Chapter 62. Even if I'm suspended from duty, I will still protect the people I love. ...
Xia Chan ran into Song Yalin again when she went to work the next day. He was lingering at the entrance of the lobby, probably waiting for her.
Xia Chan paused for a moment, pretending not to see, and quickly went to the staff room to change into her uniform.
She deleted him from WeChat and blocked his number yesterday. Several mutual friends from college sent her messages, subtly asking what was going on between her and Song Yalin. It turned out that Song Yalin had asked them to contact her and beg her to call him back.
Xia Chan did not tell them the specifics of what Song Yalin had done, which could be considered as leaving him with some dignity in the end.
But she clearly asked them to pass on the message that he should no longer contact her and that they should have no further connection.
However, she also guessed that Song Yalin would probably come to the hotel to see her in the next few days, and Du Na and the others jokingly asked them if they had quarreled.
To prevent Du Na and the others from misunderstanding, and also to have a thorough understanding of him, Xia Chan decided to meet with him to clarify things.
In the private lounge of Tianze Store, Song Yalin said, "Xia Chan... I'm sorry."
"Senior brother, you don't need to apologize." Xia Chan smiled faintly, her eyes filled with indifferent coldness. "Since yesterday's events have already happened, there's no point in saying anything more useless. Let's just solve the problem directly."
"I am truly grateful for your help over the years, and I sincerely want to express my thanks. Now that things have come to this, it's enough that you know how grateful I am; let's consider everything else settled. As for our relationship, there's no need for further contact. I wish you all the best in the future and hope you will take care of yourself."
Song Yalin's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Having known each other for many years, he naturally knew her decisive personality and the inviolability in her nature. He also knew that once she said those words, there would be no possibility of any future relationship between them.
But deep down he seemed somewhat unwilling, and after hesitating for a while, he asked, "Was that... that celebrity yesterday?"
"It's none of your business." Xia Chan's gaze turned cold and wary in an instant.
"Xia Chan, you can't be with him!" Song Yalin said urgently, "Do you know how chaotic that industry is? Do you know what kind of people are in that industry? How many good men are there in the entertainment industry? Haven't we seen enough filthy things with our confidentiality agreements? How can you let yourself get involved with them?"
"I know he's very good-looking and will be very rich in the future, but why would someone like that choose you? It's probably just a fling! What I did yesterday was a bastard's act, and I'm very sorry to you, but I don't believe I really hurt you, Xia Chan! But he's different! You're interested in him now, but what if he gets tired of you? I hope you can wake up and not get caught up in appearances and hurt yourself."
Xia Chan's gaze grew colder and colder, yet she felt a sense of absurdity in her heart, glancing at him with a cold smile.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother Song." After a moment, she smiled and said, "No one has ever hurt me in matters involving men and women."
Her eyes flashed with mockery, "Except for that treacherous banquet you held yesterday."
Song Yalin stood there, stunned.
Xia Chan went out.
Guan Bohan's trip back to Shanghai was a last-minute trip to film an advertisement. On this day, he finally arrived at the hotel and saw Xia Chan, giving her a bunch of gifts.
He had already heard about Xie Mei slapping her, and that he had even had a big argument with Xie Mei because of it. He felt even more ashamed and apologetic towards Xia Chan, and kept pestering her to give her a bunch of gifts to beg for her forgiveness.
Xia Chan stared at the pile of designer bags, watches, and high-end cosmetics he had given her... and fell silent, feeling rather helpless.
She had been receiving messages from Guan Bohan frequently these days, with his good morning and good night messages without fail. Sometimes she would receive WeChat voice calls while she was at work, and he even insisted that she give him a fixed time to chat every day to cultivate their relationship.
Xia Chan had considered talking to him directly on WeChat, but several times he would just get started before he would brush it off with work, and then act as if nothing had happened and repeat the same thing the next time.
Having finally met face-to-face again, she seized the opportunity.
"Mr. Guan, I don't know if I misspoke before and caused you to misunderstand me. Since we've met today, let me clarify things with you!"
"I appreciate it when you said you liked me; but I'm sorry when you said you wanted to pursue me. I don't like you, and it's impossible for us to be together, so please stop these so-called pursuit behaviors immediately."
"From beginning to end, I've only ever treated you as an ordinary client. The only difference between you and other clients is that you're more difficult to deal with, so I don't want to fall out with you. But your recent behavior has already caused me trouble, and I hope you'll stop. If we need to meet again at work in the future, I hope you can be lenient and not make things difficult for me because of this."
Guan Bohan was stunned. Her first thought was that it was because of Xie Mei, and she hurriedly explained, "Xia Chan... I really feel very sorry about this! I wasn't in Shanghai that day and couldn't come over. I didn't expect her to hit me. I'm really sorry that I was in the wrong!"
"But trust me this once, I promise I'll never let her face you again and I'll try my best to persuade her. Besides, my dad really likes you! As for what I did to you before, it was my fault. I know I was wrong and I apologize, but please don't..."
"It has nothing to do with her." Thinking of Xie Xun, Xia Chan just smiled to herself, not knowing whether she felt more sorry for him or her. "I just simply don't like you."
Meanwhile, Xie Jun had been relentlessly trying to contact Chen Zhoudu these past few days. When Chen Zhoudu didn't respond, she asked people to search for him privately, and even called her stepmother, Yang Yuan.
Chen Zhoudu had no choice but to agree to meet her, fearing the matter would escalate.
Upon finally seeing Chen Zhoudu again, Xie Jun was speechless for a long time. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Zhoudu, you and Chanchan... are..."
"Seventeen years old," Chen Zhoudu said calmly. "We met when we were seventeen."
Xie Xuan was taken aback.
Then Chenzhoudu told her a story.
"I don't know if Aunt Xie remembers, but when I was in my senior year of high school, I suddenly disappeared for half a year. At that time, my dad claimed that I was under too much pressure as I approached my senior year and went abroad to rest, but actually, my dad and I had a disagreement, so he sent me back to his hometown - Tongcheng, Qingshui Town."
Xie Xun was even more incredulous. Chen Zhoudu said, "In Tongcheng, I met a girl."
"She was very pretty, but a bit aloof. Her family ran a hotel, and she lived with her grandmother and a few friends. Anyway, by some twist of fate, I ended up staying at her family's hotel."
"Once, while helping a friend deliver goods, she was suddenly stopped by a middle-aged man who beat her mercilessly. The man beat her until her head was bleeding profusely, requiring three stitches in her head. Her body was covered in bruises from her shoulders to her back, and her hands were covered in cuts. When we arrived, the ground was covered in blood..."
Xie Xun felt as if a thin string was tightening around her throat, making it difficult to breathe, and her eyes were red and burning.
Chen Zhoudu remained indifferent throughout, saying, "I thought it was an accidental but intentional act of harm, but I later found out that it was her biological father."
"It is said that she stabbed him three times as a premeditated act of revenge. She claimed it was to protect her mother. However, her mother abandoned her afterward and disappeared without a trace."
"Stop talking..." Xie Jun could barely bear to listen anymore; her eyes welled up with tears, and she looked away. "Zhou Du, I...I..."
"I……"
“Aunt Xie.” Chen Zhoudu’s expression turned cold and stern at this moment, and he asked in a cold voice, “Do you have a grudge against your daughter?”
Xie Jun was stunned.
Chen Zhoudu said, "I know that your current life is hard-won. If you want to protect everything you have now, you are destined to... sacrifice some things."
"But that shouldn't be Xia Chan!"
His eyes were filled with a deep, dark, and undisguised coldness. He rarely showed such an expression. Xie Xun stared at him in astonishment, and then heard him say in a tight voice, "I still stand by what I said. I will not say anything to Uncle Guan on my own initiative—but on the condition that you do not disturb or hurt Xia Chan again."
"After all, you have to protect your family. I also have to protect the people I love."
-
That afternoon, a vice president-level manager from the Asia Ocean headquarters, who was in charge of the Tianze store, arrived at the Tianze store in Yuhui District and urgently convened a meeting with all employees at the manager level and above.
The meeting mainly focused on a complaint received by Tianze Store two days ago. The person reported was Xia Chan, the front desk manager of Tianze Store in Yuhui District.
The report was anonymous, consisting of only an audio recording and an email, sent directly to the Tianze store headquarters.
—Didn't you ask me how much money I wanted?
No matter how many, it's not allowed!
At first, I wanted money. But now I suddenly feel that wanting people seems more valuable than wanting money.
—What's the point of money? Hundreds of thousands, millions… no matter how much I have, I'll eventually run out of it all. But people are different. That's **! And he's your family's only son. If I could be with him, wouldn't I be set for life?
...
This quickly caused a huge uproar.
The whistleblower's letter, written from the perspective of a family member, claimed that Xia Chan, the front-of-house manager of Yuhui Tianze store, had violated store rules by contacting customers privately and developing inappropriate relationships with them, and had once again come to blackmail the family for money.
Asia Ocean Group's hotels have explicit regulations that hotel employees are not allowed to have private contact with customers, and even if they do, it cannot be done publicly.
Extortion is almost a crime and is strictly prohibited.
The whistleblower stated that he wanted to see clearly that Yahai Group was punishing Xia Chan, otherwise he would release the recording online, which would naturally have a certain impact on Yahai Tianze.
Therefore, the leadership of Tianze Store decided to temporarily suspend Xia Chan from her duties and investigate her.
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Author's Note: Two chapters today! One more to come~ Goodnight! [Sprinkling flowers]
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