Chapter 3: Have Her Stay to Keep Me Company
"Third Master, Young Master Song, Young Master Zhong, the waitress is new and doesn't know the rules, and it's my fault for letting her in. How about this, today's drinks will be on the house. I hope you all can be understanding! Please, be understanding!"
The manager kept apologizing profusely while calling someone through the intercom to clean up.
Shen Chaoxi stuffed earbuds in to listen to English listening exercises for a while, then she heard work assignments being distributed through the intercom.
Cleaning up room number eight on the sixth floor was her duty for the evening.
She picked up her tools and quickly entered the room after properly putting on her mask.
Upon entering, even through the mask she could smell the distinct mix of nicotine and red wine.
"Come here! There's a broken bottle of red wine, clean it up carefully, don't dirty the guests' clothes!"
Seeing the cleaner wearing the light white with red-collar Dicalon fabric come in, the manager displayed an extremely flattering attitude.
The previous waitress had already been taken away.
In addition to the guests, the manager, and herself were in the private room. Shen Chaoxi remembered the admonitions of her aunt Zheng Juanjuan, to keep her head down while working, and to just do whatever she was told.
Therefore, even though there was a significant gaze fixed upon her, she did not notice it.
Having cleaned up the mess on the coffee table, Shen Chaoxi turned to leave when she heard a deep, teasing voice.
"We can let go of the incident just now, and there's no need to waive the drinks bill, but there is a condition."
The manager, upon hearing this, thought he'd received a full pardon and naturally had no objections.
"Please say it, Third Master!"
Shang Jianghan lifted the hand holding his cigarette and pointed in Shen Chaoxi's direction.
"I want her to stay and keep us company!"
Manager: ...
Shen Chaoxi was led to the door of the private room by the manager.
"You are taking over for Zheng Juanjuan, right? Perform well. Whether she can keep her job depends on how well you do tonight!"
The salary for a cleaner at Bai Ye is not low, there are no rest days, taking a day off would result in a deduction from the attendance bonus, and it's a substantial amount. Otherwise, Zheng Juanjuan wouldn't have troubled her to take over her shift twice. If she lost this job, the consequences were clear.
As the manager of Bai Ye, the most high-end club in Shangjing City, his skills in manipulating people were beyond doubt.
Shen Chaoxi kept her eyes low; she had already recognized the people in the room.
That such a request would be made was within her expectations.
"Last time I was filling in, I don't work there regularly!"
The words she had just spoken that morning were now slapping her in the face!
Seeing that Shen Chaoxi remained silent, the manager started to tempt her after the initial coercion.
"Tonight's consumption in this private room will give you a ten percent bonus, and you can keep the tips for yourself!"
"Alright!"
Shen Chaoxi snapped back to reality, agreeing crisply.
Not taking the money was not her style.
Seeing her agree so readily, the manager sized her up with his long, narrow eyes.
Under the large cleaner's uniform, she seemed tall and slim; her whole face was not visible because of the mask, but her eyes were particularly striking and alluring, lifting at the corners, and the visible skin was pearly and bright, captivating to the eye.
Zheng Juanjuan had said she had something to do in the evening and asked someone to take over the shift. Such things happened often; a cleaner just had to do their job well.
The manager had not expected that taking over this evening's shift would prove so valuable, literally saving his life!
However, being chosen by that person inside was also this girl's good fortune!
After advising a few more words, the manager personally opened the door to the private room and pushed Shen Chaoxi inside.
Inside, half the lights were turned off, creating a hazy atmosphere.
On the transparent glass coffee table, there was an array of drinks, beverages, and a platter of fruits.
The private room wasn't very large, but it was luxuriously decorated and was the best one in Bai Ye.
Shen Chaoxi stood at the entrance, not moving forward, the faces of the three individuals within her sight not unfamiliar.
Her memory quickly took her back two months ago.
Yuncheng.
The sun that day was exceptionally fervent, as if it wanted to scorch the earth.
She came out from the Shen Family villa, holding only a black shoulder bag in one hand, walking down the foot of the mountain on foot, her back already soaked with sweat.
Up ahead at the curve, a bus had collided with a supercar.
The bus had tipped over, pinning the supercar underneath, a luxury red limited-edition Ferrari was crushed out of shape, someone trapped in the cramped cabin.
Instinctively, Shen Chaoxi pushed through the crowd and went in.
The bus driver was having a heated argument with Song Yang, who was dressed in a patterned shirt and had an unconventional style.
"It wasn't our fault, I was driving just fine, it was you who caused it by overtaking!
And besides, young people playing with overtaking on curves should at least choose a safe place, it's about the lives of a bus full of people, if anyone dies, who will be responsible?"
"Exactly, they really don't take human life seriously!"
The passengers, who had a narrow escape from death, naturally wouldn't stand by idly, each blaming and taking photos with their mobile phones.
At that moment, Zhong Shuoxi, dressed in black, finished a call and pulled on Song Yang.
"You still in the mood to argue? Hurry up and think of something. If the third young master has any mishap, not just the Shang family won't let you off, but all of us brothers will take you down!"
In fact, it was Song Yang who was playing with overtaking; he was sitting in the driver's seat. When danger arose, Shang Jianghan at the passenger seat pushed him out, but ended up trapped in the cabin himself.
Feeling guilty, Song Yang grabbed his hair and said angrily.
"Damn this place! All the firefighters are a bunch of wimps! How long has it been and still no sight of them, if the third young master has an accident, I'll burn them all!"
The person speaking had a strong Beijing accent, not a local from Yuncheng.
At that point, people in the crowd started to discuss.
"You see that? Shangjing City District license plate, and it has the number eight, someone with a big background indeed!"
"No wonder he's so arrogant!"
"Shh! Better say less, don't provoke someone we shouldn't, we don't even know!"
With these few phrases, the crowd consciously retreated a few steps.
Therefore, when everyone moved back to the shaded area and remained silent, the figure that crouched by the supercar, half leaning over, ironically became very conspicuous.
Their eyes met.
This was the first time Shen Chaoxi saw Shang Jianghan.
The afternoon sun did not decrease in intensity at all, casting glaring light all around.
The person in the car looked somewhat disheveled, half of his face wedged between the airbag and the driver's seat, and one of his legs, not retracted in time, was caught at a strange angle by the door.
From the clothing and the blue glow from the steel watch on his left wrist, it was not hard to see that the person was either rich or noble!
"How is it? Are there any external injuries?"
Shen Chaoxi's soft voice came out as her fair and delicate right hand had already reached in!
Shang Jianghan struggled to lift his right eye, using the faint bit of light coming in to clearly see the face closest to him.
With fair skin, brows and eyes like a painting, the ends of her eyes slightly lifted, a seemingly innocent face carried a hint of seductiveness.
"Hss!"
After a low hiss of pain, wet liquid slid down Shang Jianghan's face.
When he took another look, his brow furrowed unconsciously.
A spring behind the driver's seat had broken, the sharp piece of metal cutting the fair and delicate index finger that had reached in.
The injured seemed unconcerned, shook her finger and then placed it on Shang Jianghan's left wrist.
The blue haze from the expensive watch almost blended with the colour of her fingertip.
Shang Jianghan's Adam's apple rolled, his voice as if coated in sand.
"No problem, no external injuries!"
"Your eye is almost gone, we need to think of a way to get out!"
The words of Shang Jianghan and Shen Chaoxi nearly overlapped.
At this time, Shang Jianghan's left eye was indeed being pressed by the airbag, and the pressure was gradually diminishing, which is when he realized the severity of the situation.
Darkness gradually filled the depths of his eyes!