“Treat her better. Be proactive at home. Be generous. She’s in college now, so you need to step up, don’t let her shoulder it all. Be her rock… Ai, honestly, if you don’t prove yourself now, one day when you’re older, she’ll ditch you for someone younger!”
Junsheng: “…”
…That possibility had never occurred to him.
Then they turned to Chen Beixin, slipping her red envelopes.
“Sweetheart, if Mommy and Daddy fight, you have to help make peace, okay? Look, your dad changes your diaper every day—don’t let Mommy kick him out of the house! Ai, what a headache. We raised such a big son, now we’re worried he’ll end up homeless under a bridge…”
Junsheng: “She’s barely a year old. She doesn’t understand a word you’re saying.”
Yan’s parents ignored him and whispered to the cooing baby: “If they fight, you just cry and interrupt them!”
Junsheng: “…”
Well, if the misunderstanding kept the peace, so be it.
Years later, Ming Ming thrived. She believed in two things:
- If you’re going to cheat the system, cheat all the way.
- Real estate and the internet—you need both hands, and both need to be strong.
Gradually, she passed the real estate work to Junsheng and plunged into the fertile soil of internet finance.
Tsk, why does this feel totally unrelated to computer science? A miscalculation. Damn. Should I start hanging around West Lake and stalk Jack Ma? …Wait, does this world even have Jack Ma?
In the blink of an eye, Chen Beixin—no, Chen Yunshu—was already five. Their family of three was warm and happy.
And that year, Bai Yuehua reappeared.
At first, Ming Ming just heard the name on the radio. It didn’t click.
Then, in the newspaper, a major classified scientific breakthrough was revealed, and the team behind it began to surface.
Among them was the youngest engineer, team leader for a material science group—Bai Yuehua, pictured in profile.
Later came the TV interviews.
So that’s why she had vanished into remote regions, then dropped out of sight.
“You aliens can’t even keep her on my radar, huh?”
The system, rarely stirring to prove it was still alive: “Not my problem! That’s the main AI’s doing.”
Ming Ming watched Bai Yuehua on screen with envy.
“She’s so cool… If only I could be that amazing.”
At that moment, Junsheng was in the kitchen washing dishes, already thinking of ways to comfort her.
His wife was clearly more impressive. Why envy someone eating sand in the desert?
But when he came back, Ming Ming was hugging the baby, sighing dramatically:
“Baby, you don’t know… all the things I gave up for your father…”
Junsheng braced himself—was she going to say “becoming a scientist,” “earning more,” “higher social status”?
He thought, I wasn’t that much of a burden, was I?
Then he looked up at the TV.
A pretty-boy idol.
Ha! An old enemy.
Wasn’t that bastard Hu?
Junsheng’s teeth ground. This guy really won’t die off, huh?
He snatched the remote, turned off the TV, and dove in to tickle Ming Ming.
“What did you give up? Huh? Tell me what you gave up!”
Ming Ming laughed so hard she rolled on the couch.
Chen Beixin didn’t understand but clapped along enthusiastically.
Once he’d tickled her enough, Junsheng hugged her from behind, sulking. “Don’t look at him. Don’t think about him. Forget him!”
“Fine, fine. Only you. Happy?” Ming Ming kissed him, and just like that, Junsheng’s gloom lifted.
Sigh. Pathetic.
Time flew.
From two and a half onward, little Chen Beixin marched to preschool every day with her tiny backpack. Rain or shine, Yan’s parents proudly led the charge, dropping her off and picking her up.
“If we don’t show her a good example, how will she treat you when you’re old and at risk of being kicked out?”
Chen Beixin, munching her popsicle, piped up, “Mommy said yesterday she gave up a lot for Daddy, like—”
Junsheng clapped a hand over her mouth.
Yan’s parents: “See? We told you! Be more thoughtful!”
Junsheng: “…Yes, yes, I will.”
One evening, as Junsheng drove Ming Ming home, they saw a woman in a baseball cap and sunglasses chatting with Chen Beixin through the fence.
“So your name is Chen Beixin?”
“My nickname is Chen Beixin.”
“Oh? Then what’s your full name? Yan Beixin?”
“No, it’s Chen Yunshu. My mom picked it. Dad came up with Chen Beixin, but whenever he calls me that, Mom hits him.”
The woman’s eye twitched. “‘Clouds drifting freely with the wind…’ That’s where it comes from?”
“Yep! Pretty cool, huh?” Beixin said proudly.
“…Hello. My name is Bai Yunshu.”
“Eh?”
Junsheng chuckled low, scooped up his daughter, and said, “Yunshu, call Daddy.”
Beixin kissed his cheek. “Daddy!”
“Yeah!” Junsheng answered with gusto.
Bai Yuehua: “…”
She laughed bitterly. “This is ridiculous. What are the odds? I change my name and suddenly I’m a whole generation older than you?”
Beixin didn’t understand, but played along, lowering her voice like an elder: “This is all fate’s design.”
Bai Yuehua: “…”
Ming Ming laughed till she wheezed.
Bai Yuehua snapped, “Why Yunshu? Chen Beixin is such a pretty name!”
Ming Ming instantly broke into goosebumps. She wagged a finger, pretending to be profound. “You’re still too young. You don’t understand. There are deep waters here.”
Bai Yuehua: “…”
Right. I’ve just been out of touch with humanity too long. My bad.
Ming Ming invited her in, but Bai Yuehua refused. “I won’t stay long. I’m just here to return the gift I owed you.”
Junsheng said, “Back then it was a gold bar. That’s worth a lot now.”
“Do you look like you’re short on money?” She slipped off her sunglasses, glared at him, and said, “Your daughter’s almost school age, isn’t she?”
“She’s only five.”
“No problem. In a couple of years, she’ll be ready. That Red District School quota—even your dad can’t get it. But with me? From elementary all the way through high school, you’ll have a spot.”
She pinched Beixin’s cheek. “Your parents only know how to make money. When it really matters, you’ll need your godmother. Come on, sweetheart, call me godmom.”
“Godmom!” Beixin said sweetly.
Bai Yuehua’s eyes crinkled with joy.
“Alright, I’m off.”
“Already? At least stay for dinner.” Ming Ming tried to stop her.
Bai Yuehua waved a hand, striding away with flair. “Serving the country waits for no one!”
Many years later, Ming Ming and Yan Junsheng had lived through decades of rapid change, watching the land transform before their eyes.
Time passed. The world changed. But through it all, they had each other.
“Let’s live to be a hundred together!”
“No way. If I live to a hundred, you’ll live to ninety-eight. If I make it to ninety-nine, you’ll make it to ninety-seven.”
“Fine. But you can’t go before me.”
“Okay. Pinky swear.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152