"They're back." It was past 11 p.m. when Song Qing and the others returned. Everyone else had gone to sleep. Lu Yang got up and opened the door when he heard the knocking.

"I thought you were going to stay at the state-owned cotton mill tonight." The incident happened suddenly, and the state-owned cotton mill had not arranged any dormitories.

Lu Yang and his daughter waited until after 9 o'clock, but she still hadn't returned. An'an, who had been holding her breath, forgot everything and just kept crying.

"Asleep?"

"I went to bed early, hugged my pillow and cried until I was tired and fell asleep."

Lu Yang was quite helpless; no matter how he tried to coax her, she just wanted her mother.

"I..." Song Qing felt a pang of sadness as she listened, knowing that her daughter missed her.

But the incident at the state-owned cotton mill was so sudden that I didn't even have time to tell her.

Song Qing had been traveling for several hours and had been enduring her discomfort. She didn't eat much for dinner, so Lu Yang made her a bowl of clear soup noodles.

"Sit there and rest for a while, the noodles will be ready soon."

Two crooked stools, both Lu Yang's handiwork, were placed in front of the stove. They were wrapped with wire, so they were quite stable to sit on. Song Qing sat there, looking at the firelight, lost in memories.

Back in Ancheng, Song Qing was so busy with work that she didn't have time to go home and cook for An'an, so she could only give her a ticket to eat at the company cafeteria.

The company cafeteria has never been doing well, and the dishes are always the same few flavors. An'an got tired of eating them after a few years. Knowing that her mother is busy, she started learning to cook for herself.

"Mom, look at the noodles I made."

One day, after Song Qing got off work, she came home and found her cooking in the kitchen. An An was excited to see her mother come home and brought out the noodles she had made.

The noodles were dried noodles bought from a grocery store, and there was a dark, scrambled egg lying in them. Song Qing picked at the noodles with her chopsticks and found that they had clumped together.

"Mom, you should try it."

An'an was especially happy. Her mother hadn't been home until 8 or 9 pm for several days, and today she was finally back so early. However, she didn't know that her mother was coming home early and had only made noodles for one person. An'an planned to make another bowl for herself after her mother finished eating.

You're eating this?

Looking at her daughter's expectant eyes, Song Qing hesitated to pick up her chopsticks. What else could she eat if not this? The food in the cafeteria had never suited her daughter's taste.

Overwhelmed by guilt, Song Qing was instantly overwhelmed. Her daughter was only in first grade. At that age, she was still at home enjoying her mother's cooking, but An'an had to cook and take care of herself.

An'an didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Sometimes adults are too busy to take care of the children, and everyone has to cook for themselves.

An'an knows that her family's situation is already quite good; at least they don't have to worry about food and drink. She knows that her mother has to work to earn money to support two people, and she can take care of herself.

However, Song Qing felt guilty because of this small matter. She brought her daughter to Ancheng because she wanted her daughter to have a good life.

"What are you thinking about? The noodles are ready."

Lu Yang brought the noodles to the table and saw that Song Qing was still in a daze. He thought she was too tired and chuckled as he pulled her to sit down at the table.

"It seems our technician Song is exhausted. Eat quickly, I'll give you a massage tonight."

Both are noodles, but An'an made the previous one, and Lu Yang made this one. His skills are much better than An'an's; at least the egg was fried perfectly.

"I just feel a little sorry for An'an. She needs me by her side right now, but I've been busy with work and neglected her."

And things will only get busier in the future; there will likely be many more last-minute business trips like this.

Not to mention the impromptu business trip, she also had a training mission in another city, which made Song Qing feel even more guilty.

“I’m thinking of switching positions with Director Zhang; this job is too busy.”

She had been focused on her work all this time, and it was only then that she realized that when she came back, she had been thinking about giving her daughter a different life than in her previous life, pampering her and loving her, not letting her suffer so much at such a young age, and spending more time with her.

But I'm still busy with work, just like before. Today I might not have time to pick her up, and in the future I might not have time to watch her performance in the preschool, attend parent-teacher meetings at school, or take my daughter to the zoo.

These were actually Song Qing's regrets from her previous life. She couldn't always take leave and often missed things that happened during her daughter's growth.

“I told myself I would give her a different childhood, but I didn’t do it.”

As Song Qing spoke, her eyes reddened. Was it going to be the same as before, always feeling guilty but still having to consider work and other things? But that wasn't what she was thinking when she was at the guesthouse.

Lu Yang was startled. All he did was not pick up his daughter in time, so why were both mother and daughter's eyes red?

“An’an is just used to you picking her up, and she’s a little unaccustomed to it on the first day. As for your concern that you might neglect her because of work, just like I couldn’t be with you before, Song Qing, that’s unavoidable.”

"Can be avoided"

Lu Yang interrupted her, and while she was lost in her own thoughts, he grabbed her hand and played with it.

"It's unavoidable. If I'm on a mission, I won't be able to be with her either, but that's all part of our job. What we can do is spend as much time with her as possible during normal times."

Don't feel guilty. I'm the one who should feel guilty the most, because I spend even less time with you.

If you want to come back to be with her because of this, then shouldn't I also change jobs?

"..." Is that what she meant?

“There’s no reason for you to always be the one sacrificing. We’re a team. When I’m busy, you’ll be there for her, and when you’re busy, I’ll step in.”

Lu Yang didn't think that Song Qing should be sacrificed to take care of the children in this family. He could tell that Song Qing really enjoyed her work, so they should take turns.

"Loving her isn't just about spending time with her and taking care of her. An'an will definitely be proud to have a mother who is a technician in the future."

After Song Qing finished her noodles, Lu Yang kept comforting her, and his occasional jokes helped to ease her worries.

"Do you want to take a bath? I'll run the water for you."

Lu Yang was happy to serve her. Seeing Song Qing nod, he immediately carried water to the shower room and even went back to the room to get her clothes.

"If only you had been here sooner."

He's right. Raising a child should be a shared responsibility. If she hadn't gone to Ancheng in her past life, he would have been there when she couldn't take care of An'an.

Things are different now. An'an doesn't need to learn to cook anymore, and Song Qing can eat noodles too.

Lu Yang was carrying water when she suddenly said something that made him freeze in place. He was thinking that it would have been better if they had come sooner, but it wasn't too late now.

What are you doing?

"Let me give you a massage." Song Qing was about to take off her clothes when Lu Yang had already prepared the water, but he didn't leave.

"...Get out!" Just moments ago she was filled with emotion, but now she just wanted to kick him out.

"Didn't you say you wanted me here?" Well, women's hearts are hard to fathom.

Song Qing didn't even know what he meant, and kicked him hard, sending him flying out.