Chapter 12 — Realizing It's Too Late

"It's because I've loved before that I know that staying will continue to hurt. The tenderness you give me is always conditional. I want you to understand, I want you to step back, I want you to believe that next time I will choose you." “In the future I will choose you.” “But I don't need it anymore.” In front of the unit, everyone took turns leaving work. A few colleagues greeted me, and there were also people waiting for me to confirm my schedule to go with the group next week. I am no longer the wife who pours wine for them in the restaurant, nor the employee who gets kicked out of the frame at the party. Ha Canh Chau stood outside the crowd, no longer even qualified to hold my coat to help me. He took the silver leaf-shaped pin from his pocket: "For the last time. If you don't accept it, I won't give it to you again." “Then don't give it.” I turned around and walked up the steps. Behind me was the sound of a jewelry box closing. He doesn't chase anymore. A month later, I ended my business trip and returned to Beijing. At the airport exit, I saw Ha's mother. She didn't come to stop me, just handed over a bag of documents to the staff. Inside is an official apology letter along with a list of all guests that night. The Ha family has in turn clarified their responsibility for the translation error, admitting that they once forced me to sign a fake statement. Ha's mother did not ask me for forgiveness. She stood in the middle of the crowd, bowed slightly to me, then turned and left. Ha Canh Chau stands further away. He looked at me, then gave the prepared flower bouquet to a volunteer collecting donations on the side of the road, and I went to another exit. This time, he finally learned not to bother me. 10 “Miss Khuong, the young interpreter training course is next week, do you really agree to instruct us?” A new interpreter holding a notepad stood outside the meeting room door, his eyes full of expectation. "Don't be so quick to call me teacher. If I don't pass the translation test, I'll still be rejected as usual." Several young people laughed and surrounded me to discuss the course schedule. The suspension caused by the complaint has been rescinded. I also proactively waived the initial promotion review and signed up for a rotating position between training and traveling with the delegation. Director Chu asked me if I felt sorry or not. I really considered it. A promotion means having to do more management work. The rotating position allows me to continue sitting in the interpretation room, while passing on eight years of experience to the next generation. That's my own choice, not a path set by someone else. Sam Man Thanh treatment results are determined in winter. For falsifying complaint documents, she was found to be liable accordingly. The Ha family canceled the brand consultant position that had been reserved for her, and the Hua family also officially annulled the marriage. She hasn't lost her ability to live, she just can't continue to use other people's names to save her face from now on. Roman ended his cooperation with the Ha family and publicly apologized to the industry. Ha's father withdrew from his direct executive position, handing the company over to a professional management team. The damage caused by the birthday party will take half a year to resolve. After leaving the company, Ha Canh Chau worked as a project coordinator at a small translation service company. He started with the most basic tasks. For the first time, he knew how many times a page of text had to go through comparison, and also understood that mistranslating a single word was something that could not be ignored just by apologizing at the wine table. The last time we met was at a public language forum. He sat in the last row. After the forum ended, he did not step forward. It wasn't until everyone had left that he placed a kraft paper bag on the serving table.