Tan Xiaoli was a factory accountant.
By the end of the year, no matter how busy the boss, salespeople, or purchasing staff were, they could put things off until next year. Accountants alone could not.
It was December 31st. After finishing her overtime work, Tan Xiaoli rode her little electric scooter home through the heavy snow.
But just as she reached her doorstep, the scooter slipped, and she landed hard on her backside.
The shabby scooter had not even been going fifteen kilometers per hour, so the fall was not serious. Her leg was just a little swollen, and after trying several times, she still could not get up.
If she had been younger, Tan Xiaoli would have gritted her teeth and stood up.
But she was old now.
"Ha—"
She softly exhaled, her breath turning into a cloud of white mist that dispersed into the vast snowfall.
Tan Xiaoli lay in the snow. Heaven and earth were silent, yet amid that silence, she could hear firecrackers in the distance and the laughter of families reunited in the residential complex.
She thought of her husband, who had died of illness years ago.
She thought of her son, who had been missing for nearly five months.
Tan Xiaoli's nose stung, and she was about to cry—
Suddenly, a hand reached out.
Lin Qing helped his bewildered old mother to her feet, carried her on his back, and walked home step by step.
His mind was completely blank.
In a daze, Lin Qing carried his mother back to the old apartment building, climbed the stairs all the way to the fifth floor, took the key from beneath the doormat, opened the door with practiced ease, and stepped into his home again after many years.
Click.
The lights came on.
Nothing in