Chapter 43: Easy to Take Off, Hard to Put On

After reaching an agreement, to demonstrate his sincerity, Mr. Chen immediately informed Mama and the senior hotel management to convene a meeting and personally announced Hao Meng’s appointment.

When the boss himself makes an announcement, it carries a different weight compared to anyone else. Those former workplace rivals and the ones who used to mockingly call Hao Meng “the tireless lady” out of envy quickly changed their attitudes upon seeing her rapid promotion, and began to curry favor with her right on the spot.

Among them, the only one who was truly happy for Hao Meng, despite her complicated feelings, was Wang Fang. She understood that with this promotion, one of Hao Meng’s feet had already stepped out of the mire. The dignity that comes with a woman’s reputation—so easy to lose, so hard to regain. Once lost, it could never be fully reclaimed. But now, at least, Hao Meng had a veil to cover her shame, something to let her hold her head a bit higher as she went about her life. That, in itself, was a stroke of luck.

Watching her relative and workplace protégé finally escape half her torment, Wang Fang was sincerely happy for her, yet couldn’t help but recall the humiliations she herself had suffered in her own career. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Luforn was not in a position to interfere with the hotel’s internal affairs, but he didn’t leave either, sitting in the lobby waiting for Wang Wenyu.

After Hao Meng’s appointment was posted on the hotel’s announcement board, he approached Wenyu and said, “Miss Wang, it’s already past nine. Shall I arrange for someone to escort you home?”

“Uncle Lu, there’s no need. I still want to spend time with my girlfriends tonight. You go ahead,” she replied, her tone now polite after getting the outcome she wanted.

Standing behind Luforn, waiting to see him off, Chen Sheng overheard that Wenyu wanted to chat more with Hao Meng. He immediately instructed the service manager to prepare a VIP room with drinks and, out of his own pocket, gave Wang Fang a tip of a thousand, asking her—as Hao Meng’s close Mama—to serve them. It was the same kind of treatment Luforn received on every visit to the hotel.

To Hao Meng, Wang Fang was more family than an outsider. The three women settled into the private room.

Hao Meng picked up a napkin from the drinks table and gently wiped the unshed tears from Wang Fang’s eyes. She then poured a cup of tea for Wenyu and filled a large glass with complimentary Remy Martin XO for herself, raising it and saying, “Miss Wang, words of thanks cannot express my true feelings, yet I don’t know what else to say. You drink tea, I’ll drink liquor. I’ll down this first as a toast to you—what I cannot say, I’ll let the wine speak for me.”

With that, she prepared to gulp down her drink.

Wenyu quickly grabbed the glass from Hao Meng and said, “If you really consider me a sister, don’t call me Miss Wang—sounds too formal. Just call me Wenyu, or Xiao Yu, from now on.”

---

“I’m already twenty-one. Since coming of age, the only day I can drink freely is my birthday, when my family doesn’t restrain me. Now there’s no one to stop me, and today your promotion deserves a proper celebration. I’ll drink and get drunk with you,” said Wenyu.

Hao Meng poured half a glass for Wenyu and, with a touch of self-mockery, said, “I’m a bit younger than you, yet I’m already a seasoned hand, having seen countless people and even more men. It’s my own choice, and I have to accept the consequences. This is the price of exile.”

Seeing Hao Meng so sentimental, Wenyu quickly tried to comfort her. “Meng Meng, everyone wants to live with dignity, but life is full of choices we can’t control. Think of our foremothers—Dong Xiaowan, Liang Hongyu, Xiao Fengxian—which of them didn’t have a heroic heart, only to have fate play a joke on them? Later generations admired them and judged their lives not just by right or wrong, but with great respect. In my eyes, you’re a woman of such spirit and honor, and you deserve—”

Before she could finish, Hao Meng cut her off, drained her glass in one go, and, emboldened by the drink, opened her heart. “Don’t put me on such a pedestal, or I’ll have nowhere to hide my shame. I know what kind of person I am. I helped a scoundrel in poverty because I was moved by his kindness. On the surface, I was helping him, but in truth, he helped me rediscover my own humanity. That’s also why, after sharing a bed with him, I chose to let go—because I know I don’t deserve it.”

A hot tear rolled down Hao Meng’s cheek as she spoke.

When Wenyu heard Hao Meng admit she’d once shared a bed with Jiang Fan, her heart clenched, but upon learning nothing actually happened between them, she relaxed. Still, she silently grumbled, “That mangy dog—said he only shared a room with you. Next time I see him, I’ll make sure he pays for this.”

In her mind, all the blame for the shared bed incident fell on Jiang Fan. She said to Hao Meng, “Meng Meng, men are all the same—no good. That mangy dog just used the excuse of helping you to try and take advantage.”

Hao Meng shook her head, defending Jiang Fan. “A man who holds a woman in his arms and feels nothing either finds the woman unattractive or has something wrong with himself. I suspect Liu Xianghui was just a fable invented for the sake of traditional morals; I don’t believe there’s any truth to it. We ended up sharing a bed mostly because of the circumstances, but also because of my own greed—I kept tempting him.”

Hao Meng poured her heart out, recounting everything from the moment Jiang Fan helped her onto the train, to how she seduced him along the journey, his experience in Chang’an, how they ended up sharing a bed, and even how she asked him to unhook her bra as a deliberate act of seduction. She didn’t hide how Jiang Fan dared only to sneak a touch, never openly taking advantage.

Wang Fang didn’t know Jiang Fan, nor had she ever heard Hao Meng mention him. Because of her profession, she was immune to tales of men and women in bed—nothing surprised her anymore. But she was intrigued by the stories of Jiang Fan spending a night in a graveyard, giving fifty yuan to help someone, and beating up Zhu Bing for the sake of Uncle Qiu, whom he had just met.

---

Throughout their conversation, neither Hao Meng nor Wenyu ever mentioned Jiang Fan by name, referring to him only as “he,” “the scoundrel,” or “the mangy dog.” Wang Fang couldn’t help but interject, “Is the man you’re talking about named Jiang Fan? Is he working for Chen Anlong now?”

Hao Meng was puzzled. “How do you know?”

“Last night, Chen Anlong was on the phone with a man late into the night, mentioning that name over and over. From what I gathered, he holds this man in high regard and wants to make him a trusted aide, but the man doesn’t listen to him—Chen Anlong calls him a troublemaker.”

Yesterday, after fleeing Zhangmutou, Chen Anlong had come straight to the hotel, booked a room with Wang Fang, and vented his frustrations from Zhangmutou on her.

Hao Meng replied firmly, “With someone as selfish as that, Jiang Fan will never truly be on his side.”

Knowing now that all the ambiguity had been initiated by Hao Meng, Wenyu felt balanced and her mood lightened.

Wenyu was never much of a drinker, and after a few glasses, her usual decorum vanished. She teased, “When it comes to women, he has the mind of a thief but lacks the guts. When it comes to fighting fire with fire, though, he’s quite adept.”

Drunk and unfiltered, she even recounted how Jiang Fan had taken advantage of her in the bathroom while she was faint.

Hearing that Jiang Fan had been expelled because of this, Hao Meng shook her head regretfully. “What a shame—after all those years of hard study, his future ruined by one misstep.”

Wang Fang joked, “To die beneath a peony is still a romantic end. To have a glimpse of a beauty like Miss Wang—even being expelled is worth it.”

“Many at school really thought he did something to me. At the time, I hated him so much. It was Teacher Yan who helped me let go of my resentment, which is why I came to Dongguan. You’re Meng Meng’s cousin, so don’t call me Miss Wang anymore—just call me Wenyu, like she does.”

Seeing that Wenyu cared not just for her own feelings but also for Hao Meng’s friends, Hao Meng hesitated for a while, then said to Wenyu, “Wenyu, I know what you’re thinking, but I do have some advice—though I’m not sure if I should say it.”