Another evening arrived when Ye Xin came over to review her schoolwork.
In the living room, the two little girls sat with their heads close together doing homework. Lu Ling walked over holding a plate of sliced fruit, just in time to hear Ye Xin lowering her voice to speak with Lu’er.
Ye Xin spoke in a very low voice, carrying the earnestness of someone sharing a little secret: “Lu’er, let me tell you, my mom is actually sometimes a bit scatterbrained.”
Lu’er blinked her big eyes and leaned in curiously: “Huh? What’s wrong with Aunt Ye?”
Ye Xin nodded vigorously, looking as serious as if she were reporting a major discovery: “It’s just that on the day we came back from camping, in the car, she suddenly asked me, ‘Which department does Aunt Lu work in at the hotel?’ She actually didn’t even know, and they had clearly been chatting for so long.”
Lu’er opened her mouth slightly in surprise: “Ah? Aunt Ye doesn’t know what my mom does?”
She felt this should have been a very obvious thing.
Ye Xin nodded with certainty: “Yes, I was the one who told her. I said, ‘Aunt Lu owns a hotel.’ Later, Mom even said she had submitted a resume to Aunt Lu’s company before.”
Lu Ling, who was just about to set down the fruit plate, paused slightly, the corners of her lips curving upward unconsciously. Ye Chen’s delayed realization made her feel inexplicably and extraordinarily cute.
She gently placed the fruit plate on the table, looked at Ye Xin as if casually, and asked in a warm tone.
Lu Ling: “Xinpin, then do you still remember which department or what position your mom applied for back then?”
Ye Xin raised her head, her small face filled with the exact perplexity characteristic of an ISTJ facing incomplete information. She thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head with certainty: “Mom didn’t mention those, she only brought up submitting a resume and didn’t talk about specific positions.”
Her tone carried a trace of regret, annoyed that she hadn’t been able to give a complete answer.
Lu Ling’s gaze shifted away from the children’s faces toward the neon lights of the city outside the window, her eyes instantly turning sharp and cold. Her brain raced, connecting all the clues together:
“I am never wrong about people. Ye Chen’s communication skills, problem-solving mindset, and empathy perfectly match the core requirements of the hotel industry. With her ability, it’s impossible for her to get stuck at the initial screening. The only explanation is that her resume was deliberately intercepted.”
“This is definitely not an isolated case. Being able to precisely filter out specific candidates means someone has inevitably planted cronies behind the scenes. There’s likely an internal interest network of internal and external collusion within the company, and the matter goes far beyond just pushing out employees.”
A clear and decisive directive formed in her mind: “Tomorrow morning, Chen Wei must be made to secretly initiate a comprehensive audit. Starting from the recruitment system’s backend logs, I want to know who reached their hand into my company, and since when.”
Later on, after the two children finished their homework and began to rest, Lu’er couldn’t help praising her good friend to Lu Ling.
“Mommy, Xinpin knows so much, she knows a lot of novel and interesting knowledge.”
Lu Ling was sitting on the sofa drinking water, and upon hearing this, she smiled and looked at Ye Xin: “Xinpin, what kind of things have you learned?”
Ye Xin answered earnestly: “My mom signed me up for piano, calligraphy, painting, German, Japanese, Korean, Taekwondo, programming enlightenment, Lego robotics, modern dance.”
“Ahem!” Lu Ling was choked directly by the water, coughing several times before recovering. “You’re taking so many interest classes, can you still keep up with your schoolwork?” She looked at Ye Xin in disbelief.
Ye Xin said: “Actually, most of them are things Mom herself wants to learn. But because children’s tuition is cheaper, she signs me up first, and then after I learn it, I come home and teach her. One tuition fee benefits two people! So ever since I was four years old, I’ve been Mom’s little teacher.”
She paused and continued to add: “Also, my mom personally teaches me how to recognize stars, climb trees, play chess, do archery, read maps, do first-aid bandaging, play the guitar, swim, experience wild survival, cook the world’s most delicious instant noodles, of course that includes cooking, and at home I usually do the cooking, plus how to find edible wild greens in the park, oh, and play the drums. She says drumming is the best way to decompress when you’re in a bad mood.”
(Inner monologue: Xinpin has to cook at such a young age? And learn to identify wild greens? This isn’t city life at all, it’s a complete survival guide!)
Lu Ling could no longer hold back and burst out laughing: “She really is an interesting and special mom.” She was amused endlessly by Ye Chen’s unique logic, her eyes even damp with moisture. The worry she previously held regarding her child’s academic pressure had long since been dispelled by the warmth brought by this pair of mother and daughter.
Lu Ling subsided from her laughter and curiously pursued: “Then what about everyday schoolwork? With so many things going on, can you manage it all?”
Ye Xin nodded vigorously: “Mom accompanies me to do my homework every day. She understands most of the in-class knowledge, and with her explanations, homework can always be finished quickly. Mom is best at English, though her math isn’t quite as good. Even if she encounters difficult problems, she stays with me to look up information and find the answers together. I know Mom is doing all this to create a learning environment for me, and I’m very grateful to have a mom like this.”
Lu Ling felt a deep wave of emotion inside, marveling at how Ye Chen had raised a child to be so sensible and appreciative.
Lu Ling: “Xinpin, your mom has raised you very well. She must frequently take you out to experience different things, right?”
Ye Xin raised her eyes, her expression calm, serious, and carrying the inherent reticence of an ISTJ as she slowly recounted: “Mhm. Mom takes me rock climbing, swimming, snorkeling, diving, surfing, and we’ve even flown paragliders.” Speaking of these thrilling projects, her tone remained flat, as if she were merely describing daily trivia. “Mom’s athletic ability is also very strong. Previously, when playing badminton with the uncles at the club, she hit a ten-shot continuous smash.”
(Lu Ling’s inner monologue: Wait, rock climbing, surfing, paragliders? She actually took a child to play all these dangerous projects?! And that ten-shot smash, exactly what kind of club is she playing in, and with whom…)
Lu’er opened her mouth, her eyes full of admiration: “Mommy, at last month’s sports meeting, Xinpin won first place in the running race! Second place was left far behind, my jaw dropped watching it! Even the P.E. teacher said her speed far exceeds ordinary people.”
Ye Xin felt a bit shy from the praise, gently shook her head, and analyzed the reason in a pragmatic tone: “There is a reason why I run fast. When I went camping in the mountains with Mom when I was little, we accidentally ran into a wild boar, and the two of us were chased running for a long way before we escaped safely.”
“A wild boar?” Lu Ling couldn’t help laughing again.
Ye Xin: “So every time before a race now, I think of that scene back then. Mom taught me to imagine a wild boar chasing from behind, mobilizing all my survival instincts so I can run forward with all my might. This psychological suggestion works exceptionally well.”
Saying this, she smiled faintly, feeling that the experience was quite interesting.
Lu Ling followed up and asked: “Then how did you guys get away in the end?”
“Later on, Mom led me to run in a zigzag route toward an area with sparse trees.” As Ye Xin spoke, she raised her hand to trace out the path of travel, her tone understated. “We quickly ran back to the car and were safe. My mom said those were techniques learned from books.”
Lu Ling sighed with heartfelt admiration: “Your mom truly is a one-of-a-kind person.”
Tonight, she laughed with exceptional heartiness, feeling a sense of relaxation she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Lu’er crept up close to her: “Mommy, I’ve never seen you laugh this happily before.”
Lu Ling smiled and shook her head, a deeper understanding of Ye Chen taking root in her heart. This woman acted unconventionally and unrestrainedly, building a childhood full of adventure and joy for her daughter in her own unique way, while teaching her how to face life safely, independently, and wisely in this world.
(Lu Ling’s inner monologue: Such a dashing and unrestrained parenting style is thoroughly like Ye Chen. But strangely enough, even these trivial anecdotes make me find her extraordinarily attractive.)
Ye Xin put down her pencil, turned her head to look earnestly at Lu Ling: “Aunt Lu, what do you guys usually play?”
Lu Ling was slightly startled, her fingers absentmindedly rubbing the rim of her cup. She lowered her gaze, a trace of faint guilt hidden in her tone: “To be ashamed, when Auntie usually takes Lu’er out, it’s mostly just to the hotel’s theme park, hot spring area, occasionally browsing the hotel’s play zone, or reading books in the library.”
At this moment, Lu’er, who was busy organizing her stationery, gently lifted her head. She tried to make her tone sound calm, but her slightly pouting lips still betrayed a hint of grievance: “There’s more, Mommy often takes me and Aunt Wen shopping together. Every time we come back, I’m so tired I can’t walk…” She added in a small voice, “Just like that big yellow dog in the neighborhood that always lies down under the shade of a tree.”
Lu Ling couldn’t help covering her mouth with a light chuckle, the tips of her ears turning slightly pink. These leisure activities, which felt completely normal on ordinary days, suddenly appeared so monotonous and dull when contrasted against Ye Xin’s colorful and rich experiences.
Ye Xin listened quietly, blinked her clear eyes, thought for a moment, and then made a warm and sincere suggestion: “It’s okay, Aunt Lu. If you’re willing, you can go explore more interesting places with us in the future.”
The sentence swept across the bottom of her heart like a warm breeze. Lu Ling leaned over and gently rubbed Ye Xin’s hair, her eyes brimming with genuine smiles: “Alright, Auntie promises you. From now on, I’ll often take Lu’er and go see this interesting world together with you guys.”
An Excursion on the Morning of the Second Day of Camping
Time returns to the early morning of the second day of camping.
Inside the tent, starlight faded away, and the sky was still shrouded in a layer of faint morning light.
Ye Chen slept lightly, maintaining a bit of vigilance throughout. Her nose was surrounded by the faint, fresh scent radiating from the person beside her.
Ye Chen’s internal monologue: This scent doesn’t seem like perfume. It’s too easy to distract someone. I need to stay alert, but it really does smell good, though.
She instinctively buried her face deeper toward the edge of the sleeping bag, right at the source of that faint fragrance. (Inner monologue: It just makes a person feel secure, an objective evaluation, nothing more.)
As dawn broke, the first thin sliver of light filtered into the tent. Ye Chen woke up before the person in her arms, only to discover with a shock that her own arm had crossed the 38th parallel, realizing that her arm was resting solidly around Lu Ling’s waist in a protective posture at some point.
Ye Chen: ……!
(Ye Chen’s inner monologue: Retreat. Immediate retreat. This is more fatal than accidentally triggering an alarm system.)
She held her breath and began executing the high-difficulty limb retrieval mission. Every muscle tensed as she carefully pulled back her arm, her movement as light as dismantling a bomb, terrified of disturbing the peace of the person resting beside her.
(Inner monologue: It must be because it’s too cold in the tent, and her body is warm; I just wanted to get warm. The wilderness survival manual also mentioned similar emergency methods…)
Finally managing to break away, Ye Chen crawled out of the tent in a nearly disheveled state. The crisp morning air rushed into her chest, but it couldn’t suppress the heat rising behind her ears.
(Inner monologue: Find something to do, distract myself. Preparing breakfast is the most appropriate task right now.)
She silently set up the cooking utensils. Flustered and disorganized, she failed to control her strength properly, causing the fried egg to sizzle noisily.
(Inner monologue: The oil temperature for frying an egg is best controlled at 180 degrees, keeping the egg white set and the yolk running. She looks like she would like runny egg yolks. Wait, why am I thinking about this?)
The sound of a tent zipper being gently unzipped came from behind her, causing her back to instantly tense up like a steel plate.
Ye Chen stared fixedly at the frying pan, as if it were a precision instrument requiring disassembly.
Ye Chen: “Morning, you can have breakfast once you finish washing up.”
(Inner monologue: Voice tone steady. Wording normal. Just routine wilderness food and beverage service. Definitely didn’t have shaky hands from seeing her messy morning hair.)
When passing the plate, their fingertips accidentally brushed against each other. Ye Chen pulled her hand back as quickly as if she had been electrocuted.
(Inner monologue: It’s static electricity; the morning grassland air is dry, it’s definitely static electricity.)
She never dared to look back, and therefore missed the fleeting look of mixed shyness and knowing amusement on Lu Ling’s face as she took the plate, along with her fingers gently curling inward as if they still retained a certain lingering touch.