His wife's pregnancy bump disappeared, and Mr. Huo was going crazy missing her.

Qiao Mian returned to her workstation, where the HR department delivered her employee ID.

It's used for swiping cards when entering and exiting the company.

The three of them spent the entire morning familiarizing themselves with the project materials.

Around noon, He Mei wanted to treat her other colleagues in the legal department to lunch to try and build rapport.

After all, we worked together in the Ministry of Justice.

Besides, everyone in Huo's legal department is an elite, and she wants to get to know them so she can broaden her horizons and learn from them in the future.

However, He Mei went to the inner office area with a smile on her face.

Finally, he came out looking disheveled and dejected.

Clearly, his efforts were met with indifference.

"They're all so indifferent, what's with the attitude?"

He Mei, hands on her hips, said, "I also graduated from a 985 university, okay?"

Meng Bai smiled and shook his head. "Every legal counsel at Huo's company is a graduate of a prestigious university with a master's or doctoral degree in law. In their eyes, we're just a contracting team doing odd jobs. Once the cooperation expires, we'll go back to our original companies. In their view, we have absolutely no social value."

Although Meng Bai was telling the truth, He Mei was still furious.

He spat out a curse towards the inner room.

Qiao Mian sighed helplessly, "The more you are looked down upon, the more you need to do your job well, so as not to become a laughing stock."

"Yes, I wouldn't even look down on them!"

He Mei snorted coldly, "What do you want to eat for lunch? It's on me!"

Meng Bai leaned closer. "I checked, there's a seafood buffet in a nearby shopping mall, it's 120 yuan per person, is that feasible?"

"OK."

As she spoke, He Mei pulled Qiao Mian up: "Don't bother, let's go together."

"You've gone to so much trouble, I'll treat you next time."

"You're not allowed to invite him, let him invite him!"

He Mei smiled and glared at Meng Bai.

Meng Bai smiled ingratiatingly, "Alright! Grandma!"

"Stop fooling around, let's go."

Qiao Mian put on her coat, and the three of them left the legal department together.

While waiting for the elevator, Song Man walked over, arm in arm with Huo Yanbei.

"Yanbei, we're tired of the food in the cafeteria. Shall we eat out?"

"Okay, you decide."

The sound of their conversation drifted over.

There was no way to avoid it, so I had to greet them.

The three nodded, "President Huo."

Huo Yanbei glanced at Qiao Mian, who was standing obediently, and gave a faint "hmm".

When Song Man saw Qiao Mian's face, her bright pupils trembled slightly.

She was the woman Huo Yanbei helped up that morning.

I didn't see her face clearly before.

Now I see it clearly.

That face was pure, clean, and captivating.

Although dressed simply, without makeup or jewelry to embellish her appearance, her features were exquisitely sculpted, and as she stood there quietly, her temperament was extremely gentle.

She is the type of innocent, adorable rabbit that best evokes a man's protective instincts.

For some reason, I feel like I've seen this face somewhere before...

The key point is that those eyes... look a bit like... Huo Wu.

"Yan Bei, who is she?"

Song Man stared intently at Qiao Mian and asked.

Huo Yanbei said calmly, "She's not important. Let's go eat."

The words "not important" burned Qiao Mian's heart like a branding iron.

She clenched her fingers, straightened her back, and stood there calmly, continuing to wait for the elevator.

Song Man, however, walked up to her in high heels and looked down at her, scrutinizing her: "What's your name?"

Qiao Mian looked up.

He met Song Man's gaze calmly.

"My name is Qiao Mian."

"Qiao Mian? You are...?"

Song Man was shocked and was about to say something when Huo Yanbei grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the private elevator.

The moment the elevator doors slowly closed, Song Man glared at her with hostile eyes.

He Mei hooked her arm around Qiao Mian's shoulder. "Is that woman crazy? Why is she glaring at you? Did you two know each other before?"

Qiao Mian gave a slight smile.

It's more than just knowing each other.

She, Song Man, and Huo Yanbei all attended Beijing's top high school.

However, Huo Yanbei and Song Man were two years ahead of her.

They were her seniors.

When Qiao Mian was a freshman in high school, Song Man was a senior.

At that time, Huo Yanbei had already been admitted to Peking University through a special admission program and was a freshman.

Therefore, he did not recognize her, who weighed less than 80 pounds.

I don't know how she, a freshman in high school, was bullied by Song Man.

Thinking of this, Qiao Mian slowly touched her cheek.

The root of all sin is this face.

Every girl in this world wants to have a beautiful face.

However, sometimes, being too beautiful is the original sin.

Song Man is the undisputed beauty queen of No. 1 High School.

However, after Qiao Mian entered the No. 1 Middle School, she was well-liked by her classmates and teachers because of her beautiful appearance and gentle and obedient nature.

Almost every day, male classmates would secretly slip love letters into my desk drawer.

In addition, she ranked first in her grade in academic performance.

Gradually, everyone started saying that she was the school beauty of No. 1 High School.

She is prettier than her senior, Song Man, and her academic performance is also better.

Song Man was born into a wealthy family and was a pampered rose.

To be outshone by a wildflower from a small county town was, for Song Man, a personal humiliation.

With just a slight instruction, the students began to ostracize and isolate Qiao Mian.

Dead rats were put in table drawers, stickers were pasted on the back of chairs, and glue was poured on chairs—all these childish tricks were employed.

The worst time was when she was locked in the basketball equipment room by eight classmates, both male and female, for an entire night.

Slapping faces, stripping clothes, cutting hair, taking nude photos.

Finally, they also posted the video online.

Adding to the controversy, some marketing accounts stirred up trouble, leading to online abuse and even the spread of sexually explicit rumors that she was a prostitute.

Her adoptive parents, who were already treating her badly, felt ashamed of her and almost beat her to death...

Later, Song Man graduated from high school and was admitted to the art major at Peking University, continuing her image as the nation's little fairy and enjoying a smooth and successful career.

After that, her personality changed drastically; she became withdrawn and isolated, and refused to speak anymore.

She binds her chest tightly every day, fearing that her full breasts will be revealed.

Her hair was so long it covered her hips, but she refused to tie it up.

Wearing a mask and black-rimmed glasses, covering most of his face.

In the sweltering summer heat, with temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius, I was wearing an oversized, long-sleeved school uniform.

She hid her beautiful face, stopped competing with others in her studies, and deliberately ranked last in her exams.

Even so, her classmates still called her a monster behind her back...

No one wanted to be her deskmate.

Only Zhou Jinan...

Later, she was admitted to Peking University in the college entrance examination, which shocked everyone.

However, being bullied for a long time has left psychological scars.

At such a young age, he suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

She is unable to socialize normally and dislikes contact with people.

Therefore, I chose the least popular major: legal sign language.

I hope that when I have the ability in the future, I can become a righteous lawyer and speak out for the vulnerable.

So, seeing Lin Shuang, the person involved in the mute girl case, was like seeing my past self...

She wanted to help Lin Shuang get justice and dignity back...

However, back then, she was too timid and once thought that the harm she suffered was caused by her beauty.

I'm about to go to Peking University and integrate into a new campus environment.

She was severely anxious.

From that moment on, she started eating like crazy.

She only felt a sense of security when she became so fat that no one noticed her presence on campus.

Later, Huo Yanbei brought her back to the Huo family and she stood in front of Song Man under the new identity of Huo Wu. However, Song Man did not recognize her as Qin Wu, the junior schoolmate she had bullied before...