Chapter 55

Mary knew very well that Miss Chu was right about one thing: her salary was paid by Mr. Shao.

However, this was only her very first day on the job, and turning around to sell out his whereabouts to Mr. Shao—how was she supposed to conduct her work in the future?

Not to mention that Miss Chu had explicitly given her stern instructions beforehand.

Her thoughts spinning rapidly, Mary cleared her throat and said, "Miss Chu is with her classmates from the project group. Once they finish their project assignment, I will send them home."

It was a blatant evasion of the question, talking around the subject entirely.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then Shao Yihuai let out a light laugh. He said nothing more and simply hung up the call.

Looking at the ended call on her screen, with the sound of his unfathomable light laugh still echoing in her mind, Mary felt her heart leap into her throat.

Mr. Shao shouldn't possibly fire her, right? Right...?

A working professional knows how to bend and stretch. Mary opened WeChat, navigated to her chat box with Mr. Shao, and sent a meme of a person sliding to the floor in a kowtow.

***

The atmosphere of an environment is a magical thing.

Although it was her very first time in a nightclub, as soon as she stepped through the door, bombarded by the booming music, the mesmerizing strobe lights, and the vividly swaying bodies, Chu Tong's adrenaline surged rapidly, and she immediately got into the groove.

Going over to the bar with Winnie, Chu Tong had no idea what to drink, so two male classmates from the project group walked up and asked, "Can you both drink?"

Winnie shrugged. "Of course." She ordered familiarly from the bartender, "Get me a Manhattan."

Chu Tong pulled the corners of her mouth in slight embarrassment. "I... I don't drink very much, and my alcohol tolerance is poor."

The slightly taller of the two guys in the project group, named Meng Yang, hearing Chu Tong's words, said, "Then you shouldn't drink. It's not safe."

The other guy, named Ah Jun, tilted his head and sighed. "Don't be a buzzkill. Who comes here without drinking? Pearl's driver is still waiting outside anyway, what danger could there be?"

Meng Yang straightened his expression. "We're here on official business, remember?"

Ah Jun patted Meng Yang's chest with the back of his hand. "Big brother, if you want to ask someone to cooperate with your questionnaire, you at least have to treat them to a drink first. If you ask me, deciding to come here for a survey today made no sense at all. I thought everyone knew we were just finding an excuse to come out and have fun."

Winnie raised her hand immediately. "I'm here to have fun."

Chu Tong still felt awkward. Backed by the impulse to piss Shao Yihuai off, her brain had been entirely short-circuited, and she hadn't had time to think it through carefully at all.

And true enough, coming to a nightclub to conduct a survey and asking people where they usually got their news from—wasn't that just losing one's mind?

Everyone was too busy venting or hunting for romance; who had the time to bother with that?

Ah Jun simply waved a hand and headed off to the dance floor by himself. Meng Yang stayed by the bar next to the two girls, practically acting as their bodyguard.

The Manhattan was served. As Winnie drank, her eyes darted around the dance floor. "Hey," she said, lifting her chin to gesture, "that guy in the corner booth over there is not bad."

Chu Tong looked in the direction of the gaze.

They were all utterly mediocre humans, so she looked somewhat blankly. "...Which one?"

"The one in the white shirt. Doesn't he look pretty good?"

Chu Tong frowned and looked him over carefully. "Mmm..." After pondering for a long moment, she squeezed out a few words. "...The refined type?"

It was evident that the evaluation was extremely reluctant.

Winnie gave a light snort. "Pearl, your standards are so high." She paused for a moment. "...Well, your ex was that caliber, so no wonder."

At that moment, Chu Tong couldn't bear to hear anyone praise that man. "...What caliber? He's very ordinary, and he's old."

Winnie laughed out loud, then tilted her head to shoot her a sidelong glance. "Did you break up on bad terms?"

"...Considered a peaceful breakup."

She merely held lingering resentment in her heart, unable to find peace.

Connecting this to the "joke" Chu Tong had told earlier at the barbecue party, Winnie patted her shoulder and comforted her, "It can't be helped. He's so much older than you, it's about time for him to get married anyway. In their social stratum, marriages are beyond one's own control."

That was true. There had been a young master Lin previously in the capital, and now there was a Miss Chen in Hong Kong. The person accompanying him in the future would ultimately be some aristocratic young lady; why bother entangling herself with her anymore?

Even if he couldn't forget her, they had no future together.

He had the capital to indulge in instant gratification, but as for her? She had no such certainty.

It was all his fault.

Blame him for being too good to her before, giving rise to delusions she shouldn't have had.

She simply couldn't dwell on these things between him and her. The moment she settled her heart to ponder them, her mouth would turn bitter.

She licked her lips. "I want a drink."

Meng Yang and Winnie turned to look at her simultaneously.

"Should I order you something with a low alcohol content?" Winnie asked.

She nodded, and Winnie told the bartender, "Give us a Moscow Mule."

The drink was pushed across. It tasted bitter upon entry, and her throat and esophagus instantly burned fiery hot.

Chu Tong frowned, took another sip, leaned against the bar, and closed her eyes.

Alcohol truly was a wondrous thing. Once it entered her stomach, her head grew muddled, and everything before her eyes became light and hazy.

After she had drunk more than half the glass, Winnie leaned in and asked, "How is it?"

Chu Tong let out a hum, dragging out her tone. "Winnie~~ I need to work harder."

Her voice was slurred, carrying a sweet, spoiled edge, completely different from her usual self.

Winnie looked up and exchanged a glance with Meng Yang. "Is she already buzzing? Her alcohol tolerance is way too poor."

Chu Tong's mind was actually quite clear, but the impulse to act spoiled and murmur was entirely uncontrollable. She raised a hand. "My mind is very clear."

"Right, right."

Winnie followed her lead. "What do you need to work harder at?"

"I need to study hard, get an internship at a top institution, and become an elite in the future."

"An undergraduate degree in Chinese from Peking University, a master's degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong, having won so many awards, and with such great English—in many people's eyes, you're already an elite."

"It's not enough. I want to stand out and get ahead."

Chu Tong spoke with righteous conviction.

As she spoke, she looked at Meng Yang with an expression of earnest pleading. "Shall we go work on the project? Didn't our advisor give us another topic? Let's do that one too."

Winnie widened her eyes in disbelief. "I've seen people throw tantrums from drinking, and I've seen people cry and scream, but I've never seen anyone like Pearl, crying and shouting about wanting to make progress."

Meng Yang's expression was complicated. "Tongtong, are you under too much pressure?"

Chu Tong nodded vigorously. "I'm really under a lot of pressure. I want so, so much to become strong overnight, invulnerable to swords and spears."

She felt a bit depressed.

Ever since she was little, she had been diligent and hardworking. After successfully entering Peking University, she hadn't relaxed for a single moment, busy with academics and part-time jobs to earn money. Later, she met Shao Yihuai, who provided her with many resources and conveniences. She had seized every single opportunity—learning English, horseback riding, playing tennis, as well as social savvy and the rules of society—absorbing a great deal through subtle influence.

She felt she had grown, but all of this combined, the moment it was measured against Shao Yihuai, fell completely short.

She was still so very far away from him.

He stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid, a towering figure who could summon wind and rain. And as for her? Even if she struggled for another decade, she might perhaps become a senior executive in a major corporation or conglomerate, but that would only earn her the qualification to sit in the same meeting room with him, be reprimanded by him, directed by him, and report to him.

Class and pedigree went without saying; that was an unshakeable chasm.

Whether in society or within their relationship, he would forever be the one in control.

Chu Tong drank a few more sips of alcohol, her face wearing a miserable expression.

Winnie sighed. "You can't rush it. One step at a time, you'll succeed eventually."

But what was the definition of success? Acquiring high-level academic credentials? Entering a good institution? When all was said and done, no matter how hard she fought, at the absolute pinnacle of success, she would only become a member of the newly minted middle class in the societal sense.

And Shao Yihuai? He was among the supreme aristocracy, completely invisible to ordinary people.

"Can I have another glass?"

She looked at Winnie. "I want a Long Island Iced Tea."

It was the only alcoholic drink she knew by name.

"That one is a little bit strong, you know."

"It doesn't matter."

Winnie turned to the bartender and asked for a Long Island Iced Tea.

Meng Yang glanced toward the dance floor. "I'm going to find Ah Jun. We should head back; we have class tomorrow morning."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Pearl is with me."

Scarcely five seconds after Meng Yang left, someone came over to chat them up.

Wearing a white shirt and black trousers, they looked like office workers from nearby. There were two of them; one started talking to Winnie, and the other to Chu Tong.

"From HKU? College girls?"

Winnie pulled Chu Tong into her embrace. "We're planning to leave. Not interested."

"Coincidentally, we want to find a quiet place too. Want to step outside for a smoke?"

"Not interested."

"Don't be so fierce. Let's get to know each other?"

Were they planning to pester them? Winnie frowned and cursed in Cantonese, "Get the hell lost."

As it happened, Meng Yang and Ah Jun returned together. After exchanging a brief, sharp glare with the two office workers, the latter left unwillingly, looking back every three steps and muttering foul words under their breath. Winnie remotely flipped them the middle finger.

Meng Yang immediately reached out and pressed her hand down. "Don't stir up trouble."

Ah Jun felt unsatisfied. "Leaving already? You guys go ahead first; I want to play a bit longer."

In a daze, Chu Tong caught the word "leave," turned around, and reached onto the bar. "I have to finish drinking this. Can't waste it."

Gulping it down quickly, she shivered from the burn and grimaced. "...I'll pay the bill."

Neither Meng Yang nor Winnie stopped her. "Just split it in the group chat later."

Her footsteps were floating, yet barely steady. Winnie half-hugged her and said to Meng Yang, "Go to the parking lot and have Sister May bring the car closer."

"Okay."

The parking lot was a short distance away, so the two of them stood on the street curb and waited for a moment.

Nestled in Central, surrounded by towering office buildings shoulder-to-shoulder, it was still brightly lit in the deep of night.

Recalling what Pearl had just said, Winnie sighed. Indeed, even if you worked your fingers to the bone, in a few years you'd at most be sweating and scraping a living inside these office towers.

Damn capitalists.

No sooner had she cursed this internally than she unexpectedly heard the low roar of an engine.

Even just by the sound of that engine, one could tell it was a luxury car.

Indeed, the engine roars of luxury cars all possessed unique characteristics.

Winnie looked up and saw a Rolls-Royce with Hong Kong license plates pulling smoothly to a stop by the side of the road. The front passenger door and the rear passenger door opened simultaneously, and two men stepped out.

The one from the front passenger seat wore a suit and was clearly a bodyguard.

The one stepping out from the back seat wore an expensive British three-piece suit. Holding his suit jacket in his hand, his vest outlined the curves of his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He was tall, long-legged, with superior proportions, and his facial features were deep and handsome—an extreme feast for the eyes.

A damn capitalist, and he had to look this good on top of that.

Stepping a couple of steps closer, Winnie recognized that the man was none other than the renowned Mr. Shao.

Winnie reflexively looked toward Chu Tong.

Shao Yihuai narrowed his eyes as he looked at them. The girl was draped over her companion's neck, her pleated skirt very long-legged and exposed to the night wind, looking blindingly white under the streetlights.

Mr. Shao's expression was somewhat detached. Winnie was too scared to speak, staring in a daze as she heard him say in a distant tone, "Sorry for the trouble, hand her over to me."

Chu Tong felt Winnie's soft body suddenly move away, and she herself was swept up and encircled by another powerful crook of an arm. Following that, a piece of clothing was draped over her, her bottom was supported, her legs were parted, and her body lifted into mid-air, falling into a different embrace.

This embrace had a higher body temperature, and the texture wasn't as soft as Winnie's; it was rather firm.

The woody fragrance was very familiar, but at the moment, wearing a short skirt, her instincts made her feel uneasy. Muzzily, she cursed, "Damn dog man, why are you parting my legs again?"

As she spoke, her legs struggled instinctively, trying to snap shut.

Shao Yihuai was holding her in a koala-style embrace against his chest, and those legs kept rubbing back and forth against his waist. He frowned, his large palm firmly cupping her bottom through the suit jacket to pin her still.

The bodyguard politely escorted Winnie. "Miss, Mary will take you home. Please get some rest."

Winnie nodded in acknowledgment and looked back.

Beneath the dazzling nightscape of Central, that steady and aristocratic Mr. Shao was holding Pearl in his arms. The watch face on the wrist of the hand supporting her bottom flashed with a beam of light. His tall stature made the five-foot-seven Pearl look delicate and soft, a posture of complete containment that undoubtedly overflowed with a bursting sense of possessiveness.

There was no way this looked anything like the peaceful breakup with no ties left that Pearl had claimed.

***

The Rolls-Royce doors closed, locked, and the engine started.

Chu Tong pulled off the jacket draped over her shoulders and mumbled, "So hot."

Shao Yihuai silently watched her and raised a hand to adjust the temperature.

She used her fingers to smooth her hair and lifted an eyelid just a sliver. Within her field of vision, the man's handsome face stared over without a word, his gaze deeply dark.

Frightened, she instantly sobered up a little, quickly closing her eyes again and pretending to be overwhelmed by alcohol, curling up in the seat. She made appreciative "yummy yummy" noises like she was tasting a delicacy and muttered, "Delicious, so sleepy."

This appearance was far too cute and endearing, coaxing a careless twitch of the lips as Shao Yihuai tilted his head.

Chu Tong peeked through her eyelashes and, seeing him turning his head back, immediately snapped her eyes shut tight.

Barely a few seconds passed before she heard him ask in a deep voice, "...You went to the nightclub to do your project assignment?"

Her reflex was to nod, but realizing she was pretending to be dead drunk, she managed to brake hard and didn't move a muscle.

Shao Yihuai let out a silent chuckle, reached out, pulled her over, and settled her onto his lap.

Chu Tong made a show of struggling slightly. "Don't hold me, it's so hot."

"Do not move around anymore."

A deep warning.

Chu Tong was sharp-witted inside. She remembered once before when she was only slightly drunk, Shao Yihuai had taken her back to Langcheng Mansion. He had intended to kiss her, but ultimately slammed the brakes hard, covered her mouth, and kissed her eyes instead.

This man seemed to hold himself to high moral standards; he was self-restrained and wouldn't do anything to her while she was dead drunk.

Therefore, playing drunk should be foolproof.

Not only would she get through tonight safely, but tomorrow morning she could pull off an act of alcohol-induced amnesia and completely wipe her slate clean of the nightclub incident.

Simply perfect.

She could even turn the tables on him and demand an explanation for how he managed to track her down in the nightclub so quickly.

Thinking of this, she cheerfully licked her lips.

Her lips were red and glossy from alcohol, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, and her eyelashes fluttered. Moreover, her body temperature was higher than usual; warm and soft all over, she lay sideways in his arms.

Shao Yihuai slid his hand up her thigh, perceived something, and slightly narrowed his eyes.

Wearing a skirt this short, she hadn't even worn safety shorts; the only tiny pair of panties she had on were a lace style that barely covered anything at all.

Chu Tong sensed something was amiss, her heart throwing a flurry of panic. What should she do? Should she react to this or not?

Before she could figure it out, she felt him slap her right across the bottom.