The eternal dance of power played out like clockwork - oppression breeding resistance, resistance inviting further oppression. Song Qi Nian, unable to topple Xie Xueyi, had become an irritating splinter that Xie Xueyi couldn't extract.
The harassment was relentless. Xie Xueyi orchestrated a campaign of petty torments - creating roadblocks in Song Qi Nian's work, turning colleagues against her through whispered conversations, and stooping to childish pranks like slipping cockroaches into her drinks. Each act more repulsive than the last.
Yang Hongbin still walked on eggshells around Song Qi Nian after her visit to the CEO's office. In an attempt to smooth things over, he arranged a department dinner.
"Nian Nian, are you really going?" Miao Ziai couldn't hide her concern.
Song Qi Nian's lips curved into a subtle smile. "Why wouldn't I?"
Though she might tremble before Shen Chi Yan, Song Qi Nian wasn't one to let others walk all over her. During these tense weeks, she'd finally confirmed what she'd suspected - Xie Xueyi was indeed Yang Hongbin's mistress. No wonder she strutted through the Planning Department as if she owned it, while everyone else averted their eyes.
At the Venus Hotel, the Planning Department gathered around a single table. Yang Hongbin raised his wine glass, his smile calculatedly warm as he addressed the group.
"Everyone, let's welcome two new additions to our Planning Department - Song Qi Nian and Miss Lin Lanxing."
Lin Lanxing made no secret of her prestigious family background, and everyone knew she was merely interning at Dingsheng Group. The deference they showed her was palpable.
After the initial toast, the ritual of individual toasts began, glasses clinking across the table.
The office was abuzz with activity as colleagues flocked to congratulate Xie Xueyi, each raising their glasses in her direction. Everyone knew about her relationship with Yang Hongbin, and they were eager to get into her good graces.
In the corner, Song Qi Nian observed the scene with detachment, keeping her distance from the festivities.
"How does it feel, Song Qi Nian?" Lin Lanxing approached her with a wine glass, voice dripping with spite. "To be the office pariah?"
Song Qi Nian met her gaze with indifference.
"Don't you get it?" Lin Lanxing pressed on. "Xie Xueyi is Yang Hongbin's mistress. Going against her is career suicide."
A slight smile played across Song Qi Nian's lips, which only served to infuriate Lin Lanxing further. The fact that this woman could still smile after everything they'd done to her was maddening.
The evening progressed until Xie Xueyi, unsteady on her feet, made her way to the bathroom. Moments later, Yang Hongbin received a napkin. His eyes widened at the message written in lipstick: "Bad boy, I'm waiting for you in the bathroom."
The alcohol coursing through his system clouded his judgment, and desire took over. He headed toward the bathroom without a second thought.
The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically when a woman in her forties burst in, her face contorted with rage. "Where's Yang Hongbin?"
"He went to the bathroom," someone offered. Before they could ask who she was, she stormed off in that direction.
"That's the manager's wife," a voice whispered, and the crowd followed, drawn to the impending drama.
They found Yang Hongbin and Xie Xueyi locked in an embrace by the bathroom door. The sight sent his wife into a blind fury. "You bastard!" she screamed. "You've been keeping a mistress behind my back!"
She lunged forward, grabbing Xie Xueyi by the hair and striking her face twice in quick succession. The slaps cut through Xie Xueyi's drunken haze, leaving her head spinning.
"Look at her!" Yang Hongbin's wife demanded, addressing the growing crowd. "Look at this homewrecker who destroys families!"
The woman yanked at Xie Xueyi's off-shoulder dress with such force that it tore apart, leaving her exposed in front of the growing crowd. Some people rushed forward to intervene, while others pulled out their phones, eager to capture the scandal.
Song Qi Nian watched the scene unfold, her face betraying no emotion.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Lin Lanxing approached her with dawning realization.
Song Qi Nian met her gaze and shrugged innocently.
Meanwhile, in another private room of the hotel, Shen Chi Yan sat with Gong Yuqi and Yu Sinian, finally having found time to meet.
"Hey, Wang Dachui told me your mute wife is quite the beauty - practically a human dessert," one of them said. "When are you going to introduce her to us?"
"Wang Dachui?"
"Oh, that's Nancy, my stylist."
Shen Chi Yan absently stroked Little Black's white fur, drawing contented meows from the cat. He snorted. "Human dessert? Sweet? I wouldn't say that."
"How would you know if you haven't had a taste?"
Shen Chi Yan fell silent.
As he petted Little Black's neck, his attention caught on the bell attached to its collar, which chimed softly with each movement. He thought of how Song Qi Nian moved without making a sound. His dark eyes shifted to Yu Siyue in the wheelchair. "Siyue, where did you get this bell?"
"You don't have any pets. What do you need a bell for?"
Shen Chi Yan just raised his eyebrows in response.
Gong Yuqi laughed. "Isn't it obvious? It's for his mute little wife."
A commotion erupted outside. Little Black's ears perked up at the noise, and with a quick meow, the cat leaped from Shen Chi Yan's lap and darted out the door.
"Hey, Little Black, don't run around..."
The crowd in the hallway had grown larger. Song Qi Nian was about to leave when something furry suddenly landed in her arms.
"Meow~"
The soft fur beneath her fingers triggered something in Song Qi Nian's mind. As she heard the cat's cry and looked down at it in her arms, a horrific memory surfaced. A boy with a knife, slicing open a cat's belly, turning to her with a bright smile: "Nian Nian, look! The blood is so red. Should I save it to make paint for you?"
Her face drained of color. Panic overtook her, and she threw the cat away from her body.
"Meow meow~" The cat landed and cried out twice.
Gong Yuqi emerged just in time to witness Little Black being tossed to the ground. "Little Black!" He rushed to scoop up the cat, checking for injuries. His cold glare at Song Qi Nian stopped short when he saw her face - eyes wide with terror, body trembling, skin pale as paper.
The harsh words died in his throat. What could have happened? What had Little Black done to terrify her like this?
Shen Chi Yan and Yu Sinian stepped out then. The crowd tensed at Shen Chi Yan's appearance.
"President Shen..."
Shen Chi Yan's expression darkened when he recognized the troublemakers from Dingsheng Group's Planning Department. His presence alone was enough to make Yang Hongbin's wife back down, bringing the scene to an abrupt end.
The crowd dispersed quickly. Song Qi Nian tried to leave too, but her legs wouldn't cooperate.
Lin Lanxing, caught off guard by the presence of Shen Chi Yan, Gong Yuqi, and Yu Sinian, approached Song Qi Nian with barely concealed glee. "You're finished, Song Qi Nian. How dare you throw Brother Sinian's cat?"
But Song Qi Nian couldn't hear her. The world around her had dissolved into chaos, everything tinted with that terrible red.
Gong Yuqi noticed something was wrong - perhaps the cat had truly frightened her. Before he could speak, Song Qi Nian's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. He lunged forward, catching her before she hit the ground...
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