Chapter 4
The next morning, a flurry of knocking woke me.
I pulled the door open.
Qin Yue stood outside, his face dark.
Xu Jiarou was behind him.
She carried several bags of breakfast. Her forehead was covered in sweat and her eyes were slightly red, as though she’d suffered some terrible injustice and was bravely keeping it to herself.
The moment Qin Yue saw me, he launched into an accusation.
“Why did you turn off your phone?”
I glanced at it.
After accepting the offer last night, I’d set it to silent.
There were more than twenty missed calls on the screen, all from Qin Yue.
“I was sleeping. Why should I answer?”
“You could still sleep?”
He slammed the breakfast bags he was carrying onto the entryway cabinet. The plastic crackled harshly.
“Do you realize Jiarou had to get up at five this morning to buy everyone breakfast because you walked out without a word?”
“A young girl like her, running around to more than a dozen shops! She even fell on the way!”
A bandage covered Xu Jiarou’s knee.
When she saw me looking, she forced a smile.
“Xiyue, don’t fight with Yue.”
“It’s all my fault. If I’d known you didn’t want to do it, I should have offered to share the load sooner.”
I almost laughed.
Qin Yue had been the one to demand that I buy breakfast for the entire company, yet somehow I’d deliberately dumped the work on her.
His face was cold.
“Wen Xiyue, look at Jiarou, then look at yourself.”
“You’re both women, and she’s even a year younger, but she knows how to consider the team and support other people. What about you? You throw a tantrum over nothing and leave everyone waiting!”
“Everyone was waiting for me?”
Leaning against the doorway, I asked calmly:
“It was already eleven-thirty at night when you messaged me. How did they know I’d agree?”
Qin Yue faltered.
Xu Jiarou immediately spoke in a soft voice.
“Xiyue, Yue only handed the job straight to you because he trusts you.”
“He sees you as one of his own. Of course he doesn’t stand on ceremony with you.”
“Outsiders like us would love to have that kind of trust.”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened again at just the right moment, turning mistily toward Qin Yue.
Sure enough, his expression softened. When he turned back to me, all that remained was deep impatience.
“Enough. I don’t want to argue.”
“I’ll let this morning go. Get ready and come back to the company with me.”
I didn’t move.
“I accepted Xinghan Technology’s offer last night.”
The corridor fell silent for a moment.
Qin Yue stared at me as though he hadn’t understood.
“What did you say?”
“I said I accepted Xinghan’s offer. I start next Monday.”
Qin Yue’s face darkened by degrees.
“Wen Xiyue, have you lost your mind?”
“I’ve already arranged your desk. Everyone on the team knows you’re starting today. Now you’re running off to Xinghan? How am I supposed to explain that? How am I supposed to face them?”
I looked at him.
Even now, what mattered to him wasn’t my choice.
It was his pride.
“You can tell them I found a job that suits me better.”
“Suits you?”
Qin Yue laughed in fury.
“Do you think big tech companies are charities? You’re a fresh graduate. What are you to them?”
“You’d rather be someone else’s lowest-level cog than build a company with me?”
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.
“At least that cog gets paid 32,000 yuan a month and doesn’t have to run errands for seventeen people at five in the morning.”
Qin Yue’s face turned livid.
Xu Jiarou quickly caught his sleeve.
“Yue, don’t be angry. Xiyue just hasn’t experienced how hard the workplace can be. She’ll understand once she’s there.”
Then she turned to me, her voice soft.
“Xiyue, I know Xinghan pays well. But Yue’s offering you more than a salary. He’s offering you love and a future.”
“If you leave him for money now, you’ll regret it later.”
“I’m going to Xinghan for myself. This is my choice. Whether I regret it later or not, I’ll take responsibility for the consequences.”
I paused.
“As for love—”
I took off the matching couple’s bracelet on my wrist and gently set it on the entryway cabinet.
The silver chain landed with a faint, clear chink.
“Qin Yue, let’s break up.”
Through Xu Jiarou’s tearful expression, a flash of unmistakable delight finally escaped.
Qin Yue looked as though he’d heard something utterly absurd.
“You’re breaking up with me over a high-paying job?”
He stared at me in disbelief.
“Wen Xiyue, I never knew you were the kind of person who’d give up anything for money!”
“It isn’t because of the job.”
My voice was calm.
“It’s because I finally see that what you call love means demanding I give up my career, my income, and my dignity, then become completely dependent on you.”
“You can make Xu Jiarou a product manager with no experience at all, yet you insist someone who ranked first in her major and won a national gold medal can only be an assistant.”
“Qin Yue, you don’t think I’m incapable.”
“You’re just afraid I’m capable.”