Su Jinle ran all the way home in one breath, bumping straight into Su Weihua, who had been about to head out to look for her.
Seeing her return, he let out a long sigh of relief. “Why are you back so late? Your mother’s been worrying.”
She steadied her breathing. “Selling the dress… took a long time.”
She had only sold one dress today—but almost all the small accessories were gone. She’d even taken an order for another dress. To her, that was already a huge success. She hadn’t even counted the scattered bills and coins in her cloth bag yet.
Dinner was simple—rice porridge and cold cucumber salad.
Lin Yun asked, “How was it today?”
Only then did she notice the new outfit on her daughter and immediately smiled. “Oh my, Lele looks so pretty in this! You made it yourself? There’s even a bow in the back!”
She didn’t ask why the dress that was supposed to be sold was now being worn by her.
Su Weihua took a closer look too, his expression warm. “I can’t remember the last time Lele wore something new. You’ve always altered your brother’s or mother’s old clothes. At your age, you should wear pretty dresses. My performance bonus just came through—no need to work so hard selling dresses anymore.”
They both assumed she’d worn it because it hadn’t sold. There was no blame—only guilt.
Su Yian stayed silent. His eyes drifted to his injured leg, and that familiar helplessness rose again. He wasn’t as calm as he appeared. But he knew that if he lost control, it would only make things harder for the family.
So he kept up the breezy front—comforting his parents, comforting his sister. Only at night, alone, did sleep refuse to come.
A soldier once praised by his family… now reduced to uselessness.
Su Jinle pressed her lips together and didn’t explain. Instead, she pulled out her cloth bag and poured everything onto the table in a clatter—dimes, twenties, one-yuan bills, five-yuan notes—spreading across the whole surface.
She pushed the pile forward. “Count it!”
Lin Yun froze. Su Weihua froze.
Only after the initial surprise did Su Yian slowly laugh. “My little sister is impressive.”
They forgot about dinner and started counting. Today she’d sold seven hair ties, twelve keychains, four small cloth purses, one dress, and collected two deposits.
Total: thirty-seven yuan.
Even Su Jinle was shocked once the numbers were tallied. The hair ties were profitable, sure—but the keychains were incredible. They hadn’t even been enough to meet demand. Several girls hadn’t gotten one and told her firmly to come again tomorrow.
Lin Yun’s voice trembled. “H-how did you earn so much again?”
It was too much. She worked a full morning at the restaurant and made only one yuan!
Su Jinle counted on her fingers for a while and finally concluded that after deducting costs, she’d made about twenty-seven yuan. Even subtracting five yuan for the dress she kept, that still left twenty-two yuan in profit.
At this rate, in about two months she could save enough for her brother’s treatment!
But still—it felt too slow. Accessories sold well, yes, but the lamb and bunny keychains required cutting, stitching decorative edging, stuffing cotton, shaping wire—so many steps. Even with her brother helping these past two days, she’d only made twelve.
And she couldn’t just make accessories—she still had dresses to design.
Lin Yun was overjoyed. She usually skipped dinner, but tonight she ate two full bowls of rice. “My salary’s coming soon too. I only took one day off this month—should be twenty-nine yuan! Add your father’s and Lele’s earnings, and we’ll have over a hundred yuan saved. Then we’ll take Yian to the military district hospital!”
Su Yian smiled faintly. “Mom, don’t waste the money.”
Before Lin Yun could reply, Su Jinle got angry. She set down her bowl hard. “Brother, I’m earning money for your treatment! If you don’t go, how can that be okay? You must!”
She was usually so gentle—her temper flaring like this startled him.
“Alright, alright,” he said helplessly. “We’ll go once Lele earns big money.”
That night, sitting on his bed, Su Yian punched his own leg.
Nothing.
He laughed bitterly and tossed his crutch aside.
The window shifted slightly. A tall, agile figure vaulted inside.
Song Shixu tossed him a sheet of paper. “The list’s confirmed. The organization’s preparing to close the net.”
Su Yian scanned it. “As expected. Worth all the time we spent tracking them.”
After a pause, Song Shixu asked gravely, “Once this mission ends, what are you planning? If your leg doesn’t recover, you’ll have to process discharge paperwork. Even if they arrange a job…”
He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.
Even if assigned, it would likely be gatekeeping—at some unimportant unit. Low pay, little respect. The kind of job usually given to older men.
Once among the elite of elites, poised for promotion to deputy chief of staff… and now possibly reduced to guarding gates.
The gap was brutal.
After a long silence, Su Yian spoke calmly. “Shixu, I only ask one thing. Help me request that any assigned job be far from Jingbei.”
Song Shixu frowned deeply. “What do you mean?”
Su Yian smiled gently. “Lele is still unmarried. A disabled brother staying behind will only make people mock her.”
Song Shixu frowned again. “Your sister is too delicate. You can’t protect her forever.”
Su Yian shook his head. “Lele isn’t delicate. And she deserves protection.”
Song Shixu pictured her soft, bun-like face and silently disagreed. He’d never marry someone so fragile. So prone to tears.
Women’s tears gave him headaches.
He changed the subject. “Anything else tonight?”
His tone turned sharp. “We’re moving soon. Your identity might have been leaked. I’ll stay in the shadows as much as possible to protect you and your family. Make sure they don’t act alone.”
Su Yian’s heart tightened. “Will there be danger?”