“President Xing, have some water.”
As she handed it to him, Wen Yao deliberately let her hand tremble slightly. A full glass of water—half of it spilled onto his suit pants.
“I’m sorry, President Xing. I didn’t mean to.” Wen Yao set down the glass, pulled out a few tissues, and moved to wipe the water stains on his pants.
Her attention was entirely on the ID card, so she didn’t notice she was wiping in the wrong place.
The water in the glass was warm, and it had spilled too suddenly. By the time Xing Yu reacted, he saw Wen Yao holding tissues and wiping his suit pants—the pressure of her hand wasn’t light, and the position was rather… awkward.
He grabbed the hand that was still wiping, his voice low and heavy.
“What are you doing?”
Wen Yao wanted to put the ID card away, but before she could act, her wrist was seized by a large hand. The grip was too strong, making her wrist bone ache.
She looked up and met a pair of eyes as deep as a dark abyss, carrying an invisible sense of pressure.
“I was just helping you wipe the water.”
Xing Yu had encountered all kinds of seduction before. During missions, he had faced countless women.
But looking at her clear, untainted eyes—there wasn’t the slightest hint of seduction. It was as if she truly only intended to wipe the water.
“May I use the restroom?”
Wen Yao had been worrying about not having a chance to put away the ID card. She pointed to the door on the left.
“The restroom is over there.”
“Thank you.”
Xing Yu walked into the restroom and closed the door.
Wen Yao stared at the tightly shut door, then hurriedly picked up the ID card from the coffee table and slipped it into her pocket.
The ID card still had three years before it expired. She had originally planned to renew it when the time came, but now she felt it would be better to get a new one sooner.
Inside the restroom, Xing Yu looked down at the bulge in his suit pants.
After rigorous special forces training, he wasn’t someone who reacted easily.
Yet Wen Yao had only wiped over his pants a few times with tissues—and he actually reacted?
He didn’t want to believe it, but the fact remained.
Could it be because he had been abstinent for too long?
Xing Yu took a deep breath, trying to calm the heat rising within his body.
Once he regained composure, he lifted his head and glanced around the restroom.
The space was cramped, almost too tight to move comfortably.
The toilet and shower were right next to each other, with the sink beside the toilet.
Though small, it was kept very clean and tidy.
Xing Yu withdrew his gaze, preparing to leave, when he noticed a bottle of shampoo on the counter—a brand he had never heard of. It was labeled “orchid fragrance.”
He wondered if it was the same brand Wen Yao used.
On the counter, besides the shampoo, there was a facial cleanser and a moisturizer.
The moisturizer was for babies. Other than that, there was nothing else.
A woman with almost no cosmetics or skincare products.
Xing Yu opened the door and walked out, seeing Wen Yao still standing where she was.
At first, he had thought she deliberately spilled water on him to seduce him.
Now, he was certain—that wasn’t her intention.
“I’ll head back first.”
Wen Yao pressed her lips together and walked him to the door.
“Take care, President Xing.”
She closed the door as soon as she finished speaking.
Xing Yu: “…”
After going downstairs, he looked around the residential area. It was very old—there wasn’t even property management.
Located in an alley, there were no streetlights, making it even less safe.
He took out his phone and called a friend.
“I’m at Jingxiang Old Street. There are very few streetlights here, and the alley has none at all. It feels unsafe.”
“It is unsafe. Cases of robbery and stalking happen quite often. Just tonight, there was a stalking and attempted assault case—but luckily, the victim was quite quick-witted.”
Hearing this, Xing Yu thought of the two police officers he had encountered earlier while going upstairs. There were only two households on the fifth floor.
“Who was the victim?”
“A young woman named Wen Yao. Why, do you know her?”
Xing Yu had only been guessing—he hadn’t expected it to really be her. “Mm, she’s an employee at my company. Has the person been caught?”
“Not yet. Don’t worry, I’ve already had people pull surveillance footage from nearby areas. We’ll catch the suspect as soon as possible.”
“Good. Let’s grab a drink another day.”
After hanging up, Xing Yu called a comrade who worked in the government.
“I’m planning to donate a batch of surveillance cameras and streetlights.”
“Why the sudden idea to donate these?”
“Just on a whim. The Jingxiang Old Street area—make the arrangements. I’ll cover the costs.”
Wen Yao looked at her daughter, who was still fast asleep on the bed. She had no idea what Xing Yu had taken her out to do today that left her this exhausted.
She closed the door, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and opened her laptop.
She clicked on a job recruitment website and began searching for suitable positions.
After browsing for two hours, she applied to four companies.
Even if there weren’t layoffs, she still wanted to resign.
Working in the same company as Xing Yu—it was only a matter of time before her real name was exposed.
The next morning at work, Wen Yao submitted her design draft.
Zhang Wenbin didn’t bring her breakfast today, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
Not long after, Zhang Wenbin tossed her design draft back at her.
“Look at what you’ve designed. What is this? Redo it!”
Wen Yao knew he was deliberately making things difficult for her, but she had no choice. He was the department manager—she could only redo it.
After Zhang Wenbin left, Li Shu couldn’t help complaining, “What’s wrong with Manager Zhang today? Wasn’t he very gentle when talking to you before?”
“I don’t know,” Wen Yao replied. She knew his attitude had changed because she had clearly rejected him, but she couldn’t say that out loud.
After sending out her resume, Wen Yao kept an eye on her phone. Out of the four companies, only two contacted her for interviews.
She took two hours off work to attend them.
While waiting, she realized there were many candidates.
When it was her turn, the interviewers—a man and a woman—only asked some routine questions before asking her to wait for further notice.
At the second company, the interviewer asked, “Can you accept a lower salary?”
“Can you accept overtime?”
Wen Yao had already checked the listed salary before applying and had lowered her expectations. Now they were asking for even less—she couldn’t accept that.
As for overtime, she couldn’t accept that either. She had to pick up Xinxin. If she worked overtime, no one would take care of her.
“I can’t accept that. Sorry for the trouble.”
Wen Yao stood up and walked out.
After work, Wen Yao slung her bag over her shoulder and left the company.
While waiting for the bus, an Audi stopped in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Zhang Wenbin’s somewhat lecherous face. “Wen Yao, I’ll give you a ride.”
“No need. Thank you, Manager Zhang.”
Unwilling to give up, Zhang Wenbin pushed the car door open and got out. “HR has already started recruiting designers. Do you know what that means?”
Of course Wen Yao knew—recruiting designers meant layoffs in the design department.
She had been there the shortest time and didn’t have any standout work. She would be the one laid off.
Zhang Wenbin added, “If you don’t want to lose this job, I can give you a chance.”
“Manager Zhang, I do want to keep this job. But if it means selling myself for it, I can’t do that. Goodbye.”
After saying that, Wen Yao turned to leave—but her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and she was pulled back.
“Wen Yao, have I been too nice to you?”
Wen Yao struggled to pull her hand free, but the difference in strength between them was too great. Even using all her strength, she couldn’t break free.
“Manager Zhang, please let go of me.”
At that moment, a cold, deep voice sounded—
“Manager Zhang, what exactly are you doing?”
Wen Yao looked up and froze when she saw Xing Yu appear out of nowhere.