At the company’s year-end party, the CEO’s wife’s male assistant quietly revealed that she was planning to publicly announce our relationship. As I walked towards my wife in my suit, holding a bouquet of flowers, the scheming male assistant suddenly knocked the flowers onto my head, crying uncontrollably: “Jack, I only told you about my relationship with Olivia, but I never thought you’d steal her from me. Even if you’re the core project manager, you can’t do this!” My wife not only didn’t refute his claim, but she also took away my year-end bonus and even arranged for the male assistant to join my project team to gain experience. Everyone in the company reacted, applauding to congratulate my wife and the male assistant on their fairy-tale romance. My team members even advised me: “Boss, I know you’ve had a crush on CEO Olivia for ten years, but now that the company is about to go public, just bear with it and say something nice.” I just smiled faintly and handed the project manager appointment letter to the male assistant: “How could I let the company’s new man work under me? I think only you are qualified to be the project manager and lead the company to greater success.” After all, I was the only one who knew the key formula for the project. I was curious to see how my wife would come up with that million-dollar breach of contract penalty.
Seeing me take out the appointment letter, everyone was stunned for a moment. My team members immediately helped me out, applauding and saying loudly: “Looks like our boss has really realized his mistake. CEO Olivia, please forgive him!” “Yeah, Jack is being so generous, there must have been a misunderstanding. He truly wishes you and Ryan the best.” Everyone was stirring up the atmosphere. Ryan tightly clutched the appointment letter, but his eyes were fixed on my designer suit. He said pitifully: “But Jack dressed up so nicely, isn’t it just to steal the spotlight…” Everyone was taken aback, not expecting Ryan to be so persistent. They all turned to look at me. In response to his provocation, my wife Olivia’s expression was unclear, and she didn’t say anything. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. Ten years ago, I had received an offer from a major foreign company with an annual salary of millions. But because of Olivia’s plea for me to stay, I chose to start from scratch with her, living on a shoestring budget. She cried and said she would never forget my sacrifice. Once the company went public, she would officially announce our relationship, make me the vice president, and give me shares. But now, as the company was about to go public, all her favoritism went to a newcomer who had only joined six months ago. I took a deep breath and started unbuttoning my jacket. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” I would never have any expectations of Olivia again. After saying that, I walked out of the meeting room wearing only a thin shirt. Outside the company, the cold wind blew, stinging my skin. I coughed softly. The doctor had told me that my lungs were damaged from doing experiments, and I couldn’t continue working such long hours. Olivia didn’t know yet that the key formula for this project was the result of my sleepless nights and tireless work. In three days, the project would be delivered. If there were no results by then, Olivia would face a million-dollar penalty. Perhaps it was time for me to live my own life. Instead of pouring my heart and soul out for someone who didn’t love me. Bang! While I was lost in thought, something hit the back of my head hard. I turned around to see Ryan looking at me maliciously. The project manager appointment letter was scattered on the ground. “Jack, how can you be so stupid? I pretended to tell you that Olivia was going to announce your relationship, and you actually believed it!” My heart trembled. Because I had always dreamed of Olivia announcing our relationship. So I was overjoyed and couldn’t help but believe it. I remained silent, but Ryan became even more arrogant. “Too bad, it seems Olivia prefers me. Not just a small position like project manager, if I cry a little, she might even kick you out of the company.” Ryan had always been two-faced. Because I didn’t like him during his interview, but Olivia specially recruited him into the company, he always came to cause trouble for me. After repeatedly provoking me, he would shed tears and act pitiful in front of others, causing Olivia to argue with me, saying I was jealous. Now, I just felt that my past self was naive. To actually compete with such a despicable person for Olivia’s affection. I turned to leave. Ryan’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly slapped himself hard, his thin cheek instantly turning red. Before I could understand what was happening, he was already in tears, bending down humbly to pick up the appointment letter from the ground, and handed it to me with trembling hands: “Jack, I know you don’t like me. You can hit me or scold me, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re willing to stay in the company, take this appointment letter back. I’ll voluntarily resign and talk to Olivia about it.” The next second, I heard Olivia’s angry shout. “Jack, are you crazy?!” She threw the coat she was carrying on her arm to the ground and raised her hand to slap me: “Ryan was just joking around, and you decided to go on strike? Now you’re hitting people just to get back the position of project manager? When did you become so violent?” She looked like a mother beast protecting her cub. I licked my bleeding lip, laughing coldly in my heart. Whenever Ryan and I had a conflict, Olivia would blindly believe that I was bullying him, without asking for the truth. In the past, I would have argued until my lips were parched, feeling wronged. Now, I was truly tired of it all. I smiled, saying rather dejectedly: “Thank you.” Olivia’s anger suddenly subsided, and she asked in bewilderment: “Thank me for what?” I spoke in a flat tone: “Thank you for letting me know that in your heart, I’m just a jealous, unscrupulous person.” With that, I turned to leave. Olivia’s body trembled. She took a step, instinctively grabbing my arm, feeling how cold it was. In the dead of winter, the tip of my nose was already red from the cold. She picked up the coat from the ground in a somewhat panicked manner and stuffed it into my hands: “You… it’s so cold, put on your coat first. As for the project manager position, I’ll consider it carefully…” As soon as Olivia mentioned reconsidering the project manager position, Ryan immediately became anxious. He said indignantly, as if he couldn’t bear the insult: “Olivia, I know Jack is a veteran of the company, and I can never compare to your years of friendship. Please don’t argue because of me, I’ll go to HR and apply for resignation right now!” With that, he tightly clutched the appointment letter and ran back into the company. As he was going up the stairs, he deliberately stumbled, pretending to fall. His knee hit the steps, and he hugged his knee, crying out in pain. Olivia’s eyes widened as she looked at Ryan crying in pain, then back at me who was about to leave. After hesitating for a moment, she hurriedly said to me: “Jack, you go home first. I’ll talk to you later.” Then, without hesitation, she rushed towards Ryan.
At the bottom of the company building, Olivia reached out to help Ryan, her movements careful as if protecting a fragile piece of porcelain. Ryan, however, pushed away her hand with a stubborn look on his face, trying to stand up on his own. The next second, he fell into Olivia’s soft embrace. It was just after work hours, and there were many people on the street. Their public display immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers. I couldn’t help but curl my lips in a sarcastic smile. In public, Olivia never let me get within three steps of her, only allowing me to call her “CEO Olivia.” Once, after an argument, I just wanted to make up with her. I walked closer and held her hand. She jerked away as if electrocuted and flew into a rage. She accused me of breaking our agreement to keep our marriage a secret and avoid public displays of affection. She said she wasn’t a monkey in a zoo, with no desire to show affection in front of strangers. But now, the whole company was shipping her with Ryan, and strangers were stopping to watch them, yet she showed no restraint. I swallowed the sourness rising in my throat and hailed a taxi to go home. After returning home, the warm air made me finally feel the stinging pain on my face. In the mirror, I saw my face reddened by the rose thorns, with streaks of blood. How ridiculous, like a pathetic clown. On my phone placed by the sink, a message suddenly popped up: “Jack, have you really not considered our company? We’re a Fortune 500 company with great benefits, including four days off every week. You could even be our representative in the country!” The person contacting me was the HR from the foreign company, who had repeatedly extended olive branches to me. If we weren’t collaborating, I would have blocked them long ago. In the past, I would politely say I had no such plans for now. This time, I replied: “Alright, I’ll buy a ticket for tomorrow.” Instantly, the HR kept typing: “Great! Jack, I’ll transfer you $5,000 for travel expenses right away. You must come!” Looking at the $5,000 credited to my bank account. And the glaring bank balance: $5,000.13. I covered my face and laughed out loud. Five thousand dollars. Olivia, afraid that I would slack off if I had money in hand, only paid me $500 a month. I couldn’t earn this much in a year. She also said that even married couples should keep clear accounts. The rent was $200 a month, I paid for utilities and did all the housework. If I even used a roll of her toilet paper, she would charge me $10. Yet she never mentioned how to account for the money I spent on groceries, cooking, and daily necessities. After all these years, I found myself penniless. Adjusting my mood, I walked out of the bathroom, ready to pack my luggage for the flight. When I opened the drawer, I found an old digital camera in the corner. It was a product from ten years ago. I hadn’t used it in a long time, but surprisingly, it still turned on. I imported the data into my computer and started looking through the photos one by one. This camera was bought by Olivia specially for me when we first started our business. She said she knew I liked photography and promised to buy me a better one once the company went public. During those difficult times, because we were both orphans and couldn’t get help from our parents, we only had each other to rely on and keep warm. The photos included us sharing a bowl of instant noodles, dating on the subway to enjoy the warmth, and on New Year’s Eve with fireworks outside the window, when we fought over a piece of meat that ended up falling on the floor, and she ran to the bathroom crying in frustration. All these memories seemed like they happened yesterday, yet also felt like a lifetime ago. But as time went on, there were fewer and fewer photos. The last one was from six months ago. In the photo, Olivia, wearing a professional suit, looked mature and charming, frowning as she raised her hand to block the camera. That day, our project had achieved unprecedented success, and Olivia was already planning to take the company public. As usual, I took out the camera to take a photo. But she sneered and blocked the lens: “Jack, no wonder your experiment progress has been so slow lately. You’re not focused on work, but on taking my embarrassing photos. You’re still using this trash camera? If it were me, I would have smashed it long ago.” But when Ryan took out his phone to take a selfie with Olivia, she softened her expression and posed for quite a few pictures. From that day on, this camera, which once symbolized our love, was thrown into the depths of my drawer. As my thoughts returned to the present, I moved my fingers. I permanently deleted the entire photo album, then threw the camera into the trash can. Some things were meant to be thrown away. After doing this, I printed out a divorce agreement. I sat crookedly on the sofa, waiting until 10 pm, but Olivia still hadn’t returned. Just as I was about to get up and go to my room, I felt my whole body burning hot, and I couldn’t stop coughing. Looking at the thermometer showing 102°F, I realized I probably had pneumonia. Feeling that I might need to be hospitalized, I directly took my luggage with me, saving the trouble of coming back home to pack. During the consultation, I answered the doctor’s questions in a daze. Until a clear, worried female voice sounded: “Doctor, is he alright? Please check him carefully!”
My whole body trembled, and my consciousness instantly became clearer. It was Olivia’s voice. I turned my head to look. At the door of the consultation room, Olivia was holding a CT scan in one hand and supporting Ryan with the other. Ryan, a grown man, was leaning on Olivia pathetically, whining: “Olivia, you’ve been with me all night, you must be so tired. Why don’t you rest at my place like before…” Turning his head and seeing me, Ryan looked a bit surprised. The next second, he trembled and lowered his head, hiding behind Olivia. “Jack, did you see my social media post and come here on purpose to find me? Please don’t take revenge on me…” Ryan loved to provoke me by posting on social media. On a rainy day, he would use the excuse of forgetting his umbrella to let Olivia send him home, then praise the boss for being beautiful and kind-hearted on social media. When I made achievements and Olivia wanted to reward me, he would pretend to be sick or faint, interrupting and making Olivia take him to the hospital to care for him all night. Then he’d post on social media about how caring the boss was, saying he was in love. This happened several times, to the point where I felt desperate and heartbroken. No need to guess, today, Ryan must have posted something provocative on social media again. But now, I didn’t have any desire to see that post at all. Olivia frowned and gave me a deep look. Her chest heaved violently as she turned to ask the doctor: “Doctor, the young man says he’s having trouble breathing. Can you please check him?” The doctor immediately frowned in displeasure: “Patients need to queue up too.” Olivia pointed at me with a contemptuous expression: “Doctor, you don’t know, this man is just pretending to be sick. He’s deliberately wasting medical resources!” Just as the doctor was about to speak, I stood up and said calmly: “It’s fine, let them go first.” Only then did Olivia look satisfied, eagerly handing over the CT scan. The doctor sighed helplessly, looked at it and shook his head: “Your boyfriend is fine, he just needs some rest.” Olivia asked suspiciously: “Really? But he keeps saying he can’t breathe properly and needs someone to stay with him to feel better. Plus, he hurt his knee today!” Seeing her worried expression. I knew she was just overly concerned. All the family members in the hospital were caring attentively for their loved ones. But all these years, I always came to the hospital alone, and would even be scolded by Olivia for being lazy. Feeling a tightness in my chest, I walked out of the consultation room. Soon after, Olivia came out and said gently to Ryan: “Let’s go get an X-ray of your knee to check it out.” I was about to go back to continue my consultation when Ryan suddenly lashed out: “Jack, are you still pretending? Why don’t you stop bothering the doctor?” “I know you didn’t come here just to cause trouble for me. I’m sorry, whether it’s the year-end bonus or the manager position, I’ll give them all to you, okay…” His eyes reddened as if he had suffered a great injustice. Olivia immediately frowned and grabbed my clothes, saying sternly: “Jack, Ryan has been bullied by you like this, aren’t you ashamed? Apologize to him right now!” My steps were unsteady, and I couldn’t shake off her hand, so I could only silently endure her scolding. It wasn’t until Ryan went for his examination that I sat down on a bench and let out a sigh, coughing: “CEO Olivia, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.” But Olivia grabbed my hand. Noticing the temperature was off, her fingertips trembled. Then she stepped forward and, surprisingly, stood on her tiptoes to measure my temperature with her forehead. Seeing her face getting closer, I pushed her away in shock. She clenched her fingertips and said mockingly: “What are you pretending for? You came to the hospital because you’re jealous, right? Ryan wasn’t feeling well today, so I stayed with him a bit later. Didn’t I tell you before, he’s very similar to how we used to be? I’m just making up for our past selves.” After a pause, she added coyly: “You deliberately made yourself sick to get my attention. Fine, I’ll secretly give you the year-end bonus. Just don’t make a fuss about announcing our relationship again next time.” I shook my head. What I wanted was never about the year-end bonus. Before I could say anything, Ryan came out, instantly drawing Olivia’s attention away. Watching their figures supporting each other as they walked away, they looked like a loving couple. I suddenly remembered that I had brought something important with me. Taking out that stack of papers, I called out to Olivia: “CEO Olivia, please sign this first.” Olivia frowned in displeasure: “At a time like this, you still want me to handle work matters? We’ll talk about it at the office tomorrow!” I shook my head and handed it to her again: “Just sign it, it won’t take long.” Olivia looked at Ryan waiting pitifully for her, and impatiently took the papers and pen. Just as she was about to sign, she felt something was off. She frowned and flipped to the beginning, instantly losing her voice: “Divorce—”
Feeling Ryan’s gaze, she cut off her words and became annoyed. She slapped the divorce agreement against my chest, gritting her teeth: “Jack, what more do you want? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?” Her slap made me cough even harder, but I still insisted: “CEO Olivia, please sign it. It’ll be hard to explain to Ryan later.” My words only made Olivia frown even more, and she stamped her foot. She lowered her voice and said sternly: “Explain? Explain what? I just care for him like a brother. Jack, can you stop being so unreasonably jealous? That’s enough, go home! I’m sick of seeing you.” With that, she didn’t even give me a glance and left supporting Ryan. Ryan looked at me smugly, secretly giving me a thumbs down. I didn’t say anything and returned to the consultation room. The doctor told me that I indeed had pneumonia and needed an IV drip. As the cold liquid flowed through my veins, my whole body cooled down. But my mind was clearer than ever before. If a normal divorce wouldn’t work, then I’d go for litigation. Also, I left in such a hurry today that I forgot to resign. Thinking about this, I took out my phone and directly applied for resignation through the system. Logically, since I was now just nominally a small team leader without any projects, I should be able to resign in a minute. But unexpectedly, the application was instantly rejected by Olivia. With an additional message: “Want to resign? Fine, if you have the guts, make a scene at the company tomorrow.” I couldn’t help but cough again. Early the next morning, my condition had improved significantly, and I went directly to the company. My workstation was a mess. My team members were carrying Ryan’s things, their eyes avoiding mine. Ryan smiled innocently: “I’m sorry, Jack. We knocked your things to the floor while moving. You’re not angry, are you?” Olivia was supervising and gave me a look, smiling insincerely: “Company property, certain people who want to resign have no right to be angry.” The CEO’s attitude said it all. The opportunists around immediately flattered and agreed: “Mr. Ryan, you’ve just been promoted to Vice President by CEO Olivia today. You’re Jack’s superior now. He should be apologizing to you for getting in your way!” “That’s right. Jack left work early yesterday and was late today. I think people like this should just get lost!” Ryan puffed out his chest, showing off his brand new Vice President badge. He looked me up and down and deliberately spread rumors: “Oh, Jack, you have such dark circles under your eyes, and you look so pale. Did you go clubbing at a hotel until now? You must have had quite a good time.” Olivia’s face instantly darkened, and she sneered coldly: “Some people are really bold, staying out all night and coming to work in this state. Our company really can’t keep someone like this.” How did she know I didn’t come home last night? Did she actually come home last night? I just coughed softly and took out my resignation letter, saying calmly: “CEO Olivia, please sign this. I’m in a bit of a hurry.” Olivia’s expression became increasingly unpleasant. After a long while, she smiled mockingly and raised her hand to sign. “You’re putting on quite an act. Jack, playing hard to get won’t work. Do you think the company can’t go on without you?” Throwing the pen down forcefully, she beckoned to Ryan, raising her chin at me proudly: “Ryan is a top graduate in materials science. He improved your formula in just one evening. All your team members praised his talent.” “What took you half a year, he finished in a few hours and handed it over to our partners.” “Jack, if you know what’s good for you, apologize sincerely now and swear to work hard from now on. I might reluctantly take you back as an intern.” Ryan pretended to be shy and said: “Jack, don’t worry. I’ll include your contributions when I report our work. Now we’re just waiting for the final payment from our partners, and the company can go public. If you regret it, just apologize.” It seemed that Ryan must have copied the formula I left at my workstation. But he didn’t know that while that formula looked reasonable, it couldn’t actually be put into production. They were digging their own graves by prematurely giving the wrong formula to their partners, facing impending disaster. Just then, the secretary hurriedly reported to Olivia: “CEO Olivia, people from our partner company are here. They look very anxious!” Olivia immediately brightened up, looking smug: “Looks like they’re very satisfied with our collaboration and want to increase the payment! Jack, I’ll give you one last chance to think it over.” I laughed out loud. Olivia asked suspiciously: “What are you laughing at?” Ryan covered his mouth and giggled: “Maybe Jack is so upset about not getting credit that he’s lost his mind?” I shook my head with a smile and stepped aside: “Let them tell you.” The next second, the partner rushed in and directly threw the contract on the table, saying through gritted teeth: “CEO Olivia! The formula your company provided has directly contaminated our production line. We demand a million-dollar breach of contract penalty, plus five million dollars in compensation!” Seeing the contract thrown in front of her, Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could speak, the partner’s face darkened as he took out a lawyer’s letter and slammed it in front of her. “CEO Olivia, please transfer the amount to our company account within seven days. Otherwise, we will sue directly!”
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