Chapter 18: Outfit Expert
Bei Wei sat nearby, biting her straw. She smiled along with everyone but didn't join the conversation.
Although Bei Wei seemed like the instigator, from beginning to end, no one actually directed the jokes toward her. Bei Wei and Zhang Yang? Weren't they completely unrelated people? No one thought there was any possibility between the two.
"Alright then, I'll thank you in advance, Sister Liu." Zhang Yang spoke politely while glancing down at his phone.
Just now, Bei Wei had quietly sent him a message.
Bei Wei: "Brother Zhang, why did you buy so many cups? That must have cost quite a bit."
Zhang Yang: "It's not that much money. This way no one can make a fuss about it. By the way, if you want to treat me again next time, do it after work."
Bei Wei: "After work? Don't you have to accompany that sister from the other day?"
Zhang Yang: "Already broke it off."
Bei Wei: "Ah?"
When Zhang Yang looked up again, all he could see was half of Bei Wei's head and her black ponytail sticking out from behind her computer.
After work, the system's pleasant notification sound finally rang in Zhang Yang's ears. The small outfit task had been completed effortlessly.
Another three experience points were credited.
Zhang Yang checked his current progress: Level 3 (4/25). There were still 21 points left before leveling up. Once again, he had taken a small step toward the goal of earning fifty thousand a day.
The other reward, enhanced outfit appreciation ability, also arrived immediately.
Walking on the streets of Shanghai, all kinds of insights about fashion and outfit combinations suddenly appeared in Zhang Yang's mind.
Pedestrians passed by one after another. Some were fashionable outfit experts, others were sexy beauties wearing crop tops and tight skirts. With a single glance, Zhang Yang could instantly tell whose outfit worked better and whose could still be improved.
"At least when it comes to outfits, I won't have to ask others anymore." Zhang Yang felt extremely pleased.
Before, he barely understood anything about fashion. Or rather, he had no awareness of it at all. Shirts, T-shirts, jeans, plaid shirts-he had always rotated between just a few types.
But now? With just a slight thought, all kinds of outfit combinations came to mind effortlessly.
With this ability, he could easily thrive in any company in the fashion industry. Being a chief designer or an outfit expert would be no problem at all.
With the mindset that practice leads to true knowledge, Zhang Yang went to a nearby high-end shopping center, planning to pick out a few business outfits for himself and test his outfit appreciation ability.
Inside [A chain of shopping malls in China found in multiple cities, not tied to a specific single location.], Zhang Yang walked around before entering an Armani store.
Armani menswear was in the luxury category. Their suits were definitely not cheap-prices easily exceeded ten thousand yuan.
Zhang Yang only had forty or fifty thousand yuan on him. Normally, if someone had only that much money and spent over ten thousand on a suit, it would clearly be an inappropriate expense. But for Zhang Yang, it wasn't an issue at all.
Even if he spent all the money he had, the moment he woke up tomorrow, another twenty thousand would appear.
If he saved for a month, that would be six hundred thousand.
So even while shopping in such a high-end menswear store, Zhang Yang felt no pressure. After walking around, he saw that most prices were just slightly over ten thousand, which was completely acceptable for him.
"This one, and this one. Thank you." Zhang Yang glanced around casually and picked two casual suits.
Shortly afterward, he tried both of them on.
Sure enough, the newly acquired outfit appreciation ability was truly remarkable. With this combination, his temperament immediately rose several levels. Although he wasn't 1.8 meters tall, the effect made him seem like he was.
And the casual suits had a slight business touch without losing everyday practicality. Wearing them daily would be no problem.
The two suits cost just over twenty thousand. Zhang Yang paid decisively and left.
Half an hour later, back in his new apartment, Zhang Yang received a belated phone call from his parents.
"The girl already said it was you who didn't like her and rejected her. How inflated has your ego become?" Song Wenqin immediately started scolding him.
It wasn't that she was anxious. She simply knew that their son already counted as marrying above his station with that girl. Yet Zhang Yang had turned around and rejected her instead. Of course that didn't make sense to her.
"Mom, if it's not suitable then it's not suitable. We only met once anyway." Zhang Yang said with a laugh.
"Not suitable? I'd like to see what kind of girl you can bring home in the future." Song Wenqin angrily hung up the phone.
His mother had always had a short temper, and Zhang Yang was used to it. He felt that his mother still had half a sentence left unsaid, probably holding back out of concern for his pride. That sentence was probably something like: take a look in the mirror first.
Later, his father Zhang Zhaohai secretly called him.
"You definitely wouldn't do something like that. I think it must be that she rejected you and then pushed the blame onto you. Girls these days, honestly…" Zhang Zhaohai sighed.
Zhang Yang was truly grateful to his father. So that was the kind of image he had in his father's mind.
~~~~~
The next afternoon, boss Song Mingyang took Sales Director Old Shao to meet the people from Grandstone. Zhang Yang got off work early and went along with them.
He would only be accompanying them at the evening gathering. It didn't matter. He wasn't responsible for negotiating the deal anyway. If they needed him to answer questions, he would just answer them.
"Zhang Yang, that outfit you're wearing today looks quite good. Armani, right?" Song Mingyang looked at him in the elevator and said with a smile. "A man should invest more in himself. It's important to have a few presentable outfits."
He spoke in the tone of someone experienced.
Starting from nothing and building a company with dozens of employees and annual earnings in the millions, Song Mingyang indeed had the right to say such things.
"With such an important occasion tonight, I couldn't possibly ruin President Song's big event." Zhang Yang smiled lightly. Compared with the seven-hundred-thousand-yuan Vacheron Constantin on his wrist, this Armani outfit was already extremely modest.
But with the boss present, he wouldn't steal the spotlight. Zhang Yang glanced at the shiny watch dial on Song Mingyang's half-rolled sleeve and thought to himself.
"If today's deal goes smoothly, I'll definitely give you credit for it." Song Mingyang nodded.
Whether it was credit or not was just an empty promise. Song Mingyang said it casually, and Zhang Yang listened casually without taking it to heart.
A black Maybach S480 was parked downstairs outside the office building.
As the boss's car and the company's public image-and since it could also be used for tax deductions-this car, costing under two million yuan after purchase, was naturally respectable enough.
As for a driver, there wasn't one. Without driving something like a Rolls-Royce, having a driver would seem a bit undeserved.
Song Mingyang drove personally. Sales Director Old Shao sat in the passenger seat, and Zhang Yang sat in the back. The group headed to the reserved hotel to meet the representatives from Grandstone Real Estate.
Grandstone Real Estate wasn't a local Shanghai developer, but in their own region, their strength was still formidable. For the advertising company, they were definitely a major client to be treated with great care.
So even though this time only the marketing director was coming, Song Mingyang still treated the meeting with utmost seriousness.
"Grandstone's marketing director is still Old Hong. I know him well. As long as we treat him properly, there won't be any problems." Song Mingyang chatted casually with Old Shao.
"If we land this deal, it'll really be a huge win." Old Shao sighed.
Given the company's current scale, a single contract from Grandstone Group would be enough for the company to make a big profit.
Zhang Yang sat in the back seat, while memories surfaced in his mind of several advertising proposals he had previously handled for Grandstone Real Estate. From what he remembered, they especially liked Chinese-style themes. Several of their residential projects focused on traditional Chinese aesthetics, so naturally the advertising proposals had to reflect that.
Without some literary cultivation, it would be difficult to handle.