You are My Strength novel Chapter 4

Kai Xin snuck out of the house at around 8.30pm. She made sure to lock her room door before doing so even though her brother never bothered to go into her room and her mum was always too tired to pay any attention to her.
She took a cab down to Hotel W, the largest, fanciest hotel in the city. Right before she exited the car, she pulled out her bear-themed mouth mask. In the contract that she signed, DX had requested for her to always be in disguise whenever they met in sensitive places. For the first two years, Kai Xin had thought that it was because he wanted to protect his reputation. However, when she talked to him about this over one of their anniversary dinners, he laughed.
That guy actually stated, with no less than a belly full of arrogance, "Who dares to mess with my reputation? I'm telling you to do this for your own safety." He patiently explained to her that with his status, everyone around him could be used as a target to hurt him.
She and DX met at the hotel often enough that the receptionist and her were on a friendly basis. She went straight to reception and pulled down her mask slightly before pulling it back up.
"Morning, K. What's the code today?" the receptionist, Kavi smiled as she looked at Kai Xin. K stood for Kara which was her English name, and one that only DX uses.
" Prince Zuko."
Kavi ran the name through her system, "Ah. A reservation for Prince and Princess Zuko. Presidential suite, fancy."
Kai Xin grinned and shot her a wink as she waved the gold card that was just handed to her, "Of course. We royals don't settle for less than the best."
"Do you need me to take you up?"
"Nah, I know the way." She took out $100 and tipped Kavi, "As usual…" She placed a finger against her lips.
The North Indian immigrant had been working as a receptionist for the past 10 years, and she had seen many young girls like the one before her who sold their bodies to lecherous men. Kavi never judged them. God knows, her own past was dotted with darkness.
Maybe that was also the reason why she agreed easily when the Head Manager requested for her to work the night shifts. She had overheard that some of her colleagues dissed customers behind their backs and she knew that some of them collected photos with the intention of selling them to paparazzi.
While she was disgusted with their actions, she understood where they were coming from. Everyone had their own problems and as long as they did not go overboard, she would not report them. However, even though she had not said anything, she still wanted to protect the girls. So, despite longer working hours, she accepted the night shift.
"No one will ever hear a thing out of my mouth."
As she watched the back of her favorite guest get smaller and smaller as she walked towards the lift, Kavi wondered if she was a girlfriend rather than a sugar baby. From the brief interactions that she had with President Du and Kai Xin separately, and from the rare moments she stumbled upon them and saw the way the two interacted with each other, she felt that the two treated each other with genuine respect, which was rare.
President Du always had a soft gaze whenever he was talking to her. Kavi couldn't say this when it came to the other patrons of the hotel. She had seen girls coming out with bruises on their faces only to return again shortly, and she did not want the kind woman to suffer the same fate.
Kai Xin headed straight for the presidential room while humming the tune from Imagine Dragons, 'Not Today'. Her mask was on when she saw a pair of "business partners" walking towards her direction. She frowned as she recognized the man. She saw him in the news before.
DX warned her before that this man was a two faced bastard and that she should stay away from him. On the surface, he appeared to be a gentleman, but behind closed doors, he often abused his lawful wife physically.. There were even speculations that she might have been crippled or dead by now.
The man was singing loudly as he leaned against his companion who struggled to walk with his weight on her.
"Stay away?" When they walked past each other, Kai Xin took advantage of the fact that he was drunk to trip him with her foot, causing him to land on the floor.
"Oops." She gasped mischievously and apologized insincerely. Then, when he cursed at her, she pretended to stumble and stepped onto his fat hand, hard. She wanted to break a couple of bones but his fat gave him too much cushioning. "Clumsy me."
The man howled in pain as he cursed at the little devil. Kai Xin quickly ran off and as she passed by a bellboy, she flashed her gold room card at him before running into the restricted area. The man who tried to chase after her was held back by the bellboy.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH!" He roared as he tried to push the bellboy away. However, despite his thin build, the bellboy was stronger than he looked. He managed to hold back the man as he sternly said,
"Mr. Tang, please keep your voice down. That area is restricted to everyone except for distinguished guests of the hotel."
"I SAW THAT BITCH RUN IN! WHAT SORT OF DISTINGUISHED GUEST IS THAT!?" He grabbed the bellboy's collar and yelled at him, "LET ME THROUGH OR I'M GONNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE OUT OF A JOB BY TOMORROW MORNING!"
"Mr Tang." A calm voice rang from behind them. The man turned and was about to tell the person to fuck off when he saw that it was the Head Manager of Hotel W.
He immediately reined in his temper. Head Manager Han was not someone that he could easily deal with. Everyone knew that the highly sought after Head Manager Han was personally appointed by President Du and was given full authority to deal with the matters pertaining to Hotel W.
"What is happening here? I received complaints from the other guests." Manager Han asked the bellboy as he switched his gaze between the two men and the young woman standing behind the customer.
"This guest tried to access the restricted area without having a gold card." The bellboy explained as he glanced at the girl behind the fat man. He knew her but he chose to stay silent about this. A shadow of pain was reflected in his eyes as he realized what she was about to do but he managed to maintain professional composure. His reaction, however slight it was, was noted by Head Manager Han.
The fat man started complaining to the Head Manager as he massaged his hand, "That bitch stepped on my hand and nearly broke my bones. I just wanted to go in and ask for compensation. Honestly, Head Manager Han, she looks like a thief and I don't believe she can afford to stay in such a place or even affiliate with anyone here. Maybe you should let me go in and help you get rid of her before she steals something from the hotel."
Head Manager Han smiled calmly at the man as his eyes betrayed nothing. Despite facing a calm Head Manager Han, the man could not help but tremble slightly. He had heard rumors about what had happened to those who irritated him. President Du would never keep a toothless tiger by his side.
"Mr. Tang, our hotel respects the privacy and security of our guests. We cannot allow anyone to enter places where they do not belong. If she managed to get in there, then she is one of our distinguished guests and we will not question her right to be here based on her clothing."
"But-" The man took a step back when Manager Tang glared at him while maintaining a smile, signaling that he had had enough of the conversation.
"Mr. Tang, please return to your room."
Without a choice, Mr. Tang could only swallow his anger. He turned around and dragged the girl off – completely ignoring her discomfort. The bellboy watched as they went back into their room.
"Who?"
The bellboy turned to face his superior. He had worked here long enough to understand the one word question, "President Du."
"Keep this matter to yourself. Go to the security room and get rid of all the recordings."
"Yes sir."
Right before the bellboy left, Head Manager Han called out, "Jiang Cheng?"
"Yes, sir?"
"You did well."
Jiang Cheng nodded and left without saying anything else.
Head Manager Han knew that it was not easy for someone as young as Jiang Cheng to work here. He was born in the town and was raised here. There was no doubt that he would bump into someone he knew. However, that was life and if Jiang Cheng could not be professional about it, he would be unable to rise up the ranks in this industry.
Manager Han sighed uneasily as he looked in the direction of President Du's room. This was not the first time Kai Xin had tried to cause trouble at this hotel. The young woman was a magnet for trouble, always poking her nose where it did not belong. However, since she was brought in by President Du, that meant that as long as she was in the hotel, he was responsible for her.