But suddenly she really wanted to call her older sister.

Li Weiyi had an older sister named Li Xiaoyi, five years her senior. Since childhood, her sister had been the person who treated her best, the most gentle and considerate person. Li Xiaoyi hadn’t gone to university and had always stayed in their hometown.

Li Weiyi looked at the time—it was almost ten o’clock. Her sister still had to look after her four-year-old niece, so at this hour she might already be asleep. So Li Weiyi first sent a text message: “Sis, are you asleep?”

Her sister never replied.

Li Weiyi dejectedly tossed aside her phone. Just then the takeout arrived. She ate some randomly, and when she was still feeling resentful, a colleague called: “Li Weiyi, have you finished the calculations for your part of the report? The manager said it must be submitted to him before tomorrow morning.”

Li Weiyi sprang up like a carp jumping out of water, her tone calm: “Oh, I’m still writing it. I’ll send it to you when I’m done.”

She had originally planned to work overtime after eating with Xie Zhilu, but she had forgotten. Thinking again about the layoffs, feeling irritable and chaotic inside, she sat at her desk and began working hard with her head down.

Fortunately, the preliminary work had been done solidly. Although her mind was a mess, the report went fairly smoothly. By three in the morning, she finally finished. She sent the report to the manager, exhausted, and collapsed into sleep.

Therefore, when her sister Li Xiaoyi replied to the text message after four in the morning, Li Weiyi was completely unaware.

“Weiyi, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want to live like a dog anymore.”

——

Early the next morning, the alarm rang three times before Li Weiyi struggled to get up and rushed to work. As soon as work hours began, several work group chats on her phone jumped with many messages, including this week’s briefing, today’s briefing, and colleagues’ casual chatter. So much so that her sister’s text message was pushed further back, and Li Weiyi still didn’t see it.

The newest text message on her phone was just sent by Supervisor Zhou Dajie: “Not looking good, they’re getting serious.”

Li Weiyi sat at her workstation with a pale face, her spirits wavering. She thought: I won’t be that unlucky.

It was already the end of the year. When Li Weiyi absentmindedly sat in the packed conference room, she realized that today was the day for annual work performance reviews.

Everyone in the Finance Department had to give an annual performance report to one of the company’s vice presidents today. This vice president oversaw their department and could essentially decide each person’s promotion or departure.

If Zhou Dajie could have inside information, naturally others could too. Sitting among a crowd of people, Li Weiyi felt today’s atmosphere was strange. Everyone’s faces showed varying degrees of tension, as if they were all wearing masks.

Each person whose turn it was to give their performance review on stage went all out to present themselves. Even those who were usually reticent were using every trick in their arsenal today.

The vice president, however, remained expressionless throughout.

With such a large room full of people, from nine in the morning they gave performance reviews straight through to the afternoon, and it still wasn’t Li Weiyi’s turn. Li Weiyi listened all day. She didn’t know if it was from staying in the conference room too long causing her brain to lack oxygen, or from sleeping too little last night, but her head became heavy and dizzy. She even felt chest tightness and couldn’t catch her breath.

She picked up the speech she had prepared long ago, wanting to reinforce it, but couldn’t concentrate at all. When she came to her senses, she discovered she had drawn a chibi-style boy on the speech, with a bloodied sword piercing through the boy’s chest, thoroughly dead. And Xie Zhilu’s words from yesterday echoed in her ears: The first thing to do after passing the exam is to cut ties with your beloved…

At that moment, her name was called. All eyes focused on her, including those of the vice president and department manager.

…

Li Weiyi felt her performance review went terribly.

Looking at the vice president’s tightly furrowed brow, Zhou Dajie’s surprised and disappointed expression, and the thoughtful gazes of other colleagues, she didn’t want to stay at the company for another moment.

Dejected, she returned home. Li Weiyi took a shower, ate takeout haphazardly, and barely managed to console herself: It’s fine, it’s just one performance review. The leadership had seen her previous performance too.

Starting tomorrow, she would perform better.

Her mind slightly settled, she looked around and only then discovered something—

Xie Zhilu had come by during the day.

In the closet, the few clothes he had left here had all been taken away. Also his several pairs of shoes and toiletries from the bathroom. Then nothing else remained.

A key lay on the desk with a piece of paper underneath it.

Li Weiyi picked up that piece of paper.

Full of vigorous, powerful handwriting—the writing matched the person, high-sounding and sanctimonious.

Xie Zhilu’s tone was already much calmer. First he informed her that he had taken his things and was returning the key.

Then there were actually many reminders, detailed and gentle, just like in the past—reminding Li Weiyi that living alone, she should pay attention to fire and gas safety, not stay up late, and take care of her health. If returning home late, try to take a taxi right to the building, and don’t foolishly open the door for strangers. He also reminded her to be more worldly and tactful in the workplace, not just work foolishly hard, to maintain relationships more. If there was anywhere she needed his help, as long as she didn’t mind, she should just ask.

Finally, he said: It’s not that I don’t love you, but I’m a man with ambition.

Li Weiyi put down the letter and stared blankly for quite a while. An evil thought even welled up in her heart: If she published this letter and the whole story online, or reported it to his work unit, Xie Zhilu’s job might even be lost, his reputation ruined.

Then he would be finished.

Li Weiyi sighed and tore up the letter, throwing it in the trash.

That’s enough. For such a relationship, wasting one day to mourn it was sufficient. Tomorrow she would revive with full energy.

——

Opening her computer to work overtime again, Li Weiyi’s heart had already reached an icy calm. She thought, I really am an excellent corporate slave—work drains me but can also heal me.

Busy until midnight, she closed her computer and lay in bed aimlessly scrolling on her phone. After a while, she finally saw the text message her sister had sent in the middle of the night yesterday. She sat bolt upright, her back already covered in cold sweat.