Mi Cai looked across the room, her gaze meeting Yang Huaqing’s. He immediately broke into a smile, indicating that they knew each other.

Accompanied by the senior executives of Baoli, Yang Huaqing approached us and said with a smile, “Ms. Mi, what a rare visitor you are! Are you here at Baoli for market research?”

In response to Yang Huaqing’s slightly provocative words, Mi Cai returned the smile and replied in her usual calm manner, “Just shopping.”

“Having the general manager of Zhuomei shopping at our Baoli Department Store is the greatest recognition for us!” Yang Huaqing continued with a smile, and the people behind him echoed his laughter.

Mi Cai remained indifferent, “Baoli is not bad, the shopping environment is good.”

“Really? Compared to Zhuomei, we are far behind. Otherwise, some of our middle managers wouldn’t have jumped ship to your side.”

As soon as Yang Huaqing finished speaking, Li Junren, the vice president who had a conflict of interest with Chen Jingming, chimed in, “I heard that Chen Jingming was promoted to vice president after joining Zhuomei. He was just a department manager at our department store. It seems that Zhuomei is not as insurmountable as imagined!”

Mi Cai finally frowned, but didn’t lose her temper. I was already annoyed by their boasting and stepped forward, blocking Mi Cai and said to Yang Huaqing and Li Junren, “Do you two remember me? …Probably not, after all, I’m just a small fry. When I was at Baoli Department Store, I was just a low-level employee in the planning department. But I quit. Now I’m just loafing around. According to Mr. Li’s shitty logic, doesn’t that prove that Baoli is even worse? After all, I’d rather be unemployed than stay at Baoli!”

Li Junren’s face turned ugly, while Yang Huaqing looked at me with some surprise. These two different reactions were because Li Junren knew me, but Yang Huaqing really didn’t.

Before Li Junren could react, I said to him, “Mr. Li, you are in the retail industry, so your professional ethics must be high. Therefore, I think you will definitely agree with what I just said. After all, I am now a customer of Baoli Department Store, and the customer is God. Of course, I am also a very civilized God, so I didn’t slap you just now!”

Li Junren turned pale, and Yang Huaqing signaled him to restrain himself in front of the crowd. He held back, but still glared at me fiercely, then chose to remain silent. I just laughed it off.

Yang Huaqing looked at me and said in a low voice after a long time, “I didn’t expect that our Baoli Department Store once had such an eloquent employee. However, I don’t think your departure is a loss for the company.” He then turned to Mi Cai and said, “Ms. Mi, I sincerely hope that the middle managers we let go can shine at Zhuomei. I look forward to seeing the contributions they will make to Zhuomei!”

Mi Cai calmly replied, “I’ll take your good words.”

Yang Huaqing nodded with a smile, then led his group around Mi Cai and me. Mi Cai didn’t pay any attention to their departure, but looked at me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mi Cai’s voice was soft, “Thank you for standing up for me.”

I smiled and said, “It’s nothing, I just don’t like seeing people bully you!”

Mi Cai didn’t say anything, but her face was not as indifferent as before. She looked at me with a hint of gentleness.

I gently patted her shoulder and said, “Let’s hurry up and shop. I have to go to the bar later to prepare for tomorrow night’s New Year’s Eve event.”

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

……

When we left Baoli Department Store, my hands were full of shopping bags of all sizes. Of course, these were all bought by Mi Cai. I got a more direct understanding of her spending level. She had swiped her card for tens of thousands of yuan in just that short time. If I hadn’t firmly stopped her from buying me gifts, I’m afraid the amount would have doubled.

After delivering the purchased items back to the old house, Mi Cai and I rushed to the bar, and then started preparing the materials for the New Year’s Eve event with the waitstaff.

By the time it was almost evening, Mi Cai and I finally got a moment of respite. We sat in a corner, drinking to quench our thirst.

I asked Mi Cai, “Are you tired?”

Mi Cai shook her head, then suddenly asked, “Zhao Yang, is the warm marketing for this New Year’s Eve your idea?”

“No,” I replied simply.

“This event is very targeted. I just checked the customers’ Weibo, they are all looking forward to New Year’s Eve, so the effect of tomorrow’s event will definitely be good.”

“I hope so!”

“Can you tell me whose idea it was? It’s really a good idea!””I finally stopped hiding, but still paused slightly before answering: “This is Jian Wei’s idea.”

This answer was obviously somewhat unexpected for Mi Cai. It took her a while to nod and say, “I see,” before she fell silent.

I understood that even though Mi Cai and I were not yet on the path of love, the name Jian Wei was a taboo between us. I didn’t know if Jian Wei would come to help tomorrow night. I remember she told me that if it was busy on the day of the event, she would come.

……

The night deepened a bit more. Mi Cai went out to buy dinner for me, and I was still busy. I was so busy that I started to worry about the band. To prevent any accidents, I needed to call Little Wu in advance to confirm whether the band could come to help tomorrow night.

I immediately dialed Little Wu’s number, and he quickly answered, “Hello, Zhao Yang, I was just about to call you.”

“What’s up?”

“The drummer of the band got a train ticket today, he has to go home for the New Year tomorrow…”

“You’re kidding!” I was a bit unsettled. If it was the guitarist or the keyboardist, I could find a replacement, but if it was the drummer, I would be really helpless. Without the drummer, there would definitely be regrets at tomorrow’s event.

Little Wu, however, laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve already called A Ji. He will replace the drummer of the band tomorrow.”

“A Ji? The one who owns the piano shop?”

“Yes, he’s fine. He was a drummer before he started playing the guitar.”

I felt relieved and somewhat apologetic to Little Wu, “I’m sorry to make you spend the New Year’s Eve away from your family.”

“If we’re brothers, don’t say that. Besides, it’s not just for you, it’s for the big star… Next time she comes back to Suzhou, you have to let her treat our band brothers well.”

“Definitely.”

……

Just after I finished the call with Little Wu, Mi Cai came back to the bar with two takeout meals. She opened the lunch box for me and then called me to eat.

During the meal, Mi Cai asked me, “Did you confirm with the band over the phone?”

“Yes, I confirmed, there’s no problem… But you’ll have to sing a few more songs tomorrow night.”

“What do you mean by hard work? I’m happy to play with everyone!”

Looking at Mi Cai’s expectant expression, I became even more excited. I was looking forward to her performance tomorrow, hoping that the event could achieve the expected results, and even more looking forward to spending an unforgettable New Year’s Eve!

————————

The third update is a bit late, just finished writing. The chapter owed from yesterday is now paid off.