Liu Yan taught Wen Yan'an in the water for less than twenty minutes before they came up.
The excuse was that one shouldn't push children too hard and should balance work and rest. Besides, he still had swimming techniques to explain.
Listening to Liu Yan's endless chatter, Fang Miaomiao found it incredibly annoying. "Can I make a suggestion?"
Liu Yan smiled. "Miaomiao, go ahead."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Miaomiao's face turned completely cold. "I don't think we're familiar enough for you to call me Miaomiao. Please address me as Mrs. Wen, thank you."
The smile on Liu Yan's face froze.
"Also, your student is An'an. Please don't loiter in front of me. If you don't like this job, you can simply say so. You don't have to come tomorrow."
"Miao..." Liu Yan met her icy gaze, swallowed nervously, and nodded. "Okay, Mrs. Wen, you've misunderstood. I love this job. I'll go teach An'an to swim right now. I apologize for disturbing you."
"This job is very important to me. I hope Mrs. Wen can give me another chance." Seeing her silence, Liu Yan continued with a trembling voice, "I... I was just momentarily out of my mind. I didn't do anything. Mrs. Wen, please."
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Wen Yan'an, after resting, saw the coach still talking to his mother and ran over curiously.
"It's nothing. I was just discussing your learning progress with the coach."
Wen Yan'an looked happily at Liu Yan, as if seeking praise.
"Yes, An'an, I was just telling your mother that you did very well just now. You'll definitely become a swimming master one day."
"Mom, really?" Wen Yan'an looked shyly at Fang Miaomiao. "I thought I wasn't good enough."
He had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water in the pool earlier.
However, seeing his mother not far away, he felt he could persevere.
Indeed, persistence paid off.
The coach had praised him.
Fang Miaomiao looked at Wen Yan'an, who was seeking praise, his tail wagging non-stop behind him.
She shook her head dotingly and gestured for Wen Yan'an to come to her.
Once her hand could reach his head, she affirmed, "Yes, our An'an is the best. I've been watching you the whole time. You are the most amazing treasure in my eyes."
After speaking, she felt the imaginary tail behind Wen Yan'an wagging even more vigorously.
"Mom, the coach and I are going to practice again."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
Fang Miaomiao waved dismissively and popped a grape into her mouth.
It was delicious.
Her phone vibrated.
It was a video call from Wen Zhiyan.
She answered.
"Hey there."
"Miaomiao, are you at the pool?"
"Mmm," Fang Miaomiao nodded. "Didn't I arrange for our darling son to learn to swim?"
Wen Zhiyan's eyes flickered. He remembered he hadn't arranged a swimming instructor for An'an. So, where did this swimming instructor come from?
"What is Yaoyao doing?"
Fang Miaomiao shifted the phone slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Can't you see? She's being an audience."
"How is she doing as an audience?"
"Very well. She has a comfortable chair and a maid serving her fruit."
"Are you enjoying your time at the Imperial Garden?"
"It's alright."
As long as Old Madam Ran wasn't around, she felt perfectly content.
Wen Zhiyan's lips curved slightly. "Dad specially asked Mother to take her friends on a trip so that you and An'an could return to the Imperial Garden."
"This little life sounds nice."
Fang Miaomiao blurted out the sentence before realizing what she had said. She quickly tried to salvage it. "No, I meant I want to retire too, living a life of traveling around."
"Is Miaomiao considering early retirement?" Wen Zhiyan gazed at Miaomiao in the lens with gentle, covetous eyes. She was his Miaomiao, the love of his life.
"I can't consider it," Fang Miaomiao shook her head. Retire? For someone like her, a poor person, early retirement was impossible. Especially with the possibility of Wen Zhiyan going bankrupt later, she couldn't retire early.
Thinking of this, Fang Miaomiao subtly hinted at the possibility of bankruptcy to Wen Zhiyan. However, she saw him looking at her with a smile and confidently stating that he would never go bankrupt.
Fang Miaomiao's lips twitched. She really wanted to tell Wen Zhiyan, 'What if your biological father orchestrated your downfall?' But then again, he might not believe her even if she said it.
"Miaomiao?"
"Hmm?" Fang Miaomiao snapped back to attention. "I'm here."
"I've opened a studio for you."
"A studio?" Fang Miaomiao's pupils widened, disbelief in her ears. "Wen Zhiyan, are you serious?"
Wen Zhiyan nodded. "I was planning to tell you when I got back, but your new drama is about to start, isn't it? I don't want my Miaomiao to be without an agent or an assistant."
Xin Xuanlai had told him that artists without backing or a company in the entertainment industry were easily bullied. He couldn't be by Miaomiao's side every day, so he had to find people to protect his Miaomiao.
"When... when did you start preparing for this?"
"After you terminated your contract." Wen Zhiyan, uncharacterently flustered, confessed. "I wasn't trying to hide it from you. It was Xin Xuanlai. Xin Xuanlai said girls like surprises and a sense of occasion, so I thought when I returned, it would be around the start of the new drama, and I'd give it to you then."
Who knew Chen Tianming would be so unreasonable and announce it prematurely?
There wasn't even a dedicated person to manage Miaomiao's comments, and there were so many haters.
"Wen Zhiyan."
"Ah?" Wen Zhiyan, still thinking of an explanation, looked at Fang Miaomiao blankly, unsure what to say.
"Thank you."
Wen Zhiyan's lips curved upward. "As long as Miaomiao likes it. Miaomiao, don't be afraid. You can do anything you want. I'll be your support from behind."
Fang Miaomiao smiled brightly. "Do you know what your actions are called in the entertainment industry?"
Wen Zhiyan blinked, confused. "What?"
"Sugar daddy."
Wen Zhiyan frowned, his handsome brows furrowed. "No."
"Yes, yes, yes, no, no. You're my boyfriend."
"Someone will take you to see your studio tomorrow. I'll give you your agent's number later."
"Okay," Fang Miaomiao nodded. "Thank you."
"Do we still need to say thank you between us?"
"No need, no thanks," Fang Miaomiao smiled meaningfully. "Wen Zhiyan, when you get back, I'll repay you properly."
Her sweet, slightly seductive smile, coupled with her suggestive words, made Wen Zhiyan's face flush. He habitually reached for a glass of water to cover his nervousness, but in his haste, he knocked the cup over onto the table.
"Miaomiao, I have some things to attend to here. I'll call you back when I'm not so busy."
He hung up the phone without noticing Fang Miaomiao's teasing smile on the other end.