Ye Wenjie, watch my moves closely.

Chapter 23 Awakening of Insects

Ye Wenjie returned to that blood-red dawn; she could even hear the buzzing sound of the radar transmitting at full power.

So cold.

A chill ran through me from the bottom of my heart.

More than a year has passed, and Ye Wenjie, who was single at the time, is now a mother.

The lake on the icy plains of her heart had long since been melted into a clear lake by the little life and the days in Qijiatun.

but,

The documents brought by Li Youyu transformed into a whirlwind, carrying with them broken sand and gravel, and swept in once more.

She looked down at little Yang Dong in her arms, and a frantic sense of guilt transformed into a dark shadow, dragging her backward, trying to separate her from her daughter.

"Is that so?"

Ye Wenjie unconsciously hugged Yang Dong tighter in her arms. "Are you in charge?"

Li Youyu nodded.

Ye Wenjie thought for a while, then understood, and reverted to the cold demeanor she had when she first met Li Youyu. "So, this is your goal: to use me to contact the Trisolarans and then use the Trisolaran issue to become the head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

Li Youyu did not answer.

Ye Wenjie's lips twitched downwards, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Trust, the promised trust.

In the end, I still became someone else's stepping stone.

However, now that things have come to this, Ye Wenjie is even more afraid of losing it than before.

Upon hearing Yang Dong's first cry, Ye Wenjie automatically felt the resolve to give everything for her.

Why, why take away all the beauty of the world after letting me experience it?

I'm going to die soon, right?

Where is Lao Yang?

Old Yang absolutely cannot get into trouble.

Xiao Yangdong cannot live without both a father and a mother.

"Idiot."

As Ye Wenjie's mind raced, she heard a curse word.

She had never heard of this word before, but the combination of the two derogatory words "stupid" and "bitch" could never be a good thing.

"Didn't you hear me?"

Li Youyu repeated, "I said you're an idiot."

"Why are you insulting me!"

Ye Wenjie was filled with shame and indignation. She was not a pea to be molded and manipulated at will. She had a temper even though she had been used.

Two tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on little Yang Dong's floral swaddling clothes:

"You told me I should trust you, but you used me! Now you're even cursing me, why! Why do you all treat me like this? There are 45 billion people on Earth, does it have to be me?!"

"Idiot!"

Li Youyu pulled out the list of Deep Space Research Department members and shoved it in Ye Wenjie's face.

Her name was prominently displayed as the head of the Cosmic Sociology department above.

"Do you think the Trisolarans cease to exist just because you can't remember? Qijiatun can't protect you forever; you're the only one who can save them!"

"I am a sinner! I brought the Trisolarans here!"

"You're a piece of shit! Three stars have drained the Trisolarans of all their rationality. Without your reply, do you think the Trisolaran civilization, for the sake of survival, wouldn't make the solar system their first target for interstellar migration?"

"Your problem is naive! You're pinning your hopes on the Trisolarans to reshape the Earth; if you're not an idiot, who is?"

"Could you please stop swearing!"

Ye Wenjie broke down, and the guilt in her heart flowed out with her tears.

Li Youyu's tone sounded rude, but every word he said struck a chord with her.

Especially the issue of the Trisolaran invasion.

She knew she had done something wrong, but Li Youyu's explanation still made her feel much more at ease.

Moreover, he really didn't take advantage of himself...

This is Ye Wenjie's most sentimental aspect.

Little Yang Dong, who was in her arms, was awakened by her crying. She glanced at Ye Wenjie and started crying loudly as well.

Her cries, like the warbling of a nightingale in a valley or the melting of snow in spring, instantly pulled Ye Wenjie back from the abyss of despair.

Ye Wenjie quickly stopped talking to Li Youyu, crying as she comforted the child.

By the time Xiao Yangdong fell asleep, Ye Wenjie's face was streaked with tears.

"Which should I choose: a professor at Tsinghua University or a top-notch research lab?"

Li Youyu walked over and asked.

Ye Wenjie blew her nose in a very unladylike manner, wiped her hands on her clothes, and then offered them out as if to shake hands, "Li Youyu, we're comrades now."

Li Youyu slapped her hand away in disgust, threw the leather bag containing her wages next to her, stood up and said, "Tell Yang Weining to pack up his things these next couple of days. Don't really turn into a peasant. When you go back to report, there's a ton of work waiting for you two. Let's see if you'll still be laughing then."

Ye Wenjie shook hands with the air.

Little Yang Dong, who was fast asleep in her arms, smiled, and a very pretty dimple appeared on his chubby cheeks.

-----

Half a month after the Awakening of Insects, the snow had almost melted, all things were reviving, and the spring grass was green again.

Amidst the villagers' reluctance to part, Ye Wenjie and Yang Weining were about to leave.

The people seeing them off packed the road at the village entrance, carrying piles and piles of local specialties that filled the back seat of the small jeep.

What surprised Ye Wenjie the most was Da Feng.

This fiery and energetic woman from Northeast China actually hid at home, wiping away tears, too afraid to come out and say goodbye.

Ye Wenjie carried Yang Dong back to Qi Headhunter's courtyard and called out, "Sister."

Da Feng, who was pretending to be calm while sewing shoe soles, suddenly couldn't hold back anymore. She hugged Ye Wenjie and cried, begging her not to leave.

Ye Wenjie freed one hand and gently patted Da Feng's back. "Sister, I will come back."

The farthest place Da Feng had ever been was a town a few dozen miles away, while the place Ye Wenjie was going to was a place she could only see in the town's newspaper.

Separated by a thousand miles, Da Feng felt that this parting between the two was forever.

Da Feng took out a woolen hat from the house. Only the upper half was knitted, and it looked like the small felt hat worn by the archbishop.

"You were so engrossed in your book that your hair kept getting burned by the oil lamp. I wanted to get you a hat to protect it, but you left in such a hurry that I didn't finish it."

Ye Wenjie took the little hat; it had a cute tiger-headed mountain tiger on it.

She put the little hat on Yang Dong's head, and it fit perfectly.

"Look, sister, Yang Dong likes it."

Da Feng smiled, "Wait a few days! I'll knit another one for you and send it to you!"

"Thank you so much, sister!"

Ye Wenjie smiled happily.

"Wenjie, it's time to leave, we still have to catch the train."

Yang Weining, who had been waiting for a long time, came in, and the two sisters realized it was time to say goodbye.

Da Feng wiped her face, sobbing, and said, "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Um."

Ye Wenjie responded.

Two women, one older and one younger, supported each other as they walked towards the entrance of the village.

The car roared, and Qijiatun in the rearview mirror was a farewell that grew ever more distant.

Ye Wenjie opened the car window, leaned out, and gazed at the treacherous peak that had been with her for more than ten years.

"goodbye."

She waved her hand, casting her past sorrows into the mountains.

As the jeep crossed the ridge and forded the stream, just before merging into the main road, Ye Wenjie shouted towards the now indistinct direction of Radar Peak:

"My name is Ye Wenjie, goodbye!"