In recent days, Li Zhao had received several messages from colleagues at the company via Changxin, as he had not been to the office for a while.
When they realized Li Zhao's intention to resign was firm, everyone stopped trying to persuade him to stay.
People in the workplace understand that once you resign, contact between people dwindles significantly, and there might not even be a chance to meet again in the future, so relationships naturally fade.
Even becoming strangers is not uncommon.
Li Zhao scrolled through his phone screen, and a series of messages from Xu Yao came into view.
The content mainly asked him why he was resigning and if he had truly made up his mind.
Li Zhao stared blankly at his phone, remained silent for a long time, then gently put it down without any reply.
However, Xu Yao did not give up, calling him more than twenty times from morning till night.
Li Zhao did not answer a single one.
Once, the name Xu Yao was as warm as a spring breeze in his heart, but now, only desolation remained.
She graduated from a prestigious university and is now a supervisor in another department, holding the same rank as Lin Xiao in the company.
Li Zhao had pursued Xu Yao for over a year, and just a few days ago, she had even agreed to go to the movies with him.
If he had continued to stay at the company, it would not have been long before Xu Yao accepted Li Zhao's confession, and the two would have walked hand in hand into the halls of marriage.
In his previous life, it was no exaggeration to say that he wanted to hold Xu Yao in his palms and cherish her as a treasure.
However, before meeting Li Zhao, Xu Yao had a former boyfriend named Han Zhou.
It was said that during her freshman year, Xu Yao was stopped by several drunk men, and Han Zhou stepped forward to help. Although he helped Xu Yao escape the entanglement, he himself was seriously injured and lay in the hospital for more than ten days, and that is how they met.
From their romantic university days, they entered society together, eventually breaking up due to family objections.
Even after marrying Li Zhao, Xu Yao maintained intricate ties with Han Zhou.
Li Zhao was displeased and expressed his dissatisfaction more than once.
Xu Yao, however, looked displeased, believing that Li Zhao should not doubt her.
From then on, their arguments became more frequent, and their relationship was like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.
The household appliances, tables, and chairs all suffered, being replaced again and again.
After each argument, Xu Yao's eyes would redden, and she would sit on the edge of the bed in the bedroom, silently shedding tears.
Li Zhao, on the other hand, sat alone on the sofa in the living room, feeling utterly powerless.
He did not usually smoke, but due to his Boredom mood, he smoked one cigarette after another until the ashtray could hold no more.
He sat there until dawn.
Later, to ease the tension with Xu Yao, Li Zhao meticulously prepared a large table of dishes, wanting to have a serious talk with her.
But during dinner, Xu Yao unintentionally mentioned Han Zhou's name again.
Li Zhao lost all appetite.
He did not have grand dreams; he only hoped to live a stable life with his wife and children in the future.
What was the point of constant arguments?
With a calm expression, he slowly said, "We are both still very young. It's not too late to get a divorce now, before we have children."
Xu Yao's emotions immediately became incredibly agitated; she violently overturned the table, and the food, bowls, and chopsticks instantly scattered across the floor.
She turned and went back to the bedroom, slamming the door shut.
As usual, Li Zhao picked up the broom and mop, silently cleaning up the mess alone.
The disarray on the floor seemed to symbolize their broken marriage, which could no longer be put back together.
But neither Li Zhao nor Xu Yao had ever imagined it.
They would not even live to see the day of their divorce.
The apocalypse descended upon Blue Star, and everything became chaotic and cruel.
Zombies ran rampant, the climate was abnormal, and humans became fewer and fewer.
Even if they were lucky enough to survive, they were either forced to hide at home or completely at the mercy of the wealthy, struggling to survive in hardship and adversity.
Li Zhao and Xu Yao stayed at home, staring at each other all day, barely speaking a few words from morning till night.
But people ultimately need to eat, and as time passed, the food at home became scarcer.
Xu Yao suggested to him that they go to the Refugee Area established by the wealthy, as they could get food there and some safety assurance, but Li Zhao flatly refused.
He did not want them to be bullied by the wealthy and chose to risk great danger to go out and search for food.
By chance, Li Zhao obtained three handguns.
But Xu Yao, unbeknownst to him, gave one of the guns to Han Zhou.
And while Li Zhao was out looking for Xu Yao, he was unfortunately surrounded by a horde of zombies...
When he woke up, time had already returned to one year ago.
Living again, he would consider all his past sincerity as having been for naught.
Besides, it's the end of the world, so who has time to act out another tragic romance!