Chapter 42: Miss Ye, You've Gone Too Far
The office door opened, and the person who entered was Yan Xin.
Seeing Su Banxia and Pei Shaoze, he greeted them, then looked at Pei Shaoze and said, "These came out yesterday. You two are really celebrities now."
With that, he placed a stack of newspapers and documents on Pei Shaoze's desk.
Pei Shaoze barely glanced at them, looked at him, and answered off-topic, "Are you that concerned about my private life?"
Yan Xin sneered, "I wouldn't want to be, but now I have no choice. Take a look—every headline is about you two. Figure out how to handle this quickly!"
Even without looking, Su Banxia had already guessed most of it. It was probably about what happened at the hotel last night.
"Ding..."
Su Banxia's phone rang.
It was a message.
A text from Lin Tongze. After reading it, she typed a few words back: "Let's meet tonight!"
The reply came with a single word: "Okay."
"I didn't realize you were tougher than I imagined."
Yan Xin's voice suddenly rang out, startling Su Banxia.
She looked up and met Yan Xin's smiling dark eyes.
She gave a faint smile. "Flattery."
With that, she glanced at Pei Shaoze, who was studying her as if sizing her up.
"I'm going to HR to pick up some documents."
Su Banxia felt the two of them probably had things to discuss, so she found an excuse to leave.
But Yan Xin blocked her path, smiling. "This involves you. No need to avoid it."
Su Banxia looked at him and replied with a faint smile, "But the biggest impact isn't on me, is it?"
That was true enough.
Yan Xin paused for a moment.
Su Banxia glanced at Pei Shaoze and then walked out.
In the office.
Yan Xin looked at Pei Shaoze and teased, "She's more interesting than we thought, isn't she?"
Pei Shaoze just raised an eyebrow at him, too lazy to engage.
Su Banxia left the office and headed straight to HR to find Fang Shiqing.
But before she reached HR, someone suddenly rushed out and blocked her path.
Before she could see who it was, a girl in pink appeared in front of her.
Then—"Slap!"
A solid slap landed on her face.
She hadn't even figured out what was happening.
The blow was forceful enough to make her head ring. She pressed a hand to her stinging cheek.
Su Banxia looked up at the girl before her. She recognized her.
It was the girl she had sent away during the interview on her first day at Ding Sheng.
Ye Lan, the third daughter of the Ye family.
Su Banxia raised her eyes to meet the girl's dark gaze, which was fixed on her with jealousy, hatred, and disgust.
"Miss Ye."
Su Banxia covered her mouth and looked at the girl.
Despite the slap, which left her somewhat disheveled, she still carried herself with the poise befitting the situation.
Ye Lan, sensing the coldness in her demeanor, instinctively stepped back. But remembering how Su Banxia had seduced her Brother Shaoze, her anger flared again.
Her clear black-and-white eyes glared at Su Banxia, arrogant and willful, as she raised her hand to push her again. "You slut, who gave you the nerve to seduce Brother Shaoze? So that day, you deliberately sent me away!"
Su Banxia dodged her outstretched arm and stared at her coldly. "Miss Ye, you've gone too far."
Seeing Su Banxia evade her, Ye Lan grew even angrier and raised her hand to strike again.
This time, Su Banxia caught her descending hand, her dark eyes fixed on her. "Miss Ye, you storm up to me without knowing the facts and slap me. Don't I have the right to sue you for assault?"
"Hah, you bitch, you've got some nerve. Dare to say you didn't seduce Brother Shaoze? You didn't flaunt yourself to catch his attention, making a big show of having him help you at the banquet in front of everyone? What cheap tricks did you use?"
Su Banxia understood now. This woman was confronting her over today's headlines.
Shaking off Ye Lan's hand, Su Banxia let out a cold laugh, lightly touching her injured cheek, her dark eyes fixed on the girl before her.
She spoke in a low voice. "Miss Ye, are you jealous that President Pei defended me? Is that it?"
"Bullshit! I'm not jealous of you. A slut like you—"
"Slap!"
The slap Su Banxia delivered was no lighter than the one she had received.
She used her strength cleverly—enough force to hurt, but leaving no visible mark on the girl's face.
"You—"
Caught off guard by the slap, Ye Lan covered her mouth in pain, her eyes reddening as she stared in disbelief. "You hit me?"
Su Banxia nodded. "Yes, I hit you. Because your mouth is dirty."
Honestly, she couldn't stand being spoken to in such vulgar terms.
"You—"
Ye Lan was about to curse again but swallowed her words when Su Banxia raised her hand.
Su Banxia smiled faintly. "Miss Ye, as the third daughter of the Ye family, to put it politely, you're still a... lady. When speaking to others, basic manners are necessary, aren't they?"
The sarcasm in her words was thick.
Ye Lan's face twisted with rage, but intimidated by Su Banxia's presence, she could only glare without daring to act further.
Seeing her temper subside a bit, Su Banxia said coldly, "Miss Ye, next time you act, please use your brain first."
With that, she walked past Ye Lan and left.
Ye Lan stood frozen in place, her face red with fury, but powerless to do anything.
"Holding in your anger isn't good. You'll make yourself sick."
A cool voice came from behind Ye Lan, startling the already furious girl.
Ye Lan turned around and saw Zhang Shanshan standing behind her.
"Who are you?"
Ye Lan demanded, her tone still unfriendly.
"Zhang Shanshan, Special Assistant to President Yan. Hello, Miss Ye."
Zhang Shanshan smiled at Ye Lan.
Ye Lan glanced at her with disdain. "Some nobody. I don't know you. What do you want?"
Zhang Shanshan disliked her arrogant, sarcastic demeanor, but she wouldn't miss an opportunity to use someone.
She smiled, feigning helplessness. "You seemed pretty angry just now, but now it doesn't look like it."
"None of your business?"
Ye Lan was used to looking down on others and had no interest in dealing with someone as insignificant as Zhang Shanshan.
Besides, Zhang Shanshan had just witnessed her humiliation.
So she had no desire to talk to her.
Zhang Shanshan was sharp enough to pick up on the dislike.
Smiling, she leaned in and lowered her voice. "Miss Ye, you've been wronged. Don't you want to do something to calm that anger?"
Ye Lan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Shanshan raised an eyebrow. "Miss Ye is smart. I think you understand what I mean."
Ye Lan stayed silent.
After a moment, as someone passed by, Zhang Shanshan spoke up. "Miss Ye, would I have the chance to treat you to a meal?"
"What are you planning?"
Ye Lan wasn't naive. She could hear the implication in Zhang Shanshan's words. Looking at her, she asked, "Why help me?"
"You're mistaken, Miss Ye. I'm not helping you. I'm helping myself."
"Helping yourself?"
Zhang Shanshan nodded.
"Yes, helping myself. After all, with Su Banxia around, I seem too insignificant."
Ye Lan frowned. "That's the reason?"
"What else? A woman's heart can be very small sometimes."
Ye Lan didn't know her true motives, but having an ally didn't seem like a bad idea.
After a pause, she nodded and looked at Zhang Shanshan. "When are you free?"
Zhang Shanshan checked the time. "After five. I'm off work then."
Ye Lan nodded. "Alright. Five-thirty. Let's grab a coffee."
"Okay."