There’s truly a special kind of power in children.

They’re bright, lively, and so innocent—purer than the sky outside.

Ke Bing pushed herself up from the bed, her legs a little sore from sitting for so long. She rummaged through a drawer for her needle and thread, pulling out a palm-sized box.

Inside were spools of thread in various colors and fine needles.

Ke Bing was no pampered princess. She had grown up in a small, undeveloped county, had seen the northern crops grow through the four seasons, and had even helped out in the countryside during the busiest farming seasons. Domestic chores like this came easily to her.

It was just that she had a pretty face. As the saying goes, a girl changes dramatically by the time she’s eighteen. As she grew up, her complexion became fairer, and she started paying attention to her clothes and makeup, leaving the dusty, weary life of that small northern county far behind.

Once, while chatting with friends at school, Ke Bing mentioned more than once that she had caught hornworms thicker than her finger in a peanut field, but none of them believed her.

Perhaps they found it hard to associate such a beautiful girl with disgusting, fat worms.

Childhood was long gone, yet it remained hidden in the depths of everyone’s heart.

Ke Bing quickly threaded the needle, her movements exceptionally practiced. It was noon, and the golden sunlight spilling in through the window fell upon her jeans. She lowered her head, diligently sewing a stuffed doll. Even her eyelashes were coated in a layer of sun, curling up shyly.

A few minutes later, she looked up thoughtfully and called out, "Mom, I want to go out and mail a package this afternoon. I’ll send it to Qishui County Ninth Middle School."

It was unclear if she was speaking to someone outside or just to herself.

...

"Secretary Jiangg, that’s about it for today. We should head back to the company. Thanks for your hard work."

"Not at all. I should be thanking you for showing me the ropes."

"Don’t mention it. Colleagues are supposed to help each other out. Let’s head to the underground parking garage now. We’ll wait for the chairman and the others to discuss their thoughts before this can be finalized."

In a building on the Landa University campus.

A few sharp, capable women descended from an unrenovated, dust-filled floor, chatting as they walked.

They were from the Bauhinia Company’s project inspection department, which was also the most demanding department in the entire company. They often had to travel for business. The lucky ones could stay local year-round, but a considerable number were constantly on the road, weary from travel.

As Jiangg Ning and the others went downstairs.

The building was already open for business, but the upper floors were still being renovated. When they reached the large shopping mall on the ground floor, they were hit with the aroma of all kinds of food.

The scents of the mall’s restaurants, snacks, and desserts were always incredibly enticing, designed to attract more customers.

Girls are naturally prone to giving in to temptation, and with their heavy task now complete, they looked around, asking each other if they should buy something to snack on during the ride.

Jiangg Ning’s gaze, however, fell upon a sugar-roasted chestnut shop in a corner of the mall.

Chen Yuan had once said he loved them, and Ningning remembered instantly.

"Sure, let’s grab something."

"Okay, anyone who’s not buying anything can head to the underground garage first. We’ll meet up there. Try not to take too long."

After a brief discussion, the women split up.

Jiangg Ning went to the storefront by herself and asked the clerk for a small bag of freshly roasted sugar-roasted chestnuts.

While she waited.

She was busy replying to messages from Jiangg Yao on Green Bubble. She was giving her remote instructions on which foods to take out, soak, and wash in advance, so that cooking would be faster and less of a hassle when she got home from work.

Jiangg Yao sent back seven or eight frustrated-looking sticker packs.

Even through the screen.

She could guess that her younger sister was probably in the kitchen, staring worriedly at a pile of food.

A rare, mischievous smile appeared on Ningning’s face.

’She didn’t feel sorry for her sister at all.’

’It would be good for Yaoyao to learn just how painful cooking every day can be. Running a household is really not easy. Doing a little more work won’t hurt her, and besides, it’s a good way to lose weight.’

Finally.

Jiangg Ning sent her sister a cute bunny sticker, telling her to keep it up.

"Thank you."

After taking the chestnuts and paying, Jiangg Ning clicked across the spotless mall floor in her high heels, heading for the underground parking garage.

...

’The "divide and conquer" plan the two sisters had agreed on wasn’t really dividing anything in Jiangg Yao’s mind. If she could just have her sister’s brain, Jiangg Yao felt she wouldn’t be in such a total mess.’

’She wouldn’t have mistaken the beef for lamb, only realizing her mistake an hour later after it had already thawed.’

’She wouldn’t have mixed up crown daisy and celery, thinking they were the same vegetable with different names. After her sister pointed it out, she expressed her utter shock and disbelief.’

’They had clearly agreed in the living room last night that she would ask the supermarket butcher to chop up the pork knuckle.’

Jiangg Yao had repeated it to herself a thousand times: ’Chop it up! Chop it up! Chop it up...’

’Heh! Goddammit.’

’But when she went to the supermarket today, she still forgot. She only remembered when she got to her front door, carrying bags of vegetables of all sizes.’

’A mistake! Countless mistakes!’

’Originally, Jiangg Yao had imagined she would effortlessly complete all the assigned tasks, making her sister, who always looked down on her, see her in a new light. She would give the young master a perfect birthday.’

’Last night, she had so confidently puffed out her chest and made that promise.’

’In the end, "devastated" hardly began to describe it.’

Jiangg Yao lay on the sofa, wallowing in despair for a long time. It took a while, but she finally managed to crawl back up through sheer force of will.

’She wasn’t good at kitchen work, but that didn’t mean today was a complete and utter failure. She still had other tasks to complete.’

’As a "well-trained" and qualified soldier!’

’Corporal Yaoyao will blow up the enemy’s pillbox, destroy the enemy’s wartime defenses, trap and kill the soldiers operating the tanks, and fight a bloody battle!’

’To achieve a grand triumph for the empire... ah, no, I’m getting carried away.’

’What she needed to do was quickly set up the birthday decorations, pick up Wan to help, and while she was at it, drive the car she ordered back and hide it in the underground garage.’

’For her, this was also a battle, albeit one without smoke or gunpowder.’

’She couldn’t lose heart. She had to get up quickly and move on to the next task!’

At one in the afternoon, having gotten her mood back in order, Jiangg Yao gave up on the tedious kitchen work, changed her clothes, and left the house again. This time, she didn’t drive but hailed a ride-share to the local Porsche dealership in Lanjing.

The appointed time was approaching.

Truthfully, Jiangg Yao was also very excited. The new model Panamera she had seen on the website was gorgeous, but she had never driven one in real life. A brand-new car, never driven even once—it was certainly something to look forward to.

But what she looked forward to even more was the surprised expression on Chen Yuan’s face that night.

...

"Ningning, you’re back?"

Hearing the door open, a bored Chen Yuan put down his pen and immediately shot up from his seat.

If Jiangg Yao were to see the sycophantic and delighted expression on his face right now, she would probably give him two big slaps.

He was never this eager to see Yaoyao. He was like a pug seeing its master, desperate to run over and start licking.

"I’m back," she replied with a smile.

The captivating CLICK-CLACK of slender high heels sounded on the spotless floor. Dressed in professional attire, Ningning was unbelievably beautiful.

"How was it? Your first site inspection."

"It was great. The colleagues I went with really took care of me. Seeing it with my own eyes is a completely different experience from just reading the procedures in a document. I quite like doing project inspections, though it’s obviously a lot more tiring than sitting in an office," Jiangg Ning said, brushing her hair back. She took off her thick trench coat, revealing her distinctly curvy figure, and handed him what she was holding. "I bought this for you."

"Ningning, you’re the best! How did you know I wanted to eat this?"

"I saw them and bought them."

Chen Yuan opened the bag, grabbed a handful of chestnuts, squeezed one hard to crack it open, then very naturally walked over to sit beside Jiangg Ning and fed it to her.

"Ahhh—"

"Mmm, it’s sweet."

"Of course it’s sweet. You bought it."

"You’re getting better and better at sweet-talking. No more of that in the future," Jiangg Ning said as she organized the notes she had just taken, placing them on the desk. Busy with her work, she shot him a flirtatious glare. "You’re becoming a bad influence."

"Not at all. It’s all what I truly want to say."

Chen Yuan leaned nearby, watching her work with a pen in hand, munching on chestnuts. He reached out and poked her delicate hand.

"Don’t mess around," Jiangg Ning said in a low voice, pressing her lips together.

The moment Jiangg Ning returned, the temperature in the office seemed to rise several degrees. It was hard to say whether it was because of their inseparable sweetness or the palpable, amorous atmosphere.

Judging by their casual little actions.

If any colleagues saw them, no one would think they were superior and subordinate. They were clearly a couple in the throes of passion, the kind who wished they could kiss every single second.