Back to the prime of life

Chapter 204

The smell of money certainly doesn't refer to the smell of paper money.

In fact, you can not only smell money, but you can also see it.

For example, those bosses and assistants who were usually considered high-level executives in front of Han Jiayi now had gentle smiles that were as warm as a spring breeze; for example, the people in front of her were not very familiar with each other, and even her boss and Lu Changge were of different ages, but they talked as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for many years, calling each other brothers all the time, and she didn't know where such a deep affection came from.

Everyone was raising their glasses and exchanging toasts, but they didn't talk much about company business; instead, they chatted about all sorts of things.

Later she realized that the important things had already been settled before this meal.

The only somewhat novel thing was that Lu Changge invited JD.com to invest in them and become their investor. It sounded like a joke, but President Liu readily agreed.

This gave her a misconception: was doing business really that simple?
When the conversation turned to her, she simply picked up her drink, as the boss was there, and offered a token gesture. No one pressured her to drink more.

Hsu Hui-ya was also very jealous, jokingly saying that when she first entered society, no one took such good care of her.

Is this also the smell of money? At first, the word instinctively made Han Jiayi feel uncomfortable, but after realizing this, she felt that it was not that simple.

The more intense flavor came from her superiors, Qu and Zhang.

Manager Qu was the first to lose his composure; he called at only nine o'clock in the evening, his voice slightly flustered, saying, "Jiayi, we have had some conflicts in the past, but at least I stood up for you in front of that Zhang guy. Let's not be so heartless, shall we?"

Han Jiayi found it strange. She glanced at Lu Changge, who was sitting in the passenger seat, completely drunk. Although he had said he was going to complain and get revenge, he hadn't said anything at the dinner table.

But Manager Qu's reaction now indicates that something has happened.

So, what is going on?
"Manager Qu..."

Hearing her speak, Lu Changge opened her eyes.

"You haven't offended me."

The other side seemed surprised by this reaction. "How could that be? At this point, let's be frank. We're not big bosses, nor do we come from wealthy families. This job isn't easy. Even if something comes up, we can still discuss it, right?"

"Manager Qu, you really haven't offended me." Han Jiayi spoke quickly, then hung up the phone immediately.

Unbeknownst to her, Qu Jing anxiously called out "hello" several times before finally slamming the phone down.

"you said so?"

Lu Changge's head was slightly dizzy, but he was still clear-headed. He calmly replied, "I did say it, but not in public, nor to him personally. I told his assistant privately."

Seeing her confusion, I explained, "After all, I'm not the boss of this company, so it's not appropriate for me to interfere in other people's internal affairs. It's not suitable to talk to the boss about this. If I did, would he nod or shake his head? The first rule of speaking to people is to give them space to speak, unless you don't want to be friends with them. It's fine to talk to his assistant."

"why?"

"Because the boss can pretend he doesn't know. If he doesn't do it, he can explain to me later that it's because the assistant didn't report it to him, and I won't expose him."

Han Jiayi pursed her lips, "I can't believe it, how can someone your age be so adept at the ways of a seasoned socialite?"

"Haha. Actually, you shouldn't have said 'you didn't offend me' just now. The fact that you said that means you knew about it, but she didn't say anything. How did you know? So she must think it's related to you, but she just won't admit it."

"Then I can't exactly say that to you, can I?"

"Actually, it's all the same to her. In other people's eyes, you and I are one. So why did she offend me? It's all because of you." "Pah, pah, pah, who's one with you? Watch your words."

Lu Changge was taken aback. He hadn't actually thought about it in that direction, but after she said that, it did seem a bit odd.

“You’re blushing,” he said.

Han Jiayi was extremely embarrassed and lightly slapped him, saying, "You're so annoying! Can't you talk properly?!"

Then she thought, Lu Changge is clearly very good at talking, so this is intentional, which makes him even more annoying!
Afterwards, she drove Lu Changge to his hotel. Although he spoke normally, he was unsteady on his feet.

When carrying him on her shoulders, she could clearly smell the strong smell of alcohol emanating from him. Lu Changge was also quite large, and Han Jiayi was struggling to drag him. "I clearly remember that you didn't drink much before."

"I'm happy today."

"Because a deal was struck? Oh dear, be careful, sit here first."

Lu Changge considered himself mentally strong. When he drank too much, he would become quieter than usual, which was different from ordinary people. This was because his father had a bad temper when drunk. Every time he drank, he would get into an argument with someone, regardless of who it was. Sometimes he would even argue with hotel staff, and the police had been called in on several occasions.

Therefore, whenever Lu Changge drinks too much, he feels tense instead of relaxed, and he has to force himself to remind himself not to say anything carelessly.

He just couldn't control his body, there was really nothing he could do about it. Even a strong mind can't completely overcome the effects of alcohol, but he felt much better after sitting down.

"water."

"Wait a moment, I'll pour it for you right away."

Han Jiayi moved quickly, and seeing him gulping down water, she gradually felt relieved, since he could still drink water on his own. "You scared me to death, I thought you were completely drunk."

"The main reason I'm happy isn't because the deal was closed. To put it bluntly, your company is indeed much bigger than ours, but whether I can grow my business doesn't depend on other people's opinions. Whether it succeeds or fails, it doesn't matter to me. The main reason I'm happy is that I dealt with those two."

Han Jiayi chuckled, "You really do hold grudges."

“Of course, love and hate must be clearly distinguished, otherwise how can you tell what love is and what hate is?” Lu Changge glanced at her. “Don’t look at me like that. When I was a volunteer at school, you were so kind and generous. As for me, I’m the complete opposite. I’m just an ordinary person.”

"What do you mean 'ordinary'? I'm the ordinary one." Han Jiayi sat down beside him, resting her chin on her hand. Her gaze darted away slightly as she looked at Lu Changge. "You're a big boss now. Thank you for this."

Lu Changge was silent for a while before saying, "No need to be so polite. When I was doing volunteer work, I didn't want to help you because we weren't familiar with each other, but things are different now. If you need anything in the future, don't be shy about calling me."

"I want to continue working here."

"So persistent?"

“I’ve only been here for a year. And if I go to Lumang with you, I’ll really be the kind of woman who relies on her pretty face and figure in other people’s eyes. I don’t think that’s all a woman’s charm is.”

That's well said. Lu Changge felt a strong resonance with it at that moment. "You're absolutely right."

Han Jiayi asked, "Where is it right?"

"That's all true, including a pretty face."

A faint smile appeared on her lips, and she didn't rush to refute.

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I saw a comment saying the author of this update must be very busy in real life. All I can say is that I was named the "Most Beautiful Worker of May Day" in my company. I was still working overtime on May Day. There are four people in the office, and I'm the only man. I remember that morning when I went for my physical exam, I contacted nineteen people via WeChat and made seven or eight phone calls. That's the objective reason. (My job is like a hostess's job—busy for a while, then slow for a while. It depends entirely on how many people request my services. It's hard to predict; things will be busier after the New Year, which surprised everyone from my department head to me.)
The main reason is that this book is poorly written, which has dampened my enthusiasm. So I'm thinking, maybe I should just finish it soon?
(End of this chapter)