When she heard the words "living apart," Shen Wanci's heart felt as though someone had given it a hard squeeze—a little sour, a little sore.
After they married, the number of times Bo Jingzhou came back to Yuting Manor each year could be counted on her fingers; it was no different from living apart anyway.
"There are only three months left anyway. I don't see the point in living together."
Bo Jingzhou stared at her for a few seconds, then let out a cold, mocking sneer: "Whether there's a point or not, that's for me to decide. Today I'll have Chen Xu approve two hours of leave for you—go move your things back."
"I…"
Shen Wanci's words of refusal were cut off by a knock at the door. From outside, Chen Xu reminded him: "President Bo, the meeting is about to start."
Bo Jingzhou refastened the cufflink he had taken off. "Get out."
Shen Wanci was unmoved and held firm: "Bo Jingzhou, I won't be going back."
Bo Jingzhou didn't take it seriously. "When have you ever not said that?"
This wasn't the first time they'd quarreled, nor the first time Shen Wanci had moved out. But every time, it wasn't long before she moved back herself.
Right now, Shen Wanci knew he didn't believe her. She couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath—given enough time, he would understand: this time, she really wasn't going back.
After leaving the office, Shen Wanci went to the restroom to touch up her makeup. Sure enough, the spot on her chin where he'd pinched her had bruised.
Once she'd fixed her makeup, she was about to take her resignation letter to HR when she heard someone calling her—
"Shen Wanci, the printer's out of ink, go change it, hurry up, people are waiting to use it."
Orders like this were something she heard many of every day. As Bo Jingzhou's personal life assistant, she was only supposed to handle his daily needs, but Bo Jingzhou couldn't stand the sight of her and had Chen Xu personally take care of everything instead. So Shen Wanci had gradually been reduced to the errand-runner for the whole thirty-sixth floor.
"Shen Wanci, I told you to go change the ink." The one calling her was Secretary Dai, the person who normally despised her the most. Earlier it had also been this woman sneering at her over breaking up with her rich-second-generation boyfriend. "Even if you're quitting, you ought to have a little professional integrity, no? You haven't officially left your post yet!"
"My job is to follow President Bo's instructions and to handle his meals. What's this? Are you now able to give orders on President Bo's behalf?"
Don't be fooled—this life-assistant position might look like a humiliating one, but it was actually highly sought after.
The one in front of her was just dying to push her out so she could step in herself.
But Secretary Dai looked at her as if she'd seen a ghost. "Shen Wanci, did you get your brain slammed in a door today? Handle President Bo's meals? Those takeout orders you place—when have you ever seen President Bo eat any of them?"
Thinking of those meals tossed into the trash, Shen Wanci felt a stab of pain in her heart.
The next second there was a sudden ache in her chest—Secretary Dai had flung those documents into her arms, declaring haughtily: "Twenty copies, printed before two o'clock, Assistant Shen. A person's true worth lies in knowing their own place."
Shen Wanci frowned. Hearing movement behind her, she turned to see Bo Jingzhou coming out of the office with Chen Xu, his gaze meeting hers head-on…
The man's lips curled in a mocking arc, every line of his brow and eyes conveying a single meaning: she couldn't even do something as trivial as running errands well—what gave her the nerve to bring up divorce with him?
Shen Wanci was so angry she laughed. Right in front of Bo Jingzhou, she threw the documents back at the Dai woman.
Before Secretary Dai could even react, she heard the papers scatter all over the floor with a rustle. Shen Wanci turned and walked off, her voice carrying back from a distance—
"Secretary Dai, a person needs not only to know their place but also to grow ears and listen when people talk. I won't be changing the ink, and I won't be printing the documents. If you've got the guts, go report me to Bo Jingzhou's face. And one more thing… he likes them big-chested and brainless. You are indeed brainless, but in that other department you're a little lacking."
She was quitting anyway, so she wasn't afraid of offending anyone. Getting in one last dig at him before she left—worth it!
Bo Jingzhou's expression instantly sank to the bottom, his thin lips pressed into a displeased line.
Afterward, Shen Wanci went to HR and submitted her resignation. The HR manager glanced at it. "Assistant Shen, take this resignation letter back for now. You're President Bo's private life assistant—HR can only approve it once he signs off on it."
Shen Wanci didn't take it back, and said bluntly: "I won't be coming in tomorrow. Count it as absence or as leave, whatever you like."
The HR manager was stunned. "That's a breach of contract. Even if you resign, there has to be a half-month handover period."
A job that consisted of arranging that man's daily meals—was there really anything to hand over? Hand over what he doesn't eat?
Then Bo Jingzhou would probably starve to death, because she'd ordered every kind of dish there was.
Shen Wanci simply gave up trying: "Then let Bo Jingzhou sue me."
After leaving the Bo Group, she got a call from her best friend Qin Yuezhi, asking her out for drinks—probably having seen yesterday's news and worried she'd be upset.
Shen Wanci was a little tired, so she declined. Back at the hotel, she went to sleep without even eating dinner.
She was woken from a hazy sleep by a knock at the door. She checked the time—seven fifty.
Shen Wanci got up to answer. The person outside was the hotel manager, who said with an apologetic smile: "Hello, Miss Shen. The thing is, there's a problem with your room that needs repairs."
Shen Wanci didn't make things difficult for him. "Then give me a different room."
As she spoke, she was about to go back inside to pack her things.
But the manager added: "I'm sorry, there are no rooms left. Your money has all been refunded to your card, and since the fault is ours, the penalty fee has been transferred to you as well."
Shen Wanci's steps halted. Bo Jingzhou had told her to be back at the villa before eight, and here was this manager coming to drive her out at seven fifty. If she still didn't grasp the reason behind it, then she'd truly be a fool.
"Did that dog Bo Jingzhou put you up to this? I don't agree to the refund!"
For a moment she couldn't control her temper and just cursed outright.
The manager didn't bother hiding it either. "Miss Shen, we're just running a small business. Please don't make things hard for us."
A small business worth over fourteen million?
Even though Shen Wanci didn't agree to the refund, there was nothing she could do. The hotel's attitude was firm, and they were willing to pay the penalty. The repair worker who'd come stood planted at the door, saying there was a problem with the wiring that could start a fire if not fixed promptly.
In the end Shen Wanci dragged her suitcase out of the hotel—and the Bo family's car was already waiting outside. Seeing her come out, Uncle Jiang hurried out of the car to help with her luggage: "Madam, President Bo had me come to pick you up."
Shen Wanci dodged his hand. "Tell Bo Jingzhou, I'm not going back."
With that, she turned and headed for a nearby hotel.
Uncle Jiang didn't stop her, and Shen Wanci soon learned why he hadn't.
At a hotel nearby, the front desk handed her card back to her. "I'm sorry, your card was just declined. Could you use a different one?"