Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

After leaving the security room, Xu Qingya went straight back to her apartment in Tomson Riviera.

Inside the elevator, she lowered her head, avoiding the camera's angle.

The handbag covered the ripped slit in her skirt, making her walk look somewhat awkward.

Enter the room and lock it from the inside.

The full-length mirror next to the shoe cabinet clearly reflected her disheveled state.

Her hair was messy, her makeup was mostly ruined, and there was a red mark above her collarbone.

Xu Qingya kicked her high heels to the corner of the entryway, ripped off her 28,000 yuan bodycon skirt, crumpled it up, and stuffed it directly into the trash can.

In the bathroom, she turned the showerhead to its highest setting and adjusted the water temperature to scalding hot.

As the hot water poured down, she leaned against the tiled wall and closed her eyes.

Fragments of last night's events resurfaced in my mind.

Xu Qingya picked up a bath sponge and scrubbed every inch of the place that man had touched.

She's been in this industry for ten years, attending countless drinking parties and being forced to drink countless times, but she's never lost control.

Last night was the only time.

Unfortunately, the person in question was a security guard.

She only stopped rubbing when her skin became red and hot.

She showered for nearly forty minutes before coming out wrapped in a bath towel.

As she passed the sink, she habitually glanced at the mirror.

Then he stopped walking.

The woman in the mirror had fair, rosy skin with pores so fine they were almost invisible.

Xu Qingya took half a step forward.

The dullness left by long hours of staying up late has disappeared.

The two fine lines at the corners of her eyes, which she had spent over ten thousand yuan on hyaluronic acid injections to completely eliminate, have also become lighter.

Her entire face radiated a glow from within.

She reached up and touched her cheek.

The smooth texture surprised her.

This unscientific.

Xu Qingya knows her skin condition all too well.

Long-term sleep deprivation, social engagements, and stress have taken a toll on her skin at the age of thirty.

But the face in the mirror looks better than when she was twenty-five.

"How is this possible?"

She wiped the water vapor off the mirror and looked at it again.

Nothing has changed; it's still that face that looks several years younger.

Now, with this face, I can appear on camera even without makeup.

Xu Qingya stared at the mirror for a long time before finally looking away.

coincidence.

It must be a coincidence.

She dried herself off, changed into her pajamas, and lay down on the two-meter-wide bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, sleepiness washed over me.

Xu Qingya's eyelids began to droop.

She hadn't felt this way in three years.

Overwhelmed by stress, she relies on sleeping pills to fall asleep every night and wakes up two or three times in the middle of the night.

I've seen the best neurologist in Kyoto and tried all sorts of imported medications, but nothing has worked.

But now, she just lies down and feels sleepy.

Could it be because of last night...?

The moment the thought popped into her head, Xu Qingya bit her lip, nipping the absurd idea in the bud.

She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

.............

At 8:30 a.m., at the Tianyu Media Building.

Jiang Fan sat in the security room with a breakfast spread out in front of him.

Two meat buns and a cup of soy milk cost six yuan.

He ate while watching the surveillance footage.

On the screen, employees were seen swiping their cards to enter the building.

The manager was dressed in a suit and tie, the intern was carrying a backpack, and there were several other people wearing masks and sunglasses who were clearly artists.

Just as I was taking my second bite of the steamed bun, the door to the security room was pushed open.

The man who came in was in his early forties and was wearing a security guard uniform.

He wore a nameplate on his chest: Security Department Manager – Zhao Guoqiang.

As Zhao Guoqiang entered, he glanced at the security room, then sniffed, as if he could smell a whiff of high-end perfume.

His gaze lingered on the single bed for a second before shifting away.

"Jiang Fan, right?"

"Um."

Zhao Guoqiang took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth.

"The shift schedule has been adjusted this month, so you don't need to go to your post."

Jiang Fan swallowed the last bite of the bun and wiped his hands with a tissue.

"Brother Zhao, what do you mean?"

Zhao Guoqiang exhaled a smoke ring.

"Fine, I'll get straight to the point. You're fired. Finish your handover today and leave."

Jiang Fan's expression didn't change much.

He finished his soy milk and put the cup on the table.

"What's the reason?"

"Do I need a reason?" Zhao Guoqiang leaned against the doorframe. "The company has the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time. It's written in your contract, didn't you read it?"

The other security guards had told him about it a few days ago.

This Manager Zhao's distant cousin had just come from his hometown and was looking for an easy job.

The security room is only so big; if there's one more person, someone else has to squeeze out.

Who are you going to squeeze?

Of course, it's the one who doesn't have connections or background.

"Okay." Jiang Fan stood up, took off his uniform jacket, and placed it on the back of the chair.

Zhao Guoqiang was clearly surprised by his quick agreement and was taken aback for a moment.

He had prepared a whole set of speeches before he came.

Such claims as "the company is not doing well and needs to lay off employees" or "an employee complained about your poor attitude during shifts."

In the end, not a single sentence was used.

This feeling made him a little uncomfortable, like punching cotton.

"That's it?" Zhao Guoqiang asked.

"What else?" Jiang Fan pulled an old backpack out from under the bed and stuffed his things inside.

There wasn't much in total: a few changes of clothes and a charger.

Jiang Fan slung his bag over his shoulder, walked to the door, and then stopped.

"Oh, by the way, there's still 320 yuan left in overtime pay from last month. Remember to transfer it to my card."

Before Zhao Guoqiang could reply, the man had already left.

He stood there, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and inexplicably felt that something was amiss.

As Jiang Fan walked through the corridor and passed the front desk, the little girl who greeted him every day looked up.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes when she saw him carrying a bag.

Jiang Fan nodded to her, then pushed open the door and walked out.

Standing on the steps at the entrance of the building, he squinted at the sun overhead.

In his pocket, there was only 18,000 yuan left by Xu Qingya.

This amount of money would be gone after paying several months' rent in Kyoto.

Jiang Fan looked back at the glass curtain wall building.

He'll be back soon.

However, the next time I enter this door, I won't be as a security guard.

Just as Jiang Fan was about to leave, he heard the low hum of an engine behind him.

A Porsche Panamera turned into the street corner, its streamlined body reflecting the sunlight, and slowly drove toward the entrance to the underground parking garage on the side of the building.

The car windows were tinted, so you couldn't see the people inside.

But Jiang Fan recognized the car.

As the car slowed down at the garage entrance, the window rolled down a crack.

Xu Qingya's gaze passed through the car window and landed on the former security guard carrying an old bag on the steps.

Only one second.

The car window was then rolled back up.

The Panamera drove into the shadows of the underground parking garage, its taillights flashing red before disappearing from sight.

Jiang Fan withdrew his gaze and walked away without looking back.

In the garage, the Panamera was parked in its designated parking space.

Xu Qingya did not get out of the car immediately.

She leaned back in the leather seat, her gaze fixed on the concrete wall in front of the windshield.

Why is he carrying a bag?

Did he resign or get fired?

She frowned as soon as the thought crossed her mind.

If he gets fired, will he go around telling everyone what happened last night?

Xu Qingya's fingertips unconsciously tightened, digging into the leather cover of the steering wheel.

Forget it, he's just a security guard; I doubt he'd dare to gossip.

Xu Qingya pushed open the car door and walked towards the elevator in ten-centimeter high heels.

While waiting for the elevator, she thought again about her face in the mirror, which looked several years younger.

And for the first time in three years, I fell asleep without medication.

Xu Qingya took the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

The elevator doors opened, and Xu Qingya strode confidently through the corridor.

The employees on both sides bowed their heads to greet her, but she only nodded slightly, exuding an aura of aloofness and domineering presence.

Pushing open the office door, assistant Yang Lele hurriedly greeted me, carrying a stack of notices.

"Qingya, you're finally here! The brand representatives—"

Yang Lele's words came to an abrupt end.

His eyes were fixed on Xu Qingya's face, and he almost dropped the notice from his hand.