After New Year’s Day, it was time to distribute December’s salaries.

Ji Fanling, having worked the entire month without taking a day off and putting in five days of overtime at 200 yuan per day, along with a 100-yuan attendance bonus and her 1,800-yuan internship salary, received 2,900 yuan. It’s more than the regular employees.

The team leader, Huang Lili, was responsible for handling the payroll. After collecting her pay, Ji Fanling was just about to leave when she suddenly heard Huang Lili’s voice, not too loud or too soft, dripping with sarcasm: “Hasn’t worked here long, but sure knows how to rake in the money.”

Ji Fanling turned around. Huang Lili’s eyes, rolled so far back that the whites were visible, lazily wandered between the ceiling and the floor, as if she hadn’t just spoken.

“Almost forgot.”

Ji Fanling stared at her and said slowly, “During New Year’s, Boss Zhao gave every on-duty employee a 20-yuan cash red envelope.”

“…”

“I was in the restroom at the time and didn’t get it, and I didn’t have the chance to ask for it later. How about settling it now?” Ji Fanling said.

Huang Lili sneered, “Didn’t get it? Then just forget about it. Are you that desperate for 20 yuan?”

“I am,” Ji Fanling replied calmly. “I really need it.”

Huang Lili’s expression shifted dramatically, a vivid mix of disbelief and annoyance.

This small amount of money, if it were brought up with the boss, they’d probably just hand it over for the sake of appearances and be done with it.

Huang Lili couldn’t swallow her anger. Rolling her eyes, she begrudgingly handed over the red envelope while muttering under her breath, “Already selling yourself, and you’re still desperate for twenty yuan… just spread your legs a little, and you’ll get whatever you want.”

Ji Fanling didn’t quite catch what she said clearly. With everyone else hurrying forward to check their attendance and receive their pay, she chose not to bother arguing, avoiding wasting everyone’s time.

Lu Yan, having already received her pay, leaned over and asked, “So, how much did you get? Pretty good?”

“Isn’t it just what I’m owed?” Ji Fanling replied absentmindedly, glancing back. “What’s up with Huang Lili? She was mumbling something about selling and legs or whatever…”

Lu Yan let out an exclamation, “Ah, as expected, she’s picking on you again?”

Ji Fanling looked up at her. “Do you know what’s gotten into her?”

Lu Yan glanced around, then pulled Ji Fanling into an empty private room nearby. After closing the door, she lowered her voice and said, “A few nights ago, when you left early because of your limp, she saw it.”

Ji Fanling was puzzled. “Me limping bothers her, how?”

“No,” Lu Yan gestured, “she saw you get into someone else’s car!”

“And?”

Lu Yan lowered her voice even further. “She said it was a Rolls-Royce!” At the time, Huang Lili’s face had twisted under the colorful lights.

Ji Fanling: “…Well, it was.”

She didn’t recognize car logos, but she wasn’t surprised either.

Lu Yan stammered, “Can I… can I ask? Who is that person to you?”

“A classmate.” Ji Fanling paused, then corrected herself, “A friend.”

“What… what kind of friend?” Lu Yan asked cautiously, her gaze shifting nervously.

Ji Fanling: “………………”

She finally understood what Huang Lili meant by “selling.”

“…Just a regular friend, giving me a ride since we were heading the same way.”

Annoyed, she smacked Lu Yan lightly. “What are you even imagining? He’s not that kind of person.”

“Oh…” Lu Yan muttered, somewhat relieved but still a little curious.

Lu Yan nodded vaguely. “Well, he seems like a pretty nice guy.”

Ji Fanling didn’t respond, appearing indifferent as she turned to start tidying up the plates.

Lu Yan followed a few steps behind, her hands submerged in the cold water of the sink as she worked up a lather of soap. It was only then that a sudden realization struck her.

Given Ji Fanling’s pride and temper, when faced with such probing questions, shouldn’t she have retorted bluntly—“Do you think I’m that kind of person?”

She didn’t know why.

Her first instinct had been to explain on that man’s behalf.

As if—

She trusted him, perhaps even more than she trusted herself.

*

After washing the dishes, Ji Fanling didn’t have much else to do. She leaned on the table and calculated her expenses for a while before transferring a thousand yuan to Fu Yingcheng, figuring it was better to pay back a little than nothing.

A moment later, Fu Yingcheng sent a question mark.

c: 【?】

None of Your Business: 【I got paid.】

c: 【Congratulations.】

Ji Fanling stared at the chat window for a long time, waiting, but he didn’t accept the transfer. Frustrated, she sent another message: 【The one thousand is to pay you back.】

c: 【What, I only lent you a thousand?】

“…” Her head throbbed with irritation.

None of Your Business: 【It’s not all of it.】

None of Your Business: 【Just paying back a bit first.】

None of Your Business: 【I’ll pay the rest next month.】

The 1,000 yuan was returned.

c: 【I don’t accept installment payments.】

c: 【Pay it all back when you have the money.】

Ji Fanling lowered her eyes and typed out an “Oh,” but deleted it, replacing it with: 【How about I treat you to a meal?】

She was serious about treating him. After all, she’d been eating Fu Yingcheng’s food for two months now. While he didn’t seem to care, she couldn’t just continue playing dumb. Even if she couldn’t fully repay him, it was at least a gesture of goodwill.

That said, Fu Yingcheng was usually swamped with work, leaving early and returning late. Besides, as a dignified CEO, he certainly wasn’t lacking meals. He probably wouldn’t even have the time, so this offer was likely just going to stay as polite words…

c: 【Which day?】

None of Your Business: 【…Tomorrow night?】

c: 【Alright.】

Ji Fanling: “……”

So it’s set just like that?

Guess he’s not that busy after all.

*

The next day was Ji Fanling’s regular day off for the week. She hadn’t taken a break at all last month, and she didn’t want to push herself so hard in January.

In the morning, she got up quite late. Unsurprisingly, Fu Yingcheng had already gone to the company. Ji Fanling even felt that the concept of a “day off” simply didn’t exist in Fu Yingcheng’s mind.

At noon, Aunt Tong unexpectedly came over. She said she heard Ji Fanling was at home and, after a month-long absence, made her a meal. She even fried sesame rice cakes, symbolizing step-by-step progress.

After lunch, Ji Fanling went downstairs and bought a small bouquet of white daisies from the flower shop. Then she boarded a bus heading to the suburbs.

The weather was lovely. The January sunlight, soft and mellow like stirred egg yolks, gently spilled over the grayish snow piled by the roadside, casting a frosted glass texture over the surrounding scenery.

She transferred buses twice, a total of forty stops in all.

By the time Ji Fanling arrived at Zaoshan Cemetery, it was already past two in the afternoon. Among the vast expanse of wild grass, a few green shoots were just starting to peek through. This was a private cemetery, located in a remote area with poor management. It was desolate and on the border of the county town, its only advantage being its affordability.

This was also where Jiang Wan was buried.

Ji Fanling had never come here before. On one hand, she had been busy trying to make a living for herself. On the other hand, she harbored a hidden worry in her heart.

Ten years had passed, and everything had changed. She was afraid that if she came, she might discover that the grave was no longer there.

After all, considering Ji Guoliang’s beastly nature, he might not have been willing to pay the annual management fee of fifty yuan.

To her surprise, after ten years, the cemetery was being maintained meticulously. An iron fence had been built around the cemetery, stone paths had been laid over the grass, and the surroundings were clean and serene.

Ji Fanling found Jiang Wan’s grave, placed the daisies down, and took out a cloth. She dampened it at a nearby faucet and started wiping the tombstone.

As she wiped, something began to feel off.

When she looked closer, she couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer exasperation.

The tombstone was already small, with only Jiang Wan’s name, her birth and death dates, and the burial date engraved on it.

Now, squeezed next to Jiang Wan’s name, were the three characters for “Ji Fanling.”

…

What the hell.

It was bad enough that Ji Guoliang hadn’t bought her a grave, but to come up with the idea of forcibly adding her name to her mother’s tombstone?

Was she… cleaning her own grave?

Ji Fanling picked up a stone from the ground, intending to scrape her name off. After measuring and hesitating for a long time, she was afraid of damaging her mother’s name and ended up tossing the stone away.

She squatted in front of the tombstone, hesitated for a moment, and awkwardly said, “Well, we’re all going to die anyway. It’ll be useful in the future.”

“Mom, I’m here to see you.”

…

“I haven’t been here in ten years because I saved a little boy. His name is Jiang Baixing, and he’s in his second year of high school now.”

…

“Is it possible that, actually, I stayed with you for ten years but just don’t remember it?”

…

“Was it you who sent me back?”

…

“Why didn’t you just let me stay over there with you?”

…

Ji Fanling touched her nose and remained silent for a moment. A gentle breeze rose, causing the tips of the grass to sway.

“I’m staying at a classmate’s house right now. He’s a good person and even lent me some money. I’ve already found a job, so I’ll be able to support myself soon.”

“Everything is much better than it was ten years ago.”

Ji Fanling stood up and brushed off the snowmelt that had gotten on her clothes. “I had originally planned to just die and be done with it, but now I suddenly have to live for several more decades. It feels kind of troublesome.”

She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then smiled softly. “But, it also makes me a little happy.”

After finishing her visit to the grave, Ji Fanling retraced her steps along the path she had taken to get there.

A cemetery caretaker wearing a blue uniform and sweeping snow with a large broom suddenly called out to her, “Hey, are you a relative of Jiang Wan?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Sorry, but leaving items in the cemetery isn’t allowed. Could you please take back what you brought?”

“It’s just a bouquet of flowers,” Ji Fanling asked. “Even flowers aren’t allowed?”

“It’s not the flowers.”

Following him to the rest area, Ji Fanling took the picture frame he handed over. When she turned it over, she was completely stunned. “This is… when did you get this?”

Inside the frame was a photo of Jiang Wan.

It was the pearl frame Ji Fanling had saved up for back then, skipping meals to afford it. Over the years, the frame had yellowed slightly, but the photo remained vibrant.

Jiang Wan, with her black hair and white dress, was captured in her most radiant moment, untouched by the ten years of wind and sun that had passed.

“Just last month? Or maybe the month before?” the caretaker said. “It was left behind by someone who came to visit the grave, so I kept it.”

The caretaker scratched his head. “It’s lucky I ran into you today.”

The most likely explanation was that Ji Guoliang had visited the cemetery last month and casually left the photo behind. But Ji Fanling knew it was absolutely impossible for it to have been Ji Guoliang.

For the moment, she couldn’t afford to think it through. “Thank you for keeping it safe,” she said hurriedly.

The girl hastily took out her phone. “Should I pay a storage fee or something?”

“No, no, that’s not necessary,” the caretaker quickly waved his hand. “It’s just part of my job. Go ahead and take it, young lady, no need to be so polite.”

Ji Fanling cradled the photo like a treasure as she left the cemetery. She took the bus back to the city, feeling as if she were in a dream.

… She had thought the photo was long gone.

Throughout the ride, she couldn’t help but take it out to look at it, put it back, then take it out again for another glance, and put it back once more.

When she got off the bus at the entrance to her neighborhood, she saw Fu Yingcheng’s car parked by the roadside. She ran over and knocked on the window. “You got here early?”

Fu Yingcheng put down the document he was holding, unlocked the car door, and looked up at her. His gaze froze.

The girl bent down and leaned into the car.

Today, she had dressed up intentionally. She wore a lambswool jacket she had bought but hadn’t worn before, paired with a light coffee-colored thin wool sweater underneath. On her feet was a pair of pristine white leather ankle boots.

Her long hair had been carefully combed, the dark, silky strands cascading smoothly down to her waist.

She had never looked this clean and well-behaved before.

But the most striking thing about her was her emotions.

Even with her face set in a neutral expression and her eyes lowered, they still spilled out in subtle streams from beneath her lashes.

Fu Yingcheng withdrew his gaze, started the car, and silently curled the corners of his lips. “Dressing up so formally just to treat me to a meal?” Although they lived together every day, it had been over a month since they’d last shared a meal.

Ji Fanling turned her head. “Hmm?”

Realizing what he meant, the girl let out an “ah” and said, “No, look at this.” She opened the plastic bag.

The emotion in Fu Yingcheng’s eyes darkened for a moment before he turned his head and glanced at the photo in her hand. “What’s the matter?”

Ji Fanling, clearly pleased, admired it once more. “Isn’t it beautiful? This frame, this dress, this necklace…”

Fu Yingcheng’s gaze shifted to the rearview mirror as he turned the steering wheel, replying casually, “It’s because your mother is beautiful.”

…

The air froze for two seconds.

Ji Fanling’s eyes filled with confusion. “How do you know this is my mom?”

Author’s Note:

Why aren’t you saying anything, Mr. Fu?