Chapter 2
Edward Quan ·
“The client just called. Your current project concerns marriage and relationships. Do you think it’s appropriate for a video like that to be circulating online?”
“I can explain.”
“To whom? Will you answer every comment?”
I took out my phone.
“I have messages as evidence. Zhou Xu suggested breaking up first, and my mother arranged the blind date—”
“Su Wan.”
My boss leaned back, impatience in her eyes.
“You were together five years. Why break up now?”
I stared. “What does that have to do with this?”
“How does it not? You say you’ve done nothing wrong. Why would a perfectly good relationship suddenly end like this?”
“It wasn’t sudden.”
“Fine. Even if it wasn’t.”
She pushed the termination notice toward me.
“The client refuses to let you continue. The company can’t shoulder the public backlash with you. Hand the project over to Xiao Zhao. You don’t need to clock out today.”
I didn’t move.
“I’ve worked overtime on this project for a month.”
“I know.”
Her tone softened slightly.
“That’s why we’ll calculate your severance at the maximum rate. Sort out your private life. Don’t let it affect everyone else.”
Xiao Zhao was waiting for the handover when I came out.
She couldn’t meet my eyes. She only asked where the client files were.
I told her. She nodded and left with them.
It stayed quiet around me as I emptied my drawers.
Someone moved to help, but a coworker caught their sleeve.
They hadn’t actually said anything.
Yet suddenly, I couldn’t even manage to pack a cardboard box.
The pen I put in rolled out again. My water-bottle lid wouldn’t screw on.
In the end, I threw everything that wouldn’t fit into the bin.
**4**
Lin Wei caught up with me at reception.
“Xiaowan, Zhou Xu’s trying to find whoever posted that video.”
I kept walking.
“Don’t blame him. He was angry at the time.”
The receptionist glanced at us, then lowered her head.
I carried my box out into the rain.
Mom messaged, asking when I would apologize to Chen Yue.
My boss told me to leave the work group chat.
Zhou Xu’s message sat at the bottom.
*Now do you see what happens when you rush out on blind dates?*
I stood outside the company, looking at it for a long time.
Pain suddenly gripped my lower abdomen.
The box slipped from my arms. My belongings scattered.
I crouched to pick them up, but my fingers wouldn’t stop shaking.
Then a drop of blood fell onto a rain-softened document.
Looking down, I saw a small red patch on my trousers.
I thought my period had come early.
Mom called again.
“Have you apologized to Chen yet?” she asked the moment I answered.
“Mom, I’m not feeling well.”
“You embarrassed us like that last night. I’m not feeling well either.”
“I’ve been fired.”
Two seconds of silence.
“Why?”
I said nothing.
She quickly understood.
“Because of that video? Why did you let your private business turn into a scene at work?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why are people talking about you and nobody else?”
Dad said something beside her.
Mom sighed.
“Come home first. You can find another job. Don’t stand in the street embarrassing yourself further.”
She hung up.
Zhou Xu sent another voice message.
“Come back. Let’s talk properly. I can explain to your company for you.”
A few seconds later, another arrived.
“But first, tell me: did you go on that blind date just to make me jealous?”
I stopped listening.
The rain grew heavier. The documents were soaked.
I lifted my box and followed the crowd across the road.
The pain worsened. The red traffic light swayed before my eyes.
Someone shouted behind me.
I turned. A car making a right turn was already upon me.
When I woke, I was in hospital.
The nurse said I had only minor scrapes, but needed observation.
I nodded and closed my eyes.
Soon, the ward door opened.
Zhou Xu hurried in, water still dripping from his hair.
He looked at me for a while. Then his first words were:
“You really did this to yourself over that blind-date man?”
I said nothing.
“You can find another job. You only met him once. Was he worth this?”
So he thought I’d ended up here because of Chen Yue.
Suddenly, even being angry felt exhausting.
The doctor entered with my results.
“Good, you’re awake. The accident caused no serious external injuries, but the tests show you’re seven weeks pregnant.”
Zhou Xu froze.
The doctor continued.