“Yan, it’s all Mai Ding’s fault. He came back to bother the boss’s girlfriend again, and now the two of them are furious. We didn’t want to trouble you, but since you’re friends…” Guo Ping explained. An Zi Yan glanced sideways at Mai Ding. “You really disappoint me.”
Mai Ding stood there like a lifeless puppet, eyes dull as he endured yet another stroke of terrible luck. Zhou Ge and Ellen seemed to be enjoying themselves far too much to stop now. They clearly wanted to use the same routine they had just used on Mai Ding against An Zi Yan too.
“Yan, we’re friends, so of course I’ll give you face. But your subordinate harassing my woman is a different matter. Unless Mai Ding kneels down in front of me, I’m not calming down.”
An Zi Yan casually flexed his fingers, his knuckles cracking. “Why bother calming down? How about I just make sure you stop breathing instead?”
“Haha, I’m kidding. You know me. Look how badly you scared your subordinate. Don’t worry, we mess around like this all the time. It’s fine. Drink what you want, eat what you want.” Zhou Ge immediately turned to entertain Guo Ping and the others. Only then did they relax. “As long as it’s fine. Mai Ding, none of us will dare invite you here again. Hurry home and stop causing trouble for people. Yan, come have a drink with us too.”
“I still have something to take care of.”
“Mm, sorry you had to come clean up a mess this late at night. Mai Ding, you should properly thank Yan too.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Mai Ding wore an extremely sorrowful smile. He had only come out for a simple meal with An Zi Yan. How had things developed into this? Once the others went back into their private room, Mai Ding asked, “Where did you come out from?”
“The back door.”
“The back door?! Why didn’t any of you tell me there was a back door? We could’ve just left through there!”
“You didn’t ask.” An Zi Yan shrugged.
“Do I have to ask before you’ll tell me anything? I can’t communicate with you anymore. All of you toy with my feelings. I’m leaving. Goodbye!” Mai Ding quickened his steps without looking back. An Zi Yan strolled outside and reached the car just in time to see Mai Ding board a bus. Sitting beside the window, Mai Ding suddenly pulled a face at him. An Zi Yan immediately realized something was wrong. He reached into his pockets. His car keys and wallet were both gone. He clenched his jaw and stared at the bus disappearing into the distance.
His phone lit up. It was a message from Mai Ding.
[Whoops. I have no idea how it happened, but when I hugged you just now, your car keys somehow fell into my bag. Maybe heaven was deliberately reminding you that you can’t drive after drinking. And while I’m at it, besides avoiding drunk driving, you should also remember to save money. I took your wallet too. I left you enough bus fare. Well then, I’ll be waiting for you at home.]
So Mai Ding had not hurried away because he was angry. He had been escaping for his life.
Another message arrived immediately afterward.
[You know, An Zi Yan, I’m not completely helpless against you.]
Early the next morning, Zhou Ge drove An Zi Yan’s car downstairs with his hair still mussed from sleep and loose house clothes hanging on him. Ellen did not look much better and kept yawning.
“Couldn’t you just take a taxi to work? You actually made us bring your car over. Have a little sympathy for how exhausted we are after last night. Ellen and I…” Before he could finish, An Zi Yan had already gotten into the car and shut the door. He started the engine and was about to leave when Mai Ding’s endless nagging suddenly echoed in his head. An Zi Yan reluctantly twisted his mouth, reached for the seat belt, and buckled it.
“Why are you resigning?” Manager Cui gripped his phone, his voice unusually cold.
“I have some personal reasons.”
“What personal reason could possibly make you resign and recommend that Cao Cheng Yi take your place? Did An Zi Yan say something to you?”
“N-no.”
“You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”
“No.”
Manager Cui shot up from his chair and shouted into the phone, “You think you can treat me like an idiot too? I’m warning you, if you dare sell me out, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“I’ve already left the company. Whatever happens from now on has nothing to do with me. Maybe it’s better that I left. If somebody found out…”
“No one is going to find out! What could An Zi Yan possibly uncover?”
“Manager Cui, I have something else to do.”
“Hello? Hello? Bi Sheng Lin, you fucking dare hang up on me?” Manager Cui hurled his phone onto the desk. He shoved the window open and lit a cigarette. An Zi Yan, if you won’t let me live comfortably, I won’t let you live comfortably either. Someone knocked outside the office. “Manager Cui, the department managers’ meeting will start at three-thirty.”
“Got it.”
Manager Cui arrived at the conference room on time. Nearly everyone was already there. It was supposed to be a meeting of department managers, but he had not expected two executives to attend as well. President Ji, who oversaw Marketing, cleared his throat. “I think everyone knows why this meeting was called. The company’s top priority this year is the product we’re about to launch. We don’t want anything going wrong the way it did last time. I want to hear your views.”
Discussion broke out around the conference room. Cao Cheng Yi, newly promoted, naturally wanted to seize the chance to make an impression, so he spoke first. Manager Cui leaned closer to An Zi Yan. “I’m relieved to see Manager An hasn’t had any trouble lately.” An Zi Yan spun the pen in his hand over the documents. “I didn’t know you cared so much about me.”
“Of course. Before New Year, you were frequently absent from work. President Wang told me a family member of yours was ill, and I was even worried you might resign to take care of them. But now that you seem to be working normally again, I suppose your family member must have recovered?” A cold glint appeared in An Zi Yan’s eyes. Manager Cui immediately knew he had found the right place to strike. Even An Zi Yan, who normally seemed to care about nothing, had a weak point. No one was perfect. Wearing a broad smile as though they were discussing ordinary business, Manager Cui finished the thought he had left hanging. “Or perhaps they died. What a pity. Don’t be too upset. Some people simply don’t live very long.” The pen spinning in An Zi Yan’s hand stopped. Ji Meng, seated on his other side, noticed something was wrong before anyone else. First she saw An Zi Yan’s icy profile, then Manager Cui’s smile. The smile looked perfectly amiable, but Ji Meng could still sense the malice beneath it. The An Zi Yan she knew was not someone whose emotions could be provoked easily. What exactly was Manager Cui saying to him?