**In the top-floor office of the City A’s International Trade Center, Secretary Lin entered the office to find the boss sitting behind his desk, his back to her, head slightly tilted to the left, facing the clear sky outside the window, his left hand propping up his temple as if in deep thought, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, lost in thought, with a long ash about to fall. Secretary Lin cleared her throat and respectfully called out, “Chairman!” The ash fell to the ground, and Zhou Yuqian responded, “What is it?” “Deputy General Manager Qian from MOIO is here!” “Wasn’t it supposed to be General Manager Xie?” Zhou Yuqian tilted his head slightly, asking in confusion. Could it be because of their last conversation in the hospital parking lot that Xie Jiayi was avoiding him? Logically, Xie shouldn’t make such a mistake of mixing personal and professional matters. “Here’s the situation, Mr. Xie left City A this morning for personal reasons, and Deputy General Manager Qian is currently acting in his stead,” Secretary Lin quickly lowered his head and asked for instructions as he saw his boss suddenly turn towards him: “Should I ask Deputy General Manager Qian to come in?” Zhou Yuqian nodded slightly, saying, “Prepare the contract!” Two minutes later, a slightly chubby, ruddy-faced middle-aged man walked in. Zhou Yuqian greeted him with a smile, shook his hand, and politely said, “I’m sorry for making you come in person, Mr. Qian!” Mr. Qian grinned, revealing his tetracycline-stained teeth, and responded, “The Chairman is too kind. Mr. Xie had to return to his hometown due to an urgent matter, and we are the ones who should apologize!” Zhou Yuqian’s smile stiffened. Returning to his hometown? How coincidental? When Aunt Lai was seriously ill and returned to City C, what trouble had Xie gotten himself into this time? After seeing off Mr. Qian, Zhou Yuqian stood by the window, lighting another cigarette in agitation. The clouds outside drifted slowly over the rooftops, the smoke from his cigarette swirling around his fingers, the clouds now almost within reach, yet he instinctively touched the cold glass, realizing the clouds were far away, just as unreachable as his own feelings. Yet, there was someone much braver than him. Ah, youth is great, unafraid of ending up with nothing! He laughed at himself, his reflection in the window showing a somber, weathered face, fine lines at the corners of his eyes, and faint wrinkles on his forehead. After nearly a decade in the turbulent business world, he first recognized his own powerlessness. Lai, the trouble he had personally bought, what should he do about it? She had been by his side for almost five years, always like a little cat nestled quietly in his arms, never causing a fuss, yet now, at the end, she had become a problem he couldn’t solve. Xie Jiayi had seven more years with her, and Lai had never forgotten him. Perhaps, she would propose to leave him when she returned this time. He regretted avoiding her on purpose for the past month; maybe that was their last time together.
Secretary Lin, who had escorted Mr. Qian downstairs, stood at the doorway watching his boss’s silhouette. This time, he didn’t interrupt, only stood there for a moment before turning to leave. Even back in his office, he was still thinking, who knew that the boss, who seemed to be on top of the world, could also feel so downcast, so downcast that it evoked deep sympathy. Like—like what, Secretary Lin couldn’t find the words. Having followed his boss for over a decade, he knew all too well that the usually cold boss would never show weakness, even when his mood was low, he would close the door, not letting anyone see. But this time, he had forgotten.
What brought Zhou Yuqian back to reality was a phone call from Lai. He picked up, excited because, knowing her, she wouldn’t call unless it was something important. Now, there could only be one reason for her call—she was probably returning to City A. However, this time he was wrong. “Why delay your return by a week?” Zhou Yuqian lost his composure, fuming at a phone that had already disconnected. He certainly wouldn’t ask Lai such a question; with her, he either granted her requests or ordered her back immediately. But she rarely asked for anything, so he complied out of reason. Although he could imagine that Lai’s delay might be because of Xie Jiayi, and that something he didn’t want to imagine might have already happened between them, and that Lai might indeed be planning to break up with him. But he could only suppress his heartache, glaring at the phone. In fact, Zhou Yuqian was so concerned he was confused; Lai’s delay was only because her aunt was scheduled for surgery in a week, and she wanted to hear the doctor announce the success of the operation before returning. If Zhou Yuqian had asked her, she would have explained everything, even if he hadn’t asked, she would have explained if he had been overbearing and told her not to stay in City C. But he had acted as if he didn’t care, so no one cared about him.
After hanging up, Lai saw Xie Jiayi carrying a sputum cup into the hospital room from afar, her body stiffening momentarily before following him. Xie Jiayi helped Aunt Lai take her medication and chatted with her with a smile. He noticed Lai standing at the doorway and said to Aunt Lai, “You’ve just taken your medicine, rest for a bit, it helps the medicine work better!” Aunt Lai nodded with a smile. “Thank you so much for your trouble.” “Oh, please, don’t be formal with me!” Xie Jiayi said, gently pulling the covers over Aunt Lai, carefully pressing on her shoulders to help her lie down, and tucking the edges of the blanket tightly before walking to the door with a smile, asking, “Finished your call?” Lai didn’t answer, only looked at him for a moment before saying, “You really don’t have to do these things.” Xie Jiayi spread his hands. “I haven’t done anything!” Lai stared at him, feeling frustrated, wanting to shout: That’s my aunt, not yours. After a brief pause, she turned and walked away. What do you mean by not doing anything? Pouring tea, serving meals on time, chatting to relieve boredom, washing clothes, emptying sputum cups—none of these count as doing anything? He had done everything she was supposed to do, so of course, it counts as nothing! This manager, who should be commanding from his office, doing these trivial tasks that anyone could do, was indeed nothing to him, she knew, she knew all too well. Crystal tears slid down her cheeks, shining like autumn dew; she wiped them away roughly with the back of her hand. He didn’t know, she didn’t want him doing those things; all the household chores used to be hers, he just had to earn money, come home, and hold her at night. Wiping away another surge of tears, her Xie Jiayi wasn’t the type to do these things; he should be back in his office as the manager, driving his luxury car to high-class banquets, not running back and forth in this small hospital with a smelly sputum cup.
