Gao Yuan arrived at the company feeling refreshed and content. Just as he walked in, he ran into the HR supervisor, Sister Sun.
Sister Sun was a young, married woman who was a bit of a gossip. Her husband had a good income, making their family quite well-off in Hang City, so she was always on the cutting edge of fashion.
"President Gao, you look like you're celebrating something today! Dressed like you're going to your own wedding."
Gao Yuan just smiled slightly, which served as a greeting, and walked straight into his office.
He certainly wasn't going to show off this Zegna suit. They were all colleagues on the same team. For a leader to stir up class resentment and act all high and mighty would be incredibly petty.
But out in the office area, a new topic of conversation had emerged.
When Sister Sun mentioned that Gao Yuan's Zegna suit couldn't have been cheap, a colleague immediately looked it up online.
A Zegna light taupe suit with ivory pinstripes: 38,900 yuan. Add the cream-colored turtleneck sweater underneath for another 11,000 yuan, and the total came to 50,000 yuan.
"President Gao is wearing half a year of my salary?"
Someone cried out in astonishment, and a wave of envious murmurs instantly swept through the office.
"Alright, back to work, everyone. President Gao is probably on his way to a blind date today."
Sister Sun called out with a smile before returning to her own office.
She didn't want to cause trouble for Gao Yuan with her loose lips. Having worked with him for so long, she knew he preferred to keep a low profile.
At that moment, Gao Yuan was already sitting in his office, studying how to complete the new mission issued by the system. He didn't notice two women in the break area watching him with completely different expressions.
"Gao Yuan went on a blind date?"
"I haven't heard that. I did hear the company is planning layoffs, though..."
The young HR girl didn't pay any mind to how Zhang Ke referred to Gao Yuan. She just assumed that since Zhang Ke was quitting, she couldn't be bothered to use his formal title anymore.
Zhang Ke put down the resignation agreement in her hands, her gaze drifting irresistibly toward Gao Yuan's office. Through the glass, she could vaguely see him busy at his desk.
A confused expression crept onto her face. 'Even if Gao Yuan wasn't on a blind date, something good must have happened. Why else would he be dressed so handsomely today?'
Yes, she actually found him a little handsome.
Or more accurately, dashing.
Zhang Ke still remembered how stunned Gao Yuan had looked when she told him she was quitting and breaking up with him. He had spent the whole morning trying to persuade her to stay, even making a bunch of empty promises.
'To think he's already moved on so quickly.' Zhang Ke cursed him in her head. 'Scumbag.'
"Don't you think President Gao has that sophisticated older man vibe today?"
Unaware of their past relationship, the young HR girl noticed Zhang Ke staring at Gao Yuan's office and followed her gaze, commenting to Zhang Ke beside her.
"You call *that* a sophisticated older man?"
Zhang Ke scoffed disdainfully.
'That President Qiao I met through Gao Yuan a while back, *he's* the real deal. He's only a little older than Gao Yuan, and they have similar builds. They're even about the same in bed.'
'But President Qiao isn't a cheapskate like Gao Yuan. I dated Gao Yuan for half a year, and the only decent gift he ever gave me was an LV Alma bag.'
'Unlike President Qiao. Now *he's* a true business elite, with a million-yuan annual salary.'
'On their first date, he gave me a new LV bag and a Van Cleef & Arpels watch worth sixty thousand.'
'With that kind of lavish spending, plus President Qiao's Mercedes-Benz S400, it's not like I, Zhang Ke, am an idiot. Of course I broke up with Gao Yuan.'
'It's not like I'm going to marry either of them anyway. When it comes to dating, what's the difference who it's with?'
Although Zhang Ke's words were full of contempt for Gao Yuan, she felt a deep sense of unease.
'He was so stingy when we were dating, but the moment we break up, he buys himself a whole new expensive outfit. Being so willing to spend on himself... it's really too much.'
Feeling a surge of anger, Zhang Ke forcefully signed her name on the resignation agreement. While the young HR girl was gathering the documents, she marched straight toward Gao Yuan's office.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Come in."
Hearing the knock, Gao Yuan called for the person to enter without looking up.
"Gao Yuan, you got a new girlfriend already?"
When a familiar voice reached his ears, Gao Yuan looked up to find his ex-girlfriend, Zhang Ke, standing before him. He also noticed the LV bag on her arm and the very conspicuous Van Cleef & Arpels watch on her wrist.
It seemed his ex-girlfriend had already found her next sponsor.
She was clearly here to mock him. Gao Yuan ignored her question and asked one of his own, "Are you here to finalize your resignation today?"
With a superior air, Zhang Ke placed her new LV bag on Gao Yuan's desk, pulled out the chair in front of it, and sat down as if she owned the place.
"That's right. The nine-to-five life isn't really for me. I'm planning to go back to Shanghai to open a small shop. Live for myself for once."
Gao Yuan then recalled that Zhang Ke was a Shanghai native. Her whole family was squeezed into an old 70-square-meter apartment, and she had a younger brother who had just graduated from college.
In Zhang Ke's mind, as a native of a big city, she was deigning to date Gao Yuan. He was supposed to be eternally grateful.
"Going back to Shanghai is a good idea. A big metropolis suits you better."
Gao Yuan gave a perfunctory reply and casually folded the A4 paper covered in writing on his desk, putting it away.
Zhang Ke had intended to flaunt her superiority in front of Gao Yuan, but his bland reaction only made the resentment simmering inside her grow stronger.
'Just a couple of days ago, he was simping on WeChat, begging me not to break up with him, asking me to give him more time, promising he could give me a home in Hang City. In the blink of an eye, he's bought himself tens of thousands of yuan worth of clothes and is giving me this attitude.'
She discreetly took out her phone, found President Qiao's profile on WeChat, and sent him the company's address with a message: "Darling, I miss you. Come pick me up now."
She absolutely had to see a look of defeat on Gao Yuan's face today, or her mood would be ruined for the entire week.
"Gao Yuan, for the sake of our past relationship, let me give you a piece of advice."
"Hang City isn't for you. While you're still young, you should go back to your hometown. Find a woman and live a quiet life..."
Zhang Ke sat there, unleashing a tirade on Gao Yuan. It sounded like advice, but the subtext was simple: "You pathetic little man, crawl back to whatever hole you came from."
Gao Yuan didn't respond to Zhang Ke's sarcastic remarks.
'To be honest,' Gao Yuan thought, 'I'm actually quite grateful to all my previous 'green tea' girlfriends. If you don't understand the habits of the fish, how can you run a fish pond?'
DING~
Gao Yuan's WeChat notification chimed. He picked up his phone and saw it was a message from Lin Wanyu.
"I'm almost at your office building. Do you have time to go shopping with me?"
Gao Yuan glanced at the endlessly chattering Zhang Ke in front of him and replied decisively: "Five minutes."
After handling an approval request in the work group chat, Gao Yuan folded the A4 paper on his desk, tucked it into his suit pocket, and tidied his desk. "I have to step out. I wish you a bright future."
Without waiting to see Zhang Ke's reaction, Gao Yuan turned and walked out.
Unexpectedly, while he was waiting for the elevator, that woman Zhang Ke actually chased after him.
"Perfect, I was just leaving too. Let's go together."
The two of them were alone in the elevator. The once lovey-dovey couple were now complete strangers to each other.
'When Gao Yuan had tried to get Zhang Ke to stay, he knew she had met another man. But he hadn't thought things would develop so quickly. He believed that if he just gave her a little more hope, they could still make it work.'
But after seeing the bag and watch on her today, he knew there was no going back.
Those two items were worth nearly a hundred thousand.
He didn't have the financial means to satisfy Zhang Ke's material desires. Likewise, for Zhang Ke to have acquired these things, she must have already paid a certain price.
'He's already been there, so why am I still hung up on this?'
'There's nothing difficult in this world, as long as you're willing to give up.'
'Let's just part on good terms.'
However, when the two of them walked out of the office building lobby and Gao Yuan saw Zhang Ke, her face beaming, run and throw herself into the arms of a middle-aged man, he changed his mind.