I took the check Chen Jingming handed me, avoided the strange gaze from Jian Wei, stared at the check to confirm it was indeed for 1.5 million yuan, and then neatly tucked it into my pocket.
Chen Jingming had already left, leaving only Jian Wei and me in the office. Finally, she asked me, “What’s with this 1.5 million yuan? Did you ask her for it or borrow it?”
I disliked this question, so I lit a cigarette and took several puffs without responding. But Jian Wei continued staring at me, unwilling to give up. Under her intense gaze, I felt very uncomfortable. Suddenly, my phone alarm rang. I immediately pretended it was an incoming call and said into the phone, “Hello, yes, I’m the one who made the car reservation with you… Please drive the car over right away and take me to the airport. I’m heading to Dubai… What, you don’t know what I look like? I’m easy to spot. Just look for the guy throwing money around on the roadside… Right, I’m not short on cash. Hurry up, and I’ll give you a 100,000 yuan tip.”
After pretending to “end” the call, I put on an act and said to Jian Wei, “Miss Jian, if you have anything to say, say it quickly. The driver will be here to pick me up any minute… I’m going to Dubai!”
Jian Wei looked at me speechlessly for a moment before saying, “Do you think this is amusing?”
“Then, is it meaningful for you to ask so many questions? If you have something to say, say it quickly, because I’m a man who makes a fortune every day. My time is valuable, and I can’t afford to waste it.”
Unfazed by my annoyance, Jian Wei persisted, “Why years ago you stubbornly refused to bow before Jian Boyu, even for my sake? Later, I fought hard for you to get that 500,000 yuan, but you threw it back at me without hesitation. Now, you’ve accepted this 1.5 million yuan. Who exactly changed you? Mi Cai?”
Jian Wei’s questioning made me feel heavy inside. After a long pause, I finally said, “I don’t want to be that kind of obsessive fire anymore—shining brightly for myself but burning others. I want to take my career to a higher level, so I need this money. This is the change I’ve made after my realization.”
Jian Wei remained silent for a long time before nodding to indicate she understood. After a silence even longer than mine, I asked, “So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?”
Jian Wei looked at me and finally resumed her professional demeanor, saying, “I hope you can join the temporarily assembled PR team to help us complete this task.”
“I don’t have any experience dealing with PR crises.”
Jian Wei ignored my response and asked, “If you were Mi Zhongde from Zhuo Mei, what kind of PR crisis would you create to damage Zhuo Mei’s reputation and prevent its IPO?”
I thought for a moment and replied, “Self-exposing scandals. I imagine a big group like this must have some internal scandals.”
“If it were a scandal, how would you handle it?”
After thinking for a long time, I replied, “I’m not a super soldier. Honestly, I don’t have experience dealing with such things!”
Nonetheless, Jian Wei remained confident in me, saying, “I think you have strong improvisational skills. When the event really erupts, you might come up with good ideas. Dealing with PR crises is all about strategy. The more people involved, the higher the chances of success. More importantly, this is a crisis your girlfriend is facing—you have no reason to refuse.”
When Jian Wei categorized this incident as Mi Cai’s personal crisis, I indeed felt I had no reason to refuse anymore. I finally nodded and said, “Then I’ll do my best to help.”
Jian Wei said “Okay” and added, “Great, I’ll contact you anytime if needed… Your driver is waiting for you, so go ahead and play with your money on the roadside, or he won’t recognize you. I still have a lot of work to do, so I won’t keep you.”
I nodded solemnly and prepared to leave, but then I remembered that Chen Jingming had brought me here and I had left in a hurry without bringing my wallet, not even having money for the taxi. I stopped and, with a thick face, asked Jian Wei, “Lend me twenty yuan. I need to take a taxi.”
Jian Wei looked at me in disbelief and mocked, “You’re giving a hundred thousand yuan as a tip, yet you’re borrowing twenty yuan from me. Doesn’t that damage your image as a billionaire?”
I frowned and said, “I forgot my wallet. Just lend me twenty yuan quickly. I’ll give you a hundred thousand yuan tip when I’m in a good mood someday.”
Jian Wei, feeling helpless, took two coins from her wallet and threw them at me, saying, “Take the bus. Why take a taxi? Someone as extravagant as you should experience ordinary people’s lives.”
…
Holding the two yuan coins from Jian Wei, I stood at the bus stop waiting for the incoming buses. In the sunlight, watching the passing crowds, I became somewhat distracted and thought about Mi Cai and Jian Wei, the two women in my life. It seemed they were both my life mentors. One taught me emotional maturity, so I learned to compromise, abandoning my stubbornness to borrow 1.5 million yuan from her. The other guided me toward professional maturity, always providing opportunities and platforms for me to showcase myself, which is why she requested my participation in this PR team.
But was this my good fortune? Upon reflection, it indeed was a kind of luck—not only for me but also for them. There were fewer injuries and more gains. For example, this time I might really be able to resolve Zhuo Mei’s PR crisis, not only helping Mi Cai but also earning Jian Wei two of the most prime advertising spots in the city center. What a desirable outcome that would be.
Lost in these thoughts, the bus finally arrived. I gripped the coins tightly in my hand, boarded the bus, and began a new journey. I should talk to Leyao about acquiring the bar. Besides Leyao’s bar, I also planned to acquire CC’s “Kongchengli Music Restaurant,” and then create a small-scale highlight along the long “Cultural and Artistic Road.” Therefore, before buying the bar, I intended to talk to CC first to see if she had any intention of transferring the restaurant.
Soon, I arrived at “Kongchengli Music Restaurant.” Since it was not yet lunchtime, the place was very quiet, and CC was sitting in a quiet corner drinking beer and reading a travel magazine.
I quietly sat down across from her and asked, “So, are you planning to travel recently?”
CC looked up at me and then at the travel magazine in her hand before replying, “Yeah, I’m thinking of going to Nepal for a while.”
“CC, you really know how to pick a place. It’s not yet the rainy season there, and the weather is pleasant, making it the perfect season for hiking. It’s a real journey for the soul!”
CC closed the magazine, stared at me for a while, and then asked, “Zhao Yang, I can’t help but feel you have some hidden motive. Tell me, why did you come here today?”
I looked around the restaurant, fully aware of CC’s deep emotional attachment to it, but I still wanted to give it a try. Finally, I said to her, “I want to take over your restaurant. Do you have any intention of selling it?”
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