She just muddled along at home for two days, getting up to eat a little when she was hungry, then going back to sleep in her room once she was full.
If it weren't for Cheng Xue coming to find her, she might have kept sleeping until the end of time.
Cheng Xue frowned and pulled open the curtains.
The gentle sunlight shone through the window into the room, and Cen Yao raised her hand to shield her eyes. It had been too long since she had seen such blinding sunlight, and her eyes were not used to it at first.
"You haven't been to work these past two days, and no one answered when I called. I was even thinking about calling the police, you know?"
It seemed that Cheng Xue didn't know what had happened; the company must have spared her face and not made her suspension public.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Xue. I thought you knew I was suspended from work."
"Suspended? Why would they suspend you out of the blue?"
"That man on the plane the other day filed a complaint with the company, saying that my attitude was bad, and he insisted that the company punish me, otherwise he would go to the media to expose it."
Hearing this, Cheng Xue was so anxious she was almost hopping up and down, rolling up her sleeves as if ready to fight.
"That's just the pot calling the kettle black! I should have slapped him hard back then, to teach him a lesson so he wouldn't talk nonsense!"
Cheng Xue wanted to comfort Cen Yao but didn't know where to start.
"Why don't you go ask for help from Senior Brother Shao?"
"Shao Xichen?"
"Yeah, Senior Brother Shao is the young chairman of our company. He definitely has influence."
Cen Yao was stunned, her eyes wide open. Shao Xichen was the young chairman of the company?
Cheng Xue twitched her lips, "You really didn't know?"
It was common knowledge, yet Cen Yao didn't know.
Back in college, Cen Yao had only quietly followed Shao Xichen, never inquiring about his family background.
Later, due to changes in her family, she had even less interest in frivolous matters.
If it weren't for the alumni association, she would have almost forgotten such a person existed.
Cen Yao hesitated; she wasn't sure if Shao Xichen would help her.
Yesterday she had sworn she wouldn't pester him, but today she was asking for his help again.
Wouldn't he think she had ulterior motives?
But reality didn't allow Cen Yao to be coy; she really needed money!
$$...$$
Before the alumni association, the class president created a WeChat contact group, and Shao Xichen was also in it.
With trepidation, Cen Yao added him as a friend, expecting a long wait for a response, but to her surprise, he accepted the request quickly.
Then, he sent over a big question mark.
Cen Yao stared at the screen, pondering seriously before typing a line of text, "I need to talk to you, can we meet?" Just as she was about to send it, she felt it was inappropriate and immediately deleted it.
About five minutes later, while she was still thinking about how to start the conversation, Shao Xichen called directly with an audio call.
Caught off guard, she hesitated for a moment before answering urgently.
"What do you want?"
The man's tone was indifferent, showing no emotion.
Cen Yao's already nervous heart became even more flustered, "I have some personal matters, can we chat?"
"I'm flying to Canada today. If you're not in a hurry, let's talk when I get back."
"Not in a hurry? How could she not be in a hurry?
"I am in a hurry, are you available now?"
On the other end of the phone, Shao Xichen glanced at the boarding time again, "Then tell me."
Taking a deep breath, Cen Yao's brain raced as she organized her thoughts.
"Can the company's suspension against me be revoked?"
"You came to me in such a hurry just for this!?" Before Cen Yao could finish speaking, Shao Xichen suddenly interrupted her, his tone fierce.
For some reason, Cen Yao felt a chill run down her spine; had Shao Xichen gotten angry?
"I know I shouldn't trouble you, but..."
"Cen Yao!" Shao Xichen called her by name, interrupting her again.
"There are clear regulations in the company that for any reason, conflicts with passengers are not allowed."
"I know..." Cen Yao bit her red lips lightly and nodded.
"Now that you know, why did you call me today?" The man's voice sounded indifferent, without any emotion.
Cen Yao stood stiffly in place, twisting the hem of her clothes in her hands into a ball.
"Sorry for disturbing you," she apologized proactively and hung up the phone.
Shao Xichen frowned, his handsome face turning as dark as charcoal.
Was it her own wishful thinking... crossing the line...
The next day, Cheng Xue took Cen Yao out to eat. She was flying to Florence early the next morning and wouldn't be back for a few days. Before leaving, she couldn't bear not to see Cen Yao one last time, feeling uneasy.
After the dishes were served, Cheng Xue saw that Cen Yao was still in low spirits.
"How did it go, did Senior Brother Shao agree to help?"
Cen Yao paused for a moment, silent for a long time before speaking.
"No."
Cheng Xue looked a bit surprised and exclaimed loudly, "What? He won't help you!? No way, I'll go to the airport tomorrow and plead with him myself!"
"Don't! Let's just drop this matter," Cen Yao said. Having embarrassed herself in front of Shao Xichen the day before, she didn't want to lose the last shred of dignity.
Seeing Cen Yao's negative mood, Cheng Xue didn't continue to harp on the issue.
After the meal, Cen Yao returned home and was met with darkness. She reached out to fumble for the light switch on the wall.
Looking at everything familiar before her, she felt no sense of belonging.
She wanted to give Ningning the best treatment to help her return to a normal life as soon as possible. After that, she planned to save up to buy a house that belonged solely to her.
But when would these dreams come true?
The rehabilitation center needed money, and she couldn't just sit idly by. After much thought, she decided to look for a **job**. That night, she sent out her resume to several companies, but each application sank like a stone into the sea, with no response.
After graduating from university, she went straight to work for Chang'an Airlines and had no other work experience. It was indeed difficult to find a suitable **position** in a short time.
Days passed, and she still hadn't received any news.
Just when she was at her wit's end, Manager Zhou suddenly called, notifying her to come back to work the next day!
Cen Yao stood rooted to the spot, her long eyelashes trembling in disbelief, until she heard Manager Zhou's voice again from the other end of the phone before she snapped out of it.
"Cen Yao, did you hear what I just said?"
"I heard."
But before she had a chance to ask for the reason clearly, Manager Zhou had already hung up the phone.
When she returned to the company the next morning to resume her duties, she happened to bump into Cheng Xue and the others.