After working there for a while, Mai Ding gradually began to adjust. He also picked up plenty of useless gossip, because whenever the women in the office had nothing to do, they gossiped, and Mai Ding inevitably overheard some of it. Apparently, whether they were still in school or had already entered society, most women could never do without gossip.
He knew which two people in the office were flirting with each other. The manager’s wife was a woman twenty years younger than the manager and, according to what people said, his second wife. Someone else had failed at another blind date. In short, it was all things unrelated to work. Nobody wanted to talk about work. The work at this company was repetitive and dull, and Mai Ding did the same things every day. Naturally, Gao Guo would never entrust anything too important to an intern like him.
The manager’s young wife came in dressed to the nines. Naturally, Sister Hua did not miss the opportunity to flatter her. Sister Hua was the woman who had spoken to Mai Ding on his first day at the company. She had been there for quite a long time. In an enthusiastic voice, she said, “You look just like a princess on TV today. That outfit must have been expensive. You can tell at a glance it’s high-end.” A princess would never dress like that, but the manager’s wife was delighted. “I had a friend bring it back from Hong Kong.” “It would look awful on me. Beautiful people look good in anything.” Sister Hua’s flattery made the manager’s wife even more pleased. Stroking the collar with her purple-red crystal nails, she said, “You couldn’t afford it anyway.” The manager spotted his glamorous wife from inside his office and came hurrying out with a smile. He was in his forties, short and fat, with a double chin bunched beneath his face. Standing beside his wife, he looked like a bulldog next to a poodle. She looped an arm through his. “I missed you, that’s all. I saw a pair of shoes I liked at the mall today.” Talking as they went, the two entered his office and closed the door.
“What the hell is all this?!” Gao Guo slapped a file down on Mai Ding’s desk. Mai Ding hurriedly pulled his gaze back and bit his lower lip, not daring to look Gao Guo in the eye. Even though Mai Ding had already tried his best to satisfy him, Gao Guo seemed determined to dislike him and was always picking faults. Mai Ding did not particularly resent him for it. If Mai Ding were genuinely doing everything well, Gao Guo would have nothing to criticize. In the end, it still came down to Mai Ding not being capable enough.
After Gao Guo went out to meet a client, Sister Hua came over to comfort Mai Ding out of kindness. “Don’t take it too seriously. He’s always like that, as if everyone in the world owes him money. No wonder he’s already in his thirties and no woman wants him.” Although Sister Hua could be rather worldly and calculating, she was warmhearted enough.
“Maybe he likes men,” Mai Ding said innocently, voicing another possibility before realizing he probably should not have said it aloud. He was just about to repair the damage when Sister Hua burst out laughing, doubling over. “Hahaha, I never knew you could be so mean too.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Mai Ding hurried to explain.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry. I was just talking badly about him too. I won’t go telling anyone.” Sister Hua’s words made Mai Ding’s heart tighten. In other people’s eyes, liking men counted as a nasty joke? As something derogatory? He fell silent. He did not want to argue with Sister Hua about it. He did not want to argue with anyone about it. Really, there was no need.
With something like this, you could not convince other people any more than they could convince you.
What they thought did not matter that much to Mai Ding.
When Gao Guo returned, his expression was even darker. The deal with the client had probably fallen through, so once again he took all his frustration out on Mai Ding. “You still haven’t finished redoing what I gave you earlier?”
“Almost.”
“What have you been doing all afternoon? Are you here just to collect a paycheck? If you don’t want to work, leave.” Irritated, Gao Guo shook a cigarette from the pack and went outside. Mai Ding only lowered his head and worked faster. He was not about to imagine himself as some tragic, pitiful protagonist. Everyone ran into bad-tempered people at work sometimes, and everyone inevitably got scolded by a superior now and then. As a man, he could handle that much. He probably had An Zi Yan to thank for that too. After enduring the daily baptism of An Zi Yan’s words, compared with being told he would drag down the entire national economy, this was nothing.
Without realizing it, he thought of him again. Hurry up and finish so I can go home. Someone that awful, yet Mai Ding spent every day wanting to see him as soon as possible. He could barely tolerate even the twenty-some-minute walk home anymore. His brain was definitely, definitely broken!
By the time Mai Ding finished his work, the office was empty. He stretched, sat there for another dozen seconds, then slowly headed downstairs. The moment he stepped outside, he saw two faces he thoroughly disapproved of. Pretending not to know them, he simply kept walking.
“Yan told us to pick you up and take you to dinner.”
At the sound of the name, Mai Ding stopped and pretended he had only just noticed them. “Well, if it isn’t Zhou Ge and Ellen. You two actually have time to eat food instead of aphrodisiacs?” He looked disdainfully at the pair clinging together. To be honest, Mai Ding had originally thought Zhou Ge was just a playboy who used money to lure Ellen into fooling around with him. He had never expected them not only to stay together for so long but to remain permanently trapped in a honeymoon phase that was unbearable to everyone around them.
“Baby, Mai Ding’s jealous of us again.” Zhou Ge stroked Ellen’s slender waist, making her laugh. This was exactly why Mai Ding did not like spending time with the two of them. They always made everything feel like some sleazy nightclub. Mai Ding climbed into the back seat on his own. “Why didn’t An Zi Yan come himself?”
“He said he didn’t want to waste the gas,” Ellen said as she got into the car too.
“Since when is he that thrifty?!”
They drove to a restaurant they often visited. Zhou Ge and Ellen came to see them from time to time, and Mai Ding did not mind that. It meant he did not have to cook and could save the cost of a meal, although he did think there was no need to come all this way every single time they ate together. They had only just sat down when An Zi Yan arrived, wearing his usual rather unwilling, indifferent expression. The moment he sat, he leaned his entire body back against the chair.
“Sigh. You two are finished. Married life has already entered the burnout stage.” Zhou Ge shook his head as he stroked Ellen’s hair where she leaned against his shoulder. Ellen joined in from beside him. “I knew Mai Ding had no charm.”
“That has nothing to do with me. Don’t slander my good name. He’s always been like that, okay? The only time he shows any interest is when he’s messing with someone.”
An Zi Yan glanced at Mai Ding. “You have a problem with me?”
“I…” Be brave. Fight back! Mai Ding cheered himself on inwardly, while Zhou Ge and Ellen fanned the flames from the side. “Fight! Divorce!” This time An Zi Yan glanced at the two across from him. “Since when was it your turn to talk, disgusting couple?”
“At least give us a nicer nickname!” Zhou Ge complained. Mai Ding, fickle as ever, privately thought the nickname suited them perfectly.
Once the food arrived, Mai Ding did not stand on ceremony. As he ate, he said, “Xiao Si should be graduating and coming back soon too, right?”
“She said she doesn’t want to come back. After you stole An Zi Yan, she lost the will to go on living and doesn’t want to see your face. She’s going to wander abroad until you have an accident, then come back and compose a new romance with An Zi Yan.”
“Can she come up with a more believable excuse? She obviously just wants to keep playing around, same as a certain someone. Tsk, tsk.” Mai Ding did not name names, only shook his head while looking at An Zi Yan. As usual, however, Mai Ding’s attacks had absolutely no effect on him. He turned to Zhou Ge instead. “I’ve already found a company to intern at. What are you planning to do?”
“Don’t compare yourself with me, okay?” Zhou Ge gave a snort and said smugly, “My family’s rich. Obviously I’m going to enjoy being a happy second-generation rich kid.” He actually had the nerve to say it out loud. As an ordinary commoner, Mai Ding wanted to leap across the table, seize Zhou Ge by the throat, and strangle him to death. Then he looked suspiciously at An Zi Yan. Surely he was not planning the same thing as Zhou Ge? Immediately, Mai Ding began lecturing him earnestly. “You can’t learn from him. You need to find your own value. Look at all those great people…” Mai Ding stopped. He wanted to name someone as an example but suddenly could not think of anyone.
“Don’t pretend to be cultured when you barely read,” An Zi Yan said, seeing straight through him. His attacks always landed exactly where they hurt.
“I just suddenly forgot!”
Seeing the two start bickering again, Zhou Ge and Ellen did not stay idle. “Fight! Divorce!”
“Even if the two of you overdose on aphrodisiacs someday, we still won’t get divorced!!” Mai Ding declared, then tried to recruit support. “Right, An Zi Yan?”
“Does divorce require a lot of paperwork?” Instead of answering, An Zi Yan asked a question of his own. Mai Ding answered absentmindedly, “I heard it does. Wait, why are you asking something like that?!”
“Then no divorce. Too much trouble.”
“Does every answer you give have to take the route that makes me unhappy?” Mai Ding pouted and lightly kicked An Zi Yan under the table.