She turned to me, her voice softening.

“Ma’am, do you need any help?”

Following her gaze, I looked down at my clothes.

Blood from my nose had dripped onto them. It looked like a mess.

I nodded, raising a hand to wipe the blood away.

Then I turned around and followed a server to the lounge.

After the door closed, I could still hear Daniel shouting outside.

“You want to call the police? Go ahead if you’ve got the guts!

“A nobody from some second-rate college. Without me, who would give her such a good job?”

The lounge door shut, cutting off all the noise from outside.

I lowered my head and looked at the woman reflected on my phone screen.

Both sides of my face were swollen red, with clear finger marks printed across my cheeks.

My hair had come loose, too.

I looked like a crazy woman.

…

The door handle turned, and someone came in.

It was Emily, one of the company’s old-timers.

Now she had worked her way up to Vice President.

She sat down beside me.

“Lily,” she said, patting my hand, and tried to console me. “Don’t take what happened today too seriously. You just happened to catch Mr. Aster at a bad moment.”

I didn’t move or look at her.

I just stared at my phone, then opened a chat with a headhunter I had added a week ago.

At the time, they had asked if I was interested in new opportunities.

I had replied with one line.

[Not considering anything for now. Thanks for checking in.]

Now I typed four new words.

[We can talk now.]

Emily kept talking beside me.

“As for this year’s contracts, I know you contributed a lot. Everyone has seen it.

“But you have to understand, your success depends on the company’s support.

“Without the company’s reputation behind you, how would those big clients trust someone as young as you?

“Although the other employees under you may not be as strong in business as you are, they’ve contributed to the company in other ways. Even if their achievements aren’t outstanding, their effort still counts.”

She began using the persuasion tactics she was best at.

“You didn’t receive a year-end bonus, but that was the result of a comprehensive evaluation.

“You’re still young, and you need to think long-term. Next year, as long as you maintain the momentum you had this year, I’ll personally fight to get you a year-end bonus.”

Next year…

I had heard those words for eight years.

When the company was just starting, there had been no year-end bonus.

She told me it was because I hadn’t closed any contracts yet and had to wait until next year. Once I landed deals, I’d definitely get a bonus.

After I secured contracts, there was still no bonus.

So she said my degree wasn’t great. Next year, she’d make it up to me with a bonus.

Year after year passed, and still my salary never increased, nor was there any year-end bonus.

Now I had been slapped three times.

Yet she was telling me to wait for next year again.

I couldn’t help letting out a bitter smile.

For eight years, I had worked like a tireless old workhorse.

In the end, they really treated me like livestock.

Seeing that I didn’t respond, Emily sighed.

“Lily, be realistic. These days, there are graduates from top universities everywhere. With your degree, what’s your competitive edge in the job market?

“The job market is tough right now. Jobs aren’t easy to find, and six thousand a month isn’t exactly low…

“Think it over carefully.”

Then she stood up and left.

Right then, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from the headhunter.

[Ms. Frasier! I’ve finally heard back from you! Are you available for a call right now to discuss in detail?]

The message was excited and enthusiastic. It was a level of respect I hadn’t received in eight years at this company.

The call went smoothly, and the offer they made was very generous.

As long as I joined them, my monthly salary would be sixty thousand.

My year-end bonus was calculated separately.

On top of that, there would be equity incentives.

In an instant, I was offered everything I hadn’t received in eight years at the company, and it would all be written directly into the contract.

I put my phone down.

Then I looked at my swollen face in the mirror.

It felt like a full stop to the past eight years.

…

The next day, I showed up at the company on time.

Not for anything else but to resign.

The swelling on my face hadn’t completely faded yet, and a dark red scab had formed at the corner of my mouth.

The moment I walked in, the noisy office suddenly fell silent.

One glared at me like needles stabbing, filled with undisguised ridicule, curiosity, and gloating.

“Well, look who still has the nerve to show up.”

The one speaking was the boss’ niece, the same Veronica who had been the first to show off her fifty-thousand-dollar bonus.

She deliberately carried a cup of coffee as she walked past me, her voice just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

“I thought after taking those hits yesterday, you’d be lying at home for a few days.”

I didn’t look at her and walked straight to my desk.

I turned on my computer. My inbox was already filled with unread emails.

The company group chat was still being flooded with photos from last night’s gala and records of the bonus payouts.

I closed it immediately and opened a new document titled “Resignation Letter”.

The content was brief and cold.

There were no words of gratitude, no reflection on the past.

Just one sentence: [Due to personal reasons, I hereby request to resign effective immediately.]

Then I opened an encrypted folder on my computer.

After entering the password, an eighty-page document unfolded on the screen.

[Core Client Relationship Maintenance Manual.]

Every single word in it had been earned over the past eight years through countless sleepless nights, endless travel, and drinking sessions that had nearly ruined my stomach.

It wasn’t just simple contact numbers or contracts.

It recorded things like which executives disliked each other, whose son wanted to get into which elementary school, and what specific detail would make someone finally give in at the last moment of a negotiation.

These were the details that actually made deals happen, and partnerships continue.

It wasn’t company secrets, but the result of eight years of my effort.

Calmly, I exported the file, encrypted it, and uploaded it to my private cloud storage.

Everything left on the computer was irrelevant.

After finishing all of that, I finally stood up.

I printed the resignation letter, signed my name, and then walked toward Daniel’s office.

I knocked and went in.

Daniel was leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed while talking on the phone.

When he saw me, he didn’t hide the disgust in his eyes.

He said a few perfunctory words into the phone and hung up before leaning back in the large leather chair and looking me up and down.

“So, you figured it out? Came to apologize?”

He let out a mocking laugh.

“Yesterday you were still thinking about calling the police to arrest—”

Before he could finish, I placed the resignation letter on his desk.

He glanced at it, and the smile on his face froze.

He didn’t pick it up.

Instead, he slowly lit a cigarette.

“Lily, what I said yesterday might’ve been a little harsh, but that was for your own good. Sometimes you need a wake-up call so you can understand your place.

“Go ask around outside. What company would hire someone from a second-tier college like you? And still pay you six thousand a month? Keep dreaming!”

“I’m not here to argue about that,” I said calmly. “Please approve my resignation.”

“Approve it?”

He exhaled a ring of smoke and flicked the ash.

“According to the contract, you need to submit a written request thirty days in advance. During those thirty days, every bit of work you’re responsible for stays the same. You think you can just walk away? It’s not that easy!”

I understood what he meant.

He wanted to make things difficult for me during those thirty days.

Just then, the phone on his desk rang sharply.

Daniel picked it up impatiently.

“Hello? …What? The system crashed? Data loss?”

His expression changed instantly, and his voice rose.

“Their boss specifically asked for Lily to handle it? Useless! A bunch of useless idiots!”

He slammed the phone down hard. His chest rose and fell as he glared at me, his expression complicated.

There was anger, reluctance, and a trace of embarrassment he couldn’t quite hide.

…

“Apex Technology’s system ran into trouble. Mr. Johnson spoke up personally and asked for you by name to handle it.”

He gritted his teeth, every word squeezed out between them.

“As you’re still an employee of this company, you have to fix this problem for me.

“If you mess it up and cause losses, you’ll take full responsibility.”

I looked at his furious face and suddenly found it a little ridiculous.

When they needed someone to put out fires, I was the firefighter. However, when it came time to share the rewards, I was the disposable extra.

“Sure. But this will be the last thing I handle within my responsibilities.”

He knew exactly what I meant.

Approve my resignation, and I’d solve the problem.

Refuse, and there was nothing to discuss.

“Fine. Lily, you’re really something.”

He agreed through gritted teeth.

Once I got his answer, I turned and walked toward the tech department.

The issue at Apex Technology was complicated. A mistake in the underlying code had triggered a crash in the chain system.

The engineers were already overwhelmed. When they saw me walk in, their eyes held a mix of expectation and embarrassment.

I didn’t respond to any of it.

I sat down and connected to the system.

Memories of every system upgrade and custom request Apex had gone through, buried deep in my mind, surged forward instantly.

An hour later, the alarms stopped, and the data was restored.

Mr. Johnson’s call came directly to my phone.

“Lily, thank you! I knew you’d handle it!”

His tone sounded relieved, then he lowered his voice.

“I heard about what happened yesterday. I can’t believe Daniel actually hit you. That guy’s unbelievable.

“By the way, my orders here and a few contracts from friends of mine are tied to you. Wherever you are, that’s where the orders go.

“If you ever need it, there will always be a place for you here.”

“Thank you, Mr. Johnson,” I said sincerely.

All the effort from these years had brought more than scars. However, it had also earned the recognition of people who truly understood value.

When I returned to Daniel’s office, he was listening to the tech department’s report with a dark expression.

The problem was solved, yet he looked anything but relieved.

I placed the resignation letter on his desk again.

“Mr. Aster, please sign it.”

Daniel looked at the resignation letter, then at me.

“Lily, you should understand something. The only reason you were able to secure those contracts is because of the company’s platform. Once you leave, your future prospects will be pretty bleak.”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked directly.

Perhaps my handling of the issue just now had reminded him that I was still useful.

He studied my expression and said, “Don’t you just want a raise?

“That can be arranged. Stay with the company, and I’ll increase your salary by… five hundred.”

He held up five fingers as if he were making a huge concession.

Five hundred…

I let out a cold laugh.

“Just sign it. Don’t waste my time.”

“You—”

His face turned red with anger. No one in the company had ever challenged him like that before.

In the end, he grabbed a pen, signed his name on the resignation letter with force, and almost slammed it back at me.

“Get out!”

He forced the word out between his teeth.

“Lily, remember this. Once you leave this company, you’re nothing!

“And when you want to come back, you’ll have to kneel and beg me!”

I ignored him and carefully put away the signed resignation letter.

That very afternoon, I went to my new company to complete my onboarding.

My monthly salary was sixty thousand as project director.

Outside my office window stretched a wide river view.

I took a photo of my new ID badge and the view outside the window, then posted it to my social media with just four words.

[New job. New beginning.]

Within minutes, likes and comments poured in.

Along with welcomes from new colleagues, there were many familiar client profile pictures.

Apex’s Mr. Johnson commented: [Congratulations, Director Frasier! A new beginning and even greater success ahead! Looking forward to continuing our partnership!]

Ms. Moore from Orca said, [Lily, you’re amazing! We’re waiting for your side to finalize the new contract!]

Mr. Taylor at Witop wrote, [Director Frasier, are you available tomorrow to discuss next year’s strategic partnership?]

One comment after another appeared, like silent announcements.

I was about to put my phone down when a number suddenly flashed across the screen and began vibrating wildly.

It was a number I hadn’t saved, yet knew by heart—Daniel.

“Lily, what did you do?

“Why?! Why have they all pulled out?!”