Chapter 18: A Great Failure

Popsicle finished, Wang Jiexiang found a place to wash her hands.

There was no one around, and she remembered the phone card under her foot.

Next to the sink was a patch of grass. She decided to bury the card here; as long as no one saw it, it would disappear without a trace.

Wang Jiexiang quickly pulled out a few weeds and began digging with her foot.

Just after digging for a while, she was interrupted by someone.

“What are you doing?” Yin Xian’s voice came from behind.

“I, I…”

After vigorous activity and feeling guilty, Wang Jiexiang gasped and made up a story, “I’m treasure hunting.”

“…”

Yin Xian asked, “Are you having lunch?”

“Yes.” She quickly covered the dirt and stepped out of the grass.

Wang Jiexiang returned the wallet to Yin Xian. He didn’t even look at it, just stuffed it into his pocket.

“You and He… Sister Xiao Shan finished talking so soon?”

Yin Xian flatly responded, “Children Should Not Interfere in Adult Matters.”

“Hmph.”

Wang Jiexiang couldn’t be bothered to talk to him anymore, to avoid him saying something like last time—“In the mortal world, who isn’t just a passerby?”—and making her speechless.

The two of them walked in silence until they reached the cafeteria.

To be honest, Wang Jiexiang didn’t really like coming to this place. Mainly because after she noticed so many people in the background looking identical, every time she saw them, it made her feel uneasy.

“I’m curious about something.”

While in line, Wang Jiexiang suddenly had a thought: Could Yin Xian notice the strange things around them?

“Look…” she whispered to him, “The man behind us, and the third man from the right at the table beside you. Do you think they look alike?”

Yin Xian shook his head. “No.”

He couldn’t see it!

Wang Jiexiang thought to herself, What a pity: If he could see it, it would surely give him quite a shock.

When it was their turn to order, Yin Xian asked which set meal she wanted.

Wang Jiexiang chose a flavor she had never tried before, “Fish-flavored Shredded Pork with Rice.”

With their meals in hand, they sat at a long table in the corner.

His work uniform was dirty, but there was nothing urgent to worry about at the moment.

Wang Jiexiang started eating happily with her chopsticks.

“Engineer Yin.”

The workers at the same table stood up and spoke to Yin Xian.

“We’re heading to the factory. You can come see the new cars when you’re done.”

He nodded in acknowledgment.

Everything went smoothly, and Wang Jiexiang quietly wiggled her foot.

The phone card was still stuck to the sole of her shoe, poking at her.

“After we’re done eating, you go to the factory, I’ll follow you.”

Yin Xian firmly refused, “I have work to do, you can play with the rubber ball on the empty lot.”

“You can’t exercise right after eating, that’s basic common sense.”

“Fine, then stay in my office.”

Wang Jiexiang fell silent.

Noticing her low mood, he added, “Behave, and I’ll buy you a Popsicle.”

She was already angry at the mention of the Popsicle: When she was locked in his office for so long, he promised to buy one but never did. Then he went off to make a secret phone call, and by the time he was done, the Popsicle was gone.

“How can adults be like this?”

The accumulated resentment from the past cycles exploded all at once.

“For children who are already obedient, you ask them to be even more obedient. To make things easier, you let the child stay quiet and play alone, locking the door behind them. You tell them not to mind adult matters, to shut them up. You promise rewards to the child but never follow through. If you were truly going to buy the Popsicle, you should’ve asked me what flavor I liked!”

When he was younger, he clearly hated adults who treated him this way, yet now, as an adult, he had become the same kind of person.

Yin Xian put down his chopsticks and stared at her.

“Does your family often lock you in your room? Tell you not to worry about their matters? Tell you to be obedient? Break promises to you?”

She crossed her arms in frustration and ignored him.

He smiled faintly and let out a sigh.

“I see. I’ll take you with me.”

Wang Jiexiang still didn’t respond.

He asked, “What flavor of Popsicle do you like?”

“Milk flavor,” she replied.

Yin Xian had a reason for wanting her to stay in the office.

His workplace had a strong smell of engine oil, and the personnel were mixed. Various problematic cars were being lifted by machines, waiting for inspection.

Wang Jiexiang sat in the old wicker chair Yin Xian had found for her, feeling completely out of place in the surrounding environment. Workers passed by, casting strange looks at her.

Yin Xian wore the standard dark blue work uniform of the factory.

As more people appeared, she struggled to distinguish which figure was his.

The large fan blew noisily, and the smell of engine oil made her feel dizzy. Wang Jiexiang yawned.

How long had it been since she slept?

Although the world might reset, her physical condition did not, so she still felt hungry and tired.

Before, she had been too busy running around, doing this and that, never thinking about sleep. Now that she had time to sit down, sleepiness began to wash over her.

“I can’t sleep!”

Wang Jiexiang punched her stomach.

Her eyes wide open, she tried to find Yin Xian’s figure in the crowd.

As she searched, she propped her chin in her hand, and her eyelids began to droop.

“I can’t sleep…”

Drowsy, Wang Jiexiang fell into a dream.

She dreamt that she was waiting for Yin Xian to come home in their house.

He had stayed out late socializing, and by the time he came back, she had already fallen asleep leaning against the sofa. Yin Xian mumbled, “How come you’re sleeping here?” and picked her up, carrying her back to the bedroom.

She wanted to ask him why he came home so late, but being in his arms felt so comfortable.

So, she decided to scold him after waking up.

“Yin Xian…”

In her sleep, she mumbled as she lifted her heavy eyelids.

The small gap between her open eyes allowed Wang Jiexiang to see a ceiling with no lights on, and the soft moonlight poured in through the window.

“Where is this?”

She was startled and immediately sat up to search for the light switch.

The light came on, and she recognized the place… Yin Xian’s office.

The door opened from the outside, and she turned in surprise.

It was him.

No harm had been done! No reset!

Wang Jiexiang rushed to Yin Xian’s side and grabbed his sleeve. “Where did you go?”

He shook the Popsicle in his hand and said, “The milk flavor you wanted.”

She snatched the Popsicle from him, tore open the package, and, still shaken, ate it with one hand while holding onto his sleeve with the other.

“Did I fall asleep in the chair?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You were sleeping so soundly, I don’t know what you dreamt about, but your face was smiling.”

He suddenly remembered something and asked her, “Did you see the phone card in my wallet?”

“Did you make a phone call?” Wang Jiexiang held her breath.

“Yeah, I was going to call my dad, but the phone card was gone from my wallet.”

She patted her chest: That’s a relief.

“Are you going to tell your dad about quitting?”

He gave her a strange look. “How did you know?”

“Uh,” Wang Jiexiang thickened her skin and lied, “I heard you tell Sister Xiao Shan… you said you weren’t going to be an engineer anymore, you want to do sales, you’re quitting.”

Yin Xian raised an eyebrow. “You heard it, or you guessed?”

“Didn’t you tell her? I think I heard it.”

Wang Jiexiang carefully tested his mood and spoke carefully.

“But, sales is very tiring, you know.”

When she met him, he was doing sales.

“Even if you’re not good at talking or dealing with people, you have to push yourself to flatter others in order to make money. Socialize with people, act close, give gifts, and even if the business doesn’t work out, you’re left with no personal time. Your phone is always by your side, and even in the middle of the night, you must answer it. Work so much that you don’t have time to eat, and when work ends, you don’t really get to leave.”

She scratched her head, feeling like she had described it too vividly.

“Of course, I’m just repeating what I’ve heard. I’ve never done sales. I’m only twelve.”

After a long silence, Yin Xian chuckled.

“If only what you said were true. I don’t even know if it’s right, or what I want. I’m not sure about what I want to do or what I’ll face in the future. Wanting to do sales is just a shallow idea. Maybe, if I were very rich, I wouldn’t be so restless and empty.”

He described his decision as shallow.

The words were sharp, much like when Wang Jiexiang overheard his father’s words, calling him “short-sighted.”

Now she understood why she had seen confusion in his eyes.

Faced with an uncomfortable life and a pathological work environment, he struggled, tangled with himself, instinctively wanting to break free.

When the price of severing ties with his family was paid, and when he finally had the choice to face the future on his own… Yin Xian realized: He wasn’t sure at all, and felt empty inside.

He agreed with his father’s “short-sighted” comment in some way, which left him feeling lost.

“I took your phone card.”

Wang Jiexiang took off her shoes and pulled out a card.

She laid it open in his palm and returned the phone card to him.

She thought: It’s too hard, Yin Xian. What traps you isn’t that phone call or the accusations from your father, but your loss of direction in life. This is something only you can figure out. I can’t help you.

He didn’t seem very surprised, as if he had known the card was with her all along.

“Why didn’t you run when you had my wallet?”

“Did you suspect me?” Wang Jiexiang realized he had thought of her as a thief.

Yin Xian nodded. “Your reasons for taking the wallet were strange. You acted weird when asked which relative it was for, and your behavior and speech throughout the day were strange.”

Her bad acting was exposed, and she huffed, “You suspected I was a thief but still gave me the wallet. You’re even stranger.”

“Probably because…” He scratched her nose. “Your expression was very awkward, like you were afraid of being questioned.”

“Sigh, fine. Don’t worry about me,” Wang Jiexiang was so confused, she decided to sleep before the next cycle. “Just leave me here to calm down.”

“Do you have a home?” Yin Xian asked.

“Yes.”

He asked again, “Do you know where home is?”

Wang Jiexiang said the real name of her hometown.

“It’s far away by train, how did you get here? Were you trafficked?”

She sighed, “It’s hard to explain to you.”

Wang Jiexiang turned around and refused to continue the conversation.

Yin Xian turned off the lights for her and closed the door.

She couldn’t help but feel disheartened: Why didn’t I listen to Rabbit’s advice? Helping Yin Xian didn’t help at all. It would’ve been better to think ahead, what set meal to choose for lunch in the next cycle.

After a long while.

So long that Wang Jiexiang set aside her worries and fell asleep again.

The office door opened, the lights came on.

Yin Xian called her to wake up.

“Let’s go, kid. I’ve taken time off. I’ll take you home.”