The project that had been stopped for so long could finally run again.

When a project starts running, many things get driven along with it.

For example, because we needed to transport large quantities of materials, we simply repaired the village’s muddy roads.

The large number of workers and the transport teams shuttling back and forth brought business to Ha Rina’s family’s internet cafe. Not only their family—the village’s convenience stores and restaurants all visibly improved in business. A new express delivery point was even built nearby.

The villagers went from loudly cursing at us to running over themselves, gesturing to ask if we still needed to hire workers.

The only thing slightly off was that the people here were all Zhao Yu’s subordinates, and the local workers didn’t think much of women.

One worker, because his safety equipment wasn’t up to standard and I said a few words, immediately glared at me with his fists clenched tight, as if he might pounce on me and hit me at any moment.

Zhao Yu kicked him to the ground with one foot. He went silent.

He rubbed his buttocks, didn’t dare say a word, and ran off with his head hanging.

“Some people, I’m telling you, are just born like walnuts—they’re begging for a beating!” Zhao Yu directly gathered everyone at the construction site for a meeting. “What did Manager Ren come here for? To wipe your asses! Without Manager Ren, you wouldn’t still be working here all fired up. This would’ve been a failed operation long ago.”

He was like Old Feng—both had absolute authority on the construction site. The difference was that Old Feng’s subordinates all found Old Feng quite annoying, while Zhao Yu, though her mouth was full of crude language, kept her subordinates firmly in line.

“Manager Ren takes one look at blueprints—rebar specifications, concrete strength, which part of the on-site area corresponds to which part of the drawings—she can rattle them off. Can you do that? What gives you the right to look down on her? Just because she’s female?” She cursed and threatened. “I’m telling you, I’ve been in this industry for twenty years. Those who act like big shots—they all end up with bad luck!”

After that, everyone was respectful toward me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was already difficult for a woman to manage people on a construction site, let alone in this unfamiliar place. Having a reliable leader to hold down the fort made things much more convenient for me.

I specially went to buy two bottles of liquor to thank Zhao Yu.

She waved her hand dismissively. “I should be thanking you. When I was lying in the hospital, I heard you were coming, and my heart went cold. I really didn’t expect you could carry this thing.”

“Why’s that?”

Zhao Yu was very frank. “Me? I actually wanted a technical talent as my deputy. You were promoted too fast. People like you generally rise through the ranks by kissing ass…”

I thought to myself—you didn’t guess wrong. That’s exactly how I did it!

“But when those revised blueprints came out, I knew you had substance. Don’t worry, I don’t have any of that fancy nonsense here! If we can smoothly get this project done properly, that’s better than anything.”

“Sounds good!”

I finally understood why Zhao Yu was fierce but had good relationships. She wasn’t petty. If it were Old Feng, you’d have to carefully figure out the boss’s intentions. You wouldn’t know when you’d offend him badly.

However, this time it was purely a lucky accident.

The technical type Zhao Yu loved wasn’t me.

It was Cheng Xia.

—

During those days I was sick and muddled. My mind was full of countless ideas, but I couldn’t grasp any of them firmly.

The more anxious I got, the less I could grasp them.

Cheng Xia went out during the day and came back at night to sit by my bedside, helping me sort through my thoughts bit by bit.

“Actually, when you sum it up, there are only three problems—low-cost old house renovation, public welfare, and budget.”

“There are these several ways of insulation. I’ll talk and you listen—direct benefit type, Trombe wall type, and attached sunroom type…”

“For the budget, I think we can save more on building materials…”

I slapped my thigh countless times saying, “That’s right, that’s right! That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

But these thoughts were like they were floating in chaos. No matter how I racked my brain, I didn’t know how to grasp them. Cheng Xia helped me sort them out clearly.

On the day of the final report, I didn’t sleep all night. I repeatedly looked at the PowerPoint. Only when daylight came did I doze off for a bit. When I woke up, I found Cheng Xia ironing my shirt for me.

I was bleary-eyed and said, “It’s fine. Everyone looks disheveled.”

“No, you can dress in something not nice-looking,” he said, holding up the white shirt to examine it, then continued, “but you can’t give people the feeling that you’re not prepared.”

I also looked at that white shirt and nodded silently.

Why did I like Cheng Xia so much? Because when he appeared before me, his shirts were always crisp, clean and fresh.

Even in such a simple environment, he was like a pearl in muddy water, radiating clean and gentle light.

This wasn’t because he had some natural protagonist halo.

It was because every night he would seriously wash his clothes, fetch hot water to take care of his skin and wash up, and then the next day wake up early, wash his hair until it was completely clean, then iron the previous night’s wrinkled clothes neatly before going out.

This was the source of that sense of refinement about him.

“In this kind of situation, maintaining dignity is actually also a kind of strength,” he said while blow-drying my hair. “Strength will make people trust you more.”

I buried myself in his embrace. It was the scent of laundry detergent, citrus, the smell of good fortune.

I suddenly had a premonition.

I would succeed. I definitely would.

—

The day the meeting ended happened to be the day Cheng Xia had to leave. After all, he couldn’t take leave endlessly.

That night, it rained heavily. The spring rain pattered against the roof, like ten thousand spirits dancing above our heads.

We lay in bed, but our hearts felt very settled.

I said, “Cheng Xia, thank you so much this time.”

Cheng Xia said, “I didn’t really do anything. The ideas were all yours. I just helped you sort them out.”

“That’s exactly what I’m thanking you for,” I said. “All along, I seemed to charge forward relying on sheer brute force. This was the first time I felt I couldn’t charge through, and you helped me.”

His eyes sparkled. I knew he was very happy.

“You have a very powerful force,” he said. “But things that are too intense easily hurt yourself. Being able to help you makes me very happy.”

The soft quilt covered us, along with Cheng Xia’s body.

He had no excess fat. His abdomen had some muscular definition, but his fingers were soft, just like his gaze.

He caressed my face bit by bit and said, “When we were in school, I always felt our worlds were very far apart. Me coming to your world, or you coming to my side—these were unimaginable things… But now I know we can create together a… world that belongs to us.”

His lips covered mine, gentle as a sigh.

The rain fell harder and harder, but the world inside the quilt was very warm. I had an illusion—Cheng Xia and I were like two little squirrels, squeezed together, depending on each other for survival.

This was the most beautiful moment of my life. The person I loved most kissed every part of my body, like spring water flowing over the land where all things were coming back to life.

I felt everything was wonderful, and everything would be even better.

The next day, I saw Cheng Xia off.

When I came back, I discovered the small changes he’d made. The electrical outlets had been moved to the bedside. He’d laid a rug on the floor. He’d even used iron sheets to build me a simple wardrobe.

And on the table, there was a bouquet of wildflowers. In the sunlight after the rain, they bloomed especially full and vibrant.