Chapter 2: The Morning After Disaster

I woke up with a headache that felt like someone was using my skull as a drum.

Sunlight streamed through my tiny apartment window, stabbing directly into my eyes. I groaned and pulled the thin blanket over my head, trying to hide from the world. But hiding wouldn't change what happened last night.

The memories came flooding back in horrifying detail.

The champagne. The balcony. The handsome stranger who turned out to be my company's CEO. The kiss. Oh God, the kiss. The shocked faces. The whispers. The video.

Someone had recorded it. Someone had actual video evidence of me, Lin Xia, kissing Shen Yichen like we were in some romantic drama.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, squinting at the screen. Forty-seven missed messages. Twenty-three missed calls. My work group chat had exploded with over two hundred messages overnight.

My hands shook as I opened the chat.

Wang Fei: Did everyone see what happened at the party?!

Liu Min: I can't believe Lin Xia kissed President Shen!

Zhao Jun: She's so brave. Or so stupid. I can't decide which.

Chen Yu: The video is already all over the company WeChat. Someone sent it to EVERYONE.

Wang Fei: She's definitely getting fired.

Liu Min: Maybe she was trying to seduce him for a promotion?

I wanted to throw my phone across the room. Instead, I scrolled further, my stomach churning with each message.

Zhao Jun: I heard President Shen left the party immediately after.

Chen Yu: He looked so angry. His face was like ice.

Wang Fei: Poor Lin Xia. She's done for.

My phone buzzed with a call. Mei's name flashed across the screen. I considered not answering, but she would just keep calling until I picked up.

"Hello?" My voice came out raspy and pathetic.

"Lin Xia! Thank God you answered!" Mei sounded breathless. "Are you okay? I've been worried sick all night!"

"I'm alive," I muttered, sitting up slowly. My head throbbed with each movement. "Barely."

"What were you thinking?" Mei's voice pitched higher. "Kissing President Shen? In front of everyone? Lin Xia, this isn't like you at all!"

"I know." I pressed my palm against my forehead. "I wasn't thinking. I was drunk, and confused, and I thought he was someone else, and" My voice cracked. "Mei, what am I going to do? Everyone saw. Everyone knows."

"I know, sweetie." Her tone softened. "Look, maybe it's not as bad as you think. Maybe President Shen will just ignore it. Rich people deal with weird situations all the time, right?"

"Or maybe I'll be fired before lunch." I laughed bitterly. "I can't lose this job, Mei. I need the money for Mom's treatment. If I get blacklisted from Shen Corporation, no other company will hire me. My reputation will be destroyed."

Silence on the other end. Because we both knew I was right.

"Just stay home today," Mei finally said. "Call in sick. Give it a few days for people to forget about it."

"People won't forget about this." I stood up and walked to my small bathroom, catching sight of myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. Dark circles under my eyes. Hair tangled like a bird's nest. Yesterday's makeup smeared across my face. "This is the kind of scandal that follows you forever."

"Then face it head-on," Mei said firmly. "You made a mistake. A drunk, embarrassing mistake. But you're not a coward, Lin Xia. You never have been."

After we hung up, I stood under the shower for twenty minutes, letting hot water wash away the remnants of last night. But it couldn't wash away the shame. The fear. The complete mortification of what I had done.

I had kissed Shen Yichen.

The Ice Prince. The man whose cold stare could make executives twice his age stammer and sweat. The man who fired people without blinking. The man who was so far above me that we might as well exist in different universes.

And I had kissed him like he was my boyfriend.

I dried off and stared at my closet. Should I even bother going to work? Maybe I should start updating my resume instead. Start looking for new jobs in different cities. Change my name and move to the countryside.

No. Mei was right. I wasn't a coward.

I pulled out my most professional outfit a navy blue blazer and matching skirt. Conservative. Serious. The kind of outfit that said "I'm a responsible employee who made one terrible mistake but deserves a second chance."

My hands trembled as I applied makeup, trying to hide the evidence of a sleepless night. Foundation. Concealer. A touch of mascara. Neutral lipstick. I twisted my hair into a neat bun and studied my reflection.

I looked like I was going to a funeral.

Maybe I was. The funeral of my career.

The subway ride to work felt like a walk to the executioner's block. Every station that passed brought me closer to my doom. I rehearsed apologies in my head. Practiced explanations. Tried to find words that would somehow make this situation less catastrophic.

But what could I possibly say? "Sorry I kissed you, Mr. Shen. I was drunk and thought you were a famous actor"? That would just make it worse.

When I arrived at the Shen Corporation building, I paused outside, staring up at the gleaming glass tower that housed my workplace. Forty-two floors of steel and ambition. I worked on the fifteenth floor in the marketing department. Shen Yichen's office was on the top floor, in a penthouse suite I had never seen and probably never would.

I took a deep breath and walked through the revolving doors.

The lobby fell silent as I entered.

Employees I barely knew stopped their conversations to stare. The receptionist's eyes widened. Two junior accountants whispered behind their hands. Even the security guard looked at me with a mixture of pity and fascination.

I kept my head high and walked to the elevator, my heels clicking against the marble floor. Each step felt like a mile. My face burned with embarrassment, but I refused to run. Refused to hide.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. Just as they started to close, a hand shot out to stop them.

My heart stopped.

But it wasn't Shen Yichen. It was Chen Hao, his executive assistant. Chen Hao was in his early thirties, always impeccably dressed, and known for being the only person who could work with the Ice Prince without getting frostbite.

He stepped into the elevator with me, pressing the button for the top floor. We stood in silence as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise.

I tried not to panic. Why was his assistant here? Was he coming to escort me out of the building? To personally deliver my termination letter?

"Miss Lin," Chen Hao said quietly, his expression neutral. "President Shen would like to see you in his office."

My stomach dropped. "Now?"

"Yes. Now."

"Am I being fired?" The question came out as a whisper.

Chen Hao's expression didn't change. "President Shen will explain everything. Please follow me."

The elevator climbed higher and higher. Past the fifteenth floor where I should have gotten off. Past the twentieth, thirtieth, fortieth floors. Finally, it dinged softly and opened onto the forty-second floor.

I had never been here before. The top floor was legendary a place where only executives and important clients were allowed. The hallway was lined with modern art and floor-to-ceiling windows that offered breathtaking views of Shanghai.

Chen Hao led me down the hallway to a set of massive double doors. He knocked once, then opened them.

"Miss Lin Xia is here, President Shen."

"Send her in."

That voice. Deep and cold, nothing like the gentle tone from last night on the balcony. This was the real Shen Yichen. The Ice Prince.

I stepped into the office, and the doors closed behind me with a soft click.

The office was huge. Minimalist and modern, with sleek furniture and abstract art on the walls. Behind a massive desk sat Shen Yichen, looking exactly as intimidating as his reputation suggested.

He was even more handsome in the morning light than he had been on that dim balcony. Sharp features. Perfect bone structure. Dark eyes that seemed to see straight through my professional armor to the terrified woman beneath.

He wore a charcoal gray suit that probably cost more than my entire year's salary. His dark hair was styled perfectly. His expression was completely unreadable that famous ice-cold mask that made him so feared in the business world.

"Miss Lin," he said, his voice calm and measured. "Please sit down."

I sat in one of the chairs across from his desk, my hands clasped tightly in my lap to stop them from shaking.

"I assume you know why you're here," he continued.

"Yes, President Shen." My voice sounded small in this enormous office. "About last night. I want to apologize. I was drunk and confused, and I made a terrible mistake. It was completely unprofessional, and I take full responsibility for my actions."

"I see." He leaned back in his chair, studying me with those dark, unreadable eyes. "And what do you think should happen now?"

Was this a trick question? "I... I understand if you need to terminate my employment. I won't cause any trouble. I'll sign whatever paperwork you need and leave quietly."

Something flickered across his face. Surprise? Respect? It was gone before I could identify it.

"What if I told you," he said slowly, "that I have a different solution to this problem? One that would benefit both of us."

I blinked. "I don't understand."

Shen Yichen stood up and walked to the window, his back to me. The morning sun outlined his tall figure, making him look even more imposing.

"That kiss last night has become a problem," he said. "The video has spread throughout the company. By now, half of Shanghai's business community has probably seen it. People are asking questions about my personal life. Making assumptions."

My face burned with shame. "I'm so sorry"

He held up one hand, cutting off my apology. "What's done is done. The question now is how we handle the situation moving forward."

He turned to face me, and his expression was still cold, but there was something calculating in his eyes. Something that made my heart beat faster with a different kind of fear.

"I have a proposition for you, Miss Lin. One that will solve both of our problems."

I waited, hardly daring to breathe.

"Marry me."

End of Chapter 2

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