Chapter 11 Meeting Again

• After the pain was over, all Cen Yao felt was an endless sense of humiliation.
• Knowing Bu Ziang’s personality far too well, the more she retaliated, the more it would provoke him.
• Cen Yao kneeled hopelessly on the bed, like a lifeless puppet waiting to be manipulated by him. With her clothes torn and tattered, she was on the verge of getting raped.
• Out of the blue, she queried airily, “Bu Ziang, do you know who I slept with last night?”
• Her gloomy eyes gradually found focus as she stared straight into the man’s eyes.
• Bu Ziang did not respond, only listening to her as she continued, “It was a prostitute! A prostitute whom I’d spent money on!”
• The man got severely stunned and infuriated. At the same time, as though he had experienced the ultimate humiliation, his countenance rapidly became ferocious and intimidating.
• Gasping angrily twice, he raised a hand swiftly, slapping Cen Yao on her face, “S***!”
• The sound of the slap was crisp and clear.
• Cen Yao’s ear rang incessantly, and she was almost unable to open her eyes. The man glowered at her with his bloodshot eyes, as though he could not wait to skin her alive. Nonetheless, Bu Ziang did not continue with his actions.
• After the door opened noisily with a thud, it slammed shut heavily. The man’s footsteps then disappeared from the bedroom.
• As though she was completely sapped, Cen Yao’s body went soft, falling onto the bed.
• For a long time, her face hurt.
• Her body was equally racked with pain, as though every bone had gotten taken apart.
• But it was just in time… just in time …
• At least she escaped it this time. Also, she believed that Bu Ziang would not harbor such thoughts over her for a long time.
• She lay awkwardly on the bed for a while before struggling to sit up. Forcefully freeing herself from the binds of his necktie, she tossed it into the trash can. After that, she took some clothing and went to the bathroom to bathe.
• In the mirror, her face swelled unrecognizably like a pig’s head, looking particularly ludicrous to her.
• After Cen Yao had finished bathing, she used a towel to apply a cold compress to her face. Shortly after, Jiang Yingying rang her on the phone.
• “Hey. How did things go?” Cen Yao asked her. She was fearful of moving too much while she spoke, because the moment her lips moved, a searing pain swept through her face.
• “Not very well,” Jiang Yingying replied, “It's weird, I tell you. I asked the club manager, and he said that there was no such person. I went through all of their files too, and there’s honestly no such person.”
• “How can this be? Perhaps he’d quit?”
• “I'm guessing the guy was a guerilla.”
• “What does it mean to be a guerilla?”
• “It means that he goes everywhere to try his luck! He'll turn up wherever there are rich women. That's why there isn't any fixed information about him.”
• Cen Yao mused that this was the only possible reason then.
• “It’s okay, Yaoyao. Don't lose too much hope. Since this person has gone to Heaven and Earth before, he's bound to turn up a second time. We can both keep an eye then. Sooner or later, we’ll find him.”
• That was the only thing that they could do now.
• Cen Yao agreed and hung up.
• …
• Cen Yao’s face remained swollen for a few days in a row. Although going to the office with a face like this garnered a lot of attention, everyone only had the courage to gossip behind her back. No one brought it up, out in the open.
• Bu Ziang had been absent from the office for a few days, not even bothering to turn up at home. Cen Yao readily took the opportunity to relax.
• On this day.
• By the time Cen Yao had sent the details of the new project via email to the Board of Directors, it was already past eight, in the night. She rose to let her fluffy hair down and casually tidied it. Taking the suit jacket hanging on the side, she prepared to leave the office. It was at this moment when her phone suddenly rang unexpectedly. She opened her purse, to take a look, only to discover that it was Jiang Yingying who was calling her.
• “Yaoyao, I’ve got some good news!” Jiang Yingying’s excited voice resonated, through the other end of the line.
• Before Cen Yao could query her further, she heard Jiang Yingying say, “Hurry up and come to Heaven and Earth! What's-his-name is here!”
• At the sound of her friend’s words, Cen Yao quickly replied, “I understand. I’m on my way now.”
• Upon her visit to the hospital two days ago, something continued to weigh heavily on Cen Yao’s
• heart, albeit the negative test results. It loomed over her, giving her no room for respite. Cen Yao immediately drove her car over, upon discovering that they had found the man after much effort.
• Inside the club, a clamorous sound rang, in an earth-shattering manner.
• Once Cen Yao arrived, Jiang Yingying pointed towards a private room and announced, “He's right in there. That’s the VVIP private room, costing a 180 000 per night. It seems to me that he has landed another rich woman tonight.”
• 180 000?
• Cen Yao was speechless, because all that she had given him was nothing more than 2000.
• “Then I'll wait for him to come out here.” After Cen Yao ordered a glass of wine for herself, the two found empty seats and sat down to drink as they waited.
• In the end…
• They waited from eight to ten. Unfortunately, nobody surfaced from the private room.
• Jiang Yingying was starting to feel sleepy, and Cen Yao was getting restless too. Having a standing meeting scheduled the first thing tomorrow morning, her assistant had sent meeting notes to her mailbox in advance. She had yet to peruse them.
• “Let’s go in to find him. It’s just a few words and shouldn’t be too much of an interference to him,” Cen Yao pondered before coming to a decision. Jiang Yingying yawned and nodded, “I second that. There’s no point waiting around out here. If the rich woman is having too much of a good time, we won’t be able to see him all night.”
• Cen Yao went into the private room with high heels on her feet. The door was closed tightly, and not a sound could be heard from inside.
• Standing outside the door, Cen Yao did the best to steel herself as she needed the mettle to face this man a second time. His existence was an unremitting reminder that she was as void as these rich women, who had come out to have fun here.
• She breathed in deeply before raising her hand to knock on the door.
• “Come in.”
• Through the door came the sound of an unknown man, and Cen Yao pushed it open. Expecting to see scenes of obscene decadence behind the door, she was startled the moment she had opened it.
• Where was the rich woman? It was only a circle of older men.
• She got stunned at the sight of them, as they surveyed her curiously. They were apparently in the middle of discussing business when the solemn atmosphere had gotten interrupted by her presence. It left Cen Yao feeling flustered.
• “Ms. Cen, who are you looking for?” asked the waiter at the door.
• Cen Yao collected her thoughts to scour the crowd with her eyes, until they had finally stopped upon the man, who was right in the center. He was probably the youngest one amongst these men, not to mention, the most outstanding. Nonetheless, his youth could not conceal his unflappable bearing, as he sat in the middle with a spirit as though he were running the show. Cen Yao found it funny.
• How could she have the impression that a prostitute could run the show?
• “I’m looking for that gentleman,” Cen Yao glanced towards him and admitted.
• Yet the man seemed taciturn, only glancing at her placidly before turning to whisper into the ear of the man beside him, who then rose to approach Cen Yao, “Miss, Mr. Shang is busy, please leave for now.”
• The distant, foreign attitude caught Cen Yao off guard. It was completely different from the gentle feeling that the man had given her, that morning in the room. She had thought that after the night they had shared, he would at least remember her, but he looked at her as if she were an utter stranger.
• Was it a skill of the trade for him to act distantly before his clients, lowering their guard, only to trap them again later?