Summer Light Gatherings

Chapter4

Du Kun cut to the chase, saying, "I want you to handle the collaboration with SHE."

He Xiaoxiao took a sharp breath, "W-why me?"

"Because you've always been diligent, and you have enough motivation—don't you have a mortgage to pay? A son to raise? This opportunity is rare for you. If you succeed, I'll promote you..."

He Xiaoxiao wore a grimace, "But I haven't even done a decent exhibition. Such a high-difficulty project, even Annie refused to take it. Can you trust me with it?"

Du Kun's expression darkened, "Annie is too confident in her judgment, and it's hard to find a breakthrough. You saw her attitude just now. Instead of letting her mess it up, I'd rather let you try."

"But I'm not confident..."

"Some things maybe shouldn't be said to you, but this project is crucial to me. Entrusting it to you is also a sign of full trust. Let me give you the bottom line: Huayu Cosmetics is a big move by Director Li. Only success is allowed, not failure. Since Director Li has set his sights on SHE, we have to find a way to win it over! I've been at Yamei for three years, and I've hardly achieved anything. There are many connections in the company, and I can't get anything done. But Director Li only cares about results. You've seen his dissatisfaction with me. If we can't make this collaboration work, I'll have to leave..."

He Xiaoxiao turned pale as she listened. If Du Kun left, she would have no future. Chen Anni would definitely push her out of her current position. She and Du Kun were in the same boat.

"Okay!" she gritted her teeth. "Since General Manager Du trusts me, I'll give it a try!"

Du Kun softened his expression, "Don't worry, if you encounter difficulties, we can communicate at any time. I'll fully support you."

"So...what should I do?"

"First, establish contact with Qiao Dong! All the cooperative partners in City C have to pass his initial screening. Only those who pass can have a chance to be sent to headquarters in Shanghai for review."

He Xiaoxiao returned home with a heavy heart. She unlocked the door, and the living room light was on. Music and laughter emanated from He Rui's room. He Xiaoxiao remembered that Ling Yao had come today.

She put on her slippers and walked over. Before reaching the door, she heard Ling Yao say, "You can't even solve such a simple problem?"

"What's so strange about that? My mom can't either."

He Xiaoxiao walked in with heavy steps, her gaze directly landing on her son. "What are you saying about me?"

He Rui jumped, turning to see his mother. His expression momentarily twisted. Ling Yao, sitting in the chair without even putting on her slippers properly, rushed over. "Sis!"

He Xiaoxiao opened her arms to welcome her sister. In terms of age, He Xiaoxiao was older, but Ling Yao was taller. When Ling Yao reached her, she hugged her sister, and in that moment of embrace, they both sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar scent. After all, they hadn't lived together for many years.

"You seem to have gained weight!" He Xiaoxiao said with a smile.

Ling Yao had always been thin. Grandma often said, "Yao Yao needs to gain some weight to look good. Why can't she gain weight no matter how much she eats?"

He Xiaoxiao didn't think so. Ling Yao's skin was slightly tanned, her figure tall. Although her face wasn't outstanding, according to Western standards, she was definitely considered beautiful. They imagined Eastern beauties to be like Ling Yao.

"You could become a model with this figure in the future!" That was He Xiaoxiao's suggestion to Ling Yao when she was thirteen. As a result, Ling Yao later became a programmer.

"Gained five pounds!" Ling Yao chuckled. "All because of the pandemic. Stuck at home every day, all I do is eat and sleep!"

Even as an adult, Ling Yao remained slender, perhaps due to studying STEM subjects. She dressed plainly, and there was no apparent connection to modeling. Also, she wasn't tall enough; she stopped growing at one meter sixty-nine.

He Xiaoxiao let her go. "Let's chat after I shower."

At this moment, He Rui asked obediently, "Mom, have you had dinner?"

"Not yet! I brought a packed meal back."

"No soup, right? I'll make you a glass of soy milk!"

"Sure!" He Xiaoxiao ruffled her son's hair. "Since you're so filial, I won't pursue it anymore. But don't talk behind my back!"

Ling Yao laughed. "He didn't talk behind your back. He was telling the truth!"

He Xiaoxiao pointed her finger at them. "Both of you!"

Under the showerhead, He Xiaoxiao finally felt relaxed and stretched out. Ling Yao's laughter echoed from outside, and He Xiaoxiao was momentarily transported back to the old house in Qimei Town where her grandparents lived. It was also a summer evening, and she sat in the wooden tub in the bathroom, listening to her grandfather and Ling Yao chatting in the yard. How long ago was that? Ten years? Twenty years?

Because of their respective parents' reasons, the two sisters had been fostered at their grandparents' home since childhood. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were raised by their grandparents. However, their relationship had never been close. There was suspicion, competition for favor, mutual ridicule—most of the time, He Xiaoxiao had the upper hand, being six years older than Ling Yao.

It wasn't until they grew up, and the girlish tendencies faded away, that they finally developed sisterly affection. He Xiaoxiao attributed this to a kind of tenacity—they were both accustomed to having each other in their lives, and habit was the best adhesive.

About a week ago, Ling Yao suddenly called to say she was coming to City C.

"Sis, can I stay with you for a while first? It shouldn't be long, and I'll move out when I'm settled."

He Xiaoxiao didn't quite understand. "Are you here to visit or planning to stay long?"

"I can't say for sure now... maybe... I might stay for a while."

"So, are you settling here?"

"Yeah."

"What about your job?"

"I've already quit. Finding a job in City C should be easier than in City Y, right?"

He Xiaoxiao was reluctant to meddle in other people's affairs, even if it was her sister. She had agreed to Ling Yao's request, albeit somewhat unwillingly. It wasn't because she was stingy but because she was accustomed to the simple life with just her and He Rui. However, her reservations quickly faded away. Ling Yao wasn't a stranger; she was the only relative besides her grandparents and son that He Xiaoxiao was willing to acknowledge.

While He Xiaoxiao had dinner, Ling Yao kept her company. He Rui also wanted to join them, but He Xiaoxiao sternly sent him back to his room to study.

Ling Yao said, "Are you being too harsh on He Rui? It's okay to let him wait a few minutes before studying!"

He Xiaoxiao replied firmly, "Boys shouldn't be spoiled. If you spoil them, they'll go astray. Look at my dad, spoiled by my grandma. He never did anything serious, just eating, drinking, and gambling."

Ling Yao took out an envelope from her bag and handed it to He Xiaoxiao. "This is five thousand yuan for you."

He Xiaoxiao stared at her. "What does this mean?"

Ling Yao couldn't explain it clearly for a moment, so she said, "Consider it rent. I'll move out after I find a job. I don't know when I'll find one."

Frowning, He Xiaoxiao pushed the envelope back. "If Grandpa finds out, he'll scold me."

Ling Yao said, "Grandpa has a good temper. He won't scold anyone."

"He told me to take care of you properly, and I've always remembered that! Keep the money. If you take it out again, I'll be angry. Don't treat me like a stranger!"

Seeing her sister's stern face, Ling Yao could only relent. The two sisters agreed to sleep together that night so they could chat.

On a late May evening, the temperature was neither too high nor too low. After lying down for a while, He Xiaoxiao got up and turned on the air conditioner. She laughed and said, "I really don't know how we managed without air conditioning in the past."

Ling Yao said, "It's easy to become extravagant from frugality, but hard to become frugal from extravagance."

Resting her head on her hand, she casually told He Xiaoxiao that she had visited Qimei Town before Qingming Festival to sweep the graves of their grandparents.

"Aunt Zhou had a stroke."

"He Tang Jian's father, nicknamed Tai Bao, was a notorious old troublemaker in Qimei Town. One time, after getting drunk, he forcibly groped a waitress at a restaurant. She twisted him and sent him to the police station. Coincidentally, the hot-tempered old Deng was on duty and allowed Tai Bao to enjoy holding the hot light bulb with both hands.

'You like touching breasts, don't you? Today, I'll let you touch them enough!'

They laughed for a while, then He Xiaoxiao said, 'At that time, Tang Jian told me that he had made some money and could take me to Beijing. I was tired of vocational school, a bunch of idlers. After graduation, there was no future in sight, so I wanted to try my luck in Beijing.'

These were things He Xiaoxiao had never mentioned to Ling Yao before. Curiously, Ling Yao asked, 'What were you going to do in Beijing, work?'

'No... I wanted to try out for the Beijing Film Academy. Tang Jian said there shouldn't be a problem with my looks.'

He Xiaoxiao finished speaking and laughed at herself, realizing how narrow-minded and arrogant the young people in the small town were.

If that "elopement" could be compared to a story, then it was obviously a failure because it only started and ended in a hurry—

He Xiaoxiao dragged her suitcase at the station waiting for the train when Ling Yao suddenly ran towards her from a distance. As soon as He Xiaoxiao saw her, she realized she couldn't leave, as if she had been dragged out of a fervent dream by someone."

Deep down, she had already anticipated this outcome. Perhaps she didn't really want to elope, she just wanted to vent a kind of emotion that she couldn't even explain herself – regret for choosing the wrong path, and resentment towards reality.

Ling Yao ran up and asked straight away, "What if grandma suddenly gets sick? What should we do?" He Xiaoxiao didn't hesitate much and went back home with her. They both tacitly understood this matter and didn't tell the elders.

Years later, when Ling Yao heard He Xiaoxiao's response, ripples suddenly stirred in her heart. She had always thought He Xiaoxiao lived very realistically, but she didn't expect her to have the courage to fulfill romantic dreams at the distant age of seventeen.

Earlier, when He Xiaoxiao was sixteen and Ling Yao was only ten, the two finally got through their adjustment period and were able to get along more harmoniously. He Xiaoxiao even invited Ling Yao to sleep in her bed at night, telling her she wanted to be a star and earn lots of money. Ling Yao confidently said, "When I grow up, I want to be a director and write stories for you to act in."

Now they were thirty-two and twenty-six, respectively, miles away from the dreams of their girlhood.

"I also ran into Aunt Da." Ling Yao continued to sell various pieces of news from their hometown to her sister. However, her tone became much more cautious. Aunt Da was He Xiaoxiao's mother, and the mother and daughter hadn't communicated for several years.

"She asked me if you and He Rui are doing well. I said everything's fine. She said another supermarket has opened in town, it's already the third one, and her miscellaneous shop is struggling."

A faint shadow passed through He Xiaoxiao's chest, along with a slight embarrassment that quickly dissipated – not towards her mother, but something else.

She snorted, "She was crying to me, knowing you would definitely tell me. She's afraid I'll go back and fight her for property. Fireproof, theft-proof, child-proof. Actually, she should be most wary of her own husband. When the old house is demolished, she'll at least get two apartments, one for living and one for renting out. As long as she stops my dad from gambling again, she'll have something to rely on for the rest of her life, better than raising children."

Ling Yao didn't like her tone and retorted, "The houses will still be yours in the future."

He Xiaoxiao wanted to say that Ling Yao would have a share too, but she didn't say it out loud. Everyone knew it was a well-intentioned lie.

She changed the subject and asked, "So, what's going on with you? Why did you suddenly come here?"

Ling Yao muttered, "Didn't I say it! I don't want to stay in Y city anymore. I want a change of environment. Since both you and He Rui are here, I came over."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

He Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then asked, "Any news from Zhou Yan?"

Ling Yao's eyes drooped. "None."

He Xiaoxiao turned her head to glance at her. "Stop thinking about him! I've told you before, he must have someone else outside that's why he left, but he's too embarrassed to say it outright. If you can't forget him, then you're just being foolish!"

Ling Yao didn't react as angrily as the first time she heard such remarks, but she still didn't agree with He Xiaoxiao's point of view. She didn't argue back but murmured in her heart, "A summer insect can't talk about ice."

"What about you? Sister, do you have a boyfriend?"

He Xiaoxiao shook her head. "My situation is much harder to find someone... I made the wrong move from the start, and then everything went haywire. Don't follow my example. When looking for a man, you have to be careful from the beginning. Those with too many differences in family background, age, and habits shouldn't be considered. And those who are irresponsible and disappear when they're unhappy... one mistake is enough, got it?"

Ling Yao remained silent.

He Xiaoxiao tilted her head to observe her. Ling Yao's eyes seemed vacant, showing a hint of emptiness. He Xiaoxiao's heart softened in an instant. She had seen Ling Yao sad before, and now she still saw the remnants of that wreckage in her eyes.

"Cheer up, you'll get through this," she no longer pressed, patting her sister's hand. "As for work, I'll keep an eye out for you."

Ling Yao breathed a sigh of relief, smiling, "Your company deals with cosmetics, and I studied programming. There's no chance, right?"

"Don't underestimate me. I've been here for four years, I still have some connections."