Love in a Shanghai Summer

7: I Rely On (我靠)

Word of the day: Wǒ kào (我靠)

Literal translation: I rely on.

Definition: A Chinese slang and curse word that's equivalent to "Crap!" or "Shit!".

Warning: Should be used with caution as it can be seen as offensive or rude.

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Just when Yiwen thought things couldn't get any worse, life showed her there was a lower level to rock bottom.

"Faster!" Yiwen pressed on the horn of her car, but just as she was about to make the turn to her office building, the lights turned red.

An accident that blocked half of the street aggravated the traffic situation further. What was usually a fifteen-minute drive extended into what felt like an eternity. She was now thirty minutes late for work. With a frustrated sigh, Yiwen waited.

And waited.

Ring. Ring.

A call interrupted the song she was playing. When she saw her boss' secretary's name on the dashboard screen, the traffic light turned green. Yiwen stepped on the accelerator then pressed answer.

"Hello, Li Ying."

"Hello, Wang Yiwen, what time are you arriving at the office?" A sharp female voice filled the car. Yiwen cringed and lowered the volume.

"I need ten more minutes. I'm parking my car now." In truth, she was just about to enter the parking lot.

"Hurry because Manager Shang is looking for you."

"Did he say what for?" It was only half-past nine, but Yiwen's whole body creaked with exhaustion. Her period was due soon so that was probably the reason. That and her frequent bouts of insomnia.

"Nothing specific, but he's not happy so you better hurry."

A quiet sigh escaped Yiwen's lips while she pulled into an empty spot. "All right. I'm downstairs now. I'll be there soon."

"Okay, bye bye!"

"Bye bye!" After quickly checking her reflection and grabbing her bag, Yiwen sprinted towards the elevators and went straight to the twentieth floor, where her boss' office was located

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to his office. "Manager Shang? Li Ying said you were looking for me?"

A man in his mid-forties glanced up from his laptop and gave her a frown. "Wang Yiwen, you're thirty minutes late."

Closing the door behind her, Yiwen stepped in. "I'm sorry. There was a car accident. The traffic was very serious."

"Hmph!" That single syllable was sharp enough to cut into her thin layer of positivity.

Yiwen's shoulders drooped a little as she sat on a chair in front of his desk. "Again, I'm very sorry. This will not happen again."

He dismissed her apology with a click of his tongue. "It better not, because at the moment, I don't need to add tardiness to your growing list of faults."

A wrinkle of confusion appeared between Yiwen's brows. "Growing list of faults?"

The question launched a long tirade about her team's recent mediocre performance, particularly how they botched up a scheduled photo shoot for a magazine.

"While I understand that things have been rough for you at the moment," her boss continued, "you shouldn't let personal matters affect your work."