On stilettos, Elvira Tao staggered across the passenger cabin, her face pasty.

This was her first test in her internship—her first flight.

After the doors of the cabin were closed, the plane slid on the taxiway. Her heart raced as the rumble rang in her ears.

The plane took off. Elvira sat in the lounge looking out the window. She could see the whole city from there. As the plane flew higher and higher, the buildings looked so small; people seemed merely moving dots. Somehow, sadness struck her.

"Elvira!"

called Bernice Tian, captain of the flight attendants. "Less idling, more working!"

Elvira turned around. She nodded at Bernice and walked slowly out of the lounge. Since she was new at her job, she wasn’t quite accustomed to the occupational walk yet.

Gradually, the flight came to a steady state. With a professional smile, hands clasped together, Elvira walked nervously to the passenger cabin and stood at the front of the aisle. She was about to announce the itinerary of the flight.

But before she could begin, the plane hit a strong airstream and jolted.

"Ah!" she screamed. Losing her balance, Elvira collapsed into the arms of a man in the first row. More embarrassingly, she was kneeling on one knee.

The man, however, didn’t react at all.

Elvira looked up at him, blushing, and met his cold eyes. Clearly, he didn’t intend to help her on her feet. Where were his manners?

Her knee hurt. She rubbed it painfully. Her nose twitched, and tears threatened to well up in her eyes.

It took the man a long while before he finally decided to do something. He put one hand on her arm and asked, "Your first time?"

Hearing his words, Elvira moved her arm away from him in a fluster and apologized, "I’m so sorry," as if by "first time" he was implying something else.

When she met his eyes again, there was a mocking smile on his face. Her face grew crimson with embarrassment.

All of a sudden, the passengers forgot all about the jolt. They all gazed at her. Some were laughing while covering their mouths.

With a frown, Bernice urged Elvira to go back to the lounge to adjust herself.

She had never had an intern so clumsy.

Elvira fled to the lounge with embarrassment. Watching her, Nigel He stopped smiling. Suddenly, he realized that the girl didn’t deserve to be laughed at. The kneeling reminded him of some kind of sexual position.

The girl must have been very much humiliated.

Back in the lounge, Elvira patted her cheeks ruefully.

She had thought she was well prepared. How did this happen?

But she was really nervous. She had just graduated from college. It was normal for her to make mistakes on her first job.

However, having made such a fool of herself, she was worried that she would become a laughing stock among her co-workers.

The man's smile lingered on her mind. The embarrassment was too much. Elvira wished she had the nerve to stick her head out of the window and jumped.

Gosh! What did I do? she thought.

Before she could adjust her mood, Bernice opened the door and shouted, "Elvira, serve the meal with Lorna Sun!"

Elvira felt nauseated, but she suppressed the feeling and stepped out of the lounge. Pushing the cart, she returned to the passenger cabin.

After straightening herself up, Lorna followed after her.

Elvira held her head up high, trying to present her best self.

Nonetheless, the flight was bumpy. Once again, there was an airflow.

Feeling dizzy, she clutched the bar of the cart tightly.

Before she fell, Lorna caught her. "Are you okay?" Lorna asked her quietly.

Elvira’s heart was pounding. She wasn’t okay. This was too much for her. She needed a break.

But as if there was a voice behind her back, keeping telling her, "Hang in there!" she kept moving.

Later, Lorna turned around to pour the passengers some drinks. Just then, Elvira let go of the bar and collapsed.

Unlucky for her, she fell into Nigel’s arms again.

What was worse, she had spilled coffee on his white shirt. And she was lying on his laps. The food box had fallen to the floor and the food had scattered everywhere. It was a total mess.

"What the hell?"

the middle-aged woman sitting next to Nigel complained loudly. "You dirtied my clothes!"

A buzzing sound filled Elvira's ears. Lightheaded, she felt her eyelids leaden and slowly closed her eyes.

Before she finally lost her consciousness, she felt someone hug her, and a cold voice kept saying, "Silly girl, silly girl..." The words were imprinted on her mind.

Elvira didn’t come around until the plane landed. Nigel’s solemn, handsome face, his manly voice, and his words, "Your first time?" kept coming back to her mind.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him. He looked aloof yet warm. His voice sounded harsh yet sweet. If she could meet him again, she would apologize to him in person.

When Elvira got home after work, she was so tired. Yet, there was no one greeting her in her family. Only Buck, her dog, was sitting at the door. He hummed to her when she walked in.

Litter was everywhere in the living room. Empty alcohol bottles took up the top of the coffee table. At one glance, she knew that all this was her alcoholic father’s work. Her stepmother, Colette Liu, had gone shopping again with her stepbrother, who was 13 years younger than her.

This was how she lived. This was how much her family cared about her. She was the servant slash babysitter slash mom to them, but she didn’t even get a hello in return when she came back home from work.

She put her suitcase on the floor. Without catching a break, she went to the kitchen, grabbed the broom, and was going to clean up.

Before she could start, the phone in the living room rang. Afraid that the noise would wake her father up, she picked it up quickly.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, Mrs. Tao,

why is the thing not done yet?"

a shrill female voice asked at the other end of the line. From the voice, Elvira judged that this woman was just as annoying as her stepmother. "This man is very rich. If it works between him and your stepdaughter, you can get rid of that burden of yours as soon as possible. Besides, you can ask for a lot of betrothal gifts. No matter what, you can name a high price for her. This will be a good deal for you."

Elvira’s heart skipped a beat. She realized that this woman was trying to set her up with some guy. But the word "price" made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Thank you. But mind your own business! Bye,"

Elvira said and hung up, allowing the woman no chance to respond.

But afterwards, she felt even more depressed. How eager her family were to get rid of her!

She held the phone so tightly it started to squeak. Her resentment towards Colette grew.

Then her phone buzzed in her handbag. At the same time the kettle on the stove was whistling. She picked up her phone and turned off the stove.

"Old Woman," the caller ID read. It was her stepmother. Fury stirred in Elvira’s heart. She yelled into her phone, "Colette, just say it if you can’t wait to kick me out of this home! I’ll get out of your way!"