Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The big boss only came by once every six months.

And the moment he showed up, he set his sights on an intern.

A young, beautiful intern, no less.

My coworkers smelled gossip.

One after another, they crowded around.

Xia Tao played with her hair.

In a soft, sweet voice, she answered everyone’s questions.

“I don’t know President Qin. This is my first time meeting him.”

“Oh, wait, I just remembered. President Qin went to the same high school as me. He was my senior.”

“I was the school belle back then, you know. Come to think of it, a lot of boys at school had crushes on me.”

“Maybe…”

Xia Tao trailed off meaningfully.

The seasoned employees immediately picked up where she left off.

In a flurry of chatter, they spun an entire story about a secret crush that had followed her from school all the way into the workplace.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the office turned especially cheerful.

“Oh, come on, don’t make things up.”

Xia Tao hurriedly interrupted their speculation.

Her face was full of reproach.

But the corners of her eyes carried a smug little smile.

They went on saying something after that.

But I couldn’t hear a single word anymore.

I stared blankly at the search page.

Back then, my mother worked as a housekeeper for the Xia Family.

Xia Tao had lost a bet with someone.

So she egged my mother into helping her steal the diary where I had written down all my secret crushes.

Then she posted it on the school bulletin board, took pictures, and uploaded them to the campus forum.

Every student who passed by would point at me and whisper a few mocking words.

I hated her so much my teeth itched. So I turned around, stole Xia Tao’s photo and name, and used them online to scam and bluff my way around.

Got crushed in a game with a score of zero kills and twenty-eight deaths? I turned on my mic and said my name was Xia Tao.

Some random netizen I didn’t even know started screaming that he was going to come kill me? Without hesitation, I said my name was Xia Tao.

In short, whenever I caused trouble and someone asked who I was, I told them my name was Xia Tao.

Maliciously, I looked forward to the day someone would show up at her door and beat Xia Tao to a pulp.

But before Xia Tao ever got beaten up, I met Qin Song first.

Qin Song was very well-mannered, sincere and polite to others, and even more generous when it came to spending money.

His only flaw was that his desires ran a little too strong.

Don’t be fooled by how refined and impeccably dressed he looked earlier, like some untouchable immortal above worldly desire.

I knew all too well what kind of person he was in private.

During the two years I dated him online, aside from when we had first met, I had to listen to him touch himself over voice chat almost every single day.

And whenever that happened, it was as if he had been possessed. The image of an elegant, noble young master collapsed in an instant.

That usually cool, proper voice of his would be used to say all kinds of filthy, unbearable things.

He never even repeated himself. I would listen until my old face went bright red, then finally snap that he was shameless.

He wouldn’t get angry, either. He would just let out a low laugh or two and coax me gently.

Later, Qin Song seemed to notice something was off and firmly brought up meeting in person.

Only then did I suddenly remember that I had been using Xia Tao’s identity all along.

In a panic, I scrolled back through our chat history.

The heart hanging in my throat finally died completely when I saw that sentence: “My name is Xia Tao.”

All those sweet words spoken deep into the night, all the tenderness exchanged through the screen, all those moments that made me think I was loved…

As it turned out, they had all been built on a lie.

I had even lied to him about my name.

That night,

I lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep no matter what.

It felt as if my heart had been seized by a giant hand.

I regretted it.

I truly regretted it.

I regretted why I had ever said I was Xia Tao in the first place.

I buried my face in the blanket and cried muffled sobs.

I didn’t know how long I cried.

When I lifted my head and looked at myself in the mirror with my swollen eyes,

I realized in a daze

that I was just an ordinary person.

I didn’t have Xia Tao’s bright, beautiful face.

I didn’t have her wealthy family background.

I didn’t even have her confidence or showiness.

Just an ordinary face. Just an ordinary person.

If I hadn’t used Xia Tao’s photo,

someone as blessed and brilliant as Qin Song would never have liked a gutter bug like me.

In the end,

I forcefully swallowed down the sour, bitter feeling in my heart.

After sending Qin Song a single “I’m sorry,”

I blocked and deleted him outright.

On the third day after I cut contact,

Qin Song sent me an email.

It contained only six short words:

“Xia Tao, don’t abandon me.”

Every word was filled with pleading and the helpless confusion of someone abandoned for no reason.

Unfortunately,

I was not Xia Tao.

Remembering that,

I couldn’t help shivering.

When I looked up, I saw all my coworkers staring at me.

I tugged at the corner of my mouth.

“Wh-what is it?”

Everyone else only smiled without saying a word. Xia Tao was the only one who walked over, her expression innocent.

“Xu Yin, weren’t you listening to us just now?”

“Everyone wants to try that new milk tea shop. Would you be willing to go buy some for us?”

“It’s only three or four streets away. Just take a shared bike there and back. It won’t be much trouble.”

It was common for senior employees to bully interns.

But Xia Tao was able to blend in so naturally with the older employees.

All because Qin Song’s attitude toward her just now had been unusual.

I looked at Xia Tao.

Then I looked at the people standing behind her, all on her side, as if the moment I refused, they would jump out to condemn me on Xia Tao’s behalf.

In the end, I nodded.

“Okay.”

Xia Tao was very satisfied with my good sense.

Smiling brightly, she turned back around.

“Oh, everyone, there’s no need to feel embarrassed.”

“Xu Yin’s mother used to be a housekeeper at my home. She followed her mother around doing chores ever since she was little, so she’s best at running errands.”

“If any of you need errands run in the future, just tell her to do it. She loves that sort of thing.”

Every time Xia Tao went somewhere new,

she would dig up the fact that my mother had once worked as a housekeeper for her family and announce it all over again.

It had been like this for years.

I was already used to it.

Besides, I happened to want to go out and get some air.

I ignored her.

Holding my phone, I turned around.

But accidentally bumped into a man.

I looked up.

And discovered it was the secretary who had been following Qin Song earlier.