# Chapter 11
I don't know how to describe the situation between Shangguan and me. Fighting? The cold war? "Silent treatment" probably fits better. But even if he's the hegemonic USA, I'm not the former Soviet Union either. Damn it, why did I come up with such a weird metaphor?
But no matter how I describe it, the bottom line is: Shangguan's ignoring me.
No rides, no home-cooked meals, no yelling—even if I didn't hear a car pull up in the middle of the night, I'd swear he didn't even live here anymore.
Honestly, I never expected things to turn out like this. Sure, I raised my voice that day, and yeah, I cursed at him. But it's not like there's a rule that says only the emperor gets to light fires and the commoners can't even light a lamp. He's been骂ing me every single day! And the only reason I cursed at him was that he'd gone too far.
November, and he made me shower with cold water. Even with the heating on, it's freezing. I only cursed at him once—I was being very, very generous... um, definitely being generous...
Damn it! Why am I the one feeling guilty? I didn't do anything wrong. Shangguan's the one in the wrong, absolutely! I can't keep enabling his bossiness. I absolutely will not apologize first. Absolutely not!
I stared at myself in the mirror and repeated it to myself once again.
After building up my resolve, I stepped out of the bathroom. The instant noodles on the table had gone lukewarm, but at least it was still edible. Ever since Shangguan stopped talking to me, I've been buying these in bulk. Beef flavor, spicy flavor—the variety these days really is getting better. Besides the lack of vegetables, it practically has no flaws.
Because I'd waited too long, the noodles had gotten soft, and the texture wasn't great. But I'm honestly someone who doesn't care much about taste. Well, I don't have the right to care—that's a privilege for diligent people. If I hadn't been spoiled by Shangguan these past two years into making it a habit to eat something in the morning, I'd be too lazy to even make this bowl of noodles.
After finishing the noodles, I grabbed my bag and walked toward the subway station. From here to the station takes at least fifteen minutes, and another fifteen minutes on the subway to the office. So the commute time is about the same either way, but walking and squeezing onto the subway are both such a hassle.
Maybe I should start looking for a new place. Even if Shangguan doesn't kick me out, I can't take this daily折腾 much longer. But apartments in the city are way beyond what I can afford. Finding a place with convenient transportation AND cheap rent? That's nearly impossible. If I end up somewhere without subway access, commuting by bus would be even worse—probably two to three hours round trip every day!
The more I thought about it, the more depressed I got. What made it worse was that ever since that day with the cold water, I'd been running a low fever for the past few days. It wasn't serious, but it made me feel absolutely miserable.
In a daze, I missed my stop and had to ride back. By the time I rushed into the office, it was exactly 9:02. There went my perfect attendance bonus!
They say when you're unlucky, even water goes down the wrong pipe. No bonus for me this month for sure. As for next month, I might even get fired. The manager already said what he said—there's no guarantee he won't follow through. And looking at how things are, Shangguan's not going to speak up for me. Maybe I don't even need to look for an apartment. I'll just muddle through this month and consider moving to another city.
Even though I was thinking all that, I still had to do my job.
I turned on the computer and habitually grabbed my cup to go to the break room. I opened the cabinet, thought for a moment, then took out a packet of milk powder. Drinking tea was Shangguan's rule. Before, I followed it because I couldn't be bothered to argue. But why should I still listen to what he says now?
"Oh, Yi, not drinking tea today?" Yang Xin's voice came from behind me.
"Nah, got a slight fever. Thought milk would be better." It must be because we're on the same team—our relationship has been improving lately. That I can recognize her just by her voice should say something about that.
"Fever, huh? Be careful. I heard there's this new medicine called Kedi that's pretty good. You should try it." She was being very helpful.
I gave a noncommittal hum, but I had no intention of trying it. I'm not interested in any kind of medicine. Taking Western medicine isn't bitter or painful, but having to remember to take it every day is麻烦 enough.
"Don't push yourself too hard. We still have three weeks—plenty of time."
Even though it was already late November, the manager has this habit when assigning tasks—if he doesn't specify otherwise, "next month" means the same day next month, not the first of the month. I mean, a project this big wouldn't be given only two weeks anyway.
Cup in hand, I returned to my desk and started today's work.