It wasn’t until she was out of the coffee shop that Qin Nuan’s tears finally slipped down her cheeks.
Just moments ago, she had been holding herself together, refusing to let herself cry in front of that scumbag.
Four years of feelings.
The man who had once promised to treat her well for a lifetime had sold her off just like that.
An adult’s breakdown happens in an instant. After crying her heart out, Qin Nuan wiped her face dry and took a cab home.
The first thing she did when she got in was run a bath.
The moment the hot water enveloped her body, Qin Nuan finally relaxed. But when she caught an inadvertent glimpse of herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but blush furiously.
Her neck, her shoulders, her chest—everywhere was covered in mottled red marks, even on her thighs.
They were traces left from last night, made even more visible by the steam of the hot water.
Her skin had always been delicate since she was young—a little pressure would leave marks. And that man last night had been almost completely unrestrained.
What was even more shameful was—she remembered that when she was half-conscious, she had actively pressed herself against him.
Thankfully, it was just one night of madness. She probably wouldn’t see him again anyway.
And thankfully, he had used protection.
When she picked up her clothes this morning, she had seen the things thrown on the floor.
There were four of them in total, casually tossed aside.
Qin Nuan’s face burned fiercely. She didn’t dare think too deeply about last night’s craziness.
That said, although Lin Qingyang had pushed her into the fire pit,
she had coincidentally walked into the wrong room—at least it wasn’t someone disgusting and sleazy like Chen Limin.
As for that man…
He was so handsome. When she thought about it, she hadn’t really lost out…
Qin Nuan covered her burning face and cut off those messy thoughts.
She made up her mind.
From today on, she would just pretend it never happened.
After her bath, exhaustion swept over her.
She ate a couple of bites of something, then fell straight asleep.
She slept all the way until past eight in the evening.
Qin Nuan was woken up by hunger—and a distinct soreness coming from a certain part of her body.
After sleeping, it felt even more uncomfortable.
She went into the bathroom to check again and found that she really was injured.
She had no choice but to go out and buy some medicine.
When she was paying at the pharmacy, she was so embarrassed that she even asked the clerk for a black plastic bag to wrap it in.
After leaving the pharmacy, she went to a nearby convenience store to buy a rice ball to heat up.
While waiting, her gaze casually swept across the street corner and suddenly stopped.
At the end of the street, a black Maybach was parked.
Why would a Maybach show up in this old, run-down neighborhood?
Qin Nuan took a second look but didn’t think much of it.
Maybe someone was here on business nearby.
But as luck would have it, not long after Qin Nuan left the convenience store, that Maybach suddenly started moving too.
As it brushed past her, the rear window slowly rolled up.
Qin Nuan caught an inadvertent glimpse, and her heart skipped a beat.
The outline of that face…
Why did she feel like it looked a bit like the man from this morning?
When she tried to get a closer look, the car had already turned the corner and disappeared completely.
It couldn’t be…
Qin Nuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head.
There was no way it was that much of a coincidence. She must have seen wrong.
But perhaps because of her guilty conscience, after that glance, her heart took a long time to calm down.
When she got home and applied the medicine, the cool ointment touched her wounds, and the images from last night involuntarily surfaced again.
By the time she finished applying it, her face was burning hot, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on her back.
.
The next day was Monday.
Workhorses don’t get days off. After the alarm rang, Qin Nuan got up, washed up, changed, and headed to work.
Empire Group Headquarters.
This is the most central location in all of Jing City, and Empire Group actually owns an entire building here—its strength, financial power, and status were self-evident.
Their screening of employees was also extremely strict.
Qin Nuan had graduated with a master’s degree from Jing University; her resume was undoubtedly impressive, but placed within Empire Group, it didn’t stand out much.
Now she was just an ordinary employee in the company’s business department, having only recently been confirmed as a regular employee.
Qin Nuan cherished this job of hers.
Love was gone, the scumbag was tossed aside—only this salary could genuinely support her.
She had bought a small apartment on the Fourth Ring Road. The property hadn’t been handed over yet, but she was already paying the mortgage every month.
Qin Nuan was a very punctual person, and today she arrived especially early.
While waiting for the elevator, she ran into Zhao Meihua from the same department.
Qin Nuan smiled and greeted her: “Sister Zhao, good morning.”
“Little Qin, you’re early too.” Zhao Meihua had always had a good impression of her—diligent, capable at work, and gentle and generous in personality.
The elevator hadn’t arrived yet, so the two chatted for a while.
Qin Nuan asked, “Sister Zhao, why are you so early today too?”
Hearing this, Zhao Meihua said in surprise, “Don’t you remember? Didn’t Manager Jiang mention it last week?”
“Today the new group president is coming. In the morning, President Lin might bring him around to walk through each department, so we were told to arrive early.”
Only then did Qin Nuan suddenly recall.
Right, Manager Jiang had mentioned this last week.
Apparently, this new president also had an impressive background.
Empire Group was the top wealthy family in Jing City—the Shen family’s enterprise.
And the newly appointed president this time was none other than the Shen family’s eldest legitimate grandson—Shen Shiyan.
It was said that Elder Shen had always valued this grandson highly, keeping him by his side since childhood for personal cultivation, and after he turned fifteen, sent him abroad, where he subsequently graduated from top-tier institutions all the way through.
At twenty-five, when the Shen family was embroiled in a scandal that affected the entire family business, it was Shen Shiyan who single-handedly revived several of the Shen family’s projects that were on the verge of being abandoned, earning him fame in one stroke.
He was practically a legendary figure.
Zhao Meihua smiled and teased, “I heard that our young master here isn’t just impressive—he’s also handsome and single. I’m married, so forget it, but you young girls might just have a chance.”
Qin Nuan smiled but didn’t respond.
Toward someone standing at the very pinnacle of the pyramid, she felt at most a bit of curiosity, but had no other thoughts.
Shen Shiyan’s world was too far removed from hers. Before this, she had only heard of his deeds, never even seen a photo.
She figured that even in the future, she probably wouldn’t run into him more than a few times at the company.
The elevator arrived, and the two stepped inside.
Just as the doors were about to close, Qin Nuan suddenly heard someone outside call out, “Excuse me, could you hold it a moment?”
So Qin Nuan pressed the elevator’s door-open button again.
A voice of thanks rang out.
Then, a man in a suit and leather shoes walked in, taking over Qin Nuan’s spot, one hand pressing the elevator’s door-open button while the other held the door back.
Qin Nuan instinctively stepped back a pace.
But then she heard the man say, “President Shen, the president’s private elevator had a malfunction last night and is currently under repair—it won’t be available for now. It’s expected to be fixed before 8:30. Please use the employee elevator for the time being.”
President Shen? The president’s elevator?
Qin Nuan and Zhao Meihua were both taken aback.
Was this the new president taking office today?
Before the two could say anything, a tall, slender figure slowly walked in from outside.
Immediately after, a clean, crisp cold woody fragrance slowly drifted through the air.
His face was refined and elegant, with deep, well-defined features, yet his brow carried an air of aloof detachment.
Qin Nuan stared at that face, completely frozen, her eyes filled with shock.
It’s him?!
How could it be him?!
Her one-night stand,
was actually the group’s newly appointed president, Shen Shiyan?!