The 99th Divorce

“I can’t call in sick. If I take time off, Editor-in-chief Zhou will be angry with me. I don’t want to lose my job.”

Yu Lili threw on her clothes as she spoke and glanced at the clock. It was almost nine o’clock. She should have left half an hour ago!

Yu Lili felt as if her world was falling apart. In despair, she sat on the sofa and shouted, “I’m screwed, I’m going to be almost an hour late!”

Ou Ming felt helpless. He had never seen Yu Lili look this frightened before.

In her rush, Yu Lili didn’t notice the change in Ou Ming’s expression. She ran to the bathroom to put on a pad and grabbed a few more for later. She picked up her bag, shoved the pads inside, and ran out the door without another word.

When she started to run, Yu Lili’s body screamed in protest. She ached all over.

Sh*t…

Not only was she sore from sleeping on the couch last night, but now she also had to deal with her period cramps. Yu Lili hurried to the subway and got on the train that would take her to the company. She tried to prepare herself for what was coming. Yu Lili knew that Editor-in-chief Zhou would be angry and would surely yell at her in front of everyone again.

She walked quickly out of the subway station and checked the time. It was 9:40.

Yu Lili knew that she couldn’t avoid being cussed out, but she might be able to avoid being humiliated in front of the whole office. She planned to go straight to Editor-in-chief Zhou’s office and apologize. Yu Lili rushed through the company doors and was surprised to see that Editor-in-chief Zhou was sitting at the front desk. She wanted to get this over with, so she closed her eyes and said, “Editor-in-chief Zhou, I am so sorry that I am late.”

Yu Lili hadn’t meant to shout, but her voice came out loud with the sincerity of her apology.

To her surprise, Editor-in-chief Zhou didn’t yell. Yu Lili slowly opened her eyes, nervous about what might come next, but Editor-in-chief Zhou’s response was not what she had expected.

Editor-in-chief Zhou was merely staring at Yu Lili with an odd expression on her face that Yu Lili couldn’t read. Yu Lili was scared to make eye contact, so she bowed her head and began to explain herself. “Today I…”

Editor-in-chief Zhou held up a hand to stop her and asked, “Have you punched your timecard?” Her voice was surprisingly gentle, but she was still looking at Yu Lili with that strange expression.

Yu Lili shook her head and said, “No, not yet.”

“Go punch your timecard. There are many contracts for you to review today. Also, Zi Yu asked for the day off, so you can go work with Ye Qianqian for the day.”

Yu Lili was shocked. She looked up and studied Editor-in-chief Zhou’s odd expression and felt as though the sun must be rising from the west. She tried to collect her thoughts.

She, she, she… she didn’t swear at me? Why not? She also said that I could work with Ye Qianqian? My God, is today the end of the world?

The more she thought about Editor-in-chief Zhou’s behavior, the more confused she became. Yu Lili did not dare question it. She decided that it was not a good idea to act rashly or blindly.

Yu Lili looked at Editor-in-chief Zhou nervously and asked, “What about the front desk?”

“There will be a new receptionist in place by next week. It would help if you learned how to be an assistant editor first so that you can be an executive editor some day. Just go and punch your timecard. Since this is your first time being late, I will not deduct it from your salary. Just remember that I won’t be so forgiving next time.”

At this, Yu Lili felt even more confused. Editor-in-chief Zhou is much more easy-going than usual today!

Editor-in-chief Zhou had just given Yu Lili everything she wanted. She nodded obediently and hurried to punch her timecard.

After Yu Lili went away, Editor-in-chief Zhou sighed with relief. She returned her gaze to the young man on the computer screen. She smiled innocently and said, “As you can see, Special Assistant Xu, I didn’t say anything rude to Yu Lili. I hope you don’t take this complaint to the president. It was Miss Shen who asked me to treat Yu Lili poorly. At the time, I was unaware that Yu Lili had a relationship with the president. Of course, if I had known about it earlier, I wouldn’t have listened to Miss Shen’s advice.”

Xu Cheng listened as Editor-in-chief Zhou tried to justify herself. He shook his head and said, “It doesn’t matter. Go to the personnel department at the company headquarters and follow the procedure we discussed.”

Editor-in-chief Zhou pleaded, “Wait, Special Assistant Xu…”

Editor-in-chief Zhou was about to say more, but in the blink of an eye, the screen went dark. Xu Cheng had hung up the video call.