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Chapter 1 A Female Doctor or a PR Lady?
Song Xi was the only woman at the table in the largest private room of Guangde Building. The men were toasting over and over again under a cloud of cigarette smoke. For a moment, she felt as though she was back to a few months ago. At that time, she had also sat in this very room, the hostess surrounded by numerous admirers. Now, she was not even a guest but an accompanying person who had to smile apologetically.
Life seemed to have played a big joke on her.
“Song Xi, what are you thinking about? Give a toast to General Manager Chen.”
The Vice President beside her had spoken, pulling her back to reality. She followed the Vice President’s gaze and looked to her right. Chen Hao, the young master of Yida Medical Company, was sitting there. The hospital recently needed to purchase a lot of medical devices. Yida Medical Company was not the only choice, but Chen Hao had kept coming to the hospital to woo her, and everyone at the hospital knew about it. Therefore, the hospital leaders had come up with the idea to make her attend the dinner. In front of his beloved woman, Chen Hao will surely not charge too much.
After some hesitation, Song Xi picked up her glass and smiled at Chen Hao. “General Manager Chen, a toast to you.”
Chen Hao looked at Song Xi who had come straight from work. She had no makeup on but was still much more beautiful than those coquettish women outside. He just liked her purity.
The corners of his mouth turned up as he said, “General Manager Chen? Please don’t be so formal with me or I’ll feel like I’m being treated as a stranger. I will call you Xiao Xi, and you can just call me brother.”
Song Xi smiled faintly and raised her glass again while tactfully refraining from calling him anything. “Our hospital urgently needs this batch of medical devices. Can you do us this favor? I will toast to you, and you can drink at will.”
Having said that, she drank almost half a glass of wine as she tipped her head back.
Seeing this, Chen Hao smiled wider. “Since Xiao Xi has drunk up, Brother will have to join you. Cheers to you.”
As the crowd cheered, he downed half a glass of wine as well.
Song Xi had drunken her fourth half glass. She had a big capacity for liquor, but she was now drunk. Not knowing when the dinner will end, she dared not show her drunkenness.
It had not been ten seconds since she put down the glass, and she still hadn’t caught her breath when someone suddenly made a proposal. “How about Doctor Song and General Manager Chen drink wine with crossed cups? ”
Everyone immediately made sounds of agreement.
On this occasion, Song Xi could not possibly refuse. She peeped at the Vice President near her, and he signaled her to help out. Suddenly, she felt disgust and despair. Before coming here, the Vice President had reassured her that it was merely a dinner party and that he would definitely protect her. But now?
Everyone else was completely absorbed in sucking up to Chen Hao, so he was naturally super pleased. Someone stood up and poured less than half a glass of wine for him and then filled Song Xi’s glass to the brim. “Doctor Song, General Manager Chen cannot resist the charms of a beautiful woman. Just say some nice words to coax him. Never mind a price reduction, he might even give it to you for nothing.”
Upon hearing that, the room was filled with guffaws of laughter.
Chen Hao laughed so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits. He greedily stared at Song Xi’s face and said, “Xiao Xi, it’s as simple as that. If you drink wine cross-cupped with me once, I will reduce the price by ten percent.”
While waiting for Song Xi’s response, the Vice President who was sitting beside her could hardly sit still. He was vexed that he could not lift the glass for her. Fearing that she would drop the ball, he smiled obsequiously and said, “Thank you, General Manager Chen. Thank you so much.”
As Chen Hao lifted his glass, everybody turned their eyes to Song Xi. At this moment, numerous thoughts floated in her head. The most prominent was: “Can I put on a solemn face and walk away? Can I quit the job at the hospital?”
In just a second, she came to her senses. “Of course I can’t.”
She gritted her teeth and stomped her foot. “I guess I better drink. It’s no big deal. I’ve been humiliated enough over the past few months anyway.”
However…
Without raising her head, she unconsciously cast a sidelong glance at the man who was sitting across her. He was wearing a plain black shirt and was smoking. Through the haze of white cigarette smoke, his handsome appearance could be seen indistinctly. She kept looking over at him. He had stayed silent, but Song Xi just couldn’t ignore him.
Qiao Zhisheng.
Before agreeing to attend the dinner party, Song Xi never thought that Qiao Zhisheng would be there. She had come tonight with the Vice President to ask Chen Hao for help. Meanwhile, Qiao Zhisheng was probably sitting there because Chen Hao was looking for a favor. He saw that she had drunk a lot of wine with Chen Hao, but he did not say a word. Apparently, he did not want to meddle. In other words, he was waiting for her to make a fool of herself.
By now, Chen Hao had been holding his raised glass for several seconds. Everybody could see that there was something wrong with Song Xi. The Vice President was winking at her stealthily. Sometimes, it takes just a thought to make a decision. At this moment, there was only one thought in her mind. She had no one to turn to but herself. No matter whom she surrenders to, it must be the same for her.
Just as Chen Hao was about to lose face, Song Xi reached for her glass, turned sideways to him, and forced a smile. “It’s a deal. If I drink a glass of wine, you will reduce the price by ten percent.”
Chen Hao was overwhelmed. “I will keep my promise.”
While speaking, he reached out his arm, ready to cross arms and drink cross-cupped wine with her. Her whole body was still, including her arm. There was a buzzing sound in her ear as if her dignity had fallen to the ground and broke into pieces.
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