"Madam, do you have an appointment?"

The male receptionist looked at Su Meng's clothes and directly stopped her outside the door.

Well, Su Meng admitted that her dress was a little down and out, which was out of tune with the resplendent hotel and the jade carvings.

"No, but my friend invited me to dinner here."

"Friend?"

The hotel receptionist's face was full of disdain as he sized up Su Meng with a sneer.

"Sorry, your clothes are in disarray. Please wait aside and ask your friend to send you some decent clothes!"

The passers-by more or less heard a few words and looked around at Su Meng, which made her a little embarrassed.

She suppressed her displeasure and called Zhou Shaoyang.

"Hello."

"Is that Su Meng. You're here?"

"Yes, but I can't get in."

"How about this? Go to the back door and I'll ask my assistant to pick you up."

"The back door? Where is it?"

"You'll reach the path next to the night market if you walk there."

Su Meng crossed the muddy path, endured the stench of the sewer, and came to the back door of the hotel.

Su Meng was standing in the middle of the luxurious building with the wall on her left side untouched by the wind. Su Meng standing in the middle was extremely uncomfortable.

"You are, Su Meng?"

A woman in red came out from the back door of the tall building. She was graceful, and her eyes were fixed on Su Meng. Compared with the disdain of the receptionist just now, the woman's eyes were full of contempt, caution, and disgust, which made people feel even more uncomfortable.

"Yes."

Su Meng tightened her grip on the tubes in her arms and nodded in response.

"Follow me."

Su Meng followed the woman into the hotel. Her shoes were stained with mud, leaving rows of footprints on the red carpet.

"Sorry, can you find me a place to wash my shoes?"

The woman frowned and made a phone call unhappily. In less than three minutes, a short girl came over carrying a pair of high heels.

"Sister Qiao, are you talking about this pair of shoes?"

The little girl looked young, as if she had just become a grown-up. Wearing a pair of glasses, she handed the woman the red high heels obsequiously.

"Are you out of your mind? I asked you to take the broken shoes behind the door. Why do you take this pair of new shoes? Do you know how much this pair is? Do you think my money came from the wind?"

The little girl bowed 90 degrees and apologized.

"Forget it, forget it. Take off your shoes and lend them to Ms. Su!"

"Sister Qiao... but I only have this pair of shoes..."

"Wash Ms. Su's shoes clean and then return them to her!"

Su Meng looked at the arrogant and unreasonable face of the woman in red, and her heart inexplicably burned with anger.

"There's no need. Thank you for your kindness."

Then she took off her shoes and walked barefoot to the front of the woman in red. Seeing that the woman stood still, she walked forward without looking back.

Qiao Qingli hurried forward in her high heels and glared at Guan Xiaoxiao before she left.

Qiao Qingli knew very well that if she lost Su Meng, Zhou Shaoyang would definitely make things difficult for her.

"But Zhou Shaoyang clearly said that Su Meng was a pushover. Why is she still so hot-tempered?" Now that the painting was still in her hands, if she couldn't get it, she would probably lose her job.

"Ms. Su, Ms. Su, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. Please don't take it to heart."

Su Meng didn't say anything, but kept walking forward. When she was about to reach the end of the road, Qiao Qingli stopped Su Meng.

"Ms. Su, Mr. Zhou is waiting for you inside."

Su Meng clenched the handle and was about to open the door, but she was stopped by Qiao Qingli.

"Ms. Su, I'm sorry. Please put on your shoes. Mr. Zhou's heart will ache if he finds you barefoot."

After that, she handed over her pair of precious high heels.

"Really?"

Su Meng threw her muddy sneakers on the ground, silently put them on, and then knocked on the door.

The door was opened. Without waiting for Zhou Shaoyang to speak, Su Meng asked, "Where's the bathroom?"

In front of Zhou Shaoyang and Qiao Qingli, she took off her sneakers and went straight into the bathroom.

"What's going on?!"

Zhou Shaoyang asked in a low and angry voice.

"It's not Ms. Su's fault for being angry. Xiaoxiao did do something wrong! Ms. Su's shoes are dirty. I asked Xiaoxiao to bring a pair of shoes for Ms. Su. She took a pair of shoes that don't fit her size, which made Ms. Su angry. I'll blame her later!"

Zhou Shaoyang waved his hand irritably.

"Go and guard at the door. Don't let anyone secretly take photos of me. I have an appointment with He Yun next week, and the president will also come over. I don't want to make any trouble before that!"

"Understood."

In the bathroom, Su Meng squatted on the ground and washed her shoes. There was a sound of the door being pushed open behind her. She stopped what she was doing and did not look back.

"The painting is in my drawing tube. Take it yourself."

"Don't worry. I'll wait for you to have meal together."

Su Meng got up and shook her wet hands. Zhou Shaoyang stepped back in disgust.

Through the reflection of the bathroom glass, Su Meng could see his every move.

Su Meng took a deep breath and replied lightly,

"No, thanks. I still have something to do, so I won't disturb you."

"Look at you, why are you still angry? My assistants are not sensible. Don't take it to heart. In future, as long as you are by my side, I will resign those people!"

When they first met yesterday, Su Meng really thought that her secret crush of six years would finally come true, just like her work.

However, what Zhou Shaoyang said at night shattered her dream.

And today, when she met him, she could only enter through the back door.

Zhou Shaoyang didn't want others to find his relationship with Su Meng at all.

"I'm sorry, Shaoyang. I can't go with you."

"What? Why? What's wrong with following me? Look at what kind of life you're living now. You're an art teacher, but you're dressed like a beggar! Look at me now. I have status and money. I can give you a lot!"

Su Meng was trembling all over. She turned around abruptly and stared at Zhou Shaoyang.

"Go with you? In what identity? Your colleagues? Friends? Or... partners? From the time I wrote your name on my color test paper in the examination room of Provincial Art Examination, you should have known that what I want was never money or status!"

Zhou Shaoyang rushed forward and covered Su Meng's mouth hard.

"Are you crazy? How can you say that?"

Su Meng struggled to break free from Zhou Shaoyang. As she pushed him, her elbow hit the sharp edge of the tile, and an intense pain swept through her brain.

She staggered to her feet, endured the sharp pain, and quickly walked out of the room.

Not far away, Qiao Qingli immediately turned to look for Zhou Shaoyang when she saw Su Meng leaving so hurry.

When she saw Zhou Shaoyang fall into the bathroom, she hurried forward to help him up.

"Where is she? Where is Su Meng!"

"I, I just saw her leave..."

"Hurry up and get her back. Don't let her reveal the secret of the painting!"