Chapter 43: What on Earth Happened?

Chi Ling's gaze fell upon Su Nuo, who was shivering behind.

"Su Nuo, come with me. President Duan wants to see you."

Without even glancing at Sun Xiaoxiao's expression, he turned around and walked away directly.

Everyone in the company was accustomed to his aloofness, so nobody thought much of it.

Sun Xiaoxiao felt a pang of worry.

Could it be that she had guessed wrong? Was Su Nuo really just putting on an act, and in reality, she was still that arrogant and domineering pampered young miss?

Watching the retreating figures of the two, Sun Xiaoxiao felt a lingering fear.

Why on earth did she try to mess with a wealthy young miss?

Su Nuo only had eyes for Duan Yubai; how could she possibly have anything to do with Wang Bo?

Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned and walked back to the office.

Meanwhile, Chi Ling brought Su Nuo to the top-floor VIP reception room.

"Why... why is he looking for me?"

Su Nuo asked timidly.

Chi Ling took a sandwich out of his pocket. "Eat this."

Su Nuo looked at him in utter confusion.

Chi Ling sighed and shoved the sandwich into her hands.

"Planning to stay skin and bones forever? People actually die of starvation."

Su Nuo sniffed, then took the sandwich and began to devour it ravenously.

He was right; people did die of starvation.

She had seen many, many people around her starve to death.

Some young children would perish from illness and hunger in less than a week.

The only reason she had managed to hold on until now was because she would eat anything—she was practically driven to the point of eating the corpses around her.

She swallowed hard, completely unconcerned with her appearance.

Seeing this, Chi Ling felt an indescribable ache in his heart.

What on earth had happened to her?

When Su Nuo returned, she was filthy and reduced to skin and bones.

She trembled at every little thing and dared not resist.

To keep their secrets, the Duan family hadn't even called a family doctor.

Chi Ling had seen the crisscrossing scars on her arms and legs; it was obvious she had been subjected to abuse.

He didn't believe Duan Yubai hadn't noticed, yet Duan Yubai chose to remain silent and pursued the matter no further.

Could Duan Yubai truly believe that nonsense about special effects makeup?

A sandwich—even for him, it would take three to five minutes to finish.

Su Nuo, however, devoured it in just four or five huge bites.

She swallowed frantically, as if this were her last meal on earth.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Chi Ling stood up and poured her a glass of water.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to take it from you."

He handed her the cup, and Su Nuo tilted her head back and gulped down the entire glass of water.

As her breathing finally steadied, she let out a long, heavy sigh.

Of course she had to eat fast—she had to be even faster.

Back in the compound, countless unseen eyes had been watching her every move.

Every morsel of food had to be fought for with one's life.

Some people even waited for others to draw their final breath; the moment someone died, their body would become food for the rest.

If she hadn't held onto that final shred of clarity, Su Nuo would have fallen into the abyss as well, and there would have been no turning back.

She took a deep breath, and when she opened her eyes, a trace of a smile flickered within them.

Today was a good day.

She had eaten her fill for both breakfast and lunch; she only hoped dinner would be the same.

Meeting her smiling gaze, Chi Ling felt his breathing slow down and his heartbeat skip a beat.

He immediately averted his gaze. "President Duan has a business dinner tonight. Get yourself ready."

Only then did Su Nuo remember that earlier he had said Duan Yubai wanted to see her.

"Isn't he the one looking for me?"

"No, it was me who called you over."

Chi Ling couldn't quite name the emotion he was feeling; he had simply felt a sense of worry when he didn't see Su Nuo in the cafeteria.

Seeing her hiding alone in the pantry eating pastries had wrung his heart.

Su Nuo, the proud young miss of the prestigious Duan family, who had been cherished and doted on all her life, had actually been reduced to such a pathetic state.

What was even more infuriating was that no one else seemed to have noticed.

Everyone in the Duan family conveniently ignored her abnormalities, even convincing themselves that she was just acting.

Yet who on earth would put on such a horrific act?

Had she abandoned the very last shred of her dignity?

Su Nuo clutched the empty packaging of the sandwich in her hand, momentarily dazed.

Chi Ling had called her over just to give her a sandwich?

A warm current brushed against the tip of her heart, and she quickly lowered her head.

What was she even thinking?

Chi Ling was Duan Yubai's assistant; perhaps Duan Yubai had instructed him to keep an eye on her just to make sure she didn't die too easily?

If the young miss of the Su family were to die within the Duan Corporation, that would be a genuine scandal.

She sniffed, and when she raised her head, her eye rims were still slightly red.

"No matter what, Chi Ling, thank you."

She murmured silently in her heart.

Thank you for always taking care of me, and thank you for allowing me to eat my fill so many times.

Chi Ling moved his lips, but in the end, he simply nodded.

Before leaving, he offered one final reminder. "Remember the business dinner tonight. Drink a bit of milk beforehand; you might have to drink alcohol."

Su Nuo felt a bit puzzled.

Why would Duan Yubai bring her along to a business dinner?

Wasn't he always supposed to take Mo Xiaoxue?

Yet she didn't dare ask, nor did she have the qualifications to do so.

Right now, she was merely an employee of the Duan Corporation; whatever the president told her to do, she had to do.

As she stepped into the elevator, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Chi Ling, do... do I get a salary as well?"

"Of course you do, since you're working. Didn't HR tell you?"

"I didn't ask."

Su Nuo felt a bit deflated. If she were a regular employee, she would at least get overtime pay.

Right now, she was just an intern; let alone overtime pay, her base salary probably wouldn't amount to much.

Regardless, having a salary was better than nothing.

She still decided she needed to save every penny.

She gently touched the pendant hanging around her neck.

Over the span of two years, even if she remained an intern the whole time, she should still be able to save up a decent sum of money, right?

Only then would she have the confidence to fly far away and start anew.

However, she had once again overestimated her situation.

When she went to the HR department in the afternoon, Sun Changting looked at her with an expression that conveyed a thousand complicated emotions.

"I'm sorry, you're an intern, and interns in our company don't get a salary."

Becoming an intern at the Duan Corporation meant having a future opportunity to pass probation and become a regular staff member.

And the salaries at the Duan Corporation far exceeded those of other companies.

Therefore, even unpaid interns were meticulously handpicked or had to pull strings just to get in.

Su Nuo's savings plan was shattered, leaving her completely dazed.

Seeing this, Sun Changting asked out of curiosity, "Su Nuo, don't you get an allowance every month? Do you really care about this little bit of salary?"

Su Nuo wanted to say she cared—she cared desperately.

Ever since she returned home, no one had ever mentioned the word allowance again.

The only shred of money she possessed now was the remaining balance in her WeChat and Alipay accounts.

Yet she had always been a spendthrift who lived paycheck to paycheck in the past, occasionally even needing Duan Yubai to bail her out financially; she had zero savings.

Noticing her desolate expression, Sun Changting nodded knowingly.

"I understand. You were hoping to use your salary to buy President Duan a birthday gift, weren't you?"

"Buying a gift with the money you earned yourself certainly carries a lot of meaning."

Sun Changting flipped through some pages on his computer screen. "How about I apply for a commission for you? Once the Marketing Department's projects meet their performance targets, you'll receive a portion of the commission as well. It should arrive just in time for President Duan's birthday. What do you think?"