CEO, I'm Not The Girl You Once Knew (Hiatus)

Eight

As rain poured heavily from the sky, a girl with long brown hair could be seen running desperately on the streets, clutching a small paper bag that was already half-soaked.

Her hair hung in clumped tendrils around her face, her cheeks flushed from exertion. Shi Xiao Xi finally spotted the Coeval building from afar, and her face broke into a relieved smile.

Because of the sudden storm, there was a nasty traffic inside the city that formed an almost unmovable line of vehicles that plugged the highway. Although Shi Xiao Xi had taken care to wake up early, the taxi she had taken to go to Coeval had been idle on the road for nearly an hour.

And because the storm was so unexpected, Shi Xiao Xi hadn't had the foresight to bring an umbrella. When the clock in the dashboard of the taxi flashed that it was almost half past seven, Shi Xiao Xi had taken the risk to go out and brave the pouring rain.

There was no way she would let herself be late on her first day!

At last she pushed open the glass doors leading to the company, and her head bowed down as she noticed the curious gazes being aimed on her. Most of the employees from Coeval came from prestigious backgrounds, so there was no doubt that they had their own cars. It would only be too easy to drive into the underground parking lot and leisurely take the lift to the company.

Furthermore, Shi Xiao Xi was in a sorry state. Because of the bills from the hospital, the clothes she was wearing now were her old clothes from before. She didn't have the money to buy new formal clothes.

The black blazer covering her favorite white blouse had nearly turned gray from countless washing, and the pencil skirt that she was wearing had tattered seams.

The heels on her shoes were showing signs of damage, and along with her appearance like a drowned rat, Shi Xiao Xi unwillingly stood out as she tried hard to be inconspicuous while crossing the spacious lobby.

"Is that the new applicant? How come she looks...like that?"

"Maybe she got into the wrong building?"

The employees staring at her were tactful enough not to comment out loud, but their low whispers were heard by Shi Xiao Xi anyway. Her face flamed as she waited for an elevator to reach the ground floor.

Shi Xiao Xi felt a bit depressed.

She had been so excited working at Coeval that she picked the best clothes from her closet the night before, even trying them on to see how it would look on her.

She tried doing different hairstyles, but chose to leave it loose in the end. The alarm on her phone were about five hours early before her work time, and she made sure to have at least ten alarms in case she found it hard to wake up.

Shi Xiao Xi even spent countless hours searching the net on the stores that sold the most delicious coffee and beignets, since it would be eaten by her boss. Mr. Han had given her a lot of money for Lin Zhicheng's breakfast, so Shi Xiao Xi naturally would choose the best since money was not a problem.

She glanced at the half-soaked paperbag in her hand. All those preparations...all of it went to waste because of this storm that came from out of nowhere. Shi Xiao Xi felt frustrated.

Shi Xiao Xi rushed towards the women's restroom after she arrived on her floor, frantically trying to squeeze the water from her hair. She was even desperate enough to use the hand dryer on her damp clothes, and hurriedly twisted her hair into a neat bun.

"Alright, that's the best I can do under the circumstances," Shi Xiao Xi told herself as she looked at her reflection, pasting a smile. This day might have started out bad, but she believed that she had the capability to turn it around.

Grabbing the paper bag with Lin Zhicheng's breakfast, Shi Xiao Xi made her way towards Mr. Han's office. He told her to report to him on her first day, so he could give her a short briefing about her job.