Chapter 8: Old photos stole his lucky charm.
Xie Yun waited at Liang Yizhi's house all night, but still to no avail.
Meanwhile, Liang Yizhi hid in He Man's house, enjoying a few short days of peace and quiet.
That evening, He Man returned home and immediately called out Liang Yizhi's name as soon as she entered the door, which startled Liang Yizhi, who thought something terrible had happened.
He Man: "I just got home and drove to your place for a bit."
"Xie Yun is really there, sitting downstairs from your house, like a lonely ghost in the wilderness, it's terrifying!"
He Man patted her chest: "That old fox Gu Yinyan was right! Luckily you came early, otherwise he might have kept bothering you for a long time! I hate breakups that are so messy!"
He Man put her hands on her hips, opened the bottle of mineral water in the refrigerator, and gulped it down.
Liang Yizhi has already taken the time to pack her luggage and moved most of it to He Man's place.
For her, changing her environment was not only a matter of safety, but also a way to avoid being reminded of past events and people by familiar sights and objects.
He Man: "You said he's already admitted to cheating, so how dare he still have the nerve to come looking for you?"
Liang Yizhi simply shook her head.
Suddenly, He Man across from her pointed at her with the mineral water bottle she was holding:
"Don't move."
Liang Yizhi was stunned.
He Man casually picked up a mirror from the table, turned it on, and showed it to her: "Look, look, try making that expression again and see what happens?"
Liang Yizhi stared blankly at herself in the mirror.
She did look unwell; she had unusually dark circles under her eyes, her lips were pale, and her face was completely bloodless.
A few pimples have also appeared on my chin.
Liang Yizhi touched it with her hand: "I've been thinking a lot lately..."
"You've broken up, what's there to think about?"
Liang Yizhi closed the mirror and put her hands down on her lap: "I just... want to know why he cheated on me."
Even though things have come to this, the thought of not dying always lingers in her mind, making her restless and unable to eat or sleep.
“Miss, does the reason matter? What matters is the fact: he has cheated on his wife, and that is an unforgivable mistake.”
"But I also..."
Before Liang Yizhi could say anything more, He Man suddenly raised her hands and covered her ears: "I don't want to hear it—I don't want to hear it—"
Liang Yizhi chuckled.
"Okay, I won't think about it anymore."
Indeed, let bygones be bygones. What's the point of dwelling on the reasons? She wasn't the one who made a mistake.
Being with He Man is at least better than her being cooped up at home alone; at least she has someone to talk to and can heal her heartbreak.
-
The next day, Xie Yun was late for work again.
He went into the office with a sullen face, fetched some water, and returned to his workstation.
He had already heard from his colleagues that the big boss had caught him missing yesterday's meeting, and he was feeling extremely annoyed and irritated.
These past two days have taken a toll on his mind and body. Now he needs to calm down, catch up on the work that has been delayed for so long, and try to salvage the situation with his superiors.
After sitting down, Xie Yun routinely turned on his computer and logged into his company account. Just as he was about to start reviewing the data, a message from HR popped up in the lower right corner of the screen, asking him to come over immediately.
Xie Yun frowned and stood up.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yun was hit with a major setback as soon as he entered the personnel department.
HR called him in for a meeting, and the topic turned out to be layoffs. HR didn't talk to him much, just informed him of the result.
The young lady spoke softly and gently, and the first thing she did was ask him if he was under a lot of work pressure and how his living conditions were. She seemed to be very considerate, but it turned out that this was just their appeasement policy.
The news of the layoffs spread quickly, and within two hours, everyone was casting sympathetic glances at Xie Yun.
Some people came over and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, but in Xie Yun's eyes, they were just pitying him and putting on a show. Who knew what kind of gossip they were spreading behind his back?
In the afternoon, after the work handover was completed, Xie Yun silently packed up his belongings and gradually emptied his workstation.
He tried hard not to pay attention to the probing looks from others, but their feigned concern and actual disdain only made him angrier.
Having lost both his lover and his job, and with all the recent misfortunes piling up, Xie Yun was on the verge of collapse under the immense pressure.
He couldn't hold back and smashed his ceramic mug, which he usually used for drinking water, on the ground.
That cup is a pair with the one in Liang Yizhi's house.
The porcelain shards shattered into pieces, and the female colleague next to her was so frightened that she screamed and ran away.
"You're insane...!"
"He quits, and others have to pick up the pieces of his mess. Who messed with him? It's unbelievable!"
"Team Leader Xie, calm down, calm down—"
...
Unable to bear the execution-ground-like atmosphere, Xie Yun lost his patience, swept everything on the table into his bag, stuffed it in without even bothering to zip it up, and left.
He carried his bag over one shoulder and went to the elevator lobby to press the button.
The elevator doors opened, and he was about to enter when he spotted a dark figure inside.
Gu Yinyan stood on the innermost side, with an upright posture and outstanding temperament, accompanied by Secretary Tang, who was dressed in professional attire.
Upon seeing Xie Yun, Gu Yinyan glanced down at his face without showing any expression.
Xie Yun was stunned for a moment.
He was in a terrible mood and instinctively shunned any colleague or superior. But due to his rank and the fact that they were the only ones in the cramped space, Xie Yun reluctantly nodded.
The elevator started descending from the 22nd floor.
The aura behind him was too strong. Xie Yun couldn't suppress the grievance in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but turn around and face Gu Yinyan, saying:
"Mr. Gu, I am Xie Yun from the product development department."
"...I don't know if you remember me, but I'd like to know, what's the reason for this sudden layoff recently?"
Xiao Tang stood quietly to one side, her professional demeanor keeping her expression calm, but her eyes secretly glanced at President Gu.
Gu Yinyan looked at Xie Yun, pondered for half a second as if considering which department and employee he was, before slowly speaking.
His voice was calm: "Don't overthink it. You did a great job. The company is just making normal organizational restructuring."
After listening to what Gu Yinyan said, Xie Yun's pent-up energy suddenly dissipated, as if he had hit a ball of cotton.
If that's the case... if that's really the case.
I can only blame my bad luck.
Xie Yun bowed slightly to the tall figure in front of him and said, "I understand."
He turned around.
Gu Yinyan lowered his eyelashes and stared at Xie Yun, who was carrying a bag in front of him.
A simple black windbreaker, the collar turned up on one side and drooping down on the other. The backpack on his shoulder was stuffed so full that the zipper could barely be closed, the fabric wrapped around him as if he was about to vomit.
Seemingly because Xie Yun had just brought up the topic, Gu Yinyan remembered something and said to Secretary Tang beside him:
"Xiao Tang, besides the layoffs, there are several vacant positions in the company's core departments. I remember the staffing needs were communicated a long time ago. Are they still being processed?"
Secretary Tang: "Yes, Mr. Gu."
"Okay, urge the HR department to do a good job of background checks."
Gu Yinyan stared at the back of the person's head and continued, "The company has strict hiring standards and bottom lines. If anyone with questionable moral character is hired, they will all be fired."
Xie Yun's back suddenly stiffened, and he stood rooted to the spot.
He suddenly felt a chill run through his body and was about to break out in a cold sweat.
The elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened to both sides.
The cold, metallic space, now illuminated by light from the first-floor lobby, finally felt less suffocating.
Gu Yinyan lifted his foot, about to step out of the elevator.
He paused again as he passed by Xie Yun.
Gu Yinyan was a few centimeters taller than Xie Yun, blocking the stark white light above his head, and his whole body was enveloped in the silvery light and shadow in the elevator.
He wasn't wearing a tie today; his collar was slightly open, and he had a brooch pinned to his collar, designed in the shape of a sundial—exquisite and understated.
At its center is a deep blue sapphire, like an eye embedded within it.
The brooch reflected off the elevator's overhead light, dazzling Xie Yun and causing a sharp pain in his eyes.
“Oh, right,” Gu Yinyan suddenly said.
He saw something in Xie Yun's bag, raised his hand and gently pulled it out; the item vanished in the blink of an eye.
As Gu Yinyan spoke, he put one hand in his pocket and held a white piece of paper between his other two fingers, waving it in front of him.
Gu Yinyan: "Consider this a severance gift for the boss."
"goodbye."
He strode past Xie Yun with his long legs and left.
Xie Yun stared at his retreating figure with a gloomy face, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles dug into the lines of his palms. Gu Yinyan's voice still lingered in his ears, calm and gentle.
He quickly threw his backpack in front of him to check.
The old photo of Liang Yizhi, which he had always kept as a talisman in the side pocket, has disappeared.
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