38. I’m gay
“Mom.”
At that moment, Su Ziqian tugged at Jiang Zhi’s skirt, looking at her eagerly and whispered, “Lele is so poor, let’s wait with him for Uncle, okay?”
“Hmm… fine then.”
Jiang Zhi agreed without much hesitation to her daughter’s request.
On one hand, she truly felt that the child was quite pitiful alone. On the other hand, Sister Jiang still hadn’t replied to her messages, and even if they left the amusement park, she didn’t know where to go next.
While agreeing, she also felt quite gratified.
Her daughter was so thoughtful and kind; it could only be said that the future Jiang Zhi had done well, raising such a kawaii little warm baby!
So Jiang Zhi sat back down in her chair, accompanying Lele as they waited for his uncle.
And the two little kids, separated by a table, started chatting.
Originally, Qian Qian was thinking about going back into the amusement park to play with Lele again, but was firmly rejected by Jiang Zhi, who said there was no more money.
The lack of money was a lie; not wanting to lose face was the truth.
“Lele, is your mom very busy with work?”
Qian Qian asked.
Xu Leyang nodded, resting his arms on the table, his voice muffled: “After all, my mom is a big boss.”
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Zhi, who was beside them, staring at her phone, and asked the same question: “What about you?”
“Is your mom busy with work?”
“Hmm! Good question!”
This question really hit home with the little girl. She proudly lifted her nose and said, “My mom doesn’t work!”
Jiang Zhi: ??
“No work?”
Xu Leyang looked quite surprised: “Then how does she make money? Adults need to make money, right?”
“My mom does have a job.”
“But isn’t working the same as having a job?”
“Eh? Is it?”
Qian Qian was stumped, blinking her eyes, looking innocently at Jiang Zhi: “So working is having a job? Mom, do you have a job?”
Jiang Zhi:…
Okay, she took back what she said earlier.
What on earth did the future Jiang Zhi do?! Isn’t this raising a little fool?!
She opened her mouth to explain but then heard Xu Leyang curiously ask: “So Qian Qian, which company is your mom the boss of?”
“???”
Jiang Zhi’s eyes widened: “Wha…”
“Why do you ask that?” Qian Qian interjected: “My mom isn’t a boss; she works for someone. This time I must be right, right, mom?”
Pfft!
That hit hard, daughter.
“Because I have a lot of friends, and their parents are all big bosses.”
Xu Leyang counted on his fingers: “Sisi’s mom is the boss of XX Group, Xiao Hao’s dad is the boss of XX Group, and also…”
“Okay, okay! That’s enough, kids!”
Jiang Zhi hurriedly stopped Lele’s list, covering her chest, her mouth twitching uncontrollably, wearing a constipated expression: “Let’s change the topic, kids, let’s talk about your favorite cartoons or something…”
Who understands the family dynamics?
Just saying she was hurt by the two little kids.
What kind of rich heir is this? All friends are so high-profile? Come on, who is your mom? Dare to tell me to Sister Jiang and her boyfriend… wait, her childhood sweetheart?
“Then why doesn’t your mom become a boss?” Xu Leyang asked again.
“Well, um, I’m not really sure.”
Qian Qian scratched her head, feeling like she needed to think. She turned to Jiang Zhi and asked: “Yeah, mom, why don’t you become a boss?”
“I…”
“Being a boss means you can earn a lot of money, right?”
“Uh…”
“With a lot of money, you can buy Qian Qian many new toys, right?”
“This…”
“But shouldn’t you have a lot of money already? Dad said all the money in the house is managed by mom.”
“No…”
Ahhh, so annoying!
Jiang Zhi silently cursed, how the heck would she know why she didn’t become a boss? As a college student, how could she be a boss?!
Starting a business? Me?
If I made money, I wouldn’t buy you toys! Drive you crazy, drive you crazy! La la la…!
And that Su Yan actually gave all the money to himself? Damn… oh wait, that’s acceptable… but no, that shouldn’t be… who wants to handle his money anyway!?
Secretly ranting, Jiang Zhi still maintained a faint forced smile on the surface. After all, as a gentle, generous, and kind (self-proclaimed) mother, she mustn’t lose her composure in front of the children.
Mainly because there were outsiders present.
Just wait until we get home, and I’ll deal with you, little girl! I see you haven’t been hit in a long time!
Jiang Zhi wanted to retreat; she was just afraid Lele would say something explosive again, and then the one who would feel bad would still be her.
Just then, Jiang Ruyan had also sent her a message.
The content of the message was an address. Clicking in, it was a restaurant, and Sister Jiang said she was already waiting for the two of them there.
“Qian Qian, we should go.”
Knowing that Qian Qian wasn’t willing to leave, Jiang Zhi organized her words, wanting to lead her to say goodbye to Lele, when she heard a call from not far away: “Lele.”
Looking up, a fully armed man, looking down at his phone, was walking toward them.
The man’s outfit was quite unique; although he was wearing short sleeves and shorts, he had a knitted hat on his head, sunglasses on his eyes, and a mask over his mouth.
He looked like he was both hot and not hot.
For some reason, Jiang Zhi felt an inexplicable familiarity.
But she immediately became vigilant, shielding the two children behind her, after all, caution is necessary; who would dress like this in the middle of summer? He didn’t look like a good person.
However, what she didn’t expect was that as the man approached, Lele suddenly waved his hand.
“Uncle!”
“Unc… Uncle?”
Jiang Zhi was dumbfounded, watching the man stop in front of them, she skeptically asked, “Um, hello, are you Lele’s uncle?”
“That’s me.”
The man didn’t look up as he replied, his fingers continually tapping on his phone screen, appearing very busy.
“Uncle, this is my new friend.”
Lele ran out from the amusement park, putting on his shoes while introducing the man.
“Is that so? Hello to you both.”
The man casually greeted them, the mask shifting, as if the corners of his lips beneath it lifted slightly in a symbolic manner.
Jiang Zhi’s veins bulged.
Tensed, ready to strike.
If you’d just raised your head a bit, I might have accepted your thanks.
She slowly exhaled, looking down at her daughter, speaking gently: “Lele has someone to pick him up; we should leave, right? Mom will take you to eat something delicious.”
Regardless of anything, the man was a stranger to her.
Even though the other’s attitude was very impolite and made her unhappy, all she could do was silently complain about it.
After all, she wasn’t a superhero.
Back when she was in the orphanage, Jiang Zhi was the type to easily ignite and explode; if she could do something, she wouldn’t just complain. As she grew up, she changed into another extreme; when someone annoyed her, she would handle it calmly, believing there was no need to be angry.
Moreover, the man was just a bit indifferent; he hadn’t done anything outrageous.
“Oh, fine.”
Hearing this, Qian Qian lowered her eyes, uninterestedly bidding goodbye to Lele: “Goodbye, Lele.”
After the two kids finished saying their goodbyes, Jiang Zhi took Qian Qian’s soft little hand. Just as they took a step, the man suddenly lifted his head, his gaze shifting from the phone, his dark sunglasses fixating tightly on Jiang Zhi.
“Eh?”
Jiang Zhi felt a little creeped out by the stare, mainly because the man’s outfit was indeed quite eye-catching. She thought he was looking elsewhere and instinctively glanced around, muttering softly: “What are you looking at…”
“Looking at you.”
“Eh?!”
The man’s words took Jiang Zhi by surprise, and she pointed at herself in disbelief: “Me?”
“…Do we know each other?”
Jiang Zhi’s feet instinctively shifted; as long as the man dared to say, “We don’t know each other, but we can get to know each other,” she would think about it and might take action.
She had encountered countless such pickup lines since becoming a girl.
The man simply smiled gently, under the mask, his voice muffled as he said something Jiang Zhi couldn’t understand: “I’m gay.”
“Ah…”
Jiang Zhi’s brain crashed.
Gay? What gay?
Is it the gay I’m thinking of?
But why are you telling me you’re gay? Is sexual orientation no longer a taboo now?
“I was joking.”
Seeing Jiang Zhi’s dazed expression, the man squinted slightly behind his sunglasses, then took out his phone, his tone casual: “Sorry, did I make it awkward for you? This sister, can we exchange WeChat?”
Jiang Zhi became alert again: “What do you want?”
The man looked at Su Ziqian hiding behind Jiang Zhi: “Lele and your daughter get along well. It’s not easy for kids to make friends; let’s exchange WeChat to help the kids communicate more.”
“…”
His words sounded sincere, Jiang Zhi pressed her lips together, looking down at her daughter, the little girl was making faces with Lele over the two adults.
It seemed there wasn’t much choice left.
Jiang Zhi also took out her phone, quietly adjusted to her alternate account, then opened WeChat’s QR code and held it out in front of the man: “You can scan me.”
If it was for Qian Qian, adding a friend wasn’t a bad idea.
However, being a mother, Jiang Zhi understood men too well; the ways of flirting vary greatly.
She realized the man’s little scheme at a glance; tricking young girls was fine, but tricking her was just asking for trouble.
So she used her alternate account, which had never posted on Moments, not even an avatar; this man wouldn’t be able to learn anything about her through WeChat.
By the way, this guy isn’t picky; he’s hitting on a mom, quite the character.
The man enthusiastically scanned the QR code, and in an instant, Jiang Zhi’s WeChat popped up a friend request, which displayed the man’s name.
Xu You.
