Humiliation and Comfort

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the eleventh floor, casting geometric patches of light across the cream-colored carpet in Gu Yue's private office. The air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature, and only the clatter of keys and the occasional mouse click could be heard.

Gu Yue sat upright in her ergonomic chair, her slender fingers flying across the keyboard. The dense copy and data on the screen gradually became clear and organized as her thoughts took shape.

However, the peace did not last long.

The office door was shoved open in a panic, interrupting her train of thought. It was Xiao Li, the newly hired intern. His face was pale, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, and even his voice trembled. "D-Director Gu, s-something's wrong! There's a client in the reception room downstairs... She's impossible to deal with! Sister Wang can barely handle her anymore. She insists on seeing the highest-ranking person in charge..."

Gu Yue's fingers froze over the keyboard, and her brows drew together slightly. She set aside her work, picked up the thermos on her desk, unscrewed it, and took a sip of warm water, suppressing the faint irritation at being disturbed. "What kind of client?"

"She's... she's here to discuss the outstanding payment for that Southern District project," Xiao Li said, nearly crying. "Her attitude is awful. She says terrible things and even smashed a cup... Sister Wang asked me to come get you..."

Gu Yue took a deep breath and set the thermos down heavily on the desk with a soft thud. She pulled out a tissue and wiped her hands.

"Lead the way."

In the hallway, the sharp click of high heels against the floor rang out in rapid succession. Gu Yue followed Xiao Li briskly toward the reception room on the first floor, every step feeling as though she were treading on a string about to snap.

The moment she pushed open the reception room door, noise and chaos crashed over her.

Several staff members surrounded a middle-aged woman dressed extravagantly, though her makeup was somewhat overdone. The atmosphere was tense. The woman had one leg crossed over the other, her swinging foot nearly reaching the nose of the person opposite her, while she continued berating them without pause.

"...This is fraud! What's the use of making the contract look so nice? The quality doesn't meet the standards at all! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll sue you! I'll post it online and expose you as a heartless company too!"

Gu Yue motioned for Xiao Li to leave, adjusted the hem of her suit jacket, and instantly put on an impeccable professional smile. She stepped forward and extended her right hand, her voice gentle yet firm. "Hello, I'm Gu Yue, director of this department. How may I assist you?"

Her smile was as standard as if it had been drawn with a compass, and her gaze rested calmly on the woman.

Yet the female client did not even raise her eyelids. It was as if Gu Yue's outstretched hand were nothing but air—or worse, something disgusting. She continued roaring, even raising her voice another notch, treating Gu Yue as completely invisible.

Gu Yue's outstretched hand hung awkwardly in the air, and the smile on her face visibly stiffened for an instant. An inexplicable fury shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. If this had happened years ago, before she had learned to rein in her temper so well, this woman would have been "escorted" out long ago. How could she still be strutting around here?

She took a deep breath and forced herself to ignore the hand that had been disregarded. She withdrew it and let it fall naturally to her side. Yet her nails quietly dug into her palm, using the pain to remind herself to remain rational.

"Ma'am," Gu Yue spoke again, her voice still steady but slightly slower, "we can retrieve the inspection records and construction logs from that time to verify the quality issue you mentioned. If you have any specific evidence or requests, please tell me, and I'll arrange for the relevant departments to handle them."

That was already an extremely courteous response that followed procedure.

Unexpectedly, the female client slammed her hand down on the table. The impact made the teacups on it jump. At last, she swept her hostile gaze over Gu Yue, looked her up and down, then sneered. "What are you supposed to be? You think you're qualified to talk to me? Get your manager here! No, get your general manager here! I'm filing a complaint against your entire department!"

The moment the word "you" left her mouth, the string in Gu Yue's mind called "reason" let out a mournful creak under the unbearable strain.

She could practically hear her teeth grinding together. Her professional discipline was screaming, Hold it in, while the pride and bad temper deep in her bones that belonged to "Gu Yue" were roaring, Hit her. For a moment, she even had the illusion that she had returned to the arena at Shrek Academy's training grounds, facing an opponent who did not know her place.

But she could not lay a hand on her. This was the company, and she was the director. Every part of her image represented the company's reputation.

Gu Yue closed her eyes. When she opened them again, only icy calm remained in her gaze. She no longer looked at the woman. Instead, she turned to the supervisor beside her, whose face was equally miserable, and said flatly, "Try your best to coordinate and resolve this client's demands. If communication is truly impossible, call the police according to procedure. Our company's legal counsel will follow up throughout the process."

After saying that, she did not spare the female client another glance. She turned around, straightened her back, and left the noisy battlefield with an almost haughty bearing.

She returned to her office on the eleventh floor, closed the door, and shut out the faint commotion downstairs.

The world instantly became quiet.

Gu Yue did not return to her desk. Instead, she walked slowly, step by step, to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window. The glass reflected her somewhat pale face.

She lowered her head and looked at the bustling cityscape below, the streams of traffic resembling miniature models. The eleventh floor was not that high.

An extremely dangerous—perhaps even insane—thought suddenly leaped into her mind without warning: I really want to jump out this window right now and then drive my elbow into the concrete with perfect accuracy. It would be best if I could crack her skull open.

The thought was so intense that even Gu Yue startled herself. She abruptly stepped back, her heart pounding violently as though it might leap out of her throat.

What was wrong with her?

Had she been angered to the point of madness, or was... the pressure simply too much?

Gu Yue staggered to the water dispenser, poured herself a large cup of ice water, and gulped it down. The cold water slid down her throat, barely extinguishing the flames churning in her chest, but it could not dispel the deep exhaustion and helplessness within her.

She collapsed onto the lounge sofa in the corner of the office, with no desire to deal with any copywriting at all.

Her phone lay by her hand, its screen dark.

As if possessed, Gu Yue reached for it, unlocked it, and expertly tapped on that familiar profile picture—a cute chibi golden dragon sticker.

Her fingers flew across the screen, carrying a venting resentment:

"I'm furious! I ran into a psycho client today! She acted like she owned the place! I held out my hand to greet her, and she acted like she didn't see it! Then she called me 'what are you supposed to be'! She insisted on seeing the general manager! I almost couldn't stop myself from jumping from the eleventh floor and elbowing the concrete!"

The message was sent successfully.

Gu Yue tossed the phone onto her chest and stared blankly at the simple ceiling light overhead. She knew Tang Wulin was in the residential complex's surveillance room. He should not be busy at this hour, but would he reply? Would he understand how close to breaking down she felt?

Less than three seconds later, her phone vibrated.

"Ding."

Gu Yue picked up her phone. The screen lit up with Tang Wulin's reply. It had come astonishingly fast; apparently, he had been on WeChat the whole time.

"Wife! What happened? Don't be mad, don't be mad! Take a deep breath! What kind of thing dared to bully you like that?! I'm coming to the company to find you right now!"

Another message immediately followed:

"No, no, I'm at work. I can't just leave whenever I want. Wife, wait for me. I'll come over as soon as I get off work! Tonight, I'll buy you beef noodles from that place downstairs you love so much! Double beef! And tiger skin chicken feet too!"

Then another:

"Don't get angry with people like that. She's not worth it! Getting upset over someone like her will hurt you and only make things easier for her!"

Gu Yue watched the messages pop up one after another on the screen. It was as though that clumsy yet anxious man were standing right in front of her.

He would not say anything polished, nor would he teach her how to strike back at a client with clever tactics. He would only use this most direct and clumsy way to tell her that he cared about her feelings, that he wanted her to be happy, and that he was willing to stand up for her—even if all he could do was buy her a steaming bowl of noodles.

The pent-up anger and discouragement in her chest, so intense it had nearly exploded, deflated soundlessly like a punctured balloon. In its place, a soft, aching warmth slowly flowed through her limbs.

She could not help curling her lips into a smile. The person she had been moments ago was practically a joke.

Seriously... being loved by such a childish, jealous man who always managed to catch her emotions the instant it mattered most—sometimes, there really was nothing she could do about it.

Gu Yue sniffed and lightly tapped out a reply on the screen:

"...Idiot. Who wants double beef? I'll get fat."

Sent.

Almost immediately, a grinning sticker came back, followed by a sentence:

"It's better if you're a little chubby. You're more comfortable to hold. Wait for me. I'll take you to eat something delicious after work!"

Gu Yue pressed the phone to her chest. The central air conditioning hummed softly.

Her anger had long since vanished, leaving only a weakness like surviving a disaster, along with a faint, secret sense of relief at being so carefully looked after.