Chapter 42: Leaning on His Shoulder

Ever since meeting Chen Luoxi and Shanshan, Yao Jia had started to pay more attention to the working mothers at Kunyu Electric, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Once she delved into it, she realized that there were quite a few young mothers among the employees at Kunyu Electric. These working mothers had it particularly tough, juggling work during the day and childcare at night. Despite women having carved out a significant place for themselves in the workforce and becoming a mainstay in supporting their families, looking after children still seemed to be solely a woman’s responsibility in society.

When a child falls ill, the kindergarten often calls the mother to come as soon as possible. Fathers, it seems, are only expected to contribute a great seed, after which they can sit back and act like the king of the household, leaving everything to their wife, who is expected to manage it all like a maid. It’s not an exaggeration to call this a form of widow-style parenting.

Because children frequently fall ill and working mothers often need to take leave, the company experiences periodic work backlogs and delays. As a result, Kunyu Electric implemented an internal policy: when hiring female employees, they only hire unmarried women, avoiding married ones. This way, female employees are not overly distracted by family obligations and can concentrate on their work.

Yao Jia thought it was no wonder Chen Luoxi felt such anxiety and insecurity. With a group of energetic young single employees behind her, any lapse in energy could mean she would be easily replaced.

She also realized why she had never heard anyone at the call center talk about their husbands. Under such employment policies, they weren’t even allowed to have husbands.

Yao Jia internally despised this policy, vowing to confront Yao Bingkun about it when she had the chance. Why should married women be denied job opportunities? Just because married men supposedly have weaker family responsibilities and can focus more on work? Isn’t this just enabling men to shirk household duties?

The more Yao Jia thought about it, the more she felt this policy was a remnant of feudal thinking, exuding a strong whiff of male chauvinism.

She also understood that to have the standing to confront Yao Bingkun on this issue, she would need to work harder, achieve something noteworthy, and gain his respect. Only then would he take her suggestions seriously instead of dismissing them as childish tantrums.

With this in mind, Yao Jia managed her emotions better when answering calls, and her conversational skills improved significantly.

Aside from this peculiar policy of not hiring married women, Kunyu Electric’s other benefits were quite good. This included a company-sponsored autumn picking event for employees.

This year’s event was scheduled for the upcoming weekend. Employees would gather at the company building entrance early in the morning, travel by department on a tour bus to an orchard in the suburbs to pick oranges, and each employee could bring one or two guests.

The evening she received the notice, Yao Jia asked Meng Xingzhe and Tian Huasheng during dinner, “Are you two going to the picking event this weekend?”

Tian Huasheng replied first, “I don’t have anything else planned, so I might go.”

Yao Jia said, “It’ll take the whole day, and there’s nowhere to rest. If you’re tired, you’ll have to sit on the ground.”

Tian Huasheng hesitated and turned to Meng Xingzhe, “Bro, are you going?”

Meng Xingzhe didn’t even lift his eyelids, “No.”

Tian Huasheng hesitated even more.

Just as they were about to finish dinner, Yao Jia’s phone rang.

She put down her chopsticks and answered the call. It was Yue Xuran.

Yue Xuran said he wanted to meet her over the weekend to deliver some documents and asked her to choose the time and place.

Yao Jia, holding the phone, asked, “Are you free all weekend?”

Yue Xuran confirmed that he was.

Yao Jia said, “Perfect. Our company is organizing a picking event this weekend. Each employee can bring one or two people. Do you want to come?”

As soon as she extended the invitation, Tian Huasheng looked up sharply from his bowl.

She had just said it would be exhausting, with nowhere to rest, implying she didn’t want to go!

He glanced over to see Meng Xingzhe also looking at Yao Jia, his eyes filled with the same doubt.

Yue Xuran agreed over the phone, and Yao Jia hung up.

As soon as she put her phone down, Tian Huasheng was the first to challenge her, “Jia, didn’t you say the picking would be tiring, with nowhere to sit all day? Doesn’t that mean you don’t want to go?”

Yao Jia smiled mischievously, her eyes twinkling, “But if I’m going on a date, wouldn’t going somewhere else cost more? This way, the company foots the bill!”

Tian Huasheng nodded, enlightened, “Makes sense, makes sense.”

Meng Xingzhe wore a mocking expression, “Isn’t your boyfriend supposed to be rich and handsome? Does he care about the cost?”

Yao Jia retorted, “I like saving money for him, okay?” After all, saving him money is like saving money for herself as an investor.

Meng Xingzhe continued his jabs, “Ha, saving on such small amounts. Be careful you don’t end up marrying into a fake wealthy family.”

Yao Jia thought to herself that her own family was already wealthy. But she couldn’t use that to retort now, so she said, “I’m not as malicious as you. I sincerely hope you find a true rich and beautiful woman and soon become the king of freeloaders!”

Meng Xingzhe frowned.

Afraid they might start a fight and overturn the dinner table, Tian Huasheng quickly intervened, “Then, Jia, if you’re going this weekend, I’ll go too!”

Meng Xingzhe continued to mock, “Why are you going? They’re going with her boyfriend, are you planning to be the third wheel?” He wasn’t even sure who he was mocking, just that there was an uncontrollable fire on his tongue.

Yao Jia retorted, “My boyfriend and I love bringing Xiao Tiantian along, what’s wrong with that?”

Tian Huasheng tried to smooth things over, “Bro, I’ll bring you back two bags of sweet oranges this weekend!”

Meng Xingzhe frowned, “No need, if I want some, I’ll get them myself.”

“???” Tian Huasheng was puzzled, “Didn’t you say you weren’t going?”

Meng Xingzhe replied irritably, “I’m not going. Are you planning to be the third wheel for Yao Jia and her boyfriend? I’m doing this for you, understand?”

Tian Huasheng was so touched he nearly dropped his bowl, “Bro, if you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have realized! I thought you were going to fight with Jia! Thanks, bro!”

“…” Meng Xingzhe really wanted to stuff a dishcloth into Tian Huasheng’s mouth.

******

On the weekend, buses transported the participants to the orchard on the outskirts of the city.

The call center employees got off the bus and gathered at the orchard entrance, where Cao Chun took attendance.

Yao Jia stood next to Yue Xuran. He was strikingly handsome and drew attention effortlessly. As soon as Tong Yumo got off the bus, she stared directly at them, pulling Hou Wenwen along to join the conversation.

“Yao Jia, have you seen Meng Xingzhe? Oh, is this your friend?” Tong Yumo asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Yao Jia raised an eyebrow and said directly, “My boyfriend.”

Tong Yumo’s eyes widened in surprise, “Weren’t you with Meng Xingzhe, Tian Huasheng, and Lu Jingyi from After-sales Service… How did you find someone else… Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. Hello, sir, I’m Tong Yumo!”

Seeing her act so fake, Yao Jia nearly bent down to pick up a clod of dirt to smear on her face, to cover up her embarrassing pretense.

“Tong Yumo, it’s no fun to leave things half-said. Just say what you mean,” Yao Jia said with a smile.

Tong Yumo smiled timidly, “But your boyfriend is right here.”

Yao Jia smirked, “Oh, so you remember he’s my boyfriend. Then stop trying to flirt with him, it makes you look disrespectful. Look,” she pointed to the shade of a tree not far away, “there’s Meng Xingzhe. Go on, don’t get lost.”

Tong Yumo pouted, murmuring softly, “Yao Jia, you’re really mean.” She said this while looking at Yue Xuran.

Unfortunately for her, Yue Xuran wasn’t looking at her. He turned his head to smile at Yao Jia, and when she wasn’t looking, his smile was full of indulgence and affection.

Tong Yumo turned and walked away.

Yao Jia explained to Yue Xuran, “She’s a colleague, a bit unconventional in her thinking…”

Before she could finish, Yue Xuran simply said, “I’m not interested in her or what she says.”

Yao Jia beamed, feeling inexplicably satisfied.

Cao Chun had finished taking attendance and suddenly asked, “Is Hao Lidan not here?”

Hou Wenwen replied from the crowd, “Hao Lidan had something come up at home and asked me to excuse her.”

Cao Chun noted the absence, handed out baskets for collecting oranges, and invited everyone into the orchard.

Once inside, the crowd gradually dispersed into small groups.

Yao Jia and Yue Xuran walked together, chatting and laughing.

Yao Jia shared stories about the bizarre customers she encountered at work, leaving Yue Xuran amazed; Yue Xuran talked about developing new products with his team and overcoming various challenges.

As they chatted and picked oranges, they paid no attention to who was around them.

Behind them were Tian Huasheng and Meng Xingzhe, with the clingy Tong Yumo tagging along.

Tian Huasheng, annoyed by Meng Xingzhe’s slow pace, suggested, “Bro, why don’t we walk faster and get ahead of Jia and her boyfriend? I don’t want to trail behind them and endure their lovey-dovey display.”

Meng Xingzhe watched the affectionate couple ahead with a blank expression.

“Walking faster is tiring, let’s just stay like this,” he said in a flat tone.

Tian Huasheng had no choice but to match Meng Xingzhe’s pace—or rather, the leisurely pace of Yao Jia and Yue Xuran.

Tong Yumo kept trying to strike up a conversation with Meng Xingzhe, but he responded with his usual noncommittal “mm-hm” to everything she said.

Suddenly, Yao Jia jumped up ahead, trying to reach an orange on a high branch, but she couldn’t quite get it.

Yue Xuran stopped, stretched out his arm, and bent the branch down, bringing the plump, beautiful orange within Yao Jia’s reach.

Yao Jia picked the orange, smiling happily and thanking Yue Xuran.

Watching from behind, Tian Huasheng exclaimed, “Wow, that’s so sweet!”

Meng Xingzhe felt incredibly thirsty, as if his throat were on fire. He asked Tian Huasheng for a bottle of mineral water, twisted it open, and drank deeply, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down rapidly.

Tong Yumo, trying to imitate him, jumped up but still couldn’t reach the oranges. She said to Meng Xingzhe, “Meng Xingzhe, help me out, will you? Look at Yao Jia’s boyfriend!”

Meng Xingzhe screwed the cap back onto the half-empty bottle, glanced at her, and said, “I’m not your boyfriend. I only help my own girlfriend pick oranges.”

Tong Yumo puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

Meanwhile, Yao Jia and Yue Xuran continued walking and chatting.

They were so engrossed in their conversation that Yao Jia didn’t watch where she was going. There was a shallow ditch on the ground, and Yao Jia, not paying attention, stepped right into it while talking. She immediately lost her balance and started to fall. Fortunately, Yue Xuran reacted quickly, catching her and helping her stand upright.

Tian Huasheng exclaimed, “Oh my! Even falling over is like watching a sweet romantic drama!”

Meng Xingzhe unscrewed the bottle again and downed the rest of the water in one go. He thought today’s weather was unbearably stifling.

Nearby, Tong Yumo pretended to stumble, aiming to fall in Meng Xingzhe’s direction.

Meng Xingzhe nonchalantly stepped aside.

Miraculously, Tong Yumo regained her balance and stood firm.

Having narrowly avoided a fall, she immediately accused Meng Xingzhe, “Meng Xingzhe, how could you? Can’t you be a bit more gentlemanly? Look, when Yao Jia was about to fall, her boyfriend caught her!”

Meng Xingzhe gave her a cold glance, “Are you my girlfriend? I only catch my girlfriend.”

Tong Yumo finally couldn’t take it anymore and stormed off to find Hou Wenwen.

Ahead, Yue Xuran peeled an orange and handed it piece by piece to Yao Jia, who ate happily, her eyes crinkling with joy.

Tian Huasheng also peeled an orange, offering half to Meng Xingzhe.

“Bro, try it, it’s super sweet!”

Meng Xingzhe put a piece in his mouth.

Sweet my foot. It’s incredibly sour.

He shoved the remaining orange back into Tian Huasheng’s hand and walked briskly ahead.

Tian Huasheng was puzzled by his sudden increase in pace. Wasn’t he complaining about being tired from walking too fast?

As Meng Xingzhe passed by Yue Xuran and Yao Jia, he paused, turned his head, and said to Yue Xuran, “Hey, it’s you! What a coincidence!”

Yao Jia: “…”

Yao Jia, who was happily chatting and eating oranges with Yue Xuran, felt a vague sense of unease at Meng Xingzhe’s sudden appearance.

…She had a feeling he was about to start flirting with Yue Xuran again.

Sure enough, Meng Xingzhe stuck close to Yue Xuran, leaving little room for Yue Xuran and Yao Jia to chat.

He started by asking Yue Xuran, “Your team works on mobile phones, right? You also have a popular tech enthusiast forum, don’t you?” This led them into an endless technical discussion.

They talked from mobile phones to forums, from forums to artificial intelligence, and from artificial intelligence to communication chips, smart homes, and even the Internet of Things.

Their conversation flowed seamlessly, with neither letting the other’s questions go unanswered, each understanding the other’s points perfectly.

When they discussed the Internet of Things, Meng Xingzhe said, “Actually, your industry and our home appliance industry have commonalities. Both smart phones and smart homes utilize big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. Connecting these through Smart Communication Chips creates an Internet of Things centered around the home.”

Yue Xuran replied, “Yes, in the future, both phones and home appliances will rely on the Internet of Things. As IoT technology evolves, it will undoubtedly drive explosive growth in the smart home market.”

Meng Xingzhe immediately continued, “Exactly, especially when IoT technology is integrated with AI technology, it will significantly impact the smartification process across various fields.”

Yue Xuran threw out a statistic, “By 2020, our country’s core AI industry scale will exceed 150 billion, driving related industries to over a trillion.”

Meng Xingzhe smoothly added, “Yes, that’s from the State Council’s data. By 2025, the core AI industry scale will exceed 400 billion, with related industries surpassing 5 trillion.”

…

Their exchange was a lively back-and-forth, each move sparking with energy and excitement.

At first, Yao Jia found it boring, but as she listened, she realized they were discussing incredibly substantial topics.

It was expected that Yue Xuran would know these things; what surprised her was that Meng Xingzhe understood them too.

Listening to their conversation, Yao Jia felt like an extra, as if she had been forgotten by the two of them.

The three of them, along with Tian Huasheng, continued walking forward.

The three of them had a peculiar arrangement: she stood between Yue Xuran and Meng Xingzhe, both towering members of the “180 Club,” chatting effortlessly over her head about all things technical.

As they walked, she wasn’t watching her step and nearly stumbled into a shallow ditch. Her two companions each grabbed an arm, pulling her upright without interrupting their ongoing conversation.

Continuing on, she tried to jump up to reach an orange but couldn’t quite get it.

Meng Xingzhe reached out to bend the branch down, and Yue Xuran plucked the orange, handing it to her.

Throughout the process, they still didn’t look at her, continuing their technical discussion.

Yao Jia couldn’t take it anymore; she didn’t want to be the third wheel. She swapped places with Meng Xingzhe, letting him walk directly beside Yue Xuran, while she walked alongside Tian Huasheng.

Tian Huasheng winked at her and whispered, “I noticed Brother Meng is really a double standard!”

Yao Jia asked how he was being double standard.

Tian Huasheng explained, “Earlier, when Tong Yumo wanted Brother Meng to help reach an orange, he refused, saying he’d only do it for his girlfriend. When Tong Yumo almost fell and wanted help, he just walked away, saying he’d only support his girlfriend. But he just did both those things for you. If you didn’t have a boyfriend, and if Brother Meng wasn’t a hundred times more enthusiastic about your boyfriend than you, I’d really start to wonder.”

Yao Jia chuckled coldly. See, even Xiao Tiantian noticed that Meng Xingzhe was a bit too enthusiastic about Yue Xuran!

However, she soon realized with a shock that not only was Meng Xingzhe showing interest in Yue Xuran, but Yue Xuran was also showing a keen interest in Meng Xingzhe.

For instance, after a long discussion about professional and technical issues, Yue Xuran unexpectedly said to Meng Xingzhe, “Brother Xingzhe, you know so much. It’s a shame you’re just doing customer service at Kunyu Electric. Have you considered joining our company?”

Yao Jia was stunned. Just like that, an olive branch was extended?

Meng Xingzhe humbly replied, “Brother Xuran, you’re too kind. It’s just a hobby of mine, really, nothing more.”

Yao Jia thought, how pretentious. She clearly understood his underlying message: even my hobby level can match your professional skills, think about that.

Yue Xuran laughed and said, “If your hobby has brought you to this level, you’re a genius in this field.”

Meng Xingzhe modestly said, “Not at all, you’re the expert.” But his face radiated the aura of “I am indeed a genius.”

Yao Jia sighed internally. Fine, she might as well leave this personal space for them to engage in mutual admiration. If they actually become a couple, she’d be willing to give them a big red envelope!

Yao Jia stopped paying attention to the two who ignored her when talking about technology and instead joined Tian Huasheng in picking oranges nearby.

Meng Xingzhe continued to engage Yue Xuran in technical discussions, realizing more and more that Yue Xuran was genuinely talented, living up to Yao Jia’s previous boasts—truly a remarkable person.

With this realization, Meng Xingzhe found that all the oranges in the orchard today were strangely sour, not a single sweet one.

While they chatted, Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng were jumping around picking oranges.

Suddenly, Yao Jia twisted her ankle as she landed. Before Meng Xingzhe realized what he was doing, his leg had already stepped forward, and his hand was supporting Yao Jia’s waist.

Once his mind caught up with his actions, he noticed Yue Xuran had also rushed to Yao Jia’s side, his hand on her shoulder.

Yao Jia, sandwiched between the two men, steadied herself without falling.

She cheerfully said, “My geometry teacher wasn’t lying, triangles really are the most stable shape in the world!”

Meng Xingzhe and Yue Xuran exchanged a glance. Then he let go, handing Yao Jia back to Yue Xuran, her rightful boyfriend.

Meng Xingzhe turned his attention away, watching Tian Huasheng peel an orange. He asked, “Is it sweet?”

Tian Huasheng confidently patted his chest, “As sweet as my Xiao Tiantian!”

Nearby, Yue Xuran was checking on Yao Jia, asking if she was hurt.

Yao Jia replied brightly, “No, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Meng Xingzhe took a segment of the orange and popped it into his mouth, then squinted and glared at Tian Huasheng.

“Sweet? It’s so sour it’s making my teeth ache!”

Tian Huasheng, startled by the glare, quickly handed two segments to Yao Jia to taste, to see whose taste buds were off.

Yao Jia tasted the orange and exclaimed, “Sweet!”

She offered a segment to Yue Xuran, who ate it from her hand. Yao Jia was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected intimacy.

Yue Xuran smiled and said to her, “Sweet, very sweet.”

Tian Huasheng turned to look at Meng Xingzhe, intending to vindicate the oranges he had picked for himself.

As he turned, he saw Meng Xingzhe tilting his head back, gulping down the second bottle of mineral water he had brought with him.

Tian Huasheng was moved. He no longer wanted to defend the oranges. Instead, he patted Meng Xingzhe’s back to help him catch his breath and remarked, “Brother, your tolerance for sourness is really poor. Even these sweet oranges taste sour to you. You probably can’t handle hawthorn either.”

Meng Xingzhe finished the bottle of water in one go. He wondered what was wrong with him today.

After the picking ended, Yue Xuran had something urgent come up and took a taxi to the company. Yao Jia and the others took a bus back to Kunyu Building.

On the bus, Yao Jia coincidentally ended up sitting in the same row as Meng Xingzhe.

During the return trip, the two of them unconsciously started bickering again. Neither knew who started it or why.

After a while, Meng Xingzhe said to Yao Jia, “Your boyfriend is pretty good, but he’s still a bit worse than me.”

Yao Jia sneered, “Keep bragging, let’s see if your lung capacity is as big as a blower!”

The journey back took a while, and the sky outside the bus window gradually darkened. After walking all day, Yao Jia was caught in the hypnotic rhythm of the moving vehicle. Fatigue, like wild vines, wrapped around her. She began to nod off, her head bobbing as she drifted between wakefulness and sleep, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

Suddenly, she tilted her head and, in her drowsy state, found a pillow. This pillow was incredibly comfortable, fitting perfectly with her head, and as soon as she leaned against it, she fell into a deep, uncontrollable sleep.

Meng Xingzhe froze in his seat. Yao Jia’s head had suddenly slipped onto his shoulder, and he didn’t dare to take a deep breath.