Peng Fei found himself in a sea of women for the first time in his life.
They were all beautiful, fragrant, and refined.
He didn't know whom to look at or what to say, sitting ramrod straight.
Sister Tang, seeing his nervousness, offered him a drink, "Do you drink?"
Peng Fei did, but he dared not at that moment. "I haven't drunk before."
"Good boy. It's fine if you don't drink."
Sister Tang put the drink back and watched him patiently.
"Tell us about yourself. You're so young, why did you get married so early?"
"And if you're married, why are you doing this?"
Peng Fei: "..."
After a moment of stunned silence, "Many people have asked me this question, and I don't really want to talk about it. Can I not say?"
The rich ladies: "..."
Peng Fei: "I want to earn money, but I didn't think clearly before coming... Don't blame Jian Ge, it's all my fault. As long as you're not angry, I'll do anything else you ask."
It was evident he was a very honest person. Hadn't everyone been through their awkward youth?
Especially since he was good-looking, the sisters felt particularly sympathetic.
They weren't desperate for male escorts, so no one was giving him a hard time.
"You child... Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't."
"But there's no work for you here. If you can't get past that hurdle in your heart, you won't earn any money today."
As long as they weren't angry, Peng Fei quickly shook his head.
"It's okay, I can start earning from tomorrow. I'm sorry, Sister Tang, thank you."
Sister Tang leaned back on the sofa with a smile. Chen Jiaojiao studied him, suddenly reminded of her husband, Xiangyang, when he was young.
He was poor then, naive, and upright. In the blink of an eye, so many years of their youth had passed.
"Since you got married early, your education must not be high. If you don't want to do this, what do you plan to do tomorrow?"
Besides, the New Year was fast approaching.
Peng Fei hadn't expected the rich ladies to be so concerned about him and answered earnestly.
"I haven't thought it through yet. I used to work as a grinder in a factory. If that doesn't work out, I'll go back and ask them if they need temporary workers. If not, I'll do packaging or delivery. I can navigate now, so delivering food should be fine."
"..."
Heaven had given him a face meant for idleness, yet he was willing to do manual labor?
They figured a naive newcomer like him to the big city wouldn't have many other ways to earn money. Seeing his honesty and loyalty to his partner, Chen Jiaojiao patted his shoulder.
"Why deliver food? Besides delivery and serving people, there are many other jobs you can do in the world."
"Because of your honesty, I'll introduce you to something. Can you trust me?"
Peng Fei could hardly believe his luck. Such beautiful and wealthy women were offering to introduce him to work?
"Of course, I trust you! But will it be troublesome for you, Sister?"
Chen Jiaojiao shook her head generously, "If I found it troublesome, I wouldn't have opened my mouth. Can you drive?"
Before Peng Fei could answer, she realized something herself.
"Looking at you, you probably can't. Never mind, I won't have you be a driver... Can you take care of children?"
Chen Jiaojiao and Xiangyang had two children after marriage, a boy and a girl.
The boy was now eighteen. Because they were usually busy with work and lacked companionship, he had become quite unruly.
Furthermore, a life of privilege from childhood had cultivated in him a tendency to cry easily, be spoiled, and lack patience in his endeavors.
Xiangyang couldn't stand it, and they often clashed at home, leading to a tense father-son relationship.
Chen Jiaojiao had gone through her own rebellious phase and knew that if things weren't corrected, it would be troublesome later. She had been quite vexed about this recently.
Her ideal son was like Peng Fei: composed, resilient, and manly. Thus, she was exceptionally tolerant of him.
Peng Fei hadn't expected to get a job looking after children.
He had played with children in his village before, but he wasn't sure if that counted.
"I think so."
When children were mentioned, the other two rich ladies also had their complaints, and they immediately began discussing their own children's issues with Chen Jiaojiao.
Addiction to electronics, love for gaming, aversion to studying, naughtiness, lack of manners, strained father-son relationships – no exceptions.
"I was struggling with what to do with him during the winter break because he kept arguing with me about extracurricular classes. Jiaojiao has a good idea to have him looked after."
"I think it's a good idea. Send them to their hometowns in the countryside, make them do all sorts of hard labor, and they'll become obedient after tasting the hardships of life."
"What's the plan? My son will go too. Thank you for your trouble, Jiaojiao."
And so, Peng Fei, single-handedly, transformed the ambiguous atmosphere into a large-scale parenting session.
They chatted for a long time, and finally, Chen Jiaojiao settled on a plan.
Going to the countryside was unrealistic. Firstly, it was too far, and the children might not be able to handle it. Secondly, it wasn't safe; if anything happened, they would regret it too late.
As long as Peng Fei could keep them company, ensure they finished their homework diligently, reduced their screen time, engaged in more outdoor activities, and got through the winter break peacefully, that would suffice.
She would provide the location: a villa in the suburbs, with 24-hour security, internet access at scheduled times, and parents visiting every couple of days.
Everyone agreed enthusiastically and entrusted this important task to Peng Fei, whom they had just met.
Upon returning to the Zhan family, Zhan Jingchun first rested for half a month, then picked up her paintbrush and returned to work.
She didn't want her parents or elder siblings to worry too much about her, nor did she want to dwell on the past and be unable to move on.
Her education from childhood had taught her to be a person of social value, a positive influence.
She pushed herself hard, forcing herself to smile every day and creating a strict work schedule to keep busy.
But only she knew in her heart that the past was like a scar branded on her soul, one that would never truly heal.
Before going there, her inspiration for painting came entirely from books, literary works, and her travels.
Her paintings were all grand, sunny, and romantic.
But now, she only wanted to paint concrete objects.
Perhaps it was a grasshopper she observed in the fields while Peng Fei worked, sitting on the grass.
Perhaps it was a pine tree standing by the roadside, enduring the scorching heat for an entire day.
Perhaps it was a broken wicker basket placed in a corner, or a dirty child eating with a dog, holding a bowl of rice.
In any case, she was no longer interested in her previous subjects; her aesthetic had completely transformed.
She painted every day, but she dared not show her work to anyone.
These pieces were all filled with her memories of that village and of Peng Fei.
She was terrified her parents would see them, terrified they would know what she had experienced during that time.
In front of everyone, she was cheerful every day, as if the time she spent there had caused her no harm.
But when she was alone, she fell into self-loathing, insomnia, and endless reminiscing about the past.
She painted them over and over, then silently tore them all up.
She tried to tell herself not to think about them anymore, but her mind was uncontrollable.
She knew she was sick.
A sickness that had once seemed distant, called depression, was beginning to find her.
She knew she couldn't continue like this; it would worry her parents. She needed to save herself.