Toxic Ex-Wife: Back Off, Boss!

As the city lights came on, most office workers had already finished work. Some were on their way home, some were heading out on dates, and others were already having dinner with their families. Everyone seemed to be making the most of their time, enjoying life. To Lin Yixun, though, all of that was an impossible luxury. Her busy day had only just begun. She worked at Nightfall, the largest business club in City T. Its patrons were all people of consequence in the city, either wealthy or powerful. Yet no matter how exalted their status or how glamorous their appearance, nothing could hide the ugliness inside them. Sometimes the rich and powerful were even more shameless than street thugs. Take the man in front of her now: fat-faced and big-eared, his hair and skin slick with grease, he was staring straight at her chest as though he wished his eyes could strip her naked. In her three years at Nightfall, Lin Yixun had encountered this countless times. She knew exactly what filthy thoughts went through their minds. She remembered the first time, when her old temper as a pampered heiress had gotten the better of her. She had stood up and slapped that lecher hard across the face. But afterward... A searing sting flared in her right cheek. Lin Yixun instinctively raised a hand, and as her fingertips touched the uneven scar on her face, a piercing pain flashed in her eyes. That long scar never let her forget that she was no longer the mayor's arrogant, untouchable daughter. For people at the bottom of society, self-respect and a sense of shame were the last things they could afford. The harder you clung to your dignity, the more miserably you would suffer. Those with wealth and power enjoyed nothing more than trampling other people's pride. While her mind wandered, the fat man's paw crept onto the back of her hand and stroked it over and over. It felt like ants crawling across her skin, making her flesh creep. Lin Yixun's lashes trembled. Her stomach churned, but her expression did not change, and she did not pull her hand out from beneath his paw. Three years was neither a long time nor a short one, but it was enough to bend a person's spine and grind every last scrap of pride to dust. After enduring humiliation in countless forms, Lin Yixun had gradually learned to bear it. No matter how degraded, angry, or sickened she felt, she had to grit her teeth and endure. Otherwise, an even greater humiliation awaited her. Fortunately, the man did not take it too far. After copping a few feels, he reluctantly withdrew his hand, then ordered several bottles of expensive imported liquor. Lin Yixun silently consoled herself: nothing in this world came for free. If you wanted something, you had to pay a price. The commission on these bottles would more than cover two months of building maintenance fees. All she had suffered was a little groping; she had not lost so much as a hair. By that reckoning, she had actually come out ahead. After leaving the private room, she hurried into the restroom. She spread cool liquid soap over her hands, working it into tiny bubbles that carried away the filth bit by bit. Only then did Lin Yixun feel a little better. But could washing over and over like this really cleanse away all the filth and degradation? Lin Yixun slowly raised her head and looked at her reflection. The woman in the mirror wore revealing clothes and heavy makeup. What trace was left of who she used to be? Sometimes even she could barely recognize herself. Who would have imagined that University A's campus beauty, once as proud as a peacock, would end up selling liquor and smiles, letting men grope her? Lin Yixun stared blankly at the face in the mirror, so familiar and yet so strange. She raised a hand to the long scar on her right cheek as images flashed through her mind, one after another.