"No! Don't!"
Jin Mo screamed sharply and sat up abruptly from the bed, gasping for breath violently.
Ten years ago, she had witnessed her father, Jin Donglai, leaping from the rooftop, blood splattering everywhere, his eyes unwillingly gazing at her.
Even till this day, this tragic scene still haunted her mind, unable to be dispelled.
She used to be a pampered heiress, but with her father's business failure and that fatal jump, everything changed.
"Xiao Mo, what's wrong, another nightmare?" A concerned voice came from outside the door.
"No, I was just scared by a cockroach," Jin Mo shouted back towards the door, her heart calming down, thankful that her grandmother was still with her.
After her father's suicide by jumping off the building that year, her mother also abandoned her to remarry, and a few years later, her grandfather passed away, leaving just her and her grandmother living in an old building in the East District.
Those living here were the lowest stratum of this city, packed and noisy.
Glancing at the time, Jin Mo hurried out of bed, chose a beige professional outfit, and applied a meticulous makeup look.
Today she had to meet a major client, Mr. Shen had specifically instructed her to show one hundred and twenty percent enthusiasm in her hospitality.
"Grandma, I'm running out of time, I'm leaving now, and I won't have breakfast!"
Jin Mo, carrying her bag, put on her shoes at the entryway.
Jin Mo's grandmother dashed out of the kitchen only to hear the door closing, and she shook her head helplessly.
Ningjiang Star Hotel.
Shen Hongyi, the General Manager of Shuxin Interior, sat in a spacious private room, having already drank two glasses of water, yet Jin Mo was still nowhere in sight.
Just getting off the taxi, Jin Mo checked the time and hurried along in her high heels.
She knew she was going to be late!
Just as she was about to enter, Jin Mo accidentally bumped headlong into a man's chest.
This man, with a tall and straight posture, with long legs, a model-like physique, was dressed in a black suit that added a touch of coldness, giving off a "keep out" vibe.
Jin Mo rubbed her head, "Sorry! I..."
As she was apologizing, the man turned around, and Jin Mo froze.
High nose bridge, thin lips, and those deep and arrogant eyes; that face slowly overlapped with the boy from her memories.
Tang Yan? How could it be him?
Jin Mo quickly lowered her head, pretending not to recognize him, and hurried away.
The man watched Jin Mo's retreating figure, his lips curving into a slight arc, then quickly returning to his cold and frosty demeanor.
In the last moment of the agreed time, Jin Mo finally rushed into the private room and, seeing only Shen Hongyi, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Jin Mo, I think you should change your watch," Shen Hongyi grabbed her wrist and tapped it lightly.
Jin Mo chuckled softly, with a teasing tone, "If Mr. Shen is willing to buy me one, I would be very happy."
When Tang Yan entered, he caught precisely this scene, Shen Hongyi holding Jin Mo's hand while Jin Mo bashfully returned a smile.
The underlying nature of such an interaction between a man and a woman was clear at a glance.
Tang Yan's expression suddenly tightened, and Ouyang, his assistant, felt as though he was standing next to an iceberg.
Only then did Shen Hongyi notice the person at the door, hurriedly got up to greet him, and courteously extended his hand, "Mr. Tang, hello, I'm Shen Hongyi, General Manager of Shuxin Interior, and this is the designer, Jin Mo."
Tang Yan raised an eyebrow and lewdly sized up Jin Mo as if he hadn't noticed Shen Hongyi extending his hand.
"Long time no see, Jin~Mo."
Different from his memory, the former Tang Yan would always keep his head down, never saying more than five words, and would softly call out her name with a slight fierceness.
But now, he carried himself with the air of a superior, looking up high, with only a few strands of hair slightly hanging down, and the indifference in his eyes seemed capable of freezing someone to death.
Jin Mo took a deep breath, extended her hand towards him, and forced a calmly squinting smile, "Mr. Tang, hello!"