The morning sun had long since risen, casting golden light through the towering glass windows of Lu Corporation's headquarters. Yet, for Hu Chengyu, time had all but stopped. He sat rigidly on the leather chair in the waiting area, his knuckles white as they clenched his knees.
By the time noon had come and gone, his stomach gnawed at itself from both hunger and the suffocating weight of humiliation. And still, no one called him in.
The whispers didn't stop either. He could feel the stares of passing employees, hear the murmurs behind hands barely attempting to conceal their amusement. Each quiet laugh, each curious glance, cut into him like a blade. His body ached from the beating he had endured the night before, the bruises hidden beneath the fabric of his suit pressing against his bones.
