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Mashuer's home is an apartment in a high-end downtown neighborhood, showcasing the owner's simple yet luxurious taste.

Several abstract oil paintings hung on the wall, and a grand piano that looked like it hadn't been played in a long time sat in the corner.

However, Su Ning felt that Ma Shuer had no taste at all, and her arrogance was simply too much to bear.

Seeing Ma Jiming's heartbroken and sad face, Ma Shuer reluctantly caught up with Su Ning again, "So, what exactly are your conditions?"

Su Ning turned around and looked at the beautiful yet savage woman.

Today she wore a white shirt and dark gray suit pants, her hair was neatly pulled back, and her eyes behind her glasses were as sharp as an eagle's.

Even at home, she maintains the demeanor of someone who could go to court at any time.

“No conditions whatsoever! I don’t want to work in your house, and I have absolutely no interest in you as my employer.”

"Actually... Ma Jiming has chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a globally recognized incurable disease, so I don't want him to feel disappointed."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I... so if you have any conditions, just say so."

"..."

"I've never spoken softly to anyone before, so please consider this my request."

“Two conditions.” Su Ning held up two fingers.

"No problem! I'll agree to any of your conditions."

"First, I need to stay here. My room is my private space, and you must respect that. Second, put away your condescending attitude. I am not your subordinate, much less your servant."

Ma Shuer's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and her lips tightened.

Su Ning could almost see her mind rapidly weighing the pros and cons, which was, of course, an instinctive reaction of an excellent lawyer.

“Okay.” Ma Shu’er finally nodded, but handed over a contract. “I’ll prepare a labor agreement for you.”

"..."

"Hurry up and sign it!" Ma Shuer pushed the agreement in front of him, the pen already uncapped and placed aside.

Suning picked up the agreement and quickly scanned it, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Six days a week, 12 hours a day? On call at all times? And this clause—'Party B must unconditionally obey Party A's reasonable work arrangements'?" He looked up and sneered, "Attorney Ma, are you looking for a nanny or a slave?"

Mashuer pushed up her glasses: "This is a standard labor contract template. If you have any objections, we can negotiate modifications."

“No need.” Su Ning put the agreement back on the table. “I don’t sign this kind of beast of burden contract. Besides, given your eccentric personality, your salary must be paid in advance every month.”

"This is against the rules!" Ma Shuer's voice suddenly rose. "Without a contract, how am I supposed to know you won't take the money and run?"

“Since there’s no foundation of trust, you can find someone else.” Su Ning made a move to leave. “Anyway, it’s not that I wanted to stay; I just didn’t want to hurt Ma Jiming.”

As expected, Ma Shuer's expression clearly wavered when her son, Ma Jiming, was mentioned.

She was biting her lower lip, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

Su Ning noticed a faint mark on her left ring finger, where she used to wear a wedding ring, but had taken it off.

"...Okay." In the end, she compromised with reality, after all, she was now at her wit's end.

What she needs most right now is to settle things for her son and family, and then find a job as soon as possible to support them.

However, Ma Shuer still looked at Su Ning in front of her and made a request, "But you must make sure to take good care of Xiao Mo! His situation is really a bit special."

“I know all the precautions for caring for children with leukemia,” Su Ning interrupted her. “For chronic myeloid leukemia, regular medication is necessary, infection should be avoided, and nutrition should be balanced.”

Ma Shuer looked at him in surprise: "You... did you do the research?"

"Of course! Do you think I'd just agree to take care of a sick child so easily? I'm a professional in domestic services." Su Ning couldn't help but snort.

"Hmph! Bragging doesn't cost anything."

"Alright! I don't have time to chat with you! Now, can you take me to see the kitchen? It's lunchtime."

"Alright! Please come with me." Sure enough, Ma Shuer's attitude improved a lot.

Sometimes you can't be too nice to a woman, otherwise she'll definitely take advantage of you.

The kitchen is spacious and bright, and has all kinds of kitchen utensils, but it is obviously not used very often.

The refrigerator was empty except for a few cartons of milk, eggs, and frozen food.

"Is this all you usually eat?" Su Ning frowned.

Ma Shuer looked slightly embarrassed: "I'm busy with work... so I usually order takeout. Xiao Mo has a special nutritional meal delivery service, but he doesn't like to eat it."

"No wonder that kid is so skinny, like a bean sprout." Su Ning muttered, took out her phone and quickly ordered a bunch of ingredients. "Delivered in half an hour! Let's make a few simple home-style dishes today."

When the deliveryman brought over bags of groceries, Ma Shuer was sitting on the living room sofa, flipping through legal documents with a furrowed brow.

Suning glanced at the document and noticed that the title was "Materials for the Second Instance of a Medical Dispute Case".

"Attorney Ma, are you in trouble?" he asked casually.

Ma Shuer slammed the folder shut, her expression wary: "This is none of your business. Focus on cooking."

Suning shrugged and carried the ingredients into the kitchen.

He deftly processed various ingredients—washing vegetables, cutting meat, and making soup—all in one smooth motion.

Soon, an enticing aroma wafted from the kitchen.

"Wow! It smells so good!" Ma Jiming ran out of his room, his face flushed with excitement. "Big brother, what delicious food are you making?"

"Sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed sea bass, chicken slices with egg white, garlic broccoli, and a corn and pork rib soup." Su Ning smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Go wash your hands, dinner will be served soon."

"yes, Sir."

Ma Shuer stood at the kitchen doorway, watching her son's unusually cheerful expression, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

When the four dishes and one soup were placed on the table, she couldn't help but take a deep breath: "This... looks really good."

"Try it." Su Ning served each of them a bowl of rice.

Ma Jimu eagerly picked up a piece of pork rib and stuffed it into her mouth, her eyes immediately lighting up: "Mom! It's so delicious! Even better than the ones in restaurants!"

Ma Shuer took a bite of the fish with some skepticism, but the tender fish meat immediately melted in her mouth, and the perfect seasoning made her involuntarily pick up another piece with her chopsticks.

The three of them ate in silence, the only sound being the clinking of bowls and chopsticks on the table.

"Mom, you ate two bowls of rice!" Ma Jiming suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Ma Shuer then realized that she had unknowingly added more rice to her bowl, and her ears turned slightly red: "I... I was just hungry."

Su Ning suppressed a laugh: "It's a good thing you can eat. How long has it been since you guys had a proper meal?"

Ma Shuer put down her chopsticks, her expression returning to its professional calm: "This is not within your job scope. However, your cooking skills have indeed exceeded my expectations."

"Big brother, will you cook for us every day from now on?" Ma Jiming asked Su Ning expectantly.

"That depends on whether your mother can afford the salary," Su Ning said, half-jokingly and half-seriously. Sure enough, Su Ning's words caused Ma Shu'er's expression to change drastically; she was now almost at her wit's end.

Just then, Ma Shuer's phone rang.

When she glanced at the caller ID, her expression changed slightly: "I'll take this call."

I walked quickly to the balcony.

Su Ning vaguely heard her lowered voice, "Please give me another chance, the last case really wasn't my fault..."

As he was clearing away the dishes, Ma Shuer returned, her face terribly gloomy.

"Xiao Mo, it's time for your afternoon nap," she commanded.

After the boy reluctantly left, Ma Shuer turned to Su Ning: "Fang Yuan, you'll officially start work tomorrow. Your room is at the end of the corridor, and it's already been prepared. Salary..."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll transfer the money to you now, along with the money for the groceries."

Su Ning keenly noticed her hesitation when money was mentioned: "Attorney Ma, if I may be frank, are you... facing some financial difficulties?"

Ma Shuer suddenly looked up, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes, which was then replaced by anger: "This is not your business! Remember who you are! Besides, my financial situation is none of your concern."

"Fine! I don't have anywhere to live right now either! I'll move in later. I hope you can keep your promise to me and put away your arrogance and disdain."

Mashuer took a deep breath. "Whatever."

Su Ning shrugged and walked towards Ma Jiming's room.

He pushed open the door and saw the boy sitting on the bed flipping through a picture book.

Ma Jiming whispered, "Big brother, Mom's just in a bad mood lately. She wasn't like this before."

“Oh? What was she like before?” Su Ning asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“She used to laugh, play with me, and take me to the park.” Ma Jiming lowered his head. “She changed after I got sick. And… she hasn’t been to work for a long time.”

Su Ning nodded thoughtfully: "Your mother loves you very much, but she's under too much pressure. Go to sleep! I'll take you for a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon."

"Thank you, brother."

When Su Ning returned to the living room, he found Ma Shuer staring blankly at the computer screen, with several documents and... a certificate of authenticity for a designer handbag spread out on the table?
Ma Shuer hurriedly closed the document, but Suning had already seen the words "consignment agreement" on it.

"Have you seen enough?" she asked coldly.

“Attorney Ma,” Su Ning suddenly said, “do you know why I insisted on not signing the contract?”

"why?"

“Because contracts are made for people who don’t trust.” Su Ning looked directly into her eyes. “And I choose to trust you, and I hope you can trust me too.”

Ma Shuer was stunned, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just turned her face away.

"Alright! Remember to get up at six tomorrow to make breakfast."

Then Su Ning returned to the hotel, checked out, and handed over her luggage to Ma Shuer's house.

Just as Su Ning arrived at Ma Shuer's house, her phone suddenly rang.

The words "refined writing" displayed on the screen made him frown.

"Aren't you going to answer?" Ma Shuer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Former employer, this is troublesome.” Su Ning pressed the reject button.

But Gao Yawen was clearly not giving up, and soon sent a text message: [Fang Yuan, I have an emergency! Answer the phone!]

The phone rang again, and Su Ning answered it reluctantly: "Ms. Gao, I've already said that our employment relationship has ended. Could you please stop calling me?"

"Fang Yuan!" Gao Yawen's voice came through the microphone, carrying her characteristic tone that brooked no refusal. "I need you as my dance partner recently! It's for the charity ball next month, and I've already enrolled you in dance classes!"

“I’m not interested,” Suning replied coldly. “Besides, I have a new job now.”

“What job could be more important than what I’m doing here?” Gao Yawen’s voice rose eight octaves. “Daniel keeps asking when you’re going to come see him! How can you be so heartless?”

Su Ning, however, said dismissively, "Ms. Gao, this is a job that is dispensable. There is no causal relationship between us."

"You!..." Gao Yawen's voice trembled with anger, "Fang Yuan, you'll regret this!"

After hanging up the phone, Su Ning noticed that Ma Shuer was looking at him thoughtfully: "Relationship troubles?"

“A professional dispute,” Su Ning corrected. “Just like you, your former employer is unwilling to let go.”

"Hmph! Looks like you're still the top male nanny after all." Ma Shuer said with a mocking expression.

Just then, a coughing sound came from Ma Jiming's room.

Ma Shuer's expression changed, and she immediately rushed inside.

Su Ning followed closely behind and saw the boy gagging by the bedside.

"Ji Mo, where's your medicine?"

"The medicine...the medicine is in the drawer..." Ma Jimu said weakly.

Mashuer frantically searched for the medicine bottle and poured out a white pill.

Suning quickly poured a glass of warm water and handed it over.

"This is..." he asked, looking at the foreign language label on the medicine bottle.

“Gleevec,” Mashuer replied briefly, helping her son take the pill. “Sometimes it causes nausea.”

Suning noticed the price tag on the medicine bottle—nearly 10,000 yuan per box.

Looking again at Ma Shuer's haggard profile and the consignment agreement on the table, he suddenly understood something.

"It will be alright," he said softly, whether to Ma Jimu or Ma Shuer.

Ma Shuer looked up, her guardedness seeming to lessen somewhat: "Thank you."

These two words were spoken softly, but Su Ning could hear the sincerity in them.

Outside the window, the setting sun cast long, intertwined shadows of the three people.

Immediately afterward, Suning's phone rang again; it was Daniel calling.

"Ma Shuer, I have to go out for a bit."

"Please."

Then Suning went outside the residential area and called Daniel, making up an excuse that he was busy with work.

Actually, Daniel was a really pitiful child. After Gao Yawen went to jail, Daniel was taken away by Gao Yawen's parents.

However, Daniel's biological father selfishly abandoned him for the sake of his own family, so it's easy to imagine that his future life would be anything but happy.

However, Suning is not omnipotent. This world is full of tragedies like this. If anyone is to blame, it's his parents for being too irresponsible.

...(End of chapter)