Lin Wanjia shot down the suggestion.
“She needs to be alone to think—to consider if there’s a better way to handle things, a better outlet for her emotions. Until she figures it out, I won’t take the initiative to see her.”
Lin Wanjia shrugged. “When I was her age, I’d pin people to the ground and beat them, too. But that was eight or nine years ago.” Based on her rawest experience, she knew Su Ye had to understand the cost of her actions now. Otherwise, things would only get more difficult down the line.
The girl was too clever. If Su Ye discovered that there were shortcuts even in situations like this, it would weaken her perception of how serious the matter was. Eventually, that “cleverness” would lead her into an abyss from which there was no return.
It was exactly as she had always thought: the smartest people are the ones who need to trip and fall the most.
“You don’t sound like her sister,” Yue Wenfeng remarked. “You sound like her mother.”
Lin Wanjia laughed.
“Now that you mention it, are you a year older than me, or the same age?”
Lin Wanjia replied, “I was born in ’69.”
Yue Wenfeng nodded. “Oh, I’m from ’71. April.”
“November.”
“Hey! You’re only a little bit older than me!” Yue Wenfeng looped her arm through Wanjia’s. “I feel like you’re incredible. You manage to keep everything so organized all by yourself. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Work, family, marriage, children… those words sound fine on their own, but put them together and it’s a real headache. I mean, what does marriage actually bring? Yet, I really do like kids. Sigh…”
Listening to this familiar dialogue, the last of Lin Wanjia’s doubts cleared. She shook her head helplessly.
They really are mother and daughter. Through subtle influence, even their way of thinking is identical.
But Wanjia didn’t have the answers to those questions either. She only knew that it was time to pick up her girlfriend from work.
Perhaps that was the ultimate answer. When those words combined, there was only one key: love.
Not just romantic love, but love itself.
It was a weekday just after the holiday, so the shop was quiet. By 8:00 PM, the market was already deserted.
Su Ye finished memorizing today’s last page of notes and closed the book with care. Looking at her ledger, she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
Between it being a workday and the fallout from that mess, business had inevitably suffered. Today’s revenue was only two-thirds of the day before yesterday’s, and far fewer people had come to place orders.
She pinched the invoices, a headache brewing.
The earnings weren’t actually bad—in fact, they were better than she had expected. Information didn’t travel that fast yet; compared to the reach of her promotions, yesterday’s incident was likely only known by people in the northern district.
What worried her more was that as the hype from her sales pitch faded, revenue would continue to drop until it hit a plateau. And that plateau… might not be very high.
She was facing the classic struggle of human greed. She wondered if she was being too avaricious. It was just the beginning, after all; a stable range was already good, especially since she wasn’t collaborating with any major brands…
She realized she was gripping the paper so hard she was about to crease it.
Su Ye let go, exhaling slowly.
Forget it. Let’s just see how it goes.
She set the ledger down and habitually said, “Ah Huan, for dinner tonight, let’s have…” The words died in her throat as she realized she was alone.
She locked the door and navigated through the thinning crowd.
The road home was slightly uphill. Pushing her own wheelchair was difficult; by the time she reached the top of the slope, she was panting.
Once off the main road, she hit a long stretch of dirt path. Pebbles jammed the wheels, creating a jarring, bumpy vibration that made her head throb.
In the past, when they reached this spot, she would always hop along while leaning on the wall for a bit. Yue Huan would push the wheelchair with one hand and use the other to play and joke with her, never complaining once.
…
It wasn’t just tonight. Even if Auntie Zhu delivered the letter of leniency today, she would still have to wait another day before she could bring Yue Huan home.
Facing the empty courtyard, the young girl slowly hugged her own arms and let out a long, shaky breath.
She seemed to finally understand the “cost” Lin Wanjia had mentioned.
It was severe. Three days without seeing Yue Huan, and she had no idea how she was doing.
It felt awful. She really was in the wrong.
She found she couldn’t stand the emptiness of this courtyard anymore.
Su Ye slowly moved to the entrance of the adjacent courtyard. Feeling the goosebumps rising on her skin from the night wind, she pressed her hand against the door knocker but couldn’t bring herself to push.
Lin Wanjia was right, but she didn’t want to be the first to bow her head, the first to admit defeat…
The sounds of a television and faint conversation drifted from the courtyard. Mingled with the chirping of insects, the voices were distorted and unclear.
Should I go in? Should I…
She squeezed her knuckles white. After a long moment of hesitation, she eventually turned her wheelchair and rolled away.
Growing up was so annoying. Perhaps the only benefit was being able to drink without being controlled.
Even if her leg wasn’t supposed to handle alcohol.
It didn’t matter. At worst, it would just stay swollen for another two months.
Inside the courtyard she had almost entered, Lin Wanjia was on the phone. Zhang Mingfang stood beside her, listening quietly.
The voice on the other end had a clumsy, fake Southern accent, with only occasional word choices revealing that the speaker had originally come from An City.
After a long silence, the woman on the phone said, “Jia, we’re prepared to head to Shan Province for an inspection. Do you have any suggestions? If you can find a stable, high-quality partner, I can give you another five hundred thousand. How about it?”
“…Two million.”
“…”
Lin Wanjia twisted a lock of her hair, her voice flat. “You won’t let me start my own company, and you won’t even let me invest in my own name. You’re afraid I’ll replace you. In that case, I need something to protect myself, don’t I? Real estate prices are bound to rise. I’m already giving you face by not asking for a house in Ye City.”
“Jia!” The woman sounded exasperated.
Lin Wanjia let out a cold laugh. “What’s wrong, dear mother?”
The person on the other end seemed to take several deep breaths to calm down before saying, “Fine. No problem. But that person must be able to solve the warehousing issue. The current storage is too bloated. It’s no good.”
“You know the method. You just need someone to execute it for you. You’re too afraid to try. You’re getting old…” Lin Wanjia paused. Ultimately, she couldn’t bring herself to be crueler. She lowered her voice. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I won’t interfere with your final decision.”
The older woman’s tone finally softened. “A Nv, I told you long ago you should come to Guangzhou. Why won’t you just listen?”
Lin Wanjia didn’t bother entertaining the move. She simply said, “Just remember to send someone who actually has the authority to sign. There aren’t many months left. Goodbye.”
She hung up and, after a long silence, gave a self-deprecating laugh.
A Nv.
It felt surreal. To think that was the term used by someone who had spent the first thirty-five years of her life in the Northwest. Hah.
Go to Guangzhou? Go there for what? To get married off in Lin Qining’s place as a political alliance? How ridiculous.
If Lin Qining couldn’t get married, why did she have to be the sacrifice?
“It’s okay.” Zhang Mingfang leaned in, gently cupping Wanjia’s face and kissing her lips. She whispered, “It’s fine here. You have me, right?”
She soothingly stroked the back of Lin Wanjia’s neck, tenderly capturing her lips. “We’re here. You have people with you. It’s okay.”
“I’m not sad,” Lin Wanjia said softly.
She just felt… it was all a bit meaningless. They said there was endless joy in struggling against others, but she didn’t want to fight anymore. She was so tired.
She tilted her head back, soaking in the other woman’s warmth and consideration. Flowing between their teeth was a sigh that never found its way out.
After a long moment, she asked breathlessly, “Why has it been so quiet on Little Leaf’s side? Did you hear her come back?”
“Stop living for everyone else,” Zhang Mingfang said, pressing her forehead against Wanjia’s. “She’s an adult. She’ll be fine.”
“…Alright.”
But if she didn’t live for others, what else was there to do?
She… she had been abandoned so many times. What value was there in continuing for herself?
“Here are your lamb skewers. Anything else for you?”
Su Ye looked at the small mountain of grilled skewers before her, took a sharp gulp of beer, and shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“Coming right up!”
The server was just being polite. Business was booming, and with every table full, there was no time for idle chat.
She had just polished off two skewers when a fresh-faced server walked over. “Sister, there’s another lady here alone. Is it okay if she shares your table?”
Before she could answer, a woman tossed her bag onto the seat and sat down, dusting off her clothes. “My, business is great here! Boss Su, let’s share a table.” Yue Wenfeng winked playfully. Without waiting for a reply, she reached out and patted the girl’s head. “I knew you were the best~”
Su Ye: … How did a woman with this personality raise a “tight-lipped gourd” like Yue Huan?
“In a bad mood?” Yue Wenfeng asked. “I saw you at the market today and thought you looked off. Care for a drink?”
She took Su Ye’s beer and poured out a large glass, claiming she was “joining” her, but in reality, she was limiting how much Su Ye could drink.
Su Ye: …
When Yue Wenfeng’s own beer arrived, she snatched the glass bottle directly from the server, took a massive swig from the mouth, and wiped her lips. “This bottle’s mine. I’ll settle the tab later.”
Yue Wenfeng laughed heartily and swiped two lamb skewers from Su Ye’s plate. Su Ye glared at her, but the injury on her leg had been throbbing since yesterday, and the trip here had only made it worse. She lacked the strength to fight Yue Wenfeng for her food.
She could only manage a weak shout. “Hey!!!”
Yue Wenfeng traded her some beef skewers in return, saying with concern, “Mutton is a ‘trigger food.’ Your leg is already injured; you should eat less of it, or the swelling will get worse.”
Su Ye shot her a look and took a vicious bite of beef. “I’m already in this state and I’ve had a bottle and a half of beer. How much difference can a little lamb make?”
“That’s different.” Yue Wenfeng leaned back in her plastic chair, waving a skewer. “You see, you really are a kid. Beer brings happiness, but lamb only makes your injury swell. Are they even comparable?”
“Even you’re calling me a kid!”
Yue Wenfeng paused, then burst into laughter. Between gasps, she managed to say, “But you are a kid! I’m pushing thirty. How old are you, kiddo? Are you even twenty?”
Su Ye glared again.
Yue Wenfeng laughed even louder.
Su Ye stripped another skewer, her eyes downcast. “Since you love to laugh so much, you better make sure your child grows up to be someone who loves to laugh, too.”
The woman, who had been squinting in enjoyment of her lamb, froze. A second later, she choked and began coughing violently.
“What the—! Usually it’s only aunts and uncles who nag about marriage and kids. You’re so young, why are you talking about children?”
Su Ye turned to look at her.
She wasn’t nagging. Besides, would nagging even work? Yue Huan didn’t have an older sister; she wouldn’t even be born until the year 2000. Su Ye wasn’t nagging; she was providing a “preventative vaccination” to ensure she’d have a child who was easier to communicate with in the future.
![Us Outside of Time [Rebirth]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/rebirth.jpeg?resize=151,215 "Us Outside of Time [Rebirth]")
