But less than three days later, I was hit with a surprise—I received Lily's resignation letter.
Lily packed her things and left with a bright, satisfied smile. She told everyone that she was getting married with Tom to become a full-time housewife.

I honestly had no idea what kind of spell Tom had cast on her.
I shook my head regretfully.
She was truly hopeless.
The very next day after Lily left the company, Tom showed up in my office. With that same thick skin of his, he asked,“Supervisor Amy,do you think you can let me take Lily's place?Anyway,since Lily left,your department’s short-staffed ,and everyone seems to like me anyway.”
I looked at him and couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how someone so painfully average could be so ridiculously confident.
What was going on in that tiny brain of his?

I turned him down flatly and didn’t hold back —scolding from head to toe. In my eyes, he wasn’t just useless. He was worse than dog poop.
At least dog poop could be turned to fertilizer.
Red faced, Tom hurried off in embarrassment.
He didn't dare to show up in front of me again .I didn't even know if he stayed at the company—and frankly, I didn’t care.

The next time I saw Lily was five years later.
By then,I had already been promoted and transferred to headquarters. I returned to the branch office with a team of senior leaders for an inspection.
During the meeting of all employees, I spotted Lily sitting in the last row. She looked fuller in the face, but I recognized her instantly.
The moment our eyes met, she quickly looked away, almost like she was trying to disappear.
After the meeting ended, Lily didn't leave for a long time.
I heard someone snickering and saying,“Hurry up and go. She needs to pump breast milk. I saw her shirt earlier, totally soaked. So embarrassing.”
“She's the oldest intern in our batch. Honestly, she should just stay at home and take care of her kids. Why even bother coming to work?”
“I heard that she got divorced. Now she has two kids alone. The older one just started kindergarten, and the younger one’s only three months old.”
“Why would she get divorced after haing two kids?”
“Her husband cheated on her, not just once or twice.I don't know how she endured it and still went on to have two kids with him. Tsk, talk about guts.”
...
Just from those few words,I could piece together what Lily's life had probably been like these past few years.
After everyone had left,only Lily and I remained.
Lily was using a breast pump, her back turned to me.I wasn’t sure if she noticed me.
I walked over slowly. As I approached, her hand trembled, and some milk spilled.
Lily scrambled to clean it up.
She looked thoroughly embarrassed.
I took out a tissue and handed it to her,“Here.”
She accepted it, but didn't turn around.
After a while, she spoke softly,“Thank you. You were right These past few years felt like a dream. I've finally woken up.”
It's good that she's awake,I nodded,“That's great.It's not too late.”
After saying that,I turned and left.My leaving made Lily look surprised. Maybe she thought I stayed to mock her?
But there was no need for that. Really ,there never was.