Chapter 4.2

June 23, 2017miumiu596

Like every other day, she had left for home alone. Once she reached home, she met the landlord downstairs, who told her that someone was waiting for her.
“ Someone is waiting for me?”, she asked in confusion.
There were two tall men, a woman dressed very smartly, and a second, shrewd looking woman who seemed to be an assistant to the first one.
All of them were strangers to her. Li Yongxuan was quite sure she had never seen them before.

“ Are you Miss Li ?” The secretary looked her up and down, then said briefly, “ your tenancy has expired. You have one hour to go upstairs and sort your things and leave.”
Li Yongxuan was even more confused. She looked at the building manager, then at the strangers.
“ But this house is rented by my company. There is a long lease. How would it suddenly expire and how can you ask me to move ?”
The woman leaned over , “We can, because the company can fire you at any time. Miss li, here is the fax from the board. Have a look.”
She took the fax letter. The writing was blurred, but it was clear that Li Yongxuan’s employment had been terminated. She had one hour to move out of her residence.

At this point, she was totally at a loss.
After graduating, her life had been focussed on work alone. All her thoughts centred around the Yang group, even the object of her crush was the Director of the Yang group. Within two to three days, she had been mercilessly uprooted, and her life had been cast adrift.
“ These men will accompany you upstairs. They will help you pack and move your things.” The woman waved her hand towards the men. This meant that they would be keeping an eye on Li Yongxuan. There was no room for consultation.
“ May I ask.. who sent the fax?” Li Yongxuan could not help but ask. “ Is my boss aware of this thing ? He is the director..”
Was it, that within a day, the ‘ consequences’ the director had warned her about had finally hit her?
“A dismissal is a dismissal. Don’t ask so many questions”, the woman in the corner laughed with contempt at her.
“ My employer cannot fire me without a warning…”

“ That is right”, the woman spoke. “You took the initiative” , a cold woman’s voice added.
Her high heels made a crisp sound on the marble floor as she walked closer.
In front of them was a graceful lady. She was about forty, tall and rich looking, wearing a white Chanel suit and a set of pearl and diamond earrings. Her whole body gave off a cold aura.
She stood in front of Li Yongxuan and handed her a white envelope,
Inside was a resignation letter.
“ Please sign here”, the lady said.
“ I don’t want to resign…”
The lady raised her eyes, and looked into Li Yongxuan’s confused eyes. Her gaze was sharp and piercing.
“ When you went into my husband’s room in the middle of the night, you should have thought of the consequences,” the lady said, “ I am allowing you to resign.Letting you leave voluntarily.”
“ I…”
“ I am the wife of Liang Wen He. I was just curious..what kind of woman would be daydreaming like this, and what would she look like.”

Li Yongxuan was silent.
“ I really would not have cared if you hadn’t spent the night with him. But throwing yourself at a married man, you must be really shameless!”
She could not speak. She hadn’t really spent the night with him.. that night..
But she doubted Mrs Liang would really believe her. She had seen them have dinner by the candlelight, then seen her return to the hotel room again in the middle of the night and go directly to his room.
Moreover, in the past few years, she had a huge crush on Mr Liang, trying to gain his attention, actively seeking work with him..
It was all so ridiculous and shameful…

“ I…I am not..” she took a deep breath and then continued, “ I thought you were divorced.”
Mr Liang always maintained the persona of a single man, he never mentioned his wife,
“ Is it ?” Mrs Liang smiled, but appeared unbelieving.” You say that so easily. If you love him so much, shouldn’t you have investigated properly?”
There were so many rumours about the marital status of Mr Liang that she had never asked. It was difficult to imagine that someone like her, so skilled in analysis , had been blindsided so easily.
If she said this, no one would believe her, so it was better to remain silent.
“ Mrs Liang is one of the directors, Mr Liang is the chairman of the board. How could they have divorced ? Do you really not know? Or are you pretending to be innocent ?”

(Miumiu : ok I don’t get that, what has being a director and chairman got to do with their marital status ? )
.
“ Ok. Let’s not talk anymore.Please sign this quickly, move it !” Mrs Liang handed the letter towards her and gave her a pen.

Li Yongxuan took the letter. Under several pairs of eyes looking at her, she signed the Li word. Her hands were shaking so badly she almost couldn’t write. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“ I have one condition”, she said.
“ You want to talk about conditions ? How shameless are you ? What is left to bargain ?” the secretary interrupted her sharply.
“ Let her speak” , Mrs Liang stopped her, “ What do you want ? Money ? How much ? If it’s not too much I can..”
At this time she was thinking of the team. All their efforts to train to become speed skating champions.
What would they do if she was gone ? She did not matter, but because of her , if the skating team lost a large sponsor, she would never forgive herself.
“ It’s not money”, Li Yongxuan shook her head, “ its my project proposal about the sponsorship of the skating team. I can’t leave before the final decision on that is taken.”
Mrs Liang looked at her closely. “ Are you looking for an excuse to not leave ?” Mrs Liang was decisive, “ Don’t worry. I will let this proposal go through, you can be at ease.”
Li Yongxuan stared at her, “ Can I have your word on this ?”
Mrs Liang laughed. For the first time, her smile showed clear contempt.” You are just a cog in the wheel. Even if I don’t keep my word, what will you do?”

She really couldn’t do anything. She had no parents, no relatives , let alone someone with a strong backing. In this world, she was completely on her own. Even if these people tied her up and threw her off the mountain, no one would find her, no one would come and rescue her.

This kind of lonely and powerless feeling was like a strong acid, creating a burning feeling in her chest. After the acid had corroded her heart, all that was left was one big hole.
Li Yongxuan did not say anything else, she signed her full name.
For four and a half years of her life, she received a check.
Under the supervision of the two guards, she quietly went upstairs to pack her things. Her face was pale, her hands were trembling. She barely managed to stand, leaving herself with the last shreds of dignity. She wouldn’t collapse in front of strangers.

Her computer, her files, were all company property. The furniture did not belong to her, her toilet supplies were used and too worthless to carry. Finally, she packed just one bag of clothes.
But she was looking around for something. She even picked up the edge of the carpet to look underneath, then went to the bathroom. But all of this was if no avail.
“ Miss Li, can you leave now ?” the guard could not help but ask.
“ Yes, there is only one thing missing”, she opened the kitchen cabinets, the fridge, the drawers, still looking for it.

“ What are you looking for? We can help”
“ A ring.”
Looking at the guard eyeing her suspiciously,she smiled tiredly,” Don’t worry, it’s not something Mr Liang gave me. It’s one of my aunt’s keepsakes. A very simple silver ring. I have been missing it for several days but have been unable to find it,”
The two men nodded, and pitched in to help her find it.
But even with the three turning over the whole house thoroughly, they were unable to find even a trace of the ring.
“ Are you sure you dropped it somewhere in the house ?” One of the guards asked as he sat on the ground and wiped his sweat.
Perhaps fate really didn’t want her to find it.
Li Yongxuan smiled sadly,
“ Well, thank you for your help.” She took her bag, hesitated for two seconds and then handed over her bunch of keys. She would never need it again.

Looking at her quiet and vulnerable appearance, the two guards also felt bad. They were used to dealing with the mess that the director created. This drama had been staged several times over the years between the director and his wife. But this was the first time they met a girl who was so lonely and simple. A girl who created no trouble, never argued, but silently accepted all the humiliation.

“ Is there anything else we can help you with ?”
They looked at each other for a moment,
Li Yongxuan shook her head . Suddenly there was a sound of a knock on the door.
“ I don’t know who that can be “
A guard opened the door to see a young man carrying a flower arrangement standing at the door.
“ Is this Miss Li’s home ?”the guy asked,” The flowers are for her. Please sign.”
The flowers were fresh and fragrant, the arrangement was charming. The pink rose petals had water droplets shining on them.
Li Yongxuan want to the door and woodenly took the card.
Just above the card there was a standard computer typed message , “ Happy Birthday from the Yang group”

Ah, it was her birthday today, and this was the usual routine followed by the HR. Earlier, she would be delighted with the flowers, and be happy for several days – at least someone remembered her birthday.
But at this moment, she couldn’t even find that humble happiness.

“ This isn’t Miss Li’s home”, she said quietly. Her fingers let go and the card fell to the ground.
Miss Li no longer had a home.
Then, she left silently and never looked back.