Unraveled

Confronted

Gu Quan let out a dry laugh on the other end of the phone. It wasn't that she thought she had been found out—it was just that everyone already assumed she had done it, so no one bothered to mention it to her face.

Gu Quan asked calmly, "What exactly are they saying?"

Liang Xixi explained, "They're saying you've been meeting Director Wu several times to secure a year-end promotion and raise. Someone even claims they saw you leaving a hotel and buying contraceptives afterward. And you know how Director Wu's wife has been visiting the office a lot lately? She says she's bringing him dinner, but everyone thinks she's really here to catch him cheating."

"Gu Quan, I know this isn't something you would do. Office gossip is always like this—give it some time and people will move on to the next rumor. Don't take it to heart."

Gu Quan simply replied, "Don't worry, I'm not bothered," and ended the conversation. She already had her suspicions. Most of it was baseless hearsay, but the detail about the contraceptives was true. That could only have been Mo Li's doing.

Under her breath, Gu Quan cursed, "That little bitch."

She glanced up at the frosted-glass bathroom door, where Yuan Ye's figure was faintly visible as he stood under the shower, rubbing shampoo into his hair.

Could it be that Mo Li had found out she slept with the man who might be her future boyfriend, and this was her way of striking back? If so, what rotten luck.

But Yuan Ye didn't act as though Mo Li mattered to him at all. Gu Quan chuckled to herself. Clearly, she was too old to understand what went on in the minds of these younger people.

*

The next morning at work, Gu Quan carried on as though nothing had happened. Still, she couldn't ignore the subtle looks her colleagues gave her.

Having been invisible for most of her life, it was strange to suddenly find herself at the center of office gossip—especially when it came with the label of "mistress."

That Friday afternoon, the operations and business divisions held their usual weekly meeting. The department directors were all present, and Director Wu was overseeing the East China side. Gu Quan's group arrived a bit late. When they entered the large conference room, she noticed three empty seats deliberately left beside Director Wu. Clearly, they were reserved for her group.

Without hesitation, Gu Quan chose the seat furthest from him. While another team leader presented their report over video call, she quickly opened her own PPT and skimmed through it.

Then she raised her head and felt the weight of a hostile gaze. She knew instantly it was from Director Wu. Nearly forty, with his sharp, rat-like features and thinning hair slicked down with oil, he exuded the very essence of greasy middle age.

The other team finished, and from the business side, Yun Hui—someone she was familiar with—smiled warmly and said, "Gu Quan, once you're ready, it's your turn to present the Douyin report."

"Alright," Gu Quan replied smoothly. She projected her slides onto the screen, only for Director Wu to snap harshly the moment he saw the title page. "Why does this PPT say Tencent instead of Douyin?"

Glancing at her laptop, Gu Quan realized she had reused the template from the Tencent group's report and forgotten to change the