Chapter 7

“Song Wan asked for eight thousand. That was expensive, but she was worth every yuan.”

“Li Mei tried to save three thousand, spent over a hundred thousand, and nearly lost her mother. Does the math finally make sense?”

Li Mei didn’t reply in the group. Someone tagged her.

“Ms. Li, how’s your mother now?”

It took her a long time to answer.

“She’s recovering. Much better.”

Auntie Zhang sent me a voice message in private, sounding smug.

“You should’ve seen Li Mei. She used to have an answer for everything, but this time she couldn’t get out a word. Wang Cuilan’s nine photos have become a joke in the whole apartment complex. Everyone’s disgusted with her.”

Auntie Liu also cornered me at the market to chatter.

“You really kept your head. Wang Cuilan’s all sweet talk and lazy hands. She sold herself for five thousand and left that old woman needing three surgeries. What a disgrace.”

“Weren’t you all saying she was better than Song Wan?”

“Oh, come on!” Auntie Liu slapped her thigh. “We were blinded by greed!”

I didn’t argue. I just smiled and let it pass.

Wang Cuilan disappeared completely.

A few neighborhood aunties asked around in her hometown. They heard she’d gone back and found a job babysitting in town for twenty-eight hundred a month. Her employer complained she was clumsy.

Before she left, she’d reportedly cursed all night in the hallway.

“Those sores had nothing to do with me! It was stingy Li Mei’s fault! And Song Wan, acting like some saint!”

She could curse all she wanted. No one believed her anymore.

My own life kept getting better.

Professor Chen’s health improved day by day. He could go downstairs and buy the newspaper by himself. Whenever he saw someone, he praised me.

“My Xiaosong is more thoughtful than my own daughter.”

Mr. Chen raised my salary again and doubled my year-end bonus.

Other families started asking around about me too.

One businesswoman had three different agents contact me, offering twenty-two thousand a month and saying, “If Ms. Song agrees to come, we can negotiate anything.”

I turned them all down.

I told the people who passed along the offer, “I’ve given Mr. Chen my word. His father hasn’t fully recovered, so I can’t leave.”

When they reported back, the businesswoman clicked her tongue.

“Can you believe there are still nannies this principled?”

She wouldn’t give up. Later, she drove her BMW to the apartment complex and stopped me herself. Her hair was styled in big waves, and she got straight to the point.

“Ms. Song, my father is bedridden and in about the same condition as Professor Chen. Name your price. Twenty-two thousand a month, weekends off, and a separate year-end bonus. Are you interested?”

I shifted the basket of groceries to my other hand.

“Ma’am, if your father’s in the same condition as Professor Chen, then I really can’t go. I’m responsible for Professor Chen. What would happen to him if I left? If you truly care for your father, find someone who has principles like mine and treat them well.”

The businesswoman stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly laughed.

“All right, Song Wan. I’ll remember you. I can’t hire someone like you, so I guess my father isn’t that lucky. If you ever leave the Chen family, call me first. I’ll pay triple.”

I smiled and waved her off.

That “stubbornly principled” reputation spread through the neighborhood and became a compliment.

“That Song Wan is stubborn, sure, but it’s the kind of stubborn that makes you feel safe.”

## Chapter 10: Principles Bring a Good Ending

The next time I saw Li Mei was a month later.

I went to the apartment entrance to pick up a package. She happened to be coming back with two large bags of nutritional supplements for Mrs. Zhang.

When she saw me, she stopped.

I nodded. “How’s Mrs. Zhang doing?”

“Good… much better,” she said. “She can turn over by herself now and talk, though she still asks about you.”

“I’ll come visit when I have time.”

Her lips moved, then she finally said, “Xiaowan, thank you for what you told me on the phone that day. I hired a certified caregiver through an agency. There’s a contract, and she has proper credentials. It’s expensive, but my mother’s doing much better. I was wrong before. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t say, “It’s all right.”

Some things can’t be brushed aside with a single apology. Mrs. Zhang had undergone three surgeries to remove dead tissue. “It’s all right” would have been far too easy.

But I nodded. “I’m glad she’s doing better.”

Li Mei’s eyes reddened. She picked up her bags and walked away with her head lowered.

After a few steps, she looked back.

“Xiaowan, if one day you’re no longer comfortable where you are, we’ll always have a place for you. I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

“You don’t have to. I’m very happy at Mr. Chen’s.”

Her mouth opened, but she said nothing more and walked on.

I visited Mrs. Zhang again later.

The moment she saw me, tears streamed down her face. She grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go.