Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Mr. Pan, please grant me leave...
After a long time, Wen Yu calmed down, picked up the shattered phone on the ground, and drove back to the community.
Her throat burned like it was swollen from medication, but she felt so good! Her face was covered in traces of tears, stained by the dust carried by the wind. Her face was dirty. Her body was also constantly heating up, as if she had been exercising for hours.
Wen Yu threw down her car keys and rushed to the bathroom. She usually showered with hot water, but tonight she turned on the cold water. The showerhead pounded over her as she stood under the water, sobbing. It wasn't like a few days ago, when she wanted to cry but couldn't, nor was it like all those years when she had to suppress her tears secretly.
She cried along with the shower head for as long as it sprayed water, as if she wanted to cry out all the dirt in her body.
She emerged from the bathroom completely speechless. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts, but her heart was light. At ten o'clock that evening, she slipped into bed. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep almost instantly. Her dreams were devoid of anything, and her ears were filled with silence.
After an unknown amount of time, the phone rang. Wen Yu gradually woke up. She picked it up and saw: Mom's call. It was ten-thirty. She had just been in a deep sleep for half an hour. She saw that the screen was stained, the edges tattered as if a dog had gnawed on them. She hadn't expected this phone to be so good, still working properly after such a drop.
Her mother was on the other end of the phone, her voice filled with desperately suppressed sobs. Wen Yu could hear it, but she ignored it. Her mother seemed frightened, speaking cautiously, as if she feared Wen Yu would lose her temper again. She asked her where she was and, worriedly, warned her not to do anything stupid.
What stupid thing?
Jumping off a building? Drowning? Suicide?
Wen Yu smiled silently. She had imagined all these foolish things in her mind, even attempted some of them. She had flirted with the brink of death. But when the final blow came, she found she couldn't bear to die. She enjoyed a comfortable life, admired by her boss at work and envied by her colleagues. She had only been in this world for a little over twenty years, and there were many places she hadn't visited, many sights she hadn't seen.
For the past twenty years, she'd been like a caged hamster, running around in a relentless wheel, thinking this was her world. Now—what a bullshit warm-up, what a bullshit marriage, get lost! She wanted to open the cage and head out into the wilderness.
She no longer wanted to share Yu Xianyun's pain. She wanted to be selfish, to be happy for herself. She loved her mother, and she seemed to love Pan Xianchen, but now she wanted to love herself even more.
Wen Yu told her mother not to worry, she was already home. She sent her a photo of herself sleeping in bed on WeChat, then, without a care in the world, drifted off to sleep again. When she woke up, it was already daylight. She hadn't eaten anything the night before, and now she was starving, so she patiently made herself breakfast and leisurely ate at the dining table. Then she changed into her workout clothes and went for a few laps. She returned drenched in sweat and rushed into the bathroom for a shower. Then she lay back in bed and continued to sleep soundly.
On Saturday and Sunday, she ate, ran, slept, ate, and so on. She called in sick on Monday, using the time to heal her voice. In the morning, she went to the Apple store to get a new phone. Then, Ye Yinuo called.
"Wen Xiaoyu, are you sick? How are you now? Are you okay?" Ye Yinuo found a quiet corner and asked worriedly.
"I'm fine."
“…”
Ye Yinuo took the phone and took a look. It was Wen Yu's number, right? Then who was that person with the hoarse voice who just spoke to her?
"What's wrong with your throat?"
"Mute."
“…”
Ah. Ye Yinuo wasn't used to this strange sound. It felt like he was talking to a duck.
"Do you have a sore throat? Do you have a cold? Do you have a fever? Have you taken your medicine? Remember to drink plenty of hot water today! Lie down in bed and rest."
"I'm in a mobile phone store now," Wen Yu said.
"......?" Ye Yinuo really didn't understand today's conversation. Every time someone said something, a question mark popped up in her mind. She asked Wen Yu, "Huh? Why did you go to a cell phone store when you were sick? You should go to a pharmacy or a hospital."
Wen Yu said, "I'm not sick. I just want to buy a new phone."
“…”
So the sick leave was fake? Ye Yinuo realized. But what about Wen Yu's voice? And Wen Yu almost never takes leave, so today he took a fake sick leave to buy a new phone? What kind of operation is this? It's so magical. Ye Yinuo was at a loss for words again.
The store staff handed the new phone to Wen Yu, and Wen Yu told Ye Yinuo his new number as he walked out of the store.
Ye Yinuo: "..."
I don’t understand it even more.
"Why did you suddenly change your phone number?" Ye Yinuo asked the question with a black question mark face.
"I just want to replace them." Wen Yu said, "I want to replace them all with new ones."
"...What about the old number? Is it still in use?"
Wen Yu put the broken old phone into a transparent storage bag and didn't throw it away. She thought about it and said, "I don't know. Anyway, I won't use it for the time being."
"Okay, then I'll contact you at your new number. Remember to add me on WeChat." After Ye Yinuo finished his instructions, he immediately shared the news from this morning's meeting with Wen Yu. "You really missed out by not coming to work today! Mr. Yan also came to the morning meeting. Mr. Pan was distracted during the meeting and got criticized by Mr. Yan! Oh my God! Can you imagine? Mr. Pan! Distracted! In front of so many people, he got criticized by Mr. Yan! That scene was simply..."
Wen Yu interrupted her: "Don't talk to me about Pan Xianchen anymore. I don't want to hear it."
Ye Yinuogua was not satisfied with what he said halfway, so he was speechless for a moment and said, "...Oh."
After hanging up, Wen Yu went straight home. She stood in the living room for a moment, looking around. Then she picked up a large, oversized trash bag and stuffed all of Wen Yu's belongings into it. She sealed the bag, put the contents into a cardboard box, and sealed the box again. She contacted a courier and had the box of trash shipped directly to Wen Yu's company.
After doing all this, she felt the whole house feel a lot fresher. Then she sat on the sofa and thought for a long time. She opened her old phone again and clicked on DingTalk. She modified her leave application: moving up the time of leave and extending the duration. By piecing together various leave days, she had managed to get herself a full three months of leave. What was she going to do in those three months?
Wen Yu couldn't think it through for a moment, but it didn't matter, she was not so anxious now.
That night, she cooked dinner herself. Her cooking wasn't great, but it certainly filled her stomach. She cooked slowly, as she wasn't very experienced. But after a long struggle, she finally had three dishes and a soup on the table. She tasted her cooking and thought, "Hmm, it's good." She decided to order takeout tomorrow.
After dinner, Ye Yinuo called her and said, "Mr. Pan came to ask me today why he couldn't contact you. Is your old phone turned off? I just brushed off Mr. Pan's question. It seems like he has something to ask you, but I didn't ask what it was. Do you want to tell him your new number?"
"No." Wen Yu said decisively, "Don't worry about it, I'll contact him myself."
Wen Yu turned on her old phone again, and it started ringing with a barrage of messages. She ignored them all and called Pan Xianchen directly.
"Mr. Pan."
Pan Xianchen breathed quietly on the other end of the phone, and Wen Yu could hear him clearly. After a few seconds, Pan Xianchen said softly, "You finally have time to call me?"
"I've taken a three-month leave. Starting tomorrow, I'm on vacation," Wen Yu said neatly.
Pan Xianchen smiled: "Did I approve it?"
"If you don't approve, I'll resign."
"Are you threatening me?"
Wen Yu paused and said, "No. I'm asking you, Mr. Pan, please grant me some leave."
Pan Xianchen was silent for a long moment, and Wen Yu could hear his breathing getting heavier. After a long moment, he seemed to finally calm down and spoke slowly, "You still won't listen to me, and you don't care whether I live or die. You want to run off and get married, right?"
Wen Yu said calmly, "This has nothing to do with you. Mr. Pan, I'm applying for leave from you now."
"Good. Very good." Pan Xianchen took a deep breath and continued, "Do you know what taking such a long leave means now? Peng Yan is about to be transferred, and her position is yours. If you leave now, there will be no one to take over the supervisor position. Do you think those who covet this position will remain indifferent?"
"I don't mind."
Pan Xianchen was speechless for a moment. She didn't care. The supervisor position didn't matter to her, the long vacation didn't matter to her, the marrying someone she didn't love didn't matter to her, and she didn't care that he was heartbroken and miserable to the point of wanting to die. She was a heartless, cruel woman.
Pan Xianchen suppressed his discomfort and said, "You've worked in the group for many years, earned recognition from your leadership, and just happened to have an opportunity for advancement. Wenyu, not everyone has such good luck, and you're no exception. It's very likely that if you miss this opportunity, it will take who knows how many years to wait for the next one."
"I see."
“…”
Pan Xianchen closed his eyes. Wasn't this enough to keep her? He was running out of tricks.
Wen Yu said, "It's not that I don't value my position as a supervisor, it's just that I really need a vacation right now. If I have to choose between the two, my answer is clear. Mr. Pan, thank you for training me and trusting me. If the supervisor position really can't be retained, then there's nothing I can do. But I believe that I got this opportunity not because of luck. Just like if I quit my job now and find another job, I would still be appreciated by my boss."
"...Do you really have to leave?"
Wen Yu didn't answer. She didn't want to repeat the request she had made over and over again.
"Okay." Pan Xianchen's tone was deep and his voice was low. He pressed his temples wearily and said, "I admire your courage and your confidence. I'll approve your leave. You won't lose your supervisor position; I'll keep it for you."
The call ended. The old phone was turned off and tucked back into its storage bag.
Before falling asleep, Wen Yu lay flat on her bed, pondering how she would enjoy the next three months of her new life. She wanted to make up for the regrets of her childhood and adolescence, to do things her parents had always forbidden her to do. Wen Yu quickly rose from her bed. In the drawer of her bedside table lay a pad of paper and a pen. She spread the pad flat in her palm and wrote down the things she hadn't been allowed to do.
Tomorrow she's going to the pet store to buy a dog, something she's wanted to do since elementary school, but her parents forbade her from getting one because they thought dogs were dirty. Then she's going to sign up for a painting class to continue her studies. Her skills are almost gone, but that's okay; she's happy to learn again with the other kids. She wants to go to a bar at midnight, drink and party, and meet some new, fun-loving friends. She wants to explore the world, no tour groups, no travel guides, just wherever she wants to go.
She still wanted to be in love. The kind of relationship that didn't involve her parents, the kind that she found on her own. The basketball forward sweating on the court, the student president flipping through Feynman's Lectures on Physics in the library, the windbreaker-wearing glasses with a daily iced Americano in the cafe, the uniformed newspapers she often stumbled upon at the subway station... She didn't care about age, family background, or whether they were locals. This time, she was just going with feelings: whether she loved him, whether she wanted him.
The male college student working the summer job at the pet shop was very cute. When Wen Yu walked in, he was stunned. When Wen Yu greeted him, he actually blushed. He enthusiastically introduced various dog breeds to Wen Yu. Wen Yu had already decided that she would take home a Border Collie today.
The male university student recommended several to Wenyu. Their black and white fur gleamed in the light, their piercing eyes fixed on her, their paws clacking against the cage door, barking and begging their new owner to take them away. Wenyu chose the iron-gray one. It had been well cared for by the staff and was healthy and robust. Its eyes were like the icy blue of a lake. Wenyu approached it, and its intrigued face was reflected in the blue mirror.
"I want it." Wen Yu pointed at the blue eyes and said to the male college student.
"This one is a little expensive! Its name is Aslan, the lion king in The Chronicles of Narnia, right? It symbolizes majesty and wisdom. Look at its eyes and fur, they are so beautiful, aren't they?" The male college student was passionately selling.
Wen Yu commented: "It looks like a wolf."
"Yes! It will definitely look majestic when taken out. And it's very smart and will help and protect its owner."
Wen Yu couldn't help but poke it with a finger through the crack of the cage. Aslan didn't hide. Instead, his shiny black nose came over and sniffed Wen Yu's finger. Wen Yu liked it very much and asked the male college student, "What's its gender?"
"It's a lively boy!"
"Okay, that's it."
Wen Yu bought a series of dog-raising products with the male university student's help. The male university student was very happy. Today, this beautiful female customer was not only easy to talk to, but also very generous with her money. She didn't even notice the new customer in the store, and kept chatting with Wen Yu about dog raising. When Wen Yu was about to leave, he finally mustered up the courage and asked with a blushing face, "Can I add you on WeChat? If you have any questions, you can ask me."
The new customer walked to the front desk, stood next to Wen Yu, and suddenly said, "Wen Yu? What a coincidence! We meet here."
Wen Yu and the male university student looked over. Ning Kai held Hu Jingjing's hand and looked at her with a smile. Hu Jingjing waved at Wen Yu, and Wen Yu introduced her new baby to them: "Asilan, my dog."
"Wow! It looks so handsome!" Hu Jingjing immediately squatted down and touched Aslan's head with a smile.
Ning Kai said, "Don't touch other people's things. Go in and pick one you like!"
The male university student took Hu Jingjing to choose a dog. Wen Yu said to Ning Kai, "Then you guys take your time to choose. I'm leaving first."
That evening, Pan Xianchen heard about this incident. They were dining at Ning Kai's newly opened private restaurant, and Ning Kai exaggerated the story of Wen Yu buying a dog, even though he had no idea how Wen Yu did it. Seeing Pan Xianchen's silence, Ning Kai wanted to make a joke to liven things up, saying, "Pan Gou, she wants a real dog, and she doesn't want you either."
"...Get lost." Pan Xianchen took a sip of wine and didn't want to talk anymore.
Ning Kai continued to play around with his weak points, adding fuel to the fire about the male college student in the pet shop asking Wen Yu for her WeChat ID, and emphasized that the male college student would blush and be very shy, which was obviously the puppy type that women were attracted to.
"That boy looks very young, like a student." Ning Kai noticed Pan Xianchen's expression and said, "What do you think?"
"What can I do?" Pan Xianchen let out a short laugh and said, "It's no use adding her. I can't get her anyway."
"Is she really getting married?"
"Um."
"Then what will you do?" Ning Kai was very worried.
“…”
Pan Xianchen swallowed a mouthful of snacks, took a big gulp of wine, and said, "Who can't live without whom? Let it be, forget it."
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