While wiping his hair, Tan Qing felt an itch in his nose and couldn’t help but sneeze. He furrowed his brows slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head also hurt a little; it seemed he really had caught a cold.
Actually, the symptoms had started yesterday. Because he couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night, he had miserably swum in the cold pool for two hours. He’d caught a slight cold then, but he didn’t take it seriously. Today, he got caught in a heavy rain, and this time he was truly chased down by the cold.
"Caught a cold from the rain?" Wen Nuan opened the door and walked in, just in time to see Tan Qing in a sorry state. His clothes were soaked and still dripping a bit, his hair was entirely wet, and he was using a towel to dry it.
"It’s nothing," Tan Qing was startled for a moment when he saw her come in, then forced a smile. "Do I look very miserable?"
"A little," Wen Nuan nodded, answering honestly. If it were the past, she would have already teased him, calling him a "drowned rat" or something. However, she no longer had the taste for that now.
Being a little colder to Tan Qing is being better to him.
In her hand, she held a resignation letter, hesitating on how to start the conversation.
Tan Qing glanced at her hand, feeling a dull pain in his chest. He looked at her and said, "Sit down, I’ll go change my clothes from the inside."
"There’s no need, Tan Qing, I’m here because..."
Wen Nuan quickly said, trying to hand the letter over. Unexpectedly, Tan Qing didn’t even look at it and said nothing, quietly retreating to the office’s attached rest room.
Wen Nuan felt a bit awkward, biting her lip as she sat down. She stared at the door he had closed, unable to see the hurt expression inside.
Was it just to see her a little longer? Actually, was it necessary? After all, she would leave...
Tan Qing’s rest room was quite large, with a cabinet dedicated to clothing. He opened the door, looking at the neatly arranged clothes inside, took out a set and changed from head to toe. Looking at himself in the mirror, a flash of repressed mockery crossed his eyes.
Laughing looks worse than crying, and if a ghost appeared, it could frighten them back to Yama Palace.
He pointed a finger and smirked coolly at his reflection: Knowing that she’ll leave, yet still can’t help wanting to see her a few more times. How unlike the carefree and happy Casanova you once were, Tan Qing.
Avoiding giving her a chance to speak, isn’t it just to avoid seeing her already gone when you step out?
Something clogged his throat, and he took a deep breath, telling himself that what cannot be avoided must be faced. If you can’t keep her, let her go. She deserves her happiness, which you shouldn’t obstruct.
Wen Nuan sat on the sofa feeling uneasy, clutching the resignation letter so tightly she nearly crumpled the paper, finally seeing him come out. She stood up, walked to his desk, and with all her courage, placed the resignation letter on the table with both hands, "It’s already written, please sign it."
Looking at the resignation letter Wen Nuan handed over, Tan Qing intently stared at her graceful name written on it. He fixed his eyes on it for a full two minutes, smiling bitterly for those two minutes. Then he gritted his teeth, grabbed a pen, and elegantly signed his name. A sense of relief came over him immediately, yet this feeling couldn’t stop the overwhelming loneliness from flooding in.
She would soon leave...
It felt like a hole had been carved out of his heart. Already suffering from the discomfort of the cold, it now felt impossible to hold up against the added burden.
"Are you very sick?" Wen Nuan asked with concern, seeing the weariness that couldn’t be hidden from his handsome face, and the abnormal redness on his face. "Tan Qing, do you have a fever?"
His face was very fair, but now it was flushed, it couldn’t be anything but a fever.
"No, go home," Tan Qing waved his hand, forcing a smile with effort. "I’m fine."