Early the next morning, the first thing Lu Ling did upon stepping into her office was press the intercom button: “Secretary Li, please contact the Human Resources Department and help me check a recently submitted resume. The applicant’s name is Ye Chen. It was submitted around the day of the elevator accident last week.”
“Understood, President Lu. I will handle it right away,” Secretary Li responded efficiently.
Sitting in her spacious executive chair, Lu Ling tapped her fingertips rhythmically and unconsciously against the desk. She couldn’t help wondering what kind of position someone like Ye Chen would apply for. Security? Logistics? Or perhaps another role requiring her level of calmness and adaptability? Regardless of the specific position, Lu Ling felt that the qualities Ye Chen displayed during the elevator incident were more than enough to qualify her for many roles within the company.
In less than half an hour, the internal telephone rang. “President Lu, the Human Resources Director replied in person.” Secretary Li’s voice carried a hint of confusion. “They conducted a comprehensive search in the recent resume database across all recruitment channels, including the official website, major recruitment platforms, and the internal referral system, using the name Ye Chen, but they couldn’t find any resume matching your description.”
Lu Ling frowned slightly. “Are you certain? Across all channels? It was probably submitted last Wednesday.”
“I’ve confirmed it, President Lu. Even when expanding the time frame to nearly a month, no applicant resume under the name Ye Chen could be found.”
“I understand. Thank you.” Lu Ling hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair, a deep sense of doubt welling up inside her.
At that time, I clearly heard her say she had just submitted a resume. So where did it go? Or could it be…
A possibility surfaced in her mind: could the resume have been directly filtered out and deleted by a junior HR screener due to mismatched work experience, seeing that her most recent job was food delivery? Although non-compliant, major corporations handling massive volumes of resumes sometimes resort to such crude screening practices.
Ye Chen’s physical skills and mental fortitude far exceed the requirements for ordinary positions. It would be such a pity if she were rejected outright simply because of her past profession.
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But why does a trace of unease still linger in my heart?
She pressed the intercom button once more. “Secretary Li, please do me one more favor. Privately contact the Security Department and pull the surveillance footage near the employee passageway from last week, specifically around the time of the elevator accident in the afternoon. See if any external delivery personnel lingered there, or if there were any other anomalies.” She instinctively connected the two matters, wanting to confirm whether Ye Chen had truly visited the company and seen the job posting as she claimed, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the events surrounding the elevator malfunction.
“Understood, President Lu.”
However, a few minutes later, Secretary Li’s return call delivered an even more perplexing piece of news. “President Lu, the Security Department replied that the surveillance data for that specific time period and area seems to have encountered a problem and cannot be retrieved. They said the system storage experienced a minor glitch, and that portion of the data may have been lost.”
Surveillance data lost? Specifically for that day and in that area? Lu Ling’s brow locked tightly. Her years of sharp intuition in the corporate world told her this was no mere coincidence. A resume vanishing into thin air, coupled with the accidental loss of surveillance footage for a specific time window, suggested these events were not isolated accidents, but rather reeked of deliberate human interference.
Was it aimed at her? Or was she simply overthinking?
She leaned back in her chair, her sharp gaze sweeping past the bustling city view outside her office window. It seemed that somewhere within her company’s walls, hidden in a blind spot she had never paid attention to, lay secrets someone desperately wanted to keep under wraps. And the disappearance of Ye Chen’s resume might just be the tip of the iceberg.
Considering recent events at the company, until I figure out what is going on behind the scenes, I shouldn’t drag Ye Chen into this. If someone is truly playing dirty, whoever is hiding in the shadows dares to target even me. If they notice my special attention toward Ye Chen, they will undoubtedly target her as well.
Burying these corporate shadows deep in her heart, daily life continued to flow along its established rhythm.
From that day onward, Ye Xin truly became a regular visitor to Lu’er’s home. They established a fixed routine: every Wednesday and Friday after school, Ye Xin would come over to study and review homework alongside Lu’er.
And for reasons unknown even to herself, whenever it was a day Ye Xin was scheduled to come, Lu Ling would unconsciously adjust her work schedule to try and leave the office on time. She told herself this was simply to monitor her child’s academic progress.
Yet perhaps in the subconscious depths she had never dared to probe, she was anticipating the person who faithfully appeared as evening fell.
Because Ye Chen always arrived punctually to pick up her daughter. Sometimes she rode that black heavy motorcycle parked downstairs; other times she might arrive a few minutes late due to dropping off a nearby package or food delivery order, but she never broke her promise.
When the doorbell rang, Lu’er would happily run over to open it, calling out, “Aunt Ye is here!” Meanwhile, Lu Ling would stand up from her study or living room, her heartbeat quickening slightly while maintaining a polished composure as she walked toward the front door.
She would see Ye Chen standing outside, sometimes still carrying the dust and wind of the outside world, yet her eyes remained bright and calm. “Sorry to intrude,” Ye Chen would usually say simply. “Not at all. Xinxin is very well-behaved and has helped Jingyu a great deal,” Lu Ling would respond politely.
Their brief conversations revolved around the children’s studies, the weather, or sometimes amounted to nothing more than a mutual nod of acknowledgment. Then Ye Chen would pick up Ye Xin, say goodbye, and depart.
The entire process was too brief to truly constitute a conversation. Yet Lu Ling found that these two fixed evenings had become a wonderful resting stop in her tense and busy schedule. The moment she saw Ye Chen appear, an indescribable sense of stability and anticipation would rise within her.
What she did not know was that for Ye Chen, amidst the hustle and bustle of her daily grind, arriving downstairs at this warm, brightly lit residential building, ringing the doorbell, and seeing that cool-tempered woman whose eyes would subtly flicker upon seeing her open the door had likewise become a warmly anticipated habit in her life.
The friendship between the two young girls had quietly built an invisible bridge between the two mothers. Across both ends of that bridge, a delicate emotion was quietly taking root amidst the mundane details of daily life and fixed encounters.
Ever since the camping trip, Ye Xin’s words and Ye Chen’s figure frequently lingered in Lu Ling’s mind. Looking at her daughter’s face, which still tensed up automatically when facing schoolwork, for the first time she refrained from immediately demanding that it must be all correct. Instead, she took a deep breath and decided to make a clumsy attempt.
On Thursday evening, in the study.
Lu’er was frowning deeply over an advanced math problem, nervously pinching her pencil. Lu Ling walked in carrying a tray of freshly cut fruit, refraining from asking her usual direct questions like “Are you finished yet?” or “Why are you stuck again?” She placed the fruit on the edge of the desk, sat down beside Lu’er, and let her gaze fall upon the problem.
Lu’er instinctively shrank back slightly, expecting her mother to start lecturing her again. To her complete surprise, Lu Ling’s voice was much softer than usual. “This problem looks a bit complex. Let’s look at what it’s actually asking together, shall we?” She even ended her sentence with a questioning tone rather than a command.
Lu’er looked up in surprise, her big eyes filled with uncertainty. Striving to recall Ye Chen’s objective, problem-solving attitude, Lu Ling pointed to the question and said, “Look, it mentions a multiple relationship here. Can we list all the known conditions first? Like a detective searching for clues before solving a case.” She attempted an analogy she thought a child might find interesting.
The tension in Lu’er’s eyes faded slightly, and she nodded. For the first time, mother and daughter didn’t center their interaction around scores and time limits, but instead began dismantling the problem step-by-step using clues. Lu Ling discovered that when she stopped obsessing over obtaining the correct answer immediately, her patience naturally expanded. She guided Lu’er’s thinking instead of simply handing her formulas.
When Lu’er worked through the steps on her own and finally arrived at the answer, an unprecedented radiance burst across her small face. It wasn’t the relief born from fear of disappointing her mother, but a pure joy derived from solving a problem through her own efforts.
“Mom! I solved it! So that’s how it works!” Lu’er exclaimed excitedly. Looking at her daughter’s glowing eyes, Lu Ling felt a subtle jolt in her heart. This expression was identical to the one she had seen by the stream during the camping trip. She realized the joy of solving a problem could equal the thrill of discovering a small river shrimp.
She reached out, somewhat awkwardly yet gently, and patted her daughter’s head. “Well done figuring that out on your own.” This praise was no longer an investment toward the next first-place ranking, but an affirmation of the present moment.
On Saturday morning, a rare moment of leisure unfolded.
Lu Ling did not arrange extra online master classes for Lu’er as she usually would. Hesitating for a moment, she said to her daughter, who was reading a book, “Jingyu, the weather is nice today. Shall we go out for a walk? Not to the mall, just to the nearby park, or ride bicycles?” She remembered Ye Xin mentioning that Ye Chen frequently took her on outdoor activities.
Lu’er once again wore an expression of disbelief, followed by overwhelming surprise. “Really? Mom, you have time?” “Mmm, I’m free today.” Lu Ling nodded, a slight ache pinching her heart as she realized that such an ordinary companionship had long become a luxury for her daughter.
They went to the park. Dressed in casual wear, Lu Ling watched Lu’er run across the grass like a bird released from a cage, rather than sitting rigidly at a piano bench or a desk. Mimicking Ye Chen’s approach, she reminded her daughter to watch her step and avoid falling, yet refrained from overly restricting her exploration.
When Lu’er picked up a uniquely shaped leaf and ran back excitedly to show her, Lu Ling didn’t say, “It’s dirty, throw it away quickly.” Instead, she took it to examine closely, and even tried looking up what kind of tree it belonged to on her phone, just like Ye Xin would have done.
“It’s a sweet gum tree leaf.” Lu Ling showed her phone screen to her daughter. “Wow! Mom, you’re amazing!” Lu’er looked at her with pure adoration. Lu Ling smiled, though what crossed her mind was: this was merely the simplest information retrieval; what Ye Chen taught was a much more fundamental method of exploration. Yet, she had finally taken her first step.
She discovered that when she lowered her guard and genuinely accompanied her daughter rather than managing her, what she reaped was not merely her daughter’s joyful smile, but also a long-lost sense of relaxation within herself and an indescribable sense of fulfillment. It made her feel more satisfied than completing a hundred-million-dollar merger.
Copying Ye Chen’s approach might have initially started as a clumsy experiment. Yet through this process, Lu Ling felt she was gradually recovering a long-lost, most authentic connection with her daughter. And between herself and Ye Chen, a silent, deeper resonance had likewise been forged through this shared love and understanding of their children.
The road ahead might still be long, but she was willing to keep trying. For Lu’er’s sake, and also for that person, Ye Chen, who always seemed to be silently observing and affirming her.