Dawn of Life

Lin Haifeng sighed and said, "You stay home and take care of the children. I'll go find your mother and bring her back."

Xiao Yu stopped crying, startled, and looked timidly at Lin Yue. The room was eerily quiet. She sat down on the sofa, hugged Xiao Yu tightly, and gently stroked his back. Slowly, she felt his pounding heart calm down, followed by a feeling of emptiness.

The words I had just spoken with my mother began to echo slowly in my mind, a mixture of grievance, helplessness, and regret.

She started helping Xiaoyu get ready, reminding him to brush his teeth, wash his face, and take a shower. She then went to the closet to find him some clean clothes to change into, put the clothes she had taken off in the basket next to the washing machine, and then went to make Xiaoyu's bed.

After finishing all that, Xiaoyu had almost finished showering by himself, and she went over to help him blow-dry his hair and get dressed. She did all this calmly, mechanically, and numbly, but a stone was pressing on her heart, making her feel like she couldn't breathe.

Seeing her mother's troubled expression, Xiaoyu quietly cooperated. As she dressed Xiaoyu, the tightness in her chest grew stronger, so she asked, "Sweetie, wasn't Mommy being very mean? How could I talk to Grandma like that?"

After saying this, she felt a lump in her throat, and large tears streamed down her face. Then she rambled on, saying, "Grandma has had a really tough life. She's already sixty years old this year. If it weren't for Mom, she could be enjoying her retirement at home."

She couldn't tell if she was talking to Xiaoyu or to herself. Xiaoyu seemed to really understand, and kept responding with "uh-huh..."

Lin Yue's maternal grandmother gave birth to Liu Cuiying when she was 40 years old. Liu Cuiying's father passed away from illness when she was 13 years old.

At the age of 18, she met Lin Haifeng from the next village through a matchmaker. Lin Haifeng's grandfather was a landlord. Although he had confiscated all of his family's farmland and houses, he was still unmarried until he was 28 because of his bad class background.

After meeting Liu Cuiying, Lin Haifeng often went to help with farm work. Over time, Liu Cuiying's mother felt that Lin Haifeng was honest, efficient, and that the two families lived close by. So she forcefully intervened and arranged their marriage.

Because it was an arranged marriage, coupled with a 10-year age gap, Liu Cuiying spent the first few years of her marriage thinking about how to escape. She only accepted her fate after having Lin Yue. Therefore, in Liu Cuiying's mind, her mother, Lin Haifeng, and Lin Yue were all the sources of her tragic life.

At first, Lin Haifeng would give in to Liu Cuiying, but the heavy labor and the days of not having enough to eat quickly made him lose patience. Lin Yue often saw them arguing when she was little. Around the time Lin Yue was in high school, things gradually improved, and Lin Haifeng also got older, so he began to tolerate Liu Cuiying again. However, Liu Cuiying's temper only worsened, and she would bring up old grievances whenever she was unhappy.

While Xiaoyu was taking a shower, Lin Yue sent Lin Haifeng a WeChat message: "Dad, have you found Mom yet?"

Lin Haifeng quickly replied: "Don't worry, I'll sit outside with her for a while and then I'll be back."

Lin Yue knew that Liu Cuiying was still angry. She thought that if she could communicate calmly like last time, perhaps her mother wouldn't have slammed the door and left tonight, and the two of them wouldn't have said hurtful things to each other.

But she really didn't want to send her mother away. She was just too tired to bear the blame her mother was putting on her, and she didn't want to be a burden to her anymore.

At that moment, Lin Yue genuinely thought that if staying in Hangzhou caused her so much pain in Liu Cuiying's eyes, then so be it; she could go back if she wanted. As for herself and Xiao Yu, Lin Yue refused to believe that fate would block all her paths.

After Xiaoyu fell asleep, Lin Yue sat alone on the living room sofa, holding her phone and staring blankly at the door. Outside, the sky was pitch black, and the room grew even darker and more gloomy.

Lin Yue called Lin Haifeng, but the call was quickly disconnected. A sense of unease washed over her. Two minutes later, a WeChat message arrived from Lin Haifeng: "Your mother is still angry and absolutely refuses to come home."

Lin Yue typed an apology message for Liu Cuiying on her phone, but quickly deleted it. Then she sent a message to Lin Haifeng, asking him to send her his location. They walked out like this; it was early winter outside, and it was so cold. She decided to go and find them first.

Lin Haifeng didn't reply to her messages, so she started calling him and Liu Cuiying anxiously. After several calls, Lin Haifeng finally answered and said they would be back soon.

They hadn't gone far; they were just at the convenience store in the neighborhood. Lin Haifeng hadn't answered the phone at first because he'd almost completely comforted Liu Cuiying, but as soon as Lin Yue called, she started worrying again. Later, when Lin Yue said she was going to look for her and kept calling, she finally realized her daughter's anxiety. Besides, Xiaoyu was still at home, and she was worried about Lin Yue going out to look for her.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the door opening finally came. Lin Yue stood up abruptly and saw Lin Haifeng dragging Liu Cuiying by one arm as they walked in. Liu Cuiying's eyes were red, clearly from crying, and Lin Yue felt another pang of pain in her heart.

She quickly stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly, "Mom, I was wrong. Let's talk to each other properly from now on, okay?"

Liu Cuiying glanced at her, said nothing, but her eyes had softened considerably. She said softly, "Child, you can educate her yourself from now on. I won't interfere, so you won't complain that I talk too much."

Lin Yue wanted to explain that she didn't mean it that way. Lin Haifeng shook his head at her and said, "You should go to sleep first. We're tired too and want to rest early."

That night, Lin Yue tossed and turned in bed, wondering if people were less able to control their emotions in front of those they were closest to.

After her parents arrived, she felt secure at home, so she focused all her energy on her work. However, the closer the relationship, the more time and effort it requires.

Work has been going smoothly lately, even at the expense of family relationships. The training program has been successfully implemented after a change in project leader. Adult learning needs to meet two prerequisites: it must be useful and it must be interesting.

Lin Yue refined the plan around these two points, and Shi Potian cooperated very well. He conducted a training session on "How to Win Over Major Clients" at the marketing center, with Su Ling preparing the presentation slides, which Shi Potian then shared on stage. Lin Yue prepared course posters in advance and promoted the course within the company, encouraging interested colleagues to attend.

They chose the company's largest training room, but it was still packed. No matter the venue, people tend to cluster together, and eventually even the entrance to the training room was full of people.

The marketing center's training courses quickly gained a reputation within the company. The marketing center oversaw offline channel partners, while the operations team was responsible for online business; the two teams had always harbored a subtle rivalry. Unsurprisingly, this time, the marketing center was also caught in the crossfire.

Therefore, Lin Yue took the opportunity to expand the original professional sharing to interest sharing, such as calligraphy, weaving, and hand-dyeing. This not only created a learning atmosphere but also cultivated everyone's cultural interests, which greatly improved the company's sluggish atmosphere.

Shengxing's gaze towards Lin Yue gradually softened. People are actually quite pragmatic; to a boss, employees are merely tools for achieving their goals or pawns on a chessboard. You need to constantly prove to him that you are "useful" and "easy to use."

Just when Lin Yue felt that the company environment was stabilizing, she received a long-awaited phone call.

On a typical afternoon, she was wearing a neck brace and eye mask, taking a nap in her chair, when her phone on the table suddenly vibrated. She squinted at it, then abruptly sat up straight, instantly becoming alert. Qin Lan's name was prominently displayed on the phone screen. Lin Yue felt a mix of excitement, thrill, and surprise.

She quickly walked to the conference room with her phone in hand, closed the door first, then answered the phone, lowering her voice to say, "Boss~"