After work in the evening, Ke Wenxue and Yin Xiang intercepted Xu Miyu on her way back to the dormitory.
They steered her toward the commercial street.
Ke Wenxue linked arms with Xu Miyu and said, "Come on, Sister Xu, let's go get facials with us!"
Yin Xiang, walking on her other side, added, "Yes, let's freshen up so we can keep fighting those monsters and demons!"
Xu Miyu was dragged along in a daze.
Her plan to negotiate with Ji Feng to overthrow the foreman had nearly collapsed, and she hadn't thought of a new approach yet; her mother's demands for money had been ringing in her ears all day, making her wish she could just disappear from Xing City. She had been feeling down the entire day. But now, she seemed to be slightly invigorated by the enthusiasm of the two younger women.
The beauty salon Ke Wenxue and the others took her to was, coincidentally, part of the same chain as one near her home before she got divorced. Back then, to keep her skin supple and radiant, she had visited frequently.
After the divorce, her life plummeted to rock bottom, and she never went for facials again. Stepping into a beauty salon once more today gave her a surreal sense of having traveled through time.
When she went to the front desk and provided her phone number to access her membership card, she discovered there were still several unused treatments left.
Her gloomy mood suddenly lifted a little. Life wasn't entirely hopeless—this small surprise was enough to comfort her heart, which had been broken and sad all day.
She ended up treating Ke Wenxue and Yin Xiang to facials as well.
Ke Wenxue and Yin Xiang were both delighted. Lying on the beauty beds, Ke Wenxue said cheerfully, "Sister Xu, look, we were the ones who wanted to treat you to some pampering, but in the end, you're the one spoiling us. How embarrassing, haha!"
Yin Xiang also remarked, "Sister Xu, since you have a beauty card, why don't you come more often to take care of yourself?"
Xu Miyu wondered, why didn't she?
Because after the divorce, she had stopped cherishing herself.
"I don't know who I'd be beautifying myself for," she replied somewhat gloomily.
"For yourself!" Ke Wenxue exclaimed. "Life is so hard these days! Since it's so tough, of course, all good things should be for yourself first!"
She couldn't help turning to Yin Xiang and saying, "When it comes to loving yourself, you're the expert. Hurry up and share some tips with Sister Xu."
Yin Xiang retorted, "Oh, stop it," then said, "Sister Xu, in today's society, it's not selfishness you should fear—it's selflessness. If no one loves you, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that you love yourself fiercely! Especially in relationships, scumbags, gigolos, and other scum of the earth should just get lost. I deserve the best!"
She didn't dare to be too blunt or harsh, so she could only gently guide Xu Miyu, hoping to persuade her that instead of grieving over scumbags, she should focus on loving herself.
"People say I'm materialistic, and yes, I admit it. I just want to be good to myself. I love myself intensely and always want the best things for me first. Sister Xu, do you think that makes me selfish? But if I always put men first, slowly those rotten men will start thinking I don't deserve good things and that they can just give me worthless stuff. How can that be? Even if I'm just an ordinary person in others' eyes, I'm a princess in my own eyes. I have to love myself well!"Ke Wenxue lay on the beauty bed, applauding Yin Xiang.
"Sister Xu, listen to that—what a resounding declaration of self-love! People really must learn to love themselves. Sister Xu, you truly need to love yourself more!"
As Xu Miyu lay on the beauty bed, she thought that although these girls had their minor flaws, they were genuinely good young ladies. She could tell they were trying to lift her spirits, encouraging her to set everything aside and first learn to love herself.
In this lifetime, the only person who had cared for her in the first half of her life was Nie Yucheng, but he was now someone else's husband and father.
Now, she felt cared for by these two young girls.
Her heart, which had been cold all day, suddenly grew warm. She felt that the hard-won goals and bit of fighting spirit she had managed to summon shouldn't be so easily dampened.
So what if she thought she was strategizing brilliantly, only to end up being used as a pawn? Why should she let that hold her back? If she was so easily discouraged, it ultimately came down to not having learned to love herself.
She realized Yin Xiang and Ke Wenxue were right—she should set aside all her worries and properly learn how to love herself.
Over the next few days, taking advantage of the remaining sessions on her beauty card, Xu Miyu came after work every day for treatments. Although she could sense Zhang Cailu's predatory gaze at work, she remained extremely cautious and hadn't yet given Zhang Cailu any grounds to have her dismissed.
Lying on the beauty bed, she thought: As long as Zhang Cailu hasn't managed to drive her away, she still had a chance, didn't she?
After several days of beauty treatments, her entire demeanor underwent a noticeable transformation. Her condition improved significantly, almost returning to how she looked as a happy young woman before marriage.
It turned out that if one temporarily set aside other concerns and prioritized self-love, it was quite easy to become radiant.
After completing several days of beauty treatments, Ke Wenxue circled around Xu Miyu, clicking her tongue in admiration: "Oh my, Sister Xu! After getting rid of that haggard look on your face, you're actually so beautiful! Oh my, young lady! I thought you were a faded woman, a middle-aged housewife, but actually you're a beauty who hasn't been taking proper care of herself! Look at your skin—it's so fair and smooth! You don't look thirty at all—twenty-five or twenty-six at most! No wonder Li Kunlun told me earlier that you're not really like a faded woman, that you're actually quite pretty. We even laughed at him for having questionable taste. Well, I'll go apologize to him later!"
Xu Miyu couldn't help but feel happy under such effusive praise.
However, this happiness was nearly shattered by Jiao Xiumei's relentless phone calls.
Jiao Xiumei bombarded her with overwhelming pressure to provide money.
"Little Surplus, let me ask you—do you still consider me your mother? Will you only be happy seeing your mother driven to despair? How many days has it been, and you still haven't come up with the money? Are you deliberately trying to prevent your brother from getting married and let the Xu family line die out?"
Jiao Xiumei continued, working herself up into dramatic sobs: "Third child, please understand how difficult things are for your mother. At my age, how many happy days do I have left to live? I just want to see your brother get married. We're only short these two hundred thousand—you could give your brother a warm home with this. Please help him, won't you?"Xu Miyu truly wished she had that two hundred thousand. Just to avoid Jiao Xiumei's masterfully performed, grating lamentations, she would have handed it over instantly to buy permanent peace from her mother's pestering. But she genuinely didn't have it.
"Mom, I really have no money left. If you want, you can knock me out and sell my kidneys."
Hearing this, Jiao Xiumei immediately flared up: "Xu Miyu, am I not speaking to you nicely enough? Fine! Let this mother lay down an ultimatum for once. Weren't you swearing up and down about having no money before? Okay—three days. I'm giving you three final days. If you're still hiding money and refusing to pay for your brother's wedding, you might as well go die! I'll buy an insurance policy right now with your brother as the beneficiary!"
Xu Miyu listened with a chilled heart to these curses—these vicious imprecations from her own birth mother. But that wasn't the end of it. Madam Jiao Xiumei continued her unrestrained verbal assault:
"Don't think I'm just making empty threats! Count on your fingers—see if I won't come for you when these three days are up! If you don't die then, I will! See if I won't really jump off a building right in front of you! Let everyone know it was you who drove your own mother to suicide! Xu Miyu, if you don't come up with that two hundred thousand for your brother in three days, I swear by the Jade Emperor—either you die before me, or I'll die before your eyes! Remember that!"
After this torrent of abuse, Jiao Xiumei hung up.
Xu Miyu felt suffocated, her chest tight as if blocked.
It took her a long while to finally catch her breath. She prepared to go to the locker room to change and end her shift.
Just then, Zhang Cailu approached to notify her: "Sister Xu, don't leave yet." She looked Xu Miyu over and couldn't resist adding, "Tsk, Sister Xu, you're looking quite radiant lately. Did something good happen recently?"
Xu Miyu had no energy to engage with her and asked directly: "Foreman, what do you need me for?"
Zhang Cailu went "Oh" and said: "Right. There's some victory celebration party in the top-floor VIP suite today. They specifically requested you to go up." She paused, then told Xu Miyu, "So, Sister Xu, don't clock out yet. Work some overtime and go upstairs?"
Suddenly her eyes flickered, and she shifted her tone with a smile: "Sister Xu, you're really something. You've only been here a short while but already have connections on the top floor, always getting requested by the VIP guests up there. If I had your skills, I'd wake up laughing from dreams."
Xu Miyu didn't know how to respond to this. She couldn't even tell if it was genuine praise or sarcasm.
She only knew the one requesting her was likely Duan Aoxiang again. And no matter how much she didn't want to go, she had no choice—even if it were a dragon's pool and tiger's den up there today, she had to go serve. Otherwise, Zhang Cailu would have her third unsatisfactory service complaint opportunity.
Under Zhang Cailu's expectant gaze, she replied: "Alright, I'll go up now."
She mentally steadied herself, telling herself not to panic. A week had already passed—Duan Aoxiang's anger should have long subsided.
She bolstered her courage: It's fine, don't be afraid. If it gets unbearable, just run away.
Thinking this, she took the elevator to the top floor.
The elevator arrived at the top floor. With a soft chime, the doors slid slowly open.Xu Miyu could hear boisterous voices emanating from Duan Aoxiang's luxury suite even before she reached the elevator. The sounds carried an air of extravagant indulgence and heavy intoxication.
She recalled Zhang Cailu mentioning just before the elevator arrived that the CEO on the top floor, Mr. Duan, had recently closed a cross-border deal and was hosting a celebration party with his business partners tonight.
Though she had mentally prepared herself, the thought still made Xu Miyu's legs feel weak.
Duan Aoxiang had suffered losses both internally and externally, yet he had to grit his teeth and host this celebration party for Ji Feng and Prayut. It was easy to imagine that the more Ji Feng and Prayut enjoyed themselves at the party, the more Duan Aoxiang would seethe with the desire to tear apart the person who had caused him these losses—the very person he was now forced to cheerfully host a celebration for.
And that person was her.
Xu Miyu swallowed hard, her legs feeling so heavy she could barely move.
The elevator doors began to close again after opening. She quickly stopped them. Steeling herself, she thought: It's fine, we live in a society governed by law. No matter how wealthy Duan Aoxiang is, he can't actually kill me.
After mustering another wave of courage, she stepped out of the elevator.
Before she even reached the suite's entrance, she could hear Duan Aoxiang speaking. As she approached, she saw him standing at the doorway talking to his assistant, A Ni. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and one of his eyes was slightly squinted from the smoke.
Noticing a staff member approaching from the elevator, he turned his head and asked lazily through the thin haze of smoke: "Where did you pop out from? Who allowed you up here? Where's that Xu Miyu?"
His questions caught Xu Miyu off guard, leaving her momentarily confused about his meaning.
Suddenly, Duan Aoxiang reached up and removed the cigarette from his mouth. The thin veil of smoke dissipated.
He leaned forward, peering closely at Xu Miyu's face.
Then he whistled and clicked his tongue: "Looks like scheming against your Lord Duan has been treating you well. How did you become so radiant in just a few days?"
As he spoke, he raised his hand provocatively to touch Xu Miyu's cheek. Upon contact, he made another appreciative sound.
The texture was delicate, cool yet resilient and smooth. It stirred something within him.
She wasn't really a faded woman after all. This was no longer the older sister he had first met. Now she looked like a fresh, vibrant woman in her twenties.
She'd make a worthwhile target for hunting and playing with. This woman did have something uniquely intriguing—she always managed to flip men's emotions about her. From behind, she appeared to be a young maiden, but turned out to be a faded woman. Just when you thought she was a faded woman, she suddenly transformed as if having consumed the Monk's meat of immortality, becoming radiant and fresh. You'd think she'd be easy to bully and would cry after a little rough treatment, yet despite all the torment, not a single tear had been seen. You'd assume she'd be clumsy and easy to order around, but at critical moments she somehow possessed unexpected abilities that could ruin his plans.
Unfortunately, the moment he remembered how this woman had destroyed his carefully laid plans, his anger resurfaced, extinguishing any desire to continue teasing her.
Startled by Duan Aoxiang's touch, Xu Miyu immediately stepped back to avoid him.
"I'll go to the bar to prepare drinks for you," she quickly found an excuse to slip away from Duan Aoxiang's side.Duan Aoxiang put the cigarette back in his mouth, squinting as he watched Xu Miyu’s retreating figure. Xu Miyu went to the bar, picked up a tray of drinks, and went to serve the guests he had invited.
He saw Xu Miyu pass by the sofa with the drink tray and exchange a glance with Ji Feng, who was sitting there.
Ji Feng gave her a cold look before turning away. After he averted his gaze, Xu Miyu lowered her eyes as well. Then Xue Rui stepped forward and said something to her. She immediately looked up, her eyes widening as she glanced at Ji Feng, her gaze shifting restlessly as if she had bitten her lip. Meanwhile, someone snapped their fingers, calling for drinks. Only then did Xu Miyu walk away with the tray.
Duan Aoxiang watched everything unfold and let out a cold laugh.
On the night of the contract signing, even though Xu Miyu had flawlessly completed everything she was supposed to do—whether it was exposing Duan Aoxiang or cleaning the entire suite’s bathroom—Ji Feng still couldn’t muster even a shred of goodwill toward her.
In fact, the more perfectly she accomplished everything, the more he disliked and resented her.
In his eyes, her hard work was nothing more than a bargaining chip—an attempt to get him to help fulfill her dream of overthrowing the head attendant.
He had no favorable impression of scheming people who always sought shortcuts by relying on others.
Nevertheless, he prepared himself for her to approach him and demand that he fulfill his end of the bargain.
But surprisingly, days passed, and she never came up to see him.
He didn’t know whether she was playing hard to get or if she no longer needed his help to realize her dream of ousting the head attendant.
What he did know was that his mood was foul. From being cornered into her terms and conditions to her not showing up to claim them, he felt as if he had been the passive one all along.
After waiting for so long, he decided that since she hadn’t brought it up again after all these days, he would consider the matter expired. He didn’t want her to succeed in endlessly manipulating his emotions.
Over the past couple of days, he had Xue Rui transfer the acquisition funds to Prayut and took over Prayut’s local properties. Tonight, Duan Aoxiang insisted on dragging them to a celebration party for the successful completion of the deal.
Acting as if he knew nothing and as if nothing had ever happened, Duan Aoxiang pulled him aside with a grin and said, “Old Ji, you have to come to the celebration tonight. It’s rare for our first collaboration to go so smoothly and successfully, don’t you think? If you don’t show up tonight, I’ll go to your room and roll around wildly on your bed. I know how much you hate anyone getting near your bed, so think carefully about the consequences of not coming!”
After extending the invitation, Duan Aoxiang turned to his assistant A Ni and said, “Go tell the hotel to assign Xu Miyu to serve us upstairs again tonight.”
He hadn’t wanted to come. But whether it was out of a slight concern that Duan Aoxiang might seek revenge against the woman tonight or a desire to see if she was indeed playing hard to get with him, he still showed up and took a seat at the celebration.
Not long after he sat down, he looked up and saw Xu Miyu.
He glanced at her. He didn’t know what had happened to her over the past few days, but she seemed like a completely different person. The former Xu Miyu had been haggard, aged, and sallow. On the night of the contract signing, she had tidied up and looked much more spirited, but that was likely due to makeup. Today, however, her complexion was pale and cool, her features clear and delicate.So presumably she had been doing well these past few days and no longer needed to fulfill her dream of overthrowing the supervisor. Yet he had still been waiting for her to come up and make her demand.
He turned and instructed Xue Rui to relay a message to her.
Xu Miyu moved through the crowd of guests, carrying a tray of drinks.
As she approached the sofa area, she spotted Ji Feng.
He was leaning back on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, his eyes lowered as he tapped away on his tablet. His cold, restrained, and aloof aura stood in stark contrast to the lively, indulgent atmosphere around him.
Duan Aoxiang had invited many beautiful girls tonight, encouraging them to mingle and chat with the guests.
But not a single one of them could get close to Ji Feng’s sofa.
Glancing accidentally at his tablet, she was even more surprised. The aloof and elegant man sitting there, engrossed in his device, was actually playing a farming and harvesting game—something that could hardly even be called a game. She hadn’t expected to see such a "contrast" in Ji Feng.
He suddenly looked up.
He saw her but only gave her a cold, fleeting glance before turning his attention away.
Then his assistant, Xue Rui, approached her and greeted her, saying, "Ms. Xu, given that you haven’t contacted us for so many days, Mr. Ji believes you no longer need to fulfill the condition you previously mentioned."
After hearing Xue Rui’s words, Xu Miyu couldn’t help but look at Ji Feng again in surprise.
So he hadn’t just used her as a pawn—he really had intended to help her bring down the supervisor.
Her thoughts swirled, and her gaze shifted with them.
But according to Xue Rui’s implication, since she hadn’t taken the initiative to contact them all this time, he now assumed she no longer needed the condition fulfilled.
She bit her lip unconsciously, her heart filled with conflicting emotions, unsure of what to say.
So, in just one sentence, a person could give her hope and then immediately snatch it away.
Someone snapped their fingers, calling her to serve drinks. Distractedly, she walked away with her tray.
Watching Xu Miyu walk away from Ji Feng with her tray, Duan Aoxiang let out a cold, sinister laugh.
"A Ni, look at them—so many meaningful glances. How amusing. Those two are still pretending not to know each other."
It was three days after signing the contract that Duan Aoxiang began to grasp what had really happened.
It was a comment from A Ni that gave him the clue.
A Ni said, "Aoxiang, don’t you think it’s strange? I’ve heard that Mr. Ji has strict rules and never allows housekeepers or service staff into his suite easily. So why did he suddenly let that Xu Miyu in? Was he deliberately helping her escape from you? And besides, he’s such a cold and calculating person—he never helps others unless it benefits him. Why would he help Xu Miyu?"
That one remark made Duan Aoxiang start to piece together what had really happened.
Though he was a playboy, he wasn’t stupid.
If he thought carefully and read between the lines, he could still uncover clues.
Last time, during the contract signing, he had specifically arranged for Xu Miyu to be brought up. He found it amusing to torment her and wanted to continue doing so. But now, upon careful reflection, he recalled the look of surprise on her face when she saw him—as if she hadn’t expected him to be the one who called her up.
If, in her mind, he wasn’t the one who had summoned her, then who did she think had called her up?—That person must have been someone she had previously been in contact with.
And what were they privately communicating about before?
—Most likely, that woman went to inform that person that she understood Thai and had comprehended exactly what Duan Aoxiang said during the first meeting.
That’s why, during the contract signing, the scene unfolded where she exposed the transaction amount on the spot—making him fail in his attempt to gain an advantage while suffering a loss, forcing him to swallow his pride and accept the bitter pill. And after swallowing it, he still had to join in the lively celebrations for others.
There was just one thing he couldn't figure out: why did that woman want to help Ji Feng? Did she have a crush on him? Then why hadn't she taken a liking to him instead?
What did Ji Feng have that he didn't?
They were about the same height. Ji Feng had money, but so did his own family. Ji Feng was handsome, but he wasn't bad-looking either. If someone were to say he had a rotten temper, well, Ji Feng's disposition wasn't any better—he was downright difficult to get along with.
So what was she after?
Later, A Ni found a reason for him.
"That time when the woman first came up to clean the restroom, you were drunk and almost slapped her. It was Ji Feng who showed up just in time and stopped you. Maybe that's why."
Duan Aoxiang thought about it, and with that connection, everything made sense.
"Heh, how amusing. Those two are still putting on an act for me." Duan Aoxiang held a cigarette between his lips, watching Ji Feng and Xu Miyu, his tone turning increasingly grim. "Do they really think I'm too stupid to figure it out? It's my own fault for getting too carried away—I thought I'd finally made Ji Feng eat his share of humble pie. Everything went so smoothly that I let my guard down, and as a result, he teamed up with that cheap woman to play me. And then he acts like nothing happened, thinking I wouldn't realize he and that woman were performing a duet, thinking he'd cleared himself of any blame. Damn it, right now I wish nothing but a living hell for both Ji Feng and that woman!"
Duan Aoxiang took the nearly finished cigarette out of his mouth. A Ni immediately pulled a portable ashtray from his pocket, opened it, and handed it over.
Duan Aoxiang pressed the cigarette butt hard into the ashtray, applying force as if he were crushing someone's head.
They walked over to the bar, where Duan Aoxiang asked the bartender for a whiskey on the rocks. Leaning against the counter, he threw his head back and drank.
The strong alcohol burned its way down his throat, but it was unclear whether it soothed his nerves or further fueled his madness.
Setting the glass down, Duan Aoxiang turned to the bartender and said, "Go wait in the back. Don't come out until I call you."
Once the bartender had left, Duan Aoxiang peered through his glass at Ji Feng, then shifted it to find Xu Miyu weaving through the guests.
He smirked and said to A Ni, "Originally, I called Xu Miyu up here to torment her, humiliate her, and watch her suffer. But now I have a new idea."
Using his glass as a telescope, he observed the distorted figures of Ji Feng and Xu Miyu, a sinister smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
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