"Maybe I was too selfish. If I had expressed my feelings from the day I hired you, things might have been different."
“I admit that what happened to Brian was intentional, but I didn’t expect it to cause you so much harm. It was my fault.”
"Shu Yi'an, I'll ask you one more time, do you feel happy?"
If Shu Yi'an was initially afraid to see Xiao Ke, she became calmer and more composed after hearing his words. Taking a deep breath, Shu Yi'an looked at the man standing by the window and said firmly and gently, "Mr. Xiao."
"A person's happiness or unhappiness is not determined by their life circumstances, but by whether they feel it's worthwhile. At least, I feel I've been very worthwhile in love and marriage. Even if one day I lose everything, I will still remember that I loved someone very seriously, and I have no regrets about that investment."
"Thank you for your kindness and support during this time, but I'm sorry, I have to leave."
Xiao Ke closed his eyes resignedly. "You insist?"
"Yes, I insist."
Twenty-four-year-old Shu Yi'an stood in the center of the sun-drenched carpet, her gaze showing no sign of retreat or fear, as if all the decisions she made were of her own free will and with joy.
Xiao Ke suddenly remembered the afternoon he interviewed her. Looking at the young girl, he asked, "Ms. Shu, your grades are excellent, but are you willing to give up your diplomatic career and work as a translator here?"
The 22-year-old girl, fresh out of college, held her still-imperfect resume and nodded gently. "Yes, I'll stick with it."
He truly couldn't bear the weight of even a single memory; even his direct attempts to hold her back and his reminders couldn't elicit the slightest softening or closeness from her. And how clever she was to answer herself with the very question she had asked herself: To have loved is to have no regrets; there's no need to go to great lengths to possess.
Shu Yi'an, oh Shu Yi'an, are you really that carefree? Xiao Ke weakly pointed to the paper behind him, his voice flat.
"You can go now, I'll sign the paperwork."
"Well... take care, goodbye."
Seeing that she had turned away without any hesitation, Xiao Ke suddenly spoke up to stop her. "If one day you feel it's not worth it or you don't want to keep going, I'll always be here."
Shu Yi'an only paused for a moment before opening the door and walking out of his office.
Vivian had been waiting at the door, intending to personally see Shu Yi'an out. The two walked down to the first floor, and Vivian extended her right hand to her in a friendly manner. "Well then, Miss Shu, goodbye."
Shu Yi'an also reached out her hand in response, but then, remembering the empty seat she had seen in the cubicle, she quickly stopped Vivian, who was about to turn and leave.
"etc!"
Vivian turned her head in confusion. "Is there anything else?"
Shu Yi'an awkwardly pointed inside the building, "Excuse me, I wanted to ask why Su Ying didn't come to work today?"
"Oh." Vivian seemed to understand perfectly. "You mean this? She took two days off and should have come back to work today, but she hasn't arrived yet. I was planning to go upstairs and contact her later. Is there something you need her for? Should I pass on the message?"
"No need, I'll contact her myself."
Shu Yi'an thought back to the phone call she made to Su Ying yesterday, and suddenly had a bad feeling.
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Meanwhile, in an apartment in Chaoyang District, Su Ying stared blankly at the bright daylight, her eyes devoid of any life. Her once beautiful and delicate face now looked haggard. She lay quietly on the floor, covered only by a thin sheet, beneath which her naked body was clearly visible.
She struggled to climb to the phone, and with trembling hands, she picked it up and skillfully dialed a number.
Shu Yi'an was on her way to Su Ying's house when she saw Su Ying's call and was extremely anxious. She quickly answered the phone. "Su Ying? Where are you? Why haven't you answered my calls since yesterday! I thought something had happened to you!!"
Su Ying's lips were so dry she could barely speak. Hearing Shu Yi'an's familiar voice on the other end of the phone, she nearly collapsed, clutching the phone and suddenly bursting into loud sobs. It was like the release of fear after surviving a catastrophe, or the heartache of endless grievances.
Shu Yi'an had never seen Su Ying like this before, and she quickened her pace, phone in hand. "Su Ying, don't cry! Tell me what happened. I'm on my way to your house. Are you safe? Are you home?"
Su Ying nodded, trembling all over, and after a long while, she choked out in a sob, "Come to my house... Yi'an... I'm about to die, really."
Hearing the dial tone, Shu Yi'an waved to the roadside and hailed a taxi, speeding towards Su Ying's house.
Author's Note: Second update!
Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty
Su Ying lived on the seventeenth floor. Shu Yi'an carried a box of items she had cleared out from the company in one hand as she stepped into the elevator.
She knocked for a long time before Su Ying finally opened the door, peeking out a crack. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who was standing outside.
Shu Yi'an was shocked that Su Ying had changed so much in just one week. She had called him that day to warn him to be careful of Brian, and before boarding the plane, she had told him the keys were under the floor mat.
As soon as Su Ying saw Shu Yi'an enter the room, she rushed over and hugged her tightly.
Shu Yi'an hurriedly reached out to comfort her, and only then did she clearly see the various wounds on Su Ying's back. Blisters, bruises—there were more than a dozen of them, large and small. Listening to Su Ying's heartbroken sobs beside her, Shu Yi'an was also at a loss. "Su Ying, don't cry, tell me what happened!"
Shu Yi'an only realized something was wrong when she gently pulled Su Ying away from her body. Why was she not dressed properly in broad daylight and only wrapped in a bed sheet?
Su Ying held Shu Yi'an's hand and sobbed for a long time before she could catch her breath. "Yang Ke came to see me."
"What?!" Shu Yi'an's eyes widened in shock at Su Ying's words. "How come you're still in contact with him?!"
Su Ying is twenty-eight years old this year, a typical mature and charming woman. It's said that mature women can't exude that sophisticated charm without having been with men, and Su Ying is a perfect example of that. When she was in college, she had a boyfriend. The two quickly developed feelings for each other during their freshman year, and within six months, they moved off-campus. At the time, her friend came from a wealthy family and vowed to Su Ying that he would marry her and take responsibility for her. However, in her sophomore year, Su Ying became pregnant. Just as final exams were approaching, her boyfriend, upon hearing the news, suddenly disappeared. After making inquiries, Su Ying learned that he had gone to study in Australia.
When Su Ying's family found out about this, they were both ashamed and furious. In a fit of anger, they said they would sever ties with her and even stop sending her living expenses every month. Su Ying was also extremely heartbroken during that time, drinking and smoking every day. In the end, it was her roommate who scraped together the money to send her to the hospital for artificial insemination.
However, gossip about a girl often spreads fastest on campus, and the news that Su Ying had an abortion spread like wildfire. After deliberation, the school leaders decided to expel Su Ying.
At the tender age of twenty, she experienced betrayal by her boyfriend, the painful separation from her child, the indifference of her family, and the heartlessness of her school. Afterward, she changed jobs countless times and encountered many different kinds of men and women, but what impressed Shu Yi'an the most was when she first came to the company after graduation. This woman with black eyebrows and red lips told her, "Don't think this job is boring, at least it's clean."
Everyone thinks Su Ying is worldly, slick, and flirtatious, but only those who truly understand her know that it's a kind of helplessness and bewilderment towards the world. At her core, she still has the qualities of a little woman; she is willing to believe in love and even give those who hurt her chances again and again.
As for the boyfriend who betrayed her, his name was Yang Ke.