After a weekend that was far too short for Zhan, but very relaxing and beautiful, it was Monday again, Zhan's most hated day ever and his first day in the field. In addition to Monday and Zhan's bad mood, it was raining again. The temperatures went down to only 4 °C and winter was now not far away.

Zhan looked at the list showing the streets and house numbers he had to go to today and cursed. "Damn, is he fucking serious? I'm supposed to visit 150 households by noon?" Inwardly, he cursed Yibo for putting him on field duty.

Punctually at 8 am, he rang the first apartment doorbell. Of course, the residents were less than thrilled to be disturbed so early and didn't even want to hear what Zhan had to offer them. The neighbors of this family, even reacted very displeased. When they closed the door in front of Zhan's nose, Zhan cursed. "Oh just you wait Wang Yibo, I'll pay this back to you, you asshole."

Household by household, Zhan rattled off. Knocked and rang on doors, got insulted where opened or stood in front of locked doors because no one was home. At the latter doors, he left his business card before continuing on his way.

For breakfast, Zhan, whose suit was already completely soaked, sat down in a cafe. Freezing, he drank a hot tea and ate scrambled eggs with bacon. He crossed out those households on his list that he had already visited. "Eighty more households. I think I'm going crazy." He said as he counted through how many more doors he had to ring today.

The waitress at the cafe looked at Zhan's documents with interest and asked him what his profession was. He explained and she nodded. "I happen to need new insurance. I broke up with my partner and moved into my own apartment." She explained after sitting down with Zhan.

He advised her on which insurances she absolutely needed and which ones might be less but still useful. She indicated her interest, but pointed out that she doesn't make much money and insurance in general would be expensive. Zhan therefore showed her a new insurance model, which is tailored to such financially weak citizens.

"You would be fully insured and could pay the insurance fee in small monthly installments." Explained Zhan, when she asked how the payment modalities for this offer would be. And because she thought this was a great offer, she signed up for the insurance with Zhan and thanked him very much for taking the time to explain everything to her in detail.

Zhan was glad to have helped this young woman. He felt sorry for her because she seemed really desperate. He was happy to make her this offer, even though his commission for this insurance model is very small.

When Zhan finally came to the office, completely soaked and frozen through, he had sold 7 insurance policies and it was already shortly after 2 pm. And Yibo immediately called him over. Annoyed and in a bad mood, Zhan followed him to his office and then asked him, "What's wrong now?"

"You should change your clothes, don't get sick. And have you eaten anything yet? I have hot soup here for you to eat." Yibo replied.

"I don't have any change of clothes with me. Yes I have eaten and no thanks to your soup. Is it now then? Because I still have work to do. And I hope you could already check the insurance applications I sent you. Because I don't feel like working overtime under any circumstances."

"Zhan, why are you so mad at me? I only meant well."

"Oh come on. Now don't start with that weird scam from the nice supervisor again. Is there anything else now, or can I go to my desk and do my work?"

"Now listen to me Zhan, this is not a scam I'm doing. I'm actually concerned about you."

"Yeah right."

"It's really like that."

"Well, if you say so. All I know is, I had to go to 150 homes in the fucking cold and this rain. My suit is soaked, I'm cold, and I've got work to do. So you better not keep me any longer now. Because I'll get really mad."

"You're going to get mad? Are you kidding me Zhan? Why didn't you dress for the weather? Why didn't you just come to the office and talk to me and we would have found another solution?"

"Another solution? What solution would that be? Didn't you insist last week that I go door to door? Did you let it slip for even a moment that there was another solution?"

"Do you really think I want you running around out there in this weather and maybe getting sick? Don't you think I would care about anyone else but you?"

"What?"

"Not what! What am I even starting this for? You're not listening anyway. The whole last week I've been trying to talk to you. But all you ever did was reject me."

"Why are you starting this again now? What does one thing have to do with the other?"

"Nothing! I was just trying to say that I care about you, I mean I don't want you to get sick."

"What did you really want to say just now? That you care about me? All at once? Really? After seven years, you suddenly care about me? You should have cared about me before you broke up with me, not now."

"Who do you think is to blame for the breakup Mhm? You don't know, do you? You only ever see your side Zhan. But why I really broke up with you and how much I suffered, you don't want to know. You are to blame for all this, not me!"

"What did you just say? I'm to blame for you breaking up with me back then?" Zhan asked in shock.

"Just go back to your work Zhan. Now I don't feel like explaining anything to you."

"Well, please, as you say." Replied Zhan and angrily left the office.

As Zhan sat at his desk and booted up his computer, he wondered how Yibo meant that he was to blame for the breakup. Zhan hadn't done anything at the time. At least, he doesn't know anything about it. And if there was something, why hadn't Yibo told him then, instead of pretending everything was fine all day and then suddenly saying he was breaking up and disappearing right after.

Over and over again while Zhan was finishing the documents on the computer, he wondered what Yibo had meant. And, did Zhan even want to know? Hadn't he just explained long and hard to Yibo that it wouldn't matter now and that he didn't think about that time anymore? And also that he didn't care?

Zhan had finished the documents on time by the end of work at 5 pm. He put the envelopes for the mailroom and then left the office. When he went into the elevator, Yibo also joined him. Neither of them spoke a word to each other or even looked at each other. Once downstairs, Zhan absent-mindedly bowed to Yibo, exited the elevator and walked outside to his car.

Once home, he was alone. Lana is spending the whole week with her parents in Shanghai because her boss is sick, so she got the week off. He went upstairs, took off his still wet clothes and then went into his bathroom where he first took a long hot shower. The hot water was burning on his skin at the first moment, but then it felt pleasant.

Since Zhan didn't feel like cooking for himself, he ordered something from the delivery service. When the food came, he lounged on his sofa under a blanket, turned on the TV and ate in peace. He watched another episode of his favorite show before he tiredly went upstairs to his room and went to bed.

Zhan was so tired, but just couldn't fall asleep because he kept thinking about the fight with Yibo. It made him angry that Yibo was throwing something like that into the room and then not even wanting to explain what he meant by it. At the same time, Zhan didn't even want to know. He thought it was better to let bygones be bygones anyway.

Around 1 am Zhan was still awake. In order to fall asleep, he took his pillow and blanket and went downstairs to the living room. He lay down on the sofa, turned on the TV and searched for the documentary channel. As soon as he found it and started watching, he got tired.

This channel helped him even then, when Yibo suddenly broke up with him and he couldn't sleep for nights because his thoughts kept him awake. And just like then, he fell asleep after a few minutes. Even if this was not a quiet and relaxed sleep.

In the morning when his alarm clock rang, Zhan stretched and would have preferred to stay lying down. He was still tired, didn't feel like going to work, and felt even less like meeting Yibo in the office again.

Zhan looked out the living room window. It was still dark outside and it was still raining. Only slowly did he get up and go upstairs to his bathroom, where he washed himself and brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. "What are you looking at? I can't help it either." He said when he saw the dark circles under his eyes.

For today, Zhan chose his new gray suit that his mother-in-law had bought him over the weekend. It fit great and even looked a little elegant. And with some makeup from Lana, he was even able to hide his dark circles under his eyes. Freshly styled and wearing his new suit, he was ready for work.

Arriving at the office, Zhan found a chocolate bar on his desk and a note on it. "I'm sorry." It said. No name.

"Does anyone know who put these here?" Zhan asked his colleagues. But no one had seen anything. Zhan shrugged his shoulders and packed the chocolate to the side. He didn't think about it for the time being, because Yu Bin came into the office as well. He complained about his field work yesterday and that he hadn't even managed to get to the office.

Zhan asked him how many households he had to visit. Yu Bin showed him his list, "So just like everyone else, 500 households. Why do you even ask?"

At that moment, Zhan gulped. "Just wondering." He replied. Zhan had only had to go to 150 households and not 500. Had Yibo perhaps made a mistake? Or was it on purpose?

Since He Peng was already watching the two of them again, just waiting to report them for talking instead of working, they said nothing more and decided to rather concentrate on their work. Zhan vowed that someday he would surely punch He Peng on the nose for every time he reported Zhan and Yu Bin because the two of them were talking.