This Director Is Not To Be Trifled With - Chapter 1

The summer night remained oppressively hot. The lights in the bar flickered dimly, and in the center of the dance floor, a few graceful figures swayed gently to the music. The air was thick with the rich aroma of alcohol.

Song Xian had just passed the interview at Jincheng Advertising Company. Coincidentally, her good friend Jiang Chen had just gone through a breakup. So, a group of friends decided to relax at the bar together.

“Graduation season is breakup season. Come on, let’s toast to Jiang Chencheng’s departed love.” Sitting in the middle, Song Xian raised her glass toward the tearful Jiang Chen. Everyone echoed her cheer, even the main subject raised her glass.

“Cheers!”

“Congratulations, Song Xian! Jincheng is one of the top advertising firms in Qingchuan City, and they barely hire anyone,” a friend said after finishing a drink, turning the attention to Song Xian.

“Xianxian, you’ve landed a job already. What about us? We’re still unemployed drifters.”

“Exactly!” others chimed in. “Today, Miss Song must treat us!”

Song Xian sipped her drink lightly. She wore a sexy red dress, her lips red without needing lipstick. Her earrings accentuated her slender, fair neck. As her not-so-pronounced Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, she smirked and teased, “A rich second-gen like you calling yourself unemployed? How shameless.”

“Tch, like you’re any different.”

Song Xian ignored the banter and continued sipping her drink.

“Alright, enough of that. After graduation, we won’t have many chances to hang out like this. Tonight, let’s drink till we drop.”

Someone stood to propose another toast. Everyone raised their glasses again. After some playful drinking and chatter, someone suggested dancing, and most of them headed to the dance floor. Only Song Xian and Jiang Chen remained.

Jiang Chen drank gloomily by herself. Watching her disheartened expression, Song Xian sighed helplessly.

The previously upbeat music suddenly shifted to a sadder tune fitting for the mood. Jiang Chen looked like she was about to cry again.

Some rejoice, while others grieve. Song Xian was in an excellent mood. Today was a great day—it deserved to end on a high note.

She didn’t come to this bar often. There were plenty of beautiful women here, but most were heavily made-up and wore overpowering perfume. The scent made her want to sneeze.

She activated her “radar,” scanning the room. Before long, she spotted someone different.

A woman sat alone in the corner, her handbag tossed aside. Her long, slightly curled hair framed a refined side profile. Under the bar’s lighting, her lightly made-up features looked even more striking.

The woman’s expression was melancholic, somewhat like Jiang Chen’s. Song Xian thought to herself: Seems like there are quite a few heartbroken souls tonight. It might be opportunistic to approach someone in such a state but hey, she was no gentleman.

As long as she could win the beauty’s heart, being a scoundrel was just fine.

Xiao Yutong traced her finger lightly along the rim of her glass, eyes closed as she quietly enjoyed the music. Suddenly, she sensed a scorching gaze aimed her way.

She didn’t react this wasn’t the first time tonight. In the past ten minutes alone, four or five people had already tried to chat her up. Sure enough, someone soon sat down beside her.

“Wearing that outfit to a bar, huh? Not quite the vibe, sis.”

Indeed, Xiao Yutong was dressed in formal business attire blazer and all. She looked more like an insurance salesperson than a bar-goer, a stark contrast to the bar’s wild ambiance.

Xiao Yutong said nothing and continued sipping her drink.

Song Xian leaned in closer, whispering into her ear with a sly smile, “It’ll get you overheated.”

While speaking, she discreetly took a whiff. The scent around the woman’s ear was like green apple—sweet and fresh with a slightly sharp edge. Very pleasant. Much better than those cloying perfumes.

The woman clearly disliked being too close to strangers and instinctively moved away slightly, turning to glance at her.

Song Xian had long black hair in big waves, dressed maturely, but Xiao Yutong immediately pegged her for an early-twenties girl likely still a college student.

Xiao Yutong studied the girl carefully. She was half a head taller than her. Those clear black eyes were striking. Compared to the weirdos who had approached earlier, this one was actually quite attractive.

Xiao Yutong placed her glass on the table, then reached for the drink in Song Xian’s hand. Her fingers deliberately brushed against the back of Song Xian’s hand.

At that subtle touch, Song Xian’s fingers seemed to lose all strength. Her hand froze in mid-air, allowing Xiao Yutong to take the glass.

“Overheated, huh ” Xiao Yutong mused as she studied the drink she had taken. The glass rotated slowly between her pale fingers. The red liquid inside made her veins pop under the light.

Song Xian suddenly felt a strange heat rise in her throat. She swallowed hard. This woman’s every move was absurdly seductive.

It was like Xiao Yutong noticed this. She leaned in close, and slightly tipsy, accidentally brushed against Song Xian’s ear. Her voice was low and teasing, “Do minors even know what ‘overheated’ means?”

It was both a challenge and a test.

“Do I look that young?” Song Xian leaned in again, deliberately letting her lips graze Xiao Yutong’s earlobe. “Then how about you check my ID, sis?”

As she spoke, her breath tickled the skin behind Xiao Yutong’s ear. Xiao Yutong visibly tensed, her grip on the glass tightening until her fingertips turned white.

Feeling proud of herself, Song Xian decided to push further.

Couples kissing in bars were nothing new. The flirtation between them didn’t attract any attention—nor did Song Xian care. Since Xiao Yutong didn’t reject her, she leaned in and kissed her on the delicate neck.

At the same time, a soft, sultry voice whispered in her ear, so mesmerizing that it lingered in her memory for years.

Xiao Yutong: “You want to sleep with me?”

Song Xian: “Uh… ah.”

Caught off guard, Song Xian was momentarily speechless. She hadn’t expected Xiao Yutong to voice her true intention so bluntly. This woman was even more straightforward than she was exposing her thoughts just like that.

So should she… say yes?

Without another word, Xiao Yutong grabbed her bag and walked away. Song Xian thought she’d been rejected, but then Xiao Yutong stopped, turned around, and said, “Well? Come on!”

Song Xian, slightly dazed, asked, “Go where?”

Xiao Yutong winked. “To check your ID, little girl.”

Song Xian never imagined she’d be the one getting seduced. “Check your ID” sounded innocuous, but she knew the implication—hotels require ID.

She kept a straight face, but inwardly, she was ecstatic. Success! But then she paused. What if she was the one being played?

She grunted nonchalantly and followed the briskly walking Xiao Yutong. Passing by Jiang Chen, she flashed an “OK” sign.

Jiang Chen rolled her eyes. Truly a terrible friend. She was heartbroken, and Song Xian still had the mood to pick up girls. But that woman was gorgeous prettier than her own sister. Thinking of her sister made her want to cry again.

The night was hot and dry, and the two walking fireballs chose the nearest hotel. They got straight to business the moment they entered.

Two flames entangled through the night. Song Xian didn’t even know when she fell asleep only that when she opened her eyes again, it was already morning.

Sunlight streamed in through the curtains. They had been too worked up the night before to close them properly. The sunlight stung her eyes. She got up, pulled the curtains shut, then lay back down for a while before she dared open her eyes again.

The woman who had been sleeping beside her was already gone. Only her clothes were strewn across the room. The table was overturned; everything lay in chaos. The bedsheets were filled with the scent of passion a clear sign of last night’s intensity.

Technically, it was “sis” who made the first move. What happened between them was a kind of connection she’d never experienced before the woman’s scent, voice, and body all lingered in her mind.

She probably wouldn’t see her again. What a pity. Song Xian felt oddly empty.

Still, she was very satisfied. Even just the memory of the messy sofa their other battlefield was enough to make her smile.

As she got out of bed, her foot stepped on something. A button. Likely from the shirt she had ripped off “sis” the night before.

She held it in her palm, examining it. Just as she was about to toss it in the bin, she hesitated and pulled back.

Too sentimental to throw away.

Reeking of alcohol and looking like a drunk, she hailed a cab home, showered, changed, and then rushed to work barely avoiding being late.

Being late on your first day wasn’t a good look, especially at Jincheng’s design department, which had a notoriously strict female director. Rumor had it she hated tardiness, and leaving work on time was a luxury.

Basically: workaholic boss = employee exploitation.

Jincheng Advertising occupied the 16th floor of a downtown office building. At rush hour, the elevator was packed. Song Xian was squished in a corner and barely made it out on her floor.

The elevator opened directly into Jincheng’s front desk. She was the only one getting off on this floor. The receptionist immediately recognized her as the new hire.

Miss Liu, the receptionist, had striking features and was very friendly. She enthusiastically pointed Song Xian in the right direction.

Song Xian reported to HR, who then led her to the design department sharing space with client services. The open-office layout meant the design director’s glass office faced the whole team.

In other words, if the so-called she-devil boss wanted, she could monitor everything her staff did.

The design team wasn’t huge, split into three subgroups. Each group worked on different projects. Song Xian was assigned to Team Three.

Being outgoing, she quickly got along with her new colleagues. Zhang Xin, the one beside her, had joined a year earlier and was the second-newest before Song Xian. Another teammate, Zhou Yao, was Team Three’s leader, a four-year veteran and one of the company’s earliest employees.

Everyone welcomed Song Xian warmly but also warned her if the director set her sights on you, you were doomed.

Strangely, the director was unusually late today. Naturally, the office was buzzing with speculation and gossip.

Her name was Xiao Yutong. Thirty years old. One of the company’s co-founders and the second-largest shareholder. A true workaholic. Rumor had it she had a thing with the CEO, but those stories were always half-true, half-fantasy.

Song Xian had already formed an image in her mind: an intimidating, thinning-haired middle-aged woman with a receding hairline. Probably didn’t have time to take care of her skin or figure, being such a workaholic.

While everyone was joking around, Zhou Yao suddenly turned pale. She pointed to her phone and signaled for silence. She took a deep breath before answering.

“Hello, Director. Yes, I’ll arrange it right away.”

The moment she hung up, she told everyone to grab their materials and prepare to present their current projects. Emergency meeting.

In an instant, the relaxed atmosphere turned frantic. Everyone rushed back to their desks.

Song Xian had nothing to prepare. Watching the chaos, she thought, Is it really that serious?

In the meeting room, the team sat whispering. Song Xian was seated at the very back, actually looking forward to meeting the so-called “she-devil.”

Zhang Xin came rushing in, whispering, “She’s here!”

She almost fell into her chair, quickly sitting upright. Everyone immediately sat up straight, not daring to breathe loudly.

Then came the sound of high heels sharp and crisp. Somehow, Song Xian found it familiar.

Creak. The door opened. Song Xian craned her neck to see the legendary woman.

A slender figure walked in confidently. Her long hair was tied behind her ears, her makeup professional yet tasteful. Elegant. Sharp. Composed.

Song Xian: It’s her.