Chapter 2

“You look like promising material, so I’m only going to give you one piece of advice—”

“Stay away from Sheng Huaixi, Jiang Chao.”

The white wall reflected the light. Jiang Chao stood outside the general manager’s office, clutching the internship assignment form she had just signed, while complicated emotions flickered across her fair face.

Not long ago, the warning from the person who had brought her in was still echoing in her ears.

The woman had worn a stern expression, alarm plain on her face. She had looked Jiang Chao straight in the eye and said with certainty, “She’s a lunatic.”

But less than an hour later, the signature on the assignment sheet was still fresh; the black ink hadn’t even dried yet.

There, clearly printed, were three characters: Sheng Huaixi.

“Has the world gone mad too?”

Jiang Chao pressed a hand to her forehead, the gentle curve of her brows drooping as an exhausted sigh slipped out.

She agreed with that warning.

At first, when she heard it, Jiang Chao hadn’t taken it seriously at all. It was only after she signed her name on the internship assignment form that it sank in.

A strange block of text had suddenly appeared in Jiang Chao’s mind after she put pen to paper.

It was nothing else; it was a story about Sheng Huaixi.

At the beginning, the four familiar characters of Shengjing Media had drawn Jiang Chao in.

She skimmed through it at a glance, and by the time she finished reading, the pen in her hand had nearly slipped from her fingers.

“Can I request to be removed from Director Sheng’s team?”

Facing the human resources manager’s worried gaze, Jiang Chao forced herself, with the self-awareness of a newly hired junior employee, not to say that out loud.

Jiang Chao considered herself a fairly standard materialist, but the long story that had appeared in her head was simply too unhinged not to be terrifying.

Sheng Huaixi, creative director at Shengjing Media, seemed by nature to attract deranged and perverted pursuers; drugging, mental manipulation, imprisonment, and all sorts of other methods of pursuit were endless.

Just from that thin layer of text, Jiang Chao could already feel her hands and feet going cold.

And!

Despite the crazed methods of those insane pursuers, Sheng Huaixi not only survived to the very end, but later on she even killed them off one by one.

What was even more outrageous was that the world background of this story was a terrifying, filthy world that seemed to turn anything and everything obscene wherever it went.

The bad buffs from the world and the people around her kept stacking up on Sheng Huaixi.

And Sheng Huaixi, who could still laugh in the face of such extreme pressure...

Jiang Chao drew in a sharp breath and was certain—how could she possibly not be a lunatic!

With her mind in complete chaos, Jiang Chao clung to the possibility that it had all been fabricated and read the story again, carefully scanning the general outline.

This time, when she saw the few familiar names inside, Jiang Chao fell silent.

The names matched, and the personalities were roughly the same too.

With even that sixty percent similarity being real, Jiang Chao was determined to keep her distance from Sheng Huaixi.

Something this bizarre—if it had even a sixty percent chance of being true, it was definitely not a good thing. Jiang Chao naturally chose to avoid it.

She was very self-aware—

With her own gentle, mild temperament, if she ran into Sheng Huaixi, who could survive after being pursued in all sorts of absurd ways and still turn the tables to kill them all, she was afraid even her bones wouldn’t be left.

The world was chaotic and noisy; Jiang Chao chose to be beautiful all by herself.

Although it seemed she could no longer be beautiful now...

Shaking her shoulders, Jiang Chao exhaled and forced herself to relax, pressing those extra thoughts back down in her heart.

“It’s fine. You don’t desire her, and you’re not chasing her; what are you afraid of?”

Jiang Chao silently clenched a fist and cheered herself on in a low voice, her eyes firm.

A light tap landed on her shoulder blade.

“New here?”

The voice came from behind her. Its tone was as clear and cool as a glacier spring, yet roughened by a serious rasp, low enough to make one’s thoughts drift.

Jiang Chao turned around in a fluster and ran straight into a pair of bright crimson peach-blossom eyes. When they curved slightly, they looked like rippling spring water, vivid and beautiful as maple leaves.

Beautiful, but unfamiliar.

The voice sounded familiar, but after thinking about it, Jiang Chao realized she had never heard such a hoarse, low voice before.

The woman wore a black mask that covered the lower half of her face. Her aura was cool and detached, creating an invisible pressure for no reason at all.

Jiang Chao lowered her head and asked first, “You are?”

“Sheng Huaixi.” Sheng Huaixi’s gaze was indifferent as she looked at her and said the name in a low voice, word by word, as though she were in a very bad mood.

Jiang Chao’s breathing stopped. She almost forgot to inhale, her pupils tightening in shock. She had never expected to meet the story’s true protagonist this quickly.

She was her direct superior, Sheng Huaixi!

Keeping the smile on her face without missing a beat, Jiang Chao stirred awake her sleeping sense of caution.

“Hello, Director Sheng. I’m Jiang Chao. I’ve been assigned to work under you as an intern. Please take care of me.”

Lowering her head, Jiang Chao curved her lips into a sweet smile, her peach-blossom eyes resembling Sheng Huaixi’s. A dimple sank into the corner of her mouth, making her look one hundred percent friendly.

Since she knew the Sheng Huaixi in front of her was no kind person, Jiang Chao also brought out one hundred percent of her wariness.

“Mm.”

The response was sparse, just a single word. It landed in Jiang Chao’s ears with a scratchy itch, and she even suspected Sheng Huaixi had deliberately drawn it out to torment her.

After the topic ended for a long while, the scrutinizing gaze on her face neither shifted nor moved away. Just as Jiang Chao’s smile was about to crack, Sheng Huaixi finally spoke.

“Follow me.”

Follow her? Where to?

Jiang Chao blinked in confusion, and Sheng Huaixi, standing in front of her, had already turned and walked ahead.

The black silk clothing outlined the woman’s graceful figure. Her wrist, hanging at her side, was pale and lustrous like white jade, every inch beautiful.

The tall, all-black back looked especially cold and distant. Jiang Chao didn’t dare ask again and quickly trotted after her obediently.

The whole way was quiet. Jiang Chao followed Sheng Huaixi into her office.

At the door, after closing it casually, Jiang Chao instinctively looked over Sheng Huaixi’s office.

Black and white, minimalist. At a glance, aside from a tall wooden bookshelf filled with media books and piles of magazines, she couldn’t find anything with even a trace of personal color.

“Jiang Chao.”

Jiang Chao quickly collected herself and blinked her long lashes. “Yes?”

“Am I scary?” Sheng Huaixi suddenly asked. Her black lashes lowered, and her eyes fixed on Jiang Chao with unblinking pressure.

The sudden death question landed on Jiang Chao’s head. The freshly minted intern nervously licked her lips.

Uncontrollably, Jiang Chao’s mind had already started replaying what had happened to those who had displeased Sheng Huaixi in the end.

Best case, they went bankrupt and wandered the streets forever;

Worst case, they went insane and lived out the rest of their ruined lives in tatters, never seeing a good day again...

Before even more terrifying memories could surface, Jiang Chao snapped to attention, straightened her back, and forced a sincere smile to her lips. “Not at all!”

“Is that so?” The soft, eerie question made those dark eyes turn to her, and Jiang Chao’s heart gave an uncontrollable jolt.

The expression visible around Sheng Huaixi’s eyes grew noticeably darker; her brow moved slightly, as if she were about to say something. Jiang Chao held her breath and leaned in to listen.

A restrained breath brushed through the air.

Her long, seaweed-like hair spilled over the nape of her neck. Jiang Chao blinked and saw Sheng Huaixi bend at the waist to reach a rectangular ID badge from the middle of the desk. She beckoned, “Come here.”

Jiang Chao walked over obediently, her gaze following the movement of Sheng Huaixi’s fingers down to her other wrist.

Sheng Huaixi was tall; even with one long leg bent and her body half-leaning against the desk, she still gave off a strong sense of pressure.

But Jiang Chao had only glanced casually before her attention was completely drawn to the silver ID badge wrapped around Sheng Huaixi’s fingertips, and she felt a surge of excitement.

This was the company she had been dreaming of getting into!

She had worked hard for four years and thought about it for four years; at this moment, Jiang Chao had finally reached the ladder the heavens had lowered for her from the mountain peak.

“Lower your head; I’ll put it on for you.” Sheng Huaixi carefully brushed her fingertip over the badge’s surface, straightened up, and tilted her chin to indicate Jiang Chao should come closer.

So the interns at Shengjing had their badges personally put on by their supervisor? Did that count as humanistic care?

Jiang Chao secretly guessed and took a small step forward, stopping at a proper distance; not too far, not too close.

When she lowered her head, Jiang Chao happened to see Sheng Huaixi’s neatly arranged fingers. The hanging metal chain flashed with a cold, sleek light, making even the joints look brighter.

The chilly chain looped around her neck and hung down. Jiang Chao lowered her gaze and looked at her own name engraved on the Shengjing badge, her lips lifting in a restrained smile.

“You’re happy to be joining Shengjing?”

Without hesitation, Jiang Chao said, “Of course! Shengjing has been my dream since my first year of university!”

It was her dream, so even though Jiang Chao knew her direct superior was a crazy woman, she still chose to throw herself in without hesitation.

Sheng Huaixi lowered her eyes and nodded to show she was listening. Her fingertips brushed past the collar of Jiang Chao’s shirt near the neck, lifted, then hooked.

The chain slipped down into the hollow of Jiang Chao’s neck. Sheng Huaixi’s attempt at adjusting it was a complete failure, and Jiang Chao looked at the elegant, slightly furrowed woman in front of her and said softly, “How about I do it myself...”

Director Sheng did not seem like someone who often deigned to put badges on people personally.

Jiang Chao considered herself a considerate subordinate; more importantly, she was afraid this difficult boss would make things hard for her later.

After all, Sheng Huaixi had the final say over whether Jiang Chao could stay.

But Jiang Chao’s eager offer of help was met with a cool refusal.

“Come closer. I’ll straighten it for you.”

Jiang Chao instinctively refused. “N—”

“Three.” The voice was flat. Sheng Huaixi looked up to interrupt her, staring at Jiang Chao without blinking.

Before she could think further, the countdown from years of school habits set off Jiang Chao’s alarm bells, and the pressure in Sheng Huaixi’s eyes became overwhelming.

Under that double pressure, Jiang Chao lunged right in!

The remaining intimate distance was instantly obliterated.

The badge against her chest swung once in midair from inertia, then was caught directly between a pair of distinct knuckles.

Sheng Huaixi leaned down, and Jiang Chao was still tense and holding her breath from what had just happened. Then the shadow pressed down, and a faint voice brushed her ear.

“At the company, remember to be obedient.”

Jiang Chao’s pupils contracted. There was only one thought in her mind.

I’m done for!

Jiang Chao never expected that a warning from her supervisor would come this quickly, within twenty-four hours of her starting at Shengjing.

And the reason was even because her well-meaning suggestion had irritated Sheng Huaixi.

Unlike normal people’s train of thought, no wonder the novel later on was so insane.

Jiang Chao suddenly understood, and a chill rose straight up her back.

The mellow scent of red tea at the tip of her nose also slowly began to exert pressure; Jiang Chao felt as if her whole body had been wrapped and bound by it.

Touching the side of her neck, Jiang Chao met the dark, brooding eyes in front of her and said, “Okay, Director Sheng.”

With a light hum, Sheng Huaixi only kept lowering her head to adjust it after getting the answer.

Uneasy, Jiang Chao lowered her gaze and bit her lower lip as she watched Sheng Huaixi straighten the badge for her. Her long, feather-like lashes rested quietly on her eyelids, carrying a hint of gentleness.

It must be an illusion!

Her fingertip brushed across the side of Jiang Chao’s neck, and Sheng Huaixi withdrew slightly. “All done.”

Jiang Chao looked down at the gleaming badge hanging before her, and bright joy flashed through her eyes. Even her fear of the person in front of her lessened quite a bit!

“Thank you, Director Sheng!”

“It’s nothing.” Sheng Huaixi stood up, letting her gaze sweep slowly over Jiang Chao as she walked toward the door. “I’ll show you around the company.”

Jiang Chao had no idea if it was her imagination, but she felt that when Sheng Huaixi’s eyes swept over her badge, the corners of her eyes were carrying a little smile too.

Shaking her head, Jiang Chao pushed that baseless speculation to the back of her mind.

Rather than worrying about whether Sheng Huaixi might secretly be good, she ought to worry first about where she had gone wrong if she triggered another warning.

“Okay.” Jiang Chao answered and quickly followed Sheng Huaixi’s footsteps.

Outside the office, rows of neatly arranged desks came into view, everyone lowering their heads to do their own work.

Jiang Chao trailed after Sheng Huaixi step by step. They passed the signs for the Marketing Department, the Market Department, and the Human Resources Department in succession, and everywhere they went was quiet.

People came and went nonstop; there were even employees standing face-to-face in close discussion, shoulders pressed together, their behavior intimate.

Jiang Chao found it strange. Why was it that no one in this company greeted Sheng Huaixi when they saw her?

“Ah!”

Jiang Chao crashed unexpectedly into a wall of flesh and hurriedly apologized when she recovered.

Sheng Huaixi turned around, looked down at the flustered Jiang Chao, and narrowed her black eyes. “What did I just say?”

Jiang Chao: “......”

She had completely zoned out and not heard a word.

“Hm? Isn’t this the little sister who helped Director Sheng get away yesterday?”

A teasing female voice, laced with laughter, came from behind Jiang Chao.