Today, she handed in her resignation and collected her final paycheck. From this moment on, Shen Xi Fan officially became unemployed.
Walking out of the general manager’s office, her face was full of ease. She took one last look around the hotel she had worked at for four years. She truly had deep feelings for this place; it bore witness to a significant part of her life.
She recalled her first day at the hotel: clutching her recommendation letter, bewildered by the bustling people around her, and being woodenly led to the manager’s office by the secretary. When she came out, her legs were still trembling half an hour later. At her official signing, she had even joked, saying, “Alive, I belong to the hotel; dead, I am its soul.” She never imagined that three years would fly by in the blink of an eye.
“There’s a longer, harder road ahead,” she told herself.
Back home, she slept soundly, had dinner, and then went online to chat with Su Shan. Since Li Jie’s birthday party, she and Su Shan had become much closer. Perhaps it was shared interests, but they found they had endless things to talk about and deeply regretted not meeting sooner.
Out of the blue, Su Shan asked, “Would you be my bridesmaid?”
Shen Xi Fan was startled but quickly sent a laughing emoji. “So soon? I’d be honored!”
Su Shan teased, “Got time tomorrow afternoon? Come with me to look at dresses, have a meal, and catch a good show.”
Without thinking too much, Shen Xi Fan agreed immediately, “Sure! You pick the time and place, just call me.”
The next day, when they went dress shopping, Shen Xi Fan was surprised to discover that the wedding dress had already been chosen. Instead, they were selecting a bridesmaid’s dress for her. After an afternoon of trying on dresses, Shen Xi Fan carried two sets of dresses and two pairs of shoes and said with a sigh, “I only hope that after wearing a bridesmaid’s dress, I can finally wear a wedding dress. But I’ve already been a bridesmaid twice.”
Su Shan giggled, “I’m afraid all the people who want to marry you are lining up, spoiled for choice.”
Shen Xi Fan shook her head and changed the topic, “Su Shan, don’t you think marrying Li Jie now is a bit early?”
Su Shan raised her eyebrows. “Early? Not at all. When you meet the right person, you just want to spend every minute and second with them. Life is so short—spending even a few decades with someone you love makes time feel even more precious.”
Shen Xi Fan sighed, “You’re making me jealous! You owe me a double red envelope!”
That evening, they met at a Cantonese teahouse. The dishes were exquisite: drunken shrimp, eggplant casserole, shark fin soup dumplings, crab congee, steamed grouper with garlic and tangerine peel, Peking duck—even the small appetizers, like chilled pork belly with bitter melon shreds and dried pufferfish, were delicate and enticing. Unfortunately, the six men at the table—or rather, five men and one boy—were so noisy that the food became a mere backdrop.
When Shen Xi Fan and Su Shan entered the private room, they saw Fang Ke Xin holding an ordinary rope. She waved at them enthusiastically, “Hurry, hurry, you’re late! You’ll miss the show!”
Su Shan smiled knowingly. “Here we are.” She glanced at the rope in Fang Ke Xin’s hands and teased, “Ke Xin, these ropes are all the same, right? Don’t go easy on your senior brother!”
Fang Ke Xin spat, “I should’ve found a longer rope so your husband can keep you in line!”
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