I never realized the hum of the central air conditioning was so loud.
I turned it off immediately, after which the ticking of the classical clock on the wall became more pronounced.
The hour hand was just a hair’s breadth away from the number eight.
I stepped into Mo You’s office and closed the door.
It was as if I were isolated from the outside world; I could hardly hear a thing.
‘It’s almost time…’
I felt like I could hear the bustling voices of the Commercial Street and the sound of approaching footsteps.
In reality, there was nothing but silence.
Another five minutes passed.
On Mo You’s digital watch, the digit changed to eight.
It was time.
As if perfectly timed, there was movement outside the door, followed by the sound of someone speaking.
Since we had agreed to meet in Mo You’s office, I didn’t dare go out.
I simply pressed my ear against the door and listened intently.
“…measures.”
Was that a man’s voice?
I held my breath, and the sound became clearer —
“…I used protection every time we did it. Even condoms…”
It turned out to be my own voice.
It was my voice, bluntly admitting to having slept with someone countless times.
‘If she hears this…’
Without time to think, I burst through the door and rushed out.
The vast office area was empty.
The sound was coming from further out…
Where was it coming from — ?
As I searched for the source, I heard footsteps at the company’s main entrance.
The person arriving at this time could only be An Zhi.
Damn it, that sound is outside the office!
Praying I wouldn’t run into An Zhi, I pushed open the office door and dashed toward the logo wall.
Through the dim light filtering through the glass doors, I saw two figures walking cautiously toward the alleyway on the left.
It was An Zhi…
She had grown so thin…
But that silhouette was definitely hers!
No, she can’t come in yet!
Having finally pinpointed the direction of the sound, I circled behind the logo wall and found the door to the women’s restroom closed.
The sound was coming from inside.
“Every time we did it before…”
The voice I had dizzily uttered in front of Su Xixia was still playing on a loop inside.
Damn it!
Is Su Xixia in there!?
As the footsteps at the entrance drew closer, I threw open the restroom door.
The recording was blaring from the middle stall.
I slammed the restroom door shut behind me.
Voices drifted in from outside.
“…Did you hear something?”
“I think… is that… Mingshan? This…”
It was An Zhi’s voice.
‘It’s not like that. I’ll explain everything slowly. it’s not as simple as the recording makes it sound!’
How did things end up like this!?
“Su Xixia, I know you’re in there. Open the door!”
I pounded on the stall door frantically, the latch letting out a rhythmic groan.
It was locked from the inside.
“Su Xixia, stop playing it. You…”
Seeing that the door wouldn’t open, I steeled myself and delivered a hard kick.
With a sharp crack, the wooden panel around the latch splintered into several pieces.
I crashed inside.
The woman was right there, sitting on the toilet with her head lowered, clutching the source of the sound tightly to her chest.
“Su Xixia, I told you to stop.”
Afraid of being heard by An Zhi, I didn’t dare shout.
I could only squeeze the words through my teeth as I grabbed her shoulders.
It really was her.
She avoided my gaze, her eyes terrifyingly red and her body trembling slightly.
She knew how angry this would make me.
She knew!!
And yet, she sat there in silence, doing this.
Under my desperate strength, she couldn’t resist at all.
I quickly snatched the phone from her arms.
“Stop… where is the stop button… tell me, damn it!”
I frantically tapped the screen, tears stinging my eyes.
I knew that if the sound was audible even in Mo You’s office, it had certainly reached An Zhi’s ears.
She would definitely recognize my voice.
It was all over…
The wet phone screen showed a nine-dot grid.
I tapped it, and the words “Enter Password” appeared.
My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.
As my nerves reached their breaking point, my rage erupted like a volcano.
“The password! What’s the password? Tell me! You…”
“Ugh… Mmph — “
I subconsciously grabbed the neck of the silent female demon in front of me.
She let out a frightened whimper, but she still refused to speak.
A horrific thought flashed through my mind, and I tightened my grip.
“Cough! Ugh… cough… Mingshan, I can’t… breathe… Mingshan…”
“Tell me the password. You don’t want to die, do you…?”
“…”
Silence fell.
The pleading look in her eyes lost focus.
She just kept her head down, tears flowing, refusing to speak even as I exerted my strength.
‘If I keep going, she’ll die… I’ll kill her with my own hands…’
‘Why did you have to go this far!?’
‘Would you rather die just to separate me from An Zhi?’
“Cough…”
Her breathing grew weaker beneath my palm.
‘No, I can’t strangle her! Get a grip… if this continues, my life will be completely ruined.’
“Damn it!”
I shook my head violently and let go.
Then, I slammed the phone onto the floor with all my might.
*Smash!!*
A piercing sound echoed as the phone shattered into pieces, and the recording finally cut off.
“Cough, cough! Haa — haa — “
Aside from Su Xixia’s heavy coughing, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
With that noise, An Zhi would definitely notice…
And how was I supposed to —
“An Zhi, let’s go, quickly. You heard that, right? It was so loud. What if some thug is hiding in there? What would two women like us do?”
“Quick! Just leave this here and let’s go!”
I heard Jiang Lulan’s voice from the entrance, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps retreating into the distance.
I shut the stall door and pushed a large cabinet filled with cleaning supplies in front of it, firmly blocking the exit.
I used a mop to wedge the restroom door frame against the cabinet feet.
This way, no matter how much strength Su Xixia had, she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Then, I sprinted out of the restroom, squeezed through the sliding glass doors, and rushed outside.
‘It’s not like that!’
‘Things aren’t like this…’
“It’s not true!!” I screamed.
At the end of the dark alley, I saw two petite shadows beginning to merge into the crowd.
“An…”
Realizing I couldn’t call her name, I chased them to the mouth of the alley.
The Commercial Street was bright and bustling with people, and the two shadows were nowhere to be found.
“It’s not like that!! I miss you! I’ll definitely come to see you again! Just wait! Wait for me — !!”
Amidst the startled gazes of passersby, I roared with everything I had.
This way, they would surely hear me.
An Zhi would definitely recognize my voice.
That way…
There would still be a chance.
Would there really…
Be a chance?
I collapsed onto my knees on the cold, damp early winter ground.
The crowd split into two paths around me, flowing slowly past.
Why did things turn out like this?
Was it because of my negligence?
But when…
My head throbbed with a dull pain, as if I had been struck by a rock.
My blood felt stagnant and blocked.
The dizziness made it impossible to think clearly; I could only keep asking questions.
—
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
By the time the streetlights dimmed and the crowds dispersed, I finally found the strength to stand up.
My knees stung with a pulsing heat.
My blood stained the gaps in the irregular stone pavement.
People had approached me a few times to offer concern, but I hadn’t had the energy to respond.
I had sat there kneeling until late into the night.
An Zhi and the other must have left long ago.
This rare meeting had ended like this.
I dragged my feet back to the company and stopped in front of the restroom stall.
I punched the cleaning cabinet.
The various hooks and tools inside clattered against each other.
“Why did you have to do this? Were you not satisfied until you broke my heart? Are you happy now? I intended to explain everything to An Zhi. Even if she didn’t forgive me, I would have accepted it… but now I don’t even have the chance to come clean!”
The sound of sobbing came from the other side of the cabinet.
She seemed to be crying too.
Was her heart aching as well?
Unfortunately, I had lost all reason to care about her.
She was the one who destroyed it.
She destroyed the last Shred of affection I had for her…
“If you hadn’t done these things and had just been honest about your family from the start, I would have been willing to help you… but you insisted on using the most pathetic methods. Lying, threatening… how can I help you now!?”
Among her sobs, I could faintly hear the word “love.”
It didn’t move me even a little bit.
I didn’t want to do this…
“I’m going to call your family…”
“Boohoo — Mingshan, no… I don’t want to get married…”
I grit my teeth against her pleading.
“If you didn’t want it, why did you do all this?! Do you still have the nerve to make demands?! Answer me, Su Xixia! Say something…”
“I want… to be with you… forever…”
She kept repeating.
“Be with you? Being with you will only result in us hurting each other! The space between us is getting smaller and smaller. Eventually, we’ll both suffocate, just like right now! Do you think my wounds aren’t deep enough? You selfish woman. You’ve been like this since you were a child — self-centered…”
I loudly refuted the “love” she spoke of, cursed her character, and denied everything about her.
“Mingshan… I was… wrong.”
“I was wrong too. I was wrong to ever sympathize with what you went through and to enter into that twisted relationship with you… All of that is void now. You have no right to refuse.”
In my heart, I had already decided her fate.
“I’ll transfer the rental contract to you, along with the money for one year’s rent. Consider it as me returning the Family Heirloom.”
As I spoke, I began operating my phone, ignoring her weak protests.
I transferred almost my entire remaining balance to her card.
Although it was still a little short, it wasn’t by much.
“I’m blocking all your contact information. I’m moving out tonight. I’ll explain things to the company and try to get a transfer elsewhere. As for your future plans, that’s your business. You won’t be able to find me again. We are never seeing each other again…”
With her qualifications, it probably wouldn’t be hard for her to stay in the city, but that was none of my concern.
I would contact Xiao Ji and ask him to take Su Xixia “home,” locking her in the house temporarily until I was ready to leave.
As for the company, while it was a pity…
I would just have to explain the situation to Mo You and ask for her understanding.
I ignored her increasingly hysterical pleas and confessions, suppressed my last bit of emotion for her, and walked toward the office.
I had to lock the door.
However, as I pulled the handle to close the door, a sharp pain shot through my palm.
I turned on my flashlight and found a tiny piece of paper stuffed into the keyhole.
After picking it up, I saw crooked handwriting that read:
“On the desk.”
It must have been written in a great hurry.
I rushed into the office.
Seeing that there was nothing at my workstation, I ducked into Mo You’s office.
I turned on the light.
Sure enough, something was sitting on her desk…
Was that…
A letter?
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