After the two went upstairs, Serena Li opened the door, and Victor Mo quickly helped her carry the suitcase inside.
After that, I told her, “I’m going to Dalian on a business trip tomorrow night and will be back on Thursday.”
After spending a day together, Serena Li felt that he was becoming increasingly ambiguous with her. He was talking to her as if he were reporting his schedule to her. She nodded awkwardly.
Victor Mo had his hands in his pockets, looking at her with a smile in his eyes.
Feeling his intense gaze, Serena Li tucked her long hair behind her ear, then turned her head to the side, her eyelashes fluttering, revealing her nervousness.
Victor Mo suddenly smiled, and Serena Li, not understanding why, slowly turned to look at him.
Their eyes met, and Serena Li ‘s large, clear eyes, like diamonds, seemed to hold a captivating black hole, so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.
Desire surged back, and Victor Mo took a deep breath, softly calling her, “Serena…”
“Um?”
He said, “I want to kiss you.” Before Serena Li could react, he reached out and pinched her chin, gently pressing his lips to hers.
Serena Li froze, her eyes widened, and her lips trembled slightly.
The kiss was very light, almost soothing, and Victor Mo released her after a few moments.
His measured approach didn’t frighten Serena Li . After touching her slightly flushed cheek, he said, “Okay, I’m leaving now. Goodnight.” He didn’t know if he could control himself if he didn’t leave soon.
Victor Mo turned and left. Serena Li closed the door and went inside. She leaned against the door, her heart pounding wildly. She hadn’t pushed him away when he tried to kiss her.
To her, every expression and movement of Victor Mo was dangerous; he had successfully caused her mental distress and a strong psychological impact.
***
After returning to school on Monday and swapping classes with other teachers, Serena Li drove to attend a training session.
This kind of training, which aims to improve teachers’ professional abilities, is something I attend several times a year. In the past, I always attended the training organized by the district education office. This is the first time I’ve attended a training organized by the city. The training organized by the city is much more elaborate than that organized by the district. This training was held in the auditorium of the municipal party committee.
The underground parking garage near the municipal government building was a chaotic mess, and Serena Li rarely came here. After driving in, she spent a lot of time looking for a parking space. After finally parking her car near the fire escape, she saw someone get out of the Range Rover next to her—it was Frank Wang !
Just as Serena Li was hesitating whether to go up and say hello, Ms. Yang, who had come in her car, recognized Frank Wang and respectfully greeted him, “Director Wang, hello.”
Frank Wang paused in his forward stride, glanced back at them, and just then saw Serena Li closing the car door.
He nodded in response, then glanced at Serena Li before leaving.
Frank Wang left, he quickly entered the elevator. Ms. Yang, who was with him, quietly said to Serena Li , ” Serena , didn’t you think Director Wang was particularly aloof today? He was quite kind and approachable when I saw him at the school anniversary celebration.”
Serena Li said, “Really? I didn’t notice.”
But from that one glance, Serena Li felt he was more than just cold; his gaze was practically sharp, as if they had never met before. That’s why she said he was so capable of changing his expression so quickly. But it’s fine this way; she won’t have to deal with him anymore.
During her lunch break, Serena Li received a call from her cousin. He said he had just returned from a business trip to Japan and was now in Hong Kong. He was coming to Pengcheng that afternoon to meet a client and asked if she was free to have dinner together that evening. Serena Li had originally planned to have Joyce Wu and Lynn Yan come to her house for dinner that night, and also to give them the tangerines she had picked the day before. However, her cousin doesn’t come over often, so she explained the situation to her friends and asked them to reserve the time for her cousin’s gathering that evening. Her friends understood, and they decided to meet up tomorrow.
After the afternoon training session, a section chief from the Education Bureau stopped Serena Li . This section chief had visited the school before and they had met before, so they knew each other. The section chief handed Serena Li a bag of documents and asked her to pass it on to Principal Liu. Serena Li didn’t really want to deal with Principal Liu, but since she had been asked, she couldn’t refuse and accepted the document.
After driving away from the municipal party committee, Serena Li headed to the hotel where her cousin was staying.
Because it was rush hour and traffic was congested, Serena Li arrived at around 8 p.m. Her cousin sent her a WeChat message saying that he had booked a private room at the hotel restaurant and gave her the room number.
After the BMW pulled into the hotel’s underground parking lot, Serena Li took the elevator to the restaurant on the 10th floor.
The elevator stopped on the first floor, and a very beautiful woman got in.
The other person went inside and reached out to press the elevator button, but when they saw that the button for the 10th floor was lit up, they withdrew their hand.
Soon after, a cell phone rang.
Serena Li saw the other person rummage through their bag for a phone, and then heard a pleasant, seductive female voice, “Hello… I’m in the elevator, almost there… Is Mr. Mo from Huanyu still there?… I miss him…”
Huanyu Mo, isn’t that Victor Mo ?
Serena Li frowned slightly and unconsciously sized up the woman in front of her. She had a beautiful face, a graceful figure, and fashionable clothes. When she played with her hair, her brightly colored fingernails were revealed. She was charming and alluring, probably the type many men would like.
After finishing the call, they arrived at the 10th floor. The elevator doors opened, and the woman who had made the call stepped out first.
Serena Li went out, she saw a hostess come up and lead the woman into a private room. She heard the woman give the room number VIP9.
Another greeter came over and led Serena Li to the private room her cousin had booked.
Serena Li hesitated for a couple of steps before following, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable as she watched the woman sway her hips from behind.
***
VIP Room No. 9
Tonight , before Victor Mo goes on a business trip, he has to come here to entertain a client.
When the two sides had finished their conversation, one of the directors on the other side made a phone call to have several women brought in to liven things up.
Such social gatherings usually involve fine wine and women.
Having finalized a project, Victor Mo was in a good mood and interested in the newly opened 1982 Lafite, but not in the women who came to him.
Using the excuse of needing a cigarette, I took a glass of red wine and went to the terrace.
After so many years of socializing, he has seen countless beautiful women. The tricks these women use to entangle men are usually more sophisticated than the last, but most of these beauties have had plastic surgery to create a V-shaped face. No matter how exquisite their faces are, after seeing them so many times, they all look the same to him and can’t be considered beautiful. Their smiles don’t even look natural.
At this moment, he unconsciously thought of the naturally beautiful Serena Li again . Her cold indifference when she didn’t smile, and her elegant charm when she smiled… she was becoming more and more to his liking.
Victor Mo swirled his wine glass, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.
“Mr. Mo,” a woman with a seductive air walked towards him.
Victor Mo recognized her; she was the public relations manager of the other company.
The woman blushed slightly, breathed sweetly at him, and said, “Mr. Mo, we’ve been looking for you for ages!”
As she spoke, she twisted her ankle, whether intentionally or not, and lunged at Victor Mo.
The situation was sudden, and out of politeness, Victor Mo did not push her away immediately, but instead reached out to straighten her body.
But the woman seemed boneless, her body leaning towards him.
Victor Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked at the woman who was practically clinging to him. She had exquisite makeup, alluring eyes, a supple, serpentine figure, and a seductive voice. She was definitely the kind of woman with seduction skills. Men, after all, are very susceptible to this tactic and enjoy it immensely.
They can enjoy it, but it doesn’t really touch their hearts.
Victor Mo grabbed her fingers, which were resting on his shirt, stopping her from climbing up. His dark eyes were devoid of any emotion. He then walked around her and took a few steps forward.
“Mr. Mo?” Suddenly without support, the woman staggered a few steps and called out to him in surprise, while also feeling a chill in her heart. She had been longing for him for a long time, and even though she had been so proactive today, he hadn’t given her a chance.
Victor Mo flicked a cigarette out of his pack, lit it, and squinted as he said, “Manager Chen has had too much to drink. I’ll have the driver take you home later.”
For a moment, the woman’s face showed a look of realization.
She looked at him with disappointment, hoping to find even a trace of pity on his face, but there was none. His face was expressionless, but the way he puffed on his cigarette was still captivating.
Victor Mo finished speaking, he ignored the woman who was throwing herself at him and walked back to the private room.
***
The restaurant
Serena Li’s cousin hadn’t seen her in a while , so he asked about her recent situation and the incident with the secretly filmed video. Finally, he inquired about her life’s most important matter—finding a partner. He even asked if she’d consider his clients in Pengcheng, saying he knew quite a few promising young men. Serena Li smiled and declined.
Halfway through the meal, my cousin received a work call, saying that a client was also dining there and he would go over to say hello.
Serena Li suddenly remembered that the hotel had a shop selling Pengcheng specialty pastries on the first floor, which her cousin-in-law liked. So she went out of the private room and planned to ask the waiter to buy some pastries for her.
It just so happens that the door to her private room is a floor-to-ceiling window, which offers a view of the VIP room’s terrace.
As soon as she opened the door to the private room, she saw a familiar male figure standing on the terrace— Victor Mo.
From her angle, she could just see half of his profile; his facial features were strong and handsome, and he held a glass of red wine in his hand with an elegant posture.
Then she quickly saw the sexy woman in the elevator walk towards the man, and the woman threw herself into his arms, and he did not push her away.
Serena Li paused for two seconds, then closed the door, feeling a mix of emotions.
Soon a waiter came in, and Serena Li asked him to buy some pastries before leaving again.
After the meal, Serena Li said goodbye to her cousin and went home.
As I left the parking lot, the image of the two people sticking together kept replaying in my mind, making me uneasy.
She went straight onto the North Ring Road and drove around the city center, seemingly aimlessly.
It wasn’t until she drove home to her underground garage that her emotions gradually calmed down, and then a sense of loss welled up inside her.