Xiao Li brought his girlfriend along to help Jiang Yuanmu move.
It wasn’t because he needed help, but because when the boss called, he was happily having a late-night snack with his girlfriend, Bei Bei.
Xiao Li put down the phone, looking ashen-faced, and said he needed to go help his boss move. Bei Bei absolutely didn’t believe him.
Which boyfriend, having just gotten off work an hour ago, would still need to go help his boss move?
She thought he must be taking the opportunity to meet other girls! Bei Bei was furious: “I’m coming with you! I want to see which ‘boss’ has the nerve to do this!”
When the angry Bei Bei and the despairing Xiao Li arrived at Mo Lin’s door and saw the movers that Xiao Li had contacted, carrying boxes, Bei Bei was somewhat overwhelmed: “Seriously, is moving this urgent? Does it have to happen tonight?”
“You know my boss’s temper, it’s not the first day. If he says move, we have to move, even if we have to pay extra.”
“Does your boss know anything about labor laws? Moving in the middle of the night…”
Xiao Li interrupted her, “Forget it, forget it, today he…”
With a “click,” Mo Lin, dressed in pajamas, opened the door from the inside. Xiao Li closed his mouth, swallowing the words “got divorced.”
The former boss’s wife appeared calm and composed. It seemed she was the one who had packed up all these boxes. It turns out that his decisive boss had been kicked out…
No wonder he didn’t even want to show up to move the things himself… Xiao Li felt even more sympathetic towards Jiang Yuanmu.
Mo Lin glanced at the busy workers, then shifted her gaze from Xiao Li to Bei Bei, and finally looked at the elevator behind Xiao Li.
The elevator doors were closed, and there was no one else in the hallway.
Jiang Yuanmu hadn’t come.
Strange, hadn’t he signed the divorce agreement yet? Why hadn’t he sent it over? It’s just a few words, why was he dragging it out? This was so unlike Jiang Yuanmu.
Mo Lin suddenly felt that Jiang Yuanmu had become somewhat incomprehensible on their divorce day. “Li…”
She had just started to speak when she was interrupted by the girl next to Xiao Li. “Who’s this? Is she your boss?” Bei Bei pointed at Mo Lin, then turned back to Xiao Li with a fierce look in her eyes, raising her voice, “You ran out here in the middle of the night to help her move?”
Xiao Li, flustered, quickly grabbed Bei Bei and whispered rapidly, “What are you talking about! This is my boss’s wife!”
Bei Bei was stunned, immediately bit her lower lip and glanced at Mo Lin in embarrassment.
Mo Lin seemed not to notice the awkwardness in the air. She looked directly at them, smiling politely and courteously, “I’m sorry, as of today, that’s no longer the case.” She calmly and naturally expressed her confusion, “Assistant Li, did Jiang Yuanmu not ask you to bring the divorce agreement either?”
The hallway was silent, with the workers quietly busying themselves. Bei Bei, sensing the tension, covered her mouth and began to look at Mo Lin with a hint of gossip in her eyes, as if she were watching a live version of “Rich Family Feud: The First Night After the Diva’s Divorce.”
“My boss didn’t mention it…” Xiao Li feigned ignorance, “He just told me to help with the move.”
“Oh.” Mo Lin thought for a moment and then said, “Then I’ll go to the company tomorrow and get it myself. Thank you.”
Calm, polite, and distant, without any haste or impatience. Watching Mo Lin like this, Xiao Li’s mind flashed to the forlorn look and weary expression of his boss when he returned from the cafe earlier that day.
It seemed that in this marriage, the boss was the one who had deeper feelings.
Xiao Li hesitated for three seconds, then decided to speak up, “Uh, Sister Mo Lin, have you ever considered… maybe the boss didn’t give you the divorce agreement intentionally?”
Mo Lin originally intended to return to her apartment, but hearing Xiao Li speak to her, she decided to exchange a few polite words out of courtesy. She said, “I have thought about it.” To prove that she had indeed thought about it, Mo Lin remained silent for a moment, seriously pondering, and then shook her head, “I haven’t quite figured it out.”
Xiao Li: “Uh, how come you haven’t figured it out…”
“Why would he intentionally not give me the divorce agreement.”
Xiao Li prompted Mo Lin, “Maybe he… doesn’t want to divorce?”
Mo Lin frowned, looking even more puzzled.
The hallway fell into another awkward silence.
Xiao Li felt that he should never have thought of trying to act human.
At this moment, the workers finished moving the things and called out to Xiao Li, “Teacher Li, we’re going down to load the truck now. You can come down and join us later.”
“Hey… I’ll just go with you now.” Xiao Li chose to escape, “Sister Mo Lin, we’re leaving now.”
“Alright, thank you. Goodbye.”
Xiao Li and Bei Bei hurried to the elevator.
Bei Bei whispered to Xiao Li, “It seems your boss’s wife doesn’t like your boss very much.”
Xiao Li was also puzzled. “They seemed fine for the first five years, how did things change so quickly after the divorce?” Xiao Li said as he and Bei Bei walked to the parking lot, “They used to be the perfect couple that everyone at the company admired. Now that they’re divorced, she’s gone from calling him ‘Yuanmu’ to ‘Jiang Yuanmu.’ She even sent the divorce agreement to the company for him to sign, and on the first night, packed up his things and kicked him out. Tsk tsk…”
As Xiao Li clicked his tongue, a car’s headlights flashed twice nearby.
Xiao Li and Bei Bei looked at the car.
Xiao Li was instantly petrified.
In the luxurious car, behind the expensive windshield, wasn’t that their boss who had been kicked out…
The boss’s face looked quite unpleasant…
Xiao Li felt that after tonight, he might not be able to work at this company much longer. Even if the boss didn’t fire him, his heart probably couldn’t take it.
After all this time, Jiang Yuanmu was still downstairs and hadn’t left!
The car’s side window rolled down, and Jiang Yuanmu’s voice was as cold and calm as ever, “Come with me.”
Xiao Li had no choice but to brace himself and get into Jiang Yuanmu’s car with Bei Bei.
Following the truck, Xiao Li sat on pins and needles in the passenger seat. Bei Bei was also silent in the back seat. Even though it was her first time meeting Jiang Yuanmu, she instinctively felt afraid of him, like an animal sensing danger.
Jiang Yuanmu had been like this since he was very young, always serious and unsmiling, like a little old man. Even the happiest children would become quiet around him. Sensitive young girls might even be brought to tears by his stern gaze. Few people felt at ease in his presence.
Except for Mo Lin.
“Have they finished moving everything?” Jiang Yuanmu asked.
Xiao Li immediately nodded, “Yes, it has been moved.”
The car fell silent, with only the streetlights outside casting their watery glow inside the car.
Xiao Li, feeling bold, glanced at Jiang Yuanmu. Having worked with him for many years and having served as his assistant for so long, Xiao Li’s intuition told him that Jiang Yuanmu still had something to say.
But he didn’t say anything.
He remained silent, hesitating, completely unlike his usually decisive self.
“Did you see Mo Lin?” Jiang Yuanmu asked.
As expected, it was a question related to his wife! The prolonged silence and hesitation were all because of her!
The boss’s love runs deep!
Xiao Li controlled his emotions and answered, “I saw her.”
“What did she say?”
Thinking back on what Mo Lin had said, Xiao Li licked his dry lips, “Sister Mo Lin asked… why hasn’t the divorce agreement been given to her yet…”
Jiang Yuanmu fell silent again, but this time, the silence was different from the last.
Xiao Li noticed his boss’s fingers lightly tapping on the steering wheel.
He was thinking, calculating, and plotting.
It seemed his boss was planning to do something to avoid the divorce!
Xiao Li’s curiosity was ignited with a burning passion. He was very curious about what his boss would do to save his marriage. Just then, as if to answer his question, the sound of a vibrating phone filled the car, and the call appeared on the car’s display via Bluetooth.
The screen clearly displayed the name “Mo Lin” in large letters. Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiao Li saw it very clearly. However, his boss glanced at it and continued driving as if nothing had happened.
It was as if he had gone deaf.
When the boss went deaf, so did he. Xiao Li sensibly kept quiet and didn’t ask anything
The first call ended, and ten seconds later, the second call came through.
It was still Mo Lin.
This time, Jiang Yuanmu’s gaze lingered on the name for a bit longer. After thinking for a moment, he answered the call.
“Hello? Jiang Yuanmu, this is Mo Lin.”
Jiang Yuanmu was silent for a while. “Hello.”
Xiao Li, sitting in the passenger seat, and Bei Bei, in the back seat, glanced at Jiang Yuanmu, as if a question mark was slowly forming on their foreheads.
What? Is this the live-action version of “respect each other like guests”?
“Sorry to bother you, but I have a question I’d like you to answer.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you avoiding me today?”
Jiang Yuanmu remained silent.
Xiao Li and Bei Bei also fell silent, holding their breath.
Then Jiang Yuanmu answered, “Yes.”
“Why?”
“There are still some things about the divorce that I haven’t thought through. I believe that communicating with you when my thoughts are unclear would be inefficient.”
The question marks on Xiao Li and Bei Bei’s faces multiplied.
However, on the other end of the line, Mo Lin seemed to understand!? She didn’t even ask “what things haven’t you thought through,” but simply responded with an “mm,” and then said, “How much time do you think you need to think it through?”
She just accepted it!?
Xiao Li and Bei Bei were in disbelief.
“Tonight is fine.”
“Alright, when are you free tomorrow so we can meet and talk?”
Jiang Yuanmu turned to look at Xiao Li.
Xiao Li, stunned, under Jiang Yuanmu’s frown, almost reflexively picked up his professionalism. His brain quickly processed, “Three o’clock, from three to four in the afternoon. We can push back the tasks for that time.”
Jiang Yuanmu nodded, “Okay.”
Mo Lin, on the other end, heard this too. “Then I’ll come to your office at three in the afternoon tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Sorry to bother you, goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
The call ended.
Xiao Li and Bei Bei’s ability to control their expressions seemed to vanish.
Bei Bei couldn’t help but ask, “Uh… is this how you and your ex-wife always talk?”
Jiang Yuanmu looked straight ahead at the road. The warm yellow streetlights outside the car window cast a few rays of warmth in his eyes. Just as Bei Bei and Xiao Li thought he wouldn’t answer such a question, Jiang Yuanmu spoke. He calmly, but firmly said:
“She’s not my ex-wife yet.”
