Ch.15 – One-way Passage

Xia Wennan tidied up the kitchen and left for Ming Yan.

He was still reluctant to take a taxi, so after checking Ming Yan’s address on his phone, he set off towards the nearest subway station on foot. 

Even after the morning rush hour had passed, there were still a large number of passengers on the subway. Xia Wennan found a spot at a corner and stood there until he reached his destination. 

The subway station’s exit was at the end of a very long flight of stairs. Xia Wennan was slightly panting from exhaustion when he finally reached the top. He stumbled out of the cool station and into the blistering sunlight. 

This was the city’s central business district. High-rise buildings in all shapes and sizes towered over the area as far as the eye could see, their walls outfitted with facades of gleaming glass that reflected the sunlight. The streets were bathed in direct sunlight, and it was so bright they were practically white. 

The Ming Yan Fragrance Technology building where Xia Wennan worked was located in a very conspicuous spot. Perhaps it wasn’t so much the location as it was the shape of the structure that stood out. In addition to the Ming Yan logo, the upper storeys were designed to mimic a perfume bottle cap. The rest of the structure was cube-shaped, and the signboard with the brand logo was right in the centre. It was as if the entire building was a perfume bottle made of glass.

Even though the Ming Yan building didn’t seem far from the subway station, it took Xia Wennan over ten minutes to get there on foot. 

As he reached the building’s front walkway, Xia Wennan was covered in sweat and cut a sorry figure. It was only then that he realised how inappropriate dressing up in a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers seemed. From afar, he registered the gaze of the security guard stationed at the entrance.

According to his experience, in situations like these, one must walk inside boldly and confidently in order to not get stopped by the security guard. Xia Wennan straightened his back, tipped his head higher, and avoided making eye contact with the security guard as he strode towards the entrance. 

The security guard didn’t stop him.

Cool air rushed at him the instant he stepped into the lobby, and Xia Wennan exhaled a lungful of hot air. He froze in place, faltering for a split second before making his way to the front desk.

“Hello,” Xia Wennan greeted the female receptionist after a beat of hesitation. 

The receptionist raised her head at the sound and immediately leapt to her feet as soon as she noticed Xia Wennan’s presence. “Manager Xia?”

It was Xia Wennan’s first time being treated this way, but he quickly decided that it felt pretty decent and gave a nod, acting unconcerned as he asked, “Is Ming Luchuan here?”

Despite her surprise, the receptionist politely responded, “One moment please, sir.” She inquired about Ming Luchuan through the internal phone line, then answered Xia Wennan immediately after, “President Ming is currently in a meeting.”

“Oh.” Hands behind his back, Xia Wennan asked, “What floor is his office on?”

“……the twentieth.” The receptionist gave Xia Wennan a curious yet restrained gaze, her lips twitching until she snapped her mouth shut.

“Okay, thanks,” Xia Wennan said. When he turned to leave, he suddenly halted and looked back, asking, “Could you point me to the elevator?”

The receptionist gave him directions.

Xia Wennan walked over to the elevator.

The two receptionists at the front desk mutely stared after Xia Wennan’s retreating back, their faces full of confusion.

When Xia Wennan entered the elevator, he gently tapped the button for the 20th floor, but it didn’t light up. So he pressed on it again, this time more firmly, but it still didn’t light up. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it, so he tried pressing the 19th floor instead, but there was still no response. 

Right then, the closed elevator doors suddenly opened. A young man stood outside, and when he saw that Xia Wennan was inside he seemed to be taken aback. He froze in place before entering the elevator, greeting Xia Wennan as he did so, “Manager Xia.”

“Hello.” Xia Wennan said. He watched as the young man swiped his name tag across the scanner underneath the floor buttons, causing the 9th floor button to light up as he pressed on it. Only then did Xia Wennan realise that you needed to swipe your ID first. He quickly hit the button for the 20th floor, but when that didn’t work, he asked the young man, “Could you swipe your ID for me?”

The young man was embarrassed. “My ID doesn’t have clearance for the 20th floor.” He quickly added, “But yours should.”

Xia Wennan suddenly realised that he had his work ID with him; he’d deliberately brought it with him when he’d left the apartment. He promptly fished it out of his pants pocket and swiped it, and this time he was able to successfully press the button for the 20th floor.

The young man got off on the 9th floor. Xia Wennan took the elevator to the 20th floor alone and stepped out when the doors slowly opened. 

When Xia Wennan exited the elevator lobby into a corridor. The corridor was carpeted, and one’s footfalls were barely audible. At this time, the corridor was deserted, and the entire floor was very quiet. Xia Wennan passed several rooms with closed doors and no door plaques.

When he turned a corner, he suddenly heard someone’s voice inside one of the rooms. The door wasn’t completely shut; there was a small gap between the door and the doorjamb. He walked over and moved his face closer to the door to peer inside. 

Before he had the chance to see anything, someone inside abruptly opened the door. Xia Wennan did his best to move out of the way, but he couldn’t stop the young female omega who was right about to step out from colliding with his chest. She was holding a cup in her hands, and the coffee inside sloshed around before it spilled all over his front. 

Fortunately, the coffee was no longer hot. 

The delicate and pretty female omega held back a gasp, nothing but a small ‘Ah’ escaping her lips, yet it still managed to attract the attention of the people inside. Everyone in the room looked their way. 

It was then that Xia Wennan realised that this room was a meeting room. There were ten people inside, and Ming Luchuan was sitting at the head of the table.

Ming Luchuan stared at Xia Wennan wordlessly, while the others in the room spoke up and greeted him one after another: “Manager Xia.”

Xia Wennan was slightly embarrassed. He smiled and nodded at the people in the meeting room then addressed Ming Luchuan, “I’ll wait for you outside.”

The lines of Ming Luchuan’s eyes and brows were frosty. He didn’t acknowledge Xia Wennan’s presence and merely turned to murmur something to Xu Feng, who was seated next to him. 

Xu Feng stood up, exited the meeting room, and gently closed the door. “Mr. Ming told me to take you to his office,” he said. 

Xia Wennan lowered his head to look at his coffee-stained T-shirt and agreed, “Okay.”

The Omega followed them, nervously gripping her cup as she apologised to Xia Wennan. 

Xia Wennan smiled and said, “It’s all right, my clothes aren’t expensive.” 

Ming Luchuan’s office was located at the end of the corridor. Through the first door was the assistant’s office, and Ming Luchuan’s office was through another door. There was another door inside that led to a private lounge. 

Xu Feng took him inside and directly opened the door to the lounge. “There’s a bathroom inside, you can take a shower,” he told Xia Wennan. 

“It’s fine, I don’t have a change of clothes,” Xia Wennan said as he tugged on his shirt, which was sticking to his chest.

Xu Feng’s speech was well-mannered and professional. “You can wear Mr. Ming’s clothes.”

Xia Wennan said, “His clothes won’t fit me.”

“I could go buy some for you, sir,” said Xu Feng.

“You don’t need to,” Xia Wennan was a little embarrassed.

But Xu Feng was already facing the door. “You can shower first, sir. I’ll buy you something to wear. Would a similar T-shirt be all right?”

Xia Wennan tugged at his collar again. The coffee stains were an unpleasant sight, so he agreed, “Okay then, but make sure it’s not too expensive. I’m poor.”

Xu Feng came to a halt. “How much is too expensive?”

Xia Wennan said, “Just stick to stuff under 100 yuan. I won’t reimburse anything over that.”