Early in the morning, facing Hu Ziyuan who woke up with a terrified expression, Ning Yue drew him into her arms, gently rocking him. The familiar scent comforted the child, and his mother’s embrace gave him courage. Hu Ziyuan huddled tightly in Ning Yue’s arms, finally lifting his head to timidly ask, “Mama, where’s Papa?”
Ning Yue said, “Papa went out on business. Ziyuan, Mama has run into trouble and needs your help.”
“What is it?”
“Papa and Mama can’t be together anymore. But Mama wants you to live with me, and Papa thinks the same. We both want to live with you.”
“Then why can’t you live together? That way we could all be together.” Hu Ziyuan’s voice carried a hint of tears.
Ning Yue remained silent. The child’s small hand happened to fall on her bandaged wound. “Did Papa hit you again? Is that why you can’t be with him?”
Ning Yue nodded: “Mama is very afraid of him.”
This was the truth; she feared Hu Cheng. Over these many years, although she had maintained her spiritual independence and personality, the natural superiority imposed by Hu Cheng and the entire Hu family had left an indelible impact on her. The fear followed her like a shadow.
Hu Ziyuan clutched Ning Yue’s clothes at her chest and said without hesitation, “Papa is bad! I’ll stay with Mama.”
Ning Yue abandoned any attempt to explain whether Hu Cheng was a bad person. She urgently needed Hu Ziyuan to confirm this statement again. With these words, her previous efforts and risks, her future courage, and persistence would have a source and foundation. “Are you sure? There’s also Grandmother and Grandfather – if you stay with Mama, you might not be able to see them often.”
“I want Mama!” Hu Ziyuan burrowed into Ning Yue’s embrace, speaking without hesitation, trying to press every part of his body close to Ning Yue.
Ning Yue held the child tightly, closing her eyes. Tears seeped through the gaps, gathering drop by drop into streams.
From now on, despite thousands of hardships and countless difficulties, her heart would harbor no regrets! However, what adults could understand might not be so simple for children. Hu Ziyuan, who had just tearfully declared he only wanted his mama while in bed, started poking at the food on his plate when he saw Ning Yue’s breakfast, grumbling, “Not tasty! Not tasty at all! Not as good as Grandmother’s cooking!”
Ning Yue could only remain silent.
After venting enough, Hu Ziyuan began to notice his mother’s unusual silence. He secretly glanced at Ning Yue, pouting, and slowly started eating. But the look of grievance on his face was impossible to hide.
Ning Yue felt an ache between her ribs. After Hu Ziyuan had taken six or seven bites, he put down his spoon and said with pursed lips, “I can’t eat anymore.” Then he looked timidly at Ning Yue, his eyes gradually welling up with tears.
Ning Yue glanced at the child, and seeing that layer of tears, a sigh swept through her heart. She reached out to pat Hu Ziyuan’s head, forcing herself to smile, “It’s good that you’re full. Rinse your mouth, wash your hands, and go play.”
Hu Ziyuan didn’t move, still watching Ning Yue as if trying to confirm something. Ning Yue thought for a moment and said, “From now on, Mama will do all the cooking. Maybe Mama’s cooking isn’t as good as Grandmother’s, but Mama will try hard. I hope you can try to get used to Mama’s cooking style, so you can eat more comfortably.”
Hu Ziyuan nodded, asking, “Will Grandmother never cook for me again?”
Ning Yue pressed her lips together and shook her head. If you could eat her cooking, you might never see Mama again. Such speculation would be too cruel for a child; better to deal with it when the time comes!
Hu Ziyuan looked a bit disappointed, but his eyes brightened as he smiled, “But now I can eat Mama’s cooking every day! That’s pretty good too!” The little fellow stood up and eagerly ran toward the bathroom.
Ning Yue looked at the breakfast she had made, forced herself to eat a few more bites, and then started cleaning up.
Hu Ziyuan followed behind her asking, “Mama, are we going to kindergarten?”
Ning Yue paused for a moment before saying, “No, you won’t need to go for the next few months.”
“Yay! That’s awesome! Where are we going to play?”
Ning Yue suddenly realized she hadn’t planned anything. What should she do next? How to hide Hu Ziyuan properly, how to allocate time between the child, the divorce proceedings, and work? She hadn’t thought any of it through!
Ning Yue led Hu Ziyuan into the office, where the office area was quiet. The cleaning lady had already finished, and the air was filled with the smell of a soaked mop. Ning Yue touched her desk – it was wet, already wiped down. She picked up a cloth, preparing to clean Secretary Qin’s office and prepare for the day’s work. Her clothes were gently tugged, and she turned to see Hu Ziyuan pressed close to her. Ning Yue crouched down, put the cloth aside, and introduced each cubicle in the office area, then took his hand and walked him around the office. Hu Ziyuan was very interested in the turtle tank on top of the file cabinet, leaning there intensely focused on whatever he was studying.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ning Yue hurried into Secretary Qin’s office and began working nervously.
“Can I come in?” The door was pushed open, and a little head peeked in.
Ning Yue looked around and walked to the door, “No, you can’t. There are many important things here. If you come in to play and something goes missing, how would you explain if they say you lost it?”
Hu Ziyuan slowly walked out with Ning Yue, saying as they walked, “Then I can’t go anywhere!”
“Yes, the office is a workplace, it might not be suitable for playing.”
“If I come to work in the future and don’t disturb you, can I come often then?”
“You can, but I’m worried you’ll find it boring.”
“I won’t! I can do my homework! I have a coloring book I haven’t finished, I can finish it here!”
Ning Yue patted her son’s head, managing a smile. Looking up at the still quiet office door, she felt anxious, wondering how her colleagues would react to seeing her bring her child to work. What should she do then? After much thought, it seemed the only option was to brazenly tough it out!
As colleagues gradually arrived, they all found Hu Ziyuan’s presence strange but were polite enough not to say anything.
Ning Yue very keenly noticed Pan Jie giving two extra glances when she came by, and her heart immediately jumped to her throat. She instinctively wanted to pull Hu Ziyuan over for an introduction. But Pan Jie said nothing, not even pausing for a second before walking past. Ning Yue sat there awkwardly, her cheeks burning. Hu Ziyuan looked up at Ning Yue, his innocent eyes full of questions.
Ning Yue gently stroked her son’s head, the slightly prickly fuzzy sensation stimulating her nerve endings, miraculously smoothing her emotions. In the end, even a hint of a smile appeared on her face.
“Is the office fun?”
“Mm-hmm, it’s fun. Look, isn’t my coloring nice?”
After discussing some details about how to use colors in the coloring book, Ning Yue checked the time, told her son not to make trouble, and went downstairs to buy coffee for Secretary Qin.
“Ning Yue.”
As Ning Yue was about to enter the elevator with the coffee, someone called her from behind. Turning around, she paused for a moment – a well-dressed gentleman with broad shoulders and a slim waist, looking quite elegant, stood behind her – it was He Kuan.
He Kuan’s expression contrasted sharply with his clothing. He first uncomfortably tugged at his collar tie, then explained with a slight stammer, “I have to meet some investors later, they said, um, they said I should dress like this. Ah, feels like being tied up!” After speaking, he loosened his collar again.
Somehow, Ning Yue suddenly thought of the neighbor’s little dog being forced to wear a sweater, shaking itself trying to get free in the same way.
Ning Yue smiled and said, “Is that so? Then congratulations! Looks like I’ll have a billionaire among my friends, what an honor!”
Seeing that Ning Yue wasn’t fixating on his appearance, He Kuan relaxed and became more at ease, waving his hand, “Just joking, you know me, right? Just my usual skills happened to catch someone’s interest, just making some money!”
Ning Yue said, “Those skills of yours are not simple, I admire them! No need to be modest, I wish you success in advance!”
He Kuan grinned happily, clearly taking this meeting very seriously. Getting such a good omen made him very cheerful.
Ning Yue checked the time, just about to end the conversation when He Kuan quickly said, “Um, the reason I came this time is…” He hesitated but finally explained that he had heard about Ning Yue being stabbed and came specially to check on her.
Ning Yue responded politely but felt warmth in her heart. Thinking of that preserved flower, the smile on her face became more genuine.
“Ning Yue!”
This time it was an almost shrill cry. He Kuan was so startled he dodged to stand in front of Ning Yue, causing her to miss seeing the newcomer at first glance. However, even just hearing the voice, she knew exactly who it was!
She shifted slightly, stepping out from behind He Kuan, and said, “Father, you’ve come!”
He Kuan pondered for a moment, remembering that Ning Yue’s parents had passed away long ago, so this “Father” must be her father-in-law, Hu Cheng’s father!
Hu Cheng had just stabbed Ning Yue in the office yesterday, and today his father shows up – what good could come of this? He Kuan watched the old man warily.
The old man gave He Kuan a meaningful look before saying to Ning Yue, “What’s going on here? Where’s Ziyuan? I went to the kindergarten, and the teacher said he didn’t come!”
It was almost time for Secretary Qin to start work, so Ning Yue didn’t waste more time. She directly told Father Hu that Hu Cheng had accidentally injured her in the office, he was now at the police station, and she had taken Hu Ziyuan away, so it wasn’t convenient for them to meet right now.
The old man stated firmly, “Impossible! How could Hu Cheng hurt you? The knife was yours, you ran into it yourself, how can you blame Hu Cheng? Bring the child back, family matters should be discussed at home, don’t make a spectacle for outsiders to laugh at!” After speaking, he shot He Kuan a warning glare.
He Kuan had been in a good mood, but hearing these words, he was completely upset: “Old man, according to what you’re saying, Ning Yue put the knife in your son’s hand and then ran into it herself? I heard she’s your son’s wife – speaking about your family member like this doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”
Ning Yue’s heart skipped a beat, though her expression remained unchanged.
Father Hu said, “I don’t care who you are, this is my family matter, I’m talking to my daughter-in-law! Ning Yue, where is Ziyuan? Hand him over to me. Your mother is in the hospital, heard about this and had another episode. I’ll take Ziyuan to see her; perhaps seeing the child will help her feel better.”
Ning Yue sighed: “Father, at this point, let’s not pretend anymore. Your intentions, my intentions – who doesn’t know whose? Or do you think I’m a fool? I need to work now, I can’t chat with you.” Ning Yue nodded to He Kuan: “You should hurry along, don’t delay your important business.”
He Kuan seemed worried, but Ning Yue smiled reassuringly at him. Suddenly remembering something, she said to Father Hu: “Oh right, tell Mother to take good care of her health. If anything happens to her, my chances will be even better.”
Father Hu raged: “How dare you speak like that!”
Ning Yue decided to speak freely: “I’ve always spoken this way! Mother is what she is, and I speak accordingly! If you’re not used to it, that only shows I wasn’t good before, giving you too much face, making you forget what truth sounds like!” After speaking, Ning Yue let out a long breath, immediately feeling more energized.
He Kuan looked at Ning Yue in surprise. The Ning Yue in his memory was low-key and silent, repressed yet gentle, completely different from this sharp, almost caustic person before him!
Ning Yue apologetically nodded to He Kuan without explanation. She just wanted to leave quickly. After pretending for so many years, it seemed to have become real. Though these hurtful words gave her satisfaction, they were followed by unstoppable regret and shame.
Father Hu stepped forward, blocking Ning Yue: “Ning Yue, you haven’t even divorced Hu Cheng yet! With your tiny salary, and with your job, how can you support Ziyuan? Do you want Ziyuan to not even be able to afford a notebook!”
Ning Yue glanced at He Kuan, showing an embarrassed expression, and simply walked around Father Hu, saying as she walked inside, “Say whatever you want! My life, including my child, will be under my control from now on.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Father Hu became agitated, jumping to grab Ning Yue, but was held back by He Kuan who stood beside them. Ning Yue immediately scolded the security guards who were standing around watching: “What are you looking at? Someone’s causing trouble in the building, aren’t you going to do anything?”
A supervisor-like person quickly beckoned two security guards to restrain Father Hu and lead him outside.
Father Hu spoke recklessly, shouting: “Ning Yue! Have you taken up with him? Is that man your lover? Let me tell you, don’t think you can use our Hu family’s money to support a paramour! Ziyuan will always be our Hu family’s child, don’t think about taking him away! I’ll snatch him back even by force! He will never follow adulterers like you!”
The shouting drew sidelong glances from people. Ning Yue helplessly said to He Kuan: “I’m sorry for involving you in this.”
He Kuan said: “It’s fine. I was hesitant before, but after seeing this, I’ve made up my mind. Come work at our company! Let me finish! Our company isn’t like here with so many rules. As long as you complete your work, you can apply for homework, and you can bring your child too. Oh, and there’s a wall in the company full of snacks. I’m sure your child would love it!”
Ning Yue stared at He Kuan in astonishment, pointing at the old man still cursing outside: “Didn’t you hear what he said? You’re asking for trouble! I… I not only can’t help you now, I’ll drag you down!”
He Kuan suppressed his excitement and said: “I don’t care! As long as you agree, I don’t need anyone else’s judgment!”
Ning Yue looked carefully at He Kuan for a long while before smiling: “I won’t go.” She said firmly, “Thank you! If there comes a day when I can go, I’ll seek you out. But not now.”
He Kuan felt somewhat disappointed, but Ning Yue didn’t give him a chance to persuade her further. She turned and ran into the elevator, disappearing as the doors slowly closed.
Ning Yue first returned to her seat to check on her child, finding the seat empty, her heart jumped. Hu Ziyuan had already run over from around the corner, “Mama, look! Uncle gave me this!”
Ning Yue looked up to see Zhong Tianming half-leaning on his workstation’s barrier, waving: “I let little Comrade Hu help feed the turtle, payment was one candy. He said Mama doesn’t let him eat candy, so I told him he could keep it to trade with other kids, and then he accepted.”
Just as Ning Yue was about to say thank you, Pan Jie, who sat next to Zhong Tianming, suddenly stood up and called him to hurry to a meeting. Zhong Tianming stuck out his tongue and left carrying his materials.
Ning Yue watched Pan Jie’s retreating figure, then looked at her son who was deeply engaged in spiritual communication with the turtle, and sighed slightly. The office area became quiet for a moment, with only the faint sound of papers being shuffled coming from Lawyer Qian’s workstation. Ning Yue hadn’t expected opposition from the usually agreeable Pan Jie, and suddenly felt at a loss. Pan Jie was essentially her counterpart; before Ning Yue came, Pan Jie had handled the administrative work. After she arrived, Ning Yue took over the administration, and Pan Jie often guided her on how to do things, including honestly sharing Secretary Qin’s habits, which helped her quickly get the hang of things.
Now Pan Jie seemed somewhat off, and Ning Yue didn’t want to be unreasonable with her, but truly didn’t know what to do. The child couldn’t be sent to kindergarten, but no one at home could help, and if she really couldn’t bring him to the company… Ning Yue bit her lip, her mind constantly wrestling with the problem.
“Ning Yue? Why are you standing here?” Secretary Qin came in from outside like a gust of wind, “Come to my office for a moment.”
Ning Yue’s heart jumped – did Secretary Qin also disapprove of bringing children to work? Looking at Hu Ziyuan’s small figure, Ning Yue reminded herself: why should Secretary Qin agree? Even if he helped you before, does that mean he has to help you in the future? Who are you? Ning Yue, you’re just a woman over forty who can barely keep her job!
You’re a withered tree, desperately trying to shelter the child seeking shade beneath you, yet unable to grow a single green leaf or bloom a single flower. Ning Yue slowly walked toward Secretary Qin’s office, as if walking along a path that gradually narrowed and compressed toward the center. After all the softness was squeezed out, she told herself: even so, at least I can still build a frame, let other trees’ leaves grow over, let other flowers bloom on my frame, this way my child can still receive shelter! She stood at Secretary Qin’s door, closed her eyes briefly, and took a deep breath: yes, I’ve always been taking advantage of Secretary Qin’s sympathy! Now, I still have to do this! I don’t ask for much, just a thread of hope is enough! Sorry, but I must take this path!
Ning Yue pushed open the door and walked into Secretary Qin’s office.
Parallel organizational structures are currently in fashion, supposedly reducing management costs and improving efficiency. So the new group leadership had done a lot of restructuring, creating many centers. People rose and fell, but in the end, it was just another round of power reshuffling. Fortunately, the Legal Department only changed its name, becoming the Legal Center. Everyone’s official titles changed, but their work content and positions remained the same. Even the initial hope that everyone could get a salary increase during this opportunity fell through. Director Luo said that when it comes to real money, no leader would fool themselves just by playing with concepts.
Pan Jie watched the big-bellied man’s mouth opening and closing, her thoughts drifting far away. Until Zhong Tianming nudged her, she responded with an “Oh, oh.” Helplessly, Zhong Tianming said: “Director Feng, what you say makes sense, we will give timely feedback to Director Qin about these four projects. However, we are indeed short-handed recently, so we cannot provide full support for many projects. But in any case, I’ve noted down everything you mentioned. Director Qin will give you a response about the specific completion timeline as soon as possible.”
“Then I might as well talk to your Director Qin directly, why are we even having this meeting?” Director Feng’s tone was quite unfriendly. After losing several deals, with nowhere to vent his anger, these young lawyers had walked right into the line of fire.
Pan Jie had come back to her senses and snorted at his words: “Director Feng, even if you go directly to Director Qin, he’ll still need to consult with us. After all, we’re the ones handling things directly. How much can be done, and how long it will take – without our feedback, Director Qin can’t give you an answer either. However, since you seem so urgent, why not just apply to have these projects proceed without legal involvement? Wouldn’t that be great? What do you think?”
“How dare you speak to me like that?” Director Feng was also a veteran. Moreover, during the recent department-to-center restructuring, he had won over the former Deputy General Manager Zhang who supervised sales at the branch company, successfully becoming the director of the group’s Sales Center, with the former Deputy GM Zhang now working under him. He was riding high on success. If not for the plummeting performance, he might have been on cloud nine. Just as he was about to continue his outburst, he was caught off guard by Pan Jie’s slight raise of her eyelids. Her glance cut like knives straight into old Feng’s heart. He suddenly realized these two subordinates were somewhat special.
The Legal Department held a unique position in the company. Even though it had clear hierarchies like other departments, due to the special nature of legal work, the levels between legal personnel weren’t always very clear in specific matters. The highest legal supervisor would need to start by understanding the basic situation when getting involved in projects, while the lowest-ranking legal manager might participate directly in top-level decision meetings due to having a more accurate and timely grasp of the overall situation.
Of course, this didn’t mean the Legal Department’s responsibilities were chaotic. On the contrary, what responsibilities each level bore and how much decision-making power they had – the Legal Department was the clearest about this and executed it best. This wasn’t due to fear of power, but rather legal professionals’ inherent reverence for rules.
As Lawyer Qian would say: For us lawyers, we don’t see CEOs or cleaning ladies, only legal services and clients. It’s that simple!
Director Feng rolled the words on the tip of his tongue, still considering whether to speak them, when Pan Jie began: “The merger with Tianhua Company has always been handled by Lawyer He from headquarters, Director Feng should know this. Why are you coming to us instead of Lawyer He? As for Lixia Group’s outstanding payments, I remember the Finance Department clearly stated last month that it was offset by their overseas receivables. If Director Feng feels the specific operations are inappropriate, you should discuss it with the Finance Center. Why have we gone after Lixia Group? Regarding the cooperation with Sida Wuyun, the cooperation framework was signed two months ago. If the Sales Center doesn’t have a specific business, we can’t push anything forward either. As for the last one…” Pan Jie smiled, showing a mocking expression, “That was indeed handled by our lawyer. It was Lawyer Ning, right?” Pan Jie turned to ask Zhong Tianming, who bewilderedly nodded.
Pan Jie continued: “At that time, General Manager Wang was in charge, with Manager He Kuan specifically responsible. Oh, Manager, He left. Didn’t he hand it over to you?”
Director Feng choked. He Kuan had been promoted by Zhang, and when he left, Feng hadn’t felt comfortable asking directly, not expecting such a big deal had be hidden in his hands. After winning that project bid, there should have been a follow-up major project, but whether due to unclear handover or truly incompetent sales, somehow they had lost it despite the promising situation. What made it worse was that he had assigned it to a salesperson he favored. Now that problems had arisen, he couldn’t directly question it. With pressure from above, he could only try to stall while having his people quickly find someone to try to invalidate that bid.
How to stall? He thought of the Legal Department. Recently there have been many complaints about the Legal Department’s efficiency, even mentioned in high-level meetings, so Director Feng figured it would be appropriate to join in on this trend. He hadn’t expected Pan Jie to deflect in just a few words, not only refusing to take responsibility but also pushing it back as their Sales Center’s internal failure. Thinking of the recently concluded internal investigation, Director Feng felt some regret.
First, he shouldn’t have picked on the Legal Department.
Second, he should have backed down earlier instead of trying to show his authority.
Seeing Director Feng take out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, Pan Jie said: “How about this, I’ll show these five projects to Director Qin and see what he says about how to handle them!”
After speaking, she pulled Zhong Tianming up to leave.
Director Feng, having navigated office politics for many years, was an old hand who knew when to yield. He immediately put on a smile and blocked Pan Jie’s path. After much persuasion, he took back all five matters.
“No need to trouble Director Qin.”
If Pan Jie understood the rules so clearly, how could Qin not understand? Pan Jie was just talking here, but Qin was known as a destructive force. If he took this opportunity to target him, the higher-ups might become dissatisfied at best, or he might fall from favor at worst. He wasn’t willing to take that risk!
Zhong Tianming followed closely behind Pan Jie, and when no one was around, asked in a lowered voice: “What’s wrong with you today? Did you eat gunpowder!”
When Secretary Qin had come, he had already made it clear to them that when encountering departments trying to shirk responsibility like this, they should hand everything over to him to handle. The Purchasing Department had done something similar before, and Pan Jie had said exactly what Zhong Tianming said today. After Qin received it, he dealt with it so severely that even Luo Yating couldn’t prevent it from reaching headquarters, making Director Chen lose face completely. After that, no one dared use the Legal Department as a scapegoat again.
Now Zhong Tianming wanted to replicate the same approach but was directly rebuffed by Pan Jie. But would this approach achieve the deterrent effect? Zhong Tianming was more worried that if Secretary Qin found out, he might criticize Pan Jie for being too impetuous, or worse, think she was overstepping her authority.
Pan Jie snorted, ignoring Zhong Tianming. The elevator opened, she pressed the floor for their office and watched the doors slowly close. Only then did she say to Zhong Tianming: “Focus more on your work, then people won’t say we’re inefficient!”
“When… when was I not focused?”
“If you were focused, why were you playing with a child!”
Zhong Tianming scratched his head, “That’s Ning Yue’s child, he’s quite cute, what’s wrong with chatting with him a bit?”
“You call that just chatting?” Pan Jie said severely, “When Ning Yue went out to buy coffee, you were playing with that child the whole time! Those who know might think you’re just chatting, those who don’t might think you’re babysitting! Turning our department into a kindergarten!”
Zhong Tianming looked Pan Jie up and down thoughtfully and said: “Those who know understand you’re talking about me, those who don’t might think you’re talking about Ning Yue!”
Zhong Tianming might lack ambition, but he wasn’t stupid. Often, he saw things even more clearly than Pan Jie.
Pan Jie immediately became angry, “What do you mean! Why would I talk about her? She’s just an assistant who can’t do her work properly, can’t handle her family matters, and even needs company colleagues to help her out. How dare I say anything about her!”
Zhong Tianming wrinkled his nose and looked at Pan Jie teasingly, saying: “Such a strong smell of jealousy!”
Pan Jie was struck speechless, and just then the elevator doors opened. She stormed out angrily, completely ignoring Zhong Tianming. Zhong Tianming watched her retreating figure and let out a deep sigh.
When Ning Yue walked out of Secretary Qin’s office, her mind was still in a daze. She even had an urge to go back and tell Qin: that there was no need to help her like this, she was just taking advantage of him.
Qin had called her in just to arrange a few things: First, his friend Mu Xiao had a house for rent, price negotiable, only requiring that the tenant meet her approval and have no need for men. Qin had already promised Mu Xiao to take Ning Yue to see the house after work today. Second, he had just met He Kuan downstairs, who had asked him to help, with his condition being bringing Ning Yue to join them. Third, Luo Yating wanted to see Ning Yue soon, but Qin personally thought there was no need to deal with that madwoman, and he had already declined on her behalf.
When he finished the third point, Qin angrily threw his pen on the desk. Ning Yue had originally wanted to refuse all conditions, but seeing his anger, she hesitated. After living with Hu Cheng for so many years, although the fierce nature in her bones hadn’t completely disappeared, her personality had become accustomed to weighing options, enduring, and staying silent. Not confronting others when they were emotional, and not saying things they didn’t want to hear, was one such habit. Thus, Ning Yue missed the first opportunity to express herself, and by the time she wanted to speak again, Qin had already answered a phone call.
To be fair, all of Qin’s choices were made with her interests in mind. However, considering that Qin was just her colleague, such arrangements seemed excessive. Ning Yue had always felt that Qin’s behavior regarding her issues was strange. Pan Jie had vaguely mentioned that Qin came from a single-parent family, though Qin now obviously had a good relationship with his father. She had even heard Qin calling his stepmother to say he’d come home for dinner. If the relationship wasn’t good, at Qin’s age, he wouldn’t need to be so attentive. Ning Yue also remembered her classmate mentioning that Qin had grown up with his mother but later returned to his father’s side when his mother passed away during his high school years.
Qin’s kindness to her was probably due to his childhood experiences with his mother, making him sympathetic to single mothers. That was all Ning Yue could think.
Hu Ziyuan’s interest had shifted from the turtle to the office plants. Ning Yue called him to her side, stroking his head while lost in thought: If this had happened to Ning Yue over a decade ago, she would have refused such help. But did the current Ning Yue still have such pride? Looking down at her child, Ning Yue felt her nose tingle with emotion.
She couldn’t even ensure her child could attend kindergarten peacefully!
The office door was pushed open, and Pan Jie and Zhong Tianming walked in one after another. Ning Yue looked up seeing Pan Jie, about to smile and greet her, but Pan Jie walked past as if she hadn’t seen her.
If Pan Jie knew she was planning to accept Qin’s help, would she look down on her even more? As Ning Yue was thinking this, Qin walked into the open office area, knocked on the barrier, and seeing everyone looking at him, cleared his throat and said: “Ning Yue has some family issues these days, I’ve agreed to let her bring her child to work. Any objections?”
Lawyer Qian looked at everyone bewilderedly, wondering if this was even worth discussing.
Zhong Tianming turned to look at Pan Jie. Pan Jie kept her head down, her expression unclear.
“If there are no objections, then it’s settled.” Qin made the final decision, when Pan Jie suddenly said, “The company has no such regulations, it might not look good if other departments find out.”
“What’s not forbidden is permitted, if anyone has objections, they can come to me!” Qin glanced sideways at Pan Jie. Pan Jie pressed her lips together, but such silence would not be taken as agreement by anyone. Qin looked at her in surprise, “Pan Jie, come to my office after I finish my meeting.”
Pan Jie said nothing more, and so the matter was settled. Qin took his notebook and left for the meeting, and the office area quieted down. Hu Ziyuan looked up at Ning Yue, who reached out to pat his head, smiling bitterly.
“Can we talk?” Pan Jie came over, asking with a stiff expression. Zhong Tianming followed behind her, trying to pull her back.
Ning Yue nodded, looking down at Hu Ziyuan saying: “Be good and practice your writing today, after work, Mama will take you to the playground.”
“I want to catch fish!”
“Okay, but you have to sit properly and use the pencil grip to write, alright?”
“Okay!”
When Ning Yue looked up after speaking, she found Pan Jie had disappeared. Zhong Tianming pointed to the break room. Ning Yue smiled at him and got up to follow.
“You’re going to ruin Director Qin this way!” Pan Jie got straight to the point, speaking bluntly to Ning Yue, “I know you need help right now, but why does it have to be Director Qin? Don’t you know that him helping you like this is destroying himself!” Pan Jie had been holding back, finally swallowing the words “green tea bitch” back down.
“If you were me, what would you do?” Ning Yue spoke slowly, not rushing at all. She poured a cup of tea for Pan Jie and a cup of water for herself.
“Don’t you have any relatives, any friends who could help?” Pan Jie questioned, “Why does it have to be Qin? He’s just your colleague! A colleague doing this, do you know what kind of storm it will cause in the workplace? How will the higher-ups evaluate him, how will colleagues view him, and even how will peers in the industry see him? I regret telling you about Qin’s past! You’re taking advantage of his guilt about his mother, using your similar experience to his mother’s, using him so thoroughly just to ensure your smooth divorce and property settlement! You’re too calculating! You’re ruthless!”
Ning Yue’s face burned hot, and she felt powerless to refute. Previously, she had despised people who used their weakness as justification. Now that she had reached rock bottom, she was clinging to Qin like a last straw, and even righteously asking Pan Jie to consider her situation – she had truly become what she used to despise!
But what should she do? Stand up righteously at this moment and resign, showing her determination not to burden Qin. Then where would she live? Her supplementary card had been frozen, and her salary card only had the income from a year and a half as an assistant, totaling less than 60,000 yuan. In this city, even if she could sleep on the streets, what about her child? Stay at a hotel? Then stay in hotels until finding suitable housing? Where would the money come from? In this city, who would believe suitable housing could be found overnight?
She had no money, no house, no relatives, not even friends, and needed to hide her child well until the court’s decision! She was struggling, barely able to protect herself, and now was supposed to stand on principle. Reject help that came her way? For the sake of so-called nobility and elegance, why not use available resources? Moreover, Ning Yue believed she hadn’t crossed any lines.
Ning Yue carefully observed Pan Jie. How long had it been since she’d seen someone speak out so frankly in anger? In that family, except for her mother-in-law, everyone had a fierce temper, maintaining only a surface appearance of harmony and happiness. Hadn’t she learned to endure and act at opportune moments?
This girl had helped her before. When she didn’t understand or even doubted Qin, she had helped her understand the people in this office. When she couldn’t give her all to work, Pan Jie never complained, just happily took over and completed the work. When she needed to take leave or leave early, it was also this girl who quietly helped cover for her or smooth things over. Thinking of this, Ning Yue decided to tell the truth. For a girl like Pan Jie, regardless of her motives, the most sincere way to communicate was to be honest.
Ning Yue spoke: “You’re right, I am taking advantage of Qin. Using his experiences, using the opportunity that I happen to evoke his sympathy – it’s wrong of me. If I were to judge myself, I’d certainly call myself a green tea bitch.” Ning Yue smiled bitterly, “But I’m different from those green tea bitches. That’s also why I’ve been hesitating.”
Ning Yue continued: “I’m not particularly attractive; ‘faded beauty’ would be more appropriate to describe me. I don’t have an especially strong desire for money either. If I must say I have one, it’s just attached to my current salary. I’m not particularly clingy with men either, though my son is an exception. If there must be a connection to being a green tea bitch, it’s probably that I appear quite calculating in this matter, very selfish, disregarding the potential harm to others for my benefit. As you said, bringing my child to work will affect the department’s image, negatively impact company management, and as you mentioned, affect Qin’s future in this company. I have no rebuttal to any of this.”
Pan Jie still looked seriously at Ning Yue, but her eyes showed she accepted Ning Yue’s words.
Ning Yue said: “I just want to tell you, that I’ve thought about refusing Director Qin’s help, but I need help. As you asked, do I have no relatives? No friends? I’ll tell you: no! None. Due to my family’s special circumstances, when I was young, all my relatives and friends cut ties with us. My parents passed away many years ago. After marriage, my social circle became extremely narrow. There weren’t many WeChat Moments back then, and I never attended classmate or colleague gatherings, so gradually all connections were lost. Maybe there are one or two,” she thought of Zhuo Hao, “they’ve already helped me as much as they could. However, I need more help. Because in this divorce battle, my husband is very powerful. He has money, connections, family, and capability. Even my current job was found through him. As you’ve seen, he doesn’t even need to appear personally to make me lose a job, and for me to keep this job, I had to lower myself to outsourced status! You could say he owns the entire world, while I’m just a scene in his world. Now that I want to be independent, I don’t even have my own space.”
Ning Yue shook her head, “Also, you were wrong about one thing earlier – I don’t want property. I only want one thing: my child! Everything I’m doing is to show that I can raise my child. I can’t wait for others to grant me this opportunity. I must seize this chance with all my might! Because once I fail, I’ll lose him forever.” Ning Yue shook her head, “You’re not a mother, you don’t know how crazy a woman can become for her child. I can’t imagine a life without this child, and while I can still fight for him, I won’t miss any opportunity!”
“But you can’t raise the child well like this! Why not leave on your own, build up some wealth, then go back for the child?”
Ning Yue smiled bitterly: “Children won’t wait for you. They grow quickly and quickly learn about the world. I fear that in the time I turn around, he’ll have become completely different when I return.”
“So what if he becomes different? You can barely take care of yourself!” The news about Ning Yue being stabbed by her husband had spread throughout the company, and Pan Jie naturally knew about it.
Ning Yue lowered her head and smiled, then looked at Pan Jie, saying firmly: “I can give up my life, but I must have this child! Even though this is foolish and irrational, I’ve never been smart.” She smiled, “If I were smart enough, I wouldn’t have married Hu Cheng, wouldn’t have had his child, wouldn’t have continued believing in him after seeing the truth! But I think a person’s life isn’t determined by intelligence and benefit. For me, I only have four words: no regrets in my heart. In this marriage, I lost everything, but I tried my hardest, I have no regrets about my love. And now, if I give up my child, I know that no matter how much money I make in the future, my heart will never be at peace.”
“But you can’t afford to raise him!” Pan Jie hit the nail on the head.
Ning Yue nodded slightly, “Yes, you’re right, currently it looks like I can’t afford to raise him. Thinking calmly, his father can provide him with much more than I can. Even the emotional lack caused by missing his mother seems like it could be largely compensated by his grandparents’ care… but I won’t give up! Even if this is a mother’s selfishness, even if you say I’m crazy, I won’t give up! As long as there’s any possible hope, as long as I can keep my child, I won’t give up.”
“So you’d rather hurt Qin!” Pan Jie said resentfully.
Ning Yue looked out the window, tears welling up in her eyes: “My parents are gone, my home is broken, and this child is my only blood relative in this world.” She turned to Pan Jie, shaking her head slightly, “I’ve lived for forty years, I’ve seen friendships disappear with time, seen how love can be destroyed by lies, but I’ve never seen family ties break. If they do, it’s only through death. I’m a coward, but I’m not afraid of death. For me, what’s more frightening than death is having no family.”
Both fell silent, their gazes avoiding each other. Ning Yue looked at her glass of water, while Pan Jie’s finger aimlessly drew circles on the table.
After a long while, Ning Yue finally let out a long sigh and said: “To Qin, I’m very sorry. If he won’t help me, I won’t force him. But the olive branch he’s extending, I will take it – it’s my lifeline.”
This time, Pan Jie didn’t argue.
Hu Ziyuan saw Ning Yue and excitedly held up the phone saying: “Mama, Grandfather called just now, I answered it for you!”
Ning Yue’s heart sank, but she managed a smile and asked: “Oh, you dare to answer Mama’s phone now? What did Grandfather say?”
“I only answered because I saw it was Grandfather’s caller ID, I wouldn’t touch anyone else’s!” Hu Ziyuan pouted, seeming somewhat wronged. Then he excitedly reported his achievement to Ning Yue: “Grandfather asked where I was, and I said I was in Mama’s office. Grandfather asked where we were staying since we were not going home, I said at an uncle’s house. Grandfather asked where uncle’s house was, and I said among many buildings. There’s a pile of garbage in front.”
As Hu Ziyuan spoke disjointedly, Ning Yue listened and felt slightly relieved. The old man wanted to get information from the child, but the child was too young to give out an unfamiliar address. Thinking of this, Ning Yue smiled. When Hu Ziyuan saw his mother smile, his little face immediately lit up: “Mama, you finally smiled! You weren’t smiling, it scared baby!”
Hu Ziyuan had mostly stopped referring to himself as “baby” after turning five, but after his sixth birthday, he seemed to have found a way of expression: whenever he wanted to act cute, he would call himself “baby.”
Ning Yue went along with her son’s mood, letting him burrow into her embrace, cooperatively encircling his small body, her desolate heart slowly warming up.
Pan Jie watched the interaction between Ning Yue and her son, and a strange yet familiar feeling grew in her heart. She didn’t understand how crazy a mother could become, but she remembered how, when she was in eighth grade and street thugs tried to force her to date them, her mother had confronted those thugs, how she had firmly demanded they leave her daughter alone amid the heckling of a group of teenage boys. If the police hadn’t arrived in time, her mother might have been beaten by those angry teenage boys. But afterward, her mother only said she had known this would happen and had already asked the police uncles for help beforehand. From then on, until she graduated high school, her mother waited at the school gate every day when school started and ended.
As Pan Jie thought about it, she suddenly realized that from that time on, her mother, who had always been busy traveling for work, seemed to rarely mention work anymore and never went on business trips again, remaining just an ordinary worker until retirement.
What can a mother sacrifice for her child?
Everything. If sacrificing one’s life seems too grand and becomes illusory, then what about giving up career prospects and dignity, dreams, and struggles? Suppressing personal ambition, restraining innate desires, watching others build high-rises, watching others live glamorous lives, silently, voluntarily, without complaint, holding a little snail’s hand, and quietly moving forward in the flow of time.
Such choices, against the backdrop of life, don’t they count as sacrifice? Pan Jie sat silently at her desk, lost in thought. Zhong Tianming nudged her; Qin was already waiting in his office.
“Whatever thoughts you have, say them now.” Qin crossed his hands in front of him, leaning against his chair back, looking slightly askance at Pan Jie.
Pan Jie wasn’t without sympathy for Ning Yue; after talking with her earlier, Pan Jie had gained some understanding of Ning Yue’s difficulties. She became somewhat uncertain about her insistence. However, these uncertainties changed flavor when she saw Qin and his posture. Pan Jie frowned and said, “I think personal matters should be separated from work matters; this is an office after all.”
Qin nodded, “I agree. And then?”
Pan Jie felt something was off, but continued anyway: “Ning Yue isn’t the only person with children in the company. There are many colleagues with children, Lawyer Qian also has a three-year-old baby – if we allow Ning Yue to bring her child to work, what if others make similar requests? We’re not running a kindergarten!”
“That makes sense, and then?”
Pan Jie looked at Qin in surprise, hesitating before saying: “Even if Ning Yue is in a special situation now, doesn’t everyone have their special circumstances? Today Ning Yue can bring her child to work because of divorce and leave early, then in a couple of days when I have my period and feel unwell, can I leave early too, and leave early every month after that? If everyone gets special treatment for their special circumstances, how can work get done?”
Qin nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
Pan Jie bit her lower lip, glanced at Qin, steeled herself, and said: “There’s a lot of talk in the company now, I heard our department’s efficiency issues were specifically mentioned in the executive meetings. Just now, Director Feng from the Sales Center was using this as an excuse… I know I’m just an administrative staff member, it’s not my place to worry about management issues, but…” She sneaked a glance at Qin, who had already stood up and walked to the window, silently looking at the glass wall outside.
Pan Jie hesitated, but finally decided to speak up – this was the first time, perhaps the last time, but regardless, speaking out would leave no regrets, “But we’re a team, I don’t want to see you or anyone else get implicated!” Her face burned hot, the words she had mustered the courage to say directly were hidden under the name of team spirit! Even so, Pan Jie’s chest felt like it contained a small deer, heart pounding chaotically.
However, Qin just stood there silently, without any response. After a long while, as if suddenly awakening, he made a sound of acknowledgment and turned to ask: “Nothing else?”
Pan Jie shook her head.
Qin took a deep breath before saying: “If Ning Yue hadn’t met me this time, what would her situation be?”
Pan Jie was stunned – what a strange question. Nevertheless, she answered honestly: “She would have been fired long ago.” Just as Ning Yue had said, even if her husband hadn’t tried to force her to resign, the company wouldn’t have kept her.
“Then what? If she gets divorced and is fired, with no job, what then?”
“Find another one!” Pan Jie frowned, feeling vaguely uncomfortable.
“What kind of job could she find?” Qin looked at Pan Jie, “If you were in HR at a company, would you give her a chance?”
Pan Jie sheepishly shook her head, then quickly contradicted herself: “There are always job opportunities! Or she could start her own business or something.”
Qin smiled: “Have you forgotten how young her child is? Start a business? Does she have that kind of time?”
Pan Jie mumbled, looking down: “As long as you try hard enough, you won’t starve.”
Qin suddenly sighed: “Of course not. She could be a cleaner, do temporary work, take odd jobs, change jobs one after another.” He turned to look at the wall outside the window, “And that’s how a life would pass.”
Pan Jie looked up in surprise, then was shocked to see Qin’s eyes glistening. Qin said: “Thank you. I know you mean well, and I called you in to tell you that your thoughts and actions aren’t wrong. I hope you can continue working happily in this department as always, without any worries about this. However, regarding Ning Yue’s situation, I’ve made my decision. As for my future…” Qin smiled brightly, “If you can’t do what you want to do, if your work doesn’t give you peace of mind, what’s the meaning of such work!”
Pan Jie was completely confused – what exactly did Qin want to do? After hearing his words, she could only nod woodenly. As she was about to leave, she suddenly turned and asked Qin: “Director Qin, you said it’s not my fault, so is someone at fault?”
Qin nodded: “Yes. It’s not your fault, it’s our fault, everyone’s fault.”
Pan Jie didn’t understand, and Qin showed no intention of explaining further.
After work, Qin indeed dragged Ning Yue and Hu Ziyuan straight to Mu Xiao’s office building. Qin said there was a family restaurant nearby where Hu Ziyuan could play.
Ning Yue looked at him amusedly – for a single man who didn’t even have a girlfriend, knowing about a family restaurant seemed rather strange.
Qin uncomfortably explained that he had seen it on a food map.
“Thank you!” Ning Yue said sincerely, remembering Pan Jie’s accusations, she suddenly felt that perhaps she had really gone too far.
In this state of mixed feelings, Ning Yue met Mu Xiao and her assistant. As soon as they entered, Ning Yue felt the small assistant’s hostile gaze sweeping unreservedly over Qin, with his first words being: “There’s no business again, why do you keep coming!”
Qin glared at him: “Can’t you speak properly!”
Hu Ziyuan tugged at Ning Yue: “Are they arguing?”
The small assistant immediately half-crouched down, smiling at Hu Ziyuan: “Little friend, uncle has a very good temper, never argues. But he’s different.” He pointed at Qin, “He rarely speaks calmly.”
Hu Ziyuan shook his head: “You’re lying, Uncle Qin is very nice. You’re the wolf in sheep’s clothing!”
Everyone was stunned, and Ning Yue awkwardly explained: “Uh, he just heard this story and doesn’t quite know how to use it properly. It doesn’t mean what we usually think.”
Mu Xiao smiled and said: “The little one hit the nail on the head, this uncle of yours really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Despite his constant smiling, he might secretly eat up the little sheep one day.”
Hu Ziyuan hid behind Ning Yue, looking at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Mu Xiao asked her assistant to handle the remaining work, promising to pack up all the leftover food and bone scraps for him. Qin added: Enough to feed you like a pig.
Amid the laughter, everyone left together. Ning Yue held Hu Ziyuan’s small hand, feeling the unique warmth and moisture of a little boy’s palm, her mood unusually light. Hu Ziyuan looked at his mother’s face, feeling that today was truly a wonderful day!
The place Qin found was indeed a standard family restaurant. Besides various child-friendly tables, chairs, and utensils, there was also a small playground. Hu Ziyuan only ate a little before whooshing into the playground. After being cooped up in the office all day, he needed a place to release his excess energy.
As Qin had said, Mu Xiao did discuss the housing matter with Ning Yue. However, Ning Yue’s answer surprised everyone.
Ning Yue hoped Mu Xiao would handle her divorce from Hu Cheng, but she wasn’t considering the house!
“Then where will you live? It’s so difficult to find suitable housing now!” Qin immediately became anxious.
Ning Yue glanced at him. If Qin knew that just a second ago she had been ready to agree, only deciding to refuse at the moment of speaking, would he go crazy? However, she needed to provide a reason.
Ning Yue thought for a moment: “I have a classmate, I’m temporarily staying at his place. We’ll stay there until I find a house.”
“But Mu Xiao’s house is perfect for you.” Qin’s face darkened.
Ning Yue didn’t look at him, smiling as she said: “Lawyer Mu will often be dealing with the Hu family in the future. I don’t want Ziyuan to be more involved.”
In other words, the Hu family would certainly notice Mu Xiao’s existence, even find out her address, and if Ning Yue lived there with her child, the Hu family would know too. What would happen next, Ning Yue didn’t know and didn’t want to find out. This reason was sufficient; Qin was speechless. Mu Xiao nodded, “It’s alright, if you can’t find anything more suitable, you can reconsider my offer. Although there might be harassment, at least I can help you.”
Ning Yue nodded, pulling out a hard drive from her laptop bag and handing it to Mu Xiao: “These are the evidence I’ve had people collect over the years about Hu Cheng’s affairs and his financial transactions. Please see which ones can be used and which can’t. Some original documents are in the bank’s safe deposit box. We can get them together when we have the chance.”
Mu Xiao looked at the hard drive, her eyes growing serious, and asked: “When did it start?”
Ning Yue watched her son playing happily in the distance and said softly: “The earliest materials are from seven years ago. The investigation started four years ago.”
Mu Xiao took the hard drive, “Good, I’ll look at it carefully. However, I want to ask, since you prepared so early, why divorce only now?”
“At first it was because I still had illusions about him, and hoped everything could develop in a good direction. Later it was because of the child, feeling that just muddling through wasn’t so bad.” Ning Yue paused, “When I wanted to divorce, I found I had almost nothing to counter him with. I wanted to end this marriage with dignity, including for both the child and myself. So I kept delaying. If it weren’t for…” She touched her waist, “Maybe I would have kept delaying?”
Mu Xiao nodded, put away the hard drive, and took out several papers: “Please look these over, if there are no problems, sign them, and I can start working.”
It was a letter of authorization. Ning Yue read it once and signed directly.
Mu Xiao teased: “I thought you would habitually make some changes.”
“Haven’t worked for a long time. Those professional habits have been replaced by life habits.” Ning Yue explained.
Nearly ten years as a housewife, she had become accustomed to silence, accustomed to accepting whatever came her way, accustomed to hiding her own views, accustomed to trying to accept others’ opinions…
Except for when Ning Yue refused the housing, Qin hadn’t said much afterward, nor had he played with his phone. Ning Yue turned her head inadvertently to see him staring blankly at the distant playground, lost in thought.
Ning Yue still returned to Zhuo Hao’s provided accommodation. For some reason, she couldn’t accept Qin’s help, yet could feel at ease staying at Zhuo Hao’s place. Perhaps it was because of the familiarity built since childhood, the understanding accumulated over time, that made her feel safe.
The exhausted Hu Ziyuan fell asleep immediately, watching her son sleep soundly, Ning Yue felt both relieved and worried.
The news shared in her WeChat Moments about various developmental deficiencies in children of single mothers due to lack of communication rose and fell in her heart. Sometimes she felt it had nothing to do with her, sometimes she felt she was experiencing it, just that things hadn’t accumulated to that degree yet.
Her son’s sleeping face was like a little angel, in this silent night, with his slight snoring, soothing Ning Yue’s heart that had been tense all day.
In the night, tall buildings blocked the sky of this planet in the darkness. On their surfaces, windows emitted either yellow or pale light, forming another endless field of stars. Light shadows and building shadows stretched endlessly, vast and boundless. Someone might notice that in one small point of light, there was a sudden sound of breaking glass. Except for a small boy who, in his sleep, suddenly groaned painfully twice, turned over, and then everything returned to silence.