After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

"Don't you understand the simple principle of 'keeping the good stuff in the family'?"

Lin Ye leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and wiggled his canvas shoes a couple of times.

The curve of his lips was neither too deep nor too shallow, as if he were talking about how nice the weather was today.

Bai Jie had just put on one of her high heels, while the other was still on the carpet.

Her almond-shaped eyes looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, her lips slightly parted, and her mauve lipstick shone brightly under the spotlight.

She clearly hadn't expected Lin Ye to say something like that.

Of all the clients she had ever served, no one had ever used Zhang Xue to pressure her in the VIP room, after she had rubbed her foot against the other person's calf, or after she had laid all her cards on the table.

"Mr. Lin, Zhang Xue and I are at the same level, and her discount privileges are exactly the same as mine. There's no discount she can't get."

Her voice returned to its standard sales tone, but her speaking speed was half a beat faster than usual.

"Moreover, her performance has consistently been at the bottom, ranking second to last last quarter. The manager just spoke with her this morning. Mr. Lin, how much of a price do you think someone who can't even manage their own performance can negotiate for you?"

When she said the last sentence, a hint of contempt involuntarily crept into her tone.

Bai Jie immediately realized she had misspoke and quickly added a smile, but that smile couldn't completely hide the fleeting guilt in her peach blossom eyes.

Lin Ye reached out and picked up the cigarette that had been sitting on the coffee table for a while, put it back in his mouth, then took out a lighter from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff.

The smoke dispersed into a pale blue mist under the warm yellow spotlights.

"Are you a top salesperson because of your strong sales skills, or because you're better at using your influence to get close to clients?"

Bai Jie's high heels slid off her feet, the heels hitting the carpet with a dull thud.

She glanced down at her foot, still encased in black stockings, then looked up at Lin Ye. Her lips twitched, and the smile on her face finally crumbled.

"Mr. Lin, I'm telling you the truth."

Her voice dropped a notch from the standard accent, becoming lower and more urgent, carrying something that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally breaking down.

"Zhang Xue is my cousin, but we're not on the same wavelength. She's always been like this—she always gives in to her younger sister. When Zhang Qian gets into trouble, she cleans up her messes; when Zhang Qian dumps her boyfriend, she helps her vent her anger; when Zhang Qian pretends to be happy on social media, she likes her posts. She spends all her time working for others. Who's to blame for her poor performance? She has to blame herself!"

When she said this, the allure in her peach blossom eyes was gone, replaced by genuine, undisguised resentment.

She took another step forward, her bare feet touching the carpet. The hem of her pencil skirt brushed against the edge of the coffee table. She placed her hands on the coffee table, leaned forward slightly, and the collar of her white shirt drooped down a little.

"Why should I pay for the trouble her sister caused? I was the one who negotiated this deal first, and I was the one who invited you, Mr. Lin, into the VIP room. Why should I be the one to call her in?"

Lin Ye took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked the ash, and the ash fell into the crystal ashtray.

"After all that you've said, the core message is just this—you think Zhang Xue isn't worthy of competing with you."

Bai Jie did not refute.

She just bit her lower lip.

Lin Ye also stood up, looked down at Bai Jie, and spoke in a completely calm tone.

"Then hurry up and tell me your strengths."

Bai Jie suddenly slapped herself across the face.

The crisp snap was particularly clear in the VIP room, which had excellent soundproofing.

A light red handprint appeared on her right cheek, and the thin layer of tears in her peach blossom eyes finally burst forth. A small patch of grayish-black mascara smudged at the corner of her eye, and her mascara rubbed off at the corner of her mouth.

She hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. After wiping, she looked at the glistening watermarks on the back of her hand and felt as if all her support had been removed. Her knees buckled, and she knelt directly on the carpet.

Her knee slammed onto the carpet, the hard floor beneath it hitting her kneecap with a dull thud.

"Mr. Lin, please, give me the order!"

Her voice cracked from shouting.

She looked up at Lin Ye, tears welling up in her eyes, streaming down her cheekbones, and dripping onto her shirt collar, leaving a small, dark stain.

Her peach blossom eyes were red and swollen, and her exquisite makeup was completely ruined—the eyeliner smudged down to her lower eyelids, leaving two gray-black marks, and the foundation was washed away by tears, leaving several shallow grooves that revealed her true skin tone underneath.

"I got a talk with my manager today. If our sales performance is at the bottom again this quarter, I'll be the one fired. I don't have any other clients. If you don't place an order with me today, I'm finished!"

Her voice grew increasingly hoarse, and by the last few words, it had become a breathy whisper.

Then she started crying.

Heartbreakingly distressed, his features contorted in pain, his face streaked with snot and tears.

"Waaaaaahhhhh!"

She lay on the carpet in the VIP room, her fingers digging into the carpet fibers, her knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure, and her knees, encased in black stockings, left two shallow marks on the carpet.

Fortunately, the soundproofing in this VIP room is excellent.

The heavy, soundproof wooden door remained perfectly still, locking all her cries within the small, dark gray, sound-absorbing, upholstered space.

Lin Ye stood in front of her, looking down at the top saleswoman who, just minutes before, had been rubbing her foot against his calf and looking up at him with her captivating eyes from under her eyelashes. Now, she was lying face down on the floor between the coffee table and the sofa, crying as if the whole world had abandoned her.

"Should we call Zhang Xue in?"

Lin Ye took the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbed it out in the crystal ashtray.

"Let's see how many discounts she offers."

Bai Jie's crying stopped abruptly.

She propped herself up on the carpet, her hands still gripping the carpet fibers, her hair a mess, with a small piece of paper stuck to it at some point in her chestnut-brown wavy curls.

Her peach blossom eyes were red and swollen, her mascara had smudged onto her cheekbones, and the handprint on her right cheek had turned from an unnatural red to an unnatural purple.

She looked at Lin Ye, her eyes still brimming with tears, but her gaze had changed.

"Mr. Lin, why did you call her? She's a nobody."

She wiped away her tears as she got up from the floor. Her knees were still a little weak, and she had to hold onto the edge of the coffee table to steady herself. She took out a tissue, blew her nose, wiped away the tears on her face, and then tidied her hair in front of her phone screen, removing the piece of paper tangled in her hair. She reapplied her lipstick and straightened her crooked collarbone chain.

Then she looked up at Lin Ye. Her peach blossom eyes were still red and swollen, and there were still water droplets on her eyelashes. But the corners of her mouth had already curved up again. Although her voice was hoarse, every word was firm and resounding.

"I'm the top salesperson here, so the prices are definitely the best."