Vivian was in a dilemma about whether to return to work.

In the end, she made up her mind to return to work.

...

Now that she got everything figured out, all she had to do was to convince Leo. She knew that Leo would be unhappy with her constantly changing her mind.

After dinner, Vivian brought up the topic.

“Honey, I have thought things through, and I think I should go back to work.”

“What’s wrong with you?!” Obviously, Leo was discontented, “How can you change your mind like the wind? One phone call, and you’re going back on your words. What do you see our promise for?”

“Don’t be mad. I know it’s my fault, but I honestly don’t want to give up my job. I’ve poured in all my hard work to the job, and I don’t want to quit just like that.”

Standing up, Leo walked to the coffee table and wanted to have a cigarette. However, he noticed that his cigarettes, lighter and ashtray were all gone. It was only then that he remembered his wife threw all these kind of stuff away.

Left with no choice, he walked back to the dining table, picked up a cup of water, and gulped it down.

“I am not in favor of you going back. I have no idea what happened, but since the vice headmaster had already fired you, I see no reason for the headmaster to rehire you.”

Hearing Leo’s words, Vivian frowned. It was indeed weird for them to rehire her. It seemed like there was more to it.

Vivian wondered if it were Victor’s doings.

Judging by Victor’s character, he might not let her go so easily if she went back.

Nevertheless, she was not worried about that issue. In Vivian’s eyes, Victor was nothing more than a jumped-up nobody. She had nothing to fear about him.

“I don’t think it’s that complicated. Maybe Mr. Andrew thinks he shouldn’t fire me, that’s why he decided to rehire me.” Vivian tried to come up with an excuse.

“You’re too naive.” Leo said in disdain.

“Who do you think you are? Why would Mr. Andrew rehire you? Are you even that important to the school?”

After hearing his hurtful words, Vivian’s expression started to change.

Not noticing the change in her mood, Leo continued, “Have you ever thought that your return might cause problems between the headmaster and Mr. Andrew? Mr. Andrew might feel that the headmaster is not respecting him by rehiring someone he fired.”

“You’re thinking too much. I don’t care whether if they argue or not. I’m not going back for them anyway.”

Vivian answered unhappily, not wavering even for a second.

Finally, Leo noticed her dissatisfaction. Knowing that Vivian would not change her mind so easily, he tried to persuade her using another approach.

“Alright, let’s put them aside. Try thinking from a different angle. Don’t think of it as me forcing you to stay home, think of how our home needs you instead.”

“What do you mean? Are you trying to say that a woman’s role is solely to serve her parents-in-law and take care of her family? What about her dreams and career? Who are you to tie my life to our family?” Furious, Vivian retorted.

Leo was surprised upon hearing what Vivian said.

“Why are you feeling this way? When did I ever ask you to do that?”

“Although you never said it out loud, I know that’s how you feel. You’re a male dominance, and you always wanted me to become a full-time housewife. You think I'm weak and not capable of work!”

With disappointment, Vivian stared at Leo. She could not understand why he insisted on making her stay home. Was he looking down on her job?

Knowing that Vivian had misunderstood him, he tried to explain patiently.

“Honey, let’s stop arguing. Since we’re on this topic, I want to have a talk with you about this? Is that okay?”

“Alright. Go ahead then.”

“First of all, let’s talk about my parents. They are very open-minded, and they never think of letting you serve them. They already book themselves a place at a luxurious retirement home. The caregivers know how to take care of them better than us, so they don’t need you to serve them at all!”

Indeed, Leo was right. His parents never demanded her to serve them, nor did they interfere with their married life.

Seeing Vivian keeping quiet, Leo continued, “My parents mentioned before that they want to enjoy their retirement life, and they won’t take care of our babies for us. Your parents are less likely going to help us out either. In that case, one of us will need to stay home. Who do you think should be the one who stays home then?”

Hearing that, Vivian hesitated. She was trying to get pregnant now. Once she gets pregnant, she would have to stay in the house for a while, at least half a year.

Not being able to depend on her in-laws nor parents, they had to take care of their child on their own. Leo was right. One of them was bound to stay home, and of course, she would have to be the one who does that.

To put it simply, she could not feed the whole family with that poor salary of hers. Moreover, she had to hide the fact that she was rich.

Otherwise, all her lies would go to waste.

Hence, Vivian decided to take a step back. She knew what to choose between work and family, but she did not want to leave any regrets.

“In that case, I’ll go back for now and quit at the end of the semester. I swear I won’t change my mind again. I’ll resign right after this semester ends to become a full-time housewife.”

With that, Vivian looked at Leo with puppy eyes. Left with no choice, Leo could only nod his head.

The next day, Vivian went back to school. All her colleagues from the music department came to greet her. Of course, they did not forget to ask her about how she got rehired.

As soon as Ms. Rachel heard about Vivian’s return, she ran up to her as though they had not seen each other in a long time.

Then, she pulled Vivian out of the office and asked softly, “Since you’re back now, are you going to take in Chloe again?”

Reproachfully, Vivian answered, “There are other vocal teachers as well. Why does it have to be me? You guys surely love getting me into trouble, huh?”

Upon hearing Vivian’s words, Ms. Rachel felt her heart drop. Vivian was joking, but she almost got the truth.

Putting on a fake smile, she waved her hand at Vivian and said, “Well, you know Chloe likes you a lot. She’s a poor girl. She lost her mother at such a young age, so I was just thinking of helping her out.”

“Got it!” Vivian rolled her eyes at Ms. Rachel, “I’ll take her in then. But I’ll see her only every Monday and Wednesday at the school’s music room.”

“What?” Surprised, Ms. Rachel exclaimed, “Why don’t you go to her house? It’s not convenient for her to come here.”

“It’s fine. I already talked to her father, and he’s okay with it. If you think it’s not a good idea, you can appoint her another teacher.”

“No, no!” Hurriedly, Ms. Rachel answered, “Since Mr. Frank is okay with it, we’ll stick to your plan!”

Both of them spent a few minutes talking and parted when classes were about to start.

After parting with Ms. Rachel, Vivian headed to the headmaster’s office. Of course, she was going to Mr. Andrew’s office, not Victor’s office.

After all, Mr. Andrew was the one who rehired her. She thought it was necessary for her to greet him.

As for Mr. Victor, Vivian had no intention of meeting him at all. Knowing that he was a pervert, she wanted to avoid him as much as possible.

She did not even care about being laid off, why should she care about whether he would get angry or not?

Seeing her entering the room, Mr. Andrew stood up and welcomed her, “Ms. Vivian, take a seat!”

After an exchange of pleasantries, Vivian said, “I’m really sorry for putting you into all the trouble. Please correct me if I made any mistakes.”

“You did nothing wrong, Ms. Vivian. I decided to rehire you because I know you’re a good teacher. You’re not leaving again, aren’t you?”

Smiling, Vivian said generously, “I won’t leave for the time being, but I plan to resign after this semester ends.”

“What’s the problem? Are you still holding a grudge on Mr. Victor?”

“It’s not what you think, Mr. Andrew. I’m not at all concerned about him. I came to this conclusion after discussing with my husband. We’ve made up some future plans, and it has nothing to do with anybody else.”

“I see.” Pausing for a moment, Mr. Andrew spoke reluctantly, “I hope you can think this over again. To be honest, the school and the students want you to stay.”

“I’m really sorry. I prioritize my family over work. I made up my mind after pondering for a long time. I hope you understand.”

Mr. Andrew knew he could no longer convince her.

“Alright then!” Shrugging, he continued, “Since you’ve already come to a conclusion, there’s nothing much I can say. I’ll give you a proper send-off on your last day!”

Although Mr. Andrew felt reluctant to let Vivian go, there was nothing he could do about it.

After all, he already completed his superior’s order and rehired Vivian. If she insisted on resigning at the end of the semester, it was no longer his responsibility.

Vivian headed straight to the music room after leaving Mr. Andrew’s office.

Walking past Mr. Victor’s office, she looked straight ahead, not even bothering to look inside.

“Ms. Vivian! Ms. Vivian!”

Suddenly, Victor’s voice rang out behind her. Frowning, she wanted to ignore him, but she did not want to embarrass him in public. Hence, she stopped.

“Mr. Victor, is there anything I can help you with?” Coldly, Vivian asked.

Grinning, Victor walked up to her, “Ms. Vivian, please see me at my office. I want to apologize to you.”

After hesitating for a moment, Vivian followed him to his office.

Both of them took their seat, and Victor apologized politely, “What happened previously was all a misunderstanding. I hope you don’t take it to heart. I acted out of impulse, and I hope you can forgive me.”

Beaming, Vivian answered calmly, “It’s fine, Mr. Victor. It’s all in the past. I hope you could forgive me too if I offended you in any way.”