Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 037

Chapter 37 ☆, If There Is True Love in This World.

For Xin Xin and Mary, this day was not only fruitless but also devastating.

Xin Xin exhausted her physical strength, while Mary gained a broken heart.

Mary had already decided to sell her house when she married Han Canghai. But after their breakup, she sold it without hesitation and moved to a nearby neighborhood.

Mary’s emotional disappointment was accompanied by a surge in financial luck. Her move coincided with a significant housing price fluctuation. Nothing changed, but she made a net profit of 400,000 yuan.

Recently, because she and Zhang Qiao were in a relationship and were on their honeymoon, Mary happily moved into Zhang Qiao’s house.

For someone like Mary, who rarely needed alone time, the need for solitude had never occurred to her.

At this moment, Mary was in a dilemma.

She didn’t have the courage to go back and face Zhang Qiao, but it was also difficult to explain why she suddenly wanted to move back home.

Xin Xin, knowing she was in the wrong, acted as a crucial tool under Mary’s pitiful pleas.

“Mary, lend me your money for two days. My lease is up, and I’m looking for a place. I’ll stay at your house for two days.”

Mary’s expression in the video call was natural. “Dear, I’ll be with Xin Xin for the next two days. Please take care of yourself.”

Zhang Qiao nodded obediently. “Okay, I bought some fruit and will bring it over to you.”

Mary refused repeatedly. “No, no, we bought some too. I’ll be back soon, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to eat it.”

Zhang Qiao, unsuspecting, gave a few more instructions about details like putting on the mosquito repellent and getting rid of mites when he got home. Then, reluctantly, he hung up the phone.

As soon as the call ended, Mary collapsed on the sofa.

Xin Xin, distressed, broke her vow not to advise her friends on their relationships. “Zhang Qiao is really good—smart, down-to-earth, and young! His only flaw is that he’s a bit rigid, but if you ask about being rigid, Han Canghai is even more rigid. What do you like about Han Canghai?”

Mary stared blankly at the ceiling and said in a sophisticated manner, “I don’t know where this feeling came from. I really don’t know.” She pressed her hand against her stomach. “I thought I’d forgotten him, but you know what? When I saw him today, my stomach churned.”

It was said that the stomach was an emotional organ.

No one could definitively explain matters of the heart. Xin Xin had never cared about the men hurt by Mary.

A beautiful woman’s gentleness and affection, her capriciousness and volatility, and her every smile and every gesture could spark reverie and easily hurt others. If everyone cared, it would be too exhausting.

But this time, Xin Xin had a clearer perspective. She had seen the deep, yet hopeless, gaze Zhang Qiao cast upon Mary, her shy joy, and the wholehearted sincerity with which he treated her.

If a mere encounter with Han Canghai could sever their relationship, then it would be too cruel for Zhang Qiao.

Mary naturally understood this, and perhaps this was why she lacked the courage to return.

Xin Xin had known Mary for so many years and witnessed her countless relationships. She had already concluded that Mary only loved one type of man: the special, the eccentric,

with a touch of coldness and aloofness.

If there was something missing from Zhang Qiao, Xin Xin felt it was probably that he wasn’t strange enough.

Mary was incredibly capable; her financial luck was frighteningly good. She was decisive and opinionated, appearing gentle and diplomatic, but deep down she was incredibly strong-willed, even stubborn.

Anyone could compromise, but for Mary, it was practically impossible.

Xin Xin lamented her bad luck. If she hadn’t met Han Canghai by chance today, she would have almost forgotten about him.

Mary drowned her sorrows in wine, while Xin Xin risked her life for her.

Halfway through the drinking, they both became intoxicated.

Xin Xin dazedly heard her phone ring. “Hello?”

“Not going home today?” It was Zheng Zaochuan’s voice.

“That’s not my home.”

“It can be yours. It can always be yours.”

Xin Xin’s mind was spinning. “When I buy a house, it’ll be mine.”

The person on the other end sighed helplessly. “You drunkard, why are you drunk again? Where are you?”

Xin Xin’s courage grew. Thinking of Zheng Zaochuan drinking with a bunch of beautiful women, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear. “Drinking with handsome guys, so many handsome guys.”

After saying that, she immediately hung up the phone and chuckled.

Mary was also drunk. “That’s great! Someone cares about you.”

“Someone cares about you, but you chose to run away.”

Mary, who had been laughing, felt downcast upon hearing this. She muttered, “No, I need to know.”

Without thinking, she typed in a number and dialed.

The call was connected almost immediately. “Hello?”

The man’s voice, like a spring of ice, serene and composed, echoed through the receiver.

Mary felt as if a cold shower had been poured over her, half sobering up.

She didn’t speak.

The voice on the other end, however, softened considerably, tentatively asking, as if coaxing a child, “Ning Yan? Is that you?”

The man’s gentle demeanor, combined with her own drunkenness, gave Mary the illusion that he still loved her, and a bitter taste suddenly washed over her.

“No.”

Han Canghai on the other end said, “Are you calling to tell me whether we can start over or never see each other again?”

Mary’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly hung up, not bothering to think about what he meant.

The two drunks, each harboring their own agenda, fell asleep head-to-head, letting their phone screens flicker and fade into silence.

If you’ve ever experienced the pain of a hangover in your thirties, you’ll understand why all the unbridled joys are found in your early twenties.

A hangover brought passion and unbridled joy to a twenty-year-old woman.

It left a thirty-year-old woman with headaches and dwindling energy.

Xin Xin and Mary slept for over ten hours before waking. They decided to send Xin Xin, who seemed in better shape, to buy hangover medicine, while Mary charged their long-dead phones.

A bowl of porridge and hangover medicine was a welcome rebirth.

“I’ll never drink again.”

This was Mary’s vow, after countless hangovers.

Xin Xin took a shower and was revived. Mary could hold her liquor well, but she took time to sober up. Xin Xin, on the other hand, couldn’t hold her liquor as well, but she recovered so quickly.

As soon as she turned on her phone, countless messages flooded in.

Xin Xin saw dozens of missed calls and was stunned. She almost thought she’d stirred a hornet’s nest while drunk. Fortunately, she opened them and saw they were all from Zheng Zaochuan.

The last call was last night, and it lasted one minute. Xin Xin had been really drunk yesterday and couldn’t recall anything she’d said to Zheng Zaochuan. Having fallen into the trap of information asymmetry, she felt guilty and cautiously returned the call.

“Xin Xin, so you still remember to return the call.”

Zheng Zaochuan’s tone was unkind.

Xin Xin said awkwardly, “I was drunk. Did I say something I shouldn’t have said last night?”

Zheng Zaochuan said angrily, “What? Just woke up? Found yourself surrounded by handsome men?”

“I’m at Mary’s house. Where are the handsome men? I’m not like you, who only likes drinking with beautiful women.”

Zheng Zaochuan was silent for a long time. Then, with a hint of a smile, he said, “Are you really trying to compete with me?”

Xin Xin was stubborn, pretending not to understand. “Why should I compete with you? You’ve walked through a sea of ​​flowers without getting a single leaf on you. I, the widower of ten thousand years, dare not compete with you.”

Zheng Zaochuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said seriously, “I haven’t walked through a sea of ​​flowers, Xin Xin. I think you have some misunderstanding about me.”

Xin Xin smiled, about to make another joke, but turned and saw Mary and was startled.

Mary sat behind her, staring blankly at her phone screen, her face pale, tears streaming down her face.

Xin Xin interrupted Zheng Zaochuan, “I have something else to do. I’ll call you back when I’m done.”

After that, she hung up and asked Mary, “You’re fine; what’s wrong?”

Mary looked up, tears welling in her eyes. She smiled wryly. “Did I call Han Canghai last night?”

Xin Xin said she was helpless; she couldn’t even remember her conversation with Zheng Zaochuan.

It turned out that Han Canghai had called several times yesterday, but in the end, he only sent a single, nonsensical text: “I haven’t changed my phone number. I thought you might contact me.”

Xin Xin was shocked. Otherwise, why would they call Han Canghai a teacher? This sentence left so much room for discussion, and for Mary, who still couldn’t forget their past, it was a nuclear-level devastating blow.

“What’s the point of him doing this? If you don’t contact him, he won’t contact you. Every time you show up, he flirts with you. He looks like a serious guy, but he acts like a green tea man.”

Xin Xin couldn’t help but complain, her complaint tinged with a hint of sympathy for Zhang Qiao. Mary hesitated. “Xin Xin, what should I do?”

Xin Xin made a snap decision: “Ignore him.”

“I can’t do that.”

Xin Xin reminded her, “You’re in a relationship too. If you keep harping on your ex, you’ll become the very person you once despised.”

Mary lowered her head in silence for a moment. After a moment, she said, “I’ve decided. I’m breaking up with Zhang Qiao.”

Xin Xin was shocked. “You’re crazy.”

Mary forced a smile and said, “I know it’s my fault. I wouldn’t have slapped Zhang Qiao even if he had. Before I met Han Canghai, I really thought I could fall in love with Zhang Qiao.”

The words were spoken with such sincerity that Xin Xin was speechless. Between Mary on one side and Zhang Qiao on the other, Xin Xin couldn’t bear to see this human tragedy, so she had to avoid it.

Xin Xin returned to Zheng Zaochuan’s house dejected.

Upon arrival, she found Zheng Zaochuan sitting alone in a dim corner, watching TV, his posture barely shifting.

Xin Xin was stunned for a moment. “Why don’t you turn on the light?”

Zheng Zaochuan laughed. “It’s strange. I used to be alone, so I didn’t feel the room was empty or lonely. But after being with you for so long, I actually feel lonely.”

Xin Xin’s heart softened. His words were sincere yet cunning, and Xin Xin didn’t know how to respond. She had to change the subject. “Zheng Zaochuan, do you think there can be one true love?”

Zheng Zaochuan looked at her and asked seriously, “What is true love?”

Xin Xin struggled to explain. “It’s the kind of true love where you know you’ll get hurt, that you might not be right for each other, but you keep hurting each other and being entangled, yet you insist on being together.”

If Zheng Zaochuan were a complete jerk, he would have taken this opportunity to say, “Yes, I am to you.”

But he wasn’t. Especially not to Xin Xin; he couldn’t lie.

So he said, “I don’t know. If true love lasts forever, then perhaps there’s no true love in this world.”