Chapter 30 — I think this one looks quite nice.
Tang Mi stared as Yu Yi handed over the paper bags but didn't reach out to accept them. She gave a hollow laugh and said, "Since you won't wear them, why don't you go return it?"
Yu Yi stated, "Too troublesome."
Tang Mi's smile shriveled up even more. "It would be better if you looked at the prices first before deciding."
Yu Yi did not say anything and merely continued to hold out the paper bags. Tang Mi courageously refused the bags he offered, creating the illusion that he and she were fighting to the death.
"Uh, then thank you, CEO Yu." Ultimately, she was defeated by his great boss aura, which caused her to crumple without any more resistance.
"Mn." After Tang Mi accepted the bags, Yu Yi seemed to finally be satisfied. He shifted to the side a little and caught sight of his reflection in a large French window.
Tang Mi: "…"
She simply did not dare to look at Yu Yi's expression.
To help himself carry less things, Yu Xin had put worn his bright suit jacket from earlier. Tang Mi sidled up closer to Yu Yi and laughed gently before flatteringly saying, "CEO Yu, your clothes are much better than Yu Xin's!"
Yu Yi did not reply, but Tang Mi saw him furrow his brows slightly, as if he was silently conveying his dislike.
Tang Mi's brows twitched. It really was as Sang Lan said, Yu Yi also had emotions. Even she, who was rarely at his side, could sense them.
"I'll go change clothes." Yu Yi strode forward with his pair of slender legs after he said this. Seeing him walk ahead, Tang Mi rapidly followed him, her hands full of bags.
Yu Yi entered a gentleman's suit store. As soon as the female employees inside saw him, they came up very passionately and greeted them.
After going through several rounds of small talk, Yu Yi was given several suits to choose from. Although Tang Mi could not understand what they were saying, she could enjoy the clothes.
She, who had been standing to the side quietly the entire time, suddenly pointed at a suit, saying to Yu Yi, "I think this one looks nice."
In the split second after she said this, Tang Mi realized she had spoken aloud.
Heavens, why did she butt in!? What did the boss buying clothes have to do with her?! Why did she want to make it look like a girlfriend accompanying her boyfriend as he bought clothes?!
Within Tang Mi's heart, soldiers mutinied and troops rebelled. While she was anxious about Yu Yi misunderstanding her remark, she also felt awkward at not being able to do anything about it. Her ears reddened slightly, and she bowed her head at Yu Yi, looking down apologetically. "Sorry…"
"Why are you apologizing?" Yu Yi took the suit she had just pointed at and brought it into the fitting room.
When he came out, he had already changed into the very sharp suit. The female employees beamed as they said something to him, and even if Tang Mi did not understand Japanese, she knew they were definitely complimenting Yu Yi about his handsomeness.
A sales girl beside Yu Yi raised her hand, as if she wanted to help him straighten out his collar, only for Yu Yi to say a line and evade her hand. The female employee withdrew her hand, embarrassed, and smiled as she stood beside him.
Yu Yi straightened out his own clothes before turning to look at Tang Mi, as if he wanted her opinion. Tang Mi was afraid that she would be in the wrong for showering affection on her uninterested boss, but thinking about how flattering him was not erroneous in nature, she sincerely praised him. "Very handsome!"
Yu Yi then went to settle the bill.
After leaving the clothing store, Yu Yi tossed the bright suit and purple necktie into the trash can.
He then dialed Luo Hao's number and told him their location, after which he said to Tang Mi, "Luo Hao is on his way to pick us up. Let's go downstairs to wait for him."
Tang Mi thought for a moment and then smiled at Yu Yi as she said, "Wouldn't that be too inconvenient? I know the name of my hotel, so I can just take a taxi back alone."
"It's not too inconvenient, since we're staying in the same hotel. Let's go."
Tang Mi faltered before following Yu Yi.
When they reached ground level, Tang Mi discovered that Yu Yi was stealthily glancing at the bags in her hand. Her brows furrowed and she thought to herself, Don't tell me CEO Yu is having regrets?
She was about to suggest that she go back to return them, but Yu Yi suddenly opened his mouth to speak. "Do you want me to help you carry those?"
Tang Mi was startled and promptly said, "You don't need to. These are all summer clothes, so they're very light."
"Mn." Yu Yi nodded and spoke no more. Tang Mi smiled at him, surprise clouding her heart a little.
She secretly glanced at Yu Yi. She was very curious as to why he suddenly showed up in Japan, but she did not dare to ask.
After all, when had it been necessary for the boss' itinerary to be reported to her?
…If she had thought of it earlier, she would have just asked Yu Xin.
"Right, where did you meet Yu Xin?"
This sudden question caused Tang Mi to choke. Could it be that she had to admit to being in a host club? It was extremely awkward to even talk about this type of place. Furthermore, if Yu Yi knew Yu Xin impersonated a host, what would he do? Besides, Yu Xin said that Yu Yi had gone to the host club himself. If this was indeed true, then wouldn't that mean she had learned her boss' secret?
Yu Yi saw Tang Mi's reluctance to speak, and his eyes flashed. "Is this question very hard to answer?"
Tang Mi: "…"
It was more than hard! It simply was a question designed to torture the soul!
Tang Mi pondered over her response for a long while before finally deciding to tell the truth. "In…a host club."
The last three words were mumbled very quickly, but Yu Yi still heard them clearly. He stared at Tang Mi and asked expressionlessly, "The company sent you to here to participate in an exchange program, but you went to a host club to make connections?"
Tang Mi: "…"
This question seemed a bit familiar… She examined Yu Yi. She really wanted to ask him what he was doing at a host club, but she still did not have the courage to ask.
She swallowed and hoarsely replied, "Um, Lu Yu took me there to learn more about Japanese culture."
Yu Yi looked at her for a spell and then silently withdrew his gaze. Tang Mi stared at his pretty profile, her heart slightly anxious.
When the two of them left the department store, Luo Hao had yet to arrive. Yu Yi did not say anything else, so Tang Mi tried to think of something to talk about but couldn't find a good topic.
Several young boys who were dressed ridiculously skated right in front of them on their skateboards, causing Yu Yi to subconsciously grab Tang Mi's wrist and pulled her to his side.
Tang Mi tilted her head to look at him, but Yu Yi's face was expressionless. Nevertheless, Tang Mi unknowingly thought of something, and her eyes flashed with happiness. "CEO Yu, you came to Japan for a tour?"
Yu Yi replied, "No, for an inspection."
"Oh." Tang Mi voiced this just as a black car rolled to a stop in front of them.
Luo Hao stepped out of the front passenger seat, and his gaze carelessly fell onto their intertwined hands. "CEO Yu."
Yu Yi released Tang Mi's hand and said to her, "Get in the car."
After Tang Mi obediently got into the car, Yu Yi took a seat beside her. Luo Hao turned around after the car began moving and smiled at Tang Mi. "This is indeed a fortuitous meeting."
Tang Mi instantly understood what he meant by fortuitous meeting and became embarrassed. "Hehe, I really don't know what I was doing at that host club…"
Luo Hao laughed lightly, clearly unconvinced. "I saw you smile very happily at those two hosts."
"…This is a misunderstanding. I did not understand what they were saying, so I could do nothing but smile."
Luo Hao raised a brow and asked, "What did you think about the cheesecake you ate there?"
Tang Mi nodded and said, "Mn, that was scrumptious; who made it?"
"Their boss." Luo Hao glanced at Yu Yi. "That host club's boss is a friend of CEO Yu. CEO Yu has always wanted to invite him to join our company, but he seems to like opening host clubs more."
"…Huh, each person has their own ambitions."
Luo Hao laughed and turned his head back around, falling silent. Yu Yi, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up. "He once worked in a top-class French restaurant. When I was in France, I became acquainted with him by chance, and when he returned to Japan later, he opened up the host club."
Luo Hao laughed and added, "He said that the money he used to go to France was from his earnings as a host, but after returning from France, he felt that being a host was more challenging."
Tang Mi: "…"
"Oh, by the way, the money he used to open the host club was from when he worked as a chef in France; don't you think this is karma?"
Tang Mi: "…"
What a wonderful life, but…why did he explain so much to her?
She glanced to the side at Yu Yi and blinked. "CEO Yu, Yu Xin said you were a customer at the host club."
Luo Hao muffled a laugh in the front seat. While Yu Yi was thinking of something to say, Tang Mi rapidly added, "But naturally I didn't believe him. He really was slandering you!"
Yu Yi's lips twitched. In the end, he just made a quiet sound of agreement.
Tang Mi turned to look out the window and silently stifled her giggles. Yu Yi looked at her slightly trembling shoulders and muttered irresolutely to himself before saying, "Yu Xin has issues with his brain. You can just directly ignore anything he says."
"Oh," Tang Mi voiced, though her shoulders just kept trembling more.
The car came to a stop at the hotel's entrance. Luo Hao helped Tang Mi carry her things. "Which room are you staying in?"
"1203; it's okay, I can carry these myself."
Luo Hao returned her things to her in the elevator. "We are staying on the floor above you. If there is anything, just call me directly."
"Okay, thank you." The elevator reached the twelfth floor at that moment, so Tang Mi said her goodbyes to Yu Yi and exited the elevator.
By the time she returned to her room, Lu Yu had already returned and was on her bed putting on a face mask. When Lu Yu saw Tang Mi bring back so many things, she immediately sat down next to her. "How come you bought so many things?"
"Um…"
Tang Mi did not know how to explain. Lu Yu took out a dress and looked at it. "Are you rich? You bought such an expensive dress?"
Tang Mi didn't reply. Lu Yu laid down the dress and ambiguously sized her up. "After I ended my call earlier, I saw you quickly drag a man out through the back door."
Tang Mi instantly became nervous. "Who did you see?"
Lu Yu shrugged. "I heard it was the new host? I didn't expect you to directly put out. I assumed you weren't coming back tonight actually."
Tang Mi: "…"
"You assume too much." She unpacked the clothes and placed them into her suitcase.
Lu Yu walked up to her and nudged her arm. "He wouldn't happen to have bought these things for you, right? That's weird though, how come a host is losing money instead of earning it?"
Tang Mi turned her head and flashed her a smile. "He is a host who gains pleasure from helping others. He's called Lei Feng." [1]
Lu Yu: "…"
He should be called an idiot.
Author's Note:
I'm guilty of posting even later qwq
But I still want to express thanks to sponsors:
Thank you little angels who threw landmines. Muah~!
1
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Lei Feng (1940-1962), made into a model of altruism and dedication to the Party by propaganda from 1963 onwards