World 1: Sinister Retired Third-Generation X Original Heroine’s Colleague, the Pitiful Girl 14
Chen Manzi gripped the strap of her bag tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The woman who was once proud as a peacock now looked like a beggar waiting for scraps.

“Huo Hanting will definitely see me…”

She murmured, her breath forming puffs in the cold air that quickly dissipated.

“Miss, you’ve been standing here for half an hour,” the security guard at the entrance couldn’t help but remind her. “Why don’t you come back another day?”

Chen Manzi suddenly raised her head, a flash of cruelty in her eyes. “Who do you think you are? You think you have the right to kick me out?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She was no longer the lofty heiress of the Chen family.

The guard’s expression shifted slightly, but he maintained a professional smile. “I was only making a suggestion…”

“I’m sorry,” Chen Manzi took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. “Could you please inform him one more time? Just say… just say Chen Manzi has something very important to discuss.”

The guard hesitated for a moment, then turned and went inside.

Watching his back, Chen Manzi’s heart pounded wildly in her chest.

She reached up and touched her face to make sure her makeup was still flawless.

Today, she had purposely worn the dress Huo Hanting had loved most in their past life and sprayed on the perfume he once liked.

“He’ll definitely soften…”

The guard soon returned, awkwardly rubbing his hands. “Sorry, you’re not allowed in.”

“Why?”

“President Huo said… he doesn’t know you.”

That sentence hit Chen Manzi like a sledgehammer.

She stumbled a step back, her delicate features contorting.

“No… that’s impossible! There’s no way he doesn’t know me! You must not have told him it was me! It’s Fu Yu, isn’t it? She told you to say that, didn’t she?!”

The guard was startled by her reaction. “Miss, please calm down—”

“I don’t believe you!”

Chen Manzi’s shrill voice cut through the quiet of the hunting ground like a blade.

“Let me in! I want to ask him myself!”

She charged forward, but two guards immediately grabbed her arms on either side.

“Let go of me! Do you even know who I am?!”

She struggled like mad, her hair a mess, looking like a lunatic.

“Huo Hanting! Come out! I’m willing to be with you! Isn’t that enough?! I’ll be your woman—just please spare the Chen Corporation!”

Onlookers began peeking out from the building, whispering among themselves.

But Chen Manzi didn’t care anymore. She had nothing left to lose.

The Chen Corporation was on the verge of collapse. Her father was in the hospital, her mother cried daily, and the debts and compensation payments were like bottomless pits.

“Huo Hanting, I’ll give you anything you want! Please…”

Her voice softened into a sob. “Please just see me…”

She was prepared to sacrifice her freedom, her happiness, even her marriage to Gu Huai.

Gritting her teeth, she thought, If I can just save the Chen family, I’ll do anything.

“Let go.”

A cold, commanding voice rang out.

The glass doors slowly opened.

A tall figure stood backlit by the light, radiating an oppressive aura.

“Let her go,” Huo Hanting said, voice icy.

The guards immediately released her. Chen Manzi staggered to regain her balance, a flicker of joy flashing in her eyes.

“Hanting! I knew you would—”

Her words halted mid-sentence.

The man in front of her was nothing like the one she remembered.

The eyes that had once looked at her so gently now brimmed only with disgust and indifference.

“Miss Chen,” Huo Hanting looked down at her coldly, like she was a stranger. “You’re disturbing me and my wife.”

Chen Manzi trembled all over, unsure if it was from cold or shock. “What did you just call me? Miss Chen? After everything we—”

Huo Hanting cut her off, “If you continue to harass me and my wife, Fu Yu, I won’t hesitate to bankrupt the Chen Corporation even faster.”

Wife?

Chen Manzi felt like she’d been struck by lightning. “You said… Fu Yu? That sidekick? That—”

“Shut up.”

Huo Hanting’s fury exploded. He grabbed her by the throat. “If I hear you insult her again—”

Chen Manzi’s eyes widened in terror. She had never seen him like this.

In the past, he had treated her like a treasure—he couldn’t even bear to say a harsh word.

Now he was hurting her, all for Fu Yu.

“Why?” she choked out, “Why her…”

“You said you only ever loved me…”

Huo Hanting let out a mocking laugh and released her. “Love you? Why would I love a delusional, self-important lunatic? Honestly, a psychiatric ward would suit you better than the Chen family estate.”

He turned to leave, but Chen Manzi grabbed his sleeve in desperation.

“You can’t treat me like this!”

She screamed hysterically. “You’re supposed to love me! Who the hell is Fu Yu?! She’s—”

SLAP!

A crisp slap cut off her tirade.

Chen Manzi clutched her cheek, staring at him in disbelief.

“That was for Ah-Yu.”

Huo Hanting’s gaze was chilling. “If I hear one more word of disrespect toward her, I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

A crowd had gathered at the entrance now. Some were even recording with their phones.

Chen Manzi felt a shame deeper than ever before. Her vision blurred with tears.

“What did Fu Yu do to you… Why her…”

Huo Hanting looked at her like she was a lunatic.

He’d encountered plenty of socialites who tried to seduce him.

But someone like Chen Manzi—who had almost no interaction with him, yet imagined he loved her—was a first.

It was utterly revolting.

His phone rang.

The moment he saw the caller ID, all the hostility on his face vanished, replaced by a softness Chen Manzi once knew.

She froze. That gentleness used to belong to her.

“Ah-Yu?” Huo Hanting picked up the call, his voice so gentle it could melt, like he was coaxing a child. “Yeah? You and Tailin are home? I’ll be right back… What do you want to eat? No, not what that little rascal wants—what you want… I don’t care what she says…”

Chen Manzi stared at him blankly, heart in pieces.

The man who once loved her like life itself had now given all that tenderness to another woman.

Whatever was said on the other end of the line made Huo Hanting chuckle. “Alright, anything you say.”

After hanging up, he returned to his cold expression. “Chen Manzi, this is your final warning. If you appear before me or Ah-Yu again, face the consequences.”

Without another word, he walked toward the parking lot.

Chen Manzi collapsed to the ground.

“No… this isn’t real…”

She muttered, “He must’ve been bewitched by Fu Yu…”

Memories surged through her mind.

In her previous life, Huo Hanting had done everything to win her love.

“There’s no way he doesn’t love me…”

Chen Manzi started to laugh, a chilling, twisted sound.

“He’s pretending… He’s just jealous that I’m with Gu Huai, that’s all… He’s punishing me…”

She stood up unsteadily, her eyes now completely unhinged.

In the distance, Huo Hanting’s car drove off.

Inside, he gently caressed a candid photo of Fu Yu on his phone screen.

His gaze was unbelievably soft.

“Ah-Yu…”

He wanted so badly to hide her away from the world—so no one else could ever lay eyes on her.