Chapter 73: Chapter 73: A Good Straight Man
Chen Xiao opened the bottle of liquor and filled their decanter, then said apologetically, "I’m driving for the ladies this afternoon, so I won’t be drinking."
Once they heard he was driving, they wouldn’t dare let him drink.
The one not drinking "wasn’t qualified" to speak, so he was happy for the peace and quiet, content to watch the women play out their own version of *The Legend of Zhen Huan*.
Midway through the meal, Li Xiao brought it up again. "That two-piece Descente outfit you bought last time was really nice. I asked my husband to go take a look with me, but he insisted that he only buys Archaeopteryx!"
Xu Wu’s face instantly turned bright red. Thankfully, it was already flushed from the alcohol. ’But with Chen Xiao right here... this is so embarrassing!’
’He must think I’m incredibly vain, but there’s no way to explain it now!’
Chen Xiao had to suppress a laugh. He hadn’t expected to see this side of Xu Wu. He had seen her social media post from that day, though. She hadn’t been showing off her Descente purchase; she had just posted a pretty picture of herself.
’But I guess everyone interprets things differently.’
Li Xiao kept mentioning how her husband would only wear "Archaeopteryx" just to get a leg up on Xu Wu. ’Women really are terrifying when they get together,’ he thought. ’Always making their own problems!’
’No wonder Xu Wu asked to borrow my car,’ he realized. ’With classmates like these two, if she fell short in any way, they’d ridicule her endlessly.’
As the drinking wore on, Gao Yue finally gave Xu Wu a moment to breathe. She stopped ganging up on her and turned to Chen Xiao instead. "Hey, handsome, how much do you make a month in sales? Can you handle our Miss Xu’s spending habits?"
Li Xiao laughed. "He has to handle it, even if he can’t. We can’t have our dear Miss Xu suffering, can we!"
Chen Xiao replied, "I’ve never counted. But whatever her spending habits are, she definitely won’t be able to spend it all."
The two women burst out laughing. They said to Xu Wu, "This friend of yours has a great sense of humor!"
Xu Wu said, "He really does earn a lot more than I do. This month, his bonus alone was over a million!"
WHOA! The two women were taken aback. They asked doubtfully, "What kind of sales job earns you that much?"
Chen Xiao shook his head. "Just luck. I got really lucky this month and closed a deal worth tens of millions."
Li Xiao immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive! I was just wondering how Miss Xu could go for a mere salesperson. Turns out we’re in the presence of the sales king!"
It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Closing a deal worth tens of millions in a single month would make you the top salesperson at any company, hands down.
With that, even her "salesperson" companion was no longer a weak point. Xu Wu was suddenly a "hexagonal warrior"—perfect on all fronts. The other two couldn’t find an angle to attack.
Li Xiao changed tactics and said to Xu Wu, "If you’re interested in capital management, I can ask my boss to make an introduction for you. The head of Hongsheng Capital is friends with my boss. Hongsheng has 500 million in registered capital, manages nearly two billion in funds, and has invested in over forty companies. They’re a major player!"
Xu Wu hesitated. An opportunity with a platform like that was tempting, of course. But then she thought about her classmate’s personality. ’Better not,’ she decided. ’I’ll probably just end up in a huge mess without getting anything done.’
Gao Yue chimed in excitedly, "Hongsheng Capital? They’re the real deal. My boss wants to start a new energy project and is trying to get funding from them. Right now, our project head is in talks with one of their investment departments!"
"Xiao Xiao, could you ask your boss to make an introduction for us then?"
’Ugh... I was just talking big. Why did you have to take it so seriously?’
’How could a mere secretary like me influence the boss? And it’s not like I’m his only one.’
’Besides, the only reason my boss "knows" Liu Hongsheng, the head of Hongsheng Capital, is because he’s trying to get funding from him. He’s begging for a favor, they aren’t best buds!’
She gave a couple of awkward, noncommittal replies and started looking for an opportunity to change the subject.
Over the course of the meal, the three women toasted and drank their way through two bottles of Maotai, leaving Chen Xiao secretly dumbfounded. The crucial part was that even after all that, they could still hold a normal conversation without the slightest sign of confusion. He was truly impressed.
When lunch was over, Xu Wu called the waiter over to get the check. Gao Yue turned to Chen Xiao. "Hey handsome, you’re letting Miss Xu pay?"
Chen Xiao made a sound of confirmation. "She always pays."
Xu Wu nodded. "I should be the one to pay."
Li Xiao and Gao Yue both gave Chen Xiao a simultaneous thumbs-up. They were thoroughly impressed—not only was a mere salesperson dating a sales director, but he was also living off of her.
Chen Xiao didn’t mind the cost of one meal, but he felt there was no reason for him to pay. ’It would just be a hassle if it led to a real misunderstanding,’ he thought. It wasn’t like the few bottles of liquor, which to him cost about as much as mineral water.
As they walked out of Bailu Manor, Li Xiao couldn’t help but look all around, asking, "Miss Xu, what kind of car do you drive?"
Xu Wu rolled her eyes. "A car. It’s not a bicycle, is it?"
Gao Yue giggled. "Li Xiao is just used to her BMW. Her butt’s gotten sensitive, so she’s picky about her ride!"
’So that’s why she wanted to borrow the Mercedes-Benz!’ Chen Xiao finally understood.
Li Xiao pretended to be offended. "Am I that kind of person? Still, the ride in a BMW 5 Series really is comfortable! That 400,000 wasn’t spent for nothing!"
She made a point of specifying it was a 5 Series, not the entry-level 3 Series, and even mentioned the price.
’These petty games...’ Chen Xiao was instantly reminded of Meng Jianshu and his crew. ’Are all class reunions like this?’
"Xiao Xiao, you’re really living the good life. Not like me, still stuck driving a beat-up Volkswagen!" Gao Yue added.
This made Xu Wu feel even more flustered. She snuck a glance at Chen Xiao and saw that he was desperately trying to hold back a smile.
"So, Miss Xu, which one is your car?"
Before Xu Wu could answer, Chen Xiao interjected, "There. That beat-up Mercedes-Benz over there."
He pressed the button on the key fob, unlocking the car. Seeing the stylish, handsome Mercedes-Benz CLS up ahead, Li Xiao and Gao Yue were suddenly silent.
Once they were in the car, with Xu Wu in the passenger seat, Chen Xiao started the engine and added, "This car’s a bit hard on the backside, so you ladies will have to bear with it. Sigh, over 600,000 down the drain!"
The back seat of a CLS was actually more comfortable than a BMW’s. He was purely humblebragging—a perfect retort to Li Xiao’s earlier pretentious comments.
In the passenger seat, Xu Wu nearly burst out laughing. Chen Xiao was the perfect comedic partner. She recalled the times he had infuriated her and thought it was only fair to let her two friends have a taste of it as well.
They were going for spa treatments, and that kind of women’s beauty club prohibited men from entering. Xu Wu told Chen Xiao he could head back first, saying she would just grab a cab home later.
But Chen Xiao said, "It’s fine. I’ll wait. I have something to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Xu Wu asked, puzzled. ’We already discussed everything work-related back at the office!’
"I’ll tell you when you get out. It’s definitely good news!"
The way he left her hanging made Xu Wu completely distracted during her entire spa session, her mind constantly racing to figure out what Chen Xiao could possibly want.
But no matter how hard she racked her brain, she could never guess his true intentions.
As soon as her session was over, she rushed to apologize to Gao Yue and Li Xiao. "Something urgent just came up. Let’s get together another time!"
This left the other two quite disappointed, as they had been planning to continue their shopping spree.
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