CHAPTER 321: CHAPTER 321: THE FIRST UNDERSTANDING OF 3_1

The moment she returned home, she was greeted by a delicious aroma.

Xu Xiaoya, mustering up her energy, asked, "Xixi, are you cooking?"

Yan Xixi emerged at the sound of her voice. "Dinner’s ready! Hey, I haven’t cooked in ages. Since I got home early today, I made two dishes and a soup. Xiaoya, come and eat quickly."

Holding her rice bowl, she asked in surprise, "Xiaoya, why are your eyes so swollen?"

"Zhong Minghui came by today asking to borrow money."

"Xiaoya, you didn’t lend him any, did you?"

"Of course not."

Yan Xixi let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Xu Xiaoya quickly regained her composure. The two of them chatted and laughed, eventually returning to the topic of the second-tier handbag brand.

"Xixi, I’ve spent all week researching that brand—its sales volume in the city, its target customers. Opening a specialty store is definitely feasible."

Yan Xixi was overjoyed. "You think it’s a good idea too?"

"If we open the store ourselves, I think we can make it successful. But the initial phase will be incredibly tough."

"I don’t mind the hard work. As long as we can make money, that’s all that matters."

"Xixi, if we really go through with this, I will invest all my savings into it."

"Unfortunately, I can only scrape together a hundred thousand. The bulk of it will still have to come from Xiaojue."

Is the store Huang Xiaojue is opening any different from the one Wan Donglin is starting? Xu Xiaoya didn’t voice this question. On second thought, she realized there was a difference—a world of difference, in fact—between her husband investing money and another man doing so.

"Perhaps I really should consider resigning."

Xu Xiaoya was quite taken aback. "Xixi, can you really bear to let go of your job?"

She said slowly, "I can’t make zero sacrifices for Xiaojue, can I? He’s already done so, so much for me. If I’m not even willing to concede this little, then what does that make me? After giving it a lot of thought, I’ve decided to resign."

Xu Xiaoya couldn’t hold back. "Xixi, do you really think it’s worth it to give up everything you’ve achieved and start from scratch for Huang Xiaojue?"

Yan Xixi put down her chopsticks.

"I once gave everything for Zhong Minghui. To be worthy of his PhD status, I didn’t dare work at the nightclub anymore, even though I could earn two or three thousand a month doing hard work there without complaining. To save money for a house, I went a whole year without buying a single new piece of clothing, and I was happy to do it. But once the love is gone, all your sacrifices, all your efforts, are just seen by the man as you being contemptible and deserving it..."

Yan Xixi leaned back against her chair, her eyes closed. Xu Xiaoya didn’t say anything further, instead silently beginning to clear away the bowls and chopsticks.

That night, Yan Xixi drafted her resignation letter. She read it over and over, editing, deleting, and rewriting. She had no idea how to bring up her resignation with Huang Ying. Initially, to help her secure the promotion, Huang Ying and Fu Mei had argued fiercely against a crowd of dissenters, forcing several ambitious male colleagues to back down. It was like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth to win this opportunity for her. And now, after such a short time, she was going to resign. Isn’t this a slap in their faces? It’s a clear betrayal of their kindness and support.

Especially Huang Ying, who was practically a mentor and a dear friend—how could she possibly explain this to her?

She shut down her computer and lay in bed, her mind in turmoil.

A message came in, "Miss, what are you up to?"

"I’m in a bad mood. Don’t bother me."

"Ha! Tell me something that’s making you unhappy so I can have a laugh."

"..."

"Miss, you can’t possibly be having a worse day than me. Tonight, I’d just walked out of a bar when I saw a sobriety checkpoint up ahead. Just as I was about to turn back, a traffic cop walked over. My heart was pounding, my palms were all sweaty. I wanted to bolt, but there were cops everywhere—no way to run... What could I do? I had to bite the bullet and take the test. Trembling, I opened my mouth and blew into the breathalyzer. The machine started wailing like crazy. I thought, It’s over. There’s no escaping this time..."

Yan Xixi quickly texted back, "Were you fined? Detained?"

"The cop yelled at me, ’Get lost! What the hell is a pedestrian like you doing joining in this mess?!’"

Yan Xixi replied, "#$%&!"