Chapter 87

Of course, this wasn't because Ding Hao was heartless or shameless. It certainly wasn't. He wasn't the kind of person who would kick someone when they were down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have saved her in the first place.

He was trying to attract her anger and shift her focus. He had read this online. This way, he could divert her emotions. If she still had the energy to be angry at him, then Ding Hao would have succeeded to a great extent. At least he would be safe for the moment! Afterward, he could find an opportunity to apologize once she calmed down.

Zuo Xueying really wanted to jump up and kick him hard. She had almost died, and here was a grown man being so gossipy. The boy who had seemed so honest and cute last time, how could his thoughts be so twisted, and his character so despicable!

However, since she had just been pulled out of the lake, she didn't have much strength left. Seeing the person sitting beside her urging her on, she decided to tell her story. In fact, she had always wanted to find someone to confide in.

It turned out that Zuo Xueying was also a top student from a university in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Six years ago, she graduated from university with high spirits and found a job at a well-known five-star hotel in Qianjiang. Coming from a poor family, she worked very hard. As her experience grew, she gradually rose from a supervisor to a front desk manager.

During this time, Zuo Xueying had also experienced a love. However, her boyfriend couldn't bear that she insisted on having sex only after marriage. Even more despicable, after knowing each other for eight years, he disappeared with all her 300,000 yuan in savings, leaving her with a car that still had an outstanding loan.

Even so, Zuo Xueying didn't let it affect her work. She tried to numb herself with work. But who knew that not having a boyfriend would become a major turning point in her career!

One day, the HR manager called her in for a talk. Just when everyone thought Zuo Xueying was likely to be promoted to vice president or even general manager, the HR manager regretfully told her that the company would not renew her contract. The hotel signed contracts for three years, and Zuo Xueying had been there for six years, serving as a front desk manager for more than two years. Zuo Xueying couldn't understand and questioned the HR manager.

In the end, the HR manager reluctantly told her, "It's because you are 28 and still unmarried. So the company doesn't plan to renew your contract!"

"What's wrong with being 28? What's wrong with not being married? It doesn't affect my work!" Zuo Xueying felt this reason was absurd for the first time. She even wondered if she had offended someone at work, or if someone close to a leader had their eyes on her position. She even offered to step down as front desk manager, as long as she could stay at the hotel and continue to serve it.

But the HR manager's next explanation left Zuo Xueying in tears. All these years of working day and night had delayed her personal life, and now it had become the main reason the company wouldn't renew her contract! The company's reasoning was that at 28, if she didn't get married, it would look bad to the clients. But more importantly, women always have to get married and have children. If the company continued to give her more important tasks, and she chose to get married and have children, a well-known company like this couldn't enforce a hard rule against female employees getting married and having children!

In other words, Zuo Xueying, who should have been focusing on marriage and children, was fully devoted to her work. The company, instead of appreciating her, was worried that her marriage and children would seriously affect her work during the new contract period. The company's consideration was thorough, even if a bit inhumane. Zuo Xueying was 28, and even if she didn't plan to have children immediately, the chances of her getting married and dating were very high!

Losing her job, she had to take responsibility for the mortgage and car loan. At this time, her usually healthy mother fell ill, and as her mother's pride, Zuo Xueying couldn't afford the medical expenses! She started looking for a job, desperately searching for one! Zuo Xueying felt like she was back to where she was six years ago.

Finally, after sending out over 300 resumes and being rejected 60 times, Zuo Xueying's originally strong heart finally broke. She had thought that once she graduated from university, she could make her family live a better life. She had believed that the saying "knowledge changes destiny" was true.

But the reality was cruel. Those jobs that paid around 2,000 yuan a month starting from the bottom were unacceptable to Zuo Xueying. But higher-paying jobs did exist, and most bosses were more interested in her looks than her talent and experience!

The blind date with Ding Hao, though just a small episode, truly reflected how much Zuo Xueying longed to marry quickly. Even though Ding Hao sincerely apologized, it still had a significant impact on her! She felt that all these years of dedicating herself to work had made her almost forget how to be a woman. Even a little boy didn't like her! Wasn't Ding Hao wronged?

It's not hard to understand. Six years ago, it wasn't the peak of graduates from expanded universities, and college graduates were still valuable. But now, with over six million graduates each year in mainland China, someone once joked that a street cleaner might not sweep up a single leaf, but they could definitely sweep up ten college graduates, five of whom would be master's degree holders, and two would be doctoral degree holders.

Compared to recent graduates, Zuo Xueying was at a disadvantage in terms of education. Master's degree holders were everywhere, and some companies, though not large, had many master's degree holders in their offices! In terms of age, Zuo Xueying was also at a disadvantage, no longer as malleable as recent graduates. Companies were willing to hire recent graduates for entry-level positions, and large companies generally cultivated their own mid-to-high-level employees. It was hard for Zuo Xueying to find a job without connections.

Today, Zuo Xueying had just come out of a company. The chubby boss had been eyeing her figure and face the entire time, completely ignoring her six years of work experience, and even bluntly proposed to keep her as a mistress.

Feeling wronged and desperate, Zuo Xueying came to this small lake, originally just to calm down, but somehow she ended up walking into the water...

While listening to Zuo Xueying's story, Ding Hao kept using a lighter to try to light the cigarette in his hand. Finally, when Zuo Xueying finished her story, he successfully lit it. He had actually started smoking!

Ding Hao took a deep puff of the cigarette and slowly exhaled, then picked up Zuo Xueying's resume and said, "Just for this little thing? You want to give up your life? Your mother's life? You're really a piece of work!"

Saying this, he completely forgot that he was a 19-year-old boy, and the other person was a 28-year-old woman who had been working for six years after graduating from university.

"What kind of person is this! After telling such a tragic story, even if you don't say something sympathetic, you should at least keep quiet! I've never met someone who insults me like this. I shouldn't have told you!" Zuo Xueying thought angrily, but considering that he had saved her life, she didn't dare to lash out and could only let him scold her.

"Zuo Xueying, really a graduate of the Business School at Jiangsu and Zhejiang University! A front desk manager at a five-star hotel with six years of experience... You couldn't find a job? That's really unjust!" Ding Hao said while holding the cigarette.

"Give me back my resume! What are you doing here?" Zuo Xueying, who had already sat up, reached out to grab her resume. Since she hadn't died, she still needed it to find a job. Her mother was still in the hospital.

"I'm here to fish. Your resume isn't a state secret, don't worry, looking at it won't get you pregnant." Ding Hao moved back to avoid Zuo Xueying's hand.

"Fishing? Are there even fish in this place?" Zuo Xueying looked doubtfully at the small lake. This lake was probably stagnant. Could there really be fish? Was this guy's brain also broken?

Moreover, meeting him again felt completely different. The honest and simple boy was gone, replaced by a thoroughly rascally punk. Last time, he said he was a freshman at Jiangsu and Zhejiang University, which was probably a lie. Was the blind date last time also a setup?

"Some people fish just for the sake of fishing. But some people fish for a certain attitude towards life. I'm the latter. So for me, whether there are fish in this lake doesn't really matter. But today, I had good luck and caught a mermaid." Ding Hao glanced at Zuo Xueying and teased.

Although Zuo Xueying was mature, she usually dealt with businesspeople who were polite. Ding Hao had given her the impression of being an honest and cute boy! She had never encountered such blatant teasing, and her face immediately turned from pale to flushed.

"Give me back my things, thank you for saving me today." Zuo Xueying felt that the guy was too rascally, and she didn't dare to stay alone with him any longer. Who knew what might happen.

"I run a small company, and I'm currently short a general manager. Are you interested?" Seeing that Zuo Xueying wanted to leave, Ding Hao suddenly asked.

"Ah?" Zuo Xueying was stunned by his words. She had almost died, and the person who saved her now wanted her to be the general manager of his company. Was there really such a good thing in the world?

And this guy, who said he was 19 last time, looked no more than 20. Was he a rich second generation? Was he also going to ask her to sell her body like that fat man earlier? Why did he refuse the blind date last time? It was so strange.

"What do you want? I'm telling you, if you're thinking the same as other men, I will never agree. I'd rather drown myself in the lake right now!" Zuo Xueying immediately distanced herself from him and said firmly. She was very unsure if this rascally punk would be like the fat man earlier!