I Accidentally Sent My Boss a Message Meant for My Best Friend - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Qin Lie asked me to move into his sprawling penthouse.
Every day with him was happy.
There was only one problem.
In public, he never acknowledged our relationship.
We even left work separately and deliberately walked in opposite directions.
It felt as though we were lovers only when no one else could see us.
At first, I thought I could accept it. He had his reasons.
But as time passed, something began to feel wrong.
One day, Qin Lie and I ran into his mother while we were shopping.
I was terrified. If everything he had told me was true—if his parents controlled his marriage—she ought to have wanted to tear me apart on sight.
Instead, she took my hand with a kindly smile and praised me.
“What a beautiful young woman.”
I smiled shyly. Qin Lie, however, looked grim.
Some time later, he told me to stop going to the office.
“You don’t need to work. I can support you.”
I asked uneasily, “Is it because you’re afraid people will find out about us?”
He said nothing. He only smoked.
I resigned, but I didn’t stay quietly at home. Instead, I found a position at a foreign company.
He offered to introduce me to better firms. I refused.
Everything he gave me felt as though it didn’t truly belong to me.
None of it felt real.
In the end, our relationship could not remain secret. Some adorable little busybody photographed us and posted the pictures online.
His social circle exploded.
Then came news of his engagement.
He was to marry Miss Wen.
“Are you really going to marry her? You don’t even love her.”
His head hung low, buried against the side of my neck.
“I’m sorry. I still couldn’t do it.”
He still couldn’t take control of his own life.
No matter how hard he fought, no matter how exceptional he became, a single word from his parents could crush his resistance.
Only then did I understand why his mother had felt no hostility toward me.
In their eyes, I was no more than a speck of dust.
I could change nothing.
When an opponent was weak enough, you didn’t need to care about them at all.
They weren’t worth noticing.
I understood him, but I couldn’t remain calm.
It was our first fight, and it was vicious.
“If I refuse, I’ll lose everything.”
“Even after I marry, I’ll stay with you.”
“I’ll buy you a home somewhere I can see you.”
“I’ll give you enough money that you’ll never have to work again.”
“Whenever I have time, I’ll come be with you.”
“You won’t lose anything you have now.”
“Isn’t that enough?”
I slapped him.
He became angry.
“If I had nothing, would you still be with me?”
“Why can’t you understand me?”
After those words left his mouth, I stood frozen for a long moment and stared at him in disbelief.
“You think I’m with you for your money?”
He realized his mistake and gripped my shoulders.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away…”
Weeping, I dragged out everything in the closet that he had bought for me.
Clothes. Jewelry. Gemstones.
I threw them all onto the floor. Smashed them against it.
“Take them back! Take all of it back!”
“I don’t want any of it! I don’t want a thing!”
“Do you think I care about this? What does it matter if I have none of it?”
He locked his arms around me. “Li Yue! Stop this.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Tears and mucus streamed down my face. I must have looked wretched.
But I couldn’t bear to let him go.
I truly couldn’t.
I pulled the ring tab from a drink can and held it out in front of him.
“Propose to me now. Use this ring tab, and I’ll marry you.”
“Even if you have nothing at all, I’ll marry you.”
“Do you dare?”
He lowered his eyes. I saw that he was crying too.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ve failed you.”
I smiled.
Then this was goodbye.
I left. He did not follow.
I went to the bank and returned every cent he had given me over the past two years to his account.
I did not need anything that wasn’t mine.
A bitter parting was the best ending for us. If even a trace of tenderness remained, I was afraid I would give in.
Afraid I would agree to become his mistress.
I had loved him for nine years. I would not allow that love to become something so sordid.
He got married.
Just kidding.
On the sixteenth day of his hunger strike, the doctors said he was close to death.
His parents sobbed until their hearts nearly broke, consumed by regret.
“This is our fault. We drove you to this.”
“If we’d known he loved that girl this much, we should have let him marry her.”
“Anything would be better than driving our son to his death.”
“This is all your fault! What good is keeping up appearances if our son dies? Are you happy now?”
“You opposed it too! How can you blame only me?”
“Son, as long as you recover, we won’t force you anymore.”
“Please, get better.”
They personally came to fetch me, saying their son wanted to see me before he died.
When I arrived, he miraculously announced that he wanted to eat.
The old couple were beside themselves with joy.
No one noticed the knowing glance Qin Lie and I exchanged in the shadows.
Under my care, he gradually recovered.
His parents never dared oppose us again.
After all, they might have been able to keep me away, but they couldn’t stop their own son from choosing death.
What parent would gamble with their child’s life?
My supervisor at the foreign company was an extraordinarily fierce woman.
Strict, domineering, and utterly unreasonable.
Even inventing an excuse for a day off required every scrap of ingenuity I possessed.
I sat at my desk, chewing the end of my pen while filling a sheet of scrap paper with possibilities.
“A death in the family.”
No. Bad luck.
“I’m not feeling well.”
No. I’d used that one last time.
“My tire blew out.”
No. A coworker had already tried it.
“I’m in a bad mood.”
No. Not convincing enough.
“Is all this really necessary just to ask for one day off?” Qin Lie pulled away my list and studied it with a frown.
“You don’t understand. My supervisor is impossible.”
“She’s strict, bossy, and loves making people’s lives difficult. We’re especially busy lately. She’d drag you back into work with a minor illness.”
“Getting a day off is harder than climbing to heaven.”
“Hm.” He gave a quiet laugh.
He took a blank sheet of paper from the bookcase, wrote something with his fountain pen, and sealed it directly inside an envelope.
“Here.” He handed it to me with a touch of smugness. “Give her this. It’ll be enough.”
Seriously?
The next day, my supervisor read the letter. Her expression changed dramatically—and then, to my amazement, she approved my leave.
She even smiled and asked after my health.
What on earth had he written?
I picked up the sheet of letterhead.
Across it, in bold, sweeping strokes, were the words:
“I will pay her salary. I will compensate your company for any loss.”
“She is only going for a medical checkup. If you object, you may take the matter up with me at any time.”
“Qin Lie.”
