If heaven were willing to give Wen Ya another chance, she would definitely choose to study hard, very hard.
“You are only in your third year now, so you still have the chance to learn more things. Once you graduate, you will realize you really have very little energy left to study things unrelated to work.”
Wen Ya spoke earnestly. The summer intern felt awkward and did not know how to respond, so she could only nod and murmur vague acknowledgments. Fortunately, a colleague from the opposite desk, already past thirty and having just given birth to her second child, stepped in to ease the situation.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Wen Ya, can you stop telling every student you see to study hard? Do you know how annoying that sounds?”
“Don’t listen to her. When you are in university, just enjoy yourself and have fun. Once you start working, you will not have such happy times anymore.”
Wen Ya felt deep pain hearing such remarks. “You are misleading the younger generation.”
Her colleague scoffed. “You are worrying about things that are none of your business. As for you, there is no turning back now.”
“At twenty five, you should find a boyfriend. Date for two years, then get married and have kids.”
That was reality, and her colleague was speaking quite reasonably. Other than raising the banner of female independence, Wen Ya had no other path to take.
Wen Ya watched the twenty year old girl walk away gracefully with a small egg yolk colored backpack. She picked up the cup of goji berry tea beside her and took a sip.
She was only twenty five, still in the prime of youth.
So how had she already started down a downhill road whose end she could clearly see at a glance?
Wen Ya herself graduated from a lower tier university among the first tier institutions, majoring in Chinese literature. She drifted through graduation in a daze and muddleheadedly ended up on her third job. From entering university at nineteen until now, six years seemed to have been swallowed by something strange. Whenever she tried to recall anything meaningful, her mind was completely empty.
There was nothing.
Nothing in the past, and seemingly nothing in the present either.
Her current third job was serving as the big boss’s secretary. On the surface it looked impressive, but in reality her work consisted of drafting official documents, looking up information, receiving guests, serving tea and water, and occasionally booking hotels or flight tickets. Any truly substantive business matters were handled by the special assistant. She did not even get the chance to touch them.
Sometimes she asked herself what exactly she was doing and what she really wanted. But she could never come up with a clear answer.
So she continued living in this muddled, chaotic way. Occasionally she would reflect like this, using it to comfort herself. See, you can still reflect on things, so you are not completely numb yet.
Which means there is still a chance.
What nonsense chance.
Wen Ya set down her teacup, covered her eyes with her thin palm, then brushed her hair upward along her forehead.
As soon as she let go, her bangs quickly fell back down, covering the slightly receding hairline.
Her colleague stretched her neck to glance over and quietly sighed.
This girl simply thought too much and did too little.
After a full day of work, Wen Ya’s energy was completely drained. As soon as she got home, she did not want to move at all.
She sprawled on the sofa like a dead dog.
In the kitchen, Mother Wen skillfully poured scallion oil over the small yellow croaker. The aroma grew richer along with the sizzling sound.
Wen Ya truly admired her mother. Back then, her mother was not a full time housewife. She worked while raising a child and still managed all the housework. She was practically a superhero.
At six thirty sharp, the dishes were served.
A cold glint flashed in Mother Wen’s eyes, and her chopsticks struck like lightning, smacking away Wen Ya’s claw that was reaching toward the spicy chicken.
“Eat, eat, eat. All you know is eating. Your face is already breaking out and you still want spicy food. No eating it!”
Wen Ya protested angrily, “It’s only two tiny pimples!”
“Oh really, only two? Look at other girls. Who is as careless as you?”
“What is wrong with eating something spicy?”
Father Wen, who was always neutral, looked at Wen Ya kindly. “For now, just avoid it. I have a friend whose son just returned from abroad. This Saturday you two can meet and have a chat.”
A table full of delicious dishes instantly lost their color, aroma, and taste because of the topic of a blind date.
Wen Ya put down her chopsticks. “I don’t want to go on a blind date.”
Mother Wen glanced at her. “Then go find someone yourself.”
“I am doing just fine on my own.”
“You mean you are doing just fine living at home?”
Wen Ya completely lost her appetite and put down her bowl and chopsticks.
“I said a long time ago that I wanted to move out. You were the one who wouldn’t allow it.”
That topic again. Mother Wen frowned, and Father Wen quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “You child, with that little salary you earn each month, don’t go wasting money outside. Staying at home saves a bit.”
The mother and daughter temporarily dropped the argument.
Father Wen added, “But you must go this Saturday. It has already been arranged, you can’t make your father lose face.”
Wen Ya pushed her chair back.
“I know.”
Half a bowl of rice was left on the table, and one piece of the small yellow croaker in her bowl remained unfinished.
Hearing the sound of the bedroom door closing, Father Wen sighed and looked at Mother Wen with a trace of reproach. “Stop always provoking her. She is already troubled herself, her mood isn’t good.”
Mother Wen felt aggrieved. “I am doing it for her own good. She is already this old and still not sensible. I really don’t know what she has to worry about. She is an only child, her salary is acceptable among people her age, and our family conditions are not the worst either. We do not need her to support us. Tell me, what is there for her to worry about?”
“Children have their own thoughts. You asked me to contact that old classmate of mine, and I swallowed my pride and did it. But if the child doesn’t like him, you can’t force her.”
“Sigh.” Mother Wen sighed. “How would I dare force her? Let fate decide.”
She still held a bit of hope. Perhaps she would end up liking him after all.
Inside her room, Wen Ya flipped through How the Steel Was Tempered, the copy she had bought in elementary school, and once again resolved to work hard and become an inexhaustible sponge.
But life is always full of compromises.
Just as she was carefully weighing every word, trying to polish an official document to perfection, the big boss suddenly called, perfectly blocking the spring of inspiration that had just begun to flow.
“Wen Ya, my cousin is arriving at the airport at two this afternoon. I can’t get away, so go pick him up.”
She gripped the receiver. “Your cousin?”
The big boss was a little over forty this year. He was humorous and easygoing when he was not angry, and he loved joking around.
“That’s right. That kid has finally corrected himself and decided to contribute to the motherland. Unfortunately he refuses to come to our company. His ideological awareness still isn’t high enough!”
An overseas returnee. That kind of not very “mature” person?
Since the boss had spoken, Wen Ya naturally agreed. “Alright. What is your cousin’s name?”
“Lin Xuehe. He is very easy to recognize. The one who makes you want to look a second time after seeing him once is him.”
That description… Wen Ya felt it might be a bit difficult.
“Alright then, that’s it. I’m in a hurry to meet a client. After you pick him up, just bring him to the company.”
“Wait…”
Click.
The call had already ended. Wen Ya did not even have the chance to ask for a photo.
Fine, fine. It didn’t matter. When the time came, she would just hold up a sign. A big one.
It was ten in the morning. Wen Ya finished the hundred or so words of the notice she was working on in two minutes, grabbed an A3 sheet of red paper, and headed to the printing room. At exactly twelve o’clock she clocked out, then drove toward the airport carrying a rolled up sheet of red paper.
It only took an hour to get to the airport, so she still had an hour to leisurely eat lunch.
After making such reasonable plans, work life did not seem so bad after all.
Of course, when she thought this way, she had absolutely no idea that two hours later she herself would be panting like a dog.
Wen Ya was going crazy.
Why was her luck so bad that she ran into a chain collision? Why was the traffic jam so bad that not even an inch of tire could move? And why on earth had she worn thin high heels today?
Enduring the pain in her feet, she ran wildly through the airport hall while clutching the roll of paper. Oh God, Holy Mother, Jesus, Buddha, Guanyin above, please bless her to get through this safely and successfully pick him up!
The hall was chaotic. She craned her neck and looked everywhere. Her gaze finally landed on a tall figure standing near a pillar not far from the exit.
This was an extremely stylish and cool looking man. From head to toe he was impeccably dressed. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but his brows and eyes bore a slight resemblance to the big boss.
Wen Ya unconsciously swallowed.
Handsome was definitely handsome, and he was indeed the kind of person you would want to look at a second time. The only problem was that he seemed a bit cold.
He might as well have hung a sign saying “Do Not Approach.”
Feeling nervous, she also remembered that this time she had been late because of an unexpected accident no one could have predicted, which was somewhat understandable. So she gathered her courage and walked over.
“Excuse me, are you Mr. Lin Xuehe?”
Lin Xuehe glanced at her, his expression still cold. “Yes.”
Wen Ya immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lin. I’m late because there was an accident on the road…”
“I waited for you for a full hour.”
Wen Ya hurried to explain again. “I’m really sorry. It only takes an hour from the company to the airport, and I left two hours early, but I ran into a chain car accident and the traffic jam blocked me so badly that I couldn’t move at all…”
“Is that a reason?”
“…No.”
“What you delayed was not only your own time, but also mine.”
Wen Ya bent forward in a humble bow. “I’m truly, truly sorry!”
She pressed her lips together. Her whole face was almost scrunched up. There was no obvious sign of remorse, instead there was a faint trace of suppressed indignation, as if she was swallowing her anger.
Lin Xuehe sneered. “Why are you still standing there?”
“Ah? Oh, please come this way.”
“What do you mean ‘oh’? Can’t you see I have this much luggage?”
“…Alright, alright.”
Quite patient, Lin Xuehe thought. He watched the petite woman, wearing seven or eight centimeter high heels and only reaching his ear in height, struggle to pull up his two rather heavy suitcases. He reached out and pressed down on the larger one.
“Who told you to carry all of them?”
“……”
“What is that in your hand?” The roll of red paper was so eye catching that Lin Xuehe’s eyes hurt just looking at it.
“This?” Wen Ya unfolded the paper she was holding, revealing three huge bold characters printed in thick black font.
Lin Xuehe.
Lin Xuehe stared at it expressionlessly for three seconds. “Looks like I should thank that car accident.”
“……”
She was the one who was late, so she could not blame him for having a bad attitude.
Wen Ya took a deep breath, crumpled the red paper into a flattened roll, forced a smile, and pulled the small suitcase forward as she jogged a few steps ahead. “Please follow me.”
But still, being this cold deserved a bad review!