Chapter 10 I Don’t Sell My Body (3)
"What? So you are not going to reason with me? All of these things, you have bought it on your own accord. I never said I want any of them as you shove them at me. Are you really going to pretend that we have agreed on this?"
"If you have so much to say, you better say them to the judge in court!"
Johnny gnashed his teeth but he couldn't refute her. He could only come to a resignation, "Alright, I can do that too, but you have to raise my wage."
"Raise your wage? Is ten thousand a month not enough to you?"
"Of course. I have reiterated that I won't do anything criminal and against my moral belief. Obviously, what you want me to do now has gone against my moral belief. It has gone against my bottom line. So, I need a raise, to compensate for my mental damage. I have to go through a lot of anguish to lie to a child every day, you know."
"I have seen many people going crazy for money, but I have never seen someone who craves for money as much as you. You are practically shameless at this point. Fine, how much do you want for a month?" "Fifteen thousand. The additional five thousand is to compensate for my mental damdage." Johnny rolled his eyes around before coming to a number.
"An extra five thousand? Alright, I can do that. However, if you don't follow my instructions closely, I will sue you. Listen, the kindergarten that my son is in is a boarding school. He will be at school from Sunday night to Friday afternoon. Wednesday is Open Day, so you need to come with me to see my son every Wednesday to have lunch together. Your job only falls on Wednesday every week."
"That's great, what about weekends?"
"I will fetch him home every weekend and accompany him personally. I will tell him that you have gone to other regions to work, and you can only see him every Wednesday. Other than that, the whole school would think of you as his biological father, which means you will be thought of as my husband. That includes the school teachers. Therefore, I hope that you can cooperate well with me in school and don't give yourself away in front of others. Secondly, you are the father to my son, so I hope you can maintain a gentlemanly image. You can't make me lose face, and you can't make my son lose face. Remember, you're supposed to be a successful CEO, which is why I have made you dress up like this today. Furthermore, I hope that you can treat my son with care, and don't just hoke him. I hope he can feel some fatherly love from you to fill up the hole in his heart. These are my requirements, and you must fulfil all of that." Jasmine slowly explained, and she was very serious about what she had just said.
"You don't have anything to worry about. As long as I am paid enough, everything can be done." Johnny thought about his monthly salary of fifteen thousand and he couldn't suppress his delight.
Jasmine stared at Johnny's face which looks exactly like a moneygrubber and she couldn't help feeling disgusted once again. She started to doubt her decision to hire Johnny to play the role of her son's father "Get off now." Jasmine drove to the parking lot before commanding Johnny.
"Alright, alright. You don't have to sound so rude." Johnny muttered while getting off her car.
Then, Johnny followed Jasmine to a school building.
Jasmine then knocked on the door of an office before pushing the door open.
"Ms. Ward, nice day!"
"Hey, good day to you. Have a seat, Ms. Wong." Ms. Ward was acting very passionately towards her, and then she caught a glimpse of Johnny, which made her pause, "May I know who is this?" "Me?" Johnny suddenly felt at a loss for words.
"He is Samuel's dad," Jasmine glanced at Johnny as she introduced him to Ms. Ward.
"Oh, good to see you! I have heard Ms. Wong here mentioning you many times in the past. I am Samuel's homeroom teacher, and my name is Ms. Ward."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Ward. I am thankful for your continued tutelage and care for Sam." Johnny froze for a moment before shaking hands with Ms. Ward. "That's what I should do. Have a seat, you guys!"
"Ms. Ward, may I know how is Samuel doing in school nowadays?" Jasmine began.
"Alas! Even if you didn't come visit today, I would have called you here anyway. Samuel has become more and more unruly nowadays. Yesterday, he has fought with three students here and he had played truant today. The other students are studying in the classroom, and only he alone has escaped, not willing to go back to class. No matter how we teachers try, we can't make him go back. He even hit us, you know. We have been put into a dilemma. We decided to punish him by making him stand still for half an hour. I hope you can understand this decision. For the matter of his education, I hope that you can cooperate with us teachers to try to modify his personality. According to my observation, I found that he is very reclusive. He plays alone without any interaction with the other kids, and he loves to fight with others. This is serious and we need to pay more attention to help him get better!" Ms. Ward slowly described the problem.
"I'm really, really sorry, Ms. Ward. It seems that I have brought you lots of troubles." Jasmine sounded very apologetic.
"You don't have to say that. This is part of my duty, and we are held responsible too for failing to educate him well. Let me bring you to him!" Ms. Ward said with a smile as she motioned for Jasmine and Johnny to follow her to the classroom.
"According to our analysis, Ms. Wong, let me be straight with you. The reason Samuel becomes so isolated might be due to your lack of attention on him. Perhaps you didn't spend enough time with him at home too. The best teachers for a child are actually his or her parents, and you can even say that parents are the most important teachers to their children. If it is possible, I hope the two of you can shower more attention on him, even if it's just accompanying him during his playtime. Mr. Wong, you are usually not at home, but now that you are back, please stay with your son more. If you can do that, your son would make an amazing turnaround in no time. According to a scientific study, a child always craves for fatherly love." Ms. Ward explained as they walked.
"Thank you, Ms. Ward. We will do so." Jasmine answered while nodding.
"That would be great. Let me call him out here." Ms. Ward answered before entering her classroom.
"This kindergarten looks great. How much is the tuition fee for a semester?" Johnny scanned his surroundings while asking Jasmine.
"Is that something you should ask? Don't forget about your role." Jasmine spoke in a cold, hushed tone to Johnny.
Johnny pursed his mouth with dissatisfaction.
"Mum, you are really here!" Suddenly, a boy flew out from the classroom and threw himself at Jasmine's embrace.
"Samuel, I have come here to see you. Come, let me bring you to your favorite pizza joint." Jasmine scooped him up and made her way out.
"That's great! So great!" The boy danced around happily before noticing Johnny on their side. He asked immediately, "Who is this? Why is he with us?"
Only then did Jasmine noticed Johnny's existence. She simply said, "Samuel, he is your dad. He has come back from abroad, and he came to see you today. Are you happy about that?"
"You liar, he is not my dad at all." Samuel interrupted abruptly.
Both Jasmine and Johnny were stunned when they heard that. They didn't expect that this child was so smart to the point of seeing through him at first glance.
"What makes you say that?"
"Yeah, why do you think that I am not your dad?" Johnny chipped in.
"My mother has told me that you were abroad, and I have seen a foreigner before. One of my classmates' father is a foreigner, and he looks nothing like you." Samuel explained with a serious expression on his face.
The two of them who were initially nervous cracked into laughter when they heard his words.