Chapter 5

　　Lauren had no choice but to make something up, \"I became a temporary employee at another company, I have to be familiar with it. Besides that, the supervisor hasn\'t left yet, so I can\'t leave either.\"

　　Melanie also understood that work culture is unescapable, she sighed and said, \"Well then, I\'ll find you another date for another day. Don\'t stress yourself out at work, okay?\"

　　\"Don\'t worry, I won\'t. Bye, Mom.\"

　　Lauren hung up and Jenny sighed in relief. \"Did she find anything out? Honestly, she needs to stop worrying about you so much.\"

　　After a brief pause, she said, \"But then again, do you really plan on listening to your mother\'s arrangement for a blind date, and forget about Terrence completely?\"

　　The expression on Lauren\'s face didn\'t change. \"I should have forgotten him a long time ago. Besides, you said he is a scumbag, so why are we still talking about him?\"

　　\"Hah, yeah, you\'re right!\" Jenny agreed.

　　At the same time, two men were sitting at a table not too far from them.

　　One of them was perfect, he was devilishly good-looking. It was as if God himself had sculpted his face.

　　His facial features were deep, he was as sharp as a knife, and his lips were thinly pressed. He exudes an aura of a successful businessman just by sitting down.

　　\"Mr. Gu, about this contract...\" the man wiped off the sweat from his nervousness.

　　Terrence just smiled faintly. The man knew that Terrence was a master of psychology and negotiation.

　　\"We will meet again next week.\"

　　Terrence stood up suddenly, closed the buttons of his suit, and without being rude, chose to end the meeting.

　　It wasn\'t until Terrence walked away that the man sitting in the seat recovered and scratched his head anxiously.

　　Terrence is not an ordinary person, he will make people suffer to get what he wants, but he doesn\'t offend anyone, not like this.

　　He was annoyed. The atmosphere was very good at first, but when the two women at the next table left, he suddenly became cold. He doubted whether it was just a coincidence.

　　...

　　Lauren returned to her apartment in the evening, she went into the bedroom and collapsed directly on the bed, she was completely fatigued.

　　She thought that today might be the worst day of her life.

　　Not only was she scolded by her boss, but she was also ignored by her ex-husband. She felt like she was wronged.

　　There was a knock on the door.

　　\"Lauren, are you asleep?\" Melanie asked outside the door.

　　Lauren got out of bed and stretched on the way to the door. \"Not yet. Come in, Mom.\"

　　Lauren opened the door, Melanie had brought her a bowl of lotus seed porridge. \"The summer heat is harsh this year, have some ice porridge to relieve the heat.\"

　　\"Thanks, Mom!\" Lauren said as she took it.

　　As she said this, her mother took out two bills and put them on her lap, \"This is the bill from Christine\'s teacher, it\'s the custody fee for the second half of the year, and I need to buy my heart medicine. Do you have enough money? \"

　　Lauren calculated it, and it was barely enough, but she couldn\'t tell the truth. \"Just enough, I got another part-time job on Friday.\"

　　Melanie nodded, but she tried to convince her daughter. \"You need to find a good man quickly. You\'re wasting your life supporting your own family, you need to take care of yourself once in a while. Finish the porridge quickly and go to bed after, okay?\"

　　Melanie didn\'t notice her strangeness, and Lauren was happy she didn\'t need to explain what happened today.

　　\"Okay, Mom, I will.\"

　　Five years ago, Jenny sent her to the hospital while she was in labor. She almost had a miscarriage, but fortunately the child survived.

　　Melanie didn\'t want her to be with Terrence since the beginning, when she learned that her niece liked him too, she objected more seriously.

　　From childhood to adulthood, Melanie preferred her niece more than her own daughter, that she even forced her to abort the child.

　　She was physically weak, but for the sake of her child, Lauren knelt in front of her mother almost every day, begging her to keep the child.

　　She just got divorced, but she didn\'t care about anything else, except for the baby girl in her stomach.

　　After months of begging, Melanie finally agreed to her request for as long as she doesn\'t interact with the Gu family ever again. She didn\'t break her promise and used her contacts to help her keep the child.

　　She was worried about her affairs day and night, all while she was suffering from a serious heart disease.

　　Over the past few nights, Lauren had nightmares about her mother, she has little energy to go to work during the day because of these.

　　In the company, she was also afraid. She was not worried that Anna would get her revenge on her. She understood that Anna\'s position forces her to keep her public and private lives separate.

　　What really worries her was whether or not the signing went smoothly and whether it was affected by her mistake.

　　Colleagues in the evaluation department got together in twos and threes, betting on whether or not she will lose her job. As the saying goes, good news goes around, but bad news travel a thousand miles.

　　Rumors spread like wildfire. Most of them became false as they reached further. Fortunately, the rumors seemed to have stopped for now, which made her feel at ease.

　　Lauren secretly concluded that in the future, she must be careful not to make another mistake like this, otherwise the rumors will start right where it ended.