Chapter 38: Extra Two – Five Years

When Ye Sibei and Qin Nan first arrived in the provincial city, they lived in a cramped rental apartment. The place had poor lighting, only about 30 square meters, yet the rent was 1600 yuan per month, simply because it was in a well-secured community.

This unit was the smallest type in the community, but the area was large. On their first day in Nan City, they went out together to buy groceries. It took them twenty minutes to walk from their apartment to the community gate. Along the way, they passed a garden path and even a koi pond, and when they reached the entrance, the security guard saluted them.

When the guard raised his hand, Qin Nan immediately felt a bit nervous. Ye Sibei quietly held his hand and whispered, “1600.”

With this reminder, Qin Nan felt more confident. He nodded silently and walked out of the community with Ye Sibei to buy groceries at the supermarket at the entrance.

The vegetable prices downstairs were quite high. As Ye Sibei picked through the produce, she sighed, “The cucumbers in Nan City are only 2.7 yuan a pound, but here they’re almost 5. The wages haven’t gone up, but living costs have increased a lot. I need to pass the CPA exam soon…”

Noticing that Qin Nan hadn’t responded behind her, she turned to look at him and saw him staring at his phone. She couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

Qin Nan put away his phone and looked down at the vegetables in the cart. “Let’s just get these for now; we’ll manage for the next few days.”

After they bought the groceries and returned home, Ye Sibei saw an elderly woman coming back with bags of vegetables from another direction and wanted to ask her where to find cheaper produce. However, she still lacked the courage.

Seeing her fixated on a particular spot, Qin Nan guessed what she was planning to do and said, “Do you want me to ask?”

Hearing this, Ye Sibei gained a bit of courage. She handed the groceries to Qin Nan, clenched her fist, and moved forward. “I’ll ask.”

With that, she approached the old woman and nervously stammered, “Auntie, um, um, I want to ask where to buy vegetables nearby…”

“Little girl,” the elderly woman said, hearing her stuttering and taking the initiative to respond, “Are you new here? Do you want to know where to buy vegetables cheaply?”

Upon hearing the old woman’s words, Ye Sibei quickly nodded. The elderly woman enthusiastically shared several places with her and then added, “Little girl, stuttering can be cured. I have a grandson who used to stutter, but his mother sent him to learn…”

“Auntie,” Qin Nan, who had been waiting, saw Ye Sibei’s frozen smile upon hearing the old woman’s words and couldn’t help but laugh. He stepped in to explain, “My wife doesn’t stutter; she just gets nervous when talking to people.”

“Ah?” The old woman was taken aback and then felt a bit embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Ye Sibei quickly waved her hand. “Thank you.”

After thanking the old woman, the two left together.

Qin Nan looked at Ye Sibei with a smile. “Little stutterer?”

Ye Sibei’s face flushed as she gritted her teeth. “If I say it a few more times, I won’t stutter.”

They bought the groceries, cooked together, and when they lay in bed that night, Qin Nan whispered to her, “Sibei.”

“Hmm?”

“The housing price here is 12,000 yuan per square meter. A 72-square-meter unit has a balcony, and the down payment can be as low as 30%, which means we only need a down payment of over 300,000 yuan, and the monthly mortgage would be around 4,000 yuan. We could buy a house.”

Hearing about buying a house, Ye Sibei was taken aback. Qin Nan continued softly, “We sold the house back home, and with the money from the shop transfer, plus borrowing a bit, it’ll be enough.”

“Are we buying a house so soon?”

Ye Sibei hesitated a bit. Qin Nan looked at her in the dark and said, “I want to settle down early.”

Ye Sibei thought for a moment, leaning on Qin Nan’s arm and gazing at the ceiling. “That’s fine. Let’s look around first. We can buy a small one for now, and when my salary goes up in a couple of years, we can upgrade to a bigger place.”

“How big do you want?”

Listening to her excitedly talk about the future, Qin Nan rested his other hand behind his head and turned to look at her. Ye Sibei thought for a moment and raised her finger, counting like a child. “I want at least a 1.8-meter bed so I can sleep sideways. I want a bathtub, a study, a treadmill, and at least three bedrooms—two for kids and one for guests…”

As Ye Sibei rambled on, she finally made a decision. “Three hundred square meters should be just about enough.”

Upon hearing this ambitious plan, Qin Nan laughed out loud. “How much money do you have to earn for that?”

“I think I can make it.”

Ye Sibei looked up at Qin Nan. “Right?”

Qin Nan gazed into her eyes and gently stroked her hair. “You can do anything.”

You have already overcome such a challenging fate; there’s nothing you can’t conquer.

Ye Sibei smiled, reached out to hug him, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

The next day, they both went to their respective workplaces.

Ye Sibei started working at a local firm as an auditor, while Qin Nan resumed his old job in his previous line of work.

Just a few months had passed, and some people recognized who they were, but everyone kept it unspoken; at most, they would sneak a glance and wouldn’t dare say much.

Ye Sibei and Qin Nan had grown accustomed to such looks. As long as others didn’t confront them directly, they pretended not to notice.

Until one day, while Ye Sibei was working, she noticed a client across the room was secretly watching her. She raised her head and looked over, her expression steady. “Mr. Chen, do you have any questions?”

Her gaze was clear, and the person being questioned was stunned, awkwardly turning his head away. “Oh, nothing.”

After returning home, she sat at the small table with Qin Nan, sharing this incident with him. Qin Nan listened, nodded, and simply said, “Well done.”

The next day, when Qin Nan went to the shop, he noticed a client sizing him up again.

Without saying a word, he grabbed a wrench and walked up to the middle-aged man, who was a head shorter than him, and, mimicking Ye Sibei’s earlier response, asked, “Boss, you keep looking at me; is there something you need help with?”

His tone was calm, but the man being questioned immediately became nervous and hurriedly explained, “No, no, I was just looking at the car… Yes, I was just looking at the car.”

“Oh.”

Qin Nan nodded and walked back to the car.

Qin Nan was a skilled worker, earning 8,000 a month, plus sales commissions. He worked from 9 AM to 10 PM and only had one day off a week.

In contrast, Ye Sibei earned only 4,000 a month. Although it was described as a flexible work arrangement, in reality, it meant flexible overtime. Sometimes she got off work at 7 PM, but when it got busy, she would work until dawn.

When Ye Sibei wasn’t on a business trip, Qin Nan would come to the company every day after work to wait for her. When she worked late, he would sleep in the car, waiting for her to finish. He would drive while on the phone, ensuring they stayed connected throughout.

Business trips were common in auditing, and during her first trip, Ye Sibei felt very anxious.

The night before her trip, she nearly considered quitting her job.

Qin Nan noticed her distress and brought her tea. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going on a business trip,” Ye Sibei said, looking at her computer, feeling a bit down. “I’m scared.”

Qin Nan sat across from her and hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I can take leave to go with you.”

“But you can’t keep taking leave, can you?”

Ye Sibei shook her head.

The two fell silent for a long time. Finally, Qin Nan spoke up again. “Actually, when you mentioned your business trip a few days ago, I was quite worried. I wanted to tell you not to go, or to quit—I’d be able to support you.”

As he said this, Qin Nan looked up at Ye Sibei. “But I’ve realized that it’s not just about the business trip; there are too many things I worry about concerning you.”

Ye Sibei looked at him, somewhat confused. Qin Nan thought for a moment and admitted, “Since the day I found out something happened to you, I’ve felt guilty. I keep thinking I should have picked you up that day. I’m always afraid it will happen again, so I’m constantly worried about you.”

“I worry about you when you’re on a business trip, when you work late, when you go out drinking or to karaoke. Sometimes, even during the day, if you take a taxi or if you’re home alone, I worry about the driver having bad intentions or someone breaking in.”

“So, I’ve realized that if I want to keep you safe, I have to keep you close to me, like taking care of a child. Other than that, you’ll always be in danger.”

“Qin Nan…”

Ye Sibei had never thought he had such deep anxieties. Hesitating, she reached out and held Qin Nan’s hand.

“This world isn’t that dangerous.”

“I don’t know,” Qin Nan shook his head. “Danger happens every day. What if it happens to you?”

“But there are over six billion people on Earth. Statistically, the odds are small.”

As Ye Sibei spoke these words, she suddenly realized that life itself was inherently risky.

She couldn’t just keep quitting her job. If she quit because of a business trip today, sexual harassment tomorrow, and overtime the day after…

She couldn’t abandon opportunities in her life because of these minor issues. If she kept giving up, she was essentially relinquishing her right to improve her life.

Every opportunity she gave up, every position she declined, would be taken by someone else. And weren’t they also afraid of risks?

Ye Sibei thought for a moment and analyzed, “I’m just going on a business trip with my female boss. It’s fine; I’ll be back in a few days.”

Qin Nan hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.

The female boss who was going on the business trip with Ye Sibei was the same person who had recruited her.

Her name was Zhang Lin, the only child of a local family from the provincial capital, and she had established this firm.

Sitting next to Zhang Lin on the plane, Ye Sibei felt a bit nervous since it was her first time flying. Zhang Lin turned to her and asked, trying to ease the atmosphere, “Are you adjusting well at the firm?”

Ye Sibei nodded stiffly, and Zhang Lin smiled. “Is this your first flight?”

“Yes,” Ye Sibei forced a smile. “I’ve never been far before.”

“You’ll be going often in the future.”

As Zhang Lin spoke, she suddenly remembered something and hesitated for a moment before reminding Ye Sibei, “There might be drinking events once we get there, so just remember, if you don’t want to drink, don’t.”

“Will that offend the clients?” Ye Sibei asked anxiously.

Zhang Lin replied, “Whether or not you offend them depends on your skill.”

Ye Sibei was taken aback, and after some thought, Zhang Lin continued, “Actually, it’s the same idea expressed in different ways that leads to different outcomes. If someone insists you drink, and you flatly refuse, it puts them in a tough spot, and they definitely won’t be happy. But if they don’t mean any harm, just be polite, joke a bit, and refuse graciously, while still saving face for them. You don’t need to show a cold attitude; let them take that role.”

“What if they insist I drink?” Ye Sibei was hearing someone teach her about social interactions for the first time.

Zhang Lin laughed at this, “If they insist, just take a sip and pretend to vomit, then quietly slip away.”

“Remember, a big contract won’t hinge on whether you drink or not. Most companies are here to make money. Cost-effectiveness and core service quality are what matter most. Of course, there are other intricacies, but if you don’t want to deal with them, then don’t; they aren’t good things either.”

“In life, the hardest part isn’t passing exams or reading books, but learning how to be a person. If you don’t know how, just observe someone around you whom you think is great. Learn from their life, just like children learn from their parents—learn how to live, how to talk, and how to make choices.”

These were things no one had ever told her, but Ye Sibei understood they were crucial in life.

“President Zhang…” Ye Sibei pressed her lips together, “You’re really too kind to me.”

“What’s so kind about this?” Zhang Lin smiled, looking at Ye Sibei with some admiration. “It’s not easy for you, and I’m just helping a little.”

“But your help,” Ye Sibei said seriously, “is truly important to me.”

That time on the business trip, Ye Sibei had been following Zhang Lin, observing how Zhang Lin spoke and interacted with others.

When she returned and walked out of the airport, she saw Qin Nan waiting for her at the door, looking haggard. At that moment, she suddenly realized that it was actually such a simple thing.

It wasn’t that terrifying; there might be risks, but where in life are there no risks?

From that day on, Ye Sibei began to slowly live a normal life.

She didn’t have to wait for Qin Nan to pick her up to go home, and she wasn’t afraid of drinking parties or business trips. One day, she even accepted an invitation to go to karaoke with friends.

She searched online for many ways to live a good life, started observing herself, and began organizing her life.

She got up every morning at five to prepare for her CPA exam, and Qin Nan also got up with her to prepare their lunchboxes and clean the house.

At twenty-eight, Ye Sibei felt that this was the true beginning of her life. She began to understand that what was most important in this world was balance and moderation, not the black-and-white, good-or-evil mindset she had in her youth.

Throughout this process, Qin Nan acted like a quiet guardian. He accompanied her and helped her; when she studied and worked, he took on all the household chores, filling her with courage and propelling her forward.

They would go to the movies together when they had time. Ye Sibei enjoyed artistic films, while Qin Nan preferred action-packed blockbusters.

Aside from watching movies, they had no other entertainment activities because Ye Sibei was either working overtime or preparing for exams.

At twenty-nine, Qin Nan saved enough money to buy their first home in the neighboring community—a two-bedroom apartment of 83 square meters. One room became Ye Sibei’s study, while the other was their bedroom.

By thirty, Ye Sibei could independently lead a team on projects. In the internal struggles of the office, she stood by Zhang Lin, who eventually emerged victorious, resulting in Ye Sibei’s exceptional promotion. That same year, Zhao Chuchu and Ye Nianwen bought a house and got married. Ye Sibei and Qin Nan returned together, and she sat among friends and family, watching Ye Nianwen and Zhao Chuchu stand together.

Her younger brother already looked like an adult and appeared much steadier.

The next day, busy with work, Ye Sibei left with Qin Nan. Before leaving, Ye Nianwen came to see them off. The two siblings stood by the car in silence for a long time, until Ye Sibei finally spoke up, “I’m leaving.”

Ye Nianwen nodded and said, “Sister, if you need any help, be sure to let me know.”

“You too.”

After Ye Sibei finished speaking, she got into the car. Once inside, Qin Nan glanced at Ye Nianwen in the rearview mirror and couldn’t help but laugh, “He looks just like I did when I was a kid watching my parents go off to work.”

Hearing this, Ye Sibei thought for a moment, leaned out of the window, and called to Ye Nianwen, who was walking back, “Nianwen.”

Ye Nianwen turned around, and Ye Sibei smiled, “Find some time to come to the provincial capital and have some fun. Don’t always stay cooped up in Nancheng.”

Ye Nianwen was taken aback for a moment, then happily waved, “Okay, I’ll bring my nephew next time.”

At thirty-two, Qin Nan opened his own store with a friend. He handled the technology and management, putting in part of the money while the other party contributed the rest. At the end of that year, Ye Sibei became pregnant.

The arrival of this child left Ye Sibei a bit confused. She thought it over all night, and the next day, she went to see Zhang Lin.

Zhang Lin sat with her in the office, and they were silent for a long time. Finally, Zhang Lin spoke softly, “Once you leave this time, it will be hard to come back.”

Ye Sibei pondered for a moment and replied, “One or two years won’t determine a person’s life.”

Zhang Lin listened to her and lifted her gaze to Ye Sibei.

She wore a dress and sat up straight, her gaze calm and steady—completely different from the girl who had just come from a small town four years ago.

She exuded a kind of steady strength, both powerful and gentle.

No one would have expected that this was the same person who used to be unable to say even a simple “no” and only knew how to apologize.

“As long as you’ve made up your mind,” Zhang Lin said.

At thirty-three, Ye Sibei had her first daughter, Ye Nuannuan.

The reason for the surname Ye was Qin Nan’s decision. Initially, Ye Sibei disagreed, thinking the child should take her surname since Qin Nan faced too much social pressure. But Qin Nan, holding the child, looked up at her and said, “What if our daughter wants her children to take her surname one day?”

Ye Sibei was taken aback, and Qin Nan reminded her, “At that time, her husband will also tell her that there is a lot of social pressure, and she needs to compromise. But I want Nuannuan to receive everything she deserves. Regarding social pressure…” Qin Nan raised the baby, who was waving her arms and legs in the sunlight. Looking at the child’s smile, Qin Nan couldn’t help but laugh. “Let her father change for her.”

“I want to give her a wonderful world,” Qin Nan turned to Ye Sibei, “a fair world, one where she doesn’t have to endure the hardships you went through.”

Ye Sibei didn’t speak. She watched the child smiling at her, dressed in beautiful clothes, revealing a radiant smile under the sunlight.

In that moment, it seemed she saw a bright and beautiful future.

Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to experience such an era, but she would be a good mother, bravely fighting for Qian Qian, pushing that era toward Ye Nuannuan.

She wouldn’t feel jealousy or suppress her sighs.

She would only tell her daughter:

“Ye Nuannuan, Mommy loves you. Keep going.”