Zhuang Xiaoyan retreated shamefully back to her car, no longer wanting anything to do with her so-called friends.
Her hands rested on the steering wheel as her mind raced, replaying her conversation to see if she had said anything inappropriate. She recalled only one remark that might have been construed as disrespectful. "Ignorance is bliss," she thought. Surely she wouldn't suffer the same fate as those from the three great families.
Lin Xiao's face was still vivid in her mind. She had never imagined her luck would be so good to encounter him at this moment. Thankfully, she hadn't blurted out anything foolish.
To calm her nerves, she rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and made no move to start the car.
Just as she finished the cigarette, she noticed a Toyota not far away.
It was Manager Wang's car.
Manager Wang, his face pale and defeated, walked towards the car, clutching his face with a vacant stare.
He had been fired.
Zhuang Xiaoyan exhaled a puff of smoke. Being fired was a minor inconvenience, she mused.
Compared to the Zhou family's ordeal, his situation was merely a drizzle... No, she wondered if she should find an opportunity to apologize to Lin Xiao. What gift should she bring? Did he need anything? Or perhaps... she glanced down at her own figure. While confident in her own physique, she felt a pang of insecurity when compared to Luo Qinghan.
Luo Qinghan was famously known in Sha City for her beauty and figure, admired by countless admirers.
She remembered one particularly grand occasion: Luo Qinghan's coming-of-age ceremony. The number of people who had flocked to the Luo family's doorstep with gifts likely surpassed the entire staff of the Luo family's company.
The value of the gifts Luo Qinghan received on her eighteenth birthday would have been enough to purchase an entire villa complex in West Lake.
She felt inadequate...
As Zhuang Xiaoyan's thoughts swirled chaotically, she suddenly heard a commotion. Manager Wang, who had yet to get into his car, was suddenly pulled aside by several people who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere and were now pinning him to the ground.
What was happening?
The cigarette in Zhuang Xiaoyan's hand trembled. She wanted to watch, but her reason screamed at her that she absolutely must not. If she did, she was doomed.
She flicked away the cigarette butt, rolled up her window, and prepared to drive away.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sound of someone knocking on her car window made Zhuang Xiaoyan jump. She stiffly turned her head to look outside.
A young man stood by her door, gesturing for her to roll down the window.
She dared not open it. Her gaze shifted past him to the scene behind him, where the group seemed to be brutally beating Manager Wang.
The next second, she heard the sound of a door opening. Her car door had been opened, and the young man who had been at her window was now sitting in the passenger seat.
"Miss Zhuang."
Ye Chen looked at her and called out.
"Yes!"
Zhuang Xiaoyan responded loudly, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Don't be nervous, don't be scared." Ye Chen made a calming gesture. Then, he met her gaze directly. "Do you know why I've come to find you?"
"Because... Lin Xiao..."
Zhuang Xiaoyan's peripheral vision caught sight of Manager Wang. He was now unconscious.