Time ticked by, and finally, half an hour later, Lin Aiyun stopped her work and looked up, holding up the delicate little handbag she’d just made.
“It’s certainly pretty, but the bag idea was already rejected.” Qin Shuang had thought Lin Aiyun was going to make something special, but after waiting all that time, it was the same old thing.
Just as she finished speaking, Lin Aiyun smiled faintly. She gently pulled both sides of the bag, and the square-shaped bag stretched into a strip—in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a beautiful scarf. Embroidered on it were a branch of red plum blossoms and two little sparrows—quaint and unique.
Wrapped around Lin Aiyun’s fair, slender neck, it made her face look even smaller—stylish and charming.
“How did you do that? A bag turning into a scarf?” Zhang Yaoyao reached out and touched the scarf. The fabric was soft and not scratchy, though not as silky as regular scarves.
“Two uses in one—that’s novel. I think it works.” Yang Xi leaned in, took the scarf Lin Aiyun handed her, and after fiddling with it for a moment, found the trick. In her hands, the scarf turned back into a bag.
Qin Shuang leaned over, her round eyes wide. “Wow, Aiyun, how did you come up with that? My brain wouldn’t have thought of that in eight hundred years.”
Her words made the other three burst into laughter, and they urged Lin Aiyun to submit her idea right away.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Aiyun wrote down her thoughts on paper and walked toward the serving window with her makeshift sample. Sitting there now was Jiang Run. Upon hearing her approach, he lazily lifted his eyelids from behind a pile of notes.
“Here you go.” Lin Aiyun handed over the note first, then, afraid Jiang Run wouldn’t understand what the item was, she demonstrated it before passing it over.
Jiang Run took the scarf, carefully following her movements to repeat the transformation. He examined the embroidery, rubbing it with his fingertip. His eyes flickered with a hint of surprise as he glanced at Lin Aiyun and asked, “You came up with this on your own?”
“Mm.” Jiang Run’s face gave nothing away, so Lin Aiyun couldn’t tell what he thought. She nodded nervously.
“Wait a moment.” Leaving those words, Jiang Run stood up with the bag in hand and walked toward the large round table not far away. About five minutes later, the president and vice president came over together.
“Your idea is excellent!” Wan Tingzhi’s lips curled upward as she reached through the small opening in the window and patted Lin Aiyun’s arm.
Hearing that, Lin Aiyun’s heart raced even faster. “My idea was approved?”
“Yes, Aiyun, just wait for your commendation.” Yang Xueyan bent down and winked at Lin Aiyun, but then her tone shifted. “Of course, you’re not the only one—Jiang Run’s idea was approved too. Yours will be for female guests, and his will be for male guests.”
Hearing this, Lin Aiyun was overcome with excitement. It took her a long while to snap out of it. She pressed a hand to her pounding heart and nodded.
Once the initial plan was confirmed, the next step was implementation. Wan Tingzhi divided all association members into two groups, each led by half of the senior members. Lin Aiyun and Jiang Run were appointed group leaders, responsible for initial instruction and quality control.
The embroidery patterns would feature various elements from traditional Chinese culture—dragons, phoenixes, green bamboo, peonies, snow plums, red-crowned cranes, and more.
Before the ceremony began, everyone would have to stay at the association, working overtime to produce the pieces. Every single item had to be flawless—the mission had to be completed perfectly.
Tired as they were, their hearts were sweet. What greater honor than to contribute even a small effort to the nation?
Everyone was full of energy, practically willing to forgo food and drink to finish the tasks assigned to them.
For days on end, they ate and slept at the association. They barely had time to wash up—just splashing water on their faces in the morning. But their efforts paid off. The day before the ceremony, all the gifts were packaged and handed over smoothly. Everyone could finally go home, freshen up, and head to the square tomorrow to witness a new chapter in the nation’s history!
She hadn’t felt the exhaustion while in the thick of it, but as soon as she got in the car, Lin Aiyun fell asleep in the back seat. She didn’t even know when Xiao Cheng carried her into the room. When she woke up again, it was already past midnight.
Opening her eyes, the room was dim. Having slept soundly all day, she was now wide awake. Feeling the weight of an arm around her waist, she tried to wriggle free for a while, then gave up with a resigned sigh. She was about to call out to wake Xiao Cheng when he stirred on his own.
“What’s wrong, honey?” His voice was thick with sleep. As he asked, he nuzzled his head against her.
Lin Aiyun shifted uncomfortably. She hadn’t bathed in days—she probably smelled—but Xiao Cheng acted like he couldn’t tell, still pressing close.
“I need to wash up and wash my hair. We need to leave early tomorrow to watch the parade at the square!” The good thing about their place was that it wasn’t far from the square—they could even walk there.
“I’ll heat some water for you. Hang on.” Xiao Cheng got up and lit the lamp, then turned and pressed a kiss to her lips, smiling softly. “You’ve worked hard lately, honey. I’m proud of you.”
Lin Aiyun was taken aback—it was the first time she’d heard words like that. It took her a moment to process, and her face flushed. She touched her fingertips to her lips and shot him a playful glare. “You really have no shame.”
“What’s there to be ashamed of? They’re all true.” Xiao Cheng raised an eyebrow, casually getting dressed. “Get some more rest. I’ll bring the water over, then you can get up.”
“Got it. Hurry up.” Lin Aiyun sat on the bed for a moment, then lay back down and pulled the covers over herself. But she couldn’t fall back asleep, so she got up, found clean pajamas from the wardrobe, and changed the bedsheets and quilt cover. Luckily, it was early autumn and the quilt wasn’t too thick, so changing it on her own wasn’t too difficult.
By the time she finished, Xiao Cheng was back with two buckets of hot water.
“You wash your hair first—I’ll go get the bathwater right after.” He finished speaking, then noticed the bedding had been changed. Helplessly, he said, “Why didn’t you wait for me to come back and change it?”
“It was no trouble. I wasn’t that tired.” Lin Aiyun untied her hair and started combing it out first, so less hair would fall out when she washed it. Having not washed for days, her scalp was oily and the ends were tangled. She could only patiently work through the knots.
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng didn’t argue. He turned to get her shampoo and towel, gave her another reminder, then left to boil more water in the kitchen.
After all that, she finally felt clean and refreshed all over.
She wrapped her hair in a thick towel and managed to get a little more sleep. When it was about time, Lin Aiyun planned to get up early to secure a good spot—but Xiao Cheng pulled her back.
His voice low, he said slowly, “I have an invitation. It’s for a spot closer to the front, and I can bring one family member.”
Lin Aiyun’s pupils widened, all drowsiness gone. She gasped, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
Then, before he could answer, she asked curiously, “Where did you get an invitation?”
“You’ve been stuck at the association all this time. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but you were asleep. I felt bad for you and wanted you to rest. Now’s not too late either.” Seeing her like a curious little child, his lips curved upward.
“Your father-in-law used to be on the front lines—he made a name for himself. Some old friends of his now hold positions up top and still remember him, so they sent me an invitation, wanting me, as his son, to witness the grand occasion on his behalf.”
Xiao Cheng’s words were a mix of truth and fabrication. The reasons were certainly more complicated than that—his own merits alone would have been enough to earn an invitation. But these things couldn’t be brought into the open yet, so he had to hold back.
“So that’s it! Father-in-law is amazing!” Lin Aiyun didn’t know all the ins and outs. She sighed in admiration and urged Xiao Cheng to get up quickly. Even if they had their own spots, they couldn’t just abandon the rest of the family.
They’d bring everyone along and see if they could find a good spot.
Besides, the ceremony would surely last a while—they needed to eat and drink their fill before heading out.
She knocked on everyone’s doors, quickly ate a bowl of noodles, and then they were off. They thought they were early, but others were even earlier. The streets were already crowded with people, and the closer they got to the ceremony site, the thicker the crowds became.
At one point, people even started running, afraid that if they arrived too late, there’d be no room left.
Lin Aiyun and Xiao Cheng escorted the family to the general area, then, worried they wouldn’t be able to push back through the crowd later, they left them at the outer perimeter and headed to the dedicated check-in point.
What followed was something Lin Aiyun would never forget for the rest of her life—experiencing the grandeur of that moment firsthand.
Red flags fluttered, the national anthem rang out, and the people celebrated the founding of the nation together. From the city tower, leaders chatted and laughed. The atmosphere was joyful and peaceful, yet it moved everyone to tears. The hard times were finally over! A new chapter was about to unfold!
This was a great moment shared by all Chinese—a proud moment belonging to every descendant of the Yan and Huang emperors.
·
For half a month, everyone was immersed in the celebration. Every conversation inevitably touched on the topic, smiles never leaving their faces.
At the same time, the Xiao family received a distinguished guest.
Xiao Juan paced in her room—sitting, standing, fidgeting—unable to settle. Inside, she was nervous, but on the surface, she forced herself to appear indifferent.
But her beautiful eyes were fixed on the door, practically boring a hole into it.
Before long, she heard footsteps approaching. Flustered, she grabbed a book off the table and pretended to be reading intently.
“Juan, stop reading and come out to meet someone.” It was Lin Aiyun. As soon as she spoke, her gaze landed on the book in Xiao Juan’s hands—held upside down. She let out a helpless laugh and kindly pointed out, “You’re holding it the wrong way.”
Xiao Juan’s hand trembled, nearly dropping the book. But the next second, she casually flipped it around.
“Meet who? What’s there to see?” she said, though her eyes darted around with curiosity.
Lin Aiyun knew her too well. Suppressing a smile, she said, “That’s your fiancé. If you don’t meet him, who will?”
A beat of silence. Then, as if something struck her, Lin Aiyun’s eyes widened. “Or are you still hung up on…”
“Stop—no, I’m not.” Xiao Juan shook her head with a straight face, her heart unmoved by the words.
Seeing this, Lin Aiyun knew she’d long moved on—she’d just said it to provoke a reaction. All this time, Xiao Juan had been throwing herself into getting into the steel factory, everything else pushed aside. She’d only just passed the assessment and was now bogged down by the minutiae of her new job—no mental space left for that other stuff.
Lin Aiyun often suspected Xiao Cheng had arranged it that way on purpose, to keep his sister from chasing after the wrong person.
And the results spoke for themselves.
Now that Xiao Juan had a career and her own salary, she’d come to a profound realization: men were merely condiments in daily life—keep them around if they made you happy, cast them aside if they didn’t. No one couldn’t live without anyone else; the world kept spinning either way.
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