Chapter 13

TRANSLATOR – ANNIE

She looked hideous now. The cheekbones of both cheeks were so thin they protruded. Her hair had dried and stuck to her face, making her appear even thinner. Her eye sockets were sunken, and her eyelashes were very long, but they were wet. It turned out that she had been crying the whole time. A big patch of the pillow was wet. She was even uglier when she cried, her facial features were scrunched together, and her body curled up like a shrimp. She cried without any sound, she just shed tears, and the tears slid down her long eyelashes without hindrance and fell on the pillow.

In fact, she was very beautiful at the beginning. He remembered her big eyes, they were very beautiful and very moving. He found her in the parking lot of the bar that night. She was lying on the front cover of his car. She was drunk. She held the rearview mirror and decided that his car was a taxi, thinking that he was stealing a taxi from her. He went to pull her, but she suddenly raised her face and kissed him.

The kiss was very sweet and slightly alcoholic. Maybe he was really drunk that day, because he actually took her back home.

She didn’t make any sound during the whole process, and almost didn’t say a word. Except for his watch accidentally catching in her hair, which was very painful and she gave a soft cry. He took off his watch and continued to kiss her. She didn’t react much. Her body had been very stiff, and her reaction was jerky, which was very unexpected, because that had been her first time. Before he woke up, she disappeared. Like Cinderall in a gold dress, he was stunned by the glimpse of the beautiful sight he caught, but after the ring of the midnight bell, she disappeared at the end of time.

But they recognized each other in the end. He recognized her, and she recognized him. There was no crystal shoe, only shame. He was calm as he looked at her. This woman, what did she want to do?

Her reaction did not exceed his expectations. She went back, continued to pester Shao Zhenrong and even spoke argumentatively.

But Zhenrong is no longer here – Thinking of this, discomfort arose. She was still tightly clutching the corner of his clothes, with a big tear in the corners of her eyes. She had a high fever, but she continued to softly call for Zhenrong.

Perhaps, she had a bit of sincerity towards Zhenrong.

The driver was still waiting on the bench outside the emergency observation room, but Lei Yuzheng couldn’t get leave. She still clutched the corner of his clothes tightly, like a baby clutching her mother, like a drowning person clutching the last piece of driftwood. Forget it, he would endure for Zhenrong’s sake and seeing Zhenrong’s unwillingness to give her up to her. Whenever he thought of Zhenrong, he felt a place in his heart start to soften, so soft that it was almost so painful.

That was his dearest brother, his closest sibling.

Her fever gradually subsided, and she finally woke up when the nurse pulled out the needle. Seeing the familiar silhouette and the familiar facial contour, she almost screamed, but immediately knew that it was not Zhenrong, not her Zhenrong.

Seeing her hands still tightly grasping the corners of his clothes, she quickly let go, like a child doing something wrong.

She  released her hand silently. His silk shirt was already crumpled. She didn’t know how long she held on.

“Thank you.” Her voice was hoarse, and her mouth was bitter. After a fever, her tongue became numb and her speech was uncomfortable.

He didn’t say anything. His footsteps didn’t stop. As if he hadn’t heard her at all, he left.

She has been ill for almost a week, a drip bag hung on her every day, so she couldn’t follow him anymore. The fever finally disappeared, and the doctor continued the drip for two days to consolidate the treatment.

He paid a 1,000 yuan deposit for her when he sent her to the hospital. After finishing the last bag of medicine that day, she went to the downstairs of Yutian Real Estate and waited to pay him back.

It wasn’t until 6 o’clock in the evening that she saw his car coming out. She stretched out her hand to stop. The security had already seen her, and several people stopped her very skillfully, forcing her to watch his car ride away.

She went to the intersection in front of his villa and watched for an hour. She didn’t see his car going in nor out. Maybe he went back to the apartment. He had several residences in this city. She used to follow him every day, so she knew.

She should return the money to him, but she still couldn’t even get close to him, and she has no chance to contact him. She had no choice but to put the thousand yuan in an envelope and mail it to Yutian Real Estate.

She knew he didn’t care about the thousand yuan, but she should pay it back. She also knew that he sent her to the hospital for ZHenrong’s sake. Her eyes watered. Even though he wasn’t present, it was still because of him. Zhenrong was her greatest blessing, but she did not have the blessing to keep him.

The sky and the earth are so big. In this world, she lost only Shao Zhenrong.

Du Xiaosu did not expect that the thousand yuan was returned by the express delivery intact. The signature of the deliverer of the express package was very delicate, and it was an unfamiliar female name called “Shan Wanting”, probably Lei Yuzheng’s secretary.

Du Xiaosu turned and flipped over the courier envelope several times, and finally opened it. Not only was there a thousand yuan, but also a key.

The key is placed in a beautifully designed card with the logo of Yutian Real Estate printed on it. When opened, there is also a line: “Yipin Mingcheng welcomes the owner”, and the number of the building unit and so on was filled in the back.

For a moment, Du Xiaosu didn’t think about anything. Since Shao Zhenrong left, she often had such short periods of thinking gaps. The psychologist said that it was because she had the mentality to escape reality that this happened.

But tirelessly, after waiting so long, she finally got the key, she still felt it was unreal. It was like her dreaming of Zhenrong often. Waking up to learn that she had been dreaming.

After work, there were no taxis, so she took the subway to Yipin Mingcheng. Owners had been moving into the community one after another. The summer dusk was bright and fuzzy. Plants and grass lawns were newly planted. The sprinkler system continued to spray out water. A few drops splashed on the back of her heel, carrying some coolness.

The voice-activated lights in the corridor were already on. As she continued to walk, the lights turned on the whole way. In fact, it was still early. The dark purple sunset could still be seen in the gaps of the tall buildings in the distance. She looked for the door and took out the key to open it. The light in the room was still bright, because there was no partition, the south-facing balcony and bay window both had light coming in.

She walked to the center of the empty house. She remembered when she wanted to see the house, when she had discussed with Shao Zhenrong multiple times about renovation.

The largest wall in the living room, she touched it with her hand. The cement was shaved flat. She remembered that Zhenrong gave her the idea that they had planned to paint on this wall by themselves. They even found what design to use. She purposefully spent several days in the library and finally chose a broken peony on a porcelain vase from the Song Dynasty. The pattern was very complicated and it must’ve been difficult to draw. But at the time, she didn’t think it was so and just happily gave it to Shao Zhenrong to have a look.

The room was empty. She stood in front of the wall for a while. The surroundings were very quiet. There was a light on the opposite house and the sound of TV could be faintly heard. She was the only one here.

She squatted in front of the wall with her forehead against the cold concrete wall. She only felt a little cold, but she did not cry.

Finally, slowly, she whispered: “Shao Zhenrong, I got the key.”

This was their home. She had to decorate it as they originally planned. She must change to drawnwork curtains when she moves in. Then watch the sunlight spill on the floor, reflecting the small patterns on the curtain. She would paint the walls white in the study, and then put in bookshelves. When it is changed to a baby room, she can change to a softer wallpaper…

Her and Shao Zhenrong’s home…

She would live well, because he was with her, he would always be with her.

She would try to start her life again, as if he never left, as if he was always by her side.

She canceled her leave and returned to work at the company. After all, work could keep her busy. She was still following up on Xinsheng, so she couldn’t avoid meeting with Lin Xiangyuan, but she was all about work.

Unexpectedly, she met Lin Xiangyuan in the corridor one day. She greeted him and wanted to walk over, but he suddenly asked her: “A while ago you were looking for a house. Were you able to find one? I happened to have a friend going abroad. His house is going to be rented out, would you like to check it out?

His tone was very natural and familiar, as if they were just old friends chatting casually. The house she rented was about to expire, and the landlord had to take it back for renovation. She was currently looking for a house everywhere. She didn’t know how Lin Xiangyuan knew about this, but she still said, “No need. Thank you, Mr. Lin.”

Lin Xiangyuan sighed: “Xiaosu, you don’t need to act like that. I just want to help you, and I don’t mean anything else.” She knew, but she didn’t want to have any intersection with him in life. Seeing that my colleague was looking here, she quickly said: “My colleague is looking for me, I have to go over.”

Du Xiaosu didn’t expect Lin Xiangyuan to be very serious about this matter. A few days later, he called her again: “Do you want to take a look at the house? My friend is in a hurry to go abroad, so you moving in can even be considered a favor. They said the rent price can easily be negotiated, but mainly they want a reliable person to live in for routine maintenance, so that the house will not be damaged.”

After all, he was the vice president of a partner company. Du Xiaosu felt that it seemed too excessive of her to refuse, so she wrote down the landlord’s phone number and agreed to take a look. On the weekend, Zou Siqi had time, so she went with her.

The location of the house was really good. It was close to where she worked, and the subway took only three stops. The decoration was quite satisfactory. The owner of the house had gotten an offer so they went abroad, thus, the rental price was quite cheap. Zou Siqi was tempted, and felt that it was a good deal. Without any hesitancy, she made the decision for her and paid the deposit first on the spot. They could just happen to use the weekend breaks to move in. Xiaosu didn’t have a lot of things. Zou Siqi helped her find a car and they moved it all in one trip.

The two collapsed on the sofa in exhaustion, seeing the things scattered on the floor, they didn’t have the energy to tidy them up.

Zou Siqi said: “Everything is good, but the furniture and everything are too masculine. Tomorrow, let’s change the curtains and the carpets and other things. Then, it will be good.”

Du Xiaosu was so exhausted she couldn’t move: “I don’t have those thoughts anymore. Once the house is decorated, I will move.”

Zou Siqi asked her with some caution: “Would you like to find a design company?”

Du Xiaosu smiled and said, “I asked my colleagues in the decoration department to help make some renderings, but they are not as good as I imagined.”

“I forgot that you worked in this field.”

“Well, they’re not exactly the same. Interior decoration is very different from structural design.” Du Xiaosu’s tone was very calm, “Besides, I have discussed with Zhenrong. We discussed how to decorate it a long time ago.”

Her tone seemed very casual, but Zou Siqi didn’t dare to speak up. Du Xiaosu smiled again: “We’re finally done moving. What do you want to eat tonight? I will invite you to dinner after all your hard work today.”

“Okay,” Zou Siqi said in a relaxed tone, “I’m hungry. I must eat a huge meal from you.”

Du Xiaosu kicked the cardboard box on the ground to the corner, and readily agreed: “Okay! Let’s eat steak. I’m hungry. Let’s eat some good food.”

After dinner that night, the two of them came back to clean up the house. They did not finish cleaning up until the dead of night.

Zou Siqi went to the convenience store and bought duck necks. Du Xiaosu bought a few cans of beer. Two people gnawed the duck necks and drank beer. One can after another, both were a little high.

Zou Siqi said: “Xiaosu, you have to be well, otherwise our group of friends will all feel sad.”

Du Xiaosu grinned and opened another can of beer for her: “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” She raised her face. There was only one wall lamp in the room. The faint light reflected the mist in her eyes. “Siqi, you don’t need to persuade me. I’m not sad. Really, I’m pretty good. The new house will be renovated in a while, and I will invite you to dinner again. In the new house, Zhenrong and I… I originally always wanted to treat you to dinner…” Her voice was a little low, so low it seemed like she was murmuring, “Siqi, don’t persuade me, I can’t stand it. Whatever you have to say, don’t tell me. Let me have some time. I might not be able to calm down this whole life, but even if you coax me…don’t mention it again…just think of it…think of it as me tricking myself…I really…this is all I can be…”

Her voice slowly lowered and finally disappeared. Zou Siqi did not dare to speak, for fear that she herself might cry when she opened her mouth.

Du Xiaosu seemed to have returned to a peaceful life, commuting to and getting off from work on time. Sometimes, when Zou Siqi had time, she would visit the psychiatrist with her.Du Xiaosu’s parents originally wanted to take her home, but Du Xiaosu refused and insisted on staying in Shanghai. Mother Du repeatedly reminded Zou Siqi to take care of her, so Zou Siqi would every now and then take Du Xiaosu or go to see her, where the two of them would buy groceries from the nearby supermarket and cook a meal.

The two downloaded some recipes from the Internet that day and tried to make some side dishes. While eating, Zou Siqi asked Du Xiaosu: “Why are you working overtime lately? In the past, you were idler than me, but now I nearly have more leisure time than you.”

Du Xiaosu was gloomy: “I don’t know. Recently, a new vice president came to Xinsheng. It is said that she has just returned from the United States. She just suddenly took over. I don’t know why but she doesn’t like us, always unsatisfied with this and that. All the colleagues in the design department added a week of shifts. When the final plan was rejected again, Manager Ning was about to die of dispiritedness.”

“Wasn’t your Manager Ning supposed to be brilliant? Would Xinsheng’s vice president be jealous of his handsome appearance, and extend that dislike towards you all?”

“Please, the vice president is a woman. How can she be jealous of Manager Ning for being handsome?”

“Could it be love giving birth to hatred?” Zou Siqi was excited, “Come, come, let’s analyze the possibilities!”

Du Xiaosu was taken aback for a moment, and then said: “It’s possible, because Vice President Jiang always comes to find trouble…her age isn’t big, and she’s very beautiful. She really does look like a pretty good match for Manager Ning…”

“Family name Jiang?” Zou Siqi asked, “Jiang what?”

“Jiang…” Du Xiaosu recalled vigorously, and finally remembered, “Jiang Fanlu! Quite a mouthful name.”

Zou Siqi was very surprised, and sucked in a cold breath: “Du Xiaosu, why are you so muddled? You – you don’t know who Jiang Fanlu is?”

Du Xiaosu stared at her blankly.

Zou Siqi nearly jumped up: “That’s Lin Xiangyuan’s wife, that Jiang Fanlu! How are you so muddled? You don’t even know the full name of your rival. You are really too muddled! Those years ago, didn’t Lin Xiangyuan dump you to marry her? How could you not even be clear what her name is!”

Du Xiaosu’s big eyes were still a little dazed. After a while, she said, “I always thought that the woman was named Jiang…” Zou Siqi saw that her face was still thin and sharp, and her big eyes were listless and bleak. She couldn’t bear to say more. She switched topics: “Alright, alright. Let’s not think about the past.”

Du Xiaosu slowly realized a little bit about why Xinsheng suddenly made things difficult, why the vice president spoke so sharp and sternly during meetings and why that young and beautiful vice president would keep on targeting her. No wonder it wasn’t just her imagination, but because she was Jiang Fanlu, Lin Xiangyuan’s wife. She was obviously hostile to her. She didn’t want to come into contact with Lin Xiangyuan or Jiang Fanlu in this circle, but since it was unavoidable in her work, she worked hard to be professional.

Even so, it was still inevitable. During the annual Real Estate Forum Summit, where all companies attended, Du Xiaosu and some new colleagues were invited by their vice president to widen their horizons. As soon as they entered the venue, she unexpectedly saw Lei Yuzheng.

He was one of the invited guests. Xiaosu had never seen him in public. Fortunately, he was far away, and he probably didn’t see her either. Lei Yuzheng spoke one time after another, first talking with the media then with colleagues. Even during the buffet, he was surrounded by a group of reporters asking from the trend of housing prices to the economic situation. He wasn’t able to get out. His assistant followed behind him step by step, making up for him from time to time. In fact, he looked very cold, with deep traces of double eyelids, and his eyes were as deep as the sea under the stars. Sometimes a wave would flash, but that light was also cold, unlike Shao Zhenrong, who always made her feel warm.

In fact, if his expression was more gentle, or if he untied one more opening in his suit, he would be more like Shao Zhenrong.

Du Xiaosu felt sad for no reason, but occasionally seeing a person who looked so much like Zhenrong from afar would make her feel at ease, as though Shao Zhenrong had not gone far. He was still in her life, just so far away that she couldn’t reach.

Du Xiaosu didn’t have the heart to eat. Fortunately, the dinner party was in the hotel’s garden, where people gathered in duos and trios, so her lack of appetite wasn’t eye-catching. She was holding a plate as she talked with her colleagues. As soon as she looked up, she saw Lin Xiangyuan and Jiang Fanlu. Yet, Ning Weicheng also noticed so he specially took her and her colleagues over to say hello.

Lin Xiangyuan looked quite natural, but Jiang Fanlu seemed to be particularly interested. She looked at Du Xiaosu from head to toe. Jiang Fanlu was originally the plump kind of beautiful. The two curved, delicate brows, when slightly wrinkled, would remind people of a character in the classic Dream of the Red Chamber. Yet Du Xiaosu knew that this woman was more powerful than Wang Xifeng, but just tried to keep quiet.

Who knew she would even tease Ning Weicheng: “Manager Ning, it turns out that Miss Du is your girlfriend.”

Ning Weicheng hurriedly explained: “No, Miss Du and I are just colleagues.”

Jiang Fanlu smiled and changed the topic: “Manager Ning, if it is alright for me to ask, are your company’s housing benefits not so good?” Ning Weicheng was quite astonished, but replied very seriously: “Although our Boyuan’s housing subsidy is not high, it is still higher than the industry average. Why did Vice President Jiang suddenly ask this?”

Jiang Fanlu chuckled lightly: “I think there are some employees in your company who seem to be unable to rent a house, so I took some care.”

Ning Weicheng was a smart person. Hearing that there was meaning behind her words, he couldn’t help but be suspicious. Du Xiaosu’s eyes were lowered. Instead, it was Lin Xiangyuan who was very embarrassed, attempting to relax the atmosphere:”Mr. Zhang is over there, let’s go greet him.” Jiang Fanlu seemed to turn a deaf ear, and said to Ning Weicheng with a smile: “This world is also quite strange now. Originally, it was people from Party A asking for bribes from Party B, but now there are people from Party B who actually dare to reach a hand to Party A. It is really incredible. Don’t you think, Manager Ning?”

Lin Xiangyuan’s face was already very awkward. Jiang Fanlu’s voice was slightly high so people to the side had already looked over in surprise. Several of Boyuan’s colleagues looked at each other. Ning Weicheng understood what she meant and couldn’t help but say: “Ms. Jiang, if any of our employees have offended your company, you can tell us directly. We won’t be partial. There are many people in the industry today. You must have your reasons for saying this. If our company employees have violated laws and disciplines, please point them out and we will strictly investigate them.”

Jiang Fanlu chuckled: “Not at all. How could your company’s employees break any laws? They are all elites.”

Du Xiaosu couldn’t help it anymore: “Madam Lin, if you have any misunderstandings, you can speak outright, you don’t need to talk so underhandedly. My personal issues with you shouldn’t involve the company I work for. If you dislike me, I can immediately resign and disappear from this industry. But I cannot accept your so-called accusations. As a member of Party B, I have never solicited any bribes from Xinsheng Company. When you talk, please don’t talk nonsense.”

“Oh!” Jiang Fanlu opened his eyes wide, as if a little surprised, “Miss Du, what do you mean by this? I haven’t even named you by name.. Yet Miss Du, you…Ah, I’m so sorry. I have been abroad for a few years, and my Chinese is not very good. I may have used some words improperly and made you misunderstand. But you said I’m talking nonsense. I know of the word. Miss Du, if I am not mistaken, the house you are renting now belongs in the name of Xinsheng Company, and the rent is far below the market price. I don’t know how Ms. Du feels about this?”

Now, several colleagues of Boyuan couldn’t help but look at Du Xiaosu, their eyes full of astonishment.

“Fanlu…” Lin Xiangyuan was very embarrassed, “Actually…”

“In fact, my husband just did this out of kindness, especially for old friends like Miss Du.” Jiang Fanlu still smiled brightly. “But Xinsheng is a limited liability company. Needless to say, not to mention my husband, not even I, as executive director and deputy general manager, have the right to deal with the real estate under the company’s name without authorization.”

Du Xiaosu then came to understand. She was embarrassed, angry and annoyed, unable to say anything. She felt the gazes of her colleagues turn complex, as though there was everything in their gaze. Ning Weicheng also seemed very surprised, and asked, “Miss Du, is what Ms. Jiang said true?”

“I didn’t know that the house belonged to Xinsheng.” Du Xiaosu’s face was pale, “I will move out immediately. Don’t worry, I will move out within 24 hours.”

Jiang Fanlu smiled: “That’s not necessary. I will give Miss Du three days to move. I heard that Miss Du has recently encountered an accident, and may not be in a good mood. But even if your boyfriend is gone, don’t be greedy and latch onto someone else’s husband.”

Du Xiaosu almost lost the strength to stand. She took a step back, yet unexpectedly bumped into someone’s back. The man turned around, she raised her head, Zhenrong… It was actually Shao Zhenrong, she looked at him in a daze, and instinctively grasped his sleeve. She was weak on her feet, her face without any hint of blood, like she was about to fall down.

Lei Yuzheng lowered his hand. Her hand grasped very tightly, just like when she was in the hospital that night. But her eyes gradually became focused. She was gradually clear and gradually understood that this was not her Shao Zhenrong, not the Zhenrong she could rely on. Sadness floated into her eyes, like a child at a loss.

Lei Yuzheng narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Jiang Fanlu.

Jiang Fanlu was also very surprised, looking at Lei Yuzheng. After a few seconds, she finally smiled: “Mr. Lei, hello.”

He had no expression, and gave her a cold glance. Jiang Fanlu introduced him: “This is Lin Xiangyuan, my husband.”

Lin Xiangyuan stretched out his hand, Lei Yuzheng stretched out his hand very coldly, almost only touching his fingertips before putting his hand down. He flipped his hand around and pulled Du Xiaosu over: “Introducing to this lovely couple, this is Du Xiaosu.”

Jiang Fanlu never expected that he would stand up for Du Xiaosu, so she was startled. Lei Yuzheng turned his head and said coldly to Du Xiaosu: “Whoever would dare to not let you work in this industry, have them first come to me.”

Du Xiaosu’s eyes were already full of tears, but she was desperately trying to hold them back. She barely squeezed out a smile, which was more ugly than crying. It never occurred to her that he was listening to everything just beside him. Lei Yuzheng still had a cold face: “Don’t you have a house? You don’t know how to find someone if you don’t have time to decorate? Where did all those skills go? You only know how to cry!”

Du Xiaosu could hardly bear it anymore. Being swept by his sharp eyes, her tears were abruptly pushed back. Lei Yuzheng’s secretary, Shan Wanting, had already arrived. He turned his head and saw Shan Wanting: “I will send Miss Du back. Tomorrow, find some people to help her move in.”

Jiang Fanlu was still all smiles: “I’m sorry, I really didn’t know… Why don’t be let Miss Du live in that house…”

Lei Yuzheng replied calmly: “Our company has a lot of empty houses. There is no need for others to offer their treasures.”

Not much to say, surrounded by a bunch of people, they walked away.

Du Xiaosu was originally very upset, but after getting in the car, she lowered his head and whispered, “Thank you.”

Lei Yuzheng was very disgusted: “You can’t be a little bit shameful? What is Lin Xiangyuan? You ran to hook up with him, just for those cheap gains? Don’t think that I am helping you today. It was for Zhenrong. I don’t want people to make our family out to be a joke. I don’t hope for you to be pure, but you can’t be so shameless. You can afford to be this kind of person, but our family can’t afford to lose face.”

Every word was like the sharpest knife. Each knife pierced her heart, each knife saw blood, pierced until her flesh was mutilated, until her liver and intestines broke apart, until she almost couldn’t feel anymore. She was sad and felt even with a hundred mouths she couldn’t explain. But she didn’t want to argue anything else, she only wanted to argue back that she had never not been faithful to Zhenrong. But if not even Zhenrong was here, what did all else matter?

So she just opened her eyes wide, seeming to want to push back the last bit of sadness in her heart. Her voice was still very small: “I haven’t lost face to Zhenrong. I really didn’t know. I will move the moment I return. Please stop the car.” She was a little incoherent, “I won’t cause Zhenrong to lose face, believe it or not.

Lei Yuzheng seemed unwilling to talk to her anymore. He knocked on the back of the seat, and the driver pulled the car over.

Du Xiaosu walked home that day. She didn’t take the subway, bus, or taxi. After walking for several stops, her calves cramped. She squatted on the sidewalk, waiting for the convulsing pain to pass, and then continued walking forward. There were two blisters on her feet when she got home. She took off her high heels only after entering the house and stepped barefoot on the floor. The blisters had faint pain. It was then that she realized the skin had worn out, revealing the red flesh inside. But she couldn’t care about it anymore, she had to pack everything up and then move.

She cleaned up all night before she packed all the things. It was already dawn, and she called a taxi to go to Zou Siqi’s. Zou Siqi opened the door for her sleepily. She was shocked when she saw Du Xiaosu dragging a large bag. Hearing her briefly describe the reason, she was even more angry and insulted Lin Xiangyuan. In a hurry, Du Xiaosu had to put her things down and then two rushed to work.

Du Xiaosu stayed up all night, and her eyes were red. Seeing the criss-crossed lines and data on the computer screen, she felt dizzy, so she took time to carry a cup to the pantry and make herself a cup of espresso. Unexpectedly, before she walked inside, she heard faint laughter, and vaguely Zhu Lingya’s voice: “Oh my. I couldn’t tell, but didn’t expect she was like this. Normally when I see her, she seems to be a pretty good person.”

There was disdain in the voice of another female colleague: “This is also a person’s ability. No wonder the people of Xinsheng are so picky.. After so many years of cooperation, I didn’t expect such trouble to be caused.”

“Madam Lin is also not one to be trifled with. Her words were so terrible to listen to. Us bystanders felt our faces turning red, yet Du Xiaosu didn’t even care at all.”

“Later, she even left with Yutian’s boss. I heard that when she joined the company, it was someone from above who talked with Mr. Xiang. Who knows what background this woman has, she really has methods.”

Another voice was suppressed lower: “People want to sleep with beauties. As long as she is willing to sleep with them, she will obviously have more ways than us. Luckily her fiance died early, otherwise he would have to wear the green hat…”

Several people chuckled together. The sound across the door was like a knife, scraping Du Xiaosu’s eardrums one by one, causing the blue veins on her forehead to jump up, but it hurt even more in her heart.

Her hand was shaking slightly, she turned to the office and staggered back to her seat. She created a new document, and typed “Resignation Letter”. She stared at these three words. After a few seconds, she finally remembered to add to it. She mechanically typed. One by one, words appeared on the screen. In fact, she didn’t know what she was typing. Finally, she sent her resignation letter to the mailbox of the HR deputy manager.

The seats next door were all vacant. Ning Weicheng had taken her colleagues to Xinsheng again, but did not take her this time.

She thought, so it turned out that someone had especially spoken with the company when she joined. Then, that time, Zhenrong must have helped her find this job back then. But she still had to give up his goodwill. She couldn’t stay here. She was weak, cowardly, but she couldn’t stand people talking about Zhenrong like this, and doubting her and Zhenrong like this. She was indeed cowardly, and she nearly had no more strength to struggle. She needed to run away for a while. She just wanted to go to a place where there was no one and where she could quietly think of Zhenrong.

She only had Shao Zhenrong left, but not even Shao Zhenrong was here.

Du Xiaosu’s resignation was not approved. The deputy manager specifically called her over and talked to her in a pleasant manner: “Xiaosu, we have discussed your letter. You said that you are not in good health and are not qualified for the current job. We completely understand. How about we give you a period of vacation, and you come back to work after a period of rest, how about that?”

She looked straight at the deputy manager and asked: “Yutian is our biggest customer. Are you worried that it will affect the relationship between the company and Yutian? Then I can tell you frankly that I have nothing to do with Yutian. If I continue to stay in the company, I’m afraid it will have a bad impact on the company.”

The manager looked at her in surprise, and after a while, he smiled: “Xiaosu, you think too much. You should take a rest for a while and come back to work once you’re better.”

Because the manager had cared somewhat for her, she couldn’t say anything more.

Her most urgent task is to find a house. She can’t continue to huddle with Zou Siqi. She rushed to and fro in the huge city, looking at floors one by one with the agents, running from building to building, before finally renting a cramped set of a room and main hall. The location was not very good. The house faced west again, and the rent was not cheap, but she couldn’t be picky.

Zou Siqi specially asked for a day off to help her move. She was dissatisfied with the newly rented house and couldn’t help but criticize. Du Xiaosu comforted her: “I will only live here temporarily. When the new house is finished, I will move.”

She decided to renovate the house, found a renovation company, and took the renovation workers to the site, but found that the key could not unlock the door.

At first she thought the lock was broken, but the property management staff told her: “Miss Du, this house real estate company has taken it back. The lock was changed two days ago.”

She went completely stupid, like thundering in her brain, she was in disbelief. It took a long time to remember to call Lei Yuzheng, but the assistant refused to turn the call over, using her sweet voice to decline her: “I’m sorry Du Miss, I cannot transfer your call to Mr. Lei’s office.”

A viable thought arose out of her panic. She remembered that the name that sent her the key should be Lei Yuzheng’s secretary. With no sense of balance left, just full of desperation, she clutched the phone, like she was holding onto the last straw: “So what about the secretary Shan? Can you connect to Secretary Shan?”

The switchboard still refused very apologetically: “I’m sorry, Secretary Shan accompanied Mr. Lei to go abroad.”

She didn’t know anyone, Lei Yuzheng went abroad, Secretary Shan accompanied him to go abroad, and even asked people to change the lock.

He did not make a sound and took everything away.

Her whole body was exhausted, she put down the phone. She nestled herself deeply into the corner, like a weak animal that was hit hard with the last strike, without a trace of strength to struggle.

She locked herself in the room for three days without eating, drinking, or moving. She sat on the dilapidated sofa, like a puppet. It would be great if she could really be like a puppet, without pain, thought, memory, and everything.

He took back his generosity, he took the house back, and he took away the last memory she had left. She didn’t do anything wrong again, but he didn’t intend to forgive her. She hadn’t done anything wrong to Zhenrong , but he didn’t intend to forgive anymore.

In between, she may have fallen asleep, but when she awoke again, she didn’t feel hungry although she had eaten nothing, but her stomach felt full of stones. She had no feeling. She staggered to her feet, walked near the kiched and turned on the stove gas. The small flame licked the bottom of the teapot, but the teapot was empty. It didn’t have water. She wasn’t planning on boiling water.

That time in the hospital, her mother cried like so while hugging her. Her mother was almost begging: “Xiaosu, you have to promise your mother, you can’t go with Zhenrong, you have to promise your mother that you are the only one for me and your father. If do something stupid, we really can’t live anymore.”

At that time, she promised her, she promised her mother to live well.

But she didn’t expect it to be so difficult, so difficult that she had almost no strength to hold on. She really had no more courage to hold on.

She walked back to the bedroom and took the photo of Zhenrong and herself on the bedside table in her arms. The photo frame was cold. The photo was still taken during the Spring Festival. She had taken the photo on her phone when the two of them were at home. It was a silly headshot of two people next to each other, like two little bears. It was blurry when zoomed in. They didn’t take many photos together, because both of them were busy at work. Sometimes she liked to take pictures of him with the camera, but he was always alone in those pictures.

She still turned off the gas, because Zhenrong, Zhenrong must also wish her well.