Returning - Chapter 58
Chapter 58: Resignation
Ji Sui's cooking was delicious, and just looking at it made Zhao Yu's appetite surge.
She hadn't eaten much at the Xue family's house last night, had only grabbed a quick breakfast before heading to the hospital today, skipped lunch, and now she was genuinely ravenous.
Yet right now, acting like she didn't want to eat anything seemed to fit the role she was playing. At this thought, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Acting all day was truly exhausting.
Eyeing the table full of delicious dishes, she hesitated internally for a moment before deciding to switch tactics. Without a single word, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks and started shoveling rice into her mouth in huge bites.
Seeing her binge-eating, channeling grief into strength, Ji Sui only grew more worried, but aside from telling her to slow down, there was nothing he could do.
After the meal was finished, Zhao Yu finally felt that the energy she'd expended acting over the past two days had been replenished. But the performance had to continue, so she took the initiative to clear the table and wash the dishes.
Ji Sui knew she needed an outlet, so he let her be, leaving her to busy herself alone in the kitchen. Who knew that after tidying up the kitchen, she would actually start mopping the living room floor.
Ji Sui couldn't stop her, and in the end, it turned into the two of them doing a full house cleaning together. By the time they had swept and scrubbed the entire place, it was already past ten at night.
Zhao Yu said sheepishly, "Could this bit of hard labor cover my staying here for a night?"
Ji Sui laughed despite himself. "You could stay without doing anything at all."
"I keep imposing on you. I'd be too embarrassed to ask if I didn't do something."
Ji Sui was amused by her again. After a moment, something seemed to occur to him. "Are you... still going to work tomorrow?"
Tomorrow was Sunday, but because they needed to make up for the Spring Festival holiday in advance, it was a statutory workday instead.
Zhao Yu shook her head. "No."
Ji Sui wasn't a skilled conversationalist. Seeing her face turn bitter and mournful again, even though he wanted to offer comfort, he knew it would be meaningless. After a brief silence, all he could finally say was, "Get some rest early."
Zhao Yu had slept too much during the day and felt no drowsiness at night. Her mind was still planning her next moves, so it wasn't until past three in the morning that she gradually drifted off.
And that night, Ji Sui, sleeping in the room next to hers, inexplicably suffered from insomnia.
Equally sleepless was Xue Zi'ang, who was at the Xue family's old residence celebrating his grandfather's birthday.
As dawn was just beginning to break, Xue Zi'ang was already climbing out of bed. After washing up quickly, he drove straight to the company.
This was probably the earliest he'd ever arrived for work. In fact, when he got to the company, the office building's doors weren't even open yet.
He was desperate to see Zhao Yu, still harboring the hope that she would come to work. However, when he logged into the company system, he discovered that Zhao Yu had already submitted her resignation as early as yesterday morning.
She was resigning?
She wanted to stay completely away from him?
She wasn't even going to give him a single chance?
His hand resting on the mouse trembled involuntarily. His fingers clenched and unclenched, unclenched and clenched again. The cursor hovered over the "Approve" button for a long time, but he just couldn't bring himself to click it.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he rejected her resignation application outright.
He was Zhao Yu's direct supervisor. As long as he didn't agree, she couldn't proceed with the resignation process.
He knew this would only infuriate her further, but he had no other choice.
The thought of never seeing her again was absolutely impossible for him to accept.
When she received the email, Zhao Yu had just woken up in the guest bed at Ji Sui's place. Seeing this result, she wasn't surprised at all.
If Xue Zi'ang would agree to her resignation, she wouldn't have dared to take such a risk in the first place.
Logging into the system on her phone, she quickly submitted another resignation application. As expected, it was immediately rejected again.
Not wanting to play this kind of game with him like a sulking child, she put down her phone, rolled over, and went back to sleep. But not long after, Xia Nan's call came in.
Just seeing the caller ID told Zhao Yu that this was definitely instigated by Xue Zi'ang. Sure enough, Xia Nan's first words were, "Sister Zhao Yu, did you forget we have work today? Without requesting leave, this counts as absenteeism. Hurry and come in."
Zhao Yu chuckled. "I've already resigned. What's a little absenteeism?"
"Why resign? Did you have a fight with President Xue?"
"It's not a fight. It's a breakup."
On the other end of the line, Xue Zi'ang, who was listening to every sound through the speakerphone, felt his expression darken.
Zhao Yu continued, "Actually, it's not even a breakup."
Xue Zi'ang's face lit up with joy. He was just about to snatch the phone and speak himself when her voice, dripping with self-deprecation, came through again, "In his heart, I was probably never even his girlfriend. How can it be called a breakup? What right do I have to say we broke up?"
"Zhao Yu—" Xue Zi'ang had just started to speak when she hung up on the other end.
Xia Nan held the phone nervously, looking at her boss, whose expression was extremely grim. "President Xue..."
Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, Xue Zi'ang took several deep breaths before barely managing to calm his emotions. In a deep voice, he said, "Use your name. Find a way to make her show up. If all else fails, tell her directly that if she doesn't come to the company, I'll fire you. For your sake, she'll definitely come."
Xia Nan: "..."
After returning to her own apartment, Zhao Yu received another call from Xia Nan.
"Sister Zhao Yu, I accidentally twisted my ankle at lunch. The doctor says I can't move it for at least a week. But the day after tomorrow is the annual meeting, and I have a performance in a show. Could you fill in for me when the time comes? Besides you, I don't know who else to ask. Anyway, you already know the script, and you've seen us rehearse. Just do this for me, okay?"
Naturally, Xia Nan wasn't brazen enough to directly relay Xue Zi'ang's "threat," since even a fool would know that would only add fuel to the fire. But she was well aware that her lie was pathetically transparent. Zhao Yu not seeing through it would be the strange thing.
Thus, she could only hope that Zhao Yu was willing to use this as an excuse to step down gracefully, willing to give Xue Zi'ang a chance.
For a big enterprise like Huacan, the annual meeting every year was a grand affair. Although it wouldn't be broadcast live, there would still be photos taken and press releases distributed for publicity. It was hard to say whether Zhuang Yiqing might, on a whim, take interest in a competitor's annual meeting. So from the very start, Zhao Yu had refused all hosting duties and stage performances, wanting to just be a nameless face in the crowd, keeping a low profile hidden among the people.
As for the performance Xia Nan was in, it was a stage play organized by the Administrative and Secretarial Department. Her role wasn't big and had very few lines. To achieve a comedic effect, she needed exaggerated makeup that completely obscured her real features. Even if photographed and published in the news, there was no risk of being exposed.
After careful consideration, Zhao Yu said, "Alright then. Send me a video of your rehearsal, as well as the script and lines. I won't go into the company to rehearse with everyone."
Since Xue Zi'ang was racking his brains to see her, so be it. She never really intended to leave Huacan anyway.
Hearing this answer, Xia Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Xue Zi'ang, who had been sitting right beside her listening to the entire call, breathed a sigh of relief too.
If she had refused him again, he would have had no choice but to continue staking out the entrance of her apartment building.
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