"What?" Mingxia gazed at Yuming, stupefied by what she had declared. It never crossed her mind to assume that was why he was acting so kind to her. When she woke up in the night, she found him scrunched up on the couch next to the window. From seeing him, she easily guessed he was feeling sore and not used to this kind of treatment. She felt guilty and went back to sleep. If he did this all because he liked her, when did he start liking her?" Stop daydreaming, Yuming. He is only doing this because his mother requested that he take care of him after she died. " She was not that rash to jump to the wrong conclusion; moreover, he had stated his intention clearly from the onset. It would be ill-mannered of her to think otherwise.
"Oh! My bad. It is hard not to think otherwise." Yuming apologized for misleading her into thinking that her young master showed affection for her—perhaps it was a pure and honest one. She sighed as she unpacked the feminine care, taking the one Mingxia needed and then keeping the rest. "When are you coming back? Lixin was too tired to answer my questions."
"We are uncertain about that. The court case was suddenly postponed. We might have to stay here for the time being." Mingxia added sipping her ginger tea. No matter what, she was willing to stay in her hometown, although this was the place that traumatized her the most. Huang Yichen pulled open the door and greeted her.
"Miss Zhou, follow me." Those were his words, yet to her, it sounded as if he held a grudge against her. Mingxia swallowed her saliva and followed him. Yichen led her straight to the therapist he had found some hours earlier. "Lixin booked you an appointment with her; she goes by the name Min Hui." Unfortunately for Mingxia, her worst nightmare was gradually coming to pass.
Mingxia could not bring herself to reject Yichen and Lixin's kind offer and still did not want to attend. If they had gotten her therapy, did that mean they saw her as a psycho? Anyone would naturally conclude that even Luo Yuxuan did; therefore, it was not a surprise. She recalled when Yuxuan dragged her for a therapy session, and when she refused to go, the chaos started. She bit her lips nervously, reading the title on the door. Fear naturally came upon her.
"I am fine. I would not go." Mingxia strongly rejected it, turning to walk back to the hospital room where she was before being called out. From afar, she heard Yichen hiss and looked back.
"I know you want to keep clinging to Lixin! It would not work either. Do not get accustomed to Lixin's niceness; it will never last. His temper worsens every second; count yourself as a lucky one." Yichen brazenly retorted at her. All he could see in front of him was a clinging, broken woman who rebuffed his help, although it was urgent. Her character was becoming very disgusting!
Mingxia paled upon hearing Yichen's statement. She swore she had heard this before, and the moment she comprehended from whom she had overheard it, her skin whitened further. It was Xu Mengyao. At first, Zhou Mingxia thought that she said it out of anger, but now it became very vivid to her; she meant every word. Mingxia's heart sank in sadness, and her eyes became teary. What she wanted to do was run, but then again, she had nowhere to run to. Her family had cast her off from every property of the Zhou; furthermore, she was alone.
"Am I really lucky?" Mingxia lowered her head, tears dropping from her eyes. She kept herself from being weak in front of Yichen. Noticing she was crying, Yichen pulled her aside and, in irritation, scorned her. He still did not understand why Lixin chose a broken pair of shoes over new, quality ones. "I understand. I will try my best to heal quickly so I can move on from his life. Sorry for all the inconvenience my situation has caused you, Mr. Huang." With that, Mingxia gave a bow and walked away. Her legs carried her as far as she could go. She stopped near a corner, squatted on the ground, and cried softly.
She did not want to return to the hotel all sulked up, so Mingxia left the hospital, hoarded a taxi, and went straight to Icy Co. The address was so vivid in her mind that she could not mistake it; however, she was wrong. She was wrong about everything! Luo Yuxuan changed the name to XL Law Firm.
…XL? Xu Mengyao and Luo Yuxuan? It was so simple for her to guess the acronym. He never cared about her at all and only waited for her scumbag father to announce her demise before he ran off with his mistress. Mingxia's sadness was replaced by a surge of rage. She balled her fist and cursed Yuxuan from the bottom of her heart. She loved him; on the other hand, he loved another woman and used her as a stepping stone to her success. Everyone else did! Mengyao came into her life, acted so kind to her, and made her grow so fond of her until she stabbed her in the back. No one truly liked her! Was her fate this cruel?
"What a scumbag!" Mingxia continued to pour out her emotions. Her eyes were red from crying, and her nose felt stuffy. She wiped off her tears and turned to leave. Conversely, Mingxia did not expect her name to be called by her former coworker. In the past, due to her kind nature, Mingxia made her employees address her by her first name rather than Miss Zhou. She was surprised to see Su Mei. She had grown thinner than before.
Hurriedly, Mei dragged her into her warm embrace, and a smile popped out on her face. She was truly happy to see her former boss again; truth be told, others would be happy to see her. They had all suffered at Mengyao's hands during the two years that had passed. Zhou Mingxia, their loveable boss, disappeared without any formal notice for a whole two years. Naturally, things changed; the company changed.
Under the leadership of Luo Yuxuan and Xu Mengyao as his assistant chief executive officer, Icy Co.'s influence in the law industry diminished, and most of all, their best workers were laid off. Seeing this, the shareholders pulled their resources out, and the company capsized instantaneously. It was not as strong as it used to be when Mingxia was around. How awful things took a wrong turn.
"Xiao Ming! You scared me. You scared everyone. Luo Yuxuan announced your departure and brought in that white Lotus fool as the head of the department. Mengyao abused her power and laid off many workers who could not stand her attitude. As I speak, eighty percent of the hardworking people are gone."
"Why did you not leave?" Mingxia asked. Her story seemed suspicious. If everyone left, why did she choose to stay and work for them? Su Mei was her assistant and a very good consultant with quick listening and communication skills. She could not move higher since she was the lowest in the rank of certificates in the law industry. Mingxia did not mind giving her a little boost, and since she was ready to also be a lawyer, Su Mei naturally improved her skill. To appreciate her effort and teach others that hard work pays, she gave her a promotion. It was still vivid in Mingxia's mind, the joy and promise Su Mei made after she was promoted.
"It will be selfish to leave. I saw the hard work you put into developing that law firm. It would be a waste to leave just like that. I swore to continue to fight for justice, and Icy Co. gave me that platform to do so. I could not leave, no matter the harsh treatment they gave me. My monthly salary was changed to an annual, and upon that, they had the guts to withhold my payment when I declined their ways of handling a lawsuit. I…miss you." For once, these words were very genuine. Mingxia smiled and gained some hope from this little girl. Su Mei was only two years younger than her. She was a star, though her family's condition never allowed her to further her education. If it had, Su Mei would be the best lawyer in all of China.
Mingxia saw a lot of potential in Su Mei and felt remorseful for Mengyao's bad treatment of her. That reminded her of an oath she took when Luo Yuxuan relieved her of her duty! She was going to bring down Icy Co. within a month. She had not only failed by not doing that; she had also given Luo Yuxuan more power to exert wickedness on her employees. She was the true definition of disappointment. She gave her employees false hope about life and justice!
"How many people has he fired?"
"Four hundred and sixty-four."
"That much?" Mingxia greeted her with her teeth. Luo Yuxuan was threading her bottom line. Those people had financial difficulties, and laying them off without money would make it hard for them to survive. He was deliberately being unreasonable. Mingxia led Su Mei to a cafeteria opposite the road, paid her bills, and ate with her. "What else do I need to know?"