Accidental Love

On the way back, she was still riding in Shi Yan's car.

Just like before, both of them sat in the back row.

The traumatizing effect of the horse ride, however, was not able to fade away in Zheng Shuyi's mind. She pressed against the window of the car so that she could stay as far away from Shi Yan as possible, and almost felt like the car was about to start galloping.

Perhaps because of this exhausting day, or perhaps because the car's turns seemed like a cradle to her after the horse ride, she soon fell soundly asleep.

When she woke up, there was only the driver in the car.

The car was parked directly downstairs of her house.

After getting off the car, Zheng Shuyi thanked the driver and walked into the building.

After a few steps, she suddenly reached for her ear and found that there was nothing there.

When she left the horse farm, she remembered that she still had her earrings on, but now they were gone. It must be in the car, so she turned back.

"Hey–"

The car had already driven away.

Whatever…

Zheng Shuyi didn't want to bother caring about the fifty yuan1around 7.7 USD earrings she bought at a random jewelry store.

—— ——

The next morning, as she walked into the office building, her steps were still wobbly.

Approaching her desk, she saw Kong Nan winking at her. When she sat down, Kong Nan turned around anxiously and whispered, "Why didn't you reply? Did you not check your phone?"

"There are too many messages. I might've missed yours,“ said Zheng Shuyi while turning on her computer, "What's wrong?"

Kong Nan looked around, lowered her voice again, and started talking like a machine gun, "I went to the editor's office this morning saw Xu Yuling. I was wondering why she is there since she doesn't have any interview assignments recently, so I took a peek at her draft. Guess what?! She went to interview Shi Yan yesterday!"

Hearing the name "Shi Yan" and "Xu Yuling", Zheng Shuyi's felt as if her head was about to explode.

Zheng Shuyi rubbed her eyebrows and said, "I know."

She also told Tang Yi yesterday.

"I guess you must've known it too." Kong Nan even leaned closer. "Guess what's the most annoying part. Do you remember that you showed me your interview outline that day? Yeah, when I looked at her draft, the entire article is based on your outline!"

"…?"

Zheng Shuyi's hand squeezed the mouse. Her eyes widened, "Are you sure?"

"Definitely," said Kong Nan solemnly, "Why would I lie about this? I checked over your outline for you, so I remember clearly. She had every question you had."

"…"

No wonder why Shi Yan was acting a bit unnatural when she asked her questions yesterday.

Zheng Shuyi smacked her mouse on the desk and fell back into her chair with a loud bang. Her eyes looking at the computer screen was about to be lit on fire.

What have I done wrong? Why are all these bitches rushing up to me one by one?

"Now that Editor Tang also found out, let's just see what she have to say," Kong Nan patted Zheng Shuyi on the back, "Look at how weak you are, you must've not slept well yesterday after knowing about all these."

Zheng Shuyi tilted her head and saw Xu Yuling on the other side calmly holding a cup of coffee and cheerfully chatting with the editor-in-chief.

She was so energetic that her newly made nails gleaming in the sun almost blinded Zheng Shuyi's eyes.

Zheng Shuyi drank a large gulp of water to suppress her anger and said, "I just spent the whole night writing my draft."

Her scheduled interview was robbed away from her, and if she still didn't work overtime to come up with a draft before the other did, what advantage did she have?

"Huh?" Kong Nan was not surprised by Zheng Shuyi pulling an all-nighter to write a draft but was surprised by another hint from her words, "Wait, does that you still interviewed Shi Yan?"

"Yeah, and I also submitted my draft this morning."

"Oh my, I was scared to death for you. I thought you are about to get nothing out of all that you have done." Kong Nan smiled and happily went back to doing her business. She then suddenly turned back, "So, does that mean Shi Yan is not that bad of a person?"

Zheng Shuyi's finger on the mouse paused and sneered coldly.

—— ——

In the next few hours, Tang Yi replied to the email but did not meet with Zheng Shuyi. The "Busy" sign was still hanging on her office door.

Zheng Shuyi also understood that these businesses never had any rules or regulations. Since the matter hadn't become a big issue, Tang Yi wouldn't bother to spend too much time settling disputes among employees.

It wasn't until five o'clock that Zheng Shuyi finally received Tang Yi's comments on the draft. Nothing different from the usual suggestions, and there was no mentioning of anything else.

The only problem now was that Zheng Shuyi and Xu Yuling both submitted their drafts and had the exact same content.

It was highly possible that Tang Yi or her superior thought that Xu Yuling's draft was better than hers, so it would still be hers that gets published.

Zheng Shuyi looked back to look at Xu Yuling. She was sitting there flipping through a magazine with a relaxed and calm expression.

Zheng Shuyi couldn't sit still anymore.

It was she that got assigned this opportunity, then why could someone else just take it from her?

After another half an hour, Zheng Shuyi didn't do much, but Xu Yuling entered Tang Yi's office.

"I'll go use the restroom." Zheng Shu pointed toward Tang Yi's office, and said to Kong Nan, "Help me keep an eye on her. Message me if anything happens."

Kong Nan signaled OK with her fingers, and Zheng Shuyi stood up.

She didn't move very much, and it was just that her leg gently touched the corner of the table, but the pain made her gasp in pain.

"What's the matter?" Kong Nan looked back, "Be careful."

"I'm fine.”

Ever since she got home last night, she went straight to writing and worked until dawn. She took a shower in a half-conscious state and didn't pay much attention to her legs.

From the pain she was feeling now, it must be that the leg was bruised by the saddle.

Entering the restroom, Zheng Shuyi lowered her head and found out that her guess was right.

Zheng Shuyi held the door tightly and screamed "Shi Yan" for the eighteenth time in her head.

Just when she was about to go out, the restroom door was suddenly violently pushed opened with a drastic noise. Zheng Shuyi instinctively pulled back the hand that was about to open the stall door.

Immediately afterward, the person that came on spoke.

If there was a ranking of areas that gave the most surprises in the magazine office building, the restroom would easily take the first place without a doubt.

Now was a great example, Zheng Shuyi immediately could tell who the voice belonged to after she spoke.

"Are you sure she's not playing favorites?"

Besides the sink, Xu Yuling was holding her phone and talking to someone, "Ever since Zheng Shuyi randomly appeared into the financial team, do you know how many times she stole my work? Two years ago, I got three headlines. Last year, I got two. And this year? Great! I haven't even got any, and it's the end of the year already! Would Tang Yi dare to say that she is still not favoring Zheng Shuyi?!"

The other end of the phone said something and Xu Yuling became even angrier. "Forget it! I'm just unlucky. Zheng Shuyi has way more information in her draft than I do. Comparing my interview to hers, Shi Yan seems to be just trying to answer my questions with whatever to send me away as soon as possible!"

Huh?

Zheng Shuyi almost thought she heard it wrong. She was stunned there for a moment.

So, it wasn't a hallucination that her brain almost exploded from all the information she was hearing while playing back her pen's recording.

Suddenly, the bruise on her leg didn't seem so painful, and her footsteps also got steady.

Xu Yuling was so into her complaints that she was completely unaware that someone appeared behind her.

"God knows what drug she gave him. He told her even some of the most critical information."

"I never gave him any drugs."

Xu Yuling shivered from the sound. She looked up and saw Zheng Shuyi in the mirror, standing behind her, smiling.

At this moment, Xu Yuling suffered not only from the guilt of backbiting on her colleague but more from the shock of the mental level. Her face turned pale at an astonishing speed, visible to the naked eye.

Her hand shook and the phone hit the ground with a bang.

Zheng Shuyi took a step forward, looked at Xu Yuling in the mirror, and leaned toward her face. "Mr. Shi just like me more."

She said while blinking twice.

After speaking, she walked out of the bathroom and gently closed the door.

—— ——

On the way back to her seat, Zheng Shuyi couldn't stop smiling with joy.

Kong Nan looked at her as if she lost her mind. Zheng Shuyi didn't care. She just felt like she got the largest promotion.

The moment she sat down, she suddenly felt the pain from her thigh.

"Ouch…"

Zheng Shuyi grabbed the edge of the table and looked down her legs. The idea that flashed across her mind a while back returned once again.

This pain was nothing.

After enduring the hardest hardships, I will eventually become your aunt2This is the author's creative modification of a popular Chinese saying: Those who persevere the hardest hardships will be the best of the best. : ) 

1around 7.7 USD2This is the author's creative modification of a popular Chinese saying: Those who persevere the hardest hardships will be the best of the best.