Chapter 12
Jessica was very understanding. When she heard this, she didn't immediately make a fuss for an answer, but just nodded gently.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed Jessica's little head. "Alright, it's getting late. Shall we go to bed?"
"Okay! Today Jessica wants to hear the story of the Little Mermaid!" Jessica's face lit up with a bright, sweet smile, her voice soft and sweet.
Warmth filled my heart. "Okay."
After getting Jessica to sleep, I gently tucked in the corners of her blanket before leaving the room.
The next day, when Lily wasn't so busy, I discussed with her about Jessica not wanting to go to school.
Lily also felt bad for Jessica. "Kids nowadays mature early. Jessica must have been talked about quite a bit at kindergarten."
She thought for a moment and said, "I'm basically done with my work, and I'll have more free time coming up. How about we let Jessica come back home? I can take care of her."
Looking at her obvious dark circles, I knew she was just trying to comfort me.
I shook my head gently and said, "Let's not do that. You're already busy enough as it is."
Last night until late, the light in Lily's room had stayed on.
She often had her days and nights reversed. If I took away her sleep time, too, what kind of person would I be?
"But Jessica can't be left without anyone to look after her!"
Lily scratched her hair, as if suddenly thinking of something, and said, "How about asking your mom to help watch the kid for a few days?"
The image of my mother's extremely cold face flashed through my mind. I shook my head gently, my voice flat, "Better not. She doesn't like Jessica, and I don't want Jessica to be around her either."
Lily looked at me with even more sympathy.
She let out a low sigh, at a complete loss.
I comforted her, "Don't worry so much. Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem?"
After discussing with Lily, I decided not to withdraw Jessica from school yet. She was still young, and if she didn't interact with kids her own age, it wouldn't be good for her development.
But since Jessica didn't want to go to kindergarten, I talked it over with her. "Jessica, I've been thinking. How about I request two days off for you each week, so you only need to go to kindergarten three days a week? Can you accept that?"
Jessica blinked and looked at me seriously.
I sighed inwardly and explained gently, "I know you've been hurt at school, but I also hope that when you face difficulties, you'll have the courage to face them bravely."
For children growing up in single-parent families, the pain during their growth is an unavoidable topic.
I wanted my Jessica to be happy, but I also wanted her to be strong and go further in life.
I gently stroked Jessica's head and said, "So let's start by reducing how often you go to kindergarten, okay?"
Jessica nodded without making a fuss.
She threw herself into my arms, hugged me tight, and said seriously, "Thank you, Mom."
The first issue was handled. Now for the second one.
"But when you're at home, Lily and I can't watch you every single moment. You'll need to take care of yourself. Can you do that?"
Jessica nodded without hesitation. "I can!"
She was so confident that I chose to believe her.
"Mom," Jessica suddenly called out to me.
"Yes?"
"Can I not go to kindergarten today? And not tomorrow either?" Jessica asked.
I replied, "Okay."
When I called the teacher to request leave, I learned that today was the kindergarten's sports day.
The sports day would last today and tomorrow.
I suddenly understood. This was the real reason Jessica didn't want to go to school.
A sour feeling rose in my heart. I took a deep breath and pushed down the bitter emotion.
After requesting leave from the teacher, I installed the surveillance camera that had been rush-delivered last night.
After making sure I could monitor the situation at home on my phone at any time, it was almost time for me to go to work.
I squatted in front of Jessica and touched her head. "Call Mom if anything happens."
"Okay!"
"Don't touch the stove or knives by yourself. Lunch is in the fridge. Heat it up before eating, and be careful not to burn yourself when taking it out of the microwave."
"Okay."
"Don't open the door for strangers."
"Don't stand on a stool to get things, be careful not to fall..."
I kept giving her a long list of instructions.
Jessica kept nodding.
Finally, she glanced at the wall clock, pushed me, and urged, "Okay, Mom, I'll take good care of myself. You should go to work now! You're going to be late!"
Only then did I leave with a worried heart, looking back every few steps.
I drove to DT Corp, and just as I parked in the underground garage, I ran into Brian.
Brian looked between me and the car and asked, "Bought a car?"
"Yeah, it makes commuting more convenient." I nodded.
Brian looked at the car a couple more times and raised an eyebrow. "Not bad. You can afford such a nice car now? This must be around two hundred thousand, right?"
I smiled helplessly. "Mr. Ethan, you're giving me too much credit. I bought this at a used car market for twenty thousand."
"Twenty thousand?" Brian raised his voice, incredulous. "You're not joking with me, are you?"
"Of course not. I was lucky enough to catch a promotion, otherwise I couldn't have gotten it for twenty thousand either."
There was gratitude in my voice. "Plus, twenty thousand was my budget limit. Any more and I couldn't afford it."
Brian looked at me and said, "I remember your salary isn't low."
I smiled and explained, "I have a child to support at home."
Brian was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement with my reasoning.
But he still looked at the car in confusion, muttering, "Is the used car market really this bad now? Do they need to give such big discounts to sell?"
I didn't know either. But I was grateful for this stroke of luck that let me buy such a great value car.
I went up in the elevator with Brian.
Clocked in for work.
After finishing all the work at hand, I couldn't wait to open the surveillance app on my phone.
Throughout the morning's work, my mind kept thinking about Jessica.
Would she be scared staying home alone?
It was almost mealtime. Would she burn herself heating up food in the microwave?
I nervously opened the surveillance feed. In the video, Jessica was taking out the lunch I'd prepared from the fridge and putting it in the microwave.
"Watching your daughter?" Brian leaned over, curiously looking at the surveillance feed.
I nodded without taking my eyes off the screen. "Yeah, Jessica rarely stays home alone."
"Not going to kindergarten?" Brian asked again.
I shook my head and didn't say more.
Brian didn't press further.
In the surveillance video, after Jessica set the microwave timer, she turned and went to the living room, sitting at the coffee table and seriously reading a book.
Several children's books were placed on the coffee table.
You could tell Jessica had been obediently reading here all morning.
"Your daughter is quite studious." Brian stroked his chin.
"She's very understanding and loves to learn." When talking about Jessica, my voice couldn't help but fill with pride.
Brian glanced at me sideways.
I smiled with my eyes curved, and only relaxed after watching Jessica safely take the lunch out of the microwave.
Compared to my worries, Jessica was adapting very well to being home alone.
And only going to kindergarten three days a week wasn't so hard for her to accept.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
On Friday evening, Jessica excitedly pulled at me. "Mom, let's go to Ocean Park tomorrow! I saw an ad for Ocean Park, and it looks so fun!"
Jessica rarely asked for anything on her own initiative.
I didn't hesitate and agreed right away. "Okay, then you should rest early tonight, and we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, okay?"