“Welcome to our new home sweeeeeet hoooooooome~” Wei Lan twirled in delight inside the front hall of her new mansion. She looked like an excited little girl as she spun around. Then she suddenly stopped and became fierce as she strutted like the former model that she was before striking an alluring pose at the foot of the grand staircase.
Randy was ready and snapped several photos of her from different angles. “Beautiful! Stunning!”
Wei Lan stopped posing and checked the photos Randy took. “Ooooh! I like thiiiiiiis one and thaaaaaaat one. Ugh! What is thaaaaat?! Delete thaaaaaaat horror! Edit the ones I chose, Raaaaaaandy doll. Make sure to smooooooth out the wrinkles, okaaaaay? So uglyyyyyyy!”
“What wrinkles? All I see is an elegant and beautiful vizcondesa who looks as young as your daughter, Miss Xiulan.”
“Oh, yoooooouuuuu!” She gave the Zumba instructor a playful smack on his muscled arm. Then she turned to face the large decorative mirror to check out her reflection. She smiled, extremely pleased at what she was seeing. “Indeed, sooooooo many people have been telling me lately that my daughter and I looooooook like sisters!”
“Do you want me to post these photos on your local blog and on Snappygram too, Vizcondesa?” Randy asked.
“Yes! Think up a smart-sounding status for meeeeeee. Okay, Raaaaaandy doll?”
“No problem, Vizcondesa.”
While the two were preoccupied with creating the perfect status update to show off the new mansion, Yi Mei was directing the movers and the younger penthouse staff where to put the rest of Wei Lan’s countless wardrobe items. These were basically the only things that Wei Lan brought from her daughter’s penthouse to her new home. Almost everything in the mansion was newly bought from the furniture to the appliances and were all already set up by her interior design team before the official move today.
It wasn’t Yi Mei’s job to help out Wei Lan in her move today but the old housekeeper had surprisingly grown a bit attached to Wei Lan ever since the woman started temporarily living in her daughter’s penthouse. Wei Lan was still narcissistic as always but her toxic personality had improved by leaps and bounds compared to how she had been prior to getting married to her new husband, the Spanish viscount. As long as Wei Lan didn’t give trouble to the Young Miss Xiulan—no, she was the new Young Madam Jin now—Yi Mei didn’t mind helping out the woman as needed.
“Yi Meeeeeeeei~” Wei Lan called.
“Yes, Vizcondesa,” the old housekeeper replied and headed to where Wei Lan and Randy were hanging out by the staircase.
“Are you suuuuuuuuure that you don’t want to come with meeeeeeeee here? Look! My mansion is sooooooooo much biiiiiiiiiigger and beeeeeeeetter than my daughter’s penthouse!”
“Thank you for your offer, Vizcondesa. I appreciate it. Really, I do. But this humble housekeeper is already so old. This mansion is too big that my old bones won’t be able to keep up working here. Young Miss Xiulan—I mean the Young Madam’s penthouse is where I’ve already grown comfortable after working there for years.”
Wei Lan pouted and sighed in a dramatic manner. “Fine! This vizcondesa has a biiiiiiiig heart so I won’t force yoooooooouuuu if you don’t want to leave thaaaaaaat little penthouse.”
‘What little? The penthouse occupies the entire two top-most floors of the condominium building. There are families struggling to fit everyone in a small box of an apartment and yet this tone-deaf woman calls a massive luxury penthouse in the city little?’
Yi Mei fought the urge to roll her eyes. Fortunately, her decades of experience as a professional housekeeper gave her the ability to maintain a neutral expression regardless of her true thoughts and emotions inside.
Then Wei Lan added, “I just wiiiiiiiish that my next housekeeper is as goooooood as you, Yi Meeeeeeei.”
Yi Mei’s mood improved after hearing the praise. She made a little bow before excusing herself to continue directing the movers.
Then the big main double doors opened. René Alejandro entered and immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“Oooooooh, you’re heeeeere!” Wei Lan beamed and waited for her stepson to come to her.
René Alejandro headed straight to her and gave her two kisses on her cheeks. “Mamá.”
Then he greeted Randy and the others. He looked around the place and nodded in appreciation.
“You like our new hooooooooome?” Wei Lan asked.
“Yes, Mamá. It’s just right for our family, no?”
Her smile became brighter when he said “our family”. She tossed her perfectly blow-dried hair over her shoulder and felt proud of herself.
“Your bedroom is ready, my deeeeeaaar. Do you neeeeeed help in moooooving your stuff?”
“Thank you, Mamá, but no need. I’m already this big so I should handle my own things, no? I also have my brothers to help me. They’re at the guest house right now and organizing their own things.”
“Ooooooh! Do they liiiiiiiike it there?”
“Of course, Mamá. They love it, as I do.”
“Excellent!” Wei Lan beamed again. “Go and join your friends, my deeeeaaaar René Alejandro. I’ll have some snaaaacks and driiiiiinks sent to the guest house. Later toniiiiiiiight, we can have our first eveeeeeeer dinner at our new hooooooooome together with Raaaaaandy doll and your friends!”
René Alejandro agreed to her plan. He was about to return to the guest house when an unfamiliar group entered the mansion. He might not know the new arrivals but could figure out their identities based on their outfits. All of them were wearing sharp bodyguard suits.
The man leading the group greeted Wei Lan while handing her a huge bouquet of flowers. “Vizcondesa Lan, our master and mistress send you their congratulations on moving to your new home. Please accept their small tokens of housewarming and good wishes.”
His comrades immediately presented Wei Lan an assortment of extravagant presents. There was even a key for a luxury car. It was obvious that the gifts weren’t “small” tokens at all. Wei Lan didn’t stand on ceremony and readily (almost greedily) accepted everything.
“Dear Liwei and my daughter sent all of these?” she asked.
“Yes, Vizcondesa. They also instructed us to give you this.”
Wei Lan received a beautiful and elegant sealed invitation. René Alejandro also received one. The stepmom and stepson looked at each other. They had no idea what the invitations were for.
