A male classmate beside Wen Zhi spoke up, his voice filled with awe.
"I know Mingguang Group. They started in aerospace equipment. The mysterious boss behind it is insanely shrewd in business—and almost impossible to meet. My previous company's owner once stood in Mingguang's lobby for an entire week and still didn't get a single chance to see him."
"Mr. Gao actually knows someone like that?" another person exclaimed.
"No wonder you managed to grow your company so successfully at such a young age. Compared to you, Wen Zhi's admirer really doesn't measure up, does he?"
The flattery piled on, lifting Fu Xiaowei's rich second-generation boyfriend higher and higher. Both he and Fu Xiaowei basked in it.
For Fu Xiaowei, it felt like sweet revenge at last.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, Mo Tingyan searched his memory carefully.
Gaoguang Equipment?
He frowned slightly.
A nobody like that didn't ring a bell at all.
Just as he was about to say something to Wen Zhi, he heard her lower her voice first.
"Someone here is pretending to be impressive. I'll talk to you later."
Then—she hung up.
Mo Tingyan: "..."
Wen Zhi put her phone back into her bag. Fu Xiaowei immediately smiled and said,
"Oh right, Xiao Zhi. Didn't Mingguang Group acquire Jiang Airlines? If you ever run into trouble at Jiang Airlines, just tell my dear. For my sake, he'll definitely help you."
Wen Zhi chuckled softly and looked at her.
"Actually, I do have something I'd like your dear to help with."
She paused, her tone light and casual.
"I want to be promoted to Chief Purser at Jiang Airlines. Such a small matter—if Mr. Gao says the word, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Gao Yang: "..."
Fu Xiaowei: "..."
No one had expected her to actually make a request.
Seeing the two of them fall silent, Wen Zhi lifted her juice glass leisurely and took a sip. Her brows arched slightly.
"Why so quiet? Or is it that Mr. Gao doesn't have that kind of ability?"
She smiled politely.
"It's fine if you don't. Just say so—I won't force you."
Fu Xiaowei nearly crushed her teeth.
This woman…
Gao Yang cleared his throat, already regretting his earlier bragging. But with so many people watching, he couldn't afford to lose face. He decided to stall.
"Alright," he said stiffly. "I'll bring it up to my buddy later."
Fu Xiaowei finally relaxed, shooting Wen Zhi a cold glance, about to feel smug again—
When the private room door suddenly swung open.
Gao Yang's assistant rushed in, pale with panic.
"Manager Gao—bad news! The business department just got a call. Mingguang Group discovered quality issues with a batch of equipment we supplied. It delayed their delivery schedule. They're terminating the partnership and demanding full compensation!"
Gao Yang jolted so hard his chopsticks fell to the floor.
The assistant continued breathlessly,
"The compensation amount is massive. Our company can't afford it. All our accounts have been frozen. We tried to use connections to beg Mingguang's president, but their secretary said—companies as small as ours aren't even qualified to see their CEO, even if our boss came in person…"
Gao Yang didn't care about saving face anymore. He shot up and rushed out.
Fu Xiaowei hurried after him, anxious.
"Dear—!"
But Gao Yang impatiently shook her off and snapped,
"Are you fucking annoying or what? Can't you see something serious just happened? Stop following me—I'm busy!"
And with that, he stormed out.
Afraid that the company's collapse would ruin her future, Fu Xiaowei grabbed her bag and chased after him.
But Wen Zhi calmly set down her glass and said,
"Classmate Fu, didn't you say this meal was your treat? Leaving like this… isn't appropriate, is it?"
The others immediately panicked at the thought of splitting the bill and echoed her.
"Exactly! You were the one who said you'd treat us and asked us to make time. Now your boyfriend leaves—what does that mean?"
Fu Xiaowei glared at the table and snapped,
"Shut up! Who do you think you are—quibbling over this little money?"
She loudly called for a server to scan the bill.
Then—
Payment failed. Account frozen.
Her face drained of color.
She didn't have a job; the card she used was Gao Yang's supplementary card.
Under everyone's gaze, she desperately called Gao Yang.
No answer.
She called again.
Rejected.
She couldn't bear to lose face in front of so many classmates, but no matter how many times she called, Gao Yang either ignored or hung up.
Just as she was on the verge of breaking down, a server returned and delivered the final blow.
The server walked up to Wen Zhi, bowed politely, and said,
"Ms. Wen, Mr. Y has already settled the bill for your table. He also prepared small gifts for your classmates and hopes everyone will accept them."
Wen Zhi: "..."
More staff entered, handing out gifts.
Each woman received a Dior lipstick.
Each man received a branded tie.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
The classmates looked at Wen Zhi with newfound admiration.
"Xiao Zhi, your admirer is incredible! We're not even close, and he still prepared gifts for us. A man like that is rare!"
"Exactly. Look at the one who ran off earlier…"
Across the table, Fu Xiaowei's face turned ghostly pale.
She had invited everyone—but Wen Zhi's admirer paid.
From that day on, every time there was talk of a class gathering, she would become the punchline.
Someone laughed and added,
"Fu Xiaowei, you're really something. If you can't afford it, why host a dinner? You even bragged about your boyfriend being brothers with Mingguang's CEO—turns out the big boss doesn't even know who he is. That's hilarious!"
Fu Xiaowei couldn't stay another second.
Her face stiff, she shoved past everyone and fled the room.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhi stared at the table full of dishes and the pile of gifts.
Her head throbbed.
Mo. Tingyan.
Was this man here to ruin her life?!
Clenching her teeth, she ignored the compliments, ate furiously, and made sure to get her money's worth.
At the end of the gathering, Mo Tingyan's car was waiting outside.
He wore a bright, self-satisfied smile, clearly expecting praise.
But the moment Wen Zhi got in, she turned to him and snapped,
"Mo Tingyan! Are you out of your mind?! Why did you spend so much money on this nonsense? The meal plus the gifts—"
She roughly calculated.
"Over twenty thousand."
She pressed her fingers to her temples. Her blood pressure was soaring.
After a moment, she sighed and looked at him.
"Do you remember you still have loans to pay? Over twenty thousand! Wouldn't it be better to buy a dishwasher or a robot vacuum? Why waste it on people who only flatter the rich and trample the poor?"
Seeing her look as if someone had carved a chunk of flesh out of her, scolding him nonstop—
Mo Tingyan knew that if he didn't smooth this over, his days ahead would be miserable.
He raised an eyebrow, a sly smile curling on his lips.
"Twenty thousand? Palm Pearl, do you think I'm stupid?"
Wen Zhi froze.
"What do you mean?"