Qin Can and Ning Yue entered the office one after another. After seeing Qin Can’s office door close, Pan Jie asked Ning Yue what had happened. Ning Yue didn’t hide anything and briefly explained the situation. As for the stairwell incident, if not for a lingering pain in a part of her head, Ning Yue would have believed it was just a dream!
Pan Jie suddenly understood. Zhong Tianming, who was nearby and had overheard, said, “Tell me, what’s wrong with Director Luo? Why does Director Qin have to target her?”
Pan Jie shook her head: “Well, actually… no, impossible!” Her hesitation only piqued Zhong Tianming’s curiosity, and Ning Yue also looked at her inquisitively.
Pan Jie blinked: “Well—during Director Qin’s second month at the company, it coincided with the annual meeting. The Legal Department somehow arranged for Director Luo and Director Qin to sing a song together. It was an old song called ‘Love in the Wind and Rain.’ Director Luo is quite pretty, and Director Qin is handsome. Since they sang a love song, even the Chairman said they made a good match. However, four months later, Director Qin used the advertising incident to trap Director Luo. After that, no one mentioned it again.”
“Oh? What about Director Luo?” Ning Yue asked curiously. She had never met Director Luo, and when she first heard Qin Can calling her “woman” repeatedly, she thought she was a plump middle-aged lady. Now it seemed she was a beautiful single woman.
Pan Jie waved her hand: “Director Luo was angry too! She pressured Director Qin both openly and subtly. Those people blindly tried to pair them up, but these two aren’t meant to be—they’re absolute enemies who can’t stand the sight of each other!”
Zhong Tianming added: “I think Director Qin only has eyes for Director Luo’s position. It doesn’t matter if it’s Director Luo or any of us, even you, Ning Yue—whoever occupies that position becomes Director Qin’s enemy!”
Ning Yue smiled: “Director Qin is quite talented. He should aim higher. That’s normal.”
Qin Can’s voice suddenly rang out: “What are you all doing?” He held a stack of documents in his hand. “Pan Jie, make copies of these and file them. Also, organize last year’s files from May onward and make a table according to the internal survey questionnaire for me.”
Qin Can went back inside with a wave of his hand. Pan Jie quietly groaned, and Ning Yue hesitated before speaking: “I’ll help you make copies. I can help with some of the filings too, though I might not finish before I have to leave.”
“No problem, no problem! Thank you so much!” Pan Jie grabbed onto this lifeline.
When it was time to leave work, the table wasn’t finished. As previously arranged, Ning Yue said goodbye to Pan Jie and left on time.
After picking up Hu Ziyuan, Ning Yue habitually chatted with him about things at the company, mentioning her increased workload.
Hu Ziyuan pouted and said: “Mommy, didn’t you say we should do our things and not push them onto others? You shouldn’t help that Lawyer Qin. Look at me, I put on my clothes. It takes me a long time! But I didn’t ask Mommy for help!”
Hu Ziyuan’s little mouth was practically pointed at the sky, his face full of grievance!
Ning Yue couldn’t help but laugh, all her pain and fatigue instantly vanishing!
When they got home, they found Hu Cheng chatting with Grandfather, looking radiant. Ning Yue paused for a moment, nodding as a greeting. Hu Cheng came over, hugged Hu Ziyuan tightly, and gave him a big kiss: “Did you miss Daddy?”
“Yes!” Hu Ziyuan answered loudly. “Daddy, you should hug Mommy first! Nanan says her mommy says daddy loves mommy the most, so he should hug mommy first. Only when baby is with auntie should daddy hug baby first!”
Ning Yue was preparing to change clothes when she heard this and looked at Hu Cheng. They both froze. Hu Cheng smiled and came over to hug Ning Yue. She placed her hand on his shoulder blade, touched it lightly, and quickly moved away.
“Is that okay?” Hu Cheng still asked Hu Ziyuan, who nodded satisfactorily and happily went off to play.
Only then did Hu Cheng look at Ning Yue: “How are you?”
“What do you mean, how am I?” Ning Yue asked back. “Why are you home so early today?”
“Oh, I paid off half of the bank loan today, and our house mortgage has been released. So, I rushed to tell Mom and Dad this good news,” Hu Cheng was very happy, clearly satisfied with how well the company was operating. “I plan to resign.”
Ning Yue opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but looked at Hu Cheng again. He was looking at her, but his gaze was distant. His joy was so intense it had almost become tangible, yet none of it reached her. He faced Ning Yue, but his gaze went past her as if announcing to the whole world.
Ning Yue’s lips twitched, and while she was still thinking about how to offer congratulations, Hu Cheng had already turned to play with their son.
—He didn’t even need her praise.
In her script, Ning Yue silently crossed off an item. It seemed she needed to do less and less.
The house was filled with an atmosphere of joy, and in this environment, Ning Yue became like a fish, swimming around the periphery. Two versions of Hu Cheng appeared before her eyes. One Hu Cheng existed in this space. In this warm, comfortable house, he was a responsible husband, caring for their child, and supporting the elderly, all harmonious. The family ate together, talking and laughing. The other Hu Cheng existed on her phone. In the documents she kept in the bank’s safe deposit box, he was handsome and dashing, surrounded by beautiful women, a philanderer.
Which was the real Hu Cheng? Why could he enjoy family life while betraying their marriage?
Looking at Hu Cheng’s features, Ning Yue realized she might never have truly understood him all these years.
When she fell in love and entered marriage, what she saw was a brilliantly shining soul. This soul had compelling talent, was ambitious yet considerate, a soul that could give her complete security. And this soul, through marriage, attached itself to this man called Hu Cheng, then gradually tore apart with each action of this living, breathing man.
Had he ever loved her?
Or perhaps his love was different from the love she needed?
Ning Yue suddenly realized she might have made a logical error: when basic concepts aren’t unified, any derived reasoning, judgment, or decision is wrong.
This marriage was, from the beginning, an error in judging character. However, this marriage had produced an undeniable result—Hu Ziyuan.
Could correcting this error put Hu Ziyuan back in her womb?
“You should quit your job!” After the child was asleep, Hu Cheng walked to Ning Yue’s desk, picked up a book, and flipped through it casually, saying offhandedly.
Ning Yue was startled: “Why?”
“My company is developing very well, and next we’re preparing to attract investment. After a round of financing, we’re planning to go public. Mom and Dad are getting older, you should focus on taking care of Ziyuan, don’t worry about anything else.”
“Ziyuan is gradually growing up, if I don’t work now, I won’t have any opportunities later.”
“What work opportunities do you need? Just be content being my wife.”
Ning Yue blurted out: “What if one day you lay off this wife, what should I do?”
“So, you should wholeheartedly be a good wife, don’t make me fire you!” Hu Cheng laughed heartily, seemingly very satisfied with this unequal status comparison.
Fearing she would wake up Hu Ziyuan, Ning Yue quickly stopped him from laughing further. Her forced smile couldn’t hide the chill throughout her body. Her lips trembled slightly as she asked: “So, whether I’m your wife or not is up to you?”
Hu Cheng said proudly: “You’re my woman, if I don’t decide, who decides? Don’t worry, with me protecting you, you don’t need to worry about anything! Not to mention, weren’t you almost fired today? Then it changed to a transfer. Couldn’t that Qin obediently keep you? Remember, as Hu Cheng’s person, only we fire others, no one is allowed to dismiss you! This is about my face!”
Ning Yue looked at Hu Cheng’s square jaw, listening to his declaration, seeming to suddenly return to their dating days. Back then, Hu Cheng had also firmly said: “You’re my person, I will never let anyone bully you!”
Back then she was moved to tears but forgot that in this world, those who are protected by others can also be hurt by them.
“Listen to me, go resign tomorrow,” Hu Cheng emphasized again.
Ning Yue asked: “If I don’t resign, will you make me lose my job?”
Hu Cheng narrowed his eyes, carefully examining Ning Yue, then suddenly smiled: “Why?”
Ning Yue thought for a moment, “Are you just trying to prevent me from being fired? Or is it because I’m in the Legal Department, and can do something?”
Hu Cheng chuckled, patted Ning Yue’s shoulder, and gave her a thumbs up, “As expected of my wife. However, I wasn’t planning to let you get involved anyway. It’s best if you resign, if you don’t resign…”
Ning Yue waited.
Hu Cheng paused, looked at Ning Yue once, and didn’t continue. Though just a brief pause, Ning Yue felt Hu Cheng’s sudden doubt and indecision.
Hu Cheng straightened up and said with an ambiguous smile: “Never mind, don’t worry about my affairs. Just take care of things at home, if you can resign from work, then resign!” After saying this, while replying to messages on his phone, he swaggered out of the study. From outside came the rustling sound of putting on clothes, then the door opening and closing.
Who knows where Hu Cheng would spend the night?
Ning Yue had a dream. She dreamed of a man. She watched his back with a blushing heart, hoping he would turn around and look at her. After countless circles, he turned around, opened his arms, and warmth like sunlight washed over her. Ning Yue thought joyfully: “He finally sees me, he finally accepts me!”
Ning Yue threw herself into that warm embrace, closing her eyes in happiness. Her body shuddered in a long-forgotten way, every muscle instinctively tightening, then waiting, waiting for the final blooming. At this moment, Hu Ziyuan woke her up. In the instant she awoke, her body bloomed like a flower, but flowers that bloom too early wither in an instant, leaving only melancholy that dissipates with hormones in the gaps between cells.
Who was that man? Ning Yue wondered. Could it be Hu Cheng? No, not Hu Cheng. Hu Cheng likes to wear suits, that man seemed to be wearing a shirt.
A black shirt? Maybe navy blue. Yes, it should have had silver buttons.
Ning Yue gradually painted the image of the dream man. She painted the shirt, painted the pants, but no matter what, she couldn’t paint his face. Even if she thought until her head hurt, that face remained pitch black, like a deep black hole.
She suddenly shuddered. The familiar warmth from the dream, that attraction strong enough to make her throw caution to the wind and dive in, seemed to turn into sweet temptations in front of the black hole of consciousness. Behind these temptations, Ning Yue thought of a phrase—point of no return!
Her body suddenly turned ice cold, and the last trace of heat left from the blooming was frozen and extinguished in an instant. It was at this very moment that the face became incredibly clear, yet Ning Yue firmly denied it—
It was Hu Cheng’s face.
Ning Yue had an erotic dream, and the man in it was Hu Cheng!
Ning Yue took a deep breath and got up from beside her child.
Every bedroom had a large wardrobe for storing clothes. But Hu Cheng’s clothes were kept separately in a room by the entrance. It was originally a small storage room that had been converted into Hu Cheng’s dressing room for convenience.
The kitchen light was on, and Ning Yue glanced in to see her mother-in-law busy at the stove. In the misty steam, her father-in-law’s figure was barely visible. She became lost in thought—before marriage when she came home with Hu Cheng and saw how this elderly couple got along, she had happily thought that under such family influence, Hu Cheng must also be the type of man who loves and cares for his family. Now she knew that he indeed “loved and cared for family,” but his concept of “family” was completely different from hers.
In Hu Cheng’s dressing room, there was a row of white shirts without a hint of other colors. The pants were all dress slacks. Casual pants were neatly arranged in compartments, but the style from her dream wasn’t among them. Ning Yue sighed in relief—perhaps she was overthinking after waking up, and there was no connection between the dream person and reality. She quietly returned to the bedroom and stood before the bathroom mirror, looking at the woman reflected there, suddenly asking herself: “What are you afraid of?”
Even if you dreamed of Hu Cheng, even if you had intimate relations with him in the dream, he’s your husband—what are you afraid of?
Despite the chill throughout her body, there was still no answer.
“Mommy!” Hu Ziyuan’s voice called out, and Ning Yue quickly ran over.
The child sat bewildered on the bed, and upon seeing Ning Yue, his little mouth turned down as he said tearfully: “I got up so early, but why weren’t you by my side?”
Tears suddenly welled up under Ning Yue’s eyelids, but she held them back.
Hu Ziyuan hid in Ning Yue’s embrace: “Mommy, can I eat breakfast at kindergarten from now on?”
“Sure! But why?”
“I want to walk with you! You can take me!” Hu Ziyuan closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and mumbled, “I won’t make a fuss at night anymore, I want to go to bed early and get up early! Walk with Mommy.”
Only then did Ning Yue understand why Hu Ziyuan had suddenly volunteered to go to bed an hour and a half earlier last night.
“Mommy, why do you have to work? Wouldn’t it be better not to work?” The little one’s head was in Ning Yue’s arms, seeming about to fall asleep again.
Ning Yue sat motionless on the edge of the bed, unsure whether she should get up to wash and prepare for work, or cuddle with her child for a morning nap.
In the office, Ning Yue bought three cups of coffee and walked back. Suddenly, a “long time no see” struck her ears.
The familiar voice made Ning Yue look up, but she was startled—a navy blue shirt! The shirt from her dream? The collar was slightly open, revealing slightly fleshy collarbones beneath. Above the collarbones, a prominent Adam’s apple hung quietly. Ning Yue’s mouth went dry, and she involuntarily looked up to meet a pair of bright, smiling eyes, her cheeks suddenly feeling hot.
“Long time no see.”
It was He Kuan.
He wore the navy blue shirt from her dream, suddenly appearing in the morning sunlight. In the fragrant coffee aroma, he made a real sound with his slightly hoarse voice, and Ning Yue was momentarily confused.
He Kuan had business in the Legal Department today, and when he reached downstairs, he remembered this was when Ning Yue usually bought coffee, so he came to try his luck, not expecting to run into her!
He Kuan already knew that Ning Yue was not only older but also married, and the initial flutter from their frequent chance encounters had long been laughed away by reason. But today, seeing Ning Yue still made his heart skip a beat.
Ning Yue must be at least thirty-five, right? Yet her waist was still slim, her camel-colored cashmere turtleneck tucked into brown cropped pants, thin ankles above beige medium-heel pumps. Her black hair was without a single flaw, the ends curled, falling lightly on her shoulders. Perhaps startled by his greeting, Ning Yue, who had been walking with her head down, suddenly looked up, her forehead hair slightly jumping, faintly covering half of her right eye, making her expression seem somewhat hazy.
At first glance, while a mature, charming woman, she had an unusual touch of innocence.
He Kuan even noticed Ning Yue’s blushing cheeks. And he could tell it wasn’t blush because that flush appeared from nothing, blooming slowly and clearly before his eyes like a flower…
Thus, neither spoke, just staring at each other.
Because everyone had been busy with work lately, breakfast was rushed, with some not eating at all. So Qin Can specially instructed that around ten o’clock, high-calorie cakes should be placed in the break room for everyone to snack on. Pan Jie called it force-feeding. Zhong Tianming said if they’re buying, get the chocolate flavor. Lawyer Qian used to mainly handle litigation and was rarely in the office, but now he too had been pulled back to handle documents. He simply skipped breakfast, just waiting for this ten o’clock bite. So Ning Yue needed to buy sandwiches with vegetables and meat in addition to cake.
At this moment, she stood there dumbfounded, one hand carrying four cups of coffee and hot drinks, the other holding a box full of cakes and sandwiches.
“Why aren’t you going up yet?” A sudden reproachful voice came from beside her.
Ning Yue startled awake to see Qin Can behind her, and thinking she had done something wrong, her back went cold: “Director Qin, why are you here so early?”
Qin Can said: “Luo is sick, the meeting’s canceled, so I came back early. What are you doing here?”
Ning Yue didn’t speak, and beside her, He Kuan reached out his hand: “Lawyer Qin? I’m He Kuan from the Sales Department, now a Project Manager. I have a project meeting scheduled with you at 10:15.”
Qin Can nodded, indicating he remembered. He Kuan walked around Ning Yue to stand beside Qin Can. Qin Can invited He Kuan into the elevator, and Ning Yue followed silently with her head down.
At this moment, Ning Yue’s head was almost to the ground. Her face was hot enough to boil an egg! She felt ashamed of herself—it was just a dream, why make such a fuss about looking for blue shirts everywhere?
Qin Can wear a light-colored suit. Probably feeling hot, he had taken off his jacket and draped it over his arm, revealing the shirt underneath. It was a black mandarin collar shirt, very distinctive. But what embarrassed Ning Yue was that the shirt’s buttons were shining just like in her dream!
Ning Yue felt like a lovesick animal, disturbed by some inexplicable signals. A proper married woman, waking up one morning to suddenly become Pan Jinlian!
She had no idea what the two men were discussing. By the time the elevator reached the fourteenth floor, Ning Yue’s face wasn’t so hot anymore. After all, being over forty, if she couldn’t control this much emotional turmoil, she would have lived in vain. Just as she raised her head, she saw Qin Can reach out, naturally taking his coffee from Ning Yue’s box, then picking out a piece of cake, eating while saying: “Ning Yue, help Manager He process the contract first. Send me a summary when you’re done. The workload isn’t heavy, just give it to me before you leave today. Manager He, please excuse me.”
He Kuan smiled: “Thank you, Lawyer Qin.” Seeing Qin Can walk away, he turned to Ning Yue and said, “Then I’ll trouble Lawyer Ning.”
His smile made Ning Yue blush again.
Since actively expanding her work scope to keep this job, Ning Yue not only had to do some administrative tasks but also had to handle many basic tasks in internal investigations. Qin Can was also “making full use” of her, intentionally or not assigning some routine projects to Ning Yue as well.
With everyone’s relationship just starting to ease, Ning Yue didn’t dare refuse bluntly like before, and could only try to complete or return tasks before leaving work. Fortunately, Qin Can seemed prepared for this and didn’t make things too difficult for her. But this was the first time he had given her a complete project like this.
After putting things away, Ning Yue took her notebook and hurried to the Sales Center. Halfway there, she realized she only had her internal phone and had left her mobile phone on her desk. Worried that her family might need to reach her, Ning Yue had to rush back.
Just as she entered the office, she found Pan Jie standing by her workstation, craning her neck to look.
Ning Yue walked over, and Pan Jie pointed at the phone, asking curiously: “Tian Qiuzi? You know this person?”
Ning Yue’s heart skipped a beat as messages kept coming in, all picture messages. Pan Jie was about to step back when she caught a glimpse of a text message: “This is your husband! Jealous?”
Pan Jie couldn’t see the pictures, but the text was clear. In an instant, she realized she might have seen something she shouldn’t have, and just as she was about to apologize, Ning Yue had already grabbed the phone and hurried away with her head down.
Pan Jie stood there dumbfounded, shocked by her discovery.
Zhong Tianming walked over and bumped into her, “Hey, get to work! Standing around for half an hour just to get water? Watch out, the boss will give you trouble.”
Only then did Pan Jie grab Zhong Tianming, eyes wide as she asked: “Do you remember when we were working with Lawyer An from the group on that financing project, there was a pretty woman in the investor’s delegation named Tian Qiuzi?”
“Of course, I remember! She was beautiful!” Zhong Tianming was puzzled, “What’s up? Why are you so excited? You made some typos that she found and called you out on, and you two even got into an argument. Don’t you remember?”
Pan Jie nodded: “Right! That’s her. Oh my god! This name shouldn’t have duplicates, right?”
Zhong Tianming reached out to feel Pan Jie’s forehead: “Are you sick?”
Pan Jie swatted away Zhong Tianming’s hand, muttering: “Oh my god! I hope I’m wrong.”
“What?” Zhong Tianming was very curious.
Pan Jie finally came to her senses and impatiently pushed Zhong Tianming away, walking back to her seat: “Work, work!”
Actually, the company’s products were very mature, with fixed routines for market customers. Normally, sales managers would take the standard contracts, knowing which parts could be modified and which couldn’t. Project managers were responsible for various implementation details after contract signing, involving business, technical, and market aspects. It sounds complicated, but in this company, so-called project managers had work content similar to engineers.
He Kuan was slightly different. He started as an engineer in the Sales Department, and besides helping sales with business, explaining product technical features, and completing the technical parts of bids, he could also communicate with customers when sales managers were lazy. Gradually, when there were small deals that no one wanted to do but had to be done, sales managers would throw them at him. He Kuan never complained, did whatever needed to be done, and everyone was happy. Gradually, everyone knew there was an engineer in the Sales Department who could do marketing. Just when everyone was wondering when He Kuan would grow into a top salesperson, he presented his project manager certificate and requested to transfer to project management. Everyone was surprised because the project manager was the position with the least perks, most work, and most criticism in this company. But from beginning to end, He Kuan just smiled foolishly, neither explaining nor arguing, letting it pass with a smile, doing whatever he needed to do.
Some shrewd old salespeople privately discussed that this He Kuan was not simple and would achieve something in the future. On the surface, everyone became more polite.
This project handed to Ning Yue was originally being handled by an old salesperson, with nothing to do with He Kuan. But during the bidding, the old salesperson had some family matters, and not trusting others, he privately agreed on a split ratio with He Kuan after completion and transferred the business to him.
Only after taking over did He Kuan discover that this project was actually all set, but the problem lay with the client’s legal department, which raised many detailed issues, requesting various changes, speaking eloquently but leaving everyone confused about their meaning! Presumably, that old salesperson was also afraid of making major mistakes by not being careful enough, so he passed it to him.
He Kuan wasn’t afraid of modifying contracts, but time waited for no one. Competitors were watching like hawks—who knew what changes might occur during these delays? Having no choice, he finally remembered that he had his legal department!
Although he had never dealt with them before and they didn’t seem very useful, having a legal deal with legal was better than him, an outsider, being lectured by their legal expert every day! The old salespeople were always wary of the Legal Department, preferring to find leaders or connections for any issue rather than approaching Legal. He Kuan hadn’t been involved in business for long and didn’t have such prejudices. One phone call to Qin Can, who supported their business, and Qin Can didn’t waste words, promptly setting up an appointment.
He Kuan had been so troubled by the other party’s legal team that his impression of lawyers had somewhat diminished. But watching Qin Can efficiently assign work in the elevator and directly hand it over to Ning Yue upon exiting, the high efficiency left He Kuan amazed.
He Kuan was quite pleased about Ning Yue taking over this matter—both professionally and personally.
In He Kuan’s view, everyone in the Legal Department was a lawyer, and even an office helper would know more than him. He had witnessed Ning Yue’s capabilities before and thought she would make a good partner. As for Ning Yue being just a coffee-buying assistant, he hadn’t considered it, and wouldn’t have minded if he had. A legal assistant with a law license who bought coffee was clearly like a hidden master sweeping the floor!
For the moment, He Kuan’s personal feelings faded, as romance had to give way under work pressure. His previous restraint and disappointment about Ning Yue’s married status and age were squeezed out like water from his private thoughts, leaving just appreciation to ferment slowly in his expectations.
When Ning Yue arrived, there were only two people in the meeting room. One was He Kuan, and the other he introduced was Engineer Chen. Hearing the title “Lawyer Ning,” Ning Yue was momentarily stunned—she hadn’t heard that title in eight years, it felt as ancient as a past life.
Since this was a temporary assignment, Ning Yue wasn’t familiar with the project. Before the meeting, He Kuan had sent her the relevant contracts and meeting minutes, but with limited time, she had only skimmed through them. So during the meeting, everyone went over the main points again.
After listening, Ning Yue had a general idea. She could see that He Kuan was both eager to sign the contract and skeptical of the modifications the other party’s legal team considered important, or worried about taking responsibility if they were truly serious issues. In any case, this kind of situation was extremely common.
Ning Yue relaxed. The solution was simple: render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto Legal what is Legal’s.
Ning Yue pulled up the contract on the computer and projected it on the wall—telling He Kuan which clauses he needed to negotiate. He Kuan saw that the so-called commercial terms were just price, payment, shipping, and fulfillment methods, and he was overjoyed. These contents had been agreed upon in the early stages. If they could proceed according to Ning Yue’s arrangement, he would have much more time for other work.
But what about the rest? Especially the parts the other party’s legal team emphasized, like choosing between arbitration or litigation, court selection, and such.
Ning Yue smiled and said: “Leave it all to me!”
“But I hope to sign quickly,” He Kuan emphasized worriedly.
Ning Yue lowered her head and counted on her fingers, “Three days. If nothing changes on your end in three days, you can sign and start the process.”
He Kuan was so happy he nearly fainted—he had planned for half a month. If it could really be moved up to three days, he’d do anything!
Back in the office, Ning Yue first reported to Qin Can. When she mentioned her suggested division of work, Qin Can raised his eyebrows: “This way, your workload might be very heavy.” He stopped his work and turned to look at Ning Yue.
Ning Yue nodded: “Yes, should we give it to someone else to do?”
Qin Can smiled and waved his hand: “Stop joking! You handle it yourself, no one else can help you.”
“By the way, their legal counsel seems to be your schoolmate,” Ning Yue remembered something, “Yan Hui, one-year junior to you. Specialized in Evidence Law.”
In legal circles, due to professional limitations, connections could always be found when you dug around. Qin Can studied Civil Law, but undergraduates studied everything. Even in graduate school, they had to be Master of Laws first before focusing on a direction. So despite different specializations, they might know each other.
Sure enough, Qin Can paused: “How is it her? You’re in for trouble.”
Ning Yue simply sat down to hear Qin Can elaborate on this person.
Qin Can recalled: “She’s quite capable, and ambitious too. In school, you know, the standard for ambition was whether you were in the student union or a core member of student organizations. She was quite active, even conducted a democratic election in her class according to election law, and then wrote a paper about it. The content was supposedly a bit sensitive, the teachers held it back from publication, but many people knew about her. I thought she’d go to court or the prosecutor’s office, or at least a law firm, didn’t expect her to join a company. She’s very particular, otherwise, she wouldn’t have conducted an election just because she was studying election law. And she’s very responsible. My second roommate worked with her in a student organization and said she was extremely meticulous to the point of being nitpicky. But the results were perfect, so no one said anything. Ah, so many years have passed, wonder if she’s changed?”
“Probably not!” Ning Yue continued, “He Kuan was driven to desperation by her, even commas and periods had to be discussed endlessly. And she seems quite busy, often scheduling negotiations after work or on weekends.” At this point, Ning Yue also smiled. This arrangement, when applied to the handsome and single He Kuan, had a hint of romance!
Qin Can caught on too and laughed: “No, no! This person, although she’s a woman, absolutely doesn’t see herself as one when working, nor does she pay attention to others’ gender—she must be busy. Indeed, there are already many miscellaneous tasks in a company, and with her meticulous personality, even if others don’t push her, she’ll push herself to the limit.”
Ning Yue nodded, realizing that this Yan Hui wasn’t difficult to deal with. Professional people should be dealt with professionally.
Near the end of the workday, Ning Yue finally finished reading all the project documents, including Yan Hui’s several revised versions. As she figured out Yan Hui’s thinking, Ning Yue finally understood why Yan Hui wouldn’t discuss this during work hours. These were all peripheral legal provisions that could work either way. Yan Hui wanted to save effort, to make things thorough on her end, but didn’t think it worth spending time on during work hours, so she simply scheduled it for later. Poor He Kuan didn’t understand the relative importance, and seeing Yan Hui’s serious insistence on changes, thought these points might contain traps. Combined with the unusual negotiation times, He Kuan became afraid to agree.
That’s why things had been deadlocked until now.
Ning Yue casually revised the acceptable parts and annotated the unacceptable ones with modification suggestions. Just as she was about to send it to Yan Hui, she remembered what Qin Can said about Yan Hui’s meticulous nature, and slowly released her grip on the mouse.
There’s never a perfect contract, and if one were to be truly meticulous, no contract could ever be signed. People accept compromised contracts only because of factors outside the contract—benefits and time. This also creates inherent risks in contract execution.
Ning Yue stared at the computer, quietly pondering that if they relied solely on text modifications to meet the other party’s requirements, they would be too passive. Three days was meant for a reasonable person. When dealing specifically with someone like Yan Hui, a somewhat compulsive and assertive woman, they might need to add some “seasoning”!
Thinking this, Ning Yue made a few more changes. Not only did she reject Yan Hui’s requirements, but she also strengthened their protections. Then she clicked send. Watching the email sent successfully, Ning Yue’s eyes showed subtle anticipation.
At 4:30, Ning Yue left on time. Right after she left, Qin Can came out to get water. Seeing Ning Yue’s empty seat, he remarked in surprise: “She left?”
Pan Jie poked her head out, looked, and said definitively: “Just left. What’s wrong? Can’t leave today?”
Qin Can shook his head, but with a smile on his face: “Interesting! I want to see how Ning Yue handles that nitpicky woman!”
In the story, he told Ning Yue, most was true. The only part about the second roommate who got angry and shouted was Qin Can himself. After that incident, he promptly quit the organization and gave Yan Hui the nickname “Nitpicky Woman.” Reportedly, by the time Yan Hui graduated, this nickname had replaced her real name.
The sky was darkening later and later, and when they reached the kindergarten, the sun was still hanging in the sky. Hu Ziyuan was running around playing with his classmates in the classroom. Ning Yue greeted them and let him play. At this time, her phone’s email showed a new message. Opening it, she saw it was a conference call invitation from Yan Hui, scheduled for an hour later. Ning Yue rejected it without hesitation.
Ten minutes later, He Kuan called, hemming and hawing, worried this would delay the agreement signing. Ning Yue assured him not to worry and told him with certainty that even if they attended the meeting on time, the agreement wouldn’t be signed. So, why not let her rest properly? He Kuan gave a bitter laugh, and Ning Yue comforted him to relax, she had this under control. He Kuan couldn’t push too hard, especially since this was his first collaboration with Ning Yue. But doubts had already clouded his mind, and his initial expectations had now been replaced with silent complaints.
Hu Ziyuan was still running around in the classroom, showing no sign of wanting to leave. Ning Yue stood to the side, smiling as she watched him play with his classmates.
Her phone vibrated, and Ning Yue glanced at it to see a familiar string of numbers. This number wasn’t the source of her nightmare, but it was currently the key to hell.
Opening the text messages, sure enough, there were several photos from Tian Qiuzi of her traveling with Hu Cheng on business trips. Tian Qiuzi naturally wouldn’t choose ordinary photos to send her; each one was full of suggestive and ambiguous implications. The last message was text: “This is your husband! Jealous?”
Usually, Ning Yue would suppress her displeasure, silently pretending to be calm while archiving these photos, even having some necessary ones notarized outside to maintain their validity as evidence. After such busy work, that maddening feeling from seeing the photos would slightly decrease—at least she wouldn’t want to immediately grab a knife and kill someone. But today, perhaps because work had broadened her mindset, or perhaps because too much pain had numbed her to it, she replied to Tian Qiuzi: “Cherish it while you can! Next time it might not be you.”
“What do you mean?” Tian Qiuzi quickly replied.
Ning Yue hesitated, but finally sent a message that felt satisfying to say: “You’re not the first person to send me such photos, and I’m sure you won’t be the last!”
After the message was sent, Tian Qiuzi indeed fell silent. After the brief satisfaction, a heavy and lingering melancholy spread, gripping Ning Yue’s heart, choking her until she bent over and held her head.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Just as she bent down, a call rang out beside her. Then a small body leaned close. The tiny features, not yet fully developed, dark eyes showing a pure gaze. In just that moment of daze, chubby little hands had already cupped Ning Yue’s face, the small face enlarged, appearing somewhat comically distorted and round before her eyes. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just a bit of a headache.” Ning Yue smiled. Not a forced smile, but one that came naturally upon seeing this face, smelling this scent, hearing this voice—her heart couldn’t help but relax.
“Does it still hurt?” The small finger was placed on Ning Yue’s Yintang acupoint between her eyebrows, massaging up and down gently, just like how mommy massaged him every night before bed.
Ning Yue didn’t stop her son’s actions, slightly closed her eyes, and said in a drawn-out voice: “Mmm, much better! So comfortable!”
Hu Ziyuan asked: “Mommy, are you working overtime tonight?”
Ning Yue didn’t want to lie to him: “Mommy does have some work to do. Would you like to work with me?”
“Okay! I want to practice writing pinyin, the teacher praised Doudou today. I want to write better than Doudou!”
Mother and son left the kindergarten chatting and laughing. Their silhouettes, one big and one small, leisurely shadows stretched long in the sunset—who would have thought that just minutes ago, Ning Yue had been in such agony that she’d rather be dead!
The kindergarten was very close to home, just a ten-minute drive, but by the time they got home, there were less than five minutes until the conference call. As soon as they entered the door, Yan Hui’s call came in. Ning Yue just glanced at it before hanging up. After handing Hu Ziyuan to his grandfather and settling the two to play, Ning Yue finally closed the study door and called back.
On the other end, Yan Hui was furious, accusing Ning Yue of being unprofessional, refusing the meeting without advance notice, and causing her work arrangements to be disrupted.
“I responded as soon as I received the meeting invitation. Lawyer Yan didn’t see it?” Ning Yue said unhurriedly, “Should I check the time?”
The fact wasn’t that Ning Yue had responded late, but that Yan Hui hadn’t left others any time to refuse.
Yan Hui naturally knew when the meeting invitation was sent out. Ning Yue had responded immediately, while she had just seen it. But this couldn’t make her admit her mistake.
“You should at least have called! Don’t you always call to confirm after sending emails?”
Ning Yue wanted to retort: “I get three thousand emails a day, should I call for each one?” However, she only wanted to provoke Yan Hui, not suppress her momentum. On the contrary, with someone like Yan Hui, she needed to show weakness to ease her vigilance. So, Ning Yue smiled and said softly: “Yes, Lawyer Yan is right. I’ll call to confirm next time.”
Sure enough, Yan Hui on the other end still commanded with full force: “Fine, now get your people online, let’s start the meeting right away!”
Ning Yue said: “Lawyer Yan, did you not read the email carefully? The meeting cancellation has been confirmed by everyone. I think if you can sign now, you just need to find Manager He Kuan to resolve it. If you can’t sign, we still need everyone to discuss it together. Hmm, it would be better to send a meeting invitation first.”
Yan Hui certainly hadn’t planned to sign the contract immediately, but since she hadn’t expected to be refused, she naturally hadn’t thought about needing to send another invitation for a new meeting. So, hearing Ning Yue say this, Yan Hui was stumped, finally realizing the other party had an attitude vastly different from He Kuan’s.
Behind the other party’s low-key attitude was a firm, tit-for-tat approach.
Since she could use the seemingly procedural requirement of confirming emails by phone to lecture Ning Yue, why couldn’t Ning Yue follow the rule that meetings must have invitations first? Moreover, it seemed Ning Yue’s position was more reasonable.
Yan Hui steadied herself, her tone also softening, “Ah, Lawyer Ning, you’re right. However, since you were the one who refused first, why don’t you send this invitation?” In her heart, she thought vengefully, I’ll let you taste what it’s like to be refused! She had decided to push this matter back while choosing a time that would annoy Ning Yue.
Ning Yue continued speaking softly: “That’s fine. However, you’ve always been the one sending meeting invitations, suddenly changing to me might confuse everyone. Why don’t you reply to my email, letting everyone know that this invitation I’m sending is the same matter as the one you initiated?”
Ning Yue had originally been straightforward in manner, but after spending so much time with children, her coaxing tone had become well-practiced. Now, lowering her stance to coax Yan Hui on the other end of the phone took no effort at all.
Yan Hui didn’t know that Ning Yue only had this one project, but judging by her situation, assumed every legal staff had five or six projects, with business departments often overlapping, so this request wasn’t excessive. She agreed, hung up the phone, and replied to Ning Yue with an email, copying relevant people.
The email naturally didn’t have such a gunpowder smell, just asking Ning Yue to choose a suitable time.
This email was exactly what Ning Yue had been waiting for. She smiled, opened the system, chose the first time slot after work started tomorrow morning, and sent it out.
Ning Yue’s meeting invitations covered work hours from 9 AM to 6 PM, with each meeting set for one hour. Yan Hui looked at the screen with a cold smile, clicking reject as soon as she received each one. Ning Yue kept sending them in chronological order, and Yan Hui treated them all equally, rejecting everyone. In the end, Ning Yue sent eight invitation emails, and with Yan Hui’s rejection replies, the relevant people’s inboxes were a sea of red!
While this battle was raging, He Kuan’s call squeezed in.
He Kuan had finished entertaining and returned home, only to be bewildered by a pile of red unread emails. Reading carefully, he almost went weak in the knees at Yan Hui’s bunch of invitation rejections. This ancestor was refusing on purpose! Ning Yue, what universally condemned thing did you do to make this King Yama so furious?
Ning Yue didn’t say much, just asked He Kuan if any superior leaders in their company were paying attention to this project. He Kuan said yes, and that leader was on their side, but with the contract unsigned, he couldn’t say much.
Ning Yue asked He Kuan to hint to the leader tomorrow, nothing else needed to be said, just urge the project’s progress. After all, since it had been approved and was mostly negotiated, letting it drag on wasn’t appropriate. If her estimate was accurate, relevant leaders would be asked to attend the negotiations tomorrow. Ning Yue conservatively told He Kuan that she wasn’t certain if tomorrow’s meeting could be held, so she hoped He Kuan could handle this matter. He Kuan assured her not to worry, just wondering what the leaders needed to do. Ning Yue said nothing was needed, and just do what should be done when the time came. Also, he’d better tell her which leader would be appropriate to attend such meetings, because she didn’t know!
He Kuan couldn’t help but laugh. After calculating for so long, she hadn’t even figured out this most basic thing. He couldn’t help saying on the phone: “Great Lawyer Ning, sorry, sorry! My bad! My bad! For the inadequate care, I’ll handle it right away!”
Ning Yue knew he was teasing her and let it go. Soon, He Kuan emailed her the contact information for leaders who should attend and could speak up. He also told her there was a high-level group for this project in the email groups, containing all the leaders’ contact information. He had already authorized her access, so she could enter this email group and set meetings and schedules.
He Kuan got serious, wanting to know what exactly Ning Yue had planned.
Ning Yue assured him, then said with some schadenfreude: “Yan Hui probably regrets it now. Don’t you think that after her email asking me to initiate the meeting, such intensive rejection emails would seem unprofessional to any normal person?”
“So what?” He Kuan was almost crying.
Ning Yue said: “If leaders ask why this project is so slow, can you say it’s because of contract terms when you’re holding this pile of rejection emails?”
He Kuan suddenly fell silent, looking at the glaring sea of red on the screen, suddenly feeling relieved: “I understand! Should I show this to people tomorrow?”
Ning Yue said: “Absolutely not! The most powerful trump card is the one held in reserve. Our goal is to sign the contract, not to target people.”
He Kuan relaxed, sinking into the sofa of his one-bedroom rental apartment, letting out a breath. He had a feeling that Ning Yue completely understood what he wanted to do. Even things he didn’t want others to know, Ning Yue seemed to know. Remembering that ponytail swinging behind her head, that face that still looked young, He Kuan muttered: “Ning Yue? What kind of person is she?”
Meanwhile, Yan Hui was still busy in her brightly lit office. After not hearing new email notifications for a long while, she glanced at her inbox. Upon seeing that large patch of red, she immediately became serious. She waited a while longer, even clicking “Receive” to refresh her inbox, but still no message from Ning Yue came. Yan Hui frowned: “What’s this about? Planning to complain about this? How stupid!”
She turned back to continue her work, but after just a few minutes, she took her fingers off the keyboard and picked up the phone: “Hello, is this Qin Can? I hear you’ve recruited a new tiger! Quite impressive!”
Qin Can have just finished working out and found Yan Hui’s call rather puzzling, but he knew the only one in his group who could match up with Yan Hui was probably Ning Yue. Such an evaluation from Yan Hui probably meant she’d hit a wall with Ning Yue. Qin Can felt a surge of satisfaction, as if the frustration from being publicly lectured by a freshman when he was a sophomore was finally being expelled with a musty old smell, completely leaving his territory.
Yan Hui was just trying to inquire about Ning Yue’s background, but how could Qin Can tell her that Ning Yue was just an assistant doing odd jobs? Of course, he also wouldn’t elevate Ning Yue too high, lest it diminish his position later. He just hummed and hawed, tacitly agreeing with Yan Hui’s assumption—that Ning Yue was experienced.
Yan Hui slammed down the phone and cursed at the black screen: “Petty!” Everyone in the circle knew Qin Can was extremely small-minded, particularly unable to take a loss, famous for being vengeful. She had publicly humiliated him back then, and whenever they met at work afterward, he was always passive-aggressive. If she hadn’t carelessly fallen into Ning Yue’s trap this time, she wouldn’t have bothered with such a man!
Other emails still occasionally came into Yan Hui’s inbox, but under Ning Yue’s name, updates had stopped.
To reply to Yan Hui’s emails promptly, Ning Yue hadn’t urged Hu Ziyuan to sleep at his usual bedtime. Originally not wanting to sleep, Hu Ziyuan happily played around Ning Yue, and when she finally had free hands, she found it had grown quiet beside her. Hu Ziyuan was lying on her leg, his little bottom pressing on Ning Yue’s foot, already asleep.
Ning Yue gently pushed back the desk, helped adjust the child’s position, and slowly picked him up. Hu Ziyuan’s sweet dream was disturbed, and he mumbled in his sleep. Ning Yue whispered: “Mmm, mommy’s holding you… Baby sleep comfortably, mommy’s holding you…”
Yan Hui had very special, unwavering work hours. She entered the office at five in the morning. Worked until six-thirty, and went to the gym. At eight, she brought breakfast to the office. By nine-thirty, the official start time, she was already energetically preparing to run between department meetings.
However, today she didn’t go to the gym, and even breakfast was ordered for delivery. She kept staring at her inbox, occasionally refreshing it. After nine, her refresh rate increased. When at nine-fifteen a meeting invitation suddenly flashed into her view, Yan Hui clicked on it almost without thinking. Her attention was completely focused on the “Accept” and “Decline” buttons, and after a slight hesitation, she clicked “Accept.”
After clicking, she sighed in relief, only then looking at the meeting content and invitees. The content was identical, clearly copied and pasted from before, but the invitees…
Yan Hui opened the previous meeting invitations to compare the invitees. Besides her, He Kuan, Engineer Chen, and her side’s purchasing manager and engineer, Director Wang and Director Han had been added. She didn’t know Director Wang, but Director Han was the big boss for this project at the company.
Yan Hui propped her chin, muttering to herself: “What is this Ning Yue up to now!” She had an ominous feeling that she might have fallen into Ning Yue’s trap this time. If nothing else, just look at these invitees. Normally, she would call to inquire before agreeing to a meeting. This time, because of yesterday’s “sea of red,” she was eager to regain the upper hand in terms of posture, and habitually assuming it was the same invitation, she agreed without careful checking. As a result, at this crucial moment, Ning Yue had added invitees! Taking advantage of her “haste”!
What was the significance of this change?
When Ning Yue received Yan Hui’s reply, she couldn’t help pumping her fist with a “Yeah!” Right after, He Kuan’s call came in. It turned out He Kuan hadn’t slept well all night either, and though he usually arrived at the company at ten, today he was at his desk by eight-thirty.
His first words were asking Ning Yue what to do next.
Prepare for the meeting! Ning Yue thought for a moment and replied: “Let me chair it.”
He Kuan felt relieved and quickly said: “Good, good, good! I’ll introduce you to everyone first, then you can chair.”
Ning Yue nodded and put down the phone.
The meeting was scheduled for ten-thirty, only an hour away. It was a video conference, so travel distance wasn’t a concern.
While Ning Yue was calculating, He Kuan called again, saying dejectedly: “Lawyer Ning, I just got a call from Lawyer Yan, saying their company’s video conference systems are mostly occupied. At ten-thirty only one meeting room is available, but that one’s broken. They’re asking if we can come over. Lawyer Ning, we can’t delay this anymore.”
This Yan Hui was doing this on purpose! But He Kuan was more afraid Ning Yue would use this to refuse the meeting, so he specially added a reminder. At this point, he finally understood a tiny bit why old salespeople were unwilling to deal with legal—cunning and fussy, and seemingly looking down on others.
Ning Yue’s voice pulled He Kuan out of his negative thoughts, “It takes about forty-five minutes to drive there. Don’t respond to Yan Hui, go directly to Director Han. Explain the situation and request to delay the meeting until eleven. If Director Han agrees, you must get his confirmation by email, then copy Yan Hui.”
He Kuan quickly nodded. Without Ning Yue, he probably would have informed both Director Han and Director Wang too. But bypassing Yan Hui like this still made him uneasy. After all, he had encountered similar situations before, when his predecessor in sales had told the purchasing manager, but when they arrived, Yan Hui refused to participate because she “had other arrangements”! The purchasing manager couldn’t do anything either, just urged them to be punctual next time.
Looking at the names in the email, He Kuan realized for the first time that Director Han was like a carefully arranged chess piece, silently placed in an inconspicuous position, suddenly found to command the entire situation!
When Yan Hui saw the email communication between He Kuan and Director Han, she also realized Ning Yue’s intention, and simultaneously understood that while someone like Director Han could indeed keep her in check, he couldn’t be called upon frequently! As long as she could drag this out once, Ning Yue would have no way next time!
After much difficulty setting up a meeting, the atmosphere was very good. Everyone met with smiles and handshakes, appearing very cordial. After introductions, when getting into the content, Ning Yue said the first item was a proposal. She then repeated her suggestion to He Kuan about separating legal and business matters, discussing them separately.
Yan Hui was the first to object, her reason being that while business content could be handled this way, when implemented in the contract it must be in legal language, which couldn’t be discussed separately from legal.
Ning Yue said: “Lawyer Yan makes a good point, but that applies to special contracts or situations without contracts. For our current project, as I understand it, it’s a very mature project with similar previous transactions, and the contract is your side’s standard form.”
Yan Hui wanted to speak, but Director Han interjected: “Let’s do it this way. Little Yan, you and Lawyer Ning discuss your legal matters, and we’ll discuss our business matters. When everything’s agreed upon, let the Purchasing Department fill in the blanks, with no modifications. How does that sound?”
Director Wang also said: “Agreed. On our side, He Kuan is responsible for business matters, he’s used this contract version of yours before, and he’ll fill in the business parts with your purchasing team, they’re all experienced salespeople, no problem. Besides, you’ll review it at the end, check for typos, fix punctuation and such, whatever!”
Director Wang spoke casually, but his words made the legal staff present uncomfortable. Yan Hui couldn’t help glaring at Ning Yue, thinking: “See? This is the result of letting business departments run wild! They’ll treat us legal staff like erasers!”
Ning Yue sat expressionless as if she hadn’t understood Director Wang’s words. He Kuan felt Director Wang’s words were a bit hurtful and carefully looked at Ning Yue. Seeing she seemed not to have caught the meaning, he felt somewhat relieved. Then he worried whether she was just pretending not to mind while seething inside. Like Lawyer Yan across from them, whose face had darkened enough to thunder!
Regardless, finally, under He Kuan’s suggestion, they split into two meeting rooms, one where He Kuan’s group discussed business matters, and one where Ning Yue and Yan Hui discussed terms. He Kuan’s side had already agreed on everything before, so this time they took less than half an hour to fill in all the blanks. With nothing else to do, both sides started chatting about their respective legal departments.
The purchasing manager poured out a litany of complaints, saying all his KPIs for this quarter were ruined by Yan Hui. While He Kuan consoled him, he waited for Ning Yue to come out. Even after he had lunch with the purchasing manager, Ning Yue, Yan Hui’s office door remained tightly closed.
The purchasing manager hesitantly asked: “They won’t get into a fight, will they?”
He Kuan wanted to laugh, but remembering Yan Hui’s usual style, he worried they might fight. The two exchanged glances, then quietly crept to the door to listen. Intermittent voices came from inside; though unclear, they were far from fighting.
The purchasing manager told He Kuan to attend to other matters first, saying from his experience, Yan Hui obviously couldn’t negotiate the contract so smoothly. He Kuan agreed, and though worried, he had no choice but to return to the company first.
Ning Yue returned to the company after 3 PM, and by the time she finished writing the situation report email at 4:30, she hurriedly left her desk after sending it to the relevant parties. Yan Hui indeed intended to delay, but Ning Yue was well prepared for her pickiness.
In her final revised draft, she had added many unnecessary insistences and changes. Yan Hui, being thorough as always, marked everything word by word until the document was covered in red. On these issues, Ning Yue alternated between attack and defense, finally putting on an act of “I give up, whatever you say goes” and surrendering. Yan Hui pressed her advantage, feeling thoroughly victorious!
However, after Ning Yue left, Yan Hui kept feeling something wasn’t quite right. But it wasn’t until the signed original was returned for filing and she opened it for another scan that she realized, the items she truly cared about, that Ning Yue had rejected almost all of them!
This contract was like a painting—when Yan Hui wanted to modify the structural details of the figures, Ning Yue drew a pile of manure in the blank space, successfully diverting her attention!
Unfortunately, this realization came too late.
He Kuan received the email and wanted to call, but felt it better to talk in person. When he arrived at the Legal Department, she was already gone. Qin Can happened to come out and, seeing He Kuan, said: “Looking for Ning Yue? She’s already left for the day.”
“Left already? So early?”
“Yes, that’s her regular leaving time. She starts earlier than others too.”
He Kuan wanted to say how could she leave before finishing such an important matter but felt since he was the one asking for help, such demands might be excessive.
Seeing his hesitation, Qin Can pat He Kuan’s shoulder: “Getting to this point is already a very good result.”
“But if we pushed a bit more, we could have signed today!”
“Negotiating and signing are two different things. Even if negotiations go well and the text is all settled, we still need to let it sit and review it again. All this takes time, it’s not something overtime can solve,” Qin Can explained. “Don’t worry, Lawyer Yan isn’t unreasonable. Though she’s picky, her work attitude is very proper, you don’t need to worry. I think at the earliest they’ll sign the day after tomorrow, and then start the process. Just wait a bit.”
With Qin Can explaining so patiently, He Kuan was grateful. He certainly understood some things couldn’t be rushed, but the lawyers’ nitpicking over words and phrases still gave him the urge to scratch the walls!
Qin Can saw he wasn’t leaving and asked in surprise: “Anything else?”
He Kuan blinked, feeling there was still something he hadn’t done, but the urge to find a corner to scratch was so strong that he completely forgot: he had originally wanted to invite Ning Yue to dinner!
After picking up Hu Ziyuan from kindergarten, his childhood friend came to play. The two children turned the house upside down, with grandfather laughing and playing along, creating quite a harmonious scene.
When bedtime came, the friend was taken home by his parents. As Hu Ziyuan finally settled down, their mother-in-law suddenly called out: “Oh my! Doudou! Why is your hair all wet? Oh my! So much sweat! So dirty! Come, quickly take a bath!”
Ning Yue had been preparing things for bedtime, and hearing this, hurried out of the bedroom. She grabbed Hu Ziyuan, first feeling his head—full of sweat—then his back, also soaking wet. She quickly stopped her mother-in-law: “Mom, he can’t take a bath now. Children are susceptible to colds right after sweating.”
Mother-in-law said: “Then we’ll wait until the sweat dries before bathing.”
Ning Yue paused: “It’s almost bedtime, let’s bathe tomorrow!”
Mother-in-law shrilly asked in shock: “Tomorrow? With all that sweat, he’s filthy! How can you let the child wait until tomorrow!”
Ning Yue suppressed her displeasure: “It takes two to three hours for sweat to dry, and even then, the pores are still open. Even with heating in winter, bathing can easily…”
“I raised Hu Cheng this big, he bathed every day, and never once caught a cold from bathing after sweating!” Mother-in-law was angry, unable to tolerate the child going to sleep all sweaty, feeling it was as dirty as pulling up pants without wiping after defecating.
Ning Yue held Hu Ziyuan’s hand: “Mom, I’ll take him to do homework first. I’ll change the dirty bedding tomorrow, don’t worry.”
“Hmph!” Mother-in-law waved her hand dismissively and slammed her bedroom door shut.
Ning Yue felt her heart rhythm suddenly go chaotic, taking a long while to recover.
“Mommy?” Hu Ziyuan tugged at her hand, and Ning Yue smiled, patting his head, saying: “Come on, let’s go draw.”
Just as Hu Ziyuan fell asleep, Hu Cheng returned. Then came choking sounds from the mother-in-law’s room. Finally, the door opened, Hu Cheng came out, and mother-in-law’s voice stopped. Just as Ning Yue was about to sigh in relief, Hu Cheng appeared before her with a dark face: “What’s wrong with you, making Mom so angry?”
Ning Yue said: “Was what I said unreasonable?”
She took out a parenting article she had prepared earlier for Hu Cheng to read. She remembered last time when they argued with her mother-in-law over something similar, Hu Cheng had said the personal experience wasn’t reliable, especially old people’s outdated thinking, and told her to read more books. Now she had written evidence, surely she couldn’t be accused of “angering his mother”?
Hu Cheng glanced at it dismissively: “Blindly believing books is worse than having no books. Mom has the experience, you should listen to her!”
Ning Yue laughed coldly: “When I cite experience, you tell me to read books. When I read books, you tell me to listen to experience. This isn’t right, that isn’t right, how do you want me to raise your son?”
Hu Cheng immediately retorted: “Why are you shouting, the child is sleeping, can’t you talk properly!”
Ning Yue smiled, speaking in an extremely gentle tone: “Talk properly. Come, show me how it’s done, tell me what to do.”
“Just listen to Mom. Stop making her angry, her crying gives me a headache!”
“Fine, remember what you just said. But seven years ago when I was pregnant, what did you say? You said Mom’s old child-rearing experience wasn’t good, and told me to raise the child myself. You even said to avoid the elderly’s influence as much as possible. So I quit my job and learned to be a mother from scratch. Now you tell me to listen to your mom, so who said those words seven years ago? Am I mentally ill, having auditory hallucinations?”
Hu Cheng’s lips trembled as he looked at Ning Yue before him, cheeks flushed and eyes blazing, as if looking at a stranger. But he wasn’t one to admit defeat, especially before his wife—following Ning Yue’s suggestions already felt like a compromise, let alone now being caught out on his words! So, Hu Cheng blurted out: “You are mentally ill! You didn’t even finish your medication, I think you should go to the hospital for a check-up!”
Ning Yue laughed coldly: “No matter how mentally ill I am, at least I know who my husband is, know I’m the child’s mother! Also, Hu Cheng, this is the first time you’ve called me mentally ill, there won’t be a second time! I’m your wife, your son’s mother—if you call me mentally ill, what does that make you? What does that make your son!”
Hu Cheng’s face reddened as he glared at Ning Yue, lowering his voice to a hiss: “You don’t know how to raise a child at all! Why else would our child always be sick? Why does he always sit alone in the classroom playing by himself?”
“Hu Cheng, don’t forget, about the child always being sick, even you said it was because the kindergarten’s disease prevention measures were inadequate. Before kindergarten when I was caring for him myself, was he ever sick this often? About playing alone, you said that was the child’s interest, and told us not to interfere! Don’t you remember? Or am I having hallucinations again!”
Ning Yue didn’t bother to explain further, she just wanted to precisely and ruthlessly grip Hu Cheng’s neck, and make him eat his words!
Hu Cheng’s face alternated between green and white. He hadn’t seen Ning Yue this confrontational in many years. He was about to say something else when Ning Yue cut him off: “Enough! I see now, you’re deliberately picking fights. You never intended to ask me why, you came to accuse me! Let me tell you, I did nothing wrong today, curse whoever you want! I’m in a bad mood tonight, believe it or not, I’ll throw everything right back at you! And about you saying I can’t raise the child, I have two words for you: ‘Bullshit!'”
Ning Yue pointed toward the main door: “Go back where you came from! We’re not seeing eye to eye, for your, my, and the child’s safety, we’d better keep our distance and cool down separately!”
Ning Yue turned around and closed the master bedroom door. Soon after came the sound of a door slamming, and the house suddenly fell silent. Her full chest suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, rapidly collapsing. She rushed to the outside bathroom, covered her mouth with a towel, and through the layers of cotton, let out uncontrollable sobs!