PSE - 47

On the seventh day of the month, nationwide static management was fully lifted. Mass testing sites were abandoned, and there was no longer a need to present health codes to enter crowded places. As major media outlets began reporting the news, Ha Yue was deep in a heated argument with the maintenance team leader in the workshop, wearing a red hard hat.

The order deadline was looming, and delays in repairs had already cost a day’s worth of production. Yet the factory insisted that Ha Yue negotiate with the client to extend the contract by another week.

But what did the client care? A deadline was a deadline—what was the point of a contract otherwise?

Round and round they went, each side repeating the same arguments, unable to control any critical points. The usual communication strategies she used with clients were almost useless in this factory setting. She had practically run herself ragged and talked herself hoarse trying to resolve things.

When her video call rang, the team leader was still shouting that repairs took time—he didn’t care about some foreign order. Furious, Ha Yue turned her back and walked out of the workshop without waiting for him to finish.

For several days, Suicheng had been sunny, and the unmelted snow slowly dripped from the eaves, freezing again into rows of icicles.

Due to frequent trips between the workshop and the temporary office, Ha Yue dressed warmly. Underneath thermal underwear, she wore basic long pants and a thick wool suit, topped off with a heavy-duty padded jacket borrowed from the labor protection department.

The jacket was navy blue with a red company logo embroidered on the chest and large silver 3M reflective strips on the back and arms, designed to make workers visible to headlights when moving around the factory at night and reduce accidents.

This uniform clearly wasn’t tailored for female employees—even the smallest size was oversized. If not for a few strands of slightly longer hair peeking out from her collar, it would have been impossible to tell her gender.

Taking a detour away from the main factory road, the “burly” Ha Yue slowed her pace near a barren tree. She removed her mask, circled around the tree, and climbed the external staircase of an abandoned office building on the east side. Only then did she sit down on the steel steps and unlock her phone.

On the screen, Xue Jing had just woken up, his hair tousled, half his face buried in a white pillow. Before even fully opening his eyes, he greeted her with a sleepy “Good morning.”

Ha Yue pulled out her earphones, inserted them, and retrieved a leftover piece of bread she had dried on the radiator the previous night from her coat pocket. She crumbled it into bits with her fingers and scattered the crumbs under the tree. Soon, a few sparrows flew down from the branches, pecking at the food on the ground with agility.

Before Ha Yue could ask why Xue Jing had woken up so late, he already began lamenting with a worried expression: “I miss you. When are you coming home?”

The last time Ha Yue felt an urgent longing for the word “home,” she was just a little girl under ten years old. But now, thinking about the presence of Xue Jing in the house across from hers seemed to ease some of her earlier anxiety.

Humans are strange creatures. Just a week ago, she was certain she would end her life in the spring. But now, despite the cold weather, she found herself clinging to the small joys in life.

For instance, Xue Jing’s frequent video calls. Or the delicious beef bun she bought one morning. Or the little birds she accidentally discovered in the factory grounds, which she now fed daily.

Omnivorous sparrows rarely find insects or seeds in winter, so human food was a treat. In no time, the breadcrumbs on the ground were completely cleaned up. The flock of sparrows flew back to the tree, and one particularly bold one even landed on a branch just ten centimeters away from Ha Yue, tilting its head and observing her alternately with its left and right eyes.

On the stairs, Ha Yue brought her phone closer to get a better look at Xue Jing’s face.

She suspected he had washed his face and brushed his teeth after waking up because he looked so clean and fresh. Even without any beautification filters on the video call, his skin appeared flawless, not a single pore visible.

Xue Jing always looked especially vulnerable right after waking up, so Ha Yue couldn’t help but soften her tone: “Come on, I’ve only been here for five days. I can’t go back until the first batch of goods is shipped out.”

“How’s my mom doing? Is she getting along with the caregiver?”

Ms. Wu, the caregiver, was the same age as Zhao Chunni, with a particularly cheerful and talkative personality. On the day of the interview, Ha Yue realized she had misjudged the situation—the salary Ms. Wu requested wasn’t extortion; it matched her skills perfectly.

Wu Fangtian had extensive experience caring for Alzheimer’s patients and was exceptionally skilled at communicating with them. During the interview, she brought a backpack filled with brand-new coloring books and, within half an hour, convinced Zhao Chunni to sit down and practice visual exercises using primary colors.

The two of them sat together at the bedside coloring, and Wu Fangtian skillfully guided Zhao Chunni into reminiscing about the past.

Whether it was Zhao Chunni reminiscing about endless farm chores from her childhood, the sweetness of her romance with Ha Jianguo when she first came to the city, or her complaints about her disobedient daughter, Wu Fangtian encouraged her to keep talking.

She explained that such narratives helped stimulate the patient’s cognitive abilities and served as a form of indirect mental exercise.

After Zhao Chunni took her afternoon nap, Ha Yue escorted Wu Fangtian to the door. With Ha Yue’s permission, Wu Fangtian even went into the kitchen to check the household’s food supplies. Seeing the fully stocked pots, seasonings, and fresh vegetables, eggs, and dairy in the fridge, Wu Fangtian praised Ha Yue for her thoughtfulness.

She mentioned that at her previous patient’s home, there wasn’t even rice or flour—only stacks of instant noodles. The windows and doors were all locked up tightly. When she took over, the patient wasn’t just unkempt like Zhao Chunni; the entire house reeked of a long-lingering, unshakeable odor.

“But I understand,” Wu Fangtian said. “Family members aren’t professionally trained, and emotionally, they’re more drained than we caregivers are. Still, diet can’t be neglected. Consuming more protein and vitamins is crucial for patients. Cleanliness is also important—it helps them feel comfortable.”

“Patients are, first and foremost, human beings.”

It was because of this statement that before Wu Fangtian even boarded the bus, Ha Yue chased after her to the bus stop and signed the employment contract with her.

As the saying goes, people of different philosophies cannot work together. But those who share the same ideals often recognize each other instantly and form a deep connection.

“Don’t change the subject!” Ha Yue scolded Xue Jing for dodging her question. “Aunt Wu sends you videos and photos every day. How could you not know how she’s doing?”

Xue Jing ignored her sudden tangent and continued his incessant whining like a lovesick maiden.

“Oh, so it’s only been five days, and you don’t miss me at all? Got it, understood. Once you’ve got me, you don’t cherish me anymore, huh?”

Some people may appear to be bestselling authors on the surface, but behind closed doors, they turn into clingy, whiny partners in front of their girlfriends.

Hadn’t Ha Yue already shown her lack of “cherishing” him before? He was the one who brought up getting back together, and she hadn’t even gone through the process of “winning him over.” He had willingly cleaned himself up and laid himself out on the chopping block, ready to be carved up.

But did Ha Yue enjoy this way of courting? Absolutely. She loved it very much.

Ha Yue glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, gently shooed away the little sparrow still staring at her, and then whispered with red ears: “I miss you, I miss you, I miss you. You slept in until noon, and I’m working! Stop bothering me, and I’ll call you after work! Be good!”

“Then kiss me.”

“Xue Jing!”

“What?!”

“Hanging up!”

After ending the video call, Xue Jing didn’t call back but sent her a long text message instead.

“Auntie is doing well. Every day after lunch, if the weather’s nice, Aunt Wu takes her outside for an hour. Yesterday, I drove them to the supermarket. Auntie didn’t scold me this time—she even spoke to me in the car. Though she probably still doesn’t know who I am, she said ‘thank you’ along with Aunt Wu when we got out.”

“I didn’t sleep in every day either. The other day, Big Aunt and Xiaoyu were restocking the store, Jinzi was driving the director, and I went to help unload the goods. I was busy until the middle of the night.”

“And the day before yesterday, Xiaoyu went for her prenatal checkup. I was minding the convenience store in the morning when a little girl came to ride the kiddie rocker. She asked where ‘Sister Moon’ was. I told her I was Sister Moon’s boyfriend, and she pouted at me! She even accused me of lying! You need to explain this to her when you get back!”

“Why does she get to be ‘Sister,’ and I’m stuck being ‘Uncle’? I shaved my beard clean!”

“What’s wrong with these kids? Do they have no sense of aesthetics? They might as well call me Grandpa! I’m thinking of dragging that kiddie rocker home later.”

“And besides, calling you during your lunch break counts as disturbing your work? I shouldn’t have encouraged you to take this follow-up job. I regret it now. My novel’s finished, and here I am alone in this empty house. What’s the point? I might as well go back to Jicheng. No one here loves me anyway.”

Unable to suppress a smile, Ha Yue read through Xue Jing’s lengthy message, then held her phone to her lips and air-kissed it twice. “I love you, I love you, I love you. How can no one love you?”

“Thank you for waiting for me at home. Don’t regret it—I’ll bring you something delicious when I get back from this business trip!”

“A short separation makes the heart grow fonder, right?”

Pocketing her phone, Ha Yue hummed a tune as she walked down the stairs. When she returned to the workshop, the previously tense atmosphere had miraculously dissipated. Ha Yue no longer argued with the maintenance team leader but ended their conversation politely: “If there’s really no other option, just proceed with your plan. I’ll handle reporting to the leadership and the client.”

By the production line, the maintenance team leader was still smug, convinced he had put the young Ha Yue in her place.

He had no idea that after leaving him, Ha Yue went straight back to the office and contacted Sun Qiming to issue a penalty for delayed delivery under the contract.

She had finally realized that worrying herself sick over this order wouldn’t help. Dealing with uncooperative factories required a combination of politeness and firmness. Once the factory had to pay out of pocket for air freight for the first batch and penalties were assigned to responsible parties at every step, they’d learn their lesson. After that, the subsequent batches would naturally go smoother.

The ultimate goal was to succeed in the long run. Getting worked up over trivial matters wasn’t worth it.

She couldn’t let these negative-energy-emitting individuals dictate her mood. This deal was for her benefit, and the money would eventually end up in her pocket. She needed to adjust her mindset and stay positive.

With the first draft of his novel complete, Xue Jing’s workload had become much lighter in recent days. However, he hadn’t made much progress in revising the manuscript.

Especially today, after waking up at noon, he felt disoriented and unmotivated to do anything.

While brushing his teeth, he accidentally squeezed facial cleanser onto his electric toothbrush. While making coffee, he absentmindedly poured coffee grounds into his milk cup. It wasn’t until he spent twice as long chewing through the steamed bun Aunt Siqin had brought him yesterday that he realized there was still a bowl of sheep offal in the fridge that he hadn’t cooked.

Right—after staying in Suicheng for so long, he could now eat freshly slaughtered goose and even animal offal, which he used to avoid touching. The first time he tried it, he found it unbearable, but his taste buds overcame his initial resistance. A few days later, his mouth craved it again.

But today, he didn’t feel like eating anything at all—not even meat.

After rinsing his mouth, Xue Jing reluctantly sat down in front of the computer, still mulling over Ha Yue’s earlier remark: “A short separation makes the heart grow fonder.”

The “short separation” was real, but he couldn’t help pondering what the word “marriage” implied.

Was Ha Yue hinting that she was already considering taking their relationship to the next level?

Although they had only reconciled a week ago, he had been in love with her for years. His first crush on her began when he was eighteen. Couldn’t those four years they were apart be considered a silent phase of their romance?

If hibernation ended, did that mean the bear was no longer a bear?

If Ha Yue wasn’t joking, shouldn’t he respond somehow to let her know he was equally serious about moving forward?

Dazed and confused, Xue Jing’s mind was flooded with thoughts of wedding marches. He flipped through over ten pages of his Word document, but his focus was scattered. The manuscript in front of him blurred like erratic code. After sitting at the computer for less than half an hour, he got up again and started pacing around the living room.

One moment, his fingers pressed against his temples; the next, they rested on the bridge of his nose. Finally, throwing his hands up in frustration, he returned to the computer and opened the document once more, as if attending a funeral.

This cycle repeated several times. Despite the nearly 400,000-word novel, not a single word was revised. In fact, he even added numerous typos to the beginning of the manuscript. By the time the clock struck 2:30 PM, he suddenly returned to the bedroom, took off his pajamas, flung open the wardrobe doors, and dumped all his clothes onto the bed once again.

After spending half an hour selecting an outfit, Xue Jing grabbed his car keys and rushed out to go shopping.

His first stop was the mall in Suicheng with the most jewelry stores. His second stop was an outdoor goods chain store, where he loaded various items into the truck bed, covering them with a waterproof tarp and securing them tightly. His third destination, naturally, was the industrial park where Ha Yue was working.