Chapter 2.1: Setting the tone

Let’s rewind to April 8th, 2018. It was six o’clock in the afternoon, and light rain continued to fall in the southern city.

The drizzle made travel unusually difficult, with vehicles zigzagging through the streets, some moving, some stopping, and pedestrians on the sidewalks holding umbrellas, waving for taxis. Just like the rain, it caused chaos throughout the entire city.

Due to the gloomy weather, many employees of Fuqiang Real Estate hadn’t left after work, hoping to wait out the peak of the rainfall before heading home.

Groups of idle employees gathered in small clusters, some waiting for takeout, some chatting. Only Ye Sibei sat alone at her desk, wearing headphones to block out most of the noise, fully focused on recording data.

“At one o’clock last night, a serious criminal case occurred in the Xinchun Street area of our city. The victim is a young woman wearing a black top, a tight skirt, and red high heels. Surveillance footage shows that the victim was forcibly taken away by several men at the intersection of Xinchun South Road and Binhe East Road. She has not returned home yet. The police have launched a city-wide search. If citizens have any clues, they can call the hotline…”

The latest local news was playing on the screen in the lobby. Along with the news sound, an exclamation from a deliveryman reached Ye Sibei’s ears: “Miss Ye, your delivery.”

“Ah!” Ye Sibei took off her headphones, adeptly stood up, and hurried to the door in her high heels, where she received two large bags of boxed meals from the deliveryman.

“Thank you.” Ye Sibei thanked the deliveryman warmly, and he responded with a simple “you’re welcome” before turning and hurrying away. Ye Sibei returned to her desk area with the boxed meals, opened the plastic bags, and began distributing the meals to the seated employees nearby.

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The girl was wearing the uniform of Fuqiang Real Estate, a set of uniforms specially tailored by the top boss of Fuqiang, with a hefty price tag. The outfit consisted of a tight-fitting skirt, a tailored suit, and black stockings, giving off a professional yet sexy appearance.

Ye Sibei always felt restrained in this uniform. When the leaders weren’t around, she would even put on a cloak to cover herself. When leaving the company, regardless of the season, she would always wear a coat to conceal herself thoroughly.

But this girl seemed to enjoy wearing this uniform. She even deliberately shortened the length of her skirt, accentuating her curvaceous figure and glamorous makeup, making her stand out as strikingly beautiful.

As Ye Sibei approached, the girl was touching up her makeup. She faced the mirror on the desk, applying vibrant lipstick to her plump lips.

As she applied lipstick, her feet under the desk were restless, one leg crossed over the other, one shoe half off and hanging on the tip of her foot, swaying precariously with her movements, as if teasing the hearts of onlookers.

Ye Sibei watched her movements and subconsciously glanced back at where Tao Jie and her group were, seeing them gossiping nearby once again.

Quickly retracting her gaze, Ye Sibei approached the girl and placed the boxed meal on the desk.

“Chuchu, here’s your tomato beef stew rice.”

“Hmm?” Hearing Ye Sibei’s voice, Zhao Chuchu looked up and saw her. She furrowed her brows, “Sis, why is it you again bringing the food?”

Zhao Chuchu is the only person in this office who would stand up for her because she is the girlfriend of Ye Nianwen, Ye Sibei’s younger brother.

Ye Nianwen and Zhao Chuchu started dating since high school and have been together until now. Although Zhao Chuchu only graduated from vocational school and doesn’t have a stable job, being an only child and a local, paired with Ye Nianwen who just became a lawyer, they are considered compatible, so the Ye family didn’t oppose their relationship.

Being coworkers with Zhao Chuchu, Ye Sibei knows her temperament well and quite likes her.

“That’s fine for this time,” Ye Sibei smiled. “I’ll go back to work now.”

“Wait,” Zhao Chuchu grabbed her. “Didn’t you tell me you finished your work this afternoon? Why are you still working overtime?”

“Wang Jie needed to pick up her child, so I helped out.”

“She picks up her child every day. It’s not fair for you to help every day,” Zhao Chuchu said, somewhat discontented. “I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”

“It’s not a big deal…” Ye Sibei felt a little panicked when she heard Zhao Chuchu wanted to stand up for her.

She glanced at Zhao Chuchu’s exposed legs and pursed her lips, changing the subject. “Maybe you should make your skirt longer.”

Zhao Chuchu raised her eyebrows, and Ye Sibei continued, “I heard there have been some perverts lately. A girl got dragged away in the middle of the night. You should be careful.”

Hearing this, Zhao Chuchu laughed. “Even if you’re careful, it won’t help if people become perverts.”

“Then you should still be cautious. Prevention is better than cure,” Ye Sibei frowned. “Should I have Nianwen come pick you up…”

“I’m already cautious,” Zhao Chuchu interrupted her, reaching into her bag and smiling as she pulled something out. Seeing what it was, Ye Sibei was shocked and grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?”

“I read from an expert,” Zhao Chuchu leaned in close, lowering her voice. “Carry a condom with you. If you encounter a bad guy, offer it proactively. This way, they’ll think you won’t call the police, reducing the risk of disease and increasing your chance of survival.”

“You…” Ye Sibei blushed, feeling too embarrassed to continue talking with Zhao Chuchu. “You’re just making things up.”

“I’m serious, sister.”

With that, Zhao Chuchu patted her hand. “Bring an extra one in your bag. There are a lot of perverts nowadays. It’s better to be prepared.”

“Don’t joke around.”

Ye Sibei felt like her hand, which had touched that thing, was burning. She blushed and turned away. “I’ll go back to work first.”

“Hey, sister,” Zhao Chuchu called out to Ye Sibei. Ye Sibei turned to look at her, and Zhao Chuchu put away her smile. She pursed her lips and hesitated before asking, “Has Brother-in-law… come home?”

Ye Sibei’s expression stiffened, and Zhao Chuchu looked somewhat worried. Just as she was about to speak, Ye Sibei spoke first, “He said he’ll be back tonight, everything’s fine.”

Zhao Chuchu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She smiled, “That’s good. Nianwen and I are getting married soon. If you and him haven’t reconciled by then, I’ll feel bad celebrating.”

“What nonsense,” Ye Sibei comforted her. “Couples argue all the time. It’s normal.”

“Yeah,” Zhao Chuchu nodded, but then she couldn’t help but ask again, “But sister, why did you and Brother-in-law fight in the first place?”

“It’s just a trivial matter.” Ye Sibei didn’t give a direct answer, just said, “Hurry up and finish your work, and go home when the rain stops. Don’t stay out too late.”

With that, Ye Sibei returned to her position and began to do work that wasn’t hers.

The rain had been falling all afternoon and was now coming to an end. In a short while, it slowly subsided.

Zhao Chuchu left early, and the office became emptier and emptier, with only a few salespersons still working overtime.

Around eight o’clock, Ye Sibei finally finished her overtime. She locked all the cabinets one by one and walked towards the door.

Chen Xiaoyang, holding a cup of tea, walked towards his desk and saw Ye Sibei. He glanced at the door curiously and asked, “Ye Jie, didn’t your husband come to pick you up?”

“Oh,” Ye Sibei nodded somewhat awkwardly. “He’s been busy lately.”

“I see,” Chen Xiaoyang realized he might have touched on a sensitive topic. He scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. “Then be careful on your way home.”