Xia Manxi remained silent, and was suppressing the urge to frown. She wanted to understand Sun Lanshan, but was drawing blanks. She forced a smile.
"Me? I'm a law student. I thought it would be interesting to work here, so I did."
"We are around the same age. Why are you still in school? You should have graduated years ago, no?"
"Well, there were some personal things that pushed me back by a few years."
"Personal things? Like a marriage?"
Xia Manxi hid her hand behind her, but it was clenched into a fist.
"I was married, but I hardly doubt that has anything to do with a part-time internship."
Sun Lanshan paused, then looked stunned. She recovered, then set her mug down. "Ah, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.
"There was no real issue, don't worry. I would, however, like us to keep everything professional."
Xia Manxi wanted nothing more than to leave at that moment and avoid this woman for as long as she was there. She did not believe that Sun Lanshan brought it up by accident. Whatever it was that this woman wanted, she wanted no part of it.
"About the marriage, it was Liang Meirong who mentioned it in passing. I just thought we could have something in common. You see, I also have a bad experience with men, and I am trying to give my son the best of everything."
Xia Manxi waved her hands dismissively. "No, you don't have to worry, I did not take your words in bad faith."
Sun Lanshan smiled at her and held both of Xia Manxi's hands. "Thank you, you have no idea how much you have set my heart at ease."
Xia Manxi held onto Sun Lanshan's hands as well with an emotional look on her face. "I don't know you very well, but I hope that your husband truly sees that you have a heart of gold."
Sun Lanshan's expression froze for a moment, then she withdrew her hands.
"You see, I have never been married. About my son, we should never mention his father, especially in front of Liang Meirong and Aunt Shen."
"I understand."
The corner of Xia Manxi's lips curled into an imperceptible smile. Seeing Sun Lanshan squirm was more satisfying than she had originally thought. It was just a wild gamble about her husband, but it had landed spectacularly. She just hoped that after this, Sun Lanshan would avoid her as well.
Sun Lanshan finished her coffee, then coughed lightly. "I wanted you to have a comfortable first day. If there is anything you need, feel free to ask me about it."
"Don't worry about it, I am sure I could manage on my own. I do not have the heart to bother you. I think it is best to stop taking much of miss Sun's time. Should we continue with the tour?"
"Oh, yes I am done anyway. We had better continue."
"I will be waiting at the corridor, please take your time." Xia Manxi said and turned away from he breakroom. Instantly Sun Lanshan's polite demeanor collapsed, and an irritated scowl formed on her face. Her long manicured nails dug into her palm, and she exhaled deeply. After a few moments, she maintained her normal expression, dropped the mug into the sink and walked out.
*#*#*
After the tour, Xia Manxi did not even have too much time to linger. She had to return back to school for a class in the evening, and she was fortunately early. Despite that due to her running around, she was already exhausted. She managed to finish the class, but decided to close her eyes for a little while. She would get up and leave in a few minutes.
She was not sure how long after she was there, but she heard someone softly knocking on the desk she had her head on. She furrowed her brows and remained in place, hoping it would go away. It did not.
She turned her head in another direction, irritably muttering. "Leave me alone."
She heard a soft chuckle, then in the next moment, her forehead was flicked. She shot up instantly, her hands covering her forehead and a murderous look in her eyes. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened and her mouth was agape.
Lu Shufeng raised his hands up in surrender. "Please don't kill me. It is almost ten and I was worried you would spend the night here."
"What?" Xia Manxi asked in a panicked voice as she checked her time. It was nine forty five pm. She hurriedly stuffed her books into her bag and got up.
"So sorry, I have to go!"
Lu Shufeng calmly held onto her forearm. Xia Manxi tried to move forward, but was held in place. He was surprisingly strong.
"Hey, let me drop you off."
Xia Manxi raised her eyebrows at him. "Why?"
"It's the right thing to do, don't you think?"
Xia Manxi tilted her head with a knowing smile, her gaze dropping to his hand on her arm. "Thank you for your thoughtful gesture, but no. I think I can manage on my own."
Lu Shufeng let go of her arm with a sigh. She tried to move away almost immediately, but he stood right in front of her. She glared at him.
"It's dangerous at this time. Let me drop you off somewhere safer, even if it is not your apartment"
"You don't need to worry, I am sure there is some other girl in this building who would gladly jump at your offer."
Lu Shufeng had an amused expression on his face. "I have no problem helping anyone who is stranded, but for you in particular, I would have trouble sleeping if I leave you alone."
"Try that line on someone more gullible ." Xia Manxi said as she walked past him with a slight shove.
Lu Shufeng rubbed his arm with a wince. This woman was more hard headed than she looked.
*#*#*
There was quite a distance to the bus stop so Xia Manxi walked off in the night. She had walked here many times before, the only difference from this particular time was that it had been day, and many other people were on the street with her, so it was not as quiet as it was now.
Xia Manxi quickened her pace, hoping to get to the bus stop before the last bus left. She had been barely paying attention, so felt a little stunned when she heard footsteps behind her. She clutched the strap of her handbag and walked faster, but the footsteps were also going faster too. She wanted to run, but was not sure she could outrun the person behind her.
Everything happened suddenly. She was roughly grabbed, and before she could fully understand anything that was happening, she felt the sharp end of a blade pressed against her throat. Her eyes widened in terror.
"Give me your bag."
Before she could fully process the man's words, her bag was grabbed roughly from her hands. Another man came, took the bag and started rummaging through it. Her purse and laptop were taken out, and she trembled when the robber took out a gleaming locket made of pure gold.
"Y-You can take anything, not that-
It was all she had left of her son.
"Shut up and stay still."
Tears streamed down her face as the man stuffed it into his pocket. He continued searching through her things for what felt like an eternity, then grunted. The man then left her scattered books and things and fled. The man who held her at knifepoint struck her face hard. everything tilted for a ,moment, the she fell to the ground gracelessly. Her ears were ringing, and by the time she came to, that man was gone too.