Chapter 17.1

Chapter 17

Back home, Qin Nanshan went to the kitchen to cook while Wen Yi, as usual, sat in the living room with her tablet. Summer kept her company by her side.

After more than half an hour, the aroma of food wafted out. Summer jumped off the sofa before she did.

Two dishes and one soup. After so many meals he had made, Wen Yi would give his cooking full marks. The food temporarily healed her less than beautiful mood, and she could tell the man across from her was also not in high spirits.

“What is wrong?” Wen Yi asked.

Qin Nanshan’s hand paused mid chopstick. “Nothing.”

“Really nothing?”

“Nothing.”

Wen Yi had eaten about enough. “I will wash the dishes later.”

“No need. I will do it. You go do what you need.”

“All right.” Wen Yi did not stand on ceremony with him and called Summer to leave with her.

One person and one dog entered the master bedroom. The little home quieted down. Qin Nanshan set down his chopsticks, his gaze withdrawing.

He stared at the clean, empty bowls in front of him, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Liu Tao had guessed she was delicate, but after living together, Wen Yi had nothing to do with being spoiled. Aside from avoiding certain foods, she always finished her breakfast and dinner cleanly. In daily life, she was not picky at all—very easy to get along with.

Of course, except for occasionally throwing little tantrums. But it was precisely those tantrums that added color to his repetitive, dull, and monotonous life.

He sat there for who knows how long before picking up his phone and opening Wen Yi’s WeChat. He went to her Moments.

As a sales rep, Wen Yi had no privacy settings on her Moments—everything was visible.

There were many ads and promotions, all pharma related, with occasional personal posts mixed in. The most recent was from the day they registered their marriage.

Before that was a gathering with friends. Further back, she had posted an emoji—a little cat basking in the sun, looking utterly content.

He had not understood it at first until he saw the date below: the Start of Winter.

The corners of Qin Nanshan’s mouth curved, and some inexplicable emotion in his heart vanished completely.

He then felt his own behavior was childish.

He exited, turned off the phone, and began clearing the dishes.

……

Over the next three or four days, Wen Yi shuttled between various groups of people, seeing all kinds of expressions and saying all sorts of polite nonsense—to no avail.

On Friday at work, Wen Yi went over heads to see the general manager. The GM was a sharp, capable career woman named Li Wei, forty years old. Rumors said she had just divorced, with no children.

Wen Yi had no direct work dealings with Li Wei and little private interaction.

The executive assistant said Li Wei only had fifteen minutes for her. Wen Yi tried to see herself as an independent, strong woman, thinking Li Wei might understand her situation to some extent. But less than three minutes in, Wen Yi gave up that idea.

Li Wei was a thorough career first type—powerful aura, smiles that never reached her eyes. She said calmly, “Wen Yi, I appreciate your work abilities. If Wei Yuan leaves this time, you would be a strong candidate for marketing director. But you gave up all that yourself. Family is always a stumbling block for a woman’s career advancement, especially in your position. I cannot let it wait for you forever.”

“Of course, if you work hard and let me see it again, I will reconsider future arrangements.”

This was a death sentence.

Wen Yi opened her mouth, wanting to ask if she knew about Yan Fu, but swallowed the words. Li Wei could not have reached her position without knowing. Speaking up now would only make her look like a ridiculous clown jumping around.

Wen Yi maintained her final dignity. “I understand. Thank you, Director Li.”

The transfer order had not come down yet, but it seemed everyone in the company knew. Some close colleagues asked what happened. Strangers treated it as gossip.

Her few apprentices seized every chance to chat at her desk, indignant and comforting her as if their own careers had hit a massive setback.

That day, after dealing with Song Qingqing, Wen Yi’s mouth was dry. She went to the pantry for water.

Yan Fu was there too. Their eyes met.

Wen Yi composed her emotions and calmly walked to the water dispenser to fill her cup.

Yan Fu spoke from behind, smug as a victor. “Wen Yi, what a shame. We did not even get a chance to compete.”

Wen Yi finished filling her water and crossed her arms. “Congratulations. You earned all this through your own hard work.”

Yan Fu could not miss the sarcasm but was not angry at all. “The most important thing in our line of work—do you not know? Did your mentor not tell you on the first day visiting clients? Wen Yi, what is the use of good relationships with clients? Can clients promote you or give you a raise?”

Wen Yi smiled gently. “Of course. I do not have an aunt, so I can only rely on clients.”

“What a pity. I will help take care of all those clients for you from now on.”

Yan Fu’s tone implied he knew something. Wen Yi lowered her eyelids, considering possibilities. In the end, it boiled down to the earlier guesses: either transfer or demotion to work under him. From his words, transfer seemed more likely.

The eastern region had over a dozen public and private hospitals—plenty of resources in her hands. In the past, resources were king. But with pharma system reforms, all contracts that needed signing were done. Once he took over, he would indeed reap the benefits without effort.

Wen Yi felt unwilling inside but kept her expression unchanged. “No problem. I hope you take good care of them. I will treat you to tea another day.”

“Manager Wen is too polite.”

Back at her desk, Wen Yi stared blankly at the bright screen, pondering this dead end.

Her phone suddenly popped up a message from Xuan Ying asking if she had run into difficulties. Anything at all, just tell them.

Wen Yi was stunned for a long time before replying that everything was fine.

……

In the lead up to the new semester, Wen Yi was very busy, often leaving early and returning late. Sometimes she came home for dinner, sometimes not. One evening, she even came back smelling of alcohol—someone else’s.

Her work did not seem to be going smoothly. After showering at night, she went straight to bed. When he entered the room, she was already asleep but tossed and turned a lot, her brows still furrowed even in sleep.

That evening after dinner, Wen Yi did not go to the bedroom. She sat on the sofa making a phone call. Qin Nanshan brought her a glass of water and went to the secondary bedroom.

When they went out again, the call had already ended. Wen Yi was hugging her knees, absentmindedly stroking Summer’s fur.

He approached and said gently, “In a couple of days is the prenatal checkup. Time for the Down syndrome screening.”

Wen Yi’s voice was muffled. “I know.”

He had been busy these past few days too, so they had little chance to talk. Qin Nanshan sat down beside her and proactively found a topic. “I met Zhuang Yue a couple days ago. I politely turned down his proposal and mentioned Qiao En. They probably will not end up together.”

Wen Yi glanced at him. “Best if they do not.”

Qin Nanshan probed, “In a bad mood?”

Wen Yi shook her head. She was not that upset—just feeling powerless. She had poured everything into Nu’an, only to end up with this outcome.

She had no strength to fight back. No one cared about the life or death of a single tree on a mountain. If it blocked the path, it got chopped down or transplanted.

Lately, she had self destructive thoughts: why not just quit and switch companies? Why stay and suffer this humiliation?

But the pharmaceutical sales industry was a mess right now. With only her experience, where could she go? Quitting would feel too unwilling. Deep down, she thought: one day, this old lady will knock you all flat.

Wen Yi could not resolve it herself and was trapped in a dead loop.

She asked, “Qin Nanshan, do you think I should quit? Look, I have to take leave for this checkup, then more for every future one. If I keep asking for time off, the company will get annoyed with me.”

Qin Nanshan’s brows lifted slightly. After thinking, he said, “National regulations give pregnant women prenatal checkup leave, counted as normal attendance. Your company should not deprive you of this right.”

Wen Yi laughed. “What black and white world do you live in? Capitalism does not care about your leave. If you do not work but still get paid, they feel uncomfortable—you know that?”

She added, “Not every company is like your public institution, with good benefits and plenty of holidays, holding an iron rice bowl for life.”

Qin Nanshan explained, “There is no such thing as an iron rice bowl anymore. If you do poor work, you still get criticized or demoted.”