Jian Tong has been working at Donghuang for three months.
As night falls, the overly bustling city becomes a blaze of neon lights, inciting restless hearts with its allure.
Jian Tong has just finished cleaning up the vomit of a lady who had drunk too much. Although her movements were slow, she handled the task with deft efficiency. She then lit some incense and placed it in the corner.
Her mop swept through the independent sanitary compartments, taking her to the very last one, which not only housed the cleaning supplies but also served as her makeshift resting place during breaks.
Everything appeared to be in perfect order, methodically managed.
The waiter who had dragged her into this had long since vanished, but Jian Tong didn't mind. After ensuring the mop and bucket were neatly put away, she sat down in the compartment and began to daydream.
Jian Tong, everything was Mr. Shen's intention.
Jian Tong, you are nothing now. You've lost the noble family you were once proud of, your charming beauty is gone, your impressive education is gone; you're now just a criminal!
Jian Tong, behave and follow orders, don't resist us. Mr. Shen has instructed us to 'take good care' of you.
Jian Tong, what does a prisoner need with two kidneys? Giving up one could save someone's life and serve as atonement for the innocent lives you've wronged.
Jian Tong... just give up, stop struggling...
Those voices sounded like curses, and those faces were twisted into horrifying, extreme ugliness. No matter how hard Jian Tong tried to drive them away, they lingered persistently.
"Jian Tong, come out, VIP room 606 on the sixth floor." The door to the compartment was suddenly pulled open from the outside, and someone with a furrowed brow urged Jian Tong to hurry up: "Come on, stop dawdling. Even the top models in the club don't act as high and mighty as you do."
Jian Tong was usually quiet and kept to herself, doing whatever she was told without backtalk or resistance, even when deliberately bullied. It had become an open secret in the club that if anyone was in a foul mood, they could take it out on Jian Tong to 'ease' their anger."
VIP rooms are the responsibility of the designated hostesses," Jian Tong spoke the truth, but to the ears of the waiter, it was as if she had challenged the order of things. His face turned cold immediately, arms crossed defensively: "The guest has vomited, and you want Luna to handle such a disgusting task?"
It seemed clear that while Luna was spared from the revolting tasks, Jian Tong was not; the waiter didn't care if this distinction hurt Jian Tong.
True to form, Jian Tong didn't argue. With a simple "Oh," she adopted a docile expression that only deepened the waiter's disdain for her.
With her gaze downward, Jian Tong followed the waiter to the elevator. Abruptly pushed out, she looked confused, only to be met with the waiter's disdainful glance. "What are you doing? Use the service staircase to go up. It's only six floors, and it will do you good," the waiter scoffed, giving Jian Tong a once-over: "Helps you lose some weight."
In fact, Jian Tong is not fat. Not only is she not fat, she is also ridiculously thin. But every day when she goes to work, she is wrapped in a thick layer of clothes. Makes her look bulky and bulky.
It was clear that he was deliberately making things difficult for Jian Tong. No matter who it was, there would be a quarrel. But this person was Jian Tong, and the waiter was very sure that there would be no quarrel.
As expected, Jian Tong went to climb the stairs obediently. When the elevator door closed, the waiter curled his lips in disdain. It's really useless.
In the dim stairwell, the only sound left was Jian Tong's footsteps.
This is the safety passage and the escape staircase. Generally, people don't go here. They take the direct elevator up and down the stairs. The light is dim and ambiguous. In addition to being used for escape when necessary, it also has another purpose-to have an affair.
Jian Tong climbed upstairs step by step slowly. When she reached the fifth and a half floors, she felt a little difficult. She stopped to rest for a while on the half-stairs, and heard a squeaking sound near her ears, as if she was gasping for breath... Jian Tong's heart skipped a beat. When she looked up, around the corner, a man was pressing a woman against the stairs. Kiss each other, the action is sensational and ambiguous.
From her perspective, she saw the silhouette of a woman and the half-profile of a man.
Muttering about her bad luck, she realized she had stumbled upon a pair of lovers in a clandestine meeting. Just as she thought to retreat, the man's eyes, previously closed, snapped open and fixated on her with a captivating intensity.
Jian Tong's heart pounded like a drum as she blinked rapidly, her gaze locked onto the man. He became aware of her stare, and it only seemed to embolden him. He gripped the back of the unknown woman's head more forcefully, his actions bordering on intimate as he kissed her. The dark eyes on his half-profile gleamed brighter than the stars, mocking and fixed upon Jian Tong.
A shudder ran through Jian Tong, and she lowered her head, lifting her feet to turn and head downstairs abruptly.
"Stop right there." The voice that came from behind made her scalp tingle with apprehension. She didn't want to cause trouble, but she couldn't predict what someone from this world of power and wealth might do.
After a moment's hesitation, Jian Tong turned around, bowed respectfully, and said, "Good evening, sir. I apologize for disturbing you." While gesturing toward the security door that led to the sixth floor, she explained, "I am a cleaner summoned to clean room 606. It was purely coincidental, and I hope you can forgive me for any disruption."
The man seemed amused rather than startled by her explanation. "You're a cleaner? So young?" His captivating eyes scrutinized Jian Tong from head to toe. "You're going to room 606?" Just as Jian Tong was about to confirm with a "yes," the man beckoned her, "Come on, I'll take you there."
Uh...? Jian Tong was perplexed looking at the man. With a moment's hesitation, she lifted her feet and followed him.
Jian Tong recognized the woman accompanying the man; she was a new model known by the stage name Zhenzhen. When Zhenzhen saw the man heading towards the security door, she followed suit.
However, the man suddenly stopped, turned around, and said to Zhenzhen, "I said I'd take her, not you. You don't need to follow."
Zhenzhen pouted flirtatiously at the man, "Xiao Shao, you don't care about me at all anymore..." She was cut off as the man known as "Xiao Shao" presented a check with a smile, "Can you leave now?"
Zhenzhen's eyes sparkled as she swiftly forgot her nasal whine, took the check with a cheerful thank you, and left without further ado.
Jian Tong noticed it clearly: although Xiao Shao's face wore a smile as he handed the check to Zhenzhen, the smile in his eyes seemed more like a mocking sneer. Sensing Jian Tong's gaze, Xiao Shao suddenly lifted his eyelids, casting his alluringly wicked eyes upon her: "What? Fallen for me?"
"Ah?"
Xiao Shao exuded an aura of strength, his muscles tensing, and before she knew it, he had closed the distance between them. Jian Tong, not particularly tall to begin with, felt even shorter next to him as he loomed over her.
Xiao Shao, with his entrancing eyes slightly narrowed, looked down at the dark-haired head that barely reached his chest. Suddenly he leaned over, his voice brushing her ear, "Have you really fallen for me? Is it me you've fallen for, or is it my money?"
Jian Tong felt a warm breath on her ear, causing her lobes to turn a deep shade of red in an instant! Instinctively, she stepped back rapidly, forgetting that her legs were injured. Moving too quickly and too suddenly, she lost her balance. Prepared to tumble to the ground, she was surprised when a strong hand suddenly appeared around her waist, steadying her just in time.