Chapter 35

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was recruiting a large number of people this year, so interviews were divided into three batches.

Lin Ke’s session was scheduled for Friday.

The interview process included psychological assessment, professional written testing, oral examination, and the final interview itself—an entire day from beginning to end.

She left early in the morning and arrived ahead of time.

Yet the waiting room was already nearly full.

Sitting beside her was a delicate-looking young man who proactively started a conversation.

“What language division are you applying for?”

Lin Ke replied politely,

“Russian.”

“I’m English.” The boy sighed heavily. “Competition for English is insane. The entry score is ridiculously high, and I heard getting in is only the beginning.”

“There are endless rounds of testing and evaluations after that. Plus nonstop overtime.”

“They say even resigning requires waiting in line.”

Since freshman year, Lin Ke had set entering the Translation Department as her goal.

She knew exactly what working there was like.

Constant examinations.

Severe overtime.

And salaries nowhere near proportional to the effort required.

Many people backed away after hearing about it.

Her professors and senior schoolmates had all told her the same thing:

“If you don’t have ideals, don’t enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ magical world.”

Fortunately—

she had ideals.

She could endure hardship.

Who knew what the future would bring?

But right now, her heart was full of expectation and longing.

Seeing the boy complain endlessly, Lin Ke smiled.

“Then why are you still here interviewing?”

The young man instantly fell silent.

Everyone who managed to reach this stage carried dreams in their hearts.

After all—

passing the written examination meant becoming part of the top 1%.

—

After a long string of tests, the final interview session finally arrived.

The waiting room that had originally been packed was now reduced to barely a dozen people.

They were randomly divided into two groups and entered the interview room in a structured leaderless group discussion format.

Inside sat over ten staff members.

Lin Ke swept her gaze quickly across the panel of interviewers—

and the moment she saw the man seated in the center, her heart tightened.

Yun Zheng.

Deputy Director of the Translation Department.

In charge of the Eurasia region.

One of the rare male senior interpreters in the department.

And very young.

Lin Ke had heard about him from upperclassmen before.

Apparently his personality was terrible and he was notoriously difficult to get along with.

Last year during a part-time assignment, he hadn’t overseen interviews.

But when she later went to Moscow, she had once seen him from afar.

At the time, he’d been scolding someone so harshly that the young girl being reprimanded had nearly burst into tears.

Lin Ke took a deep breath.

Just her luck.

The chief interviewer was actually him.

As she was momentarily distracted, Yun Zheng looked over.

His gaze lingered on her for several seconds.

Lin Ke quickly buried her wandering thoughts and followed everyone else to their seats.

—

She had practiced structured leaderless group interviews countless times.

The moment she drew her question topic, relief quietly flooded her heart.

It was a topic she had prepared thoroughly.

Throughout the interview, she never lost composure.

She wasn’t afraid to debate with others either.

Yet she also never deliberately stole the spotlight.

Advancing and retreating with perfect moderation.

Afterward came the follow-up questioning phase.

This was a traditional Ministry of Foreign Affairs segment.

The questions were completely unpredictable—

more like whatever the interviewers happened to think of on the spot.

The two people before her had been asked about:

their height,

their glasses prescription,

whether they were single,

and even whether they knew how to cook.

Then it was her turn.

The man seated in the center picked up her résumé, skimmed through it once, and asked in a deep voice:

“Are you willing to accept overseas postings?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you choose Russian?”

“Give us a reason to hire you.”

These were all questions she had prepared for.

Lin Ke answered smoothly.

The final question came.

“If stationed overseas, have you considered the potential dangers involved?”

Lin Ke responded calmly,

“I understand the risks of being abroad. Therefore, I would never allow myself to fall into dangerous situations under any circumstances.”

“And I also believe our country has the ability to protect us.”

Yun Zheng set her résumé down.

His emotionless gaze withdrew.

“Next.”

—

Once the entire interview concluded and she finally stepped out of the room, Lin Ke released a long breath.

She had done everything she could.

Now all that remained was waiting for fate.

Before the interview she had only taken a few sips of water.

Now she urgently needed the restroom.

Unexpectedly—

while washing her hands, she ran directly into Yun Zheng.

The man was tall, probably over 185 centimeters.

His facial features were sharp and cold.

When he looked at people, his peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, giving off an intimidating aura.

Internally, Lin Ke nearly froze in panic.

But outwardly she still maintained a polite smile.

“Hello, Director Yun.”

Yun Zheng glanced at her coldly.

Just as Lin Ke assumed he wouldn’t respond at all—

he suddenly asked,

“Director Meng is your friend?”

Director Meng.

That should mean Meng Jing.

Lin Ke nodded.

“Yes.”

But she didn’t elaborate further.

Otherwise, people might gossip about her using connections.

Yun Zheng asked nothing more.

He simply took a tissue, dried his hands, and left.

—

Meanwhile—

despite it being Friday, Xingyu Corporation remained just as busy as ever.

Although Si Yun had been out of work for years, she had prior experience.

Getting back into rhythm wasn’t difficult.

Within a single week, she had already organized Xingyu’s current subsidiaries, partnerships, and independent investment projects.

She now possessed a comprehensive understanding of the company’s business structure.

The project department already had two vice presidents.

For now, Si Yuming only assigned her two cross-border cooperation projects under Xingyu’s tech subsidiary.

Shen Wan was the project director specializing in overseas cooperation.

Every work report she submitted was exceptionally impressive.

That day, Si Yun called her into the office to discuss Xingyu’s upcoming development plans.

Xingyu’s technology division primarily focused on AI chips.

Its next target market was Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Si Yun turned her computer screen around.

“These are several relatively strong AI development companies in Central Asia.”

“I need more detailed background investigations and market analysis.”

“Understood, Director Yun.”

“Also investigate whether they’ve had any domestic cooperative projects or branch offices here.”

“I want the details of their partners and background information as well.”

“If possible, contact their executives directly and arrange meetings.”

“If you can’t reach them, inform me and I’ll think of another way.”

Shen Wan rapidly jotted everything down.

“Yes, Director Yun.”

“I remember your team previously had deep cooperation with the Moscow side?”

“Yes. The cooperation framework has basically been established. We’re currently filling in the operational content.”

“Send me the detailed materials.”

Shen Wan immediately transferred several documents through the company software.

Si Yun opened one file on the computer first.

After reading two pages, she froze slightly.

The person standing behind Si Yuming in the meeting photo—

wasn’t that Lin Ke?

Since when had Lin Ke started working alongside Yuming?

Then she noticed the date and immediately understood.

At that time, she herself had been trapped inside a failed marriage.

She had had no energy left to care about what was happening outside.

Maybe someone had mentioned it once.

But she held no memory of it.

Si Yun lifted her gaze.

“Lin Ke was the interpreter for this project?”

Faced with both the boss’s sister and the boss’s wife, Shen Wan answered carefully.

“Yes, Director Yun. Madam was the lead interpreter of our externally hired translation team.”

The photos appeared to have been taken in Moscow.

Si Yun asked,

“The Russian side didn’t prepare translators?”

“They did,” Shen Wan replied quickly. “But President Si insisted Madam accompany him. He didn’t trust the translators there.”

A faint laugh escaped the woman behind the desk.

Her gaze returned to the computer screen.

Using the mouse, she opened a video file.

It was a conference recording.

The focus of the footage remained on Si Yuming and the Russian company representatives.

Lin Ke only appeared in a tiny corner of the lower-left side of the screen.

Yet her voice was the clearest.

He spoke.

She translated.

Without a single hesitation or pause.

The two of them worked in perfect coordination, steadily forcing the opposing company into retreat.

After watching for two minutes, Si Yun closed the video.

“Alright. Go organize the materials.”

“Yes, Director Yun.”

—

At six o’clock, Si Yun left work on time.

When she arrived home, Si Xiaotie and Qin Mancheng were sitting in the living room playing with puzzles.

The moment they saw her, the little girl immediately shouted,

“Auntie, you’re back~”

Si Yun walked over and patted both children’s heads before heading into the kitchen for water.

Not long afterward, the front door opened again.

This time, the little girl rushed over.

“Mommy’s back too~”

Lin Ke lifted her daughter into her arms and smiled gently.

“I’m back.”

“Now we’re only missing Daddy!”

“When Daddy comes home, we can eat dinner.”

Si Yuming had been on a business trip to Shanghai for three days already.

He was supposed to return tonight.

Leaning against the dining table, Si Yun quietly observed the scene.

Lin Ke patiently watched the children playing with puzzles, occasionally helping them.

After watching for a while, Lin Ke noticed her gaze and proactively asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Si Yun lowered her head to drink water.

After taking two sips, she raised her eyes again and asked in an even tone,

“How did it go?”

She knew Lin Ke had gone for the interview today.

Although she herself had never taken such exams, she had heard enough about them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not a place just anyone could enter.

The woman across from her seemed slightly surprised.

“I think it went alright. But it depends on the final result.”

Si Yun set down her cup and crossed her arms, carefully studying the graceful woman sitting in the living room.

When Meng Jing and his wife had visited during the New Year, she had quietly observed them several times.

The two behaved completely naturally.

Nothing suggested any intimate relationship between them.

A trace of guilt quietly surfaced inside her.

Still—

she hadn’t imagined everything out of nowhere back then.

Then she asked again,

“When we were young, I never noticed you having any particular language talent.”

“So how did you end up studying foreign languages?”

This time Lin Ke was even more surprised.

Since when did Si Yun suddenly feel like chatting with her?

A similar question had also appeared during today’s interview.

Her official answer then had been polished and perfect.

But she couldn’t reveal the real reason now either.

Why had she studied foreign languages?

Because eighteen-year-old Lin Ke had desperately wanted to leave the Lin family.

To leave this city.

Mastering another language would make escape easier.

Lin Ke answered halfway truthfully.

“I didn’t have backgrounds like Meng Jing or Shuxia.”

“If I studied finance, international trade, or law, it would’ve been extremely difficult to survive on my own.”

“But languages are different.”

“I don’t need to rely on anything except being good enough.”

“Even if I fail to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I still won’t starve outside.”

Studying finance in Beicheng?

Without money or influence, you’d forever work for the rich.

Law was its own social circle too.

A powerless, backgroundless girl like her would need decades to rise.

Si Yun seemed partially convinced.

Yet her expression remained calm.

“If you get accepted, have you considered overseas assignments?”

“Meng Jing has spent years running around abroad.”

“Even after getting married, he only returns three or four days each month.”

“What about you?”

At some point, Si Xiaotie had apparently learned massages from somewhere.

Now she stood behind Lin Ke, kneading her shoulders with tiny hands while using all her strength.

The warm, soft breath near her ear threw Lin Ke’s thoughts into disarray.

After a long while, she could only answer quietly,

“I’ll discuss it with Yuming.”

Hearing her father mentioned, Si Xiaotie stopped immediately.

“Mommy, when is Daddy coming back?”

“He said six.”

When Lin Ke looked up again, the woman by the dining table had already walked into the study.

Lin Ke sighed helplessly inside.

Then she turned around and pinched her daughter’s soft cheek gently.

“Thank you, baby.”

—

The moment six o’clock arrived, Si Xiaotie began sending messages through her smartwatch in an extremely serious tone.

“Daddy, it’s already six and you still haven’t come home.”

Si Yuming was probably still in the car.

He didn’t reply.

That only made the little girl angrier.

She stood at the doorway pouting furiously while waiting.

At six-thirty, the car finally drove in.

The moment Si Yuming stepped out and saw the tiny figure at the door, he instinctively reached out to carry her.

But the little girl refused.

Crossing her arms, she turned away dramatically.

“Daddy is late.”

Si Yuming laughed softly.

“Sorry, baby. Traffic jam.”

“Hmph. Teacher says you can’t make excuses.”

“……”

—

After entering the house, Si Yuming placed his briefcase by the entrance.

He casually tossed his removed suit jacket onto the sofa.

The moment he turned around—

he met his daughter’s deeply disapproving expression.

As though he had committed some terrible mistake.

Si Yuming genuinely didn’t understand.

He had only been gone for three or four days.

What exactly happened?

He cast a helpless look toward his wife.

Lin Ke only smiled and shrugged, indicating she couldn’t help him.

Then he looked at Si Yun.

Even Si Yun deliberately avoided eye contact.

Why?

Because starting from the day before yesterday, this little girl had suddenly become extremely “rule-oriented.”

Shoes couldn’t be thrown around anymore.

They had to be neatly placed inside the cabinet.

Dirty clothes belonged in the laundry basket.

Clean clothes must be hung in the closet.

Trash had to go directly into the garbage bin.

After meals, everyone had to wash their own bowls instead of letting Auntie do it.

No talking while eating.

No smacking mouths.

Otherwise she would sternly announce that such behavior was wrong.

It felt as though a tiny housekeeper had suddenly appeared in the home.

At first, Lin Ke assumed kindergarten had assigned some special task.

After asking Teacher Bai Bai, she finally learned the truth—

this little one had become class monitor.

Lin Ke thought it was adorable.

But she was also slightly worried.

She planned to observe for a while longer.

Now even the father returning from his business trip had fallen under “management.”

The little girl spoke with complete seriousness.

“Daddy, clothes cannot be left on the sofa.”

Si Yuming froze briefly before picking up his jacket.

“Then where should I put it?”

Si Xiaotie pointed toward the bathroom.

“Inside the basket.”

“Alright.”

As Si Yuming walked toward the bathroom, the little girl’s voice chased after him.

“You must wash your hands before eating. Hands need twenty seconds!”

“…Okay.”

—

At the dinner table, Si Yuming instinctively reached over to help serve her rice.

But Si Xiaotie instantly hugged her bowl tightly and jumped off her chair.

“People should do their own things by themselves! Xiaotie will serve herself!”

The rice cooker that normally sat high on the counter had now been moved onto a chair to accommodate the little manager’s height.

She scooped carefully, one spoonful at a time, muttering seriously,

“Teacher said… take only as much as you can eat. No wasting food~”

At last, Si Yuming finally understood what was happening.

Turning toward Lin Ke, he asked,

“Kindergarten homework?”

Lin Ke laughed and shook her head.

“No. Your daughter became class monitor.”

“……”

—

Thus, during the rest of dinner—

the “new student” Si Yuming carefully completed his meal under the monitor’s strict supervision.

After eating, he even had to wash his own bowl.

Meanwhile, the little class monitor herself performed exceptionally well too.

After washing her bowl, she tilted up her tiny face and asked her mother,

“Mommy, can I watch Animal World for thirty minutes today?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Mhm~”

Si Xiaotie walked a few steps before suddenly turning back toward her father.

“Daddy, you can’t lie down right after eating, otherwise food won’t digest properly.”

Si Yuming smiled.

“Okay.”

—

After the thirty minutes ended, Si Xiaotie obediently turned off the television and climbed upstairs using the staircase railing.

Then she knocked on her mother’s bedroom door.

“Mommy, I want a bath.”

She was still too young to bathe independently.

Lin Ke went to help prepare the bathwater and laid out her clothes.

Still, the little girl could already dress herself.

After bathing, she carefully dried herself off with a towel and put on her pajamas all by herself.

Her cheeks, steamed pink from the hot water, curved into a brilliant smile that revealed several tiny white teeth.

“Will Daddy tuck me in or Mommy?”

“Daddy will.”

“Mhm~ Then Daddy come quickly.”

Si Xiaotie slipped on her slippers and ran out of the bathroom.

She climbed onto the bed by herself, bent her little waist, and tugged the blanket over herself.

Soon, Si Yuming entered the room.

He had already showered, so he directly sat on the bed and pulled the tiny girl into his arms.

“What story does Xiaotie want tonight?”

“I want a lion story!”

“The TV哥哥 introduced lions just now. They run super fast and catch little sheep in one bite!”

“……”

Si Yuming silently wondered whether that might be too bloody for a child.

Yet lowering his head, all he saw on her face was excitement.

So he could only say,

“Xiaotie, did TV哥哥 mention that lions are dangerous animals?”

The little girl fiddled carelessly with her fingers while nodding absentmindedly.

“I know~ Big lions, big tigers, and big whales all eat meat.”

“So we can’t get close to them or they’ll eat us.”

Si Yuming suddenly didn’t know what to say anymore.

At least his iron-headed daughter seemed to understand self-protection now.

Since they didn’t have any lion storybooks, he searched online instead and began telling her the story of The Lion King.

After only a few sentences, the little girl suddenly remembered something and sat upright again.

“Daddy, where’s my watch?”

Si Yuming retrieved the smartwatch from the bedside table and handed it over.

Si Xiaotie fiddled with it for a moment before speaking seriously into it with her childish little voice:

“Xiao Ling’er, is your cold better now?”

“You have to wear lots and lots of clothes tomorrow, okay?”

After sending the message, she shut off the watch, tossed it aside, and cuddled tightly back into her father’s arms.

“Okay now~” she announced happily.

    “Continue the story.”