Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

She didn't know how long she had been crying.

When she finally calmed down and looked up, it was already dark outside the window.

She stood up and went into the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, with her eyes red and swollen and her makeup ruined, she felt a surge of indescribable bitterness.

She washed her face, changed into her pajamas, lay on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The scenes from this afternoon kept replaying in my mind.

Chen Xinyi's question, "Given your condition, would you have his child?" was like a thorn stuck in her heart, one that she couldn't get rid of.

She rolled over, picked up her phone, and opened her chat history with Xu Xing.

Since they met, the two have exchanged thousands of chat records.

She flipped through the messages one by one and found that most of them were from Xu Xing who had taken the initiative to contact her.

She had never thought there was anything wrong with these replies before.

It's true that I'm busy with work.

She is the store manager, overseeing dozens of people, and has endless tasks to handle every day.

She thought she was just doing her job diligently, but she never considered what these rejections meant to Xu Xing.

She thought it was normal at the time, and Xu Xing was very considerate and understanding.

But looking back now, how much disappointment and helplessness was hidden in that sentence?

Lin Wan put down her phone, closed her eyes, and let out a long sigh.

She had to admit that although Chen Xinyi's words were harsh, every single one of them was true.

She really did a terrible job in this relationship.

She was always busy, always refusing, and always making Xu Xing wait.

She thought that as long as two people liked each other, that was enough, but she never thought that liking someone required effort.

But she couldn't even provide the most basic companionship.

What upset her even more was that she knew Xu Xing even less than Chen Xinyi did.

She knew that Xu Xing worked at Chengxinzhai and that he was a porcelain restorer, but other than that, she knew almost nothing about Xu Xing's life, his family, or his past.

But Chen Xinyi knew everything perfectly well.

She even knew that Xu Xing would call her before going back to his hometown.

This realization filled Lin Wan with a deep sense of frustration.

Even so, Chen Xinyi's behavior still angered her.

That was her best friend.

They had known each other for over a decade and gone through so much together, only to have the other person steal her boyfriend behind her back.

This sense of betrayal was even harder for her to accept than losing Xu Xing himself.

Lin Wan tossed and turned until she finally drifted off to sleep around 3 a.m.

The next morning, she went to work with dark circles under her eyes.

She was absent-minded all day.

She would lose focus during meetings, make mistakes while checking reports, and even when clients called to inquire, her tone was colder than usual.

For several days in a row, her work performance was very poor.

Her former pride in her professionalism and efficiency has vanished.

She made frequent mistakes, first mixing up two customer orders, which caused a delay in delivery and led to a customer complaint to headquarters.

Then, at an important meeting, a set of data was reported incorrectly, causing the company to lose a considerable amount of business.

The director called her into his office and gave her a severe dressing-down.

"Lin Wan, what's wrong with you lately? You're in such bad shape! You're the manager of the flagship store, with dozens of people watching you! If you keep going like this, I'll have to consider replacing you!"

Lin Wan lowered her head, unable to utter a single word.

She knows she hasn't been feeling well lately, but she can't control it.

Whenever she tries to concentrate on her work, the scene from that afternoon comes to mind.

Xu Xing and Chen Xinyi walked out of the hospital side by side.

Chen Xinyi's pregnancy test report.

Those words she couldn't refute.

All the images intertwined, like a tangled mess wrapped around her heart, impossible to unravel.

What caught her off guard was that news spread from somewhere that she had broken up with Xu Xing.

The news spread quickly throughout the company and soon reached the ears of the newly appointed director.

Upon learning of Lin Wan's breakup with Xu Xing, the director immediately seized the opportunity.

A week later, Lin Wan was called into the general manager's office.

The director was also in the office.

The general manager sat behind his desk, looking somewhat embarrassed.

The director stood to the side, a faint smile on his face.

"Lin Wan, in view of your recent work performance and the need for company strategic adjustments, after careful consideration, the company has decided to remove you from your position as store manager of the flagship store, and demote you to the lowest rank."

The director added calmly, "The HR department will handle the relevant procedures for you. You can pack your personal belongings and leave the office today."

Lin Wan was stunned.

She had considered that she might be criticized or have her bonus deducted, but she never imagined that her job level would be directly reduced to the lowest level.

Why?

She looked at the general manager, her voice tinged with resentment.

The general manager avoided her gaze and sighed, "Xiao Lin, this is the company's decision, there's nothing I can do about it."

Lin Wan understood.

This was not the company's decision, but Director Wang's decision, and the general manager chose to compromise.

She took a deep breath, her face cold, and said, "Then I quit!"

Back at her workstation, she began packing her things.

Colleagues cast mixed glances at him; some sympathized, some gloated, and some remained expressionless.

Lin Wan ignored everyone's gaze, silently packed her personal belongings into her bag, and walked out of the company gate.

Standing at the company entrance, she glanced back at the building where she had worked for five years, and a feeling she couldn't quite describe welled up inside her.

Seven years of hard work and dedication, only to end up like this.

She wandered aimlessly down the street, the early autumn wind blowing on her face with a slight chill.

She didn't know where to go.

Come back home?

The empty rented room made her feel incredibly depressed at that moment.

Go talk to a friend?

Her best friend just stole her boyfriend.

Standing at the crossroads, watching the flow of cars and people, she felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment for the first time.

In the end, she returned home in a daze and sat there in a daze.

Two days later, Chen Xinyi called.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally pressed the answer button.

"Feed?"

Chen Xinyi's gentle voice came from the other end of the phone: "Wanwan, I've heard about what happened to you."

Lin Wan did not speak.

Chen Xinyi was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Where are you now? I'll come find you."

"No."

Lin Wan's voice was a little hoarse, "I don't want to see you."

I know you don't want to see me.

Chen Xinyi's tone remained gentle, "But I'm worried about you in this state."

"Wanwan, there are some things we need to talk about."

"It's not for Xu Xing, it's for ourselves."

Lin Wan held her phone and remained silent for a long time.

In the end, she agreed.