Praise You

Ye Yuanyin received Secretary Ma's warning and smiled. He said, "Of course I'm asking for your opinion."

Chen Yan had already known that asking was just a superficial courtesy, but when he really heard her answer, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of loss.

Ye Yuanyin sensed it and moved closer to him, trying to speak in an innocent and relaxed manner: "Why don't you move out and live with us?"

"Where are you going?" He asked, and the topic returned to its original, heavy topic. "Can the small house you rent accommodate three people?"

"It's okay to squeeze in."

"Forget it." Chen Yan couldn't stand the suffering, nor did he want to run from the south to the north of the city and waste the time on the road.

When one person wants to become closer to another, they inevitably intrude into each other's lives. Before, they didn't care, coming and going freely. Now, they care, and it feels like a shackle. Who should compromise with whom?

"What's your reason for moving out?"

"The school Yaya attends is closer to where I live, so we want to go there early to get acclimated." Ye Yuanyin didn't hide anything from him. "We can't both of us live here and cause you trouble."

"Okay." He didn't insist. After all, no matter how much he loved someone, that person was still an independent individual. Besides, she had a strong personality, her own ideas and life. "I'm very busy with work, so it might not be as convenient for us to meet in the future."

"I know." When making the choice, Ye Yuanyin must have thought of this outcome.

Most things in the world can't be perfect. Especially these two, one born in Jiutao Village, the other raised in Ancheng. The physical distance, catalyzed by time and wealth, has created a spiritual gap that is difficult to bridge with love alone.

If they really want to be together, they both need to face up to their differences. She actually doesn't know whether this decision will make their relationship better or worse.

*

Ye Yuanyin is very busy, busy with work, life, treatment, and taking care of Yaya... so busy that he has no time to feel sad about the passing of time.

Yaya's face gradually smiled more and more.

The little girl thought it was so strange that the toilets in fast food restaurants would flush automatically when she stood up, and when she washed her hands, she would just stretch out her hands and the water would come out on its own. Trains could run underground, and people would parade through the streets in all sorts of bizarre costumes...

There are many new things and countless "firsts" in her world.

After only about ten days in the city, Wang Yaya has already fallen in love with the convenience of the city. She can take the subway by herself and consciously corrects her country accent by following videos.

The world becomes so vivid and colorful.

As Ye Yuanyin accompanied her in exploring the world, he also re-examined his past self. It turned out that Ancheng brought her not only the prejudiced views she didn't want to face and the low pain of not being able to fit in, but also the courage and confidence that made her richer and more diverse. She firmly believed that in this city full of freshness and uncertainty, as long as she worked hard, she could live the life she wanted.

"Sister, sister," Yaya ran into the kitchen, holding up her phone and said to Ye Yuanyin who was busy there, "I saw Uncle on the video."

Ye Yuanyin found it strange. Given her understanding of him, how could such a low-key person be willing to step forward for an interview? "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, just look."

It was an interview program. The host was a reporter who resigned from a newspaper and worked in the financial channel for many years. He interviewed a total of twelve well-known entrepreneurs, and he was one of them.

"His episode has a lot of hits this time," Yaya exclaimed. "Everyone in the comments is praising his handsomeness. City people are so weird. Why do they always call him 'husband'?"

Ye Yuanyin couldn't help laughing: "You can also understand it as, he is very popular with girls."

Yaya shook her head and pouted, saying, "It's strange, people can have so many different ideas."

Ye Yuanyin thought, that's right. Why do so many people still migrate from their hometowns to the city like migratory birds even though they know it's not easy? Perhaps the freedom to live according to one's own ideas is one of the benefits.

"Take the bowls out, we're going to eat."

Looking at the busy figure in the kitchen, Yaya suddenly hugged her from behind.

Ye Yuanyin was inexplicably startled because of the water on his hand, "What's wrong?"

"Sister, when I see you, I think of Aunt Long, and then I want to cry so much. If she were still alive, would we live together like we do now?"

There are always some memories that come unexpectedly.

Children will not hide things. They will not deliberately refuse to mention anything about their mother in front of her like my aunt and Qin Ling did.

She obviously missed her so much and was never separated from her in her heart for a moment.

Ye Yuanyin's throat was blocked and he said in a low voice, "Yes, I miss her too. But I don't allow myself to miss her for too long. Sometimes I'm afraid that I'm too weak and can't help but go to another world to reunite with them..."

Yaya hugged her tighter and said timidly, "No, sister!"

"Don't be afraid," she stroked her arm soothingly, and said wistfully, "I don't think that way anymore."

"That's good, don't leave me."

Ye Yuanyin couldn't help but tear up when he heard these familiar words. People who have too little will always treat a person as a mountain, and a grain of sand falling from the mountain may be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Secretary Ma called, she gestured to Yaya to go eat, wiped her hands and answered the phone.

"Ms. Ye, the boss wants to know if you still want to attend Meiyue's engagement party tomorrow?"

Ye Yuanyin didn't know what Chen Yan'an was thinking, so he asked tentatively, "What...does he think?"

"The boss said it depends on your wishes."

"Can I give you an engagement gift?"

Secretary Ma was very frugal with his words. "Anything is fine."

After hanging up the phone, he calmed his breath and reported to the person sitting behind him, "Ms. Ye said she won't be attending."

"Alright." Chen Yan turned his chair around. The river behind him continued to meander into the distance. He repeated, "It's better to avoid it."

Secretary Ma nodded continuously.

"Have you checked to see if Xiao Ruan's death was definitely suicide?"

Secretary Ma returned to Jiutao Village on a business trip this time, contacted the local police station, and questioned several people who were present on the night of the incident. He indeed found no suspicion of tampering by others.

"Strange," Chen Yan said, "They shouldn't have let go of such a good opportunity."

"A few days ago, several groups of media reporters came to interview us."

"You Jing called him over? Or was it Shen Yuheng?"

“Nothing.”

"Is there no movement from Shen Yuheng?" Shen Di'an didn't think that his fourth uncle would just sit there and wait for death. After all, he had secretly made many moves in the past three years.

"Not yet."

Chen Yan smiled strangely and said, "Could it be that he has a change of heart? He shouldn't have done that."

Secretary Ma will not speak when the boss is in a bad mood or when he cannot judge whether he is in a good mood or not.

"Didn't Xiaoye ask me?"

Here we go again. Secretary Ma, don't you think you can just contact me through a private line? Is this the 19th century? There are so many chat apps out there. Do you have to torture me for fun with so many ways to contact me?

Sediment sighed and said darkly, "You're really heartless. Isn't that right, little pony?"

Secretary Ma has the right to remain silent.

*

Before going to bed at night, Ye Yuanyin took another walk in the community.

Perhaps it was because she had been used to walking on mountain roads since she was a child, and this primitive way of traveling allowed her brain to get a brief period of healing and rest.

The neighborhood she rented was in a school district, but few people actually bought and lived there permanently. Most were parents renting for their children's education. Far from the city, it lacked much entertainment or recreation. Aside from shops catering to basic needs, the commercial atmosphere was minimal.

After walking for an hour, I came back and saw someone waiting downstairs.

It was a completely unfamiliar face, one she had never seen before. She felt strange and went to meet him, preparing to go upstairs, but was stopped by him.

"Ms. Ye."

Ye Yuan instinctively stopped and turned to look at her. The girl smiled at her gently.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm You Jing's girlfriend."

"..." Ye Yuanyin had an expression of sudden enlightenment on his face, "What should I call you?"

"My last name is Jiang, Jiang Xue. Jiang is the river of spring water, Xue is the snow of the cold river where I fish alone."

"Hello, Miss Jiang."

"Can you talk to me for a minute?"

They had only been standing in the community for a few minutes when they were bitten by mosquitoes several times. There was a post office not far away that temporarily stored packages, and Ye Yuanyin suggested that she go there together.

The cool air conditioning blew against her body. Jiang Xue smiled shyly at her. "Actually, I shouldn't have come, but I couldn't help it. Because when I was with him, I always heard his friends talking about you, so I asked Zhou You for your address. I hope you don't hate me."

Ye Yuanyin quickly shook her hands, even though she felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart.

"Miss Ye, are you and You Jing very close?"

She considered her words carefully, like someone crossing a river by feeling the stones, unsure whether they were being profound or superficial. "You should have heard from my friends that my family isn't well off. His mother was my teacher and also financially supported me. I'm very grateful to them."

"Is that so?" Jiang Xue was visibly fond of You Jing, and even the look in her eyes when she looked at her was filled with love. "My father and Aunt Sun were colleagues. We were separated when I was a child because of my father's job transfer. Later, my father returned to China to coach, so our two families reconnected. Although it was a relationship introduced by my family, I really like him. If you don't mind, could you tell me more about him?"

Ye Yuanyin felt like she was caught in a trap that was neither soft nor hard, because her life in Ancheng was almost tangled with his, and she actually didn't know how to evaluate him.

"You Jing is fine."

"Nothing else?"

"Um."

"Have you... talked about it?"

"No."

"Why?"

“Not quite.”

Jiang Xue suddenly grabbed her hand and said with great emotion, "Ms. Ye, although we just met, I feel like we can be friends for a long time. I hope you can like me as much as I like you."

The temperature remained high at night, and Ye Yuanyin felt as if he was being held by someone, sweating profusely.

When she woke up the next day, she still felt something was wrong, so she asked Yaya, "Did anyone come to our house last night?"

Yaya replied, “No.”

Ye Yuan’s memory was hazy, did Chen Dian’an ever come here?

I always felt that he had been here, but when I woke up there was no trace.