Chapter 6. She quit her job and cut her hair short. ...

Monday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Zhu Xu had to go to work.

She put on a meticulous makeup in the morning, and to make her complexion look better, she deliberately applied a little extra blush.

Zhu Xu is a plant landscape designer who works at a plant rental company. He has been in this industry for about four or five years.

Actually, when she first graduated, she worked as a front-end developer at an outsourcing company. Because she lacked work experience and her grades weren't particularly outstanding, there weren't many options available. She thought that working there would allow her to experience different types of companies, whether it was taking on projects or working on-site, which would be a form of training. It wasn't a long-term solution, but it might become a stepping stone for her.

But after doing it for a while, she realized the gap between her ideals and reality.

Such companies do not value employee training, and employees have no contact with core business at all. Working overtime and staying up late are common occurrences, and employees have to worry about layoffs from time to time.

There are many big shots in this industry, and she is just a tiny speck of sand among them. She can't even step onto that springboard.

Later, by chance, a friend led her into the green plant and landscaping industry.

She had taken design courses in school, and with the aesthetic materials she had accumulated over the past two years of front-end development, this job wasn't difficult for her. Although the income wasn't as high as before, the pressure was less, her emotions were more stable, and being surrounded by vibrant green plants and flowers every day made her feel refreshed and radiant again.

After clocking in, Zhu Xu went to his workstation.

She casually wiped the table and found that there wasn't a speck of dust.

Her colleague Bai Mei leaned over the partition opposite her and quickly raised her eyebrows twice.

The design department has a total of four designers: Zhu Xu, Bai Mei, Xiao Xu (who sits by the window), and a male colleague. Bai Mei joined the company two years later. Zhu Xu mentored her when she first arrived. She is beautiful, has a sweet tongue, works diligently, and doesn't mind doing a little extra, so she is very likable.

Zhu Xu handed her a bottle of yogurt he had just bought and pulled out a chair: "Thanks."

"No need to thank me, it was just a small favor." Bai Mei immediately inserted a straw and started drinking. "Why did you take so many days off again? I've noticed that Director Xiao hasn't been very happy these past few days."

Zhu Xu asked, "What did she say?"

"Just ask if the case involving the Jin Ding Hotel has been completed."

"Didn't I entrust the follow-up matters to you?"

“I know.” Bai Mei lowered her voice and glanced out the window. “That day, in front of Director Xiao, Xiao Xu said that she had helped you contact the materials before and knew more about them. When Lao Xiao heard that, he let her continue doing it.”

Zhu Xu was not surprised. Xiao Xu was a show-off who loved to take credit. He had finally gotten such an opportunity, so how could he let it slip by?

She had already abandoned her work and disappeared for several days, so it was only natural for her to thank Xiao Xu for helping her clean up the mess.

She smiled and said, "It's alright, let her be."

Bai Mei nodded with a pout, then shrank back into her seat.

Zhu Xu began organizing the work from the past few days, and by the time he felt his shoulders ache, it was already past 10 a.m.

She took her cup to the tea room and made herself a cup of roselle tea.

Her mind went blank for a moment, then she felt someone gently pat her back. Turning around, she saw Xiao Xu smiling at her.

Zhu Xu smiled back at her.

Xiao Xu went to the front to get hot water: "A new beef soup rice restaurant opened downstairs. I ate there yesterday, and it tasted pretty good."

"Really? I'll have to try it sometime."

"The price isn't expensive either."

Zhu Xu nodded and prepared to leave.

Xiao Xu had only filled half of the hot water tank when she suddenly turned off the valve, turned around and called out to Zhu Xu, "I'm sorry, I've already done the proposal for the Jin Ding Hotel for you."

"Not at all, thank you."

"I'm glad you don't mind." Xiao Xu was quite pleased with herself. Just as she was about to turn back to get more water, she suddenly caught sight of Director Xiao appearing at the door: "However, there's a problem..."

Zhu Xu stopped again.

Director Xiao paused, hesitated for a moment, and then quietly took half a step back.

Xiao Xu deliberately lowered his voice, but the space was limited, enough for the person at the door to hear seven or eight parts of it: "Actually, a new plan was later changed, with a budget of eight percent more than yours."

Zhu Xu asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"The client wasn't very satisfied, so there were quite a few changes, but they still insisted on paying the price you agreed on. It took me a lot of persuasion to convince them, and we finally signed the contract yesterday."

Zhu Xu recalled carefully that when she sent the design draft to the relevant person in charge of Jin Ding Hotel that day, there were no objections. After verbal confirmation, only the signing of the contract was left, but she took leave at that moment.

She had worked with the other party multiple times, so this problem shouldn't have occurred. However, she knew nothing about what happened behind the scenes. Now that the contract has been finalized, she has no reason to question the client.

Zhu Xu had his back to the tea room door and was unaware that a figure had come and gone.

Xiao Xu, however, saw things clearly and came over to comfort her when she was silent: "Customers are all difficult to please, and things can change in an instant, so don't take it too seriously."

Zhu Xu had nothing to say, so he just smiled and went out first.

At six o'clock in the evening, Zhu Xu turned off his computer, picked up his bag, and walked out of the office building.

Winter nights are long, and even the last rays of the setting sun are swallowed by darkness.

The roads were bustling with traffic and brightly lit.

Zhu Xu put his hands in the pockets of his down jacket and passed a barbershop on his way to the subway station. The shop was small and the facilities inside were very basic. It had always been run by a woman in her thirties.

Zhu Xu was a regular customer, going there periodically to get his bangs trimmed or his hair styled. The woman wouldn't deliberately try to start a conversation or make demands like signing up for a membership card or adding extra services. She could remain completely silent from beginning to end, and Zhu Xu, exhausted after a long day at work, wouldn't want to talk, so he could simply stay quiet, avoiding unnecessary interaction.

The woman was leaning against the door smoking when she saw Zhu Xu pass by and raised her hand to greet him.

Zhu Xu nodded, paused, and walked towards her.

The woman stubbed out her cigarette: "A haircut?"

"No need to wait, right?"

"Need not."

She went in first, turned on the hot water, washed her hair, and then led her to sit in front of the mirror: "Still want your hair trimmed?"

Zhu Xu was silent for a moment: "Cut it short."

How short.

Zhu Xu gestured to a spot on his neck: "Here."

The woman looked at her with slight surprise, but didn't say anything more: "What type do you want?"

Which type do you think suits me best?

She dried her long, straight, black hair with a towel: "She has a pretty face, so she's easy to pull off."

Zhu Xu smiled.

The woman followed her instructions, tying the hair to the bottom of her neck, close to her shoulders, making it slightly thinner, shorter but fluffy on the sides, subtly revealing her earlobes, and then enhancing the overall layering.

After the haircut was finished, the woman was stunned.

Zhu Xu was very beautiful. Her eyes were slightly long but not excessively large, her nose was straight with a rounded tip, and her lower lip was full. Her long hair gave her a gentle look, but now it added a touch of aloofness to her temperament.

Her eyes are slightly upturned at the corners, giving her a charming look.

The woman said, "It suits you perfectly."

Zhu Xu seemed to see himself again after a long time. He looked at the person in the mirror carefully and thanked him after a long while.

She pulled her scarf tighter as she left the hair salon.

She walked into the subway station and posted a selfie on her WeChat Moments while waiting for the train. She wasn't in a good mood, so she didn't add any caption.

Her reflection was mirrored in the glass. Suddenly, she remembered that it was because of a single sentence from Liang Haiyang that she had grown her hair long.

Like most women, she would try things she wasn't good at or interested in for her partner, and she sometimes impulsively confused adjusting herself with pleasing her partner.

I truly loved before, and I truly hate now.

As the train roared past, she approached and saw her reflection in the glass: a bitter face, vacant and exhausted eyes.

She desperately wanted to end it all as soon as possible, but she had no idea how long the lawsuit would drag on.

The train came to a stop, and Zhu Xu followed the people in front of him inside.

Her phone rang twice; Jiang Rao had sent her a message asking why she had suddenly cut her hair short.

Zhu Xu then remembered that he had just posted on his WeChat Moments.

She typed: Is it pretty?

Then I exited and checked my friends' messages.

She saw an unfamiliar profile picture in the "likes" section and couldn't remember who it was. She clicked on the larger image, and the three characters "He Yanzhou" appeared prominently at the top.

Zhu Xu was surprised and stared at the profile picture for a couple more seconds.

His profile picture was of the sky outside an airplane window, with cotton-like clouds and the sun casting a thick, orange glow. The scenery was beautiful, but slightly tilted, as if it had been casually taken and used as a profile picture.

Jiang Rao's message popped up again.

Zhu Xu then looked away and returned to the homepage.

On Wednesday, her lawyer called to ask her to submit additional documents.

She had no choice but to take another day off to go to the relevant department to get and fill out forms. She begged and pleaded for a stamp, only to be told that the clerk was out on fieldwork and she had to come back the next day.

Liang Haiyang refused to cooperate, and couldn't even provide photocopies of basic documents such as his ID card and household registration. She had no choice but to return to her original residence with trepidation, guessing that he would carry the original documents with him, so she searched through the document box in the study for the extra photocopies she had made before.

For many days, a lot of work has been put on hold.

Liang Haiyang would harass them from time to time.

His father, Zhu Zhen, also frequently called to offer his earnest advice.

Zhu Xu was in a very bad state at one point. Looking back, he recalled that period as chaotic and miserable, and he was so focused on finding a way out that he was unable to take care of anything else.

Then one day I saw a blog post that suddenly broke me down. It was about a girl who had been subjected to domestic violence for over a year, and who had filed for divorce multiple times without success. Later, due to internal organ damage, she would have to live with a colostomy bag for the rest of her life.

For a moment, Zhu Xu had the thought of giving up. Perhaps if he went back to Liang Haiyang's side, coaxed him, and pleased him, the outcome wouldn't be so bad.

She rushed into the bathroom, submerged her head in the icy water, and recalled the feeling of him holding her down and making her struggle until she was on the verge of suffocation before finally coming to her senses.

Fortunately, a month later, the court finally accepted her divorce case and sent a copy of the complaint to Liang Haiyang.

The sky cleared up that day, just like her mood.

/

The next day, Zhu Xu went to work and bought a cup of hot soy milk and a sandwich at a convenience store on his way.

I was supposed to go to the site at 3 p.m., but Director Xiao stopped me just before I was about to leave: "Let Xiao Xu go. Zhu Xu, come to my office."

Zhu Xu followed and closed the door behind him.

Director Xiao: "Sit down."

Zhu Xu vaguely sensed something, felt a momentary unease, but then became calm.

Director Xiao filed the documents, put the pen back in, and then looked at her gently: "Have you been having any difficulties in your life lately? Do you need any help?"

Zhu Xu smiled and said, "Thank you, but it's not necessary."

Director Xiao nodded and said thoughtfully, "I've assigned some of your long-term clients to Xiao Xu. You don't have any objections, do you?"

She didn't say anything for a moment.

Director Xiao leaned back in her swivel chair and cut to the chase: "You know I intend to promote you. You've been with me the longest, and your work has been outstanding over the years, with good creative skills as well. But promotions aren't based on performance and seniority; work attitude also matters." She paused, a hint of exasperation in her voice: "I don't know what happened to you. How many days off have you taken in the past six months? Have you taken every case seriously? Sometimes I'm in a dilemma too. The company needs to be profitable; it's not a place for personal relationships."

Zhu Xu's palms turned white from being pinched so hard: "I'm sorry."

Director Xiao sighed deeply: "Put all the cases on hold for now, go home and rest, and take care of all your personal matters first."

This day was actually within her expectations; she was usually quite dedicated to her work, but her terrible life had ruined everything.

Zhu Xu had already made up her mind: "Teacher Xiao," she called her, "I am indeed in a difficult situation right now, but I'm sorry, I feel it's a reason that's hard to talk about, and I may not be able to concentrate on my work for a while, so I've decided to resign. I will make sure to hand over my responsibilities properly later."

...

That day, after leaving the company, Zhu Xu went to a small supermarket in the back alley and bought a pack of cigarettes.

The bad habit also formed in the last six months; in the abyss-like nights, nicotine became her tool to relieve her emotions.

She lit a cigarette, leaned against the wall and slowly inhaled. She glanced up and saw the branches of a large tree stretching out in all directions, like a cluster of veins.

It's just that it's bare and withered, and can no longer be infused with fresh blood.

At this point, Zhu Xu realized that he and the withered tree shared the same fate.

A group of children ran and jumped past her, so she pulled her legs back and extinguished her cigarette.

Just as I was about to leave, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Zhu Xu took it out and saw that it was from his stepmother, Shen Jun, who said that Zhu Zhen had fallen in the toilet and asked her to go home immediately.