She didn't know why, but she was certain she wouldn't get sick again.
The feeling that had been bothering her for a while, the one that had been dragging her towards depression, had suddenly vanished.
She remembered the beauty of life again, and she had returned to being the old Zhan Jingchun, her mind active, eager to sit up and paint.
Peng Fei, despite his harsh words, put on a pair of gloves the next morning to prevent anyone from seeing him and making fun of him.
Everyone was doing morning exercises in the courtyard, running and doing various exercises while shouting slogans. Peng Fei joined them.
It looked like military training, quite impressive.
Zhan Jingchun was woken up early by the noise. Hearing the rhythmic shouts outside, she rushed to the window to look.
From this angle, she could see every move Peng Fei and the others made.
Seeing that someone was occasionally scolded by Peng Fei and kicked, but no one dared to resist, made her burst into laughter.
Peng Fei also looked in this direction from time to time. Their eyes met. Although he couldn't see her expression clearly, he could feel that Zhan Jingchun was happy, so his desire to perform grew stronger. He forced everyone to do another half hour of exercise.
Everyone was so tired that they inwardly cursed him for being inhuman. They wondered where Xiang Siyuan's mother had found such a peculiar person!
But that wasn't all; even stranger things were yet to come.
To keep seeing Zhan Jingchun, to see her openly, and to let her see him, Peng Fei moved the dining table to the lawn after breakfast and had everyone do their homework in the courtyard.
Everyone felt like they were back in school, sitting in pairs, with him acting as the teacher.
He could sit or stand as he pleased, supervising their homework.
It was winter, for goodness sake! Doing homework was one thing, but why must it be done outside?
Fortunately, winter in Nancheng was relatively warm, and there was sun in the sky, otherwise, people would have frozen to death.
Everyone wanted to resist, but Peng Fei was strong and imposing. With a glare and a raised eyebrow, no one dared to speak.
Zhan Jingchun, in an excellent mood, went downstairs for breakfast, returned to her room, set up an easel, and prepared to paint by the window.
Looking down, she saw the comical scene and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He really was something, coming up with such an idea to supervise homework!
She didn't know what to paint anyway, so she decided to paint them.
They became Zhan Jingchun's models, staying still and letting her add color.
Peng Fei looked up at the window from time to time. Seeing Zhan Jingchun setting up her easel and facing him to paint, he became self-conscious about his image.
He struck one pose after another, afraid he wasn't handsome enough.
As they were interacting across the distance, Zhan Jingchun looked up again and suddenly saw a car driving up the small road in front of the villa.
The car was heading straight for the Chen family's house. It was a red Ferrari, which she recognized.
Chen Jiaojiao had arrived.
Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the situation was special.
She had caused trouble yesterday, and the house hadn't been tidied yet. What if Chen Jiaojiao saw it and got angry?
Zhan Jingchun didn't realize how concerned she was. Fearing it would be too late to stop her if she ran down, she quickly grabbed her phone and called Chen Jiaojiao.
Chen Jiaojiao stopped the car and was looking for her car keys when she saw her phone call. She was not surprised.
During the time Zhan Jingchun was in trouble, Chen Jiaojiao had also been very worried and had contributed a lot to the search efforts.
After returning, she heard from Jiang Nan Fang that Chun Chun wasn't in a good state and was even more worried.
However, due to the age difference, they weren't as close as Tiantian and Ge'er, and couldn't talk much.
Chen Jiaojiao had always spoken without restraint and was afraid that Chun Chun couldn't handle it, so she hadn't dared to contact her.
This girl was actually reaching out to her?
Chen Jiaojiao quickly and enthusiastically answered, "Chun Chun, long time no see! Why are you calling me?"
Zhan Jingchun also smiled on the other end of the phone, "I see you, Aunt Jiaojiao. I'm at the villa now too. Why are you here today?"
"Long time no see. It's so boring living alone here. Can you come and play with me?"
Chen Jiaojiao walked forward two steps, looked up at the window, and saw the little girl leaning on the windowsill, smiling and waving at her.
"Hey, when did you move here? Are you bored? Aren't your parents with you?"
Zhan Jingchun said, "It's a long story. I'll come downstairs to pick you up. We can talk when we meet."
She hung up the phone and ran downstairs to the living room. Chen Jiaojiao had already come in.
The two hugged and exchanged pleasantries. Chen Jiaojiao examined her expression.
"You're looking much better lately, your complexion is so good. You're so young, look at your tender skin, I'm so envious."
"Even though I go to beauty salons every day and spend all my money on this face, I still feel inadequate when I stand next to you. Oh, I wish I could turn back time 20 years and live my life again."
Zhan Jingchun said, "Not at all, Aunt Jiaojiao, you look so young. If you didn't say it, I would think you were Xiang Siyuan's sister. Who would dare say you're his mother?"
"Oh, please, your little mouth is so good at coaxing me. By the way, Xiang Siyuan has also moved in and is living next door to you. Do you know that?"
Zhan Jingchun lied, "I don't know. I don't go out much."
"I originally thought I needed some quiet and wanted to come here to reflect, but I couldn't stand the loneliness after less than a week. But I'm too embarrassed to admit it to my parents. I know Aunt Jiaojiao spoils me the most, so can you take me out to play? I haven't had a facial in months. I'll go to your place to get pampered."
Seeing that she was genuinely joking and smiling, and in great spirits, Chen Jiaojiao was extremely happy for Jiang Nan Fang.
She instantly forgot about her prodigal son.
"Of course, why not? You're right, Aunt Jiaojiao spoils you the most."
"Not only haven't I had a facial in months, but I haven't gone out shopping properly in months either. Let's go, come with Aunt Jiaojiao today, eat delicious food, drink spicy drinks, buy some new clothes, get a facial, and let's have a girlfriend's day trip, how about it?"
"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Aunt Jiaojiao."
Zhan Jingchun sweetly kissed her on the cheek, and Chen Jiaojiao hugged her as they walked out.
When they reached the door, Chen Jiaojiao awkwardly discussed something with Zhan Jingchun.
"Chun Chun, can I discuss something with you?"
"Do you need to discuss anything with me? Aunt Jiaojiao, just say it."
"Can you call your mommy too? I haven't seen her in a long time. She has good taste, and the clothes she picks are always praised by others."
Zhan Jingchun knew what she meant. Touched by her concern for their mother-daughter relationship, she hugged her arm tighter and said.
"Of course, she's my mom. How could I have any estrangement from her? I would have called her even if you hadn't mentioned it."
"That's great! With the two of you paying, I'm going to ransack all the major shopping malls in Nancheng today!"
Peng Fei didn't pay attention. When he looked back, Zhan Jingchun was gone.
He thought she had gone to the restroom and struck a pose, waiting for her.
However, after a minute, and another minute, and another minute, she still didn't appear.