Back View

At eight thirty in the morning, the sunlight was just right, slanting through the not-too-large window of the community service center's monitoring room and coating the cold electronic equipment in a warm glow.

Tang Wulin had arrived especially early today. Rather than "early," it was more accurate to say he had been too reluctant to sleep. The night Gu Yue received the notification, their home had been filled with the jubilant atmosphere of people finally turning their lives around, only gradually settling down late into the night.

Before dawn the next day, Tang Wulin's biological clock, coupled with some inexplicable sense of urgency, had roused him. He quietly got up, washed up, and changed into his "work outfit"—the crisp white shirt and dark casual trousers he had ironed yesterday. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time, always feeling that something was off, until he finally realized: he used to wear this outfit to look like an educated man, but now he wore it so he would not be overshadowed by the wife who was about to become a "ten-thousandaire."

"Ah, men are boys until the day they die. This is a battle for dignity." He sighed and gave his reflection an encouraging gesture.

Before leaving, Gu Yue was still sound asleep. She had stayed up late from excitement last night, so Tang Wulin had deliberately not woken her. He only left a sticky note: "My dear wife, your husband is off to work! I'll strive to catch up to you soon! Breakfast is in the pot, remember to eat!"

When he reached the monitoring room, Old Wang was indeed already seated at his station, holding a large teacup with misty steam rising from it. He looked remarkably energetic today, his graying hair combed perfectly neat, as though yesterday's "milk tea to stay alive" had merely been a minor interlude.

"Yo, Xiao Tang, you're pretty motivated today!" Old Wang glanced at the wall clock. It was eight twenty. "It's only your second day, and you're already settling in?"

"Morning, Uncle Wang! I was worried you might not be able to handle everything by yourself." Tang Wulin grinned as he leaned over and skillfully poured himself a cup of water. "From now on, I'll come in at this time every day and lend you a hand."

"Haha, good, good!" Old Wang nodded in satisfaction. "For young people, having the right attitude is what matters most. Come, sit here. I'll teach you how to adjust the focus on these cameras. That corner was a little blurry yesterday."

Tang Wulin hurriedly sat down, putting on an earnest, eager-to-learn expression. In truth, only half his attention was on the screens. The other half had long since drifted toward the entrance of his home. He secretly glanced at his phone. Eight twenty-five. Based on Gu Yue's habits, she should have been preparing to leave around now.

Second by second, time passed. The monitoring room was quiet except for the faint hum of the equipment. Tang Wulin appeared to be staring at the screens, tapping at the keyboard for show, but his eyes kept drifting toward the monitor displaying the community gate and main walkways.

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared at the side gate in the lower left corner of the screen.

It was Gu Yue!

Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat. Gu Yue was riding a shared bicycle, its frame a vivid orange. Today, she wore a fitted black business suit that highlighted her upright figure. Rather than leaving her long hair loose as usual, she had tied it into a neat low ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead and elegant neckline. She seemed to take a deep breath, adjusted the straps of her backpack, then pushed hard on the pedals and lightly rode out through the community gate.

At that moment, Tang Wulin's eyes seemed drawn to the screen by a magnet, fixed on that shrinking speck of light. He even leaned forward instinctively, as though doing so would let him pass through the screen and take one more look at his wife's back.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

An indecipherable clicking sound came from beside him.

Tang Wulin suddenly came back to himself and stiffly turned his head, only to find Old Wang looking at him with an amused half-smile, still holding that large teacup.

"Xiao Tang, why is your soul glued to the screen first thing in the morning?" Old Wang waved his rough hand in front of Tang Wulin's face. "Your eyes are about to pop out. What rare treasure did you see?"

Tang Wulin's face heated up. His first instinct was to cover it up, but then he thought again... that was his wife! He straightened his back and said in a lowered voice with a hint of pride, "Uncle Wang, you saw right. I was completely absorbed. That girl riding the shared bike is my wife, Gu Yue."

"What?" Old Wang nearly spat out the sip of tea he had just taken. His eyes widened as he looked back at the screen. Gu Yue had already become a tiny dot, blending into the morning rush-hour traffic. "What did you say? That's your wife? The one riding the bike?"

"Absolutely true!" Afraid Old Wang would not believe him, Tang Wulin quickly pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and rapidly found a screenshot of their wedding photo from several months ago. It had been taken outside the Civil Affairs Bureau on the day they registered their marriage, and the large red seal in the background was clearly visible. "Look, black and white, certified with a red stamp!"

Old Wang took the phone, adjusted his reading glasses, and studied it carefully for a long while. Then he looked up at the figure that had long since disappeared from the screen before returning the phone to Tang Wulin, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Good heavens... I, Old Wang, have worked in this community for seven or eight years, and this is the first time I've seen such a lovely wife! Xiao Tang, Xiao Tang, you kid look so low-key normally, but you've been quietly striking it rich! Your ancestors must have smoke rising from their graves. What a blessing you've earned!"

Old Wang's praise greatly satisfied Tang Wulin's little bit of vanity. His earlier embarrassment vanished, replaced by the pride of having a wife who had finally come into her own. He chuckled and scratched his head. "You flatter me, Uncle Wang. It's just... just good luck."

"It's not luck, it's ability!" Old Wang slapped his thigh, suddenly interested. Forgetting all about watching the cameras, he turned to face Tang Wulin. "Hey, Xiao Tang, your wife looks extraordinary. Look at that bearing, that outfit—she's obviously an educated woman. Where does she work? She must earn quite a bit each month, right?"

There it was, the ultimate question.

A fine layer of cold sweat instantly broke out across Tang Wulin's back. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the employment notice on his desk that read "monthly salary: 7,200," then thought of Gu Yue's very real "13,000." Even the plastic cup in his hand seemed to become scalding hot.

He cleared his throat and tried to keep his expression calm and casual. "Ah, it's nothing much. She's just an ordinary office worker, a secretary at a trading company. She just started and is still on probation."

"A secretary? That's not bad at all!" Old Wang nodded, analyzing it with the air of someone experienced. "Secretaries these days, especially those working for the boss, are people with real authority. They need to be sharp and perceptive. Her salary must not be low, right? Judging by her appearance, I'd say at least... seven or eight thousand?"

Tang Wulin's heart gave a jolt. Old Wang, you really know how to guess low. He answered vaguely, "It's all right. Better than some, worse than others. The main thing is that she likes it. She said she wanted to change environments and challenge herself."

"Taking on challenges is good!" Old Wang sighed. "Young people nowadays need drive. Not like us, guarding our little patch of land, able to see the end of the road at a glance." There was even a faint, barely noticeable hint of envy in his voice.

Tang Wulin quickly went along with it. "How could that be, Uncle Wang? Your job is so important—the security hub of the community! Don't I still have to learn from you?"

"Oh, cut it out. Stop flattering me." Old Wang smiled and pointed at him. "Just stay put and don't drive your wife away. Thirteen thousand..." He muttered the last part as if talking to himself. Clearly, he had already formed an idea of that number. The look he gave Tang Wulin became even more complicated, containing envy as well as a slight sense of shared misery.

Tang Wulin: "..." He felt his toes digging an awkward three-bedroom apartment into the soles of his shoes.

For the rest of the time, the monitoring room returned to calm. Tang Wulin, meanwhile, completely entered peak acting mode. He no longer dared slack off. Every few minutes, he switched the camera feed and muttered to himself, "Building Three entrance normal, garage entrance normal, no one fighting in the fitness area..." He even took the initiative to grab a mop and clean the monitoring room floor, calling it "keeping the work environment tidy."

Old Wang watched his busy back with a meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth, but did not expose him.

At lunchtime, Old Wang took out his treasured aluminum lunchbox, containing simple stir-fried cabbage and rice. Tang Wulin, meanwhile, brought out the lunch Gu Yue had prepared for him—two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, complete in color, aroma, and taste, with a carrot flower specially arranged on top.

Old Wang ate his food while glancing at Tang Wulin's lunchbox. Half-joking and half-serious, he said, "Xiao Tang, you're living better than this old man. You've got a beautiful wife, a good job, and even this... imperial kitchen treatment."

Old Wang smoked beside him and said leisurely, "See that? This is called 'making an impression.' Xiao Tang, you made the right move. But don't overdo it either. Your health is your greatest asset."

Tang Wulin felt warm inside, as though he had truly found a little sense of belonging within this small group.

The end-of-work bell rang as the sun set. Tang Wulin and Old Wang walked out of the service center together.

"See you tomorrow, Uncle Wang!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Remember to bring a power bank!" Old Wang waved, mounted his bicycle—which rattled everywhere except its bell—and slowly rode away.

Tang Wulin took a deep breath of the cool evening air and headed home with light steps. Although Old Wang had interrogated him today, overall, he felt he had barely managed to hold his ground in the battle to protect his status in the family. At the very least, Old Wang now looked at him not as "the clueless newcomer," but as "a lucky young man."

When he pushed open the front door, the aroma of food greeted him again. Gu Yue was already home, sitting on the sofa with a face mask on while looking over some documents on her laptop.

"You're back?" Hearing the movement, she looked up, her mouth moving beneath the face mask. "How was today?"

"Good! Really good!" Tang Wulin changed his shoes, went over, and quickly kissed Gu Yue on the cheek, face mask or not. "Let me tell you, Old Wang was completely stunned today. He said that marrying you meant smoke was rising from my family's ancestral graves. He even asked where you worked and how much you earned every month..."

Gu Yue removed her face mask and raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"I said you were a secretary at a trading company, that you just started and were still on probation." Tang Wulin answered selectively, then swiftly changed the subject. "Even though my job is easy, I still have to step up when it counts."

Gu Yue looked at him, a complicated emotion flashing through her eyes—perhaps relief, perhaps understanding. She gently sighed, reached out, and ruffled Tang Wulin's hair. "You worked hard. Come on, wash your hands and eat. I made your favorite sweet-and-sour ribs today."

"Got it!"

Watching Gu Yue walk toward the kitchen, the faint guilt Tang Wulin had felt over slacking off seemed to be soothed away by the lavish dinner and his wife's gentle attitude.

As long as the red flag at home stayed standing and no colorful flags fluttered outside, this "heavenly job" seemed like it could be coasted through for a while longer. As for the pressure brought by that "13,000"... well, the boat would straighten itself when it reached the bridge. He thought optimistically.

What he did not know was that Gu Yue, in the kitchen, was looking at the ribs bubbling away in the pot while calculating another account in her heart. The employment notice reading "monthly salary: 13,000" lay quietly in the inner compartment of her backpack, like a tiny flame—warm, yet scorching.

The arms race between husband and wife had only just begun. Tang Wulin was still immersed in his peaceful dream of the monitoring room.