58 Wait till the clouds clear and the moon appears
Liu Yuwei carefully reviewed the case provided by Tong. It didn't appear complicated; it was the type of labor disputes Tiancheng specializes in. The defendant, Niu Jinxin, hailed from a small county in Hebei province, renowned for its Laobaigan liquor and a military-style high school. While his name carries the character "金" (gold), Niu's ancestors had been hardworking farmers, their livelihoods dependent on a few acres of corn and cotton fields. It wasn't until last year, after his elderly parents had moved on and his children had been enrolled in boarding school, that he joined his fellow villagers on the green-skinned train heading north. Unable to handle the manual labor of construction sites, he applied for a security job requiring a high school degree or higher, but ultimately, a friend's introduction led to a full-time delivery career. Initially, his unfamiliar routes often led to overdue deliveries, leading to deductions. However, his tenacity led to his monthly salary increasing steadily, from two to three thousand yuan to nearly nine thousand yuan at his best. For a middle-aged farmer whose toil often yielded fifty thousand yuan a year, this was a considerable sum. The turning point came one rainy night. It was a light drizzle that morning. Lao Niu was about to request time off in the back office when he received an errand order for medicine. He hesitated for a moment before turning the handlebars, wondering whose child might have fallen ill overnight. Surveillance footage showed that the green light was still six seconds away. As Lao Niu sped through the intersection, the slippery road surface caused him to lose control of his scooter, plunging him and his scooter into the blind spot of a distant truck. Fortunately, the accident was not life-threatening, but Lao Niu suffered three transverse process fractures and a lumbar spine injury. The Labor Capacity Assessment Committee ultimately determined that Lao Niu had reached the ninth level of disability due to work-related injuries. The parties involved were seeking compensation for their injuries, but under the current legal system, the first step in a labor dispute is labor arbitration. Liu Yuwei reviewed the chain of evidence provided by Lao Niu—payroll records, work group chat logs, and data from the delivery system. Although a written labor contract was missing, the evidence formed a complete chain. The arbitration committee's hearing went surprisingly smoothly. On the day the ruling confirming the de facto labor relationship between Lao Niu and Yas Company was received, spring rain suddenly fell in northern Beijing. Liu Yuwei, who always hated the rain, watched the water splashing on the steps, feeling that this rain was a cheer from heaven. She pulled out her phone and posted a close-up of raindrops falling into a puddle on Weibo, captioned with a grin. As the rain streamed down the taxi window, her lips curled up unconsciously. A stranger commented on the photo: [Will the scenery be better when it rains?] Her fingertips danced across the screen: [Spring rain…
Liu Yuwei carefully read the materials given by Lawyer Tong. This case did not seem complicated. It was the labor relations dispute that Tiancheng was best at.
Niu Jinxin, the man involved, hailed from a small county in Hebei province, famous for its Laobai liquor and a military-style high school. Despite his name, Niu's ancestors had been hardworking farmers, their livelihoods dependent on a few acres of corn and cotton fields. It wasn't until last year, after sending his elderly family members away and placing his children in boarding school, that he joined his fellow villagers on a green train heading north.
He couldn't do the physical work at the construction site, and the security guard job required a high school degree or above. Finally, he started a full-time delivery career through a friend's introduction.
At first, he was frequently overdue on deliveries due to unfamiliarity with the routes, leading to deductions of wages. However, with his tenacity, his monthly salary grew steadily, from two to three thousand yuan, rising steadily to nearly nine thousand yuan at his best. For a middle-aged farmer who could only earn fifty thousand yuan a year from toiling away on the land, this was a considerable sum.
The turning point came one rainy night. It was a light drizzle that morning, and Lao Niu was about to sign out of work when he received an errand order to buy medicine. He hesitated for a moment before turning the handle of the trolley, wondering if it was someone's child who had fallen ill in the night.
Surveillance footage shows that there were still six seconds left on the green light when the incident happened. When Lao Niu accelerated to cross the intersection, the slippery road surface caused the electric bike to suddenly lose control, and both the driver and the bike fell into the blind spot of a truck in the distance.
Fortunately, the traffic accident was not life-threatening, but Lao Niu suffered three transverse process fractures and lumbar spine damage. The Labor Capacity Assessment Committee ultimately determined that Lao Niu had reached the ninth level of disability due to work-related injuries.
The parties involved were seeking compensation for their injuries, but under the current legal system, the first step in resolving a labor dispute is labor arbitration. Liu Yuwei reviewed the chain of evidence provided by Lao Niu—payroll records, work group chat logs, and data from the delivery system. Although a written labor contract was missing, it formed a complete chain of evidence.
The arbitration committee's hearing went surprisingly smoothly. On the day the ruling confirming Lao Niu's de facto labor relationship with Yas Company was received, spring rain suddenly fell in northern Beijing.
Liu Yuwei, who always hated the rain, looked at the splashes of water on the steps and felt that the rain was a cheer from heaven. She took out her phone and posted a close-up photo of raindrops falling into a puddle on Weibo, accompanied by a grinning face.
The rain meandered down the glass window of the taxi, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously rose.
A stranger left a comment under this photo: [Will the scenery be better when it rains?]
Fingertips danced on the screen: [Spring rain moistens everything and brings good news. ]
The other party quickly replied, "Can we share the happiness?"
Online friends are a fascinating existence. Some achievements, which you might suppress in front of colleagues and modestly decline in front of friends and family, you can freely flaunt to a complete stranger. On a lucky day, you'll even receive a wave of genuine compliments, multiplying your small sense of satisfaction.
Liu Yuwei pondered for a moment and replied, "I've transitioned to a new position and have received my first report card!"
The other party posted a picture - I'll give you a little red flower.jpg.
After a few words back and forth in the comment section, Liu Yuwei curiously clicked on the other person's profile picture.
Her profile has no introduction, her following list is sparse, and her only Weibo posts are pictures without captions. But the ID "LumosL" reminds Liu Yuwei of the lighting spell from Harry Potter, which translates to "fluorescent flashes" in Chinese. She is indeed a girl who can light up others.
Without thinking much, she casually clicked "Follow" in the lower right corner.
On the other end, someone was staring at the new friend on the screen, wondering for a moment whether the message he had just sent was too impulsive.
Fortunately, I had changed my personal information since the day I secretly followed her, and also set some of my Weibo posts to be visible only to myself. Now there should be no trace of this account.
The spring rain is still falling, as if accompanying this secret encounter.
…
It rained for three consecutive days in northern Beijing, and Ren Yiming finally received the news he had been waiting for.
That day, his mother called him and told him to come home early for a family dinner that evening. He thought for a moment; it wasn't a holiday, a birthday, or an anniversary, or even a day off. While he didn't know the true purpose of the dinner, his mother's cheerful voice piqued Ren Yiming's curiosity.
Before seven o'clock, the family gathered neatly around the round table. Ren Yiming silently observed their expressions. The smile on his mother's face was obvious to anyone with eyes. His eldest sister-in-law remained her usual gentle and calm demeanor, but a smile slipped into her eyes as she spoke to her husband.
There was nothing abnormal about the other two men in the family. The old man still had a serious face and chatted with Ren Yian about business topics at the dinner table from time to time.
"Hey, Mom. Why aren't the king crabs I had delivered two days ago included today?"
Ren Yiming picked up a piece of stir-fried asparagus with chopsticks, and the emerald green color made the bone china plate look even whiter.
"I asked the driver to deliver it to Xiyuan."
Xiyuan is the villa area where Ren Yian's father-in-law and mother-in-law live.
"oh."
Ren Yiming didn't ask any further questions.
"Your sister-in-law is not fit to eat crabs now!"
The mother was muttering to herself.
"Ocean fish is fine, it can provide DHA. But it's best not to eat fish from the Bohai Bay, as it's too close to Japan!"
Ren Yiming's chopsticks were hanging in the air, and the scent of spring rain drifted in through the upper window. He suddenly understood the theme of this family dinner - "rebirth".
His gaze shifted to his eldest brother, who was watching Ren Yian peeling shrimp with his eyes lowered. His fingers deftly deveined the shrimp and placed the glistening flesh on his wife's plate. Under the light, his profile remained stern, without a trace of joy.
The words that were originally at the tip of my mouth - you are going to be a father - turned at the tip of my tongue.
"So, is there going to be a new member in our family?"
The mother raised her hand, and the jade bracelet made a crisp sound when it hit the table. Then she patted Ren Yiming's shoulder and made a formal announcement.
"Yes, your sister-in-law is pregnant, I'm going to be a grandmother!"
She looked at her youngest son with a meaningful look, "You better behave yourself from now on and don't teach the next generation bad things!"
Ren Yian looked up at his brother, his voice sharp.
"What about you? When are you planning to start a family?"
"Those beautiful girls in the past couldn't even get past me, let alone my parents!"
The rain outside the window suddenly became heavier, knocking against the eaves.
"Yiming must have his own ideas. Mom and Dad haven't said anything!"
The sister-in-law interrupted softly, stroked her husband's tense arm, and turned to Ren Yiming with her eyebrows curved into gentle crescents.
"Yiming, what kind of girl do you like? I'll help you keep an eye out for her!"
My mother immediately responded, "Yes, yes, you young people have common topics. I think your sister-in-law's friends are all great!"
When Ren Yiming saw his elder brother give him a look, he put down his chopsticks, put away his usual laziness, straightened his back, and spoke quite solemnly.
"I have someone I like."
After a pause, he added, "She was my classmate when I was studying in Germany, and now she's a lawyer at Tiancheng."
After he finished speaking, the air at the table froze instantly. Ren Yiming stared at the expressions of his parents opposite him, his heart pounding.
"Tiancheng..."
The man in charge of the Ren family took a sip of tea slowly.
"Is that Chang Fa, the new hire this year?"
The fragrance of tea permeates the air, but it cannot cover up the sharpness of words.
"So, you returned to the group to get a backdoor for your girlfriend?"
His tone was full of contempt.
Ren Yiming's originally respectful attitude was easily dispelled by a single sentence. His brows were tightly knitted together, and he tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart.
"Dad, I was the one who made the final decision on Tiancheng winning the bid!"
Ren Yian's voice cut through the solemn atmosphere. He twisted his wedding ring and explained slowly, "He's only been back for a few days, so he doesn't have that much say!"
Old Ren's eyes moved between the two brothers, finally landing on the eldest son, "Have you seen it?"
The question was asked implicitly, but everyone present knew who was being asked.
"Yeah." Ren Yian raised the corners of his lips slightly, and a rare smile flashed in his eyes behind the glasses, "I'm more than enough for him!"
"Brother!" Ren Yiming dragged out his voice, pretending to be wronged, but his heart was as clear as a mirror, "I'm not as bad as you say..."
The hostess who has been in this house for half her life has already seen all the subtle expressions on the faces of the three men she is most familiar with.
"Hello, classmate. We know each other well! When will you bring him home so we can meet him?"
The mother broke the silence at the right moment, and everyone's eyes fell on the man in the main seat.
When Ren Yiming's breath was about to fade away, he heard Old Ren's low voice.
"Invite her to dinner at home when you have time!"
The mother kicked Ren Yiming under the table and asked, "Why are you standing there?"
He suddenly reacted.
"Okay...Dad!"
Old Ren hadn't heard his youngest son call "Dad" for a long time. Worried that he couldn't suppress the fluctuation in his eyes, he hurriedly got up and left.
Seeing through it but not saying it out loud, the four people at the table smiled at each other. The sound of rain outside the window had stopped at some point.
…
After dinner, Ren Yian carefully supported his wife as they took a stroll along the garden path to help them digest their food. The clouds had dispersed, and the moonlight cast dappled shadows on them. Ren Yiming found the scene too beautiful, yet inexplicably illusory.
Walking back to his mother, he leaned back on the leather sofa and resumed his cynical look.
"Mom, are you really that happy to be a grandmother?"
His mother glared at him, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes particularly obvious under the light.
"I originally thought that I would have to wait until you got married and had children before I could have grandchildren!"
She poked his shoulder with her fingers, as if silently expressing her disappointment in him.
"Why, do you think my elder brother is not good enough?"
Ren Yiming dodged with a smile, but his skin was twisted fiercely.
"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense!"
The mother spat into the air a few times and her voice suddenly dropped.
"You know your eldest brother brought a pregnant woman home before!"
Ren Yiming suppressed his smile and nodded.
"Later, the child naturally died."
"Yian threatened at the time, saying that the child was his only child. Your father and I thought it was just a momentary outburst of anger."
"How could we be so clueless about what's going on between them all these years, living in the same house together? But as parents, we can't actively persuade our son to divorce!"
She glanced at the figure outside the window, patted Ren Yiming's hand, and sighed with relief, "Fortunately, he figured it out."
"Look how good it is now!"
Ren Yiming finally understood what his elder brother had been waiting for when he kept saying "wait", as well as the words he hesitated to say, "I can't give your sister-in-law what she wants."
The antique clock struck an unknown number of times, and the lingering sound echoed in the empty living room.
Returning to the bedroom, Ren Yiming fell face down onto the soft bed. The moonlight on the ceiling was cut into silver bars by the window sills.
His empty eyes followed the spots of light, as if he was staring into his own chaotic and broken heart.
This should have been a day worth celebrating, as he finally got the long-awaited result, but his chest felt empty, as if someone had dug a piece out of it.
Ren Yian's life was perfect in the eyes of others - he had a successful career, was married to someone well-matched, and his family was about to welcome a new life. However, it seemed that he was only missing the most precious thing.
The look my sister-in-law gave my brother during dinner suddenly emerged in my mind. It was as gentle as the quiet surface of a lake under the moonlight, but no one knew whether there were undercurrents hidden beneath that calm.
Ren Yiming once overheard his eldest brother's close friends at a drinking party mentioning how his eldest sister-in-law had admired him for years in her youth. Before their marriage, Ren Yian had someone tell him all about that past, but his eldest sister-in-law, who hadn't married him at the time, simply brushed it off by saying, "Everyone has an ex-girlfriend."
Perhaps, she had already recognized the reality and was willing to keep this incomplete love.
Perhaps, she still has hope, believing that one day the clouds will clear and the moon will appear.
Or maybe... for her, being able to stay with her lover is enough.
He turned over, and the moonlight shone through the glass window, casting a hazy shadow on the pillow. He tried to touch it, but his hands were empty.
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