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墨書 Inktalez
During my time assisting my aunt with projects at the branch in the United States, I made a conscious effort to stay focused.
I deliberately kept myself busy, filling my schedule with various meetings and code reviews to avoid any idle thoughts.
I also refrained from rejoining the work contact group as Chen Ruzhou had requested.
However, Xiao Mu and other colleagues would occasionally send me updates about Chen Ruzhou's activities in Silicon Valley.
It seemed that he and the product team were having a great time there.
For some unknown reason, he posted on social media every single day.
This was a stark contrast to the workaholic who barely posted anything in the previous months.
Sometimes it was a vlog of him visiting Google's headquarters, other times it was the team enjoying Michelin-starred meals and all-night parties, and most often it was group photos of everyone checking in at major tech companies.
Even though I didn’t want to pay attention, many colleagues would still come up to share these updates with me.
They were subtly probing why I hadn’t gone to Silicon Valley with Chen Ruzhou for the inspection.
I didn’t know how to explain, so I just deflected by saying I was helping my aunt with an urgent project.
Except for Xiao Mu, who would directly call Chen Ruzhou a scumbag every time, others seemed hesitant to speak freely in front of me.
I knew they might have sensed something was off.
In every photo that Chen Ruzhou posted, he and Huang Dandan were inseparable, their gestures intimate.
But for many years, that spot beside him had always been mine.
Every time I saw these pictures, my face remained calm, but deep down, I couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.
After all, he was a comrade I had fought alongside and someone I had genuinely liked for a long time.
In the middle of the night, when memories flooded back, I would foolishly feel sad for a while, occasionally grappling with a sense of unwillingness.
Yet every time I recalled those hurtful words, I would silently slap myself in the face.
"Su Wan, don’t be pathetic; it only makes you more contemptible."
Just hold on a little longer.
Once this period passes, everything will surely get better.
We had been out of contact for an entire month.
This was the longest cold war since we started working together.
When I had almost stopped thinking about Chen Ruzhou altogether, he changed his number and called me from overseas.
"Su Wan, you really are something. You left the project and ran off to the United States, and you’ve been gone for so long."
"If you don’t come back soon, the quarterly assessment will be over. Have you forgotten that you promised to work on the AI Innovation Project with me?"
Perhaps it had been a long time since he last spoke, and there was a hint of caution in his complaining tone.
I still didn’t want to talk to him.
Just as I was about to hang up, the phone was snatched away by Chen Ruzhou's mother.
"Wan Wan, how's work going over there?"
"This child, A Zhou, never tells me anything. I only just found out that you two are having a conflict."
"Don't hold it against him. When you come back, let him apologize to you in person."
"By the way, A Zhou received the approval for the innovation project today. Yours should be coming soon too. When do you plan to come back and hand over your work? Auntie has prepared a surprise for you..."
Aunt Shang had always treated me well, like family.
I couldn’t bring myself to hang up on her, so I listened patiently as she continued.
"Auntie, I've already completed my work handover. My parents are very busy, traveling everywhere for business. Once I finish here, I'll head straight to Guangzhou to report in..."
Before I could finish, the phone was back in Chen Ruzhou's hands.
His breathing was heavy; I could feel his anger even across the Pacific Ocean.
"Su Wan, I've already taken the initiative to apologize. How long are you going to keep sulking?"
"If you don’t come back soon, don’t blame me for starting the project without you."
He coldly finished his threat, and after a long pause without hearing a satisfactory response, he asked again, "Have you thought it through? Don't regret it."
I hung up the phone.
I also blocked that number.
After a moment of daze, I planned to head to a meeting when my mother surprisingly called me on video.
It turned out that my resignation paperwork had been completed.
Seeing that I had really submitted my resignation, my parents finally learned about my plans to go to Guangzhou.
They were very surprised.
"Wan Wan, why didn't you discuss your resignation with us first?"
"Does Chen Ruzhou know about this? His mother asked when you would be back to hand over your work this morning."
My dad leaned closer to the camera with concern: "Sweetheart, how can we feel at ease with you going to Guangzhou alone?"
"Aren't you the one who fears the southern weather and is terrified of cockroaches? Do you really dare to go to Guangzhou? Don’t call me later asking for help catching cockroaches, haha."
"..."
I was somewhat speechless.
I had no choice but to ramble on about the benefits of the internet industry's development prospects in Guangzhou, while also mentioning that I would be going with Xiao Mu, so someone would be there to look out for me.
They still couldn't relax.
"Did you have a fight with A Zhou? You can't just impulsively move so far away."
"What if you regret it in a couple of days and want to start a business with A Zhou again? You won't have anywhere to cry."
"Yeah, once you separate, it's like you're on two different tracks. You used to complain about wanting to come back to find A Zhou even after just half a month on a business trip..."
The more I listened, the more uncomfortable I felt, so I decided to explain everything clearly at once.
"Chen Ruzhou has new partners now, and it wouldn't be good for me to continue working with him."
"Parents, I have my own career plans and don't want to live only in his shadow."
"So, please support my decision and keep it a secret for now."
My parents exchanged glances, remaining silent for a long time before finally agreeing.
They only asked that I return home as soon as possible.
With little time left for my resignation handover, they wanted to spend more time with me.
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