Lin Wanyi couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had a good night’s sleep. The cases that the law firm had recently taken on were like surging tides, one wave after another, sweeping towards her continuously. The morning light had just broken through the sky, and the dim light struggled to squeeze through the gaps in the heavy curtains, and sprinkled sparingly on her messy bedside. Before the alarm clock had time to make a life-threatening sound, she was suddenly pulled out of her dream by the details of the case whizzing through her mind, and her whole person instantly switched from a chaotic state to a tense mode. She walked to the dining table in her slippers, sleepily, and took a few bites of the half-cold breakfast. She couldn’t wait to dive into the pile of documents in the study to start a busy day.

As night fell, the city lights gradually lit up, and the bustling noise came in through the window, which was incompatible with the tense atmosphere in the conference room. The pale light swayed and flickered from time to time, casting dazzling spots of light on the long table. The surrounding walls were like silent prisons, trapping the group of people fighting for the case. The sound of heated discussions and the rustling of flipping through documents intertwined into a fixed soundtrack every night, oscillating back and forth in the cramped space. The high-intensity continuous work made her body like a spring stretched to the limit, so fragile that it could not be hit. The dark circles under her eyes were as heavy as bruises that could not be dissolved, and her eyes were no longer as bright as before. Her hair was casually tied behind her head, and a few strands of hair drooped, showing her fatigue. She reached out and rubbed her sore temples, trying to dispel the fatigue that followed her like a shadow, but the next second, she was pulled back to the tense rhythm by the new problem.

On that seemingly ordinary afternoon, the warm sunshine, which was intended to bring some comfort to the busy people, tirelessly penetrated the window and lazily sprinkled on the long table in the conference room, with mottled light and shadow. Lin Wanyi was discussing the entry point of the new case with her team members. She spoke quickly, her thoughts were like a wild horse running wild, and her pen was circling and drawing on the documents from time to time, trying to accurately find the most critical thread from the intricate clues. She was so focused that she ignored the weak protest from her body. The fine beads of sweat on her forehead were quietly gathering, first condensing into small beads of sweat, and then slowly sliding down her cheeks, wetting her collar, and leaving a small dark mark on the cotton collar.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over her without warning. In an instant, the dense words in front of her eyes seemed to turn into a group of flying mosquitoes, and her vision blurred into chaos. She opened her mouth, but before she could utter the second half of the sentence, her legs softened and she leaned back without support, still holding the document tightly in her hand, and collapsed softly on the chair. The pen slipped from her hand, and the “click” sound was particularly harsh in the quiet conference room. A few spots of ink splashed, soaking the paper on the table. The black ink stains slowly spread, like an ominous omen.

At this moment, the conference room instantly exploded like a ignited gunpowder barrel. The assistant was so shocked that the documents in his hand were scattered all over the floor, and the papers flew like snowflakes, and some of them even fell to the feet of the colleagues next to him. He was the first to react, and rushed forward in one step. His knee accidentally hit the table leg, and he screamed in pain, but he didn’t care about much. Other colleagues also gathered around, and the chairs rubbed against the ground, making a noisy sound. Someone’s teacup was knocked over, and the tea gurgled out, spreading on the ground into a small stain, and the tea fragrance was instantly diluted by the tense atmosphere. Everyone’s face was full of anxiety and helplessness. The younger colleagues widened their eyes, their faces were full of fear, and their mouths were slightly open, as if they wanted to say something but were speechless for a while; the older colleagues frowned, kept muttering “What should I do”, and subconsciously searched for something that might be useful. Someone was frantically looking for a thermometer, the drawer was pulled with a clang, and a lot of debris inside was scattered, making crackling sounds on the ground; someone turned and ran to the tea room, his steps were hurried and flustered, and he went to get a cup of warm water, which spilled on the ground, forming a small water stain, and he almost slipped; there were also people pacing anxiously, rubbing their hands constantly, muttering to themselves, and glancing at Lin Wanyi from time to time. The assistant trembled as he clamped the thermometer under Lin Wanyi’s armpit. Time seemed to freeze, and every second was extremely painful. He stared at the thermometer without blinking, not daring to breathe, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the heavy breathing of the crowd remained. When the assistant pulled out the thermometer and saw the bright “38.5℃”, his heart sank suddenly, his face turned pale in an instant, and his lips trembled slightly. Everyone did not dare to delay, and worked together to carefully send Lin Wanyi back home.

Jiang Tingyan was talking to a client outside at that time. They chose a quiet cafe on the street. The warm yellow light was softly sprinkled, and soothing light music flowed in the air, creating a leisurely and comfortable atmosphere. However, his mind was full of details of the case, and he was clearly analyzing the pros and cons for the client. The phone rang suddenly, and the sharp ringtone broke the tranquility. Seeing that the caller ID was the assistant of the law firm, his heart “clicked” and he had an ominous premonition. The moment the call was connected, an anxious and panicked voice came from the other side. His face changed suddenly, and he stood up in a hurry. The chair rubbed against the ground and made a sharp sound, which caused the surrounding customers to look sideways and cast puzzled eyes. He didn’t bother to explain, but just hurriedly explained a few words, and then hurried home in a hurry. His steps were hurried, and he almost bumped into pedestrians on the roadside, causing passers-by to complain in a low voice. As he ran, he sketched Lin Wanyi’s weak appearance in his mind, and every imagined picture pierced his heart like a needle.

Pushing open the door, the room was silent, with only Lin Wanyi lying weakly on the sofa. The afternoon sun shone in from the window, and dust fluttered in the beams like restless elves. Seeing her flushed cheeks, like a ripe apple, her usually lively eyes were now closed, her brows were slightly wrinkled, a few strands of hair were soaked with sweat and stuck to her forehead, and her whole body was indescribably weak. Jiang Tingyan, who was always gentle and calm, frowned deeply, which was rare for him, his eyes were full of inextricable heartache, and a little annoyance. He walked quickly to the sofa, squatted gently, and his knees made a slight sound when they touched the ground. While carefully placing the wet towel that he had prepared long ago on Lin Wanyi’s burning forehead, he couldn’t help but complain in a low voice: “Look at you, you’ve worked so hard that you don’t even care about your health? No matter how important the law firm is, can it be more important than you? Without a good body, isn’t everything just empty talk?” Lin Wanyi’s mouth was dry and her throat felt like it was on fire. Every time she swallowed her saliva, it was painful. She forced out a weak and ingratiating smile, her cracked lips trembling slightly, and her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: “There are so many things… piling up, how can I rest…”

Jiang Tingyan didn’t say anything else, just looked at her deeply, turned around and walked quickly into the kitchen. The kitchen was dim and cold. He turned on the lights skillfully, and the dazzling white light illuminated every corner. He washed the rice, and the water flowed from his fingers into the vegetable sink, making a crisp sound. He added water and turned on the stove. The blue flames jumped up, reflecting his slightly tense profile, and the light and shadow danced on his face. While waiting for the porridge to cook, he was not idle. He opened the cupboard and found a few light side dishes, carrots, and green vegetables. He took them to the sink and washed them carefully. He didn’t even notice that the water splashed on his cuffs. After washing, he put the vegetables on the chopping board, and the kitchen knife rose and fell, making a rhythmic sound of clacking, and chopped the vegetables finely and put them on the plate. The porridge finally gurgled and rolled, and the rich rice fragrance slowly spread. The hot air filled the kitchen and blurred the window. He turned off the fire, scooped out a bowl, and carefully brought it to the living room, taking every step very steadily, for fear of spilling a little. Sitting on the sofa, he patiently blew the soup spoonful by spoonful, gently blowing away the curling hot steam, and then slowly brought it to Lin Wanyi’s mouth, his eyes never leaving her face, full of care and anxiety.

During the days when Lin Wanyi was recuperating, Jiang Tingyan completely turned his study into a temporary “branch of the law firm”. When he stepped into the study, the smell of old paper mixed with ink hit him. The afternoon sun struggled to penetrate the window, casting a few dim rays on the piles of documents. Looking at the documents that were almost drowning the desk, he took a deep breath and began to sort them out. First, he divided them into three piles according to the degree of urgency and marked them with different colored sticky notes. The red one was the most urgent, the yellow one was the second, and the green one was slightly slower. He smoothed the corners of the sticky notes and pasted them neatly. He also subdivided them according to the type of case, civil, criminal, and commercial disputes. He smoothed out the wrinkles of each document and put them in order one by one, and took a notebook from time to time to record key information. After sorting them out, he took the initiative to contact the client. Before making a call, he would first consider the wording and make a simple outline on paper to ensure that the tone was both gentle and sincere. Between the lines, there was concern for Lin Wanyi’s condition and a responsible attitude towards the case. In every phone call, he explained Lin Wanyi’s physical condition in a clear and orderly manner. His voice was calm and reassuring. He then negotiated with the client about the extension. When the client had questions, he patiently answered them and gave advice from a professional perspective. The clients listened to his calm and appropriate arrangements, and expressed their understanding and consideration. The voices on the other end of the phone gradually changed from the initial eagerness and dissatisfaction to gentleness and politeness. Some of them did not forget to urge Lin Wanyi to take good care of her illness. Occasionally, when encountering difficult professional problems, he would record the problems in detail in a notebook, and also thoughtfully mark the doubts. His handwriting was neat, stroke by stroke, and he even drew simple diagrams to assist understanding. When Lin Wanyi was in better spirits, he moved a small stool and sat by the bed, conveying his ideas accurately with the simplest words, and pausing at the right time according to her condition, so that she would not bother to think too much, and would not delay the progress of the case at all.

As the days passed, Lin Wanyi’s body gradually recovered, but her spirits were no longer as high as before. She often sat by the window in a daze, looking at the children laughing and playing in the yard, and a sour feeling rose in her heart. During this period, she devoted herself to work and missed too many moments of her children’s growth. She also spent very little time with Jiang Tingyan. She remembered that she once promised to accompany her child to the zoo, but an emergency case suddenly occurred, which made the child disappointed and crying. The child’s tearful face and aggrieved eyes appeared in front of her from time to time; she thought of the dinner that Jiang Tingyan prepared carefully, but she was so tired that she didn’t even move her chopsticks. Seeing him lonely and pretending to be indifferent, she felt guilty.

Lin Wanyi began to reflect that work is the carrier of dreams, but if her body is broken, her dreams will be nothing but castles in the air. Family is the home of her soul. Without the company of her family, what is the meaning of earning more achievements? She secretly decided to make a change.

After returning to the law firm, Lin Wanyi convened a meeting with all the members. At the meeting, she looked at the young and energetic new faces sincerely and said, “The future of our law firm lies in you. I hope to give you more opportunities to show your talents. For some non-core and procedural cases, you will take the lead and do it boldly. I will check for you behind the scenes.” The young lawyers were stunned at first, then looked at each other, with surprise and expectation flashing in their eyes, and then excitement ignited in their eyes, whispering to each other, they have long been eager to prove themselves.

In the following days, Lin Wanyi no longer did everything herself. Every morning, she was no longer urged by the alarm clock to rush to the law firm, but got up early and carefully prepared breakfast for the family. The fried eggs sizzled in the pan, the bread was baked golden and crispy, and she would carefully cut the fruits and place them on a beautiful plate. When sending her children to school, she listened carefully to the children’s chirping and sharing interesting things in school, looked at the children’s innocent smiles, responded from time to time, or was amused to laugh, her heart was full of tenderness. In the evening, she tied an apron, walked into the kitchen, and worked with Jiang Tingyan. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of food, the two talked and laughed, and occasionally played around, and the fireworks were filled with laughter. The weekends were filled with family activities. The family went on a picnic in the suburbs, and prepared a picnic basket a day in advance, filled with sandwiches, juice, and fruit salad. When they got to the suburbs, the children ran happily on the grass, while she and Jiang Tingyan spread out the picnic mat and sat down to enjoy the sunshine on the grass; or they stayed at home to watch a movie, selecting a warm family movie in advance, preparing popcorn and hot drinks, and sharing the warmth and tranquility.

Once, the law firm took on a large-scale commercial merger and acquisition case, and several young lawyers took the initiative to volunteer, their eyes full of eagerness. Lin Wanyi looked at them, as if she saw her former self, enthusiastic and fearless. She specially set aside a morning to gather everyone in the conference room and sort out their ideas in detail, from the background investigation of both parties of the merger and acquisition, to the possible legal terms involved, to the negotiation strategy, without missing anything. When sharing her experience, she also combined her previous practical cases to explain in a simple and easy-to-understand way. After letting them go to research and negotiate, she did not completely let go, asking about the progress from time to time and giving suggestions at key points. Although there were twists and turns in the process, she was sincerely gratified to see the young people grow up little by little, from the initial youthful nervousness to the later calm and confident. Work is no longer a black hole that devours life. Family and career are blooming with a different brilliance under her careful balance. She also understands more and more that in this journey of life, only love and health can go hand in hand, and dreams will be more warm. (End of this chapter)