There was one more person who was interested in the upcoming guardianship. That was Bai Renzhou.
His boss had asked him to investigate the conditions around a student and for the first time in a long while, Bai Renzhou actually felt pity.
Such an excellent student - so good at doing business and studies. Yet she was sidelined by her family. Bai Renzhou also felt her fiance was a nitwit.
Childhood engagements were common - especially in wealthy families. For instance, he knew the rumor about his boss being engaged to the first granddaughter of the Gu family was actually real.
So Bai Renzhou didn't think anything was wrong with this girl being engaged. He just felt the girl was too unlucky. Even the fiance refused to stand up for her and had happily gotten engaged to the step sister.
"Men really are useless these days" he murmured.
"Is that what Secretary Bai thinks of himself?" came a playful voice from behind.
Renzhou turned with a smile on his face. His wife had come to the study to call him down for dinner. He had gotten carried away with work and as usual forgotten the time.
"Madam should tell me" he said, gently pulling his wife into his lap. Chu Yunyin was a school teacher. She had a quiet poise and grace about her. For Bai Renzhou it was love at first sight.
He had seen her helping a kid at the school gates and had been smitten. Her pretty doe eyes and gentle smile captivated him and the very next day he had approached her, with household registration in one hand and an old watch in another.
Bai Renzhou came from a loving family. He was his parents' only child and he had all their love. His parents were also deeply in love.
His father had proposed to his mother with a watch and had told him that when he finds the right woman, he should do it too. You would just know his father had told him - and in that instance, Bain Renzhou knew what his father meant.
When Chu Yunyin had blushed deep and shyly muttered yes, his joy was intense. They had gotten registered that same day.
"You're the best thing that's happened to me" said Chu Yunyin seriously. "So Secretary Bai should have a little more confidence in himself - even if he makes his wife wait endlessly for dinner, he's a good man" she laughed.
Bai Renzhou hugged her close and breathed in her scent. "Sorry love. I lost track of time again"
Long used to her husband's intense work schedule, Chu Yunyin gave him a gentle kiss on his head and brushed his hair back. "You looked a little worried when I came in" she observed. "Is your boss ok?"
Though she knew only vague details, Chu Yunyin knew her husband's boss was not doing well. She had met him a couple of times and found his aura overwhelming.
It was no wonder society was rife with unkind rumors about him - the aura around this man would make King Yama of hell look kind.
She knew her husband was unflinchingly loyal to Huo Shen and by association, she respected him. It's just that she couldn't spend more than a few minutes with Huo Shen.
"Nothing different from usual" replied Bai Renzhou noncommittally - even with his beloved wife, he wouldn't betray his boss's confidence. But there are other things he could share. "Take a look at this" he shoved his research about Lu Mian and wanted to know what his wife thought.
Chu Yunyin's playful demeanour instantly sobered up. As a teacher, she had seen and helped a lot of children who had abusive families. She was adept at sniffing out abuse quickly.
"Reminds me a lot of my family" she said dryly. Her mother blatantly favored her brother and she had had a tough time growing up. One of the biggest reasons she said yes to Bai Renzhou was also because she wanted to leave home.
"Is your boss going to help?" she asked curiously. Her husband's boss was really thoughtful and kind hearted, despite how he looked or what society said. Chu Yunyin suspected he would help - she was interested in knowing how.
"You know giving money or just a visit wouldn't help her" she cautioned him. "In fact it would make it worse".
"His teacher asked him to help - the idea is that boss becomes her guardian. But you know boss, he wants to help but that is going too far for him." admitted Bai Renzhou. "It's a shame really this girl has no one."
"Maybe you could work something out with the mother's family?" Chu Yunyin pondered. She recalled her grandmother was her strongest support. When she was scolded or treated unfairly, her grandmother always stood up for her.
On the day of her wedding, it was her grandmother who secretly gave her the household register and encouraged her to start her new life. Till today she tolerated her relatives because of her filial piety to her grandma.
"I couldn't find anything about them." admitted Bai Renzhou, frowning. That was odd. He realized. Based on his skills, finding 8 generations of her family should've been no trouble at all.
"I can do it" volunteered Chu Yunyin suddenly. She knew how despairing it was to have no one stand up for her. Her A'zhou pulled her out of darkness. Not everyone can get that lucky.
Bai Renzhou knew exactly what his wife was thinking. He had been horrified at how awful his wife's family was. His biggest regret was that he didn't see her sooner.
"I am sorry YinYin" he murmured, holding her close. "I should;ve.."
"Oh hush. It was not your fault. Though I am glad you found me when you did, I am sorry too. I wish I had truly loved you then - not just seen a chance to escape." That was not fair to her husband. But they were both together now and would live their life well.
"Tell your boss I can be her guardian. I am old enough and I have the experience to help her. Anyway, it would be awkward for a little girl to live with a man and his son alone." She can use the spare bedroom here and I can help her with her studies she planned rapidly.
"Madam Bai are you not jealous or worried about letting a young woman into our house. What if she steals your husband?" Bai Renzhou asked with mock seriousness.
"She's a little girl you pervert!" Chu Yunyin smacked her husband. "And even when she comes of age, you are 5 years older than her - she won't be blind" she scoffed.
"Hey, I will have you know girls dig older men these days. Just the other day I had two young college girls asking me for directions" bragged Bai Renzhou.
"Is that so?" smiled Chu Yunyin sweetly. "Then once Secretary Bai finishes the guardianship transfer, he can move out - and find younger girls" she snapped and huffed away to eat her dinner alone.
"Honey, I was wrong… Baby…" the suave and intelligent Secretary Bai cursed himself for jumping into a hole and chased after his wife. He didn't want to sleep on the couch again.