Chapter 589: Suppression
Tang Xiu waited for Mu Wanying to sign the house purchase agreement before they immediately left without even informing Chen Bin. Although Tang Xiu looked a bit indifferent toward Chen Bin on the surface, he was actually feeling thankful to him. Therefore, he called Jin Xingkui on the way back to invite him to a drink tomorrow night and told him to invite Chen Bin as well.
"You know, sweetheart, you've now become my idol." While steering the wheel, Mu Wanying's eyes were full of dazzling lights as she smilingly spoke as Tang Xiu hung up the call.
"Ah, the First Beauty of the Capital and the First Campus Flower of Shanghai University unexpectedly see me as her idol?" Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing and smilingly said. "That's a great honor for me."
"If so, do I have the honor to invite my idol to have lunch together, then?" Asked Mu Wanying.
"Of course." Tang Xiu nodded. "You saved quite a lot of money today. It's a must for you treat me to a meal."
"Anyhow, I've been asking around and heard that Shanghai has a recently opened restaurant, the Paradise Manor." Mu Wanying smilingly said. "I heard that the dishes over there are very unique and, most of all, it has a very good environment. Let's go have a meal there?"
Paradise Manor?
Tang Xiu dazed for a second before he immediately laughed and said, "Good idea! That Paradise Manor is Lulu's, maybe she can give us a discount, too."
"Lulu? That Ouyang Lulu?" Mu Wanying had seen Ouyang Lulu before, thus had her brows slightly raised.
"Yeah, it's her," answered Tang Xiu.
Pondering for a moment, Mu Wanying suddenly shook her head and said, "I'll to take you to lunch elsewhere, then."
"Huh?" Tang Xiu was surprised. "Why?"
"You and Ouyang Lulu are too close, and I'm kinda afraid that she also won't accept our money like today." Said Mu Wanying with a pure expression. "I just invited you to a meal and you agreed, hence the bill will be on me today. Can you at least let me spend some money?"
Mu Wanying's faulty reasoning made Tang Xiu at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Mu Wanying glanced at Tang Xiu again and no longer spoke. As a matter of fact, she was perfectly aware of the fact that Ouyang Lulu was Tang Xiu's close female friend and hailed from a prominent family in Jingmen Island. For her to move so eagerly to Shanghai and set up a hill resort restaurant here was perhaps just like her idea—stay in Shanghai to get closer to Tang Xiu. In other words, she was highly likely her rival in love.
Eventually, Mu Wanying picked one of the very good restaurants in Shanghai and urged Tang Xiu to have a great feast, and then the duo had an extravagant lunch that cost five figures.
The two had classes in the afternoon, however, so they returned to Shanghai University after finishing the lunch. After agreeing to find an interior design team later, they then parted ways to their respective classrooms.
As always, leisure and carefree time pass fast.
The time zipped by, and it had been nearly half a month since Tang Xiu returned from the capital. In this half a month, he occasionally went out to drink with Jin Xingkui, while some other times also accepting the invitations from Gu Changmin and Zhang Yueming. Even Ouyang Lulu also ran over to find him a few times to pester him. At some other times, he had classes to attend to in the campus and used the rest of his time whenever he had no class to impart his knowledge on Chinese Medical expertise to Dai Xinyue in the Bluestar Villa Complex—so much so that he taught her a lot of Chinese Medical knowledge during this time.
The morning sun was particularly bright and beautiful.
After having breakfast, Tang Xiu received a call from Kuwako Yamamato and learned that she was in Shanghai. He asked her on the phone about her intention to come to Shanghai but was actually kept guessing by her.
"There will no class on from Saturday to Monday. Rather than staying at home for two days, I should better go out and have a stroll."
While standing on the balcony, Chen Xiaowan's face appeared inside Tang Xiu's mind. The two of them hadn't met again in the past half a month except for having a conversation via phone.
"That's right. It seems Sis Xiaowan is working in the Brisk Trading Group."
Tang Xiu wanted to take her to work in the Magnificent Tang Corp, but he hadn't had the opportunity to mention it to her since the two had only just met.
"I'll go see her, then."
After making a decision, he went downstairs and headed straight to the garage. Although the Agera R was not to his liking, he was kind of prepared to pretend to be a swanky young master for the first time, nevertheless.
While driving to the Brisk Trading Group, Tang Xiu suddenly remembered Su Yaning. She was now working in Beijing and even though she had a good position and salary--after all, she was only a senior white-collar worker--he was worried there was some misgivings for living there alone.
Sometimes he may be cruel, but the last time in Beijing made his relationship with her slightly easier. He also had thought to make her leave Beijing to work in the Magnificent Tang Corp. What was more, he wouldn't have known Chen Xiaowan if it wasn't for her. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, he put on a Bluetooth earphone and dialed Su Yaning's cell number.
"What's up?" A cold voice belonging to Su Yaning came out of the phone. But Tang Xiu knew that she saved his cell number from her words.
"How were things recently? Are you getting treated badly at your work in the capital?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"I'm all right," answered Su Yaning. "My Boss treats me well now thanks to your blessing."
"Striving alone in the capital is not a long-term solution," said Tang Xiu. "You can work in the Magnificent Tang Corp if you wish! Kang Xia has been prepping to expand the company recently and has decided to set up branches in the major provinces of the country. You can choose one of the provinces' branch offices as a general manager aside from the Beijing's and Shanghai's branches."
Su Yaning fell into silence.
She did feel that her life was a bit depressing even though she had a decent job in Beijing. She was living alone, after all. Life was passable and not bad in normal times, as she could go out once in a while, but it was quite hard whenever she fell ill as she wished to have a family member at her side. Especially last week, when she caught a bad cold and had to rest in bed, and no one was even there to bring and provide her some water. Back then, she felt that she would feel slightly warm even if the person who was there was Tang Xiu.
After getting the silent treatment from Su Yaning, Tang Xiu lightly continued, "There's no rush for you to answer me now. Besides, the establishment of the branch offices in the various provinces is not yet officially on schedule. It will probably be scheduled to be in about ten days or so. Just consider it well and call me when you have made a decision."
"Mmm!" Su Yaning didn't speak, but only let out a slight hum.
"Anyways, I gotta tell you something. I just met Sis Xiaowan in Shanghai," said Tang Xiu.
"Chen Xiaowan?" Su Yaning stumped for words for a second before hurriedly asking.
"Yeah, she's working in a foreign capital company in Shanghai," affirmed Tang Xiu.
"Can you give me her cell number?" Asked Su Yaning quickly. "We separated after the high school graduation and only had occasional contacts during our time in the university, finally stopping contact due to various reasons later. I've always been wanting to look for her after I graduated, but she changed her cell number."
"Okay, I'll send it to your phone number later."
After concluding the call, Tang Xiu then sent her Chen Xiaowan's phone number.
****
Brisk Trading Group.
Chen Xiaowan was sitting on a chair in the office with an awful mood. She felt downhearted as she saw the irksome expression of the person in front of her who had suddenly become her new superior.
As a Deputy Director of the Human Resources Department, she was greatly appreciated by her previous immediate superior and comfortably enjoyed her daily work normally. But around a week ago, her immediate supervisor resigned from the position of Human Resources Department Director due to an illness and tried to recommend her to the top executives of the company as the new HRD Director.
Unfortunately, a new director suddenly came out of nowhere and snatched her opportunity from being promoted. She could accept it if it was only this, but the most depressing thing was that the new director was her arch-enemy during her time in university—Miao Xinran, who was also the Vice President of the Student Union back then.
"You're abusing your position to get even with me for a private grudge." Chen Xiaowan suppressed her anger as she pressed her hands on Miao Xinran's desk.
"Oh please, don't be so narrow-minded, Chen Xiaowan," said Miao Xinran with an annoying tone. "You indeed had quite the ability and resources for being able to become the President of Students Union back then—the cause of our grudges. But that's all in the past and I've already forgotten it. The current me is a Human Resources Department Director of the Brisk Trading Group, whereas you now are only a Deputy Director and my subordinate, so I do have the right to arrange your work."
As she finished speaking, the scowl on her face subsided for the most part and was instead replaced by a glimpse of self-pride and smugness as she continued, "Ask yourself, who made you not to find yourself a good man to marry, huh? My husband is the Vice Chief Executive Officer of the Brisk Trading Group. He holds great power and influence and has a very deep background in Japan. And you? Didn't you just get dumped by that scumbag not long ago? You know, I can see that green hat being crowned over your head right now."
"You… Asshole!" Chen Xiaowan suddenly got up and yelled.
"What's wrong? You got pissed out of shame?" Miao Xinran mocked. "The West Branch Office is in need of manpower now. The conditions there are quite difficult, I know, but the pay and welfare are more or less the same. So, you will go there—and you still must go even if you don't want to. Else you can be sure that I'll pack up your stuff and kick you out of here!"
After saying that, she didn't give a chance for Chen Xiaowan to speak, lifting her chin and stepping on her high heels leisurely as she walked outside.
Chen Xiaowan gasped for breath. Her expression was one of unwillingness and unreconciled to the situation. Getting a promotion when you worked in the Japanese companies was very difficult, and there was only a slight chance for anyone being promoted unless you could display a stellar performance. She had worked hard and racked up good achievements before she got promoted to the Vice Director position in the Human Resources Department.
But now, she knew that she couldn't stay here.
She didn't want to leave Shanghai. She would have considered going to the West if it was half a month ago. But now she was no longer alone in Shanghai, there was also her younger brother… Tang Xiu.
Ring, ring, ring…
Her mobile phone rang and dragged her back from her train of thought.
Chen Xiaowan picked the call and looked at the number displayed on the screen. It was an unfamiliar number from Beijing. She wanted to reject the call but hesitated. She adjusted her emotions before picking it up and saying, "May I know who am I speaking with?"
"Xiaowan?" Su Yaning's voice came out of the phone.
Chen Xiaowan was startled as the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember whose voice it was immediately. Just as she was about to inquire who the other party was, Su Yaning's face suddenly appeared in her mind. She suddenly felt a wave of emotions in her heart along with anticipation and excitement, as she probed, "Yaning?"
Chapter 590: No One Will Compensate You If You Die From Excess Anger
Su Yaning's whole being was excited upon hearing Chen Xiaowan's voice as she got up and quickly said, "I never thought I would be able to hear your voice again after so many years, Xiaowan. I've been wanting to contact you for years, but I wasn't able to get your number. I even asked a lot of our schoolmates, but they didn't know your mobile number either."
Chen Xiaowan was also a bit excited at this time. The haziness inside her head diminished a little due to having re-established contact with Su Yaning again. She then replied, "Where are you now, Yaning?"
"I'm in Beijing! I heard from Tang Xiu that you are in Shanghai, is it true?" Said Su Yaning. "How are you? Have you been great all this while?
Chen Xiaowan was taken aback before realizing that Su Yaning got her number from Tang Xiu. Although she was a bit curious about the situation between Tang Xiu and Su Yaning, asking about it now was out of place. After spending ten minutes chatting with Su Yaning on the phone, the duo finally reluctantly hung up.
Following that, she picked up all her personal belongings, wrote her resignation letter, and then directly put it on Miao Xinran's desk before turning around to leave without sparing her a glance.
"Your boyfriend cheated on you, and now you lost a high-paying executive job too. What a sad life! Dramatic changes are interesting indeed. As your old classmate, I hope you won't come knocking on my door in the future as a beggar, though I'll still give you some coins, nevertheless." Miao Xinran curled her lips with tilted legs while folding her arms and shooting Chen Xiaowan's back a mocking look as she left.
Chen Xiaowan's footsteps came to a halt as she finally turned around to look at Miao Xinran and said coldly, "There's a good saying for us all. 30 years West, and 30 years East. The pendulum swings both ways and every dog has its days. We'll wait and see later."
After saying that, she lifted her head up, straightened up her chest and walked toward the outside.
On this beautiful sunny day, the disconsolation and vexed feelings still made Chen Xiaowan depressed inside despite Su Yaning's call having dispelled a lot of the haze inside her heart. As she stepped out of the company's front entrance, standing outside while looking up at the bright sunshine, she finally took a deep sigh of relief secretly.
Ring, ring, ring…
Her mobile phone buzzed three times but was hung up directly.
Chen Xiaowan slightly furrowed her brows. She hated people that made a call and then hung up, because 80% of them were misers who wanted to save their phone bill and wanted her to call back.
"Hey, unemployed beautiful girl! Do you want this Young Master to support you?" A voice with hints of teasing came several meters away behind Chen Xiaowan.
Chen Xiaowan had a change in expression. When she looked up and saw Tang Xiu, the chagrin, anger, and embarrassed feelings inside her heart eventually turned into grievance. She never expected that Tang Xiu would witness her losing her job despite having already had witnessed her breaking up with her boyfriend. Could it be that he would always appear whenever she fell into trouble?
"How did you come here?"
Looking at her face, Tang Xiu shrugged his shoulders and said, "I was going to visit you in the Brisk Trading Group and take you out today. Who would have thought that you came out from the inside just as I was going to dial your number? Eh, did you really just get fired, Sis Xiaowan?"
Though somewhat feeling a bit depressed, Chen Xiaowan shook her head and answered, "It can't said that I got fired. It's more like that I resigned on my own volition! How true it is that being plagued by bad luck is in truth that you are out of luck."
"How could this happen?" Asked Tang Xiu, taken aback.
"Let's forget about this, shall we?" Chen Xiaowan shook her head. "Anyhow, I don't need to ask for a leave today in any case. What plans do you have in mind?"
"Well, I'll be accompanying you to relax," said Tang Xiu directly.
"All right!"
"Good!" As she walked to a trash can outside the door, Chen Xiaowan threw all the stuff inside the box into it. Following that, she grabbed Tang Xiu's arm and headed toward the road.
"What a beautiful sports car." The moment they arrived before the Agera R sports car, Chen Xiaowan sighed and praised in appreciation.
Tang Xiu picked out the car keys and pressed the button as the four corner lights of the Agera R sports car flashed. Then, he turned to look to at the stunned Chen Xiaowan as he walked to the front of the passenger seat, opened its door and smilingly said, "Let me give you a ride since you are in a bad mood, Sis Xiaowan."
"This sports car is… yours?" Asked Chen Xiaowan.
"Yeah," replied Tang Xiu with a nod. "This is mine, your younger brother's."
"There's no chance this car is a cheap one, right, Tang Xiu?" Chen Xiaowan gulped down and asked in a low voice.
"It's not really that expensive, though. Just around 10 million!" Answered Tang Xiu while shaking his head.
"What?" Chen Xiaowan exclaimed with disbelief filling her eyes. Despite knowing that Tang Xiu was rich, yet it was out of her imagination that he could be extravagant enough to buy a luxury car worth over 10 million yuan.
Suddenly, Tang Xiu's expression moved and asked, "Do you have a WeChat account, Sis Xiaowan?"
The sudden change of topic made Chen Xiaowan bewildered as she answered instinctively.
Tang Xiu grabbed Chen Xiaowan's mobile and opened the WeChat app. He instructed her to make some poses in front of the Agera R sports car, took a few photos of her and then sent those pictures to her Moments friends circle while adding some comments below: Got fired by a squid in the company and feeling quite vexed and shitty right now. Hence I ask my brother to come to fetch me and go for a ride to relax. Also, I'm gonna have a big party tonight.
After feeling satisfied with sending the photos to her friends' circle, Tang Xiu returned the mobile to Chen Xiaowan, and then forced her to enter the front passenger seat, closed the door, and drove the car away with her.
Inside the Director's Office of the Brisk Trading Group's Human Resources Department, Miao Xinran made coffee for herself in a brisk and happy mood. She then tilted her legs and fiddled with her mobile phone. She was very happy today, and even felt a refreshing feeling and emotion flowing through her body. Someone she always hated and a thorn in her flesh had finally been removed from the company. It made her feel that the air was full of pleasant fragrance.
"Chen Xiaowan, Chen Xiaowan, you never thought that you'd get your just deserts, did you? Hmph, you're still worlds apart if you think you can contend against me! And now, you should be squatting in some corner of the company crying and weeping, right? Hahaha…"
This thought made Miao Xinran laugh.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, for she knew that Chen Xiaowan often tweeted her friends' circle in the WeChat Moments. She quickly opened WeChat as she had the urge to see her in a pitiful and tragic appearance there.
"WHAT?"
The smile on Miao Xinran face froze and disbelief was plastered on her face. Her eyes stared at the content of the latest tweet and messages in the group, causing her chin to almost fall.
"That car… isn't it the Agera R sports car? It must be."
The World Limited Edition Agera R Supercar was not that well-known, yet its price was ridiculously sky-high. She loved sports cars and read about it on the World Supercars magazines countless times, hence she remembered the shape and appearance of the Agera R.
Suddenly, as though realizing something, Miao Xinran strode toward the window and quickly looked outside of the building. After quickly glancing around, she caught sight of the luxurious Agera R sports car driving fast on the road. It was like the scene of a prince who came rushing into a group of beggars, looking bright and dazzling.
How could this be?
She felt her face burning. Chen Xiaowan's Moments was like a fierce invisible slap to her face, making her scorched inside.
After she came back from Japan and obtained a position in the company, she secretly investigated the circumstances surrounding Chen Xiaowan. There had been no information from that investigation results pertaining to any rich younger brother whatsoever, right? Not any on the luxury Agera R supercar either!
Huff…
Narrow-minded as she was, the intense jealousy made Miao Xinran take a few deep breaths and clench her fists tightly. Her mind was racing unceasingly, trying to find an opportunity to get even with Chen Xiaowan, and how to make her life became more miserable.
All day long, Tang Xiu brought Chen Xiaowan for a ride, eating and drinking, and visiting a lot of entertainment venues and places with delicious culinary in Shanghai until their bellies almost burst out, ending up with a lot of shopping bags in their hands.
In the beginning, Chen Xiaowan was not used to frequently upload her activities to the Moments. But after Tang Xiu fanned the flames, she went ahead regardless and directly exploded it out without many thoughts anymore. Every time she arrived at a view spot, she tasted several kinds of food and took pictures whenever she visited a store. She eventually uploaded hundreds of photos in her Moments account in just a day.
Miao Xinran, who had been following her Moments, was simply blown up by anger. Never once had she imagined that Chen Xiaowan, who had just been dumped by her boyfriend and lost her job, would be enjoying herself by strolling around, feasting, and shopping.
Dusk finally came and Tang Xiu stopped his car outside a café. He then led Chen Xiaowan into the café and ordered two cups of coffee. After sitting on the opposite side of Chen Xiaowan, he smilingly said, "Well, we just tasted a lot of types of food today, and you are probably already full to have a dinner now, right? Anyhow, take your coffee and wait until I'm done with my work before sending you back home."
Chen Xiaowan's gloomy mood had long since disappeared. Today she was so happy strolling around that she nodded in satisfaction while sitting on her chair. However, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity upon hearing this, "What exactly are you going to do, brother?"
"I'm waiting for someone. Waiting to receive a gift, to be precise," said Tang Xiu smilingly.
"Waiting for a gift?" Asked Chen Xiaowan with a confused expression. "How come? Today is not the New Year's or your birthday. How come someone suddenly has a thought of giving you a gift?"
"That person is my subordinate who has found something interesting, probably," answered Tang Xiu with a smile.
Chen Xiaowan understood immediately. She then let out a smile and nodded, "Anyhow, thanks for everything today, brother. Else I would probably have died in depression."
"You're a big sis of mine, so there's no need for small talk between us." Tang Xiu said, "That's right, what do you have in mind for the future? Do you want to work for my company, by chance? You can rest assured that you'll have a very good position and salary, and it will definitely be higher than your previous job position by at least a few times. What do you think?"
"Hold on, let's put off talking about this until later, okay?" Chen Xiaowan hesitated. "I just lost my job today, and it kind of left a big hole in my heart. Give me some time to rest and think about it well. You don't know, but working in Japanese enterprises is just too hard. You have a long day and yet you must always work diligently and painstakingly all the time for fear that others will overtake you."
"Then take a break for a while." Tang Xiu nodded. "Shortly put, play if you wanna play, and buy whatever you wanna buy. As a big sis you used to take care of me—your little brother back then, but it's now the turn of your younger brother to take care of you. Don't hesitate to directly call me if you are ever short on money. I can't guarantee exactly how much, but I can give you millions or billions as pocket money."
Cough! Cough…
Chen Xiaowan almost choked.