That night, I tossed and turned, not even knowing how I fell asleep.
As the morning sunlight streamed into the room through the sheer curtains, I groggily opened my eyes. Scenes from the restaurant last night immediately flooded my mind—the humiliation of Xia Ling being forced to remove her grey stockings, Wang Xiong's smug smile as he wantonly played with those stockings, and my helpless pain hiding in the corner.
I still vividly remember the last image of last night: Xia Ling alone in the study, a bottle of red wine empty, fast asleep, slumped over her desk, her long legs wrapped in the black stockings Wang Xiong had asked her to wear for the photos. The humiliating chat logs on her phone seemed to be a summary of this shameful day.
A night has passed. I wonder how Xia Ling is?
I changed into my school uniform and slowly descended the stairs, only to find Xia Ling already sitting in the restaurant on the first floor.
She wore a well-tailored beige suit with matching trousers. Even in simple slippers, her innate aloofness couldn't be concealed.
At that moment, Mom was elegantly sitting with her legs crossed, a coffee cup in one hand and her other hand rapidly swiping across a tablet, processing work documents.
Her makeup was flawless, her lips fiery red, radiating an intimidating aura of a female CEO. There was no trace of the pain and embarrassment of the previous night; it was as if nothing had happened.
I slowly walked towards the dining table, pausing slightly as I approached, staring blankly at Mom.
Her refined face remained noble and aloof, every gesture exuding the elegance of a mature woman. It was impossible to reconcile her with the woman who had been subservient to Wang Xiong just the night before.
Mom looked up at me, her gaze sharp, her voice carrying its usual authority: "Hurry up and eat breakfast, don't be late for school."
Looking at Mom's decisive, CEO-like demeanor, for a moment, I even wondered if yesterday's events were just a nightmare. However, when I noticed the bloodshot eyes she couldn't quite conceal and her slightly tired face, the harsh reality struck me hard.
I silently sat down in the chair, a simple but nutritionally balanced breakfast laid out before me.
A suffocating silence filled the air. I opened my mouth, forcing myself to say something: "Mom, you're up so early today?"
"Yes." Mom's gaze remained fixed on the tablet, her slender fingers lightly tapping the screen. "The company's about to hold a new product launch; I'll be very busy this week."
"Oh..."
I lowered my head and took a sip of milk, my gaze unconsciously drifting to the area under the table.
Xia Ling's long, beautiful legs were encased in white trousers, but through the ankles, a thin layer of pantyhose was faintly visible underneath. That hazy sheen reminded me of Wang Xiong's smug smile last night, and how he had used his filthy hands to defile Xia Ling's grey stockings.
Normally, seeing Xia Ling wearing pantyhose only reminded me of how my father loved watching her in them. But now, seeing Xia Ling's stockings involuntarily conjures up Wang Xiong's repulsive face.
These past few days, he'd seized every opportunity at school to talk about the stockings under Xia Ling's trousers. Yesterday, in that French restaurant, he forced Xia Ling to remove those unreleased, creamy grey stockings right in front of me.
I will never forget how helpless Xia Ling's bare, beautiful legs looked under the restaurant's crystal chandelier after she took off her stockings.
Just then, Xia Ling's phone rang.
Her tone shifted instantly, becoming forceful and unyielding: "Is the press conference setup plan finalized? I need to personally review every detail. Also, I've reviewed the marketing department's plan; I'll send you the changes later. Time is of the essence, everyone be on your toes."
Hanging up the phone, she stood up, her shapely legs, encased in stockings beneath her trousers, swaying as she walked towards the entryway in her slippers.
Every step Xia Ling took carried the elegance and aura unique to female CEOs, as if she were trying to hypnotize herself—that the woman forced to remove her stockings in the restaurant last night wasn't her, that woman humiliated by Wang Xiong wasn't her either.
Watching Xia Ling's retreating figure, I felt a mix of emotions.
Now, Xia Ling had regained her usual noble elegance, but how much pain and helplessness lay hidden beneath that elegance? And how long could she maintain it?
…
With a heart full of unease, I arrived at school.
As soon as I entered the classroom, I instinctively glanced towards the back corner. Wang Xiong's seat was empty; he hadn't arrived yet. A strange sense of relief washed over me.
However, this relief lasted only a few seconds. I had just sat down when a series of rustling noises came from the doorway—Wang Xiong had arrived.
He was still wearing the same dirty school uniform from yesterday, unwashed, the zipper half-open, revealing a yellowed undershirt with a grime on the collar, making him look exceptionally slovenly.
He swaggered into the classroom, deliberately tearing the pockets of his uniform wide open.
A glimpse of warm, pearly gray peeked out from the pocket, its light, smooth texture shimmering delicately in the light. My heart clenched—it was the gray stockings Xia Ling had given him yesterday!
Wang Xiong noticed my gaze, a lewd smile creeping across his lips.
He deliberately slowed his movements, his dirty fingers rubbing back and forth along the edge of his pocket, as if showing off some precious treasure, pulling the silky fabric out. The elegant gray stockings looked out of place between his rough, yellowed fingers, like a butterfly alighting on a toad's palm.
Then, he tugged at the pocket again, revealing even more of the gray stockings.
The fine texture of the stockings was clearly visible, exuding an elegant sheen only found in high-end silk. The new, creamy gray stockings that Mom's company was so proud of were now his prize, roughly stuffed into the wrinkled, oil-stained pocket of his school uniform.
"I love you walking alone in the dark alley, I love your unyielding spirit..." Wang Xiong hummed a tune in his unpleasant voice. Seeing me sitting down, he deliberately greeted me, "Hey, isn't this our young master Wei? Good morning!"
My heart sank. I realized, what was coming had finally arrived.
As soon as Wang Xiong made a commotion, his henchmen immediately surrounded him. One of them glanced at me first, then, with a fawning expression, shouted to Wang Xiong, "Brother Xiong, how did it go last night? Did you really win over Xiao Wei's mom?"
"Xiao Wei's mom?"
"You mean that CEO Ling Ya?"
"Really? Tell me more."
After Wang Xiong and his gang's relentless spreading of rumors in class last week, everyone in the class, including our homeroom teacher, Ms. Zheng, now "knew" that Xia Ling was Wang Xiong's girlfriend.
A strange atmosphere filled the classroom.
I could feel some classmates' gazes shifting back and forth between Wang Xiong and me. Their eyes held suspicion, but more than anything, an unspeakable guess.
I lowered my head slightly, clenching my fists tighter, but I didn't even have the courage to look Wang Xiong in the eye.
On the other side, Wang Xiong remained smug. Instead of directly answering his underlings' questions, he smiled mysteriously, "Let's see what this is?"
He pulled his hand into his school uniform pocket, and a pair of unreleased new stockings—a deep gray from the "Smooth Silk" series—was clutched in his hand.
Seeing the gray stocking in Wang Xiong's hand, his gang of lackeys swarmed forward like they'd been injected with adrenaline.
The most lecherous of them all, the thick-glasses-wearing henchman nicknamed "Cobra," Li Xiaoming, gaped, his voice trembling.
Cobra stared intently at the stocking, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Stockings...stockings!" he stammered, his voice brimming with barely concealed excitement, "Brother Xiong, don't tell us this is Xiaowei's mother's..."
Wang Xiong grinned smugly, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.
He deliberately spread the stockings slightly in his hand, the elegant, creamy gray silk shimmering delicately in the morning light. The henchmen's eyes widened; some even unconsciously reached out to touch them.
However, Wang Xiong grinned wickedly, abruptly withdrawing his hand and stuffing the stockings back into his pocket, the gesture like teasing a pack of hungry dogs.
"Hey, Brother Xiong!" the henchmen stomped their feet anxiously. Another one, nicknamed "Fatty," Zhang Fei, his face flushed red, twisted and turned. "Let the brothers see again! This is… Xiao Wei's mother's original stuff…" He rubbed his hands, hunched over, his eyes fixed on Wang Xiong's pocket. "We didn't get enough of it earlier…"
The other henchmen joined in the jeering, chattering and flattering Wang Xiong like flies drawn to a swarm of fish.
"What's the rush? There's more good stuff!"