When I Stopped Clinging, My Husband Panicked - Chapter 3

Working life was much busier than I’d expected.

Originally, all I’d wanted was to coast on my connections.

Big, bouncy curls. Red lipstick. A little handbag. Out the door the instant the workday ended.

Instead, my sister shoved me straight into the busiest art team.

“I brought you here to work,” Jiang Zhu said. “Did you think I’d pay you to do nothing?”

And so, right in the middle of the rush, I—an experienced artist—let out a moo and joined the herd of overworked cattle.

I’d helped my sister quite a bit when she’d started her company, so I knew the workflow reasonably well.

The problem was…my social anxiety.

Faced with curious or appraising looks from my coworkers, I maintained a reserved smile while secretly bombarding my sister and Pei Jin with texts.

Mostly Pei Jin. If I annoyed my sister, she was close enough to actually hit me.

Me: [Boohoo, hubby, come take me home!]

Me: [They all look so professional!]

Pei Jin: [Don’t be nervous. You’ll be fine. You’re lovely. They’ll all like you.]

Me: [I want to go home…I’ll take the scolding from my sister!]

Pei Jin: [No.]

For once, my usually indulgent husband was surprisingly firm.

Pei Jin: [Xiaoyu, this is an opportunity.]

Pei Jin: [You rely on me too much. You don’t have a life of your own, and that makes it hard for you when you’re alone.]

Pei Jin: [I’ll have someone bring you your favorite cake after work.]

I stared at his messages, a little lost.

Jiang Zhu had said something similar.

Before I could think it through, someone called to me.

“Come on. Meeting time.”

I copied everyone else, grabbed a notebook and pen, and switched to follow mode.

My sister hadn’t lied. The art team really was busy.

Even a small fry like me came back from the meeting with an illustration assignment.

Drawing was the one thing here I knew best, so I accepted immediately.

But…when did working for someone else ever come without aggravation?

I threw my pen onto the desk, unable to believe that even my rough sketch had been rejected.

They’d shot down the entire concept!

“What do they mean, I can’t capture the feeling they want? Are they questioning my skills? Would they like to see the room in my house devoted to my awards?”

“Do they know how hard it is to book me?”

None of it helped.

Working for someone else meant endless revisions.

After a three-minute breakdown, I bit the end of my pen and went back to work.

People could call me a love addict. A little sister who couldn’t function without her big sister. A nepotism hire.

But nobody got to run their mouth about my art!

A bunch of tasteless idiots! I’d stab the lot of them!

And that was how I ended up working overtime on my very first day.

Only when Pei Jin called did I realize I hadn’t contacted him all day.

“Did something happen?” he asked, sounding worried.

“Nope. Working late. Can’t talk. Bye!” I said through gritted teeth.

I kept working well into the night. In the end, my sister hauled me away when she left.

“Good thing your husband called,” Jiang Zhu said. “I really would have forgotten you otherwise.”

I finally came back to my senses. The moment I opened my phone, countless messages popped up.

11:00 a.m.

Pei Jin: [I’m sorry. I don’t think I put that very well. You can come home whenever you want. Would you like me to talk to your sister?]

Pei Jin: [I’m just worried you’ll be bored on your own.]

12:30 p.m.

Pei Jin: [Landed. Are you hungry? There’s fruit in your bag.]

1:00 p.m.

Pei Jin: [Xiaoyu, are you busy?]

1:30 p.m.

Pei Jin: [Have you eaten?]

5:00 p.m.

Pei Jin: [Sunset.]

…

8:00 p.m.

Pei Jin: [Working late today?]

The wall of messages left me a little dazed.

My fingers flew as I replied.

Me: [Yep. A coworker has no idea what good art looks like. I’m going to make them admit I’m good!]

Me: [I think I can stick with this. Don’t worry about me. Hehe.]

Pei Jin replied instantly: [You’ve worked hard. I ordered delivery from your favorite place.]

Me: [Um…can you cancel it? I’m having dinner with my sister, then getting a massage.]

Pei Jin: [Of course. When do you think you’ll be home?]

Pei Jin: [Need to vent to me?]

Me: [Yes!! Around ten thirty!]

Once we’d settled on a time, I felt much better despite my exhaustion.

My sister could tell how tired I was. She listened to me rant over dinner, then fed me gossip about the people involved.

“That little nepotism hire making snide comments at you is sleeping with one of the managers.”

My eyes flew wide. “Isn’t that manager married? That’s wild.”

“They were together before the wedding, too.”

I sucked in a breath and gave her my undivided attention. For the first time, I appreciated the benefits of employment.

Normally, when Jiang Zhu told me gossip, I forgot it almost immediately.

But when I knew the people involved? A completely different story!

By the time we parted, I was reluctant to leave her.

“Go on, go,” she said. “You have work tomorrow. I’ve still got a pile of meetings when I get home.”

I regarded these workaholics with awe and decided to go home and waste some quality time on my phone.

My energy lasted only until I stepped inside.

It was as if someone had dosed the air at home with sleeping pills. A quick wash was enough to finish me off.

Only after I’d crawled into bed did I remember I was supposed to talk to Pei Jin.

…Never mind. Next time. Definitely.

Tomorrow, I’d surely have time.