The morning sunlight of a summer day in the country "L" penetrated the heavy curtains and hit the two figures on the bed...
Xia Ningxi opened her sleepy eyes and looked at the unique tranquility of the room, so tired...
"Awake?"
A deep, magnetic voice unique to men sounded in her ears, causing her brain to jolt, slightly tilting her head to look over...
She only saw a face so handsome it seemed inhuman looking back at her, the deeply set features, those black eyes lazily focused on her...
"...Good morning," Xia Ningxi fairly forced her mouth into a rigid smile in internal shock, memories of last night flooded back in like a tide.
She'd lost her virginity!
She remembered that Saline had found her a hot guy in room 406 of the country's Hua Hotel, pledging to help her, the unorthodox outlier, part with her first time.
This time she had gone all out, heading straight for the hotel room, sure enough there was a good-looking guy inside, moreover a guy with a lot of aura, they silently appreciated each other for ten minutes, then tumbled into bed without a word!
But this hot guy seemed like it had been a long time since he'd been with a woman, his actions were not only rough, he was impatient like a little boy, he looked to be in his twenties, right?
"What's your name?"
The man held her tightly around her slender waist, burying his head in her snowy neck and asked in a low voice.
Xia Ningxi, feeling the sourness and pain all over her body, croaked out a dry laugh and said: "No need to mention it, right? We don't need to see each other afterward!"
"Hm?" The man looked up at her with his deep and magnetic voice. "Your name!" He really did not like this kind of ever evasive trick!
"Don't you understand people's words? Or did Saline not make it clear to you?" Xia Ningxi frowned, tried her best to get up, this man was really troublesome, couldn't he just have a one-night stand without asking for names? She didn't ask him to take responsibility!
"Who is Seline?" Xiao Yi squinted, pressing her beneath him, his mind racing at an incredible speed.
As a twenty-five year old man who had never touched a woman before, he was already considered an alien by many of his friends. Especially in his social circle, people of his status usually had countless encounters with women as teenagers.
Finally, during a rare break on his business trip, he had someone find a decent girl for him. She looked young, but was indeed attractive. Except for her annoying golden curls, her eyes were quite clean. So, despite a bit of reluctance, he chose her. The experience was much better than he expected. No wonder those people switched women like changing horses! However, her tactics were too crude. He had encountered countless such situations where they would pretend to be aloof in front of him. She was still too immature!
"What the hell are you pretending? Don't tell me you walked into the wrong room. This is room 406 in the Guohua Hotel! If you weren't called here by Seline, how the hell did you get here?" Xia Ningxi mockingly laughed, this man should not think that just because he is handsome, he can be painfully persistent! Can't he be straightforward?
The deep darkness in Xiao Yi's eyes revealed a trace of coolness. He quietly looked at her immature face and said, "Didn't you know there is another Guohua Hotel on Qingping Road?"
Xia Ningxi was taken aback. She stuttered, without thinking, "Then... then you didn't ask and just.. just went to bed with.... with the woman who came to your door?"
"Heh..." Xiao Yi subtly corners of his mouth rose, he got up, preparing to head to the bathroom, "You even said it yourself - a woman who comes to the door. Do you pounce into bed as soon as you see a stranger man, without any questions?"
He laughed, picked up his clothes and looked back at her as if he was teasing her, and then walked into the bathroom.
Xia Ningxi rubbed her forehead, tried to clear her mind, and concluded two choices. First, wait for him to come out and continue the awkwardness. Second, put on her clothes quickly and sneak out, pretending nothing happened as if it was all a dream.
She took a deep breath, enduring the soreness all over her body, jumped off the bed, picked up the clothes he threw away last night, and decisively chose the second option!
Once dressed, the sound of water in the bathroom was still resonating. She thought she should at least leave an explanation. She left a note from her bag and timidly opened the door of the room.
Outside, an old-fashioned man who had been standing there since last night was leaning against the wall. He seemed to glance at her, closed his eyes again, and stayed silent. Xia Ningxi calmly controlled her footsteps and walked ahead, not starting to dash until she turned the corner. Did losing her virginity really make her feel this guilty?
When Xiao Yi came out of the bathroom, the figure on the bed was already gone. He walked over with a slight fury and read the note she left. It read: "Dear Sir, although we have an awkward relationship neither of us wanted, it was my first time, and you didn't lose anything. Consider it just a one-time fling. I believe you do not like women who keep pestering you. We will not meet again, bye!"
He tightly held the note and opened the door of the room to step out. The man outside, named Shang Qiang, immediately stood up straight looking at his furious face.
"How long has she been gone?"
Shang Qiang swallowed his saliva, saying blankly, "Around ten minutes."
Xiao Yi worked out the timeline for exiting the hotel, eventually looking at him with reluctance, "Did anyone else come over last night?"
"Around ten, a woman came, but I stopped her!" Indeed, he didn't want anyone to disturb the boss's first night; it would be deemed most unfortunate! But something seems off?
"Huh..." Xiao Yi suppressed his inner fury. His ordinarily expressionless face was tinged with an unprecedented hint of violence. Good job, she had the audacity to flee after being in his bed. Woman, you better not get caught by me!
It is evident that a man who indulges his desires is not to be trifled with...
Five years later.
"See? That woman got in here through connections..."
"No wonder someone from a second-tier university can join our company..."
Two women in professional mini-skirts stood in the pantry, whispering while watching the sweet girl with middle-parted, gently curled long hair who just walked into the door.
Such rumors have already spread throughout the department, yet the girl seemed oblivious as she poured herself a cup of coffee and headed straight back to her desk.
"Xia Ningxi, these are documents from the company we are collaborating with recently. Sort them by the timeline and remember to hand them in before you knock off. The director needs them for the meeting tomorrow morning!"
A woman in her thirties or forties, dressed in professional attire, dumped a thick stack of documents on her desk.
Xia Ningxi adjusted the documents, raised her head, and smiled, "I will get them done today, Director."
"Beware of mistakes. Tomorrow's meeting is very important!" The Director seemed to be reminding her out of good intentions, then left with the sound of clicking high heels.
No one in the department found it strange. Such hectic and thankless tasks prone to mistakes were usually assigned to her. After all, who would like to deal with someone who is incompetent and yet managed to get ahead using connections, especially among these socially sophisticated elites from prestigious universities?
Xia Ningxi had a habit of holding her files and placing them in her drawer, then locking it. With not a shred of complacency allowed in her professional life, she was well aware that everyone at the office disliked her. Yes, she did secure her position through connections, but the company offered high pay and she desperately needed money, even if it meant relying on certain individuals to get here.
"Are you ready?"
In the break room, two women exchanged met each other’s gaze mysteriously. One of them giggled, "I guarantee she won't be here the day after tomorrow!"
With unspoken agreement, each woman returned to her own desk.
Xia Ningxi spent the entire afternoon typing in the data from the document and finally saved it onto a USB at half-past four. After meticulously checking again, she locked it in her drawer, ready to hand it over once the director returned.
"Little Xia, how old are you this year?" One of the women from the break room suddenly came up to her desk, inquiring in a very friendly tone.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Ningxi laughed and replied, "Twenty-three. You're just a little older than me, right, sister Jielyn? You look even younger than me."
This "sister Jielyn" seemed quite pleased by her flattery, giving a coy giggle and sidling closer to whisper in her ear, "Do you know why the director always hands such reject tasks to you?"
"What?" A bit slow to react, Xia Ningxi was startled when Jielyn grabbed her arm and urged, "Come with me, it's not suitable to talk here."
She glanced back at her drawer reluctantly, worrying about damaging her relationship with her coworkers, but was eventually dragged away by Jielyn to their break room.
When Xia Ningxi returned, she was slightly distressed. The director supposedly jealous of her youth and beauty? It sounded so childish!
She opened the drawer, inserted the USB into the computer for one last check before releasing a sigh of relief. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. She couldn’t afford to lose this job; she needed the money!
After handing the USB over to the director, Xia Ningxi started to pack up her things, ready to call it a day, completely oblivious of the two women exchanging strange looks…
Once home, the look of disdain that greeted her from the household help was nothing new. Not that they bothered to hide it from her.
A regular target of such contempt, she was used to it. In fact, she also despised herself. More accurately, she looked down upon herself.
"Is sister home?"
A pure and beautiful woman sat on the sofa, gave a glance upward from her phone at the question.
In the opulent mansion, Xia Ningxi found herself without a place to stand. She changed her shoes and headed to the sofa. "Are you shopping online again?"
Tong Dan didn't stop what she was doing, she said lazily, "Yes, I'm too lazy to spend the money in my card, so I might as well use it online!"
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. Xia Ningxi gripped the armrest of the sofa, staying silent. When the door opened again, an elegant, beautiful woman and a middle-aged man in a suit entered.
"Did Xiaxia come home? Are you getting used to your job?" The beautiful woman, having changed her shoes, walked towards them arm in arm with the middle-aged man. An elegant, caring smile played on her face.
"I’m okay... I'm going to my room. I won't have dinner, I'm on a diet." Xia Ningxi responded awkwardly with a stiff smile, then she picked up her bag and went upstairs.
The middle-aged man frowned as he watched her leave, but didn't say anything. Tong Dan looked at her mother, still smiling softly, a trace of an unnoticed smile curled up at the corner of her mouth.