Three days later, as Mai Ding prepared dinner that afternoon, he heard An Zi Yan’s phone ring in the living room. A moment later came An Zi Yan’s voice. “Got it. I’ll head over now.” Mai Ding poked his head out. An Zi Yan was already standing by the entrance. “Where are you going? Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Out for a bit.”
Mai Ding asked weakly, “Can I come?” An Zi Yan did not answer and opened the door. Mai Ding lowered his eyes and was just about to retreat into the kitchen when An Zi Yan said coldly, “Do I have to carry you out?” Mai Ding immediately brightened, turned off the stove, and said, “Coming.” Afraid An Zi Yan might change his mind, he asked no unnecessary questions. When the car reached an intersection, Mai Ding saw An Su waiting impatiently with her arms folded against a car door. When An Zi Yan arrived, she did not scold him. Instead, she snapped at Mai Ding. “How long were you planning to make me wait? Do you have any sense of time?”
“But…” Mai Ding had not been the one who arranged to meet An Su. Why was she taking it out on him?
“I don’t want to hear excuses.”
“Shouldn’t you be scolding An Zi Yan instead?”
“Aren’t you two a married couple now? Scolding either one is the same.” An Su sounded completely justified, leaving Mai Ding without a comeback. An Zi Yan got out and went straight into An Su’s car. Before Mai Ding could react, An Su had already taken the driver’s seat beside him. “Are you getting out or are you hoping something happens between us?” Mai Ding yanked the door open and fled. After somehow swapping cars with An Su, he had expected them to go somewhere special. Instead, they ended up tucked into a corner of the company’s underground parking garage. Mai Ding looked approvingly at An Zi Yan and even patted his shoulder. “Young man, you’ve finally gained some awareness. I never knew you were this hardworking, secretly coming back to do overtime. Not bad, not bad. You have a future.” An Zi Yan coldly slapped his hand away. Mai Ding snatched it back. “Ow! I’m praising you and you hit me?”
“Want me to hit you again?”
“Violent maniac!”
An Zi Yan kept his eyes fixed on one spot. Mai Ding followed his gaze and realized they were watching Manager Cui’s car. Why had Manager Cui still not gone home this late? Was An Zi Yan planning to slash his tires? While Mai Ding was still guessing, Manager Cui appeared. He opened his car door, got in, started the engine, and drove out of the garage. An Zi Yan started their car immediately afterward and followed at a distance.
Nervous, Mai Ding kept fiddling with his seat belt. After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked cautiously, “Have you finally decided to kill Manager Cui today?” An Zi Yan gave him a sideways glance. “I’d rather kill you.”
“But I’ve never done anything to you.”
“I like killing you.”
“What kind of reason is that? Can’t you just take the word ‘kill’ out of that sentence?”
“You wish.”
“Seriously, why are we following Manager Cui?”
“To see.” That was as good as saying nothing. Mai Ding knew An Zi Yan did not like explaining a whole situation from beginning to end. They would probably understand once they followed him, so Mai Ding stopped asking questions and stared intently at the car ahead, issuing instructions. “Don’t get too close or he’ll notice. Wait, slow down. No, faster! There’s a traffic light. What if we lose him…” An Zi Yan took his right hand off the wheel and lightly smacked the back of Mai Ding’s head. “Sit still and be quiet.”
“I’m only trying to help.”
“Save your good intentions for yourself.”
Mai Ding wrinkled his nose. If you lose him or get lost later, don’t come crying to me for help. Unfortunately, An Zi Yan neither lost the car nor got lost, so naturally he never had to beg Mai Ding in tears. Manager Cui’s car stopped in front of a restaurant. After he went inside, Mai Ding tried to sneak out of the car, but An Zi Yan caught him. Mai Ding turned back. “Is it really okay not to follow him inside?”
“No need. I only want to know who he arranged to meet.”
“Who do you think it is?” Mai Ding suspected An Zi Yan already had an answer and had only come to confirm it. An Zi Yan’s fingers tapped slowly against the steering wheel. “Probably one of the Marketing managers.” Mai Ding knew Marketing had three managers, but he tirelessly continued asking questions. “But wouldn’t it be perfectly normal for Manager Cui to have dinner privately with someone from Marketing?” An Zi Yan did not answer, but his expression told Mai Ding things were not that simple. Mai Ding suddenly smacked one fist into his palm. “No wonder you don’t like Zhu Qiang. You suspected him a long time ago.”
An Zi Yan glanced at Mai Ding. “I don’t like him for another reason.”
“What reason?”
An Zi Yan glanced at him again. The answer could not have been more obvious. Mai Ding was the reason. Unfortunately, Mai Ding remained completely oblivious and firmly believed it was about work.
Before long, another car stopped in front of the restaurant. The man who got out was not Zhu Qiang, but another Marketing manager: Bi Sheng Lin. Once An Zi Yan saw him enter the restaurant too, he had no intention of staying. He started the car and drove away. The relationships among the company’s managers really were tangled. Mai Ding searched his memory, trying to think of a single manager outside Public Relations whom An Zi Yan got along with well. He came up with nobody. What kind of interpersonal skills are those? If Mai Ding held An Zi Yan’s position, he could probably become friends with every manager in the company. After all, Mai Ding was so approachable and pleasant. Only then did he remember another manager. “Right, Manager Ji told me to tell you not to get any ideas about her. I almost forgot.” An Zi Yan barely reacted. “That sounds like her.”
“It’s all because you’re antisocial and rude! I’m broad-minded, so of course I can put up with you and give way to you, but do you think everyone is like me?”
“True. If everyone were like you, the world would be finished.”
“An Zi Yan!”
“What are you calling me for?”
Mai Ding glared at him. He wanted to argue back but could not find the words, deeply regretting that he had not studied Chinese harder as a child.
The moment they got home, An Zi Yan slouched lazily against the sofa and turned on the television. It was practically automatic by now. Mai Ding was starting to think the front door itself was some kind of An-Zi-Yan converter. The image An Zi Yan maintained at work did not survive even one second after he got home. Those women in Finance had no eye for men. Mai Ding was clearly the good one, yet they all liked An Zi Yan instead. Mai Ding went back to the kitchen and resumed cooking, another habit that had become automatic. He used to complain about his miserable fate, having to cook, clean, and do housework. Now he did not even complain anymore. He had accepted the tragic reality.
They sat in their usual seats at the dining table. Halfway through eating, Mai Ding suddenly looked up. “Could the reason you’re this lazy be because I spoiled you?” He answered his own question. “Very possible. Every time I only complain with my mouth, but I still pick up your clothes and everything else. Of course you stopped caring and kept doing whatever you wanted. No. This can’t continue. You have to learn to be independent. From now on, you’re responsible for any clothes you throw around.”
“Then what use are you at home?”
“Why do you always have to lower the value of my existence?!”
“You have value?”
“I’m not discussing that with you. After you finish eating, wash your own bowl.”
An Zi Yan said blandly, “Hand in your resignation letter tomorrow.” Ruthless! An Zi Yan had him completely by the weakness. Endure it. Mai Ding once again comforted himself with the story of Goujian sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall. At least Goujian eventually succeeded. Mai Ding could taste gall for the rest of his life and still get absolutely nowhere.
Elio’s Notes: Goujian was a king of Yue whose story inspired the saying “sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall”: enduring hardship now to triumph later. Mai Ding’s heroic comparison is a little ambitious for a household-chore dispute.
“I make one joke and you take it seriously. What resignation letter? Don’t say such awful things.”