Chapter 15: Sheng Xia, Stop Right There

“Sheng Xia, you stop right there!”

Sheng Xia halted in her tracks and looked back. It was Wang Roujia, storming toward her with fury on her face.

Wang Roujia was dressed impeccably in a white tailored suit, paired with matching stiletto heels. Arms crossed, she glared daggers at Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia raised an eyebrow, gave her a cool, casual smile, and asked, “President Wang, what can I do for you?”

“Cut the act!” Wang Roujia snapped impatiently. “Do you seriously not know why I came to find you?”

“Why?” Sheng Xia’s tone remained light.

That air of nonchalance almost made Wang Roujia blow a gasket. She dropped her arms and strode forward, grabbing Sheng Xia’s wrist and dragging her forcefully forward.

Sheng Xia was stunned for a few seconds, staring in disbelief at her seized wrist. She had to jog a few short steps just to keep up and avoid being pulled over.

After being dragged about five or six meters, Sheng Xia frowned and forcefully yanked her arm free. “President Wang, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

That tug made Wang Roujia stagger a little before regaining her balance. She turned around with a scowl, ready to lash out—but just then, a ray of sunlight streaming through a corridor window caught her off guard. It lit up Sheng Xia’s profile, casting a soft halo around her figure, making her look like a fairy stepped out of a painting.

These corridor windows were a common design in the conference building. Rumor had it that when the building was designed, a renowned local architect had precisely calculated where the sunlight would fall at certain times of day to create subtle aesthetic effects.

Wang Roujia had never paid much attention to that nonsense. She had walked down this hallway countless times without ever finding anything special about the windows. But now, seeing the sunlight illuminate Sheng Xia in that moment, she couldn’t help but think, Maybe those architects really knew what they were doing.

Ignoring Sheng Xia’s annoyed expression, she casually smoothed her clothes, pulled out her phone, switched to selfie mode, and—right in front of Sheng Xia—started posing with pouts and hair flips.

Sheng Xia watched the ridiculous scene unfold with a twitch of her mouth.

Is there something wrong with the feng shui of this place? Sheng Xia had thought Wang Roujia came to start a fight. Instead, she got dragged over just so Wang Roujia could admire her own awkward selfie poses?

This woman must be insane.

Sheng Xia sighed. The sunlight was getting a bit blinding, and as she squinted past the window, she figured it was time to leave. But just as she turned to go, that absurd woman behind her barked again.

“Sheng Xia, wait! Don’t you dare walk away!”

Annoying. Even the sunlight seemed to favor this woman who constantly challenged her! No matter how Wang Roujia posed, she couldn’t replicate the beauty of that earlier scene.

Frustrated, Wang Roujia shoved her phone back in her coat pocket, reset her expression, and glared. “Sheng Xia, are you seriously planning to put that pile of worthless junk in the display case?”

Sheng Xia’s brain short-circuited for a second. How did this woman switch between personalities so seamlessly?

Trying to refocus, Sheng Xia missed the warning signs in Wang Roujia’s tone. She replied indifferently, “Didn’t you choose those items yourself? Your taste is… unique. As a lowly curator, what could I possibly say?”

She shrugged, feigning indifference, which made Wang Roujia grit her teeth.

“You! Will! Regret! This!” Wang Roujia seethed, emphasizing every word.

Sheng Xia rolled her eyes and walked toward the elevator. “Regret what, exactly?”

What a fragile hot-house flower, Sheng Xia thought. One little disagreement, and she was ready to throw a tantrum. Did she really think Sheng Xia would ruin her own reputation—and the exhibition—over petty drama?

Just then, a cold breeze swept by. The sharp click of heels on marble abruptly stopped, and Sheng Xia felt a sharp tug on her scalp.

“Ow!” she cried out. Wang Roujia had yanked her hair and was now threatening her outright.

“Are you going to change the exhibition plan or not?!”

“Wang Roujia, are you insane? Let go of me!”

“No! If you don’t change it, I’ll yank out all your hair!”

Hair? Sheng Xia couldn’t believe her ears. Her well-maintained, glossy hair was being called… “hair” like that?

She burst out laughing, then snapped back, “You’re the one with hair! Your whole family’s made of hair! In your next life, your next ten lives—you’ll all still be made of hair hair hair hair hair hair hair!”

Wang Roujia hadn’t expected that kind of comeback and shouted back, “You’re the hairy one! Hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair hair aaaaahhh!”

The two women went back and forth yelling “hair” at each other like lunatics. Red-faced, breathless, shrieking at the top of their lungs.

Sheng Xia paused for a second, panting, then warned, “Before I completely lose it and beat the crap out of you, you better let go! Or I’ll make sure even your ancestors don’t recognize you afterward!”

“HAHAHAHA—” Wang Roujia doubled over laughing, holding her stomach. She yanked harder on Sheng Xia’s hair. “Scared of you? Please! I wasn’t raised to be scared of brats like you! You think I won’t—OW!”

Before she could finish, Sheng Xia hooked her leg and swept her down with a light trip. Wang Roujia landed hard on her butt, her left side immediately going numb.

“You—you sneak attacked me!” Wang Roujia cried, rubbing her sore butt as she stood up.

Sheng Xia rubbed her own scalp. That fall almost tore her hair out. “Who sneak attacked first, huh? You did!”

“I’m allowed to! You’re not!”

Wang Roujia kicked off her heels, rolled up her sleeves, and got ready to fight.

“Oh wow, how fair of you. You can burn down the town, but I can’t light a candle? What now? You wanna fight? Let’s go! If you don’t knock me out cold, don’t expect to walk away!”

Sheng Xia wore low-heeled leather shoes—not a problem for fighting. To keep things fair, she kicked hers off too and rolled up her sleeves, just as—

“OW! Whose stinky shoe hit me?!”

Han Zhuo stumbled out, rubbing his head. One of the flying shoes had smacked him.

He was furious—until he looked up and saw two women getting ready to brawl. What the heck? Fistfights in public now?

He picked up the offending shoe, fuming. He was about to march over and raise hell—until he recognized one of the women.

“Sh-Sheng Xia? Is that you?”

Sheng Xia turned and gave him a cold look.

Han Zhuo trembled. He immediately dropped the shoe and laughed awkwardly. “Haha! So it was you! No problem then, throw your shoes at me anytime!”

But Sheng Xia had no time for him. Across from her, Wang Roujia screamed and launched her attack.

Sheng Xia inhaled deeply and shouted back, even louder—

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

The two screamed, wild hair flying, and lunged into a full-on catfight.

Han Zhuo pressed himself to the wall, covering his ears in agony. Their screaming was deafening.

A full-blown brawl erupted—hair-pulling, collar-grabbing, total chaos.

Han Zhuo was stunned, then rushed forward to break it up. “Stop! Stop fighting! Can’t we talk this out?!”

Before he could separate them, Wang Roujia punched him in the eye, and Sheng Xia elbowed him in the ribs. He let out a wail and scrambled away, weeping.

Just then, the elevator dinged. Four or five people rushed out.

Leading them was Qi Youbai.

He looked furious, his forehead damp with sweat from running. He stormed over, shouted in a deep, cold voice:

“Enough!”

The two women froze instantly like statues.

The three secretaries arrived next and instinctively separated the two women. Assistant Xiao Wang, panting and wheezing, staggered over to Sheng Xia’s side.

He took one look at her barefoot, disheveled, collar-askew state—and then at Wang Roujia, whose makeup was smudged and skirt twisted—and nearly burst into tears.

“Miss Sheng… Manager Wang… What are you two doing?!”

Just then, an ominous pressure filled the air.

Qi Youbai walked up slowly. His face was dark, eyes cold and furious.

Assistant Xiao Wang quickly stepped aside to make way.

A secretary brought the two women’s shoes back and handed them over. But the calm that followed was clearly the calm before the storm.

Qi Youbai stood in front of them. His voice was mild, his tone polite, as if he were asking about the weather.

“Manager Wang, your father once boasted to me that you returned from overseas full of talent and vision, capable of contributing to Junli’s growth. And yet here you are—brawling with a partner before the Tang Iron Exhibition has even opened?”

Wang Roujia shook off the person holding her arm and raised her chin. “President Qi, you don’t understand. I did this for the good of the hotel! I was furious! Sheng Xia brought in a bunch of worthless junk—that’s sabotage! She’s ruining Junli’s reputation!”

“That’s not true, you started it—” Sheng Xia tried to defend herself, but one sharp glare from Qi Youbai shut her up.

He interrupted coldly, “Silence!”

Sheng Xia bit her tongue, eyes blazing, then gave a cold snort and turned away.

Seeing that, Wang Roujia beamed with pride. See? Qi Youbai still sided with her. He hadn’t let Sheng Xia say a word—clearly, she still had a place in his heart.

After all, she had chased him for so long. What man could resist that?