The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 7 - 7
Chapter 7 - 7
Within the internal propaganda network, model deeds were being praised, and Di Liren was established as a prime example. Following recommendations, Yu Jia was absorbed into the lecture troupe, underwent training, and was then sent out to give presentations everywhere.
The publishing house leaders exhorted Yu Jia, "You must obey organizational arrangements right now, and put your work at the house aside! Ah—just put it aside." Yu Jia had no choice but to say, "Thy will be done." Yet this process was sheer agony for her! Yu Jia felt as though her heart were being roasted over and over again.
She was required to contribute materials—favorable materials about Liren—that needed to be written down and then discussed with others to form a finalized manuscript. Coincidentally, Sisi returned from abroad and also contributed a few things. Upon hearing Sisi speak, the propaganda department personnel immediately showered her with praise, saying her words carried genuine emotion. She recounted how her father was industrious and thrifty, continuing to use an outdated 3G mobile phone for years without replacing it, and how Liren always held her to strict standards without ever indulging her, yet possessed a deep fatherly love and always pointed her toward the right path at critical moments. Sisi spoke until her tears fell in patters.
Yu Jia was astonished. When did this child learn to lie, and to act it out with such utter conviction? The propaganda personnel criticized Yu Jia for lacking emotion. Yu Jia was so anxious she felt like she was breaking out in boils. It wasn't that she didn't want to contribute; she simply couldn't conjure up the material.
In the past, the Liren in her eyes was full of virtues; now, however, he was entirely composed of flaws, and she couldn't untangle herself or let go of it anytime soon. "Would it count if I said he liked reading Das Kapital?" Yu Jia asked the propaganda personnel. "Do you have Chinese books? Representative ones?" they asked.
Yu Jia could not answer.
Even more excruciating was the lecturing process. Every place she traveled to give a report, she had to recite the exact same script, and Yu Jia was ordered to infuse it with emotion. Di Liren was now framed as the quintessential cadre who gave his all for the people, and his wife was expected to shed copious tears for him.
True! Yu Jia could not deny that Liren was a good cadre—absolutely he was, but he was most definitely not a good husband! To erect a monument and write a biography for him caused her immense agony!
After making the round of tours, Yu Jia returned physically and mentally exhausted, feeling entirely hollowed out. For the first time, she made up her mind to resign. She felt she could no longer stay in that place, nor could she return to her hometown. She planned to sell both the old hometown property and the provincial capital apartment, get some cash in hand, and see what opportunities awaited—burning her bridges behind her to strike out and do something on her own.
Yu Jia sought out Yu Rui to consult with her. Yu Meng's business was far too large; talking to her about this would somewhat wound her pride. Yu Rui was young, stood on the front lines of the corporate world, and could offer honest advice.
After listening to Jia's analysis, Rui did not advise her to resign. Instead, she suggested taking it on as a side venture. Yu Jia laughed and said she couldn't divide her focus like that. "How old am I now? Failure or success rides entirely on this one gamble; what else do I have left to lose?"
Looking into Sister Jia's eyes, Yu Rui knew her mind was already made up.
To help was the only option.
She said to Yu Jia, "Sister Meng opened a postnatal care center."
"Oh?"
"It's in partnership with our general manager."
"She knows a lot of people." Yu Jia failed to catch the subtext.
Without spelling it out, Yu Rui remarked, "Actually, Sister Meng's project offers inspiration. It's still about the service industry and catering to essential needs. What do people need most?"
"Food," Yu Jia replied without hesitation.
Ye Cha pushed the door open and asked Yu Rui what they were having for lunch. Sending him off first, Yu Rui turned back to Yu Jia and said, "I've got it."
"Got what?"
"Today's lunch," Yu Rui raised a single finger, struck by a sudden flash of inspiration.
After listening to Yu Rui's breakdown, Yu Jia felt it made complete sense. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were rigid demands. Among these four areas, Yu Jia believed she could only achieve a breakthrough in the category of "food." There were numerous office buildings in this district, and the midday meal dilemma for white-collar workers had always been a stubborn, long-standing headache. Every building housed a cafeteria, but the prices weren't cheap, and the crowds were enormous—waiting in line until one or two in the afternoon was a common occurrence. Many people ordered food delivery, yet most of those delivery options failed to meet the standards white-collar workers desired.
Yu Rui believed that their demographic was perhaps the most demanding group to cater to—simultaneously requiring great taste while craving healthfulness. Yu Rui mentioned that she herself survived on salads or meal-replacement bars for lunch these days.
It was agonizing.
"If you can solve the problem of making food both delicious and healthy, you'll definitely succeed," Yu Rui said with great confidence.
Yu Jia pondered this; it truly was a viable breakthrough point. However, this was a project many people would likely think of—why had no one else done it? Yu Rui analyzed that, firstly, obtaining restaurant and catering licenses was genuinely difficult nowadays, and secondly, it was grueling, backbreaking work; corporate white-collar workers might not be willing to quit their jobs to plunge into entrepreneurship for it, while older individuals were too far removed from that lifestyle. Yu Rui suggested that Yu Jia first conduct some market research and, if conditions permitted, perhaps take a trip to Japan to observe; the fast-food industry there was developed quite ahead of its time and might spark some inspiration. As for the matter of securing permits, she figured she would need to consult someone. Yu Jia thought of a person she could consult—and who might even be able to help: Luan Chengyun.
The zoo incident was ultimately resolved when Chun'er's biological mother caught an overnight train to arrive and finally "rescue" her daughter and Kang Long. Yu Shuang also hurried back from Qingdao through wind and rain. This unexpected episode laid bare a glaring problem: neither Kang Long nor even Yu Shuang could legally prove their relationship to Chun'er. It wasn't until Yu Qing's wife arrived with the household registration booklet that the police were willing to release them. Following that, Yu Shuang's sister-in-law brought up her desire to take Chun'er back home.
"It's imposing on you too much," her sister-in-law said.
Anxious, Yu Shuang protested, "No... taking her back now will disrupt the child's studies... you're the ones who sent her here to be raised in the first place... and now you want to just take her back whenever you please..." Yu Qing's wife hadn't told the truth; her parents' health was steadily worsening, and the younger children at home needed someone to look after them. If Chun'er returned, she could double as a half-nanny.
Yu Qing's wife didn't want to alienate her husband's eldest sister, especially since Yu Shuang still sent a bit of money every month. She placated her smoothly, "Sister... it's not that... it's my mom... she misses the child... look back then... when we talked about having the youngest one adopted out... you were afraid of being a mother... but now it's too late... the child is sensible... and she can't be pulled away." Upon hearing that her biological mother was coming to take her back, Chun'er was equally terrified. She had no desire to return to that cramped, chaotic household, and she fought back with all her might, wailing and screaming in protest.
In the end, both sides reached a compromise.
Chun'er would be allowed to finish out the current semester, and once the new academic year began, she would be transferred back.
After the sister-in-law departed, try as Yu Shuang might to force herself to dive into her work, she still could not shake the lingering wave of desolation. Before she took in Chun'er, Yu Shuang's self-defined role had always been clear: she was the aunt, not the mother. She had wanted to keep Chun'er at a distance and establish clear boundaries, and she had even planted that mindset firmly in her own head from the start—that they would inevitably part ways sooner or later. Yet, as the days ticked by one after another, those boundaries were slowly worn smooth like stones polished by flowing water, and Chun'er had already firmly entrenched herself in her emotional life.
To have her suddenly leave was more than she could bear.
Equally unable to bear it was Kang Long. Chun'er's presence had enriched his life, and he had poured genuine affection into the girl. He had picked her up from school, tutored her with her homework, taken her out to play, shared meals with her, and whenever Chun'er had any worries, she would confide in Uncle Kang. More importantly, Chun'er acted as a buffer, making the dynamic between him and Yu Shuang softer and more pliable; with Chun'er around, he and Yu Shuang always had someone and something that required their mutual care.
The moment Chun'er's mother brought up taking the child away, Kang Long was even more agitated than Yu Shuang. He had grown accustomed to this setup: one room, three people, existing in a space that was simultaneously close yet distant.
Once things quieted down, Kang Long sought out Yu Shuang to apologize. He admitted that his emotions had gotten the better of him over the phone.
Yu Shuang had already put the incident behind her.
"What are your plans?" he asked.
"We'll see when next semester rolls around," she said with a helpless sigh. "I just hope we can adapt by then."
"You can't control these things," Kang Long remarked.
"I never intended to control anything. I only ever treated Chun'er as a friend."
"You're still her aunt."
"Yes, an aunt," Yu Shuang shrugged. "I can't hold a candle to a mother. No matter how muddled or unhinged a mother might be, she's still a mother. A mother's rank is simply higher than an aunt's."
There seemed to be a trace of lingering resentment in her tone.
"Have you ever considered..." Kang Long trailed off, stopping short.
"What."
"Children."
"What children?"
"A child of our own," Kang Long stumbled through his words as he filled out the thought. "Let's have a child of our own."
To be honest, Yu Shuang had considered it, especially over the past year or so. She felt as though subtle physiological changes were occurring within her—she couldn't quite put it into words, but perhaps regarding her endocrine system, every monthly cycle felt different from before. Surging. If she had to sum up the sensation in a single word, that was it. Like the rushing tide of a vast ocean.
Kang Long's words suddenly spilled forth in a rush. "Chun'er was good practice for us. You are fully capable of stepping into the role of a mother, and you could do an exceptional, outstanding job at it. If we..."
"We?" Yu Shuang zeroed in on the keyword.
Kang Long paused. "Yes, you and me." He had seen a news headline just the previous day about a female singer he adored breaking up with her boyfriend of eighteen years. Talk about a crisis of anxiety! What leverage did he actually possess to keep Yu Shuang by his side?
Perhaps a child would serve as an eternal tie that binds.
"Have a baby?"
"Peter Chan and Sandra Ng did it that way," he offered.
"Which way?"
"No marriage, just have kids."
Yu Shuang slapped her forehead in exasperation. "Do you have any idea what that entails?"
"It means..." He couldn't guess.
"It means bearing a burden you can never shake off."
Kang Long smiled, his expression one of infinite tolerance. "When you want to shake it off, just dump it on me."
"That's not fair," Yu Shuang said. "This whole thing is unfair. I have to endure ten months of pregnancy, while you only need to labor for a few minutes."
"The world was never fair to begin with."
"Is this another one of your dad's brilliant ideas?"
"It has nothing to do with him. He only ever nags about getting married; he didn't think this far ahead."
"You and me... having a baby..." Yu Shuang was dazed.
"Yes, exactly. Our child—yours and mine. They're bound to be smart and gorgeous," Kang Long said with absolute confidence.
Yu Shuang massaged her temples. "Hold on a second, let me wrap my head around this."