Chapter 17 — He Xiu being together with a sales assistant, I would truly love to hear and see this.

Chapter 17 — He Xiu being together with a sales assistant, I would truly love to hear and see this.

…………

This current situation was absolutely in the top three of the ‘most awkward moments of Jian Yan’s life.’

Seated opposite, He Xiu stared at her, his brows furrowed slightly as he seemingly waited for her reply.

At this moment, Jian Yan’s mood was like a teacher who couldn’t solve her own math problem, awkward and embarrassed.

“It’s that…” She unconsciously coughed and lowered her head to avoid looking at him. “I heard others say that last time when Mr. Tang Zheng was buying clothes for his girlfriend, he gifted them to you.”

He Xiu: “…”

“Furthermore, last time…” Jian Yan raised her hand and nervously brushed aside a strand of hair on her forehead. “That time when Lin Zhen and I bumped into you in the restaurant, didn’t he request the song 《 Salut d’Amour 》 to confess to you?”

He Xiu: “……”

Tang Zheng, well done. Damning him when they were studying, he could let it go; who knew that upon entering society, he would also change his tactics and damn him still.

“This has currently circulated throughout the entire store…”

He Xiu’s brows jumped. “Fantasy Wardrobe?”

“Mn…” Jian Yan was very anxious now. Would their pay be deducted?

“Okay, I understand.” He Xiu revealed a smile to her.

Jian Yan: “…”

“That…”

“Of course I don’t like men.” Jian Yan hadn’t finished speaking when He Xiu interrupted her. “I am merely helping Tang Zheng temporarily look after that coat for his future girlfriend, and that song, 《 Salut d’Amour 》, was requested so he that he could hook up with the female violinist.”

“Oh, so it’s like this…” Jian Yan skeptically nodded. She closed her mouth and no longer spoke.

The silence made people somewhat scared. When she ate the last chive and fresh prawn fried dumpling, she finally heard He Xiu speak again. “Help me tell Hui Hui that at 6:30, I’m going to hold a small meeting at Fantasy Wardrobe.”

Jian Yan: “…”

Okay.

Returning to the store, she conveyed this extremely tragic news to the site manager. The site manager asked her what kind of meeting He Xiu wanted to hold, but Jian Yan only shook her head and said that she didn’t know.

At 6:30PM, all the staff of Starlight General Merchandise finished eating dinner.

He Xiu, as he had said, came over.

Because the store couldn’t not have sales staff, He Xiu cut straight to the chase, turning a long story short. “I recently heard that some people in the store have been circulating rumors about me, pertaining to Tang Zheng and I.”

……

The staff were well aware of which topic he was talking about, but at this moment, they all coincidentally revealed very innocent and ignorant expressions. He Xiu saw them look at each other, and the corner of his lips hooked into a smile. “I will not investigate who circulated this rumor, but from now on, if another false rumor of myself arises, pay and bonus will be deducted.”

“…Understood, Director He!”

He Xiu nodded in satisfaction. “Then you can continue with your work. Remember to pass this on to your colleagues that are not here.”

“Okay, Director He!”

After He Xiu left, that female colleague who had first told Jian Yan of He Xiu and Tang Zheng’s ‘sex scandal’ exhaled. She moved closer to Jian Yan and asked, “Say, did Director He and Tang Zheng break up?”

Jian Yan: “……”

In short, no matter what, you all want them to be a couple. She understood.

“Right, do all of you have Director He’s phone number?” Jian Yan suddenly recalled this and seized the opportunity to ask.

The female colleague said, “Yes, it’s written on his business card. Do you want it? I have several cards right here.”

“No need, thanks.” Jian Yan didn’t want He Xiu’s business card, so she didn’t realize that the number printed on He Xiu’s business card and the number he had given her were not the same.

?

After He Xiu returned to his office, he took out his cell phone and sent Tang Zheng a WeChat text.

「Our friendship has finally reached its end. Goodbye, friend. :)」

After Tang Zheng received this message, a look of bewilderment crossed his face. 「 why??」

『Your message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it.』

……

Tang Zheng’s face contorted with confusion.

He actually blacklisted him? How did he offend this arrogant da ye recently??

He immediately called He Xiu. Fortunately, his call could still go through to He Xiu’s number. “What mental illness did you develop?”

He Xiu said, “Oh, I haven’t blacklisted your number yet. Thanks for the reminder.”

Tang Zheng: “…”

“Are you on your period today?” he asked.

He Xiu hung up without saying anything further.

Tang Zheng suddenly called a second number. Just as He Xiu accepted his call, he quickly said, “You hanging up like this is no different from my ex-girlfriend.”

He Xiu’s lips curved into a smile. “Do you want to repeat yourself?”

Tang Zheng: “…” Even when separated by a phone call, he could still sense the sheer coldness coming from He Xiu.

“He da ye, what did I end up doing to offend you?” Tang Zheng was instantly terrified.

He Xiu said, “Your existence itself offends me.”

Tang Zheng: “…”

Okay, then I will disappear. Tang Zheng tactfully hung up the call.

He felt that He Xiu’s period had definitely arrived.

That evening, He Xiu patrolled each floor alongside its respective manager. Fantasy Wardrobe’s staff, in particular, stood ramrod straight. Their hearts were stuck in their throats until He Xiu had walked far away. Only then did they relax.

After work, the site manager gave them the booklets that contained the internal discounts and the invitation tickets for the sale. The booklet was golden-bright and dazzling with a very aesthetic design.

“The day after tomorrow is Saturday. Everyone might be very busy, so you need to be mentally prepared. On another note, two small Christmas trees might be delivered here tomorrow, so everyone needs to help decorate it before the sale begins.”

“Understood.”

“Then you may leave. It’s rather late, so everyone take care while going home.”

Jian Yan drove a female colleague home as it was on the way and reached her own home at 11:00PM. After she took a bath, she lay down on bed and browsed through the sale booklet.

A yearly discount, and the sales promotion was still very high. Not only that, all of Starlight General Merchandise was participating in it. Just as she was considering whether or not she should go buy things too, Lin Zhen’s call came through. “What are you doing; have you slept yet?”

“…” Jian Yan felt like she was studying in university, and a teacher was checking to see if she was sleeping. “Not yet. I’m reading through Starlight General Merchandise’s sales booklet.”

“Oh, it’s finally time for the sale. What time and which store?”

“All the owned stores, this Saturday. From what I’ve read, Yu Zhi’s dessert stores are also having a discount. Buy three desserts, get 12% off!”

“That’s not bad; is it any three items in the store?”

“Yes, but I’m certain it will be very difficult to grab. Normally, you can’t buy any if you get there too late even without a discount.” Jian Yan pondered deeply on whether or not she wanted to take time out of her schedule to go shopping.

“Hahaha, I can go early in the morning to line up!” After Lin Zhen finished speaking, she suddenly realized that they had gone off-topic. “I didn’t call to talk about this. 《 Satisfactory 》’s book edition collection’s publishing contract has already been finalized. I sent it to your mailbox. Tomorrow, you can look over a printed copy. The remaining specific matters are for you and your editors to talk over.”

“Mhmm.”

“Then I’m going to sleep. You should also sleep early!”

Lin Zhen hung up after she finished speaking. Jian Yan stared blankly for a moment before thinking to herself, Did I forget to tell Lin Zhen that He Xiu and Tang Zheng are actually not bent?

…Forget about it. I’ll tell her next time when I have the opportunity.

The next day, she was on the evening shift. After discussing with the editor of 《 Satisfactory 》 on the printed collection in the morning, she began designing the new large poster and yonkoma.

These yonkoma actually took up a lot of energy. Jian Yan organized a few before deciding to draw something else to give her mind a rebirth of inspiration.

The Christmas Celebration illustration gift of hers had already been half-colored and should be completed by Christmas. Recalling that it had been a very long time since she updated Weibo, she cut off a portion of the sketch and uploaded it.

Tang Zhi 【V】: 「Christmas Celebration Illustration already ? complete. Happy『haha』」

Seeing this Weibo update, her fans rapidly began leaving their footprints beneath it.

「Beautifulbeautifulbeautiful! Teacher Tang Zhi, remember to rest!」

「Teacher deserves to be called a model worker 『hehe』」

「@Nan Si Quick! Teacher Tang Zhi updated her Weibo again. Quickly come and like!」

「hahahahaha ^ don’t make too much noise 23333」

「@Nan Si Hubby! You should update your blog!」

Jian Yan: “…”

She opened QQ and checked. Nan Si’s portrait was gray; he must be offline.

Tang Zhi: 「Great God Nan Si, your small friends are all urging you to update your blog~ 『laughs up sleeve』」

After she sent this message, she turned off her computer to go to her kitchen and make lunch. When she went to work in the afternoon, staff members had delivered the Christmas trees, so the site manager had them move the Christmas trees inside first. They would start decorating in the evening.

“Ah, working overtime again…” a colleague muttered under her breath.

Jian Yan moved the Christmas tree while comforting her. “It’s the end of the year. Everyone is busy. Think about the year-end bonus. Do you feel a bit better?”

The colleague nodded. “Mn. Sure enough, thinking like this makes me feel a lot better!”

Jian Yan stated, “Therefore, to get rid of anxiety, be super rich.”

These really were words of wisdom.

“Hahahaha.” The colleague laughed when she heard her say this.

The site manager looked over at them from the side and called out, “What are you chatting for? Don’t laze about. There are still a lot of things that needs to be done.”

Jian Yan and the colleague glanced at each other before swiftly moving the Christmas tree to the lobby, where it would be placed.

Several sales assistants stayed behind after work finished. Some of them decorated the Christmas tree, while others decorated the store for tomorrow’s sale. Jian Yan liked this kind of manual labor and took pleasure in doing it.

“Jian Yan, what are the discounts on these shoes?” asked a colleague in the middle of sticking discount labels.

Jian Yan answered, “Those are biubiu, 20%. The pair beside it is B&R, 40%. These two pairs of shoes look slightly familiar. You should pay close attention.”

“These look exceedingly similar, who copied whom?”

Jian Yan smiled and said, “In the design world, it is hard to avoid using each other’s works as references, especially for tall boots like these. The style is actually quite simple.”

The colleague frowned. “You can actually differentiate them with a glance.”

“If you look carefully, their fabric material is slightly different. Not only that, biubiu’s heel is higher by a few millimeters.”

Colleague: “…”

You can even see the difference of a few millimeters. Are you Sun Wukong?1

“You all still haven’t finished work?” He Xiu’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the spacious and empty store. A few employees stared blankly at him.

“Director He.” The staff all ceased working, straightened their backs, and greeted him.

He Xiu nodded to them and said, “You can continue doing your work; don’t worry about me.”

Hearing this, everyone truly disregarded his presence. They wanted to finish decorating early so they could get off work early. He Xiu looped around Fantasy Wardrobe, walked up to Jian Yan, and asked, “Need help?”

Jian Yan hastily said, “No need, no need. I’m almost done decorating.”

He Xiu smiled and crouched down, helping her decorate the Christmas tree. “How about we put this star here?”

“I think placing a snowman there will be more aesthetic.”

“This?” He Xiu grabbed a snowman and held it up to compare. “It seems like you’re right.”

Upon seeing this, her colleagues began calling out to Director He one after another. “Director He, Director He, look at this wool sweater. Which scarf looks best with it?”

“Director He! Do you think this dress matches this fur overthrow or this coat better?”

“Director He…”

Director He smiled at them. “What do you think I paid money to hire you guys for?”

……

The twittering female colleagues finally calmed down.

A colleague quietly grumbled, “If I had known earlier, I would have also gone to decorate the Christmas tree…”

Jian Yan could no longer restrain herself and chuckled softly. “How about you come decorate the Christmas tree while I go change the mannequins?”

The colleague blinked rapidly before she turned her head away. “It’s okay. Director He…I’ll leave decorating the Christmas tree to you.”

He Xiu once again held a small star and arranged it on top of the Christmas tree. “How about placing this here?”

Jian Yan glanced up and nodded. “Mn, very good.”

They all worked busily, and it wasn’t until almost 11:00PM that the store was fully decorated. He Xiu tidied his coat and asked, “It’s so late; how are you all returning home?”

“Qing Qing and I live close by, so we’re going back together.”

“Hui Hui jie is driving me home.”2

“I rode a small wool sheep…”3

He Xiu glanced at Jian Yan. “How are you going home?”

Jian Yan said, “I drove my car, so I’m alright.”

He Xiu thought for a moment before saying to them, “How about this; for those who are going to travel quite far by themselves, I will drop you back in my car. It is not safe for you to be alone this late.”

The female workers nearly danced in joy on the spot. “Yi! Director He, why are you so gentle and soft~~!”4

Jian Yan: “…”

Were these really her colleagues that she had gotten acquainted with during the day? Why did it seem like they had changed personalities during the night, even daring to take liberties with the director?

Determining which female worker he had to send home, He Xiu glanced at Jian Yan again. “Be careful when you drive home. When you get home, send me a message.”

“Okay.”

“Director He, then should we also send you a message after we get home~”

“You can all send Hui Hui a message.”

“…”

Doesn’t matter. We’ll send you a message!

?

That evening, He Xiu’s work phone received quite a few texts from his employees announcing that they had returned home safe and sound. Glancing at it, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. A moment later, his personal phone also received a text.

Jian Yan: 「Director He, I have already returned home. I took a bath first, so I’m only now sending you a message. Sorry!」

He Xiu’s lips curved into a smile. He sent her a reply. 「It’s okay. It’s good that you returned home safely. You still have work tomorrow, so go to sleep soon. Good night!」

Jian Yan: 「Good night ^_^」

Although Jian Yan said ‘good night’ to him, she didn’t honestly go to bed. She opened QQ again, wanting to see if Nan Si had replied to her message yet.

There really was a reply.

Nan Si: 「I’m sorry that my fans ran to your Weibo to urge me to update. 『sweatdrop』 」

This message had been sent to her at 9:00PM. Jian Yan thought for a moment before sending a reply. 「It’s fine. You better update your Weibo more regularly『laughs up sleeve』」

?

QQ’s notification alert rang out. He Xiu grabbed his phone to take a look and saw that Tang Zhi had sent a message. He raised an eyebrow. Didn’t she say ‘good night?’ Why was she sneakily playing on her phone?

The pure Jian Yan was completely unaware that she had been snatched by the current.

Nan Si: 「Teacher, still not sleeping when it’s already so late in the evening?」

Tang Zhi: 「Eh, I was just about to go to sleep…」

Nan Si: 「Then good night, Teacher ^_^」

Tang Zhi: 「…mn, good night」

She felt that Nan Si was definitely sleepy.

Calling to mind the sale tomorrow and how it would certainly be very busy, Jian Yan also switched off her lamp and finally lay down in bed.

?

On Saturday, she arrived ten minutes earlier than normal. Every store was hurrying to finish their last preparations before they opened their doors.

“That new store over there had a sale last week. I heard that it was a magnificent and unprecedented event. Since it’s opening, it had never seen that many people!”

Jian Yan had heard of this event to some extent. As she straightened the clothes on a mannequin, she said, “Fortunately, I brought twice as much food for lunch.”

Colleague: “…”

Is that the main point?

“Oh, that’s right. Today, it seems that Honeybee has invited models to come for a fashion show. I saw them arranging this yesterday.” Another colleague joined their conversation.

Jian Yan looked at her in astonishment. “Where are they setting up the fashion show? Do they have a runway?”

“Where can a runway even be placed? Area in the shopping mall is extremely expensive. They had only set up a carpet in the hallway in front of their store.”

Jian Yan queried, “Doesn’t that hallway have other brands? They have no complaints?”

“I don’t know. There will definitely be an impact. They have their own communication channel.”

The site manager came over with quick steps and said to them, “Stop chatting; we’re opening shop in ten minutes. There are already clients lining up outside.”

The colleagues quietly closed their mouths. “Every sale is like pure chaos, nearly making me believe that everything within the mall is free.”

Jian Yan smiled. In fact, if she didn’t need to go to work, she would also want to buy some things. Some of the vegetables and meat at the supermarket were truly cheap.

As opening time approached, the supervisors of each floor also stood guard, while the security guards adopted a look of ‘facing the great enemy.’ Seeing He Xiu appear on the first floor’s main store, the security guard captain said to him while his spirit trembled with excitement, “Good morning, Director He.”

“Good morning. How are the preparations for each department?”

“Director He can be assured; everything is clear and in good order!” Once the security guard captain finished speaking, he looked uncertainly at his boss. “Director He came down because…”

“There will definitely be a lot of people today. I came down to help keep order.”

Security Guard Captain: “…”

Don’t, Director He! If you are here, it might give rise to a rebellion!

“Director He, sir, you can be reassured. The floor supervisors and department managers are all personally standing guard. Also, with us here, riots wouldn’t happen!”

“Mn.”

Security Guard Captain: “…”

Is this the so-called ‘four ounces yields 1000 catties?’5

He wiped his forehead, only wishing that everyone will dash towards the items on sale later and not towards the handsome Director He.

Exactly at 9:00AM, Starlight General Merchandise opened on schedule.

Because the preliminary order maintenance work was done well, the customers weren’t currently like a swarm of bees as they rushed forth to enter. Instead, they relied on the invitation tickets to enter one by one.

The originally spacious shopping mall quickly became a boiling cauldron of voices. The supermarket, the women’s clothing, and cosmetics departments were the three main areas that attracted streams of people.

Fantasy Wardrobe also filled up very quickly with clients, causing the sales staff to rush around.

“Can I trouble you to help me see which blouse best matches this coat?” a female client dressed in a mature style called out to Jian Yan. Jian Yan told the client, who she was helping to choose clothes, to wait a moment and walked over to the other client’s direction.

“Hello, is it this coat?” She asked with a smile, glancing at the oversized coat the client was holding.

The female client nodded. “Mhmm. I will mainly wear this for work.”

Jian Yan thought for a moment before choosing a white blouse that had a bow tied around the collar. “If you’re wearing this every day, then I recommend this. The bow accentuation creates a fresh and clean look, which matches the stylish air of the oversized coat——a contained yet prominent aura.”

The female client took the blouse she was holding and held it up to her body to compare. She then said, “It seems pretty good. I’ll go try it out.”

“Okay.” Jian Yan led her to a changing room. Because the amount of people wanting to try out clothes was comparatively large, there was a bit of a line.

When the female client tried out the clothes, she was very satisfied with her outfit. “How much does this set cost?”

Jian Yan answered, “The overcoat is 30% off while the blouse is 50% off. Altogether, this will be more than nine thousand yuan. The blouse I helped you choose is also from the brand, maggie. Today, purchases from maggie that exceed ten thousand yuan will receive a five hundred yuan voucher that can be used in the women’s clothes department on the fifth floor. Why don’t you see if there are any accessories you may want to buy?”

The female client thought for a moment before asking, “Okay, what accessories do you recommend?”

Jian Yan grabbed some silk scarves and gave them to her. “How about these silk scarves? They complement the color of your bag very well, and they will also look very pretty if you tie one to your bag.” She held two or three silk scarves against her bag. “What do you think?”

“Mn, looks excellent. Then I will buy these three.”

“Okay, thank you for your patronage.”

Just as she finished helping this client settle the account, another girl called out to her. “Xiao jie jie,6 can you help me choose a set of clothes?”

Jian Yan glanced over. The girl looked to be a senior high school student from her clothing style. Her height wasn’t tall, and her figure was slightly plump. Her round face was actually somewhat cute. She smiled at her and asked, “What kind of outfit do you want?”

The female student shyly replied, “Tomorrow I am going out with a guy from my class, so I came to take advantage of today’s event to buy clothes.”

Jian Yan understood instantly. She mentally sighed. Senior high school students nowadays truly were not simple. She then heard the female student say, “I’m a bit fat, so wearing very many layers doesn’t look too good, especially since my arms are thick. My classmates frequently say that I’m robust…”

Jian Yan countered, “You can’t be considered as fat. Your body just has a bit of meat, which can be concealed.” She grabbed a red lantern sleeve wool sweater and said to her, “Not only are lantern sleeve designs adorably charming, it is excellent at hiding unwanted fat on arms. Red is also a Christmas color, very seasonal.”

She pondered for a bit before choosing a short white fur vest. “Fur is the most essential element of winter. A short fur vest is not only cute, it also won’t give the appearance of being obese like a fur coat will. If you match this with a white beret as well, the charmingly sweet aura of the outfit will sharply increase.”

“It looks pretty! Sure enough, seeking out xiao jie jie was the correct choice!” The female student carried the clothes in her arms and walked to the changing room. “I’ll go try these on!”

She quickly changed and came out. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she became enchanted by her appearance. “I will buy this armor!”

Jian Yan: “…”

She led the female student to the checkout counter to pay the bill. The female student frankly and straightforwardly took out her bank card, swiping it with no regrets at all at the seven thousand plus yuan total. When she went back later, Jian Yan had a somewhat bewildered expression.

A colleague asked her, “What’s wrong with you now?”

Jian Yan sighed. “Now even senior high school students are quite wealthy, buying seven thousand plus yuan clothes without blinking an eye.” Although her clothing recommendations for that female student were based off of the price levels of her current clothes, seeing her so straightforwardly settling the account still shocked her somewhat.

The colleague said, “That’s nothing. My nephew is in elementary school and had used his mom’s card to spend ￥3888 on games. Isn’t that without blinking an eye? They don’t earn money, so they naturally don’t know about the reluctance to spend money.”

Jian Yan was slightly astonished. “Elementary school? ￥3888? If it was my son, it would be weirder if I didn’t beat him…”

“Haha, that nephew of mine was also beaten. He had called me, crying while telling me his grievances.”

A handsome man and beautiful woman walked into the store together, attracting the gazes of countless clients. When they entered Fantasy Wardrobe, Jian Yan also couldn’t help but stare.

The man was dressed in a very standard three-piece suit, the dark-gray coat thrown over his arm. The woman wore a rust-red, high-waisted broad leg pants, paired with a leopard print jacket and fur-lined coat. Adorning her feet were a pair of red high heels.

As Jian Yan had said before, not everyone could pull off leopard print, but this woman’s aura was very strong. Furthermore, this entire outfit very eye-catching, Jian Yan gave her 90 points.

If she didn’t have the attitude of a queen coming to inspect the people, she would have scored a few more points.

“Fantasy Wardrobe seems to be doing well.” The woman looked around Fantasy Wardrobe, but the man beside her didn’t say a word. He merely smiled disdainfully.

After the woman looked around once, her gaze fell onto Jian Yan. Today, Jian Yan was wearing a brown wool coat and a heavily floral printed dress. She had specifically paired it with a belt and hanging jewelry, making the entire look more light and graceful.

The woman sized her up from head to toe before finally walking up to her and laughing. “You were also hired by He Xiu?”

Seeing the supervisor of the first floor coming over to them, Jian Yan guessed that their statuses were not ordinary. This woman had frankly called He Xiu by name, so it seemed that they were acquaintances. She smiled towards her and said, “Yes.”

The woman smiled and silently looked her over. Jian Yan calmly let her have her way with her examination, asking her, “Do you require my assistance?”

“No.”

Jian Yan smiled. “If you don’t, then may I inconvenience you by having you stand to the side? You are blocking clientele.”

The woman stared blankly at her, seemingly not expecting her to speak with so much impertinence. “Ah, if I want, I would have no trouble buying everything in this whole shopping mall.”

“Miss Xu really can crack jokes. Starlight General Merchandise isn’t open just for you. Furthermore, it will not allow you to buy everything even if you wanted to. Are you under the impression that this place is a KTV?”7

The woman’s delicately drawn eyebrows wrinkled. She glanced at the speaker. Sure enough, it was He Xiu.

She laughed and quite mockingly said, “Director He, such large arrogance.”

He Xiu didn’t pay her any more attention, instead looking at that male with her. “What are you two here for?”

The man raised his chin slightly and said to him, “We heard there was a sale here today, so we came over to take a look. We had just got off the plane and then drove here.”

“Ah, then it truly had been exhausting for you. There are numerous clients here today, however, so I don’t have the time to entertain you.”

The male smiled and said, “What entertainment. I can also be considered to have a share of responsibility for Starlight General Merchandise, right?”

He Xiu’s eyes darkened slightly, but he didn’t say anything, turning around and leaving. The man looked at the woman who was standing next to Jian Yan and said to her, “Let’s go.”

The woman swept her gaze over Jian Yan before following him and leaving.

After the two of them left, the store returned to normal. Jian Yan lightly knitted her brows together, still thinking of what had happened just a moment ago.

“Che, what are they playing at—truly acting as if they were the owners of Starlight General Merchandise.”

She heard a colleague to the side grumble lowly. She walked up to ask her, “Who were those two just now?”

Her colleague was slightly surprised. “You don’t know? That was He Family’s Young Master He Chen and his fiancée, Xu Ying.”

Jian Yan thought for a moment. She indeed didn’t know this. She rarely paid attention to gossip. She had even less knowledge of the hot gossip on these rich and powerful families.

“Our Director He is the main person in charge of Starlight General Merchandise. A City’s three shopping malls and several branch outside the city are all under his management. At the same time, Young Master He is in charge of Starlight Park over there. At first, the two of them minded their own businesses, but rich and powerful families—you know—vie for family property and so on, rather vigorously too. Their relationship has always been poor.”

This was the first time Jian Yan heard this. A little surprised, she pondered for a while before asking, “Starlight Park also belongs to the He Family? I remember that it was developed by the owner of Starlight Plaza and the land agents?”

“The owner of Starlight General Plaza is our Chairman’s wife!”

Jian Yan: “…”

Should she go home early and properly learn the history of Starlight General Merchandise?

“That Young Master He…” Her colleague lowered her voice, quietly saying to her, “I feel that he has never attended to his proper duties. Our Director He’s days are so busy, yet he has the time to go abroad with Xu Ying to eat, drink, and be merry in addition to continuing to fight over Starlight General Merchandise. God, I really don’t dare to imagine what he will change Starlight General Merchandise into if he got his hands on it.”

“What are you chatting about? Do you not need to work?” The site manager walked over to berate them. The two of them immediately separated and went to receiving clients with all smiles.

?

Tang Zheng also received news of what had happened. Hearing that He Chen had come with Xu Ying today to protest at the shopping mall, he promptly gave He Xiu a call.

He Xiu’s private number had already blacklisted him, but he had forgotten to do the same with his work number. Tang Zheng smoothly dialed the number according to his business card. “I heard He Chen came to Starlight General Merchandise today. Is that true?”

Hearing Tang Zheng’s voice, He Xiu blanked out for a second. This person was indeed pervasive.

He chuckled and said to him, “Mn, they just left my place.”

“Ah, that little bastard’s guts are getting bigger and bigger! What were his intentions? Did he come to Starlight General Merchandise to swear an oath of sovereignty?”

“He came to tell me that his engagement party with Xu Ying is next month.”

“Hn. From what I see, his wine lover’s heart is not in the cup.”8 Also coming from a rich and powerful family, Tang Zheng naturally was well aware of big families fighting openly and maneuvering covertly. He was luckier than He Xiu, however, as he only had an older sister in his family who completely spoiled him.

He Xiu muttered to himself irresolutely before saying, “I think he is vying for the family property. I have never been interested in competing with him for the He Family’s wealth.”

Tang Zheng bitterly and hatefully said, “I know you are a flower atop a precipice of a high mountain range that does not deign to eat the food of common mortals, but why do you let that despicable boy take these things cheaply!? Let me tell you, I don’t agree! Our Tang Family absolutely supports you!”

He Xiu said, “It doesn’t seem like you are the one in charge of the Tang Family?”

Tang Zheng: “…”

At this blood boiling time, is that the main point!?

“As long as I earnestly work at the company, sooner or later I will be in charge. My dad and older sister spoil me very much!”

“Hopefully, I’ll still be alive to see that day.”

Tang Zheng: “…”

He wiped his face and sincerely said, “Honestly, if you used a tenth of your dislike for my competence on your younger brother, he would long have been unable to take care of his life because of your dislike.”

He Xiu stated, “I said, I’m not interested.”

Tang Zheng: “…”

So you are interested in disliking me!? What sins have I committed?

He once again wiped his face and said to him, “For you, I’ll try hard. Based on the fact that I am so obedient to you, will you add me back as a friend?”

“…” He Xiu looked down, silently laughing.

?

After Xu Ying and He Chen left He Xiu’s office, they intended to go straight home. Passing Fantasy Wardrobe, Xu Ying glanced at Jian Yan. He Chen asked, “You are very interested in that sales assistant?”

Xu Ying said, “I’m just slightly curious. How can she wear the clothes she has on with her salary? Unless she doesn’t eat or drink and saves all her money to buy clothes…”

“You’re also worrying about these kinds of things?”

Xu Ying silently glanced at him. “You aren’t curious about where her money comes from?”

He Chen answered her question with a question. “What is there for me to be curious about?”

“…” Xu Ying decided to speak bluntly with him. “If a woman doesn’t earn her own money, then it can only be coming from a man.”

“So?”

“Who else could it be in Starlight General Merchandise besides He Xiu!”

He Chen stared blankly at her before he sneered at her. “In the end, after speaking for half a day, it was just you being concerned about He Xiu?”

Xu Ying stifled the anger in her heart and restrained herself from flaring up on the spot. She merely sneered at him as well. “Use your pig brains and think again!”

“You!” He Chen also became angry. Fortunately, he also restrained himself. After a moment passed, it was like he suddenly recalled something. His lips curved into a smile. “He Xiu being together with a sales assistant, I would truly love to hear and see this.”

As they left, Jian Yan glanced in the direction they left in.

Because there were so many people today at the shopping mall, the staff’s lunch had also been cut down to ten minutes. Jian Yan practically rushed to the dining hall with her lunchbox in her arms.

The dining hall staff were also like her. All of them seemed to be going to war, with one exception. That person sat by the window, leisurely drinking a bowl of stew.

Daring to be so relaxed at this time, it could only be Director He——He Xiu.

Jian Yan thought for a moment before carrying her lunchbox and walking up to him to sit down opposite. “Good afternoon, Director He.”

“Good afternoon.” He Xiu smiled at her. “You have worked hard today.”

Jian Yan said, “It was okay. I specially wore a pair of low-heeled shoes today.”

He Xiu recalled that he had told her to wear shoes with low heels last time and silently quirked his lips.

“Director He, did you cook your own food today?” Jian Yan accidentally caught sight of his bowl of pork and pearl barley stew. This strongly aromatic soup, no matter from what angle, didn’t look like it had been made by the dining hall.

He Xiu chuckled and said, “I only brought one soup. It’s just stewing olives, pearl barley, and pork slowly over a low flame. I cooked it last night.”

Jian Yan looked up at him. “Yesterday you returned home so late, yet you still cooked stew?”

“Mn, I was thinking of how you all have been working hard for two days, so I specially cooked this stew to reward you with. Do you want to try?”

?

Author’s Note:

Throwing up blood, but finished joining VIP at midnight. Thank you for supporting the official hosting!

Tomorrow, I will update at 10:30AM, muah~! The day after, it will resume to 9:00PM~

Yesterday, I wrote about Mei Ling Porridge. Many readers asked for the recipe. 『smile-cry』 So here is a simple introduction ??

Ingredients: yam, husked rice, glutinous rice, soy milk

Procedure: According to a 1:1 ratio of husked rice to glutinous rice, wash and soak for one night before breaking. Peel the yam’s skin off and dice.

Pour the soy milk into a pot and mix in the broken husked rice, broken glutinous rice, and diced yam.

Stew on low heat for an hour. Pay close attention and stir regularly. It should be done when the diced yam become paste-like.

I feel that I have become a gourmet food blogger ??

Notes:

1. Character with supernatural powers in the novel Journey to the West ?

2. Jie is a suffix for “older sister,” which is not used literally in this case (kind of). It’s a term of respect and endearment, as in Asian cultures, close yet older female friends are called ‘older sister.’ ?

3. “Small wool sheep” = slang for motorcycle ?

4. **Kiseki is dying of laughter Time for a lesson in internet slang, everyone~! 温油 |wēn yóu| (warm oil) sounds remarkably similar to 温柔 |wēn róu|. The meaning of |wēn yóu| in a literal sense does not matter because on the internet, it’s used as slang. More specifically, it’s a homonym for |wēn róu|. Want to know what that means? |wēn róu| means a ‘gentle and soft’—or in other words ‘tender’—gay man. On another note, do you know what warm oil is used for? //coughs heavily Hmm… I wonder what activity~~ ?

5. (idiom) a huge return for a very small investment; a big payoff for a small effort ?

6. Endearing nickname, where Xiao is a prefix added to a name (previously explained) and jie jie is a term of respect for older females ?

7. A KTV is a karaoke bar consisting entirely of private rooms… where the more VIP ones may or may not include options such as prostitutes. ?

8. (idiom) has an ulterior motive, have other things in mind, with an ax to grind, accomplishing something besides what he sets out to do, etc. etc. ?