Chapter 14: Newspapers and Red Pens

“An Zhi isn’t as hot-tempered as you…”

‘Then what kind of person is she?’

Su Xixia thought.

‘Probably a gentle and kind woman. Unlike the cunning me, she was willing to help Li Mingshan even though their circumstances were so different.’

Su Xixia curled up on the bed.

The lingering sensation of Li Mingshan’s touch remained.

After the physical pleasure, she felt as if something was missing inside.

Lately, this feeling had been growing stronger.

Given her personality, this shouldn’t have been a big deal.

Compared to the oppression she felt from her parents back in her hometown, this was much easier.

Thinking about how Xiao Ji had mentioned An Zhi at a time like that, she had long realized that the reason those two men suddenly went to Nanhuan Station must be related to An Zhi.

‘They chased after her desperately this time… What about next time?’

She began to realize that using her body wasn’t enough to firmly tie down Li Mingshan’s heart.

But aside from that, she didn’t know what else to do.

She had already erased all traces of An Zhi.

She had even taken Li Mingshan’s first time, albeit semi-forcibly.

‘What exactly is still missing?’

Li Mingshan had become gloomy again over the last two days, often spacing out…

When she found his company using the address on the newspaper, his colleague had said the same thing—

“Oh! You must be Brother Li’s girlfriend. You’re so beautiful! He hasn’t had much energy lately, but he’s still very reliable! I think it’s because of something outside of work? Haha, sorry, you probably know him better than I do. I’ll leave him to you.”

At that moment, Su Xixia’s feelings had begun to shift from anxiety to anger.

“You mean Nanhuan Station? Just go downstairs from here.”

“Hey! Miss, it’s the platform on the right! You’re going the wrong way — !”

Amidst the security guard’s reminder, that anger began to swell, fueled by the fear of being in an unfamiliar place.

After walking out of the subway station, she didn’t know which exit to take and was afraid to wander too far.

While she was lost, the anger in her heart began to turn into unease.

So, throwing a tantrum at Li Mingshan without explanation wasn’t primarily out of anger… but rather a massive, complex sense of insecurity.

Now, lying on the bed after the pleasure had passed, she finally sorted out her emotions and realized where the problem lay.

So, what should she do next?

As someone who had lived in the countryside for over twenty years and didn’t understand urban life or social interaction, this question was far beyond her.

In the end, only thoughts like ‘I don’t want to go back to my hometown’ and ‘I still love Li Mingshan’ remained in her mind.

Even after falling asleep, she remained uneasy in her dreams.

She dreamed of the first time she saw Li Mingshan surrounded by boys who were throwing dirty water on him.

At that time, her feelings and her plan hadn’t yet turned toward bullying—

‘Right, I hadn’t intended to bully him. At the very least, I have to make him forget about being bullied; that is a necessary compensation…’

She would continue to compensate him with this body, letting him use it however he wanted.

Just like that time after high school graduation, when he had set a trap out of revenge and taken her virginity.

‘At least he really wants this body…’

‘I can only do this for now…’

In her dream, she reached a conclusion that wasn’t much different from before.

Distorted or not, this was the only answer she could come up with for now.

—

Through the blinds of the meeting room, I could see the exterior wall covered in irregular dark marks.

This was the innermost part of the company, with less than 10 centimeters between the window and the exterior wall.

I really wondered why they even installed this window.

Looking at it only made me feel depressed.

“…Pay attention to the beginning of this passage: ‘The storefront is located in the most prosperous area of Suchen.’ Why write it this way? Who can answer?”

Mo You stood at the front of the long rectangular table, pointing a laser pointer at the PowerPoint on the wall behind her.

Her sharp gaze swept over my colleagues and me.

“To highlight the selling point in advance?” one colleague answered.

“It’s about the storefront, not the product. What does it mean when a store can open in a prosperous area?”

“That the products in the store will sell well?”

“No…”

This kind of scene happened once a week.

It was a learning seminar specifically for us fledgling young employees.

My colleagues all felt this was the most nerve-wracking moment of the week since it also served as a test.

As one of the older employees, I didn’t care as much.

Perhaps because Mo You thought well of me, she didn’t often throw questions my way.

Right now, my mind was a mess.

I had no heart for the lecture and stared out the window.

‘On An Zhi’s face back then… were those tear stains or makeup residue?’

‘She had no reason to cry.’

‘She was always good at hiding her emotions, handling any situation with an unchanging expression. She wasn’t the type to have such intense emotional outbursts.’

‘At least, that was how she was during our student days. As for now…’

“Li Mingshan! Where are you looking? Li Mingshan!”

“Ah! Yes, I got slightly distracted. Sorry, Sister Mo.”

Under Mo You’s stern shout, I snapped back to my senses and gave an embarrassed smile.

‘I shouldn’t let personal matters affect my work…’

“You answer! If you can’t, copy this copywriter’s text once and give me an analysis draft before you get off work!”

The red dot from the laser pointer landed on my forehead.

Over the past two days, Mo You had been even stricter with me than before, and not in a natural way…

It felt more like I had offended her somehow without realizing it.

I didn’t get it…

Given Mo You’s personality, why wouldn’t she just say it?

‘No… I shouldn’t question my boss.’

“Well…”

I stood up and quickly scanned the beginning of that passage.

The answer came to me instantly.

“Being able to open a store in a prosperous area proves that the shop has enough financial strength to afford high rent. This conveys a sense of reliability to the customers. From the perspective of copywriting logic, it also puts the customers at ease when they look at the products below. If we can supplement it with a storefront endorsement — “

“Whoa…”

“So that’s why.”

“That’s impressive.”

The colleagues around me whispered in admiration, and I felt several intense gazes focused on me.

“Hmph…”

Mo You turned off the laser pointer and pressed her raised hand onto the table.

“Well said. Now pay attention!”

‘Looking at her begrudging expression, she definitely has some kind of issue with me!’

‘And it wasn’t as simple as me being distracted…’

“Yes, I’m sorry…”

I lowered my head and admitted my fault, then focused my attention on the lecture.

‘If I provoked her again, something bad would definitely happen.’

She coughed twice and pulled a whiteboard from the doorway.

A newspaper was taped to it.

“In yesterday’s Suchen Evening News, there was a similar case! Like here in the investment column — “

‘Wait?’

Mo You rarely used print media as an example.

After all, she had said that the logic behind new media copywriting and print media was different.

‘How strange.’

When she fished a thick red pen out of her skirt pocket and drew a large circle around that text, my eyes widened involuntarily.

I wanted to see the text clearly, but I kept staring at that thick, heavy red circle.

‘I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…’

140

‘Yes, it was also on a newspaper. I’ve seen this kind of red circle, and it was identical.’

Mo You didn’t continue speaking.

The tip of the red pen tapped repeatedly on the circle, as if she were hinting at something.

‘Could it be… that the red circle on the newspaper that day…’

‘The red circle that guided me to send my resume here and successfully get the job…’

‘Was it drawn by Mo You?’

‘But Su Xixia… No!’

‘At that time, Su Xixia had just arrived in the city. She didn’t even know where the delivery stations were. How could she have bought the kind of red pen only found in city stationery stores, and then gone to a newsstand to buy a newspaper?’

‘Simply testing whether she had actually seen the newspaper didn’t mean that she was the one who drew the circle.’

‘Back then, because the favor she gave me was too great, I had let my guard down and ignored these details… Did I get something wrong?’

‘Thinking about it this way, was Mo You’s initial strictness toward me and her recent intensified behavior a reminder… that she had specially arranged this job for me?’

‘No wonder it went so smoothly. I, who couldn’t find a job for the longest time, suddenly got hired by a good company, and my superior was so friendly…’

‘So, what does Mo You want to tell me? Why did she go to such lengths to get me hired?’

‘I didn’t even know her before. What was her reason?’

My head felt tired from deducing too much information.

I was already feeling dizzy, and now it was even harder to think any deeper.

“…Pay attention to this part. Can anyone…”

‘Now, it’s even more impossible for me to concentrate on the lecture.’

‘However, Mo You didn’t call on me again until the meeting ended, even though I was obviously even more distracted than before…’