46 Two weeks after the breakup

Two weeks later. On Friday morning, when Wen Xueyan woke up, she saw the pale gray winter dawn, filtering the light into a hazy, poetic scene.

After getting up, she washed up in front of the bathroom mirror.

She remembered the days when Xu Junxian was still in a coma. Those mornings, Cheng Boyan would gently embrace her from behind, his chin still carrying the refreshing scent of mint after shaving.

Now she is all alone in the mirror.

Two weeks ago, although it was Wen Xueyan who initiated the breakup, she still remembered the reluctant look in Cheng Boyan's eyes that day. However, these past few days, Cheng Boyan has truly cut ties cleanly and decisively, without a single phone call or text message. Unlike Song Tiancheng, who, even six months after the divorce, still calls from time to time begging for reconciliation.

"He's probably moved on by now," Wen Xueyan said softly to herself in front of the mirror. She hoped she could be just as decisive and forget him.

Stepping out of the apartment, a cold wind immediately rushed into the collar of my coat.

This was her fifth job interview since she resigned. The subway was packed with commuters during the morning rush hour.

Before resigning, she never imagined the job market would be so tough. She recalled receiving over a dozen interview invitations within three days of submitting her resume. Before finally reporting to Daoning Company, she had three job offers to choose from.

But now everything is different. She even sent her resume to Shiming Group, but received no response.

These past few days, several HR professionals have pointed to her three years of "receptionist" work experience on her resume and asked, "Is this considered a gap year in your career?"

"That was to take care of my family. My last job was at Norsei Chemicals."

"If you hadn't worked at Norsai Chemical for six months this year, you wouldn't have this interview opportunity today. But your time at Norsai was too short."

Time has passed. Despite having a master's degree, finding a job is still not easy in today's highly competitive job market. Only now does she realize how precious the opportunity Cheng Boyan gave her six months ago was.

The company I interviewed with today was in an old office building. The interviewer was a slightly balding middle-aged man who habitually shook his leg while speaking.

"Your qualifications are good, but this position is for a technical specialist. We don't need a manager here. The monthly salary is 50% of what you would have earned at Norsex, one day off per week, and overtime is required when projects are busy."

"What is overtime pay?"

"In a startup, we're all one family." He smiled meaningfully. "The important thing is the opportunity to grow together."

The interview ended quickly. They said, "Wait for our notification."

Stepping out of the office building, a cold wind hits you in the face.

There's only a little over a week left until the Spring Festival.

On the subway ride home, Wen Xueyan was scrolling through videos on her phone when she came across an interview with Cheng Boyan in the financial news section. He was wearing a sharp striped suit, and his features remained as handsome and refined as ever.

She found herself still feeling attracted to him.

After being questioned by reporters, he calmly recounted the crisis that had struck two weeks prior, speaking in a calm tone and with meticulous logic, until he spoke of the eventual success of the countersuit. This not only thoroughly proved the superior quality of Cheng's Real Estate's properties, but also, thanks to the excellent cooperation of the public relations department, allowed them to buck the trend and boost sales to a new level.

Wen Xueyan turned off the video.

The years she spent with Cheng Boyan, in his arms, resurfaced in her mind. The tenderness and affection of that time, now recalled, felt like a lifetime ago.

On Saturday morning, Wen Xueyan took the early bus to the suburbs to pick up her mother for a follow-up check-up at the hospital.

"We buy these imported medicines every month, they're too expensive," the mother said, looking at the bill. "Why don't we just use the domestic ones instead?"

Wen Xueyan gently shook her head and swiped her card deftly. Looking at her mother's gray hair, she remembered how her mother had scrimped and saved to support her education.

After the follow-up inspection, she took her mother back to the small shop in the suburbs that had been open for more than ten years. It was opened by her mother after she was laid off. The shop was more dilapidated than she remembered, and the goods on the shelves were covered with a thin layer of dust.

The mother and daughter sat on small stools at the entrance of the shop.

"Xueyan," her mother said hesitantly, "your cousin Wen Haiguang is getting married, and the bride's family is asking for a dowry of 300,000 yuan. Your uncle has managed to scrape together 100,000 yuan, but they're still short 200,000. Can you afford it?"

Wen Xueyan was stunned: "I don't have that much. And why should I pay for it?"

"Your grandma said that you're the only college graduate in our family, so your income is relatively high."

Just then, Grandma arrived, leaning on her cane. After a few words, Grandma said sternly, "You're unwilling to help your brother? I've wasted so much time sending you to school, and you have no sense of family at all. You even secretly helped your cousin Haijing buy books and stationery for several hundred yuan, so why don't you care about your brother?"

Looking at her grandmother's harsh smile, Wen Xueyan suddenly recalled a summer vacation from her childhood. Her mother hadn't lost her job yet, and during summer vacation, while her mother went to work, she left Wen Xueyan with her grandmother. Whenever there was pork, her grandmother would always push the meat dishes in front of her cousin, saying, "It's useless for a girl to eat so much," and several times Wen Xueyan didn't even get enough to eat. Once, she was so hungry she couldn't stand it anymore and secretly went to the kitchen to eat a few bites, only to have her arm swollen from being hit by her grandmother with a clothes hanger.

Even so, every Spring Festival after she started working, she would give her grandmother a red envelope to show her filial piety. So her grandmother thought that Wen Xueyan would continue to be obedient this time.

"No." Wen Xueyan's voice was firm. She knew that once she lent it out, she wouldn't get it back.

She deeply disliked the concept of favoring sons over daughters.

"How unfilial!" Grandma grumbled as she left.

The mother asked, "Why don't you remarry Tiancheng? He said his company sent him to work in another city, but he's repeatedly said he wants your forgiveness. He earns a high income and still has feelings for you. He even wanted to urge you to transfer the ownership of the apartment he wanted to give you in the divorce."

"He hit me too hard." Wen Xueyan stood up. She didn't want to give up that new house; legally, she was entitled to half of it. However, considering that she didn't have an urgent need for money right now, and that the divorce agreement stated it belonged to her, she hadn't gone through with the transfer of ownership. After all, she still didn't understand why Song Tiancheng had given her the whole house.

She prepared to leave, citing work commitments, unaware that she was temporarily unemployed. Her mother saw her off at the subway station, saying, "Tiancheng said he'd come back from his business trip before the New Year and visit you at your place."

On the way back to the city, passing station after station, Wen Xueyan thought to herself that she was the one who suggested breaking up, but the various setbacks she had encountered in her job search these past few days made her wonder: Does Cheng Boyan know my current situation? Has he even considered, for a moment, how difficult it would be for me to find a job after leaving Nuosai Chemical? Or that I might not even have enough money to pay the rent?

The thought had barely surfaced when it was suppressed by a surge of reason and self-deprecation. They'd already broken up; why should she expect him to care? Did he owe her anything? Someone in his position, dealing with countless ups and downs in the business world every day, wouldn't have time to concern herself with her ex-girlfriend's job search. Finding a job is her own business; what does it have to do with anyone else?

Moreover, he is currently someone else's husband, and this identity is like an insurmountable chasm between them, ultimately forcing her to make the decision to leave.

After arriving home, she took out her phone and arranged to see the apartment with the real estate agent the next day.

The upscale apartment she's renting now is quite expensive, requiring a deposit of one month's rent and six months' rent in advance. According to the contract, she has to pay six months' rent next month, totaling more than 30,000 yuan. She plans to move to a smaller two-bedroom or one-bedroom apartment and will no longer tell her mother her address so that Song Tiancheng won't come looking for her.

"Better to have nothing than something bad," Wen Xueyan told herself. Even after losing Cheng Boyan, she still didn't want to accept Song Tiancheng.

The agent was very enthusiastic and quickly arranged three properties for her to view tomorrow.

On Sunday, accompanied by a real estate agent, Wen Xueyan viewed three apartments and settled on a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment on the second floor of Xijing Garden.

This apartment is considered mid-range, much better than her previous rental. There are no leaks, and the rent is more than half the price of her current apartment in Sega Mansion. She immediately felt much less pressure.

The real estate agent was rummaging through his bag for contracts when Wen Xueyan went outside and made a phone call.

"Auntie, I'm a tenant at Sega Mansion. I want to terminate my lease early, which will be considered a breach of contract, and I don't want my deposit back. I also won't pay next month's rent."

The landlady on the other end of the phone replied, "Young lady, you signed a contract with a deposit of one month's rent and six months' rent in advance, but your boyfriend already paid the rent for the next six months. If you don't want to rent anymore, I'll refund that money to you."

Wen Xueyan's fingers tightened slightly: "Thank you."

The agent urged from afar, "Ms. Wen, the contract is ready."

She felt that the winter was still very cold, but the man's tenderness embraced her across time and space in a different way.

Back home, she began packing and organizing her drawers, preparing to move in the next day or two. Deep inside her bedroom drawer, she found a hard envelope. Opening it, she found a bank card and a note inside.

"Xueyan, if one day we have to separate, the one million in this card should be enough to keep you worry-free for now. Remember, you deserve all the good things in the world. I didn't give it to you in person because I was worried you wouldn't accept it. I've changed the password to your birthday. Take it with you; this card is in my mother's name, and it was deposited before my marriage. No matter how the divorce proceedings go, it won't affect this money. Boyan."

His handwriting is vigorous and powerful, just like him.

She didn't know when the card was placed there; maybe it was when he visited her on the day she had menstrual cramps, or maybe even earlier.

Cheng Boyan likes to plan ahead. He knew that many things in this relationship were uncontrollable, so he had already made preparations for her in secret. This million was not just money, but also his silent protection.

He was very meticulous, especially in the last sentence explaining the source of the funds.

These past few days, the anxiety of repeatedly hitting walls in the job search, the self-esteem crushed by being trampled on the subway, the panic of watching the savings dwindle day by day—all the pretense of being strong was released at this moment.

Fine snow began to fall outside the window, and Wen Xueyan's eyes welled up with tears.

Welcome all readers, teachers, and darlings to leave comments and vote! Thank you for your support.

Not enough

Xueyan's family is so infuriating!

Thank you to the readers for urging me to update; it's very heartwarming.

Yes, thank you for the reader's comment. Thankfully, Xueyan is clear-headed and will never tolerate the older generation's patriarchal mindset.

I love the gentle and considerate CEO Cheng!!!

I want to see more!!

Thank you to the reader for commenting that Mr. Cheng loves her very much.

Thank you to our readers for encouraging us to improve!

President Cheng is very thoughtful in everything he does.