Upon exiting the Yan Group headquarters, Lei Yu took the wheel and drove Fang Yu to a clothing mall to pick out a new wardrobe.
The moment they stepped through the mall's doors, Fang Yu's frumpy attire drew stares from every direction. Yet true to form, Fang Yu paid no mind to the looks that regarded him as some rare exotic creature. His only twinge of guilt was that the beautiful woman at his side was now being tarred with the same brush, viewed as an oddity right alongside him.
"Let's hurry and pick out your clothes. We need to drop you off with Yan Ting afterward." For all her faint awkwardness at the lingering stares, Lei Yu had stood at Chairman Yan's side for years, and there was scarcely a scene or situation she had not navigated with unshakable poise.
"Mm, just a few pieces will do. Heh, I've already got a couple of outfits in my bag." Fang Yu nodded. Truth be told, he had not wanted to come at all. But to refuse the offer so soon after their first meeting would have been ill-mannered, to say the least. He had heard, after all, that the wealthy set immense store by face. If he lost this perfectly good job over such a trivial thing, he would never be able to beg his way back into it, no matter how loud he wailed and wept.
"Go on and pick whatever you like. Any price range is perfectly acceptable." Lei Yu smiled softly. Though she had only known Fang Yu for a short time, she had already realized he was not nearly as odd or unapproachable as she had first assumed. What's more, he would be Yan Ting's bodyguard from this day forward. If she built a good rapport with him now, it might even help ease the strained relationship between herself and the willful young miss.
At the mere thought of that headstrong, unruly young lady, a wave of helplessness washed over Lei Yu.
Fang Yu, standing beside her, paid no mind whatsoever to the thoughts swirling through her head. His gaze roamed over the sleek, stylish garments around him, and he could not help but think of the tattered handful of clothes in his bag. Truly, it was a comparison that left him reeling, the difference so vast it defied belief.
His eye had been caught by a long-line t-shirt, and he had reached for it, ready to try it on—until he caught sight of the price tag, his hand freezing mid-motion before he set the garment back down at once.
A thousand yuan for a single piece.
This ragged scrap of fabric cost a thousand yuan? That was enough to cover his living expenses for months on end back in the mountains.
He let out a quiet sigh. The entire contents of his bag, all his clothes put together, had cost him less than a hundred yuan. The spending power of the wealthy was truly staggering, far beyond anything he could have imagined.
He set the t-shirt back on its rack, ready to walk away.
"What's wrong? It's a very nice piece." Lei Yu hurried over to him at once, seeing his dejected demeanor.
"It's nothing. It's just too expensive. I can't afford it." Fang Yu scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his tone sheepish. "I've only got a few hundred yuan in my pocket. If I spend it all, I won't have anything left to eat."
A snort of laughter escaped Lei Yu, utterly amused by his earnest words. She pulled a bank card from her pocket and held it out to Fang Yu, smiling. "This is from Chairman Yan. There's five hundred thousand yuan in it. You can buy as many pieces as your heart desires."
At those words, Fang Yu's head spun for a long, dazed moment before he managed to regain his senses. He stared at Lei Yu, his mouth hanging half open in stunned disbelief. Five hundred thousand yuan? Calculated against the few hundred yuan he earned for each task he completed for the old man back home, it would take him a lifetime to amass that kind of money.
"Buy whatever clothes you like. Consider this an advance from the chairman, for your work attire." Lei Yu watched him with an amused smile, then plucked the t-shirt from the rack and handed it to him.
How incredible it is to be wealthy!
Since she had put it that way, Fang Yu saw no need to argue further. He took the garment and hurried straight into the fitting room to try it on.
In the span of just a few short minutes, Fang Yu had picked out and finalized his new wardrobe.
"Why are you still wearing your old clothes?" Lei Yu was utterly dumbfounded, watching as Fang Yu, having selected his new outfits, slipped right back into his original tattered ensemble.
"I'll put the new ones on after I've had a proper bath. Heh." Fang Yu grinned, his expression the very picture of unassuming, guileless country simplicity.