After their meal, Lin Jiang headed out with Zhao Wenxuan, who was now in his school uniform.
"Go call the elevator," Xu Lin reminded them.
"Alright."
Between their apartment door and the elevator, there was an iron security gate.
After Zhao Wenxuan went ahead, only the two of them remained at the doorway.
"Thanks for doing this. It’s something I should be doing."
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll just treat it like a little vacation."
Lin Jiang placed his hand on Xu Lin’s butt, a gesture to reassure her and tell her not to worry.
"I hear it’s a nice place. When you’re not so busy, I’ll take you there for a visit."
"Mm."
"I’ll say goodbye here, then."
As she spoke, Xu Lin planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Go on back."
Lin Jiang took Zhao Wenxuan downstairs, and they drove to Huaihe Second Primary School.
Two large buses and many private cars were parked at the entrance, all there to drop off children. After doing so, they gradually began to depart.
On the school grounds, parents stood with their children, ready to depart at any moment.
The mothers greatly outnumbered the fathers. They were, on average, around thirty-five years old—all graceful, attractive women who still had their youthful charm. They were dressed to the nines, making it seem less like a summer camp send-off and more like a beauty pageant.
That’s how it was at good schools—most families were at least comfortably well-off.
A strong economic foundation determines the superstructure, and because most were well-off, the parents tended to be better-looking than average, with good figures and skin.
A few of the mothers were even nearly on par with Xu Lin.
Lin Jiang’s arrival drew the attention of many of the mothers, who all glanced in his direction, whether intentionally or not.
Then, almost in unison, they would look away or pull out their phones to conceal their gazes.
The most eye-catching of them was a mother in a small white knit cardigan and wide-leg pants. She was handing things out to the other parents and children, with another mother in jeans helping her.
"Teacher Qiqi!"
Zhao Wenxuan suddenly cried out. Lin Jiang followed his gaze and saw Jiang Xiaoqi.
She was wearing a dress and sneakers and walking toward them, a black handbag in her hand.
"Xuanxuan, you’re here."
Jiang Xiaoqi patted Zhao Wenxuan’s head.
"Teacher Qiqi, you look so pretty today."
"And you’re very handsome too, Xuanxuan."
"Hehe."
Jiang Xiaoqi looked over at Lin Jiang, handing him the black handbag.
"Brother Jiang, take this. Put it in your car, and make sure absolutely no one sees what’s inside."
Lin Jiang instantly knew what was inside.
Their eyes met, and they exchanged a look of mutual understanding.
"I’ll leave Xuanxuan with you for a minute. I’m going to put this in the car."
"Wait a second, Brother Jiang," Jiang Xiaoqi said, stopping him.
"As a teacher, I can’t ride in your car, and neither can Xuanxuan. We might arrange for another parent to ride with you, is that okay?"
"Of course. That’s what I brought the car for. You just make the arrangements, and I’ll take them when it’s time to go."
"Okay, thanks, Brother Jiang."
Leaving Zhao Wenxuan in Jiang Xiaoqi’s care, Lin Jiang took the bag to his car.
As Lin Jiang walked off, he once again drew the gazes of the other parents.
But these were all parents, so everyone was relatively restrained.
Some pretended to be avoiding the sun, turning their bodies toward the entrance to watch his retreating figure.
Others were on the phone, pretending to be absorbed in their calls when, in reality, their gazes were locked on Lin Jiang.
Still others used the pretense of comforting their children, having the kids stand in front of them so they could ostensibly watch their child while secretly stealing glances at him.
"Quick, quick, stop handing those out for a moment! That handsome dad is leaving," said the mother in jeans.
"Keep your voice down! There are so many people around," the mother in wide-leg pants said.
"It’s fine, no one’s right next to us. You should go give him one of the energy packs later, break the ice."
"Oh, stop it. Let’s get back to work. We haven’t finished handing these out."
Meanwhile, Lin Jiang had reached his car and opened Jiang Xiaoqi’s bag.
The contents were just as he had expected: all of Jiang Xiaoqi’s ’little toys’. There were even many new models he had never seen before.
’Summer camp is going to be a blast.’
He put the items away. Now, all that was left was to wait for departure.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
A knock on the window broke Lin Jiang’s concentration.
He rolled down the window, and a pleasant jasmine fragrance wafted in. It was the same mother who had been handing things out earlier. Her long hair was wavy, and she had an alluring charm.
The woman’s name was Fang Jie. She ran a small media company that usually took on gigs for mall promotions and runway shows.
Between needing to look after her child and her company not doing well, she had found herself with enough free time to be in charge of her child’s school affairs.
"Hello, are you here for the summer camp drop-off?"
"I am. What’s up?"
"I’m Sun Jiayuan’s mother," Fang Jie said. "We’re not supposed to bring our own food for the trip, so I prepared some energy packs for the parents and kids. You can eat it on the way. Here’s one for you."
As she spoke, Fang Jie handed Lin Jiang a beautifully packaged paper bag.
"Oh, thank you."
"You’re welcome."
After Fang Jie left, Lin Jiang opened the bag to take a look.
Inside was a cup of a green beverage, likely mung bean soup to prevent heatstroke, along with a container of cut fruit and a small bread roll.
’For a trip that was just over an hour, this was quite a thoughtful thing to prepare.’
Just then, another mother appeared in front of Lin Jiang’s car.
"Hello, are you Zhao Wenxuan’s guardian?"
Lin Jiang glanced at her. She was wearing a dress, black nylons, and high heels.

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