Chapter 1

My coworker loved a joke.

At a department dinner, she suddenly asked me in front of everyone, “Yesterday I saw you coming out of the ladies’ room with Mr Zhang. What was that about?”

I froze, unable to think of an answer.

She patted my shoulder with a knowing smile.

“Don’t be embarrassed. These things happen at work. We’ll keep your secret from the boss’s wife!”

Later, his wife came to the office, convinced I was his mistress.

She slapped me. I fell down the stairs and was left paralyzed.

When my coworkers visited me in hospital, that woman pointed at my bed and laughed.

“Can a woman in a vegetative state get pregnant? Xiao Wang, want to give it a try?”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I’m only joking!”

I used the last of my strength to pull out my oxygen tube.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of that department dinner.

This time, I learned to joke too.

Only now, she was the one who couldn’t laugh.

At the dinner, Ye Huan held a wineglass in one hand and draped the other arm over Xiao Wang’s shoulder.

“Done after two drinks? How many rounds did you go with your wife last night?”

Then she turned to someone else.

“And you, Lao Liu. Eating so little? Where will you find the energy to give your wife something to blush about tonight?”

“Blush about what?” he asked, playing along.

She popped a peanut into her mouth and gave him a sly look.

“What do you think?”

The table erupted.

Only then did I believe that I really had come back.

Back to the department dinner.

The day Ye Huan made me the joke.

In my previous life, it had happened exactly like this.

After teasing everyone else, she turned to me.

“Yesterday I saw you coming out of the ladies’ room with Mr Zhang. What was that about?”

Caught off guard, I couldn’t respond.

She patted my shoulder, smiling suggestively.

“Don’t be shy. It happens all the time here. We’ll keep it from the boss’s wife!”

Everyone laughed.

“Ye Huan, you…”

My face burned.

Nine years of being taught to behave myself had left me without a single suitable reply. My tongue might as well have been tied.

Instead of stopping her, my coworkers mocked me.

“What’s with the reaction? She’s only joking. Can’t you take a joke?”

“You won’t fit in if you’re like that.”

I had joined three months earlier. I was still on probation.

How could I afford to fall out with everyone?

I forced a smile.

I thought it was one little joke. Put up with it, and it would pass.

Not long afterward, the boss’s wife came to the office.

She thought I was his mistress.

A slap sent me tumbling down the stairs.

I lost the use of my body.

Out of “kindness,” Ye Huan brought the department to visit me.

She pointed at my hospital bed and burst out laughing.

“Look at her! Doesn’t she look like a mummy?”

Her eyes traveled over me.

“How does she go to the toilet like that? Through a catheter?”

Still not entertained enough, she nudged Xiao Wang.

“Can a woman in a vegetative state get pregnant? Want to try?”

He pushed her back.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Giggling, she punched his shoulder lightly.

“It was so depressing in here. I was only trying to cheer everyone up!”

They laughed and joked without sparing a thought for the person lying motionless in the bed.

That evening, a little feeling returned to my fingers.

I couldn’t bear that half-life anymore.

With the last strength I had, I pulled out my oxygen tube.

And somehow, Heaven gave me another chance.

I held my wineglass and watched Ye Huan flirt and joke with Xiao Wang across the table.

Her opening act was almost over.

I would be next.

“Qiao Yiyi, yesterday I saw you coming out of the ladies’ room with Mr Zhang. What was that about?”

I had meant to strike first.

She still beat me to it.

But this time, I was ready.

I looked at her calmly.

“That’s right. He was drunk and went into the wrong bathroom. I was helping him out.”

Then I tilted my head, as though something had just occurred to me.

“Now you mention it, I think there was another woman in one of the cubicles.”

I looked Ye Huan over thoughtfully.

“She looked rather like you, Huanhuan.”

She hadn’t expected me to hit back.

Her wineglass stopped halfway to her mouth.

But years of practice recovered her composure quickly.

“What are you saying, Qiao Yiyi? You can’t joke about something like that.”

She smiled and waved a hand.

I gave her a small smile.

“Well, I’m nowhere near as good at jokes as you. Not nearly as funny.”

That much was true.

In only three months, I had seen exactly what she did.

She played the frank, cheerful woman who never took offense.

One of the guys.

She loved a joke.

Especially a filthy one.

Even the men couldn’t outdo her.

On my first day, the team leader hadn’t assigned me anything yet.

After installing the software, I sat waiting at my desk.

Ye Huan, beside me, spoke up.

“What are you staring into space for? Thinking about a man?”

She was loud enough to make the whole office turn.

I flushed and hurriedly denied it.

At lunch in the cafeteria, I happened to mention liking grilled sausages.

She immediately covered her mouth and raised her voice.

“What? You like sausages? Really? You like sausages?”

At first, I didn’t understand.

Then I saw the looks on my coworkers’ faces.

My face went pale.

She remained perfectly casual.

“Only a joke. You’re not actually angry, are you?”

Another time, Xiao Wang and I were discussing a model’s pose for an advertisement.

Ye Huan happened to pass.

“What position? Call me Dad and I’ll teach you!”

Her smile and her eyes left no doubt about her meaning.

I flushed scarlet again.

She laughed.

“I meant the photo pose. What were you thinking? Mind in the gutter? Come on, tell us!”

Vulgarity passed for friendliness.

Rudeness passed for honesty.

And somehow, everyone accepted it.

They even enjoyed encouraging her.

After my reply at dinner, the table went silent.

I hadn’t worked there long, but everyone knew I was the girl who couldn’t take a joke.

Whenever Ye Huan picked on me, I stayed red for half an hour.

And now I had said that.