Chapter 1 (7)
The mother-in-law's medical report came back clear, and the doctor advised her to smoke less. Liren's mother stayed at her son and daughter-in-law's house for a few days before returning home.
The alarm was lifted, and Yu Jia breathed a sigh of relief. As planned, her mother-in-law was fine, so she hadn't told Li Ren anything. She understood her mother-in-law's intentions. The old lady was afraid her son would worry. Everything was calm. She'd keep it a secret.
With her mother-in-law gone, Yu Jia finally began to settle down and settle down with her family. Yu Shuang's life was settled. Shuang's mother was laid to rest, and Yu Qing had returned home. As for Yu Shuang, Meng and Rui were by her side. She felt relieved. Yu Jia concluded that Shuang wouldn't commit suicide, but that the sadness in her heart could only be slowly healed with time.
There were two things she needed to deal with right now. One was her job. Liren had said he'd find a connection to arrange it. He'd been trying to figure it out before she came here, but there hadn't been any progress.
Yu Jia was a little anxious. She felt she should still have a job, participate in social life. How much money she made was another matter, but at least she could keep up with the times and have something in common with her husband. Li Ren had become increasingly isolated from her. He hardly even looked her in the eye, and even when he spoke, his gaze often drifted or simply fixed on a single point.
Yu Jia has been busy "cramming" lately. She can relax in her hometown, but when she comes to the big city, she still feels the pressure. The pressure to improve. She is now the wife of a small leader, what if she becomes the wife of a big leader in the future? All aspects of her quality need to be improved. Yu Jia began to pay attention to financial news, and occasionally watched the Xinwen Lianbo, to pay attention to what is happening in the world. That way, when Li Ren brings up something, she can at least join in the conversation. Her knowledge must not be limited to her major - Chinese - it is almost the same as not learning anything. She does have a good hand in writing and can sing Kunqu opera. It's a pity that she has no place to use her skills. However, she is already satisfied with being able to manage her small family well.
The second issue was Sisi's education. Many people envied her daughter's decision to go directly to a high school affiliated with the city after moving there. However, she and Liren disagreed on Sisi's future career path.
Sisi ate quickly, pushed her bowl aside, and went back to her room to read. Having just arrived in the big city, Sisi felt pressured. She was worried about falling behind in class, about being looked down upon by her classmates. She wanted to shed her small-town-girl demeanor as quickly as possible, and so she worked extra hard.
Yu Jia pretended to be casual and asked, "How's my job going?"
Li Ren immediately frowned. "It's not that easy." After a few seconds, he added, "It's best to find a stable job."
Yu Jia said nothing, as if he was waiting for the emperor's instructions.
Li Ren continued, "I've asked Sister Zhao to see if she can get someone in the university press."
Oh, university presses, where professors' wives are supported.
Yu Jia didn't like the word "塞". It sounded harsh, as if she was a waste.
"Looking for a good job while riding a donkey." Yu Jia said.
"You don't necessarily have to go out to work." Li Ren didn't look at his wife, his chopsticks still moving. Yu Jia sympathetically said, "It's too tiring for you to work alone."
Di Liren put down his chopsticks and looked into Yu Jia's eyes.
Something big is happening. Yu Jia can sense it.
"Sisi, it's best for you to go abroad," Li Ren said solemnly. "The competition for the college entrance examination in China is fierce. With your current status, you can only get into a second-tier university. It's better to go abroad directly."
"The child is too young." Yu Jia said.
"So someone needs to accompany them," Li Ren immediately responded, then paused for two seconds before returning to his work, which was his specialty. "First, go out and study preparatory courses, then apply directly to schools outside. Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. You go out and accompany them, providing logistical support."
Yu Jia understood Li Ren's ambition. He was ambitious, and many of his colleagues' children were studying abroad. It had been like that back in the province, and now in the big city, he was surrounded by even more "sea turtles." He couldn't afford to fall behind.
Besides, they saw it as a shortcut. Avoid the brutal college entrance exams in China and try to find something good abroad. Liren meant the US or UK would be best, with France and Germany as a fallback. If that didn't work out, New Zealand or Australia would be a good option. He forbade Sisi from going to Japan. Nationalist sentiment was rampant.
Yu Jia disagreed with her husband's arrangement. Firstly, she felt that this wasn't the situation a decade or so ago. A foreign degree wasn't worth much more than a domestic one. At least when it came to finding a job, it could even be a disadvantage. There were too many returnees. When things were plentiful, they were cheap. Ultimately, the domestic situation depended on either connections or sheer skill.
She thinks Sisi is somewhere in between.
Given the family's current financial situation, sending their daughter away would be a huge investment. They had just arrived in the big city, and although they had a secure house, they still had many expenses to cover. Forcing her to leave would be a waste of money, and the gains would outweigh the losses.
If she went out to be a mother accompanying her child, it would mean she and Liren would have to live apart again. Previously, he was in the province, and the couple had been separated for several years. Now they had just reunited, and now they were separated again. Yu Jia found it a bit hard to accept.
Smiling, Yu Jia went to get more rice for Li Ren. As he handed it to him, he said, "You'd better study in China first. If you can move up in the future, it won't be too late to go abroad."
Li Ren was furious, and the bottom of his bowl clattered against the table. "You can't be so selfish. If we don't support you during this critical period, who will? It's the child's lifelong happiness. What's wrong with enduring a few more years? Can't you bear it anymore? As a parent, sometimes you have to make sacrifices!"
Yu Jia's head was foggy. Selfish? This was the first time she'd heard Li Ren call her selfish. He'd sacrificed a lot, working hard for so many years. Others didn't know, but she knew it all. His meteoric rise didn't come without a price. He'd lost a lot of hair, grown a lot, aged a lot, and felt a lot more exhausted. And so had she! She'd taken care of the children, the family, and her job, while also caring for the elderly. Li Ren's sister's journey from dating to marriage to childbirth, Yu Jia, as her sister-in-law, had planned and arranged everything from start to finish. She'd even spent a week tending to her after she'd been in labor... How could she be considered selfish? Shouldn't she be considered selfless? Even if she hadn't done anything, she'd still been working! What kind of world was this?!
Yu Jia didn't argue and started clearing the dishes. Li Ren's temper flared, and he realized his gaffe. After a long pause, he tried to make amends, "What I meant was that we should all contribute. Only by contributing can we get something in return." Yu Jia looked at him and said, "You contributed, and so did I." Li Ren stood up and went back to his room.
Yu Jia felt her husband was deliberately avoiding her. Her daughter was reading English aloud in the bedroom. In the past, Yu Jia would have felt comforted, but today, the birdsong sounded particularly jarring.
She suddenly felt like the proverbial "yellow-faced woman." Her daughter disliked her, her husband resented her. She didn't have to do anything; her mere existence was a mistake. She'd been with her husband for so many years, and now he was always trying to get her out of the way. Haha, even a person like that was like that, and her daughter, already showing signs of impatience, would kick her out sooner or later.
Standing by the kitchen sink, Yu Jia felt downcast, as if it were about to rain. The faucet gurgled, as if it were rain, a torrential downpour. Li Ren shouldn't have been allowed to come to the big city. If only... Alas... no ifs.
Trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm is overestimating one's own abilities.
Yu Jia deeply realized that sharing both prosperity and hardship was extremely difficult as long as she was at the back of the queue. She had no choice but to slowly adapt. Okay, get to work, get to work. She pulled out her phone and decided to submit her resume and try her luck.
Yu Rui temporarily moved into Shuang's home. Yu Jia found out and asked Yu Yi to drive over to help move things. Rui, of course, understood Jia's intention—she was creating more opportunities for her brother to interact—and Yu Yi was happy to oblige, running around at her beck and call. Yu Rui had no choice but to accept the favor—Yu Yi had Yu Jia behind her, and Yu Jia had Di Liren behind her.
You have to give face.
Yu Rui treated Yu Yi warmly, yet maintained a distance. Yu Yi was her age, yet she always treated him like a younger brother. The girl matured early, and she had gained so much social experience. Yu Yi had little presence in Yu Rui's eyes, but after meeting Bai Yuankai, he began to have a presence—as a reference point. Compared to Yuankai, Yu Yi was vastly inferior. This gap wasn't in tangible terms like education or knowledge, but rather in a certain bearing.
A man's bearing, temperament, and aura are very important.
Yu Rui has always believed that men need to be admired by women. Boys like Yu Yi only care about being nice to women. His simple worldview simply believes in giving back what's good for them. But this principle often fails when applied to women. If you treat a woman well, she'll definitely treat you back well? Will you always get what you give? What a misunderstanding!
Talking about love is not like farming. Farming is also subject to natural disasters and man-made disasters! Because of this, Yu Rui felt a little sympathetic to Yu Yi.
Everything is done. Yu Yi wants to treat Yu Rui to a meal. Routine.
Yu Rui said she wanted to accompany Sister Shuang. She was depressed and desperate, and couldn't leave anyone.
Yu Yi said, "Then I'll go down and buy it so I don't have to make it."
Unable to refuse such a generous offer, Yu Rui could only smile and agree to let him go. Yu Rui simply counted the boxes and saw that they were enough. Then she pushed the door open and entered Yu Shuang's room, "Sister Shuang, have something to eat later."
Yu Shuang lay sideways, facing the wall, legs apart, one foot in a sock and the other bare. He exuded a sense of hopelessness.
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