Chapter 39 Resignation
Qiao Yi’s first reaction upon learning Wen Bairan had resigned was: "Are you going to go into business with Song Xu?"
Song Xu’s new company was just getting started, and almost no one in the industry knew about it. Besides, she hadn’t even decided if she would join him yet.
How did Qiao Yi guess?
Wen Bairan asked cautiously if she had inside info.
She put on an innocent look: "No, what inside information? Inside info? There's more to this? Hey, why don’t you talk to Song Xu? I can go too. I’ve been working here for over five years—it’s time for a change of environment. My demands aren’t high; just double my current pay will do."
Wen Bairan: "..."
She was extremely curious about where Qiao Yi’s ability to see right through things came from. How could she always zero in on the truth?
Qiao Yi scoffed: "You’re just slow. There’s news from headquarters that they plan to transfer him to Shanghai by the end of the year to lead in-depth development for the entire China region. He’s about to become a top exec! Resigning at such a crucial moment—either he’s gone mad, or he has a better offer. He doesn’t seem crazy to me, so it must be switching jobs. But someone as cold as Song Xu definitely wouldn’t want to change jobs only to remain taking orders from someone else, so I’m guessing he’s starting his own business. As for you, everyone in the company knows he values you—transferring you to the project department, making you his secretary, even assigning you an assistant..."
Wen Bairan was now completely convinced she was a natural. The more she listened, the more it made sense, and she nodded, impressed—until Qiao Yi mentioned the assistant.
"Wait, assistant? What assistant? Since when do I have an assistant?"
How did she not know she had an assistant?
"Me!"
Qiao Yi gave her an annoyed look. "All the odd jobs he gave me before were basically for your benefit. And he didn’t want to wake you up at night—ugh! If he weren’t so heartless, I’d almost suspect he’s in love with you."
Wen Bairan’s heart jumped, and she weakly said, "How is that possible..."
"Of course, I know it’s impossible!" Qiao Yi said flatly.
"......"
Seeing her confident expression, Wen Bairan wisely chose to stay silent.
After a moment, Qiao Yi suddenly looked around sneakily, then slung an arm over her shoulder, leaning in to whisper in a hushed tone about another matter: "I heard Song Xu was the one who was behind what happened to Xinyi. Did you know?"
Wen Bairan knew, but she couldn’t admit she knew, so she vaguely asked where she heard that.
"Who do I need to hear it from? Didn’t I tell you that after Xinyi got penalized, they turned around and signed a contract worth a million yuan with another lab? Guess who owns that lab?"
Wen Bairan genuinely didn’t know this time and asked curiously, "Who?"
Qiao Yi: "Song Xu!"
Wen Bairan: "?"
After Xinyi’s boss found out Song Xu was behind the trouble, he stormed into the manager’s office, threatening to sue them for unfair competition. The manager couldn’t calm him down and was sweating nervously.
"Think about it—the manager hadn’t done anything. If they really got sued, Song Xu had already resigned, so headquarters would definitely hold the manager responsible. He’d already decided that, as a last resort, he’d offer Xinyi a contract of equal value to smooth things over. But then the very next day, Xinyi called back, all cheerful, and said to let it go. The manager had just complained about their fickleness when he saw the news: Yingchuang was buying out Xinyi’s production line. He was pacing anxiously around his office, regretting not having signed the contract earlier," Qiao Yi said.
Yingchuang is the largest medical supplies enterprise in the country, with over fifty thousand employees in production, sales, and R&D combined. For Xinyi to be acquired by them meant they’d latched onto a thick, sturdy thigh—set for life.
All the companies that had previously rejected Xinyi were now kicking themselves. Who could have imagined such a small factory would get so lucky?
Qiao Yi couldn’t help but tsk: "Song Xu’s mind is seriously sharp! Slap them then hand them a huge incentive—not only did he get revenge for the previous slight, but he also managed to connect with Yingchuang. Just how shrewd is he? I’m absolutely sure he knew Yingchuang was going to acquire Xinyi the whole time!"
Noticing Wen Bairan had been silent all this time, she asked suspiciously: "Wait, you’re going to work for him, and you didn’t even know this?"
Wen Bairan looked at her blankly: "No, I didn’t."
Song Xu never explicitly told her what he was planning beforehand. Of course, he didn’t have to.
He was completely different from someone like Zhou Lin, who thought in a one-step-at-a-time mindset.
On the surface, it seemed he only took one step, but often he had already set things up for the fourth, fifth, and sixth steps—sometimes even preparing ten moves ahead.
Wen Bairan always had to guess his intentions. But how could someone like him be easy to figure out?
When she learned he left the company to independently secure the proton center collaboration, she finally felt she was starting to understand him a little. Only now did she realize he was playing a much bigger game.
Understand?
Ha.
She couldn’t even guess him right.
Her voice turned a notch colder as she added: "Also, I never said I was going to keep working for him."
Seeing her expression change, Qiao Yi seemed to realize she genuinely hadn’t known and regretted saying too much. "...Then what are you going to do after resigning?"
Wen Bairan sneered: "I’m on vacation."
//
Song Xu had promised to give her time to think. A month had passed.
Upon learning she had resigned a week ago, he called her right away.
"Where are you."
Wen Bairan: "I’m on vacation. Do not disturb."
"......"
Over the phone, Song Xu’s rare moment of silence inexplicably pleased Wen Bairan.
Before, he had always been issuing commands from on high. Now that he was no longer her superior, without that so-called hierarchical gap, they could finally speak as equals.
He could ask whatever he wanted.
Whether she answered or not was none of his business.
Lao Wen’s phalaenopsis was about to bloom, and he reminded her to remember to fertilize it in the afternoon.
Wen Bairan leisurely watered plants on the balcony, placing her phone on speaker and setting it on the washing machine. The soft sound of water pouring from the kettle silently conveyed her current cheerful mood.
After a long pause, Song Xu spoke, somewhat helpless.
"Vivi......"
"President Song."
He didn’t get to finish before Wen Bairan interrupted him: "I’m no longer with the company. Please call me by my Chinese name, thank you."
Another stretch of silence.
After finishing watering, Wen Bairan admired the thriving flower spike. The unique fragrance of orchids drifted faintly into her breath, and she silently curved the corners of her lips.
"Wen Bairan." Song Xu’s voice, two degrees lower, faintly hinted that his patience was running thin.
Wen Bairan wasn’t fazed at all. She picked up her phone, pressed it to her ear, and then asked calmly, “What do you want, Mr. Song?”
She wouldn’t let him call her by her English name, yet she still addressed him as Mr. Song.
Song Xu ignored her deliberate sarcasm and repeated his initial question: “Where are you?”
“Home.” Wen Bairan answered casually, confidently, and without guilt.
Immediately after, Song Xu fell into his third silence within these short two minutes.
Wen Bairan almost laughed out loud.
Of course, she knew Song Xu was asking for her home address, and she knew it had to be precise at least to the city or neighborhood.
But she just wouldn’t say.
After all, they now had neither a professional relationship nor a personal connection—what could he possibly do to her, she thought?
“......”
Three seconds later, he hung up.
The dial tone blared—
The tone was so forceful that she knew he was probably seething.
Perhaps he hadn’t expected Wen Bairan to blow him off like this. Back at the company, she had always been compliant to Song Xu.
Just thinking about his frustrated scowl made Wen Bairan finally unable to hold back her laughter.
“Hahaha—never thought you’d have a day like this, Song Xu—”
“Master? Who? Ran Ran, are you joining a convent?”
Ms. Xie, who had just returned from the supermarket, stood at the doorway, looking puzzled at the person laughing at the television.
Wen Bairan’s face stiffened: “…Mom.”
“You misheard me. Why would I become a nun? I was talking about the TV drama, the TV drama.” She awkwardly deflected, stepped forward to take the shopping bags from Ms. Xie, and pretended nothing had happened.
Ms. Xie looked at her suspiciously and closed the door. “Your dad isn’t home today. Let’s just have some noodles for dinner.”
From the kitchen came Wen Bairan’s eager reply: “Yeah, sure. I’ll help you with the vegetables.”
Wen Qianming had a retiree social organized by his office today, which he couldn’t get out of.
Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded the two of them to eat light for dinner and wait for him to come back for a midnight snack together. Wen Bairan hadn’t been home in a long time, so it was a perfect opportunity for a family talk tonight.
Ms. Xie said dismissively, “What night chat? Are you addicted to gatherings? Besides, we girls are all trying to lose weight. Why would we eat midnight snacks?”
Wen Qianming teased that they were all skin and bones and didn’t need to lose weight. Then he looked at Ms. Xie with affection, “especially you. When I hold you at night, you're all bony.”
Wen Bairan couldn’t stand hearing such sweet talk and covered her ears, shouting, “Can’t you save this for tonight?”
Ms. Xie blushed, pushed Wen Qianming out the door, and scolded him quietly, “You old fool! The child is right here. Why are you saying these things? Hurry up and go!”
Wen Bairan recalled Lao Wen’s expression before he left—as if he wished he could stuff Ms. Xie into his pocket and take her with him. She asked Ms. Xie admiringly how she managed to stay so in love with Lao Wen all these years. She wanted to learn that kind of magic spell that keeps someone spellbound too.
Ms. Xie shot her a reproachful look: “What magic? You make your mom sound like a monster.”
Wen Bairan smirked. “Pretty much, you old sorceress~”
Ms. Xie waved her hand, pretending to hit her: “You wicked girl!”
Wen Bairan quickly begged for mercy and escaped.
In the kitchen, mother and daughter stood side by side at the sink prepping the vegetables. The warm, bright glow of the setting sun filled the room.
After the joking, Wen Bairan squinted at the window and sighed, “It’s so good to be home.”
There weren’t many vegetables left in the sink. Ms. Xie told her to wash her hands and go watch TV.
Wen Bairan didn’t want to watch TV. She lingered by her mother’s side, being clingy, saying she rarely had a vacation and just wanted to talk more with her.
The conversation inevitably turned to Zhou Lin.
Ms. Xie already knew they had broken up.
She felt some regret.
Not because her daughter had missed out on a rich boyfriend, but because she felt a woman’s youth was precious.
Honestly, she had seen from that New Year’s gathering that things wouldn’t work out between them. She didn’t offer advice only because she believed any outcome should be something Wen Bairan figured out on her own. In matters of the heart, outsiders’ opinions often just add unnecessary trouble.
Wen Bairan had heard many people say similar things before, but hearing it from Ms. Xie still made her feel a little disappointed.
Why did it take her eight years to see what everyone else could see at a glance?
Ms. Xie comforted her, saying eight years was no different from eight days. What mattered was that she had woken up. Even if it were eighty years, it would be the same. Most people drift through life half-asleep, and by the time they realize it, whether they wake up or not doesn’t really matter.
“Some relationships don’t need to have a specific outcome. If they made you feel happy and fulfillment for a period of time, that’s enough. Sometimes, no ending is the best ending between people. Mom knows Zhou Lin isn’t a bad person, and you admit he never treated you poorly. In fact, he gave you some valuable experiences. So, let’s not hold grudges or try to assign blame. This is just a small part of life’s journey.”
As expected of the Ms. Xie Wen Bairan admired most, her gentle yet powerful words wiped away all the negative emotions Wen Bairan had been carrying.
Moved, she leaned on Ms. Xie’s shoulder and said, “Mom, it’s so good to have you.”
Sensing that Wen Bairan was noticeably more relaxed and softer this time, Ms. Xie affectionately pressed her forehead against Wen Bairan’s and said warmly, “You still have a long road ahead, with many scenes to see. There’s no rush. There will be others.”
/
After dinner, mother and daughter walked arm in arm to the night market near their home.
Wen Qianming rushed home as fast as he could, only to find no one home.
He video-called the two of them and saw them huddled together, each with an ice cream cone. He wanted to come find them.
But Ms. Xie wouldn’t allow it. She told him to stay home and wash the dishes.
This was Ms. Xie’s household rule: she would cook, but she would never do the dishes.
Wen Bairan felt sorry for Lao Wen, who looked like a neglected old golden retriever when they ended the call. Overcome with sympathy, she dragged Ms. Xie home early. Thoughtfully, she gave them some alone time to cheer up Lao Wen, and went downstairs to the swing set at the park to play.
It was 10 p.m., and the park was mostly empty. The parents who had been there earlier had all taken their children home to sleep.
Sitting on the swing, Wen Bairan finally had time to take out her phone and check her messages.
There weren’t many messages.
Some from Qiao Yi, some from Zhou Lin, plus store loyalty points alerts and phone plan notices.
She opened them one by one. When she saw Zhou Lin’s name, she paused.
She remembered not long ago, the day Li Yuan was buried was a sunny day.
Wen Bairan shared one last hug with Zhou Lin, and they promised to stay friends.
The person on the tombstone smiled gently down at them.
Zhou Lin said, Ran Ran, I will show you a new me.
She said, Yeah, I believe you.
After witnessing life and death firsthand, everyone seemed to have gained perspective.
She felt fortunate, glad they never truly reached the point of a messy breakup.
Those who have truly loved each other, even after parting, hope the other can live a good life.
They parted ways after that.
Occasionally, they contacted each other on WeChat, checking up on each other.
Everything went back to normal.
This felt right.
On WeChat, Zhou Lin asked if she had returned home.
[Wen Bairan]: Mm, back to visit my parents.
She had been back for three days.
These three days were the only time off that was entirely her own since graduating from college.
No work breathing down her neck,
No drama from people calling,
And no complicated relationship drama.
She hadn’t decided on her next job yet, and this rare breather made her want to just unwind.
The air was better back home than in Shenjiang—less humid, with a slight cool breeze that scattered the clouds in the sky, revealing a few twinkling stars.
Wen Bairan gazed at the late autumn night sky, completely relaxed, her mind empty as she zoned out.
She stayed like that for two whole hours.
Wen Qianming texted her, urging her to come back. Ms. Xie had already gone to sleep, and he said it wasn’t safe for her to be out alone, offering to come pick her up.
So Wen Bairan got up and headed home. On the way, she remembered the last time her dad had picked her up was during her senior year of high school.
Back then, her coursework was heavy, and school evening self-study sessions ended very late. Wen Qianming would ride the family’s old bicycle to pick her up, buying her sweet potatoes from a street vendor on the way. She would sit on the back of the bicycle, eating the sweet potato, telling Wen Qianming that there wasn’t much homework today so she could sleep early.
Sometimes Ms. Xie would come too, and the three of them would find a little diner near the school to eat and chat.
She couldn’t remember what they talked about, but Wen Bairan remembered feeling very happy.
Looking back, her senior year of high school was so painful, yet in the midst of it, she didn’t feel stressed at all, probably because she had such supportive parents. They gave her so, so much love, so much it spilled out of her and spread to those around her.
Zhou Lin once told her that she had eyes that know how to love.
She thought this was a little corny, but upon reflection, maybe it was true, which was why he clung to her like a child.
But next time, she didn’t want to be like this again.
People have a limited capacity for love.
Smothering someone consumes the other person and consumes oneself even more.
When the expectations for love keep rising, loving becomes harder.
Wen Bairan walked slowly along the shadow she made under the streetlights. She was almost home and still hadn’t run into her dad.
Thinking they might’ve missed each other, she took out her phone to call him, but her phone vibrated with an incoming call first.
The name on the screen lit up the screen.
Wen Bairan’s eyes widened a little, as if something she’d been waiting for had happened. Her heart jumped faintly.
She answered, but there was no sound from the other end.
"Hello?"
Wen Bairan stopped under a streetlight. The shadow huddled at her feet was suddenly stretched by something, extending under the light until it stopped in the darkness.
At first, she didn’t notice, still wondering if the person on the other end had butt-dialed. She frowned, ready to hang up when she suddenly heard someone call her name.
"Wen Bairan."
She went still.
Her eyes snapped up.
The next second, the deep, calm male voice from the phone receiver and a voice not far away spoke at the same time.
"It’s so late, why aren’t you going back?"
Right in front of her, the man’s dark gray trench coat almost disappeared into the darkness.
In the darkness, his pale face barely visible in the dark made one question what they were seeing.
Wen Bairan’s eyes widened, her body frozen in place. She didn’t even notice the shadow at her feet slowly retreating from the circle of streetlight.
Until a dry ache spread through her eyes, and she involuntarily closed them, then opened them again.
Her vision cleared.
There was one more person under the streetlight.
She opened her mouth in shock, but her throat was too dry to get a word out. "You..."
The hand holding the phone slipped down, and the screen lit up instantly.
Beneath the name blocked by her clothes, the call timer continued.
The figure in front of her was tall. Facing her astonished expression, the faint yellow light above formed a seemingly smiling glint in his long, narrow eyes.
The man’s lips curled into a playful smirk. "Were you waiting for me?"