? I can do anything! As long as I get food and a place to stay, I don’t need any salary!"

Li Si stared at her in surprise. She had just stepped in to help with something minor and now this woman seemed to latch onto her. Could this really be happening?

The thought flashed through her mind but quickly passed. Judging by her demeanor, she didn’t seem like that kind of person. So Li Si patiently tried to reason with her, "We don’t need a housekeeper at home. Since you’re working at a beauty salon, you have skills. If you’re worried about him finding you, can’t you just go to another shop?"

The woman’s face showed anguish, "I’ve already switched shops three times, but he always finds me shortly after. Forget it, just pretend I didn’t say anything."

She lowered her head and turned to leave, but Li Si couldn’t bear it. After all, this wasn’t a big deal—it was just a work opportunity. A thought quickly came to her; her company might be looking for someone.

"Hey, wait!" She called out, and when the woman stopped, she added, "I know of a company that’s hiring. Want to try your luck there?"

The woman’s eyes filled with hope, "I want to!" As long as she could escape from that devil, she’d go anywhere.

At that moment, Li Si inadvertently glanced back and caught sight of Tian Yaruo, carrying a blue patent leather bag and preparing to exit through the glass doors with the company of a shop assistant. Reacting quickly, Li Si grabbed the woman’s wrist and swiftly dragged her to hide behind the side of a black sedan.

Only after Tian Yaruo drove off in her red sports car did she finally exhale and stand up. She gazed absentmindedly in the direction the car had disappeared, lost in thought.

Perhaps they were never meant to have a mother-daughter bond. Yaruo would rather believe a stranger’s words and use them to discipline her than take the time to get to know her. If that’s the case, then there’s no need to meet again in the future—why not treat each other as strangers?

The woman followed her silently, saying nothing.

Li Si walked along the street, her mood heavy, planning to hail a cab. She stood for a long time, waving her hand several times only to find that none of the taxis stopped. Perhaps it was rush hour, and all the passing cabs already had passengers.

The longer she waited, the more annoyed she felt. Finally, she managed to flag down an empty cab and took the woman to her company.

...

Leng Mochen watched coldly as Li Si brought in the woman, who entered with her head down. Rubbing the spot between his brows, he called out, "Old Yu, interview her!"

After Yu Weide, the HR manager, left with the woman, the office was left with just the two of them. Leng Mochen couldn’t resist pinching Li Si’s cheek, teasing her, "Is overflowing compassion exactly like what you’re doing? Hmm?"

Li Si stuck out her tongue playfully, a little embarrassed. She admitted she had a bit of a savior complex, but still tried to defend herself, "This is called doing good deeds. You should just call me Lei Feng!"

No sooner had she spoken than he flicked her forehead. She pouted in protest, "Why’d you hit me? I’m just telling the truth, okay? Haven’t you heard the song? ’Where we live, Lei Fengs are everywhere!’"

He studied her, deliberately scrutinizing her up and down, before saying wryly, "First you picked up a kid, now you’re picking up a woman. I’m really curious about who you’ll end up picking up next."

"That... I really couldn’t say!" Li Si felt a little guilty and avoided his gaze. She had picked up a monkey once too—though she paid for it, she had technically picked it up from the street.

He shook his head and affectionately pulled her into his arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, "Just give me the extra love you seem to have, alright? So, what did you do today? Hmm?"

Li Si thought about how Tian Yaruo had clearly been in a bad mood and really didn’t want to bring her up, so she quickly changed the subject, "I’m so hungry!"

"You! Fine, we’ll go eat in a bit." How could he not tell she was trying to change the subject?

"Knock knock knock." A knocking sound interrupted them. After Leng Mochen called for the person to enter, Yu Weide walked in, his expression troubled. Shooting a glance at Li Si, he reported, "Mr. Leng, this woman only has beauty skills; other than that, she’s clueless. She doesn’t like to talk and doesn’t even have an education background."

Li Si glanced at Leng Mochen’s thoughtful expression and didn’t say a word.

After a moment’s contemplation, Leng Mochen asked, "Is the General Affairs department short on people?"

Yu Weide immediately understood, "They are, Mr. Leng. I’ll take care of it!"

Leng Mochen waved him off. Once Yu Weide left, he deliberately put on a stern face and asked Li Si, "How do you plan to thank me?"

Seeing the matter was settled, she immediately leaned over with a fawning smile, "You name it! How about I treat you to Quanjude?"

"I bet that’s just an excuse for you to eat there," he mocked, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he followed her out.

Neither of them realized that this small act of kindness would, one day, bring them an incredible surprise!

Meanwhile, Tian Yaruo headed back to her mother’s house, feeling upset. Mrs. Tian Sr., who had caught a mild cold, was sitting on the living room sofa sipping ginger tea.

Seeing her daughter enter looking utterly defeated, she asked with concern, "What’s wrong, dear?"

Tian Yaruo casually tossed her bag onto the sofa and sank down weakly, "Mom, is Dad not home?"

Mrs. Tian Sr. sat down beside her, "He’s out at an event with Uncle Li and the others. What happened? What did that child say to you?"

Knowing Tian Yaruo had met with Li Si earlier, Mrs. Tian Sr. guessed something unpleasant must have happened between them.

Thinking of the cold rejection and hatred in Li Si’s eyes earlier, Tian Yaruo felt a sharp pang in her chest. How could she have said those things without asking for clarification? The repeated hurts—how could they not make the relationship, already distant, grow only more estranged?

"Mom, I messed up again. Yesterday, Yaru called me, saying Weiwei ran into that child while buying her engagement ring. Apparently, Weiwei gave it up to her but was cursed out afterward, so she vented to me. I thought that was the truth, so today I confronted Tiantian about it. But it turns out, the reality was entirely the opposite of what I heard!"

Tian Yaruo lowered her head, pressing a hand to her aching forehead. She didn’t even know anymore who was telling the truth.

Mrs. Tian Sr. pondered for a moment before sighing, "Sigh, maybe what the child said was true. You know our Weiwei is competitive—how likely is it she’d voluntarily give something up?"

"Mom, then why would Yaru lie? Also, Tiantian said that the day after her donation, Yaru called her a little b**** and told her to get out of Beijing! Listen to that—is that anything a senior member of the family should ever say?"

Unable to hold back, Tian Yaruo demanded answers loudly. How could her sister, Tian Yaru, do such a thing? Surely she had seen how they’d treated Weiwei all these years?

Mrs. Tian Sr. gently patted her hand and comforted her, "Your sister, after all these years, don’t you know her well enough? At heart, she’s doing it for your good. This matter has to be kept from Old Yan. However, the way she handled it could certainly use some adjustment. I’ll talk to her when she returns! Also, that child has now acknowledged you as her godmother. Making a fuss while out could lead to some awkwardness."

Frustrated, Tian Yaruo pulled her hand back. Her mother would always mediate like this—she probably wouldn’t change in this lifetime. Yaruo felt like she shouldn’t have come back at all today! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)