The lights were on in the house. When Ms. Zhu pushed the door open, Zhu Yiyi was curled up on the sofa watching TV, holding a box of sour plum juice in her hand.

Her eyes were vacant, clearly lost in thought.

In fact, she had been in this daze ever since He Shen left after asking that question.

“If you’re just going to watch TV like that, you might as well not watch it at all.” Ms. Zhu had lost a few hundred yuan tonight and was mocked by a few old poker buddies, so she was in a bad mood.

Zhu Yiyi bit on the straw, “There’s rice in the pot, it’s still hot. I cooked your favorite garlic chives stir-fried with pork.”

Hearing her daughter’s words, the fire in Ms. Zhu’s heart extinguished a bit.

Zhu Yiyi had been sensible since she was a child. In the past, when Ms. Zhu got off work from the factory, she could eat a hot meal as soon as she got home.

By the time she finished taking a shower, little Zhu Yiyi would have washed their clothes and hung them up on tiptoes.

After Zhu Yiyi started working and could earn money, she told Ms. Zhu to quit her job and enjoy her life at home. She could go shopping and play mahjong whenever she wanted. At the age of forty, she had already started enjoying a leisurely retirement.

But thinking about the pregnancy, Ms. Zhu suddenly lost her appetite. The garlic chives stir-fried with pork in her mouth no longer tasted good. “What are you going to do about the meat in your belly? You have to give me a definite answer.”

Zhu Yiyi changed the channel, “I’m not getting an abortion.”

“You’re going to keep it?”

“Yeah.”

Ms. Zhu chewed the stir-fried pork in her mouth, then picked up a piece of garlic chive, eating it without tasting anything. “If you’re going to keep it, then you should bring He Shen… the baby’s father back to meet me. We need to talk things over and arrange a day for both sets of parents to meet and set a wedding date.”

Prices have been skyrocketing lately, and both getting married and having a baby are expensive.

She worriedly instructed, “It’s best if he’s from a wealthy family. You can quit your job then and focus on your pregnancy. I didn’t take good care of myself after giving birth, and my back still hurts now.”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t pay any attention to what was on TV. The air was thin, and she couldn’t breathe.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions. It took a long time before she could squeeze out a sentence, “I’m not getting married, and I won’t quit my job. I’ll raise the child by myself.”

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

Ms. Zhu was stunned for a few seconds. After realizing what it meant, she slammed her hand on the table and said sharply, “I think you’ve lost your mind. Have you thought about what you’re going to do? You’re going to raise a child by yourself, just like your mom back then.

How hard it was, how many people looked down on you, and you’ll never be able to get married in the future.”

“Why do I have to get married!” Zhu Yiyi’s throat felt like there was a piece of flint, and every word she uttered sparked. She glared, asking in a voice full of resentment and anger, “What if I don’t get married? Does that mean I’m not your daughter anymore? Or is it a crime punishable by death that needs to be shot?”

Ms. Zhu: “I’m only doing this for your own good!”

“You’re not,” Zhu Yiyi’s eyes were calm, “You’re doing it for your own face.”

Before Ms. Zhu could explode, she ran into her room and slammed the door shut.

Autumn in Beijing was getting colder step by step, and time was passing by exceptionally fast.

Yu Jia’s interview manuscript was submitted to Xia Ningxi on Wednesday.

Xia Ningxi checked it three times, finding no errors or perfunctory work. She couldn’t believe it was done by Zhu Yiyi. “Did you pull some strings? I warn you, you represent Shi Shun when you go out. Don’t play any dirty tricks that will affect the company’s reputation.”

“Xia Supervisor,” Zhu Yiyi frowned, “Please be careful with your words.”

Xia Ningxi’s face turned a little ugly.

She was originally trying to use this to humiliate Zhu Yiyi and make Amy look bad, but she ended up getting bitten by the chicken. This time, Yu Jia’s interview was better than any previous one. It seemed like Zhu Yiyi and Amy would be the ones to shine at the next department meeting.

“Did I say anything wrong?” Xia Ningxi sneered, “Back then during the interview, if Amy hadn’t deliberately pulled some strings, you wouldn’t even have qualified to work at Shi Shun.”

“I didn’t even know Amy back then.”

“Do you think I’ll believe you, or will anyone else? Every year, Shi Shun hires overseas PhDs and graduates from prestigious universities. Your double-non-degree from Zhu Yiyi is even worth mentioning?” Xia Ningxi sneered, “Amy was always trying to compete with me back then, so of course she wanted to recruit a pawn to be her cannon fodder. You think you’re some kind of amazing character? You’re just lucky.”

Zhu Yiyi’s eyelashes trembled slightly, “I…”

She could refute that she didn’t get in through Amy’s back door, but she couldn’t refute that she got into Shi Shun by luck.

Because even she thought so.

Outside the office, a man stood there with a cold expression.

He was dressed in a suit, his demeanor sharp.

He had heard everything inside, and he spoke coldly without warning, “I didn’t know Shi Shun was hiring people so casually these days.”

The sudden voice startled Xia Ningxi. She looked back and saw the last person she expected to be there. Her face changed drastically, her lips losing all color. “He, He President!”

He Shen walked into the office, “Xia Supervisor, do you still remember the regulations for trainees?”

Xia Ningxi nervously broke out in a cold sweat, “Employees are not, not allowed to discuss matters unrelated to work during work hours, and they are not allowed to privately slander the company’s salary, recruitment, or other regulations.”

“Since you know this, Xia Supervisor, does that mean you are deliberately breaking the rules?”

Xia Ningxi wanted to defend herself, but when she saw the man’s calm and composed demeanor, as if he had all the patience in the world to play with her, her nervousness and worry amplified infinitely.

She stammered an apology, “I’m sorry, He President, I will work hard from now on and never dare to do it again.”

“There’s one more thing I hope you understand,” He Shen said seriously, “Shi Shun’s interviews are fair and impartial. Every interviewer has their own principles for recruitment. You have no right to judge Amy’s choice, and you have no right to question Zhu Yiyi’s value to the company.”

He Shen’s voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and everyone inside and outside the office could hear it.

He was defending Zhu Yiyi.

He was affirming Zhu Yiyi’s value.

And Xia Ningxi was undoubtedly slapped in the face in public.

She was embarrassed and awkward, like a clown.

“As for you, Zhu Yiyi.”

He Shen changed the subject.

From the moment he appeared, Zhu Yiyi had been lost in thought. When she suddenly heard him call her name, her sanity returned. But seeing this embarrassing scene, her feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, heavy and powerless to turn around.

After a long time, she slowly turned around, her head lowered, “He President.”

“Do you know where your problem lies?”

Zhu Yiyi thought he was going to scold her, “I…”

“Your problem lies in your hesitation.” He Shen’s brows furrowed, his stern expression hiding a layer of different emotions, “If you face such words next time, you should stand up straight and tell them that you were hired through Shi Shun’s official recruitment process, and you have a unique value to the company. Don’t question yourself, don’t doubt yourself.”

She stared at him blankly, her head tilted.

“Zhu Yiyi, I can assure you that every employee hired by Shi Shun has their value. You should trust Amy, trust Shi Shun,” He Shen paused, and said softly, “Trust me.”

Zhu Yiyi’s fingertips curled up quietly, and her nose felt a little sour.

At this moment, a storm called “preference” was sweeping through her heart. It was the kind of preference she had always longed for and treasured, coming from He Shen.

But since the day they broke up.

She wouldn’t be foolish enough to believe anymore.

Amy didn’t return to Beijing until Friday night.

Zhu Yiyi had just gotten off work when she received her call. Amy was already waiting outside the company.

“Amy, you’re back!”

“My dear, long time no see.” Amy had gotten a new set of sparkling nail art. She admired it while hugging Zhu Yiyi, “I heard Xia Ningxi was making things difficult for you while I was gone?”

Zhu Yiyi licked her lips.

She was afraid that if she told her, it would escalate the conflict between Amy and Xia Ningxi.

But who was Amy? She had eyes like a hawk.

Her cold and aloof face, her long eyeliner, combined with her domineering aura, made her a true queen of the workplace. The way she hugged Zhu Yiyi was like a domineering protector of her cub. “I think she’s tired of living. How dare she touch my people.”

Protective.

A sense of security.

An unmatched aura.

Zhu Yiyi strangely saw a trace of He Shen in Amy.

Was this the common trait of wealthy people?

“My dear, are you free tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Come with me to have some fun.”

Zhu Yiyi thought the fun would be shopping, eating, or getting manicures, but at 7 pm, Amy took her to the most luxurious night market street in Beijing.

There was a bar called BOOM.

It was said to be a place for young people to have a blast.

Zhu Yiyi had heard about it from her roommate in college, but she had never been there. Firstly, she only had a couple of bucks and no money, and secondly, she was a coward.

“Amy, are you really going in?”

“Of course,” Amy was dressed more sexily than she was at work. She glanced at Zhu Yiyi’s jacket and jeans, and rubbed her temples, “You’re going to a bar dressed like that? You’re wasting your slender waist and big breasts.”

She reached out and touched Zhu Yiyi’s chest.

Zhu Yiyi was startled and hugged herself.

Amy loved to tease little girls. She giggled, her index finger lifting Zhu Yiyi’s chin, “Come on, I’ll show you the world tonight.”

Amy was beautiful, and soon many men came to chat her up. She handled them with ease.

Zhu Yiyi was like a country bumpkin entering the Grand View Garden, looking here and there. The deafening American pop music was energetic and exciting, and her dopamine was going crazy.

A man walked over with a drink, “Are you alone, miss?”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t expect that she could attract attention even dressed like this. She stammered, “With, with a friend.”

The man smiled handsomely, “Can I buy you a drink?”

“No need,” Zhu Yiyi refused. She hadn’t ordered anything after entering the bar, and was drinking the bottled milk she had brought in her bag in the morning. “I’m just drinking milk.”

The man looked at the milk in her hand, somewhat surprised, but more so charmed. He had been surrounded by wolves for too long, and this was the first time he had encountered a true little white rabbit.

He smiled and took the initiative to strike up a conversation, “Miss, you were looking at me just now.”

Zhu Yiyi did look at him for a moment.

The bar lights were dim, and for a moment, she mistook him for He Shen.

Zhu Yiyi wasn’t interested in chatting or flirting at the moment, and said directly, “Because your back looks like my ex-boyfriend.”

The man: “…”

“Really, what a coincidence.” The man didn’t seem to mind. After all, they were all there to have fun. He held up his drink and moved closer, “Do you want to have a drink together tonight?”

Zhu Yiyi frowned slightly.

Just as she was about to refuse, she saw a figure in her peripheral vision.

The man was wearing a casual dark hoodie and black pants, a more relaxed look than he had at the company.

He had a cigarette in his mouth.

He exhaled smoke, blurring his outline.

He leaned back against the pool table, his right hand taking off his glasses.

His eyes, without any obstruction, were fixed on her.

Like a hawk spotting its prey.