Obsessive Pleasure - Chapter 11
For a solid month, Liang Yun strictly forced herself not to think about Chen Yang.
Every time she did, her heart didn’t just catch fire; worse was the subsequent hollowness and powerlessness after the flame was extinguished. It was like a black hole with a terrifying, consuming power, one that threatened to shatter her carefully constructed facade of strength piece by piece and suck her entire soul dry like a liquid.
In the dead of night, however, she couldn’t resist the temptation. She retrieved the toys she hadn’t touched in ages and fiercely punished herself. She used metal clamps to torture her sensitive n1pples and pushed her vibrator to its highest setting, crying through the frantic shudders and collapsing in the dizzying aftermath of climax.
She would then hover in a state of semi-consciousness, between sleeping and dreaming.
In the dream, there was always a blurred silhouette with a slight smirk on his lips.
The executive training project at work finally concluded its preparation phase. Liang Yun, as the person in charge, brought the two hard-won, top-tier instructors to the client company for the first class.
By custom, whenever a customized training program launched, Liang Yun would give a general course overview to the client’s senior management, covering teaching methodology, expected goals, and so on.
This executive class was even more challenging than previous ones.
The main obstacle was the client’s boss, a young general manager who had endless demands. One minute he insisted on stressing the accurate use of basic grammar; the next, he wanted to prioritize the flexibility of the students’ self-aware learning. One moment he championed the irreplaceable nature of handwriting; the next, he wanted to focus on exposure to new media language.
Several times, Liang Yun wanted to slam her hand on the table and declare: Your Majesty is done serving you!
But her VP had repeatedly stressed that the importance of this contract lay not just in securing one company, but in the ripple effect that would bring a series of related clients. Current policies favored new technology and clean energy, and the number of domestic companies collaborating with foreign partners was only going to increase.
Moreover, in the training market, most mature domestic offerings focused on education for students, like test prep. Very few firms were truly excelling in business English training tailored for the management level.
This was a huge piece of the pie.
The forty-minute kick-off presentation went surprisingly smoothly.
Several times during the presentation, Liang Yun paused her explanation of the slides to ask the surrounding department managers and supervisors if they had any questions, paying particular attention to the young General Manager sitting in the back row, who was sketching and highlighting on his tablet.
Every time she paused, the man would look up, smile, and nod at her, completely lacking the nitpicking attitude he had previously displayed.
Liang Yun couldn’t shake the feeling that he was plotting something, as if he had dug a trap and was waiting for her to fall in.
After her introductory segment concluded, the specific course content was handed over to the instructors. The secretary led Liang Yun out of the conference room and into a lounge, personally pouring her a cup of freshly ground coffee. She informed Liang Yun that the General Manager would be over shortly to chat.
About time! Liang Yun rolled her eyes internally.
She had brought a massive commuter bag with her. Besides her laptop, it contained paper proposals, teaching materials, handwritten notes, testing standards, physical pointers, and teaching aids… She was thoroughly prepared to counter any difficult questions or challenges the General Manager might throw at her.
She felt a strange sense of disappointment that none of it was needed.
She nudged the heavy bag with her foot, then listlessly examined the various art pieces decorating the lounge.
After greeting the instructors who had just started class, the young General Manager also left the conference room and was heading toward the lounge to meet Liang Yun when he was stopped by a voice.
The speaker was standing in the open exhibition area, which occupied half the floor and was filled with high-tech displays resembling a science museum. Seeing the General Manager rushing over, the man called out his name:
“Chen Bin.”
Chen Bin immediately slammed to a halt. “Bro, what are you doing here?”