Leave Request Outcome

The afternoon sunlight carried an almost luxurious languor, filtering through the half-open curtains and falling in mottled patches across the bedroom carpet.

Gu Yue woke up thirsty, her throat dry as though it had been scraped with sandpaper. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids. Her hangover headache felt like a tiny drummer pounding relentlessly at her temples, every heartbeat tugging at her nerves.

Instinctively, she reached for the phone on the bedside table, wanting to check the time. Her fingertips touched the cool screen, and when it lit up, the glaring numbers froze her in place.

11:47.

Eleven forty-seven!

Gu Yue abruptly sat up, only for the room to spin. She held her forehead and forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit. Her mind went blank for several seconds before overwhelming panic and fury rushed in. Ignoring her intense discomfort, she threw off the covers and scrambled out of bed, her bare feet landing on the carpet without even bothering to find her slippers.

"Tang Wulin!" Her voice was hoarse but charged with thunderous rage as she rushed out of the bedroom and straight for the living room. "Why didn't you wake me up?! Do you know what time it is?!"

Tang Wulin was lounging on the sofa in the living room. A freshly brewed glass of lemon water sat before him, and he held a magazine in his hand. Hearing the commotion, he looked up at his wife as she swept in like a gust of wind, her hair disheveled, face pale, and pajamas wrapped around her. There was not the slightest hint of surprise in his eyes; instead, they held an understanding look that said, Just as expected.

He slowly set down the magazine, lifted his glass for a sip, and only then spoke unhurriedly. "You're awake? Your head hurts, doesn't it? Have some water first."

"I asked why you didn't wake me!" Gu Yue snatched the glass from beside him and gulped down more than half of it before her throat felt slightly better. Her anger, however, only burned hotter. "I have a regular meeting today! I have progress reports from two departments to hear! And... and the general manager might want to talk to me! Do you know how troublesome it is for me to take leave even once?!"

Tang Wulin looked at her cheeks, slightly flushed from agitation, and the lingering hangover haze in her eyes. Calmly, he dropped a bombshell. "You don't need to worry about that. I messaged your secretary this morning and took a day of sick leave for you."

"You... you..." Gu Yue pointed at Tang Wulin, her finger trembling slightly. She was so furious that she could not speak for a moment. "Who gave you permission to take leave for me?! Tang Wulin! That's my job! What gives you the right to make decisions for me?!"

She felt as if her blood pressure were about to shoot through the roof. Taking leave? Sick leave, no less? When had Gu Yue ever taken leave for such a reason? And without her knowing anything about it! This was practically an attack on her dignity.

"Because I'm your husband, and because you need rest right now." Tang Wulin stood and walked over, attempting to press down on her agitated shoulders, only for her to swat his hands away.

"I don't need rest! I'm perfectly fine!" Gu Yue lifted her chin, trying to prove how energetic she was, but her pale face and unsteady steps completely betrayed her.

"Really?" Tang Wulin raised a brow. His tone remained steady, but it carried undeniable force. "Then who was so drunk yesterday that she couldn't even find her way home? Who could barely stand in the bathroom? And who skipped lunch to save time, got low blood sugar in the afternoon, and nearly fainted in the office?"

With every sentence he spoke, Gu Yue's face turned a shade paler and her momentum weakened a little more. Having all those embarrassing incidents calmly listed out like that was far more devastating than being shouted at.

"I... that was a special circumstance!" Gu Yue tried to struggle, but her voice had already lost its initial conviction. "Today is different! I'm fine now! Besides, do you know how busy our department has been lately? Do you know how critical my project is? If I take a day off, how much work will I have to make up afterward? And what will people say about me behind my back? That Gu Yue is weak and can't handle the pressure?"

"No one will say you're weak." Tang Wulin cut her off, his tone softening slightly while his stance remained firm. "They'll only say you work too hard, got sick from exhaustion, and were given leave to rest. What's so bad about that? As for work, the sky isn't going to fall."

Gu Yue opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but discovered that although his words stung, every one of them hit home. She really had been too tired—so tired that she had ignored the warnings from her body, so tired that she had been draining herself in unhealthy ways. But... "But taking leave means they'll dock my pay!" She finally brought out her last trump card. It sounded a little weak, but it was still a very real loss.

She still remembered when she had first started working. Her monthly salary had been thirteen thousand, and she had wanted to split every penny in half before spending it. She worked overtime constantly, terrified of making mistakes. Now, after years of grinding, she had finally climbed to her current position, and her monthly salary had risen to fifty-two thousand. It was still some distance from the highest earners, but she had earned every bit of it through sheer effort. Taking a day off would cost her more than two thousand in daily wages! To Gu Yue, who was always so careful with money, it was practically like cutting off flesh.

Looking at her expression of my money hurts, Tang Wulin found her both infuriating and amusing. He stepped forward, no longer giving her a chance to evade him, gently took her wrist, and led her toward the sofa.

"Sit down. You don't need to worry about money."

"How can I not worry! That's my—"

"Your project bonus from last month, plus your year-end bonus, would be enough for you to take a whole year off with money left over." Tang Wulin interrupted her, his tone carrying a trace of helpless indulgence. "Gu Yue, there's no end to making money. With your current salary, even if they deducted an entire month's pay, our family still wouldn't be unable to afford food. What's the point of earning so much if your health breaks down? Did you think about how I felt when you were like that yesterday?"

He pressed her down onto the sofa, sat beside her, and looked into her eyes as he spoke seriously. "I know you're ambitious and want to do well. But this isn't how you should push yourself. Look at this week. Counting today, you only went to work three days. Of the remaining four, two were the weekend, and two were days you missed because of your health. If this keeps up, your body will develop serious problems sooner or later."

Gu Yue felt a little guilty beneath his gaze and turned her head away.

"We'll deal with next week when it comes." Tang Wulin was unmoved. "For the remaining two days this week, you're not going either. Stay home and recover properly. Sober up, catch up on sleep, and take care of your stomach."

Gu Yue wanted to say something more, but when she saw Tang Wulin's eyes filled with worry and absolute resolve, she suddenly lost the will to resist.

That was right. This week really had been a complete mess. Her body had already issued its strongest protest. The high-pressure work, the forced social engagements... it had all been like snow piling up before an avalanche, finally reaching its breaking point yesterday.

She was silent for a long while. Finally, her shoulders sagged slightly, and her voice dropped, carrying an almost imperceptible grievance and exhaustion. "...But taking leave... it just leaves me feeling empty. Like... like I've been left behind."

"No one can leave you behind unless you fall yourself." Tang Wulin gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her lean into his embrace. "To me, you'll always be the best. But by my side, you have to be healthy first. Be good, okay?"

The warmth of his embrace, his steady heartbeat, and the reassuring scent lingering at her nose finally dissolved the last of Gu Yue's resistance. She softly murmured, "Mm," and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

He lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her hair. "Go eat something first. I made some stomach-soothing congee, and I'll make you hangover soup too."

Gu Yue rubbed against him in his embrace, as though she had finally found a safe harbor.

Although the thought of losing more than two thousand for nothing still made her heart ache a little, compared to her physical discomfort and inner anxiety, this "forced leave" did not seem quite so hard to accept.

At least, there was someone willing to hold tightly onto her when she was losing control, refusing to let her fall completely.

And perhaps she really could set aside her anxiety over work for now.

After all, even Tang Wulin had started "interfering" with her career. That meant things might really have gotten a little serious.

Gu Yue closed her eyes, feeling her husband's warmth and the faint fragrance of rice drifting from the kitchen. For the first time, she felt that doing nothing and simply taking it easy did not seem... so bad.

Of course, that was assuming Tang Wulin made that damned hangover soup taste good. Otherwise, she would still be angry. Very angry.