Years after graduation, you never expected to meet Chu Youyou again like this. You greeted her with your head down, afraid she would see your face.
"Xiao Fan, why are you standing there?" Director Zhang pointed at the Moutai and smiled. "Take the wine to the banquet hall for me."
You quickly agreed and rushed over. Holding the wine, you slipped away. Chu Youyou probably had not recognized you. After all, the lighting was dim.
Director Zhang started chatting casually. "I only knew President Chu was from Lincheng, but not which district."
Chu Youyou stared toward the hotel entrance, then finally snapped back. "What was that, Director Zhang?"
Director Zhang followed Chu Youyou's gaze. "President Chu, you seem distracted. Memories hitting you?"
That back kept flashing through Chu Youyou's mind. So she deliberately slowed down, thinking he would come back after delivering the wine. But even after entering, she never saw him.
"Where is the staff member who brought the wine in?"
Supervisor Sun froze. "You mean Xiao Fan?"
Chu Youyou's fingers trembled slightly. "What is his name?"
"His name is Chen Fan. Strange, he was right here just now."
When Chu Youyou heard the name Chen Fan, her calm expression completely broke. "Please tell him not to clock out yet. When the banquet ends, I need to see him."
Supervisor Sun instinctively wanted to ask, in a low voice, what this was about. One low-level employee and one untouchable billionaire. How could they possibly be connected?
She turned again, leaving only her back to him. "I just think he works efficiently. Later, I want him to buy something for me."
So she just needed an errand runner. Supervisor Sun picked up the intercom. "Chen Fan, something came up today. Wait for notice before clocking out."
You hid in the restroom and heard him. Something felt wrong. "Supervisor, I cannot go home too late today."
Sun cut you off. "Leave early and do not come tomorrow. A guest asked for you by name. And it is someone neither of us can offend."
You were speechless. Payday was close. You had been waiting for payday to buy medicine for your mother early. How could you lose this job? But who is this big shot? The uncertainty made you anxious.
You waited until around eleven o'clock, then noticed by the entrance that Director Zhang and the others were walking drunk out of the elevator. But Chu Youyou was nowhere to be seen. Back in the lobby, the supervisor warned you to be sharp. Do whatever you are told, no questions. If you offend the guest, the boss punishes you first and me second.
Inside the hotel room, Chu Youyou had drunk a little. She opened the curtains and stood by the window looking over half the glittering city. Yet she still could not see home.
Right. No home anymore. A year ago, she sent her father to prison. Then sent her mother and brother to the police station, too. After doing all that, she felt no emotion at all, only that the world had gone quiet.
Since she was very young, she had wanted to leave that home. In childhood, grandma secretly peeled back layers of tissue and gave her a piece of candy. But before she could smile, her brother snatched it. He would not eat it. He said it was dirty and crushed it under his foot.
At seven, she came home from school, washed clothes for the whole family, and clumsily cooked dinner, too. But her mother said the rice was too hard, then scolded her and took her father and brother out to eat.
At eleven, in middle school, her brother got thirty yuan a week, while she got only five. She could not afford school meals, so she bought a pile of buns outside and stuffed her whole school bag full.
Freshman year, the debt collectors came, so her parents caused scenes at the school gate. That night, she actually went to the rooftop. Afraid to trouble the school, she lived one more day. The next day, she left to find a reservoir.
When that notorious playboy found her again, he never needed to throw money at her. If she had been worthy of love, she would have wanted him long ago. That boy always seemed to glow.
But she still took his money, never gave it home, and never spent it. She stayed with him for three years, but happiness was just as brief. She knew she was being bought. But when he truly treated her that way, it still hurt badly. She did not dare interfere or speak, and did not dare feel jealous.
The boy disappeared for a while, and when they met again, he said he had someone new and dumped her. She carefully took out all her savings, every bit of money he had given her. She did not want his money. She wanted him, but the boy would not even look. Her three years meant nothing to him.
Chu Youyou lifted her arm. The blue tattoo looked stark against white skin. This was the mark Chen Fan gave her. She carved it on the first day after they split, wanted to remember that pain, and make sure she never forgot. The boy was worse than her parents. He gave her all her hope, then shattered it piece by piece.
Just then, someone knocked.