Chapter 43 Youthful Heartbeats
Si Xiaotie was still very sad the whole way, his eyes were red, and he kept muttering and calling for his mother. Si Yuming held him and comforted him.
After boarding the plane, the little girl was so tired that she fell asleep and slept for four or five hours. But when she opened her eyes again, she only saw her father and burst into tears, crying so pitifully, "Waaah, I want my mommy... I want my mommy..."
Si Yuming had said everything he could, but there was still no solution.
But at one moment, the little girl suddenly stopped crying, wiped her eyes, buried herself in his arms, and her little ears burned.
Si Yuming followed her gaze and saw a little girl of about three years old sitting next to them, staring at them with her big, round eyes.
He understood, and inwardly chuckled. So, here's the solution.
This little class monitor can't afford to lose his pride and dignity.
Si Yuming wiped away her tears and gave her a snack that the family had bought yesterday. "Go on, go share the delicious food with your sister."
Si Xiaotie blinked his bright eyes, which had been glistening from crying, and after a moment, jumped down from his father's arms and boldly walked up to the little girl.
"Little sister, would you like some snacks? My mom bought these for me, they're really delicious." Her voice was soft and sweet, and there was no trace of tears.
The little girl was a bit shy, and her mother encouraged her, "Thank you, big sister."
The girl timidly accepted it, saying, "Thank you, sister."
The snacks were wrapped in various packaging. Si Xiaotie ran a few steps and handed the box to his father. Then he ran over and helped his younger sister unwrap the snacks with his little hands, saying, "My mother said we have to eat them like this, otherwise we'll get them on our clothes."
The girl's mother, finding her adorable, struck up a conversation, "Where's your mother?"
Si Xiaotie was stunned for a moment, and sadness gradually welled up again, but since her sister was still there, she suppressed it and smiled sweetly: "My mother is in Moscow. She works there. It's a super amazing job. Auntie, my mother is a translator."
"That's great!" the girl's mother said cooperatively. "So, baby, what's your name?"
"My name is Si Xiaotie, and my English name is Silezhen!" Si Xiaotie retorted, "What's your sister's name?"
"My younger sister's name is Yueyue."
"Yueyue! Can Yueyue speak English?"
"Yes, Yueyue's father is a foreigner."
Si Xiaotie's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly began to communicate with her sister in her still-broken English, "Hello, my name is Silezhen."
What is your name?
How old are you?
The girl's mother couldn't stop laughing, and the little girl gradually stopped being afraid and started responding to her.
Thus, Si Xiaotie gained a three-year-old little teacher.
Si Yuming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that her smile had become more frequent.
After arriving home, the tired girl fell asleep without even taking a shower. Aunt Chen changed her into pajamas, and she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.
Fearing she would be disappointed when she woke up, Si Yuming didn't dare go far and moved his computer to her small room to work.
He took a shower around 10 p.m., then went to bed and cuddled his daughter to sleep.
......
The next day, I was woken up by a noise. When I opened my eyes, I saw a little girl sitting on the carpet chatting with Lele.
Si Xiaotie, unaware that his father had woken up, continued to pinch Lele's leg and whispered, "Lele, I miss my mom so much. Do you miss your mom too?"
Meow~
What is Mom doing right now...? Does she miss me...?
The little girl accidentally rolled over and moved, immediately noticing. She turned her head, then hugged Lele and climbed onto the bed, calling out, "Daddy~"
"Hey." Si Yuming pulled back the covers to let her in. "When did the baby wake up?"
"just."
"Do you miss your mother?" he asked, pretending not to hear her whisper.
"think."
Did you message your mom?
The little girl was a little sad. "I sent it, but my mom hasn't replied yet."
Si Yuming explained the time difference to her, "Baby, Mommy is very far away. The sun is up here, but it's still night where Mommy is, so Mommy is sleeping. She will reply to you when Mommy wakes up."
Why is it still night where Mom is?
"..." When he had some time, Si Yuming found a model of the earth on his phone and showed it to her. After explaining for about ten minutes, the little girl finally understood a little.
"If I call my mom at noon, will she be able to answer?"
"Yes."
Si Yuming rubbed her fluffy little head and said, "Get up and have breakfast. Daddy will take you to find Yuanyuan later."
Si Xiaotie was immediately happy, but then asked in confusion, "Dad, don't you work?"
"I'm not working, I'm spending time with my baby."
"Yay!"
Si Yuming got out of bed first, and Si Xiaotie took out her phone watch from under her pillow, turned it on, and sent a text message to her mother: "Mom, I'll call you at noon."
[I'm going to go find Yuanyuan with Daddy later, hehe.]
......
When Lin Ke woke up in the morning, she saw her daughter's message. Si Yuming also sent a message saying that he would take her to see Yuanyuan today, and the little girl was in good spirits.
She felt relieved, tidied herself up, and prepared to report for duty.
Of this batch of personnel stationed in Moscow, only she and Yun Zheng from the Translation Department came; the other colleagues came from other departments.
When they met at the embassy, Lin Ke greeted Yun Zheng: "Director Yun."
Yun Zheng nodded, and the two of them took the elevator together.
He asked, "Is there anything you're not used to?"
Lin Ke: "No, I often came here to do part-time work when I was in college, and I was also at the last meeting. We even had a meeting together, but you probably don't remember me."
I remember it.
He saw her name when the list of external translators was submitted. He saw her several times during training, meetings and work.
Back in my school days, I always heard about a smart, hardworking, and beautiful female student. The boys in my dorm wanted to pursue her, but unfortunately, they never even got to see her after several attempts.
Thanks to his roommate, he knew exactly what this junior looked like, how great her personality was, how good her grades were, and how hard she was to pursue.
I also went with my roommate to look for her. Downstairs in the dormitory, the girl, who had been tricked down by her classmate, looked very embarrassed. My roommate handed her the flowers, and the girl took them in a daze. After she came to her senses, she put the flowers back and clearly said a few words of refusal.
The night was dark, but the streetlights overhead were bright, and he wasn't sure if she had seen him.
They probably didn't see it.
Later, during my senior year of college and as I was preparing for my next academic year, I gradually let go of the feelings I had, which I wasn't sure could be called liking.
We met again at a meeting last October.
The girl has changed a lot; her temperament has become both gentle and resilient. She is confident and poised when she sits on the stage to translate, and her professional skills are outstanding.
He heard from the colleague in charge of the interview that Lin Ke was the best among that group of translators. Later, when he had dinner with Director Gao of the Ministry of Commerce, Director Gao specifically mentioned that the young lady they sent was very good.
He didn't know she was already married and had a daughter, and the feelings he had when he was young resurfaced.
Yun Zheng looked down.
She wore a black suit today, with her hair up, looking capable and mature.
But then he remembered her gentle, loving way of holding their daughter and speaking to her, and how her eyes were red and she looked so vulnerable when they parted yesterday...
Yun Zheng suddenly paused, closed his eyes, and shook off the image in his mind.
Take two steps back.
"Director Yun, the group chat says we'll go to conference room number three first." She suddenly turned around, a faint fragrance wafting from her.
Yun Zheng's face turned cold, and his voice was equally cold. "I understand."
Why did it suddenly get so cold...? Lin Ke was a little confused and turned around awkwardly.
And I mourn for myself who will be working with him for the next two years.
Working abroad isn't that difficult, but because there are few people, one person has to do the work of three, and do all kinds of tasks.
Over the next few days, Lin Ke gradually got the hang of things and there weren't any major problems with daily life. She was fluent in the language and had already gradually accepted the cultural customs during her years of study. Apart from not having any family, there was no difference between being here and being in Beicheng.
Every day around noon, which is just before dinner in China, she would usually video chat or call Si Xiaotie. The chat would last for ten minutes or so, or up to half an hour.
Aside from being a little anxious for the first two days, the little girl recovered completely after her father accompanied her, and happily played with her brother every day.
It was still summer vacation, so Si Yuming had the backyard swimming pool cleaned and fenced off. Then he found a coach to teach the two children to swim. Finally, taking advantage of her enthusiasm for English, he hired an early childhood English teacher to come to their home for lessons.
With this, Si Xiaotie had no time to think about his mother. He spent his days soaking in the water and his evenings learning English with his teacher, keeping him extremely busy.
In late August, Zhang Man came to Moscow, ostensibly to explore new markets, but her true intentions were too obvious for Lin Ke to even expose.
After picking her up, she said she wanted to have dinner with Yun Zheng that evening. I don't know what methods she used, but Yun Zheng arrived at the restaurant on time.
Zhang Man was very proactive, and as soon as he arrived, she poured him a drink and said, "Director Yun, thank you for taking care of my Keke."
Yun Zheng didn't accept the drink, and said calmly, "There's no special treatment, just normal work."
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhang Man drank the glass of wine herself and began to speak, "Director Yun, didn't I tell you? I own a foreign trade company and I'm planning to import some goods from here to sell back home. I was wondering if you have any preferential policies or anything like that?"
Yun Zheng glanced at him and said, "If you're in foreign trade and don't understand these things, why did you start a company?"
"......"
Lin Ke, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but laugh, a smile spreading across her lips. Zhang Man glanced at her and said awkwardly, "This isn't our first time dealing with Moscow, so we should know better. Besides, how can online information compare to Director Yun's?"
Yun Zheng wasn't too cold. "I'll send you the file later."
"Okay, thank you, Director Yun."
Once the conversation started, the atmosphere gradually warmed up, and Zhang Man poured more wine. "Director Yun, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." Then she looked at Lin Ke, "Ke Ke, do you remember me?"
The man raised his eyes slightly, his movements very subtle.
Before Lin Ke could answer, Zhang Man raised her voice, "I remember now, you're our senior, right? Two years ahead of us, you were the one speaking on stage at the freshman orientation ceremony!"
In fact, Zhang Man had already thoroughly investigated the man she wanted to win over, including his hometown, university, and even more information about him after learning that he was an alumnus of the same university. He had never dated during his four years of university and had been working for the past few years as well, making him a true golden bachelor.
Zhang Man now thinks all love is bullshit, but this man still arouses her strong curiosity. She really wants to know if he has a psychological problem or a physiological problem, otherwise how can such a tall and handsome man be so celibate?
"Oh, what a coincidence!" Zhang Man feigned curiosity. "Director Yun is so outstanding, do you have a girlfriend?"
The other person remained silent. Zhang Man continued, "Really? Why aren't you dating anyone? Are you too busy with work?"
Yun Zheng glanced at the woman opposite him who hadn't spoken, and replied slowly, "I haven't met anyone I like."
"What kind of person does Director Yun like?"
Of course, there was no answer to this question. Zhang Man didn't press the issue and continued, "Actually, people don't know what their standards are until they meet someone they like. Once they meet that person, that person becomes their standard. Director Yun, don't you agree?"
Yun Zheng picked up the wine she pushed towards him and took a small sip.
"Besides, what's the point of liking someone at our age? Being able to make a living together is the most important thing. Look at Keke, she married well and now she has nothing to worry about..."
Lin Ke nudged her arm. "Why did you bring me up?"
“You’re a role model, I admire you so much.” Zhang Man noticed the person opposite her looking at her with a hint of curiosity in their eyes, so she asked, “Director Yun, do you know that our Keke got married?”
"......Know."
"Her husband is handsome and rich, and her daughter is cute and clever. Our Keke is simply a winner in life."
He fell silent again.
The meal lasted for about an hour, and Zhang Man did most of the talking, from her school days to her work, and then she talked about her future plans.
Yun Zheng replied occasionally, but since it was Zhang Man's home turf today, Lin Ke didn't say much either.
It ended around 9 PM, and the three of them went back to their dorm together.
When they arrived at the dormitory building, Zhang Man, whose face was flushed from drinking, patted Lin Ke and said, "Ke Ke, you go back first. I have something to say to Director Yun."
Lin Ke glanced at the two of them, nodded, and went upstairs.
Yun Zheng followed the person with his eyes until he disappeared into the elevator lobby.
Zhang Man didn't notice his gaze; she was feeling nervous.
Although she could be considered experienced in love, she had never confessed her feelings. Although she had other motives, she was still somewhat afraid.
After a dozen seconds, Zhang Man finally mustered up the courage to call him by his full name, "Yun Zheng".
“I don’t want to waste too much time, so I followed you here.” Zhang Man’s eyes were bright. “I like you a lot. If you don’t dislike me, could you give us a chance to get to know each other and let me pursue you?”
The man's eyes gradually darkened.
He looked again at the empty stairwell, his heart filled with a jumble of emotions, like a tangled mess of threads that he couldn't untangle.
Even though I know she has a husband and a daughter, and I know I should look elsewhere, my gaze always unconsciously searches for something.
The woman's firm voice pulled him back.
"Yunzheng, I'm very serious."
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Author's note: Good morning~ Little red envelope~
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