Their true colors revealed

Zhang Xiu'e came out of the restroom, her head swimming and buzzing.

She splashed cold water on her face, but she still felt dizzy. It hadn't helped at all.

Her face in the mirror was bright red, and she could barely keep her eyes open.

Zhang Xiu'e braced herself against the sink for a moment, gritted her teeth, and slowly walked out.

Li Yan followed behind her and reached out to support her.

"Don't touch me!"

Zhang Xiu'e shook off her hand. "I'm not going back. I'm leaving."

Li Yan paused. "Leaving? Mr. Sun is still waiting inside."

"I can't stay any longer."

Zhang Xiu'e took a few steps, and her legs went weak. Still, she forced herself onward, inching toward the elevators.

"Tell Wang Dahai I'm not feeling well and I've gone home."

Li Yan caught up and grabbed her arm. "Xiu'e, stop making a fuss. They're only halfway through the discussion with Mr. Sun. How will Manager Wang save face if you leave now?"

"What does his reputation have to do with me?" Zhang Xiu'e tried to shake Li Yan off, but she didn't have the strength. "Give me my phone. I'll leave on my own."

"I'm holding your phone for you. Don't be so impatient."

"Give it back!"

Zhang Xiu'e reached for it. Li Yan put her hand behind her back and stepped away, grinning.

"Go back to the private room first, and I'll give it to you."

"You—"

Zhang Xiu'e's face flushed even redder with anger, but she could barely speak now. Her tongue felt tied in knots.

Zhang Xiu'e reached for the bag behind Li Yan's back, but Li Yan kept dodging, refusing to give it to her.

As they tugged at each other, they ended up at the private room's door.

Zhang Xiu'e grabbed the doorframe and refused to go in.

"I'm not going in! Li Yan, let go!"

Li Yan pulled her arm toward the room. "Xiu'e, just come in and sit for a while. Have some tea to sober up before you leave."

Zhang Xiu'e clung to the doorframe, but she'd drunk too much and had no strength in her hands. Li Yan pried her fingers loose one by one.

The door opened from inside.

Wang Dahai stood in the doorway, smiling. "What's going on? What's all the noise out here?"

Li Yan quickly said, "Xiu'e's had too much to drink and insists on leaving. I'm trying to talk her out of it."

Wang Dahai grabbed Zhang Xiu'e's other arm and yanked her inside.

Zhang Xiu'e was dragged bodily into the private room.

The door clicked shut behind her.

Zhang Xiu'e's heart lurched, and a wave of despair swept over her.

"Manager Wang, I really can't drink any more." Zhang Xiu'e tried to make her voice sound normal. "Please let me leave. I have work tomorrow."

"Come on, it's still early." Wang Dahai smiled and patted her shoulder. "Stay a little longer and talk to Mr. Sun."

Zhang Xiu'e dodged his hand. "I'm done talking. I need to leave."

She headed for the door.

Li Yan stood blocking it, unmoving.

"Move aside!"

Li Yan smiled at her without budging.

Zhang Xiu'e reached out to push her, but the moment she did, Wang Dahai grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her back.

"Xiu'e, you're being unreasonable." The smile slowly faded from Wang Dahai's face. "Mr. Sun hasn't left yet, and you're just going to walk out?"

"I've had too much. I really can't take any more."

"One more glass. Just one."

"No more." Zhang Xiu'e shook her head and tried to head for the door again.

Sun Deming stood up and came over with a glass in his hand, smiling broadly.

"Miss Zhang, do you have a problem with me? If you're unhappy, I'll drink a glass as an apology."

With that, he really did drain his glass.

"Mr. Sun, it's not you. I'm just not feeling well."

"Then sit down and rest." Sun Deming reached out to steady her.

Zhang Xiu'e stepped back and bumped into a chair.

Wang Dahai's face darkened at once.

"Xiu'e, let me be straight with you."

His voice turned cold, with a threatening edge.

"You know how important this deal is to the company. If you leave today, don't bother coming to work tomorrow."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm not threatening you. I'm being reasonable."

Wang Dahai took a step forward.

"You've worked at the company for over two years. You make five or six thousand a month, seven or eight with commission. If you lose this job, where will you find another one?"

Zhang Xiu'e bit her lip.

"Stay and finish drinking with Mr. Sun tonight, and tomorrow you can go to work and collect your pay as usual."

Wang Dahai softened his tone again.

"It's just one meal. Do you really have to act like this?"

Zhang Xiu'e shook her head. "It's not just a meal. I can't drink any more. I need to leave."

She headed for the door again.

Li Yan still blocked her path, refusing to move an inch.

The three exchanged glances.

Their expressions changed.

The smile vanished completely from Wang Dahai's face.

Sun Deming slammed his glass down on the table, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely crossed his legs.

Li Yan folded her arms, a sneer curling her lips.

"Zhang Xiu'e, do you have to throw our courtesy back in our faces?" Wang Dahai's voice grew colder. "I tried asking nicely, but you won't listen, will you?"

Zhang Xiu'e stared at him, panic churning inside her.

"Did you really think I invited you here for dinner?"

Wang Dahai gave a cold laugh.

"You should count yourself lucky that Mr. Sun wants you. You're just some woman from the countryside. What's with the holier-than-thou act?"

Zhang Xiu'e's face went white.

"Wang Dahai, what did you say?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Wang Dahai took another step forward. "You're keeping him company tonight, whether you like it or not."

Zhang Xiu'e backed away until she hit the wall.

Li Yan stood beside them, smiling smugly.

"Xiu'e, aren't you usually so tough? Why are you scared now?"

She walked over and leaned in close to Zhang Xiu'e.

"Who do you think you are, looking down on everyone? Let me tell you, when Wang asked me to help him get you, I agreed right away."

Zhang Xiu'e glared at her. "Li Yan, you—"

"What about me? I just can't stand that self-righteous act of yours. You walk around scowling every day like everyone owes you eight million. You should be grateful Wang's interested in you, but you won't even appreciate it."

Zhang Xiu'e gritted her teeth, trembling all over.

Sun Deming stood up, straightened his collar, and walked over.

"All right, enough arguing. If Miss Zhang doesn't want to drink any more, then she doesn't have to."

He looked at Wang Dahai.

Wang Dahai understood immediately and gave Li Yan a meaningful look.

"Come on. Let's sit upstairs and have some tea to sober you up." As he spoke, Wang Dahai seized Zhang Xiu'e's arm.

Zhang Xiu'e struggled but couldn't pull free.

Li Yan grabbed her from the other side and twisted her hand behind her back.

"Let go of me!" Zhang Xiu'e shouted.

Li Yan clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't scream. It won't do you any good." Li Yan leaned toward her ear, her voice smug.

Wang Dahai opened the door and glanced outside.

"Let's go!"

The three hauled Zhang Xiu'e out of the private room and toward the elevators.

Zhang Xiu'e struggled desperately, but her whole body was weak, and she couldn't muster any strength.

With Li Yan's hand over her mouth, she could only make muffled sounds. She turned her head to bite Li Yan's hand, but Li Yan dodged and covered her mouth again.

At the end of the corridor, a female attendant approached, pushing a cleaning cart.

She froze for a moment at the sight.

"Sir, do you need any help?"

Wang Dahai quickly put on a smile. "No, no. Our friend's had too much to drink. We're taking her back to her room to rest."

Zhang Xiu'e shook her head desperately, only able to make muffled sounds with her mouth covered. She frantically reached for the attendant's arm.

Li Yan quickly forced her hand down and said with a smile,

"It's fine, it's fine. She's just acting up because she's drunk. She'll be all right in a minute."

The attendant felt that something wasn't right with Zhang Xiu'e.

"Ma'am, do you need help?"

Zhang Xiu'e nodded desperately, her eyes brimming with tears.

Wang Dahai's expression changed, and he glared at the attendant. "I said we don't need help. Go do your job."

The attendant hesitated, then took a step back.

Wang Dahai and the other two hauled Zhang Xiu'e into the elevator.

The doors closed.

The more the attendant thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. She took out her radio and called the front desk.

"Front desk? I'm the attendant on the eighth floor. A few people just dragged a woman out of Private Room 823. Something wasn't right with her. It looked like she was being forced."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "How many people? What did they look like?"

"Two men and two women. One man was fat, the other thin. Both women were wearing dresses. They had a hand over that woman's mouth, and she kept struggling."

Before the front desk could reply, a young man's voice suddenly came over the radio, urgent and forceful.

"What floor did you say?"

The attendant paused. "Who are you?"

"I'm asking what floor! Which room!"

His voice was frantic, almost hoarse from shouting.

Startled by his voice, the attendant answered instinctively, "The eighth... eighth floor. They came out of Private Room 823 and headed toward the elevators."

"Where did they go?"

"I think they went... toward the guest rooms. I don't know which one."

Hurried footsteps came from the other end of the radio, followed by a dull thud, as though something had been slammed down.

The attendant stood frozen, unsure what had happened.

In the lobby, Chen Yuan slammed the radio onto the counter, turned, and ran.

He had just reached the front desk and was about to ask which private room Zhang Xiu'e was in when the front desk's phone rang.

Chen Yuan's sharp ears caught the words "being forced" and "struggling."

He strode over and snatched the radio from the receptionist's hand.