After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 43 Even a Sparrow Wants to Become a Phoenix? (Please read on, please vote with your monthly tickets~)

Half an hour before He Xiaona rushed off to do the accounting.

Surrounded by everyone, Lin Jing arrived at the entrance of the Jinxiu Jiangnan Hotel, with the children joining in the fun.

To be honest, such a deliberate attempt to show off is not something that Lin Jing, who is always down-to-earth and honest, is used to or good at.

She had readily agreed, but upon arriving at the grand hotel entrance again, she suddenly hesitated and handed the lunchbox to Xu Yuan beside her.

"Yuanyuan, why don't you take your dad to eat? It'll be a chance for you to show him you care; he works so hard..."

Before Xu Yuan could respond, Lin Yueyao suddenly became anxious, "Mom, you can't always be like this! You have to keep your promises!"

"That's right, Aunt Lin, you can't lie to the young master!"

Xia Ke also said seriously, "This will make Yueyao very sad!"

"Sigh, you're already here, what are you afraid of now? It's not like you're dressed up in anything fancy, just dressed up like you should look your age."

Xu Qiuyun was also trying to persuade Lin Jing, but Lin Jing quickly dismissed Xu Qiuyun, picked up the lunchbox in her hand, and looked somewhat embarrassed.

Just then, Xu Yuan took Lin Jing's hand and beckoned her closer with his other hand, indicating that he wanted her to listen to something he wanted to whisper.

Xu Yuan leaned close to Lin Jing's ear and murmured in a childish voice:

"Aunt Lin, I'm sorry... I... I'll tell you the truth."

"Because that Aunt He always thinks she's the most beautiful, and Dad will definitely be infatuated with her, no one can compete with her."

"If, if she finds out that our Aunt Lin is also super, super beautiful, then she won't keep bothering Dad."

"That's why I agreed to help Aunt Xu and invited her to my home to take you shopping at a clothing store."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jing couldn't help but smile gently.

Silly child... You are very smart, but Auntie is not stupid either.

In fact, Lin Jing initially agreed to Xu Yuan's request because she vaguely guessed that Xu Yuan had this kind of thinking. Xu Yuan's willingness to confide in her meant that he completely trusted her.

This trust has completely surpassed the trust that employers have in a nanny's employment relationship, and is even greater than the trust shown to elders in the traditional sense.

It's almost like... someone who treats you like family.

If...if that's the case.

Lin Jing gently patted Xu Yuan's head.

"Alright... since Yuanyuan has said so, Auntie will agree."

Lin Jing gently pinched Xu Yuan's nose. "But, can it only be this once?"

"Okay! Thank you, Aunt Lin! You go and meet Dad first, and we'll sneak in from behind."

Lin Jing was persuaded by Xu Yuan. Watching Lin Jing walk into the hotel, the children looked at Xu Yuan with surprise.

“My mother has never listened to me like this before.”

"Young Master, how did you convince Aunt Lin to go in? That's amazing!"

"Young Master must have his own way, right?"

Only Xu Qiuyun, who saw through his intentions but said nothing, gently stroked Xu Yuan's head before smiling and saying, "We want to go in too, right?"

"Look at Uncle Xu's startled reaction!"

Lin Jing usually doesn't feel awkward entering hotels, but today she seemed a little nervous for some reason. The lobby manager, Xu Qing, greeted her with a smile.
"Hello, beautiful lady, how many people are in your party?"

"what……"

When Lin Jing used to deliver meals, almost no one treated her like a guest. But this time, as soon as she entered the hotel, the front desk manager came over to her.

"I'm looking for Ms. Xu. I came from home and brought her some food."

Xu Qing looked Lin Jing up and down before realizing what was happening:

"Oh...it's you? Mr. Xu is waiting for you in the cafeteria right now, hurry over."

"Okay, thank you."

"You're welcome." Looking at Lin Jing's now completely unfamiliar back, Xu Qing shook his head with a sigh.

Mr. Xu has a good eye!

Xu Jingguang initially ate with Lin Jing in his office, but later they both felt it was inappropriate to be in the same room, so they chose to meet in the staff cafeteria.

Although the hotel has about a hundred people, the staff canteen is not large. This is because the hotel is busiest during lunch and dinner, and everyone goes to the canteen to eat in batches according to the time.

Lin Jing entered the staff canteen and quickly spotted Xu Jingguang. He was sitting alone in a corner, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes to rest, looking somewhat tired.

Lin Jing was initially a little uneasy about being watched by everyone along the way, but she breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Xu Jingguang.

She quickly walked over to Xu Jingguang, sat down next to him, and placed the lunchbox on the table.

Xu Jingguang opened his eyes and his gaze fell on Lin Jing.

……

Lin Jing knew Xu Jingguang was watching her, but she wasn't ready to comment on the matter, so she simply opened the stainless steel thermos and ladled out the food and soup.

"I made you some mutton soup today, it'll help warm you up. Also... no matter how busy you are at work, you should go home early tonight, Yuanyuan will be lonely at home alone."

"Xiaolin, you chose a really nice outfit."

Xu Jingguang said with a smile, "I finally listened to Yueyao's words. It wasn't easy to convince you."

Lin Jing had assumed Xu Jingguang would comment on her clothes like everyone else, but to her surprise, Xu Jingguang's first thought was of her daughter.
"Yue... Yueyao actually mentioned this to you?"

"No, Yuanyuan told me."

Xu Jingguang said, "Last time you got your salary, you promised to buy a piece of clothing for Yueyao and me, but you bought them all for Yueyao. Yueyao was very unhappy about this and said you were a liar mother." Lin Jing was also embarrassed when she heard this, "Phew... Yueyao, why does she tell Yuanyuan everything?"

"Because she thinks Yuanyuan will have a solution."

Xu Jingguang said, "Then Yuanyuan also came to me for help, wanting me to give him some advice."

Lin Jing asked curiously, "So what advice did you give him?"

Could it be that Qiu Yun's arrival was also your idea?

Xu Jingguang smiled and shook his head. "If Yuanyuan can't figure it out, then I, as her father, am even more at a loss, because I was there during that time myself."

Then, Xu Jingguang told Lin Jing about things from the past.

“When Yuanyuan was born, our restaurant had just opened. We invested all our money in the restaurant, afraid that the cash flow would be cut off. We saved money as much as we could at home, and we had to stretch every penny. Even though A-Ling loves pretty clothes, she didn’t dare to go to the store to buy clothes for a whole year. She saved money to buy milk powder for Yuanyuan.”

“I remember that Yuanyuan was very weak back then, and he had to go to the hospital every few days. A-Ling also had very little breast milk. The elders in our family had all passed away, and there was no one to help us. At that time, we were really afraid that our child would not be able to grow up, so I could only work hard to earn money, and A-Ling also did her best to raise him.”

Unlike his son, Xu Jingguang wasn't born into wealth. His parents died early, and his family was scattered. He achieved his current success entirely through his own hard work and struggle. This was the first time Lin Jing had heard about Xu Jingguang's difficult entrepreneurial journey, and she found herself listening with a rapt attention.

Before that, the others followed Xu Yuan to the entrance of the staff canteen. Xia Ke peeked out to check the situation, and what she saw puzzled her greatly:

"What's going on? Uncle Xu doesn't seem to be startled at all!"

Xia Ke was surprised, "Shouldn't you shout it out like we did!"

Lin Yueyao had a good idea: "Because Uncle Xu is a big boss, he must have seen a lot of beautiful aunties, right?"

"That's one aspect. On the other hand, Aunt Xu thinks that your Uncle Xu probably already knew your mother was very beautiful, which is why he wasn't surprised by her outfit."

In Xu Yuan's opinion, Aunt Xu Qiuyun's guess was probably closest to his father's thoughts.

Experience is one aspect, and another is that she has good judgment; after all, she can see that Aunt Lin has a good foundation herself.

It can't be some inner monologue like, "I don't care if other women are pretty or not, because none of them are as pretty as my wife," right?
As Xu Jingguang and Lin Jing talked about the past, Lin Jing gradually realized that she might have had many misunderstandings and prejudices about Xu Jingguang in the past.

Overwhelmed with guilt and emotion, her eyes welled up with tears.

Seeing that Lin Jing was somewhat sad, Xu Jingguang realized that he had said too much.

He silently handed Lin Jing a napkin, then picked up the soup Lin Jing had made, saying, "I was so busy talking that the soup you made is almost cold."

"Yes, yes... the soup is cold. You should drink the soup first, drink more."

Lin Jing wiped away her tears with a tissue. "Since Brother Xu and Sister-in-law have poured so much love into Yuanyuan, you should take better care of your health now! Why work so hard? You can never earn enough money."

"Making money from running a hotel is one aspect, but it's also a responsibility. After all, we have to support so many employees and be responsible for them and their families. If the hotel doesn't make money, everyone will have a hard time."

"That's true. I hadn't thought of that much."

Xu Jingguang smiled and said, "But the boss's job isn't really that tiring, it's just quite busy, so you don't need to worry too much about me. I'd be very grateful if you could take good care of Yuanyuan for me."

Before Xu Jingguang could finish speaking, a little girl suddenly peeked her head out from under the dining table:
"Qiang Qiang Qiang!"

"Wow! What brings you all here?"

Xu Jingguang saw Lin Yueyao, Xu Yuan, and Xu Qiuyun following behind, and Xia Ke in his arms explained:
"We came to see Uncle Xu not recognizing Aunt Lin, and then Aunt Lin gave us a fright."

Xia Ke said seriously, word by word, "But Uncle Xu didn't react at all. Uncle Xu is so boring, so I came to scare him."

"Oh...yes, that's what I mean!"

Xu Jingguang also cooperated with Xia Ke's performance and immediately began to look Lin Jing up and down: "Hmm... Aunt Lin's outfit is very beautiful, like a female star from Hong Kong."

Lin Yueyao looked surprised. "Uncle Xu, it's the same as what I said!"

Lin Jing then pulled Lin Yueyao and Xia Ke into her arms. "Alright, stop fooling around. Uncle Xu is very busy with work. He needs to rest after dinner. He has other matters to attend to this afternoon."

"And you too, Brother Xu."

Lin Jing gently patted Xu Jingguang's shoulder, "Don't just chat, hurry up and eat. Aren't you going out for tea with someone at 2 pm? You can rest a bit after you eat."

"Uh, okay..."

Xu Yuan stared at Aunt Lin Jing with some surprise.

Although it was also a way of showing concern, Aunt Lin's attitude towards her father suddenly became less respectful.

Although my dad doesn't like being a boss who's high and mighty, he definitely prefers this kind of interaction.

But Aunt Lin Jing's sudden change in attitude makes people very curious...

What exactly did those two talk about?!

Just as Xu Yuan was surprised, he suddenly felt a cold aura coming from the base of his neck.

At this moment, He Xiaona was standing in the middle of the crowd coming and going at the entrance of the cafeteria, quietly watching all of this.

Her face looked ugly.

Her expression was even more distorted than if she had eaten stewed beef with radish. She, who was always cautious and wary, was not even on guard against Xu Yuan's direct gaze.

She just kept staring intently at Lin Jing, wishing she could tear this woman who was chatting and laughing with Xu Jingguang to pieces.

It wasn't until someone struck up a conversation with He Xiaona that she suddenly reverted to her usual gentle expression and greeted the person with a smile.

He Xiaona recognized Lin Jing immediately.

After all, she recognized the short-haired little girl next to her.

She initially assumed the other person was a married woman and just a country bumpkin, so she didn't pay much attention to her.

But clearly, this country bumpkin had captured Xu Jingguang's heart even further than she had.

Tsk... Even a sparrow wants to climb to the top of a branch. Does it really think it's qualified to become a phoenix?
If I don't show you something powerful, you'll never know how I used to be a big shot in Shanghai when I was young!
　This chapter is almost 4000 words long; I really tried my best.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)