Volume One, Chapter 14: Forced to Request a Leave of Absence

“Nan Zhi! Was that scoundrel ex-husband calling you?” Sister Wu stood beside Nan Zhi, noticing her silence and asking with concern. At their age, such shocks were hard to bear.

“Sister Wu, I need to go home for a while. Usually, who do you ask for leave from?” Hearing Nan Zhi’s calm tone, Sister Wu felt her anxious heart ease.

“Go to Human Resources—they should be working by now!” Without hesitation, Nan Zhi slipped her phone back into her suit pocket and headed straight for the HR department.

The HR office was on the top floor of Moonview Building. At that moment, Fu Kun was mopping the floor, with Fu Mingyuan standing beside him.

“Dad, I was just trying to help you!” Fu Mingyuan defended himself.

“Help me? Then why didn’t you ask me first? Your Aunt Lou is so old—do you think she falls for your youthful tricks?” After receiving Fu Kun’s call that morning, Fu Mingyuan had perked up, watched the unfolding drama from the car, but felt it wasn’t enough. He had edited the video he recorded and uploaded it online. Anyone who dared to bully his dad and his dad’s beloved was basically challenging Fu Mingyuan himself! Wei Guoxiong was practically walking into the line of fire, and he had no one to blame but himself.

“But who would recognize Aunt Lou? I even pixelated your faces!” Fu Mingyuan explained.

Fu Kun planted the mop upright and frowned at Fu Mingyuan. “Who Aunt Lou is, no one knows, but Wei Guoxiong is a small businessman in the capital—not exactly a household name, but the news spreads fast. Eventually, everyone will know that woman is Wei Guoxiong’s wife.”

Fu Mingyuan pondered his father’s words, realizing he hadn’t thought things through. He had enjoyed the moment without considering the consequences. Scratching his head sheepishly, he smiled at Fu Kun. “I know my mistake, Dad. Next time, I’ll ask you first. I’ll have the video taken down right now.” Quickly, he grabbed his phone and stepped aside to make a call.

Just then, crisp footsteps echoed from the stairwell on the top floor. Fu Kun looked up to see Nan Zhi walking toward them.

Fu Kun hurried over. “Manager Lou! What are you doing up here? Is something wrong?” Worried that the video incident might affect her, he had been contemplating how to comfort Nan Zhi downstairs, not expecting her to come up herself.

But Nan Zhi seemed composed. “Old Fu, nothing serious. Just some urgent family matters. I came to request leave.”

Hearing this, Fu Kun relaxed. “You’re asking HR, right?” Nan Zhi confirmed again. Fu Kun nodded.

“I just started a few days ago, not sure if HR will approve my leave.” Nan Zhi wasn’t worried about losing pay but feared that at her age, this hard-earned job might slip through her fingers. If she had known the divorce would become such a mess, she wouldn’t have rushed into work so soon.

As they spoke in the corridor, Fu Mingyuan finished his call and approached. Fu Kun politely greeted him, slipping into playful mockery. “Not working, just chatting here?”

Nan Zhi quickly explained, “Fu, it’s like this: I had an urgent family issue, so I came to HR to ask for leave. I just happened to see Old Fu mopping, so I asked him.”

“Oh, what a coincidence! Today the Moonview Building’s network is being upgraded. I was going to tell HR to inform you downstairs that the afternoon is off. So you came up yourself. If family matters call, go handle them quickly!” Nan Zhi could hardly believe her ears. Despite the chaos at home, since coming to Moonview Building, everything seemed to be falling into place. Perhaps this was what they called heaven’s favor.

“Thank you so much, Fu! I won’t keep you, I better get going!” Fu Mingyuan waved at Nan Zhi.

Only after she took the elevator down did he drop his serious demeanor, grinning at his old man. “I guess this counts as making amends, right?”

Fu Kun sneered, then swung the mop handle sharply at Fu Mingyuan’s behind twice.

“Get lost! Don’t joke about your old man here. If I’m fine, you stay out of it.” Seeing his father wasn’t angry, Fu Mingyuan happily trotted away. Though he was adopted and raised by Fu Kun, Fu Kun treated him like a biological son. There was no barrier between them—in fact, as father and son, they were more like close friends. Compared to other fathers and sons who often clashed, Fu Mingyuan considered himself lucky. His father had carried this heartache for over thirty years; if it could be resolved, Fu Mingyuan would be even happier than Fu Kun.

Downstairs at Moonview Building, an anxious Nan Zhi hailed a taxi and got in. For decades, whether shopping or buying groceries, Nan Zhi had mostly taken public buses, a habit born from the frugality she developed while supporting Wei Guoxiong’s business endeavors. Recently, Wei Guoxiong had bought a luxury car worth millions. Nan Zhi initially disagreed, seeing cars as depreciating assets and thinking one vehicle to get around was enough since they still had three children, two daughters yet unmarried. But Wei Guoxiong insisted, promising to be her chauffeur whenever she went out. Yet Nan Zhi never once sat in it.

Now the car was vandalized, much like Nan Zhi’s heart—broken and patched up but never quite the same.

Through the taxi window, she gazed at the familiar scenery—the place that once warmed her, the harbor she hurried back to each night. Now it felt utterly foreign.

Soon, the taxi dropped Nan Zhi at her residential complex. The restless feelings she carried inexplicably grew heavier as she stepped out.

Standing beneath the building and contemplating how to negotiate once upstairs, she suddenly felt someone grasp her long hair over her shoulder from behind.

“Nan Zhi? Finally decided to come back? Just a few days away and look at you—what are you wearing? A social butterfly? You’re just an old bag with loose flesh, yet you imitate those youngsters, attracting flies? Bah! Spreading rumors, huh? You think putting my son on the internet means we won’t do anything to you? Come on! Upstairs, now, and kneel for me!”