Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 255 - 251: Control and the Unknown

Chapter 255: Chapter 251: Control and the Unknown

By July, Qin Guanglin had officially been promoted to director.

Chen Rui’s office had already been cleared out, and together they moved the documents and tools onto the desk, then closed the door and chatted for a while.

At the end, Chen Rui patted him on the shoulder, earnestly saying, "Hang in there; for the next while, it’s all in your hands."

"Don’t worry, I’ve got this."

Qin Guanglin nodded, watching Chen Rui turn and leave, closing the door behind him. Alone, he sat behind his desk, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh, turning his head to look out the window.

The eighth floor was neither high nor low, offering a broad view with no particularly tall buildings in the way. One could overlook most of the commercial district, where people of all shapes and colors went back and forth in the streets and the flow of cars weaved through the distant highway – so near yet so far.

It was in this office that he had his interview, and now, over a year later, he had replaced Chen Rui in this seat.

Sun Wen, who had brought him to the interview, had already left the industry.

How unpredictable life can be.

Qin Guanglin picked up his phone to check the group chat. The conversation had stopped last week with Xiao Yu showing off the big fish he’d caught, while Sun Wen declared it the peak of his life, insisting on taking several pictures to keep.

During casual chat in the group, Sun Wen revealed that he was working as a fitness instructor at a gym. Xiao Yu asked if he had given up on painting, to which Sun Wen replied, "Paint my ass; sweating for a whole month doesn’t earn as much as selling two gym classes."

Xiao Yu said, "Since it’s so lucrative, you should take me under your wing," only to be met with Sun Wen’s scornful ridicule.

"You’re so skinny; I bet you can’t even do a pull-up. What exactly could you sell, your ass maybe?"

Sun Wen’s comment triggered a burst of laughter. Their usual silent dormitory mate couldn’t help but jump in and send a couple of emojis, with Xiao Yu not one to back down easily – what followed was a chaotic battle of meme-sharing.

Seeing that Sun Wen was still energetically living in Luo City, seemingly doing pretty well and not, as initially claimed, going back to farming, Qin Guanglin felt an inexplicable sense of relief. No matter what, they were still friends; as long as they were living comfortably, that was the best one could hope for.

Putting down his phone and gathering his thoughts, Qin Guanglin organized his desk and started his day’s work.

He still needed to work hard since now the main thing linked to his income was the company’s profit, not the job title.

...

Having given He Fang a heads-up earlier that there was no need to cook dinner tonight, Qin Guanglin drove straight home from work, parked the car downstairs, but didn’t go up. Instead, he made a call for He Fang to come down.

"What is it? Going out to eat?" It wasn’t long before He Fang appeared, carrying her small purse.

"There’s good news."

"What good news?"

"Take a guess."

Qin Guanglin watched He Fang fasten her seat belt, his gaze falling on the purse beside her, suddenly considering the idea of getting her a new bag.

It was just a fleeting thought before he suppressed it.

If he was going to replace it, it had to be with something really good; otherwise, there wouldn’t be much point in replacing it at all—currently saving for a down payment on a house, that matter would have to wait. Once the house was sorted, there would be time to think about it.

"Got another bonus?" He Fang looked around; seeing his hands behind his back, she simply stretched out hers and said with a smile, "Let me see, how much did they give you this time?"

"You guessed wrong, and even if it was a bonus, it would be deposited into my account. How would you see it?"

"Doesn’t your boss like to hand out cash?"

"It was all last year’s news... hehe."

Qin Guanglin laughed, pulling his left hand from behind his back, presenting a bright red rose before He Fang, "Ta-da-da-da-da—kiss me and it’s yours."

"Oh my, what’s the occasion today?"

He Fang hugged him and pecked his cheek, while still pondering what holiday or anniversary it might be, she heard Qin Guanglin say, "I got promoted."

"You got a promotion?"

"No shit, otherwise have a baby or what?"

"..."

"Next time I go to your place I’ll have even more confidence, my salary went up a good bit too..."

As Qin Guanglin started the car, he continued, "Actually, I should have been promoted a while ago. I’ve been doing the director’s job since last month, and only today did they make it official. I even got an office... Isn’t your husband awesome?"

"Awesome."

"You keep wanting me to quit my job. Look, my choice was absolutely correct. If I had stayed home and painted, who knows what I’d be like now, might not even be able to afford this car." He patted the steering wheel, glanced at He Fang with a smile, and said, "Now, after half a year, we’ve saved up almost half of the down payment for a house... Am I not more awesome than you? Given the current trend, we could have the down payment for our house ready by next year—even maybe sooner, we might gather enough by the end of this year."

He Fang, head bowed smelling the flower, did not speak. The vibrant rose contrasted with her delicate face, adding a touch of charm.

"Just need to buy the house and then I’ll propose to your family... Eh, is proposing still a thing in modern society, or should I just propose directly to you? Or maybe bring my mom to He City, sit down with your dad and discuss things... Why aren’t you saying anything?"

"Hm?" He Fang raised her head to glance at him, then bowed it again, "I’m listening to you."

A promotion, a raise, small matters, but all these influencing factors intertwined to become an unstoppable force—car, house, income, the relationship between the two, Qin Guanglin’s mindset... and so on, by now had almost completely slipped from her control, everything was progressing too fast.

To continue stubbornly sticking to the plan, to work step by step as planned, or simply to cast everything aside and go with the flow...

As time passed day by day, her heart grew more and more uncertain.

To start a brand new life, to live happily without thinking about all the messy stuff, to completely relax, indeed felt very tempting.

Yet deep down, she still harbored threads of fear and anxiety.

A good family life, go to work when it’s time, come home when it’s time, a warm home, cooking and shopping together, washing dishes and doing laundry, cuddling up watching TV late into the night, and a bit of fun in bed after putting the daughter to sleep... She enjoyed this kind of life and had experienced it.

—Precisely because of this, she knew what must be done to return to that life.

Two choices, one nearly certain, the other a complete unknown... Just thinking about that unknown made He Fang irresistibly drawn to getting things back on track.

For that happiness, she couldn’t afford any mishap, yet because she hadn’t held herself back initially, the premature encounter led to a series of events; everything was different now, and she no longer had the power to rewind.

...Effort always reaps rewards. Going with the flow looks appealing for now, but if something unexpected happens, she wouldn’t have a second chance to regret.

Yes, there would be no second chance.

She still had to strive towards the sure path.

He Fang closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the rich scent of the rose clearing her somewhat drowsy head, while beside her Qin Guanglin kept on chattering.

"...You don’t need to touch your royalties, just save them, a little less wouldn’t make a difference, and if we have more, it’s perfect for decorating, then we could... You seem a bit unhappy?"

"No, keep talking, I’m listening."