"Mengyao, if the wedding's off, it's off. There are plenty of guys better than him. If he doesn't want you, it's his loss."
Since she was standing nearby, Wang Qing had naturally overheard the delivery guy's words.
She seized the opportunity to add, "Didn't you say that Zhang Wentao has been secretly hitting on you? I think he's way better than Xu Yun."
"That's not true, don't be ridiculous," Huang Mengyao snapped back to reality, denying it with a hint of guilt.
Zhang Wentao was one of Xu Yun's friends, and she had met him once when they all had dinner together.
He was decent-looking, and apparently, his family was well-off.
After that, they added each other on WeChat. They started chatting frequently, sharing all sorts of things about their daily lives.
He was witty and humorous, though he'd occasionally make risqué jokes, always trying to stir her up.
He was so much more exciting than Xu Yun.
Yesterday, while Xu Yun was talking to her about their wedding plans, she had been on her phone the whole time, secretly chatting with him.
"Come on, don't deny it. I know all about it."
Wang Qing smiled knowingly. "If he didn't like you, why would he add you on WeChat and chat with you all the time? Why didn't he add me?
And besides, you're a little interested in him too, aren't you?
Otherwise, you wouldn't keep talking to him."
"I'm not."
Huang Mengyao argued, "I just have a good impression of him, that's all..."
"A good impression is how liking someone starts. That Zhang Wentao seems like a real catch—he's handsome, fun to talk to, and richer than Xu Yun."
Wang Qing continued, "If you got together with him, you could buy any luxury bag you want, couldn't you?
It's not like now, where you've been with Xu Yun all year and he's still not willing to buy you a single nice bag."
"But... wouldn't that be wrong?"
Hearing her best friend's words, the already wavering Huang Mengyao's resolve crumbled.
She said hesitantly, "But they're friends. Won't it be awkward if we run into each other in the future?"
"Xu Yun was the one who told you to get lost yesterday! He was the one who called off the wedding! How can you be the one to blame?"
Wang Qing said, "He was the one who was cruel first. You're just pursuing your own happiness. What's wrong with that?
Even if it is awkward, he's the one who should be embarrassed.
You need to show Xu Yun that if he doesn't want you, there are plenty of other great men who do."
"Alright, I'll think about it."
"What's there to think about? Feelings develop from spending time together. What's the point of just chatting on WeChat?"
Wang Qing urged, "Message him right now. Just ask him to go out with you tomorrow."
"It's so late, though. Is that a good idea?"
"The later the better! You can go for a walk, look at the city lights, grab a late-night snack... feelings will blossom."
"Alright." Huang Mengyao thought her friend had a point. She took out her phone and sent him a message.
He had actually wanted to ask her out today, but she had been hesitant to agree.
But now, it seemed Xu Yun wasn't worth her hesitation at all.
'Xu Yun, you forced my hand!'
...
「The next day.」
Xu Yun arrived back at his company.
His supervisor, Li Xiaoguang, saw Xu Yun acting as if nothing was wrong and sneered inwardly.
'Let's see if you're still smiling later!'
"Xu Yun, in my office!"
Xiaopang, who sat at the neighboring desk, gave him a friendly warning. "Xu Yun, Manager Li was just waiting for you. He didn't look happy. You better watch out."
"Don't worry."
Xu Yun just smiled and walked straight into Li Xiaoguang's office.
He knew why the man was angry.
Seeing that his manager was about to lay into him, Xu Yun preemptively took the ID badge from around his neck and placed it right on the desk.
This stunned Li Xiaoguang. "What's the meaning of this?"
"It doesn't mean anything."
Xu Yun shrugged, his expression nonchalant. "If this is about me not answering your call to come in for unpaid overtime on my day off yesterday, then just have the company fire me. I'll be sure to file for labor arbitration."
Li Xiaoguang: "..."
He watched Xu Yun's cool, departing figure, completely baffled.
'This guy isn't playing by the script today.'
Besides, as a low-level supervisor, he didn't have the authority to fire someone just like that.
The company certainly wouldn't fire an employee and pay a settlement just because of him.
Everyone was surprised to see Xu Yun walk out so quickly, and with a smile on his face, no less.
Could it be that Manager Li hadn't given him a hard time?
Xu Yun returned to his desk and sat down. A moment later, the system's mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
[For facing down a corrupt supervisor, the Host chose to Do as You Please by rebuking him. Reward: 50,000 yuan in cash.]
Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated. The money had arrived.
'Fifty thousand again?'
'Is the system's minimum reward fifty thousand?'
'Hahaha, awesome.'
Xu Yun could barely contain the grin spreading across his face; it was like trying to suppress the recoil of an AK-47.
As far as he was concerned, it didn't really matter if he kept this job or not.
He hadn't proactively quit only because he wasn't sure how he'd explain suddenly being jobless to his mom and didn't want her to worry.
Before, he had the mentality of a corporate drone, but now he had the mindset of a boss. Faced with injustice, he dared to step up and shake up the workplace.
That meant a guy like Li Xiaoguang could no longer threaten him.
Now that Xu Yun had money, he felt like spending it.
In all his time at the company, he had never treated his colleagues to drinks because he'd been saving up for the wedding.
Instead, he'd accepted plenty of drinks from them, which made him feel a little bad.
'Time to make up for it.'
So, he quietly opened a delivery app on his phone and, in one go, ordered a Starbucks coffee for everyone in the entire company.
Except for that scumbag manager, of course.
A short while later, the delivery guy arrived.
There were so many cups that two delivery people showed up.
"Excuse me, did someone here order coffee?"
Everyone in the office looked at each other and shook their heads. No one had ordered anything.
"I did."
Xu Yun stood up and smiled at everyone. "The weather's nice today, so I'm treating. One for everybody."
"Xu Yun, you're the man!"
"Whoa, thanks!"
"Well, don't mind if we do!"
Listening to his colleagues, Xu Yun felt a wave of emotion.
'See? Normal social interactions are actually pretty simple. As long as you have money and are willing to spend it, you can win a lot of goodwill with just a cup of coffee.'
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
Xu Yun checked it and saw a new WeChat message.
Sister Su: "What's this? Did you strike it rich or something? Buying drinks for everyone!"
Xu Yun turned his head.
In a nearby office, a beautiful woman in her late twenties with shoulder-length, curly black hair, held a cup of coffee and gave him a casual smile.
She wore a fashionable chiffon blouse with a simple, loose-fitting V-neck that created an elegant, flowing silhouette, naturally accentuating her refined aura.
The lace petal sleeves revealed her slender arms, a look that was both chic and elegant.
Her entire appearance screamed "sophisticated professional."
Her name was Su Mu. She was the head of the company's Administration Department, in charge of HR, procurement, and general administration.
She was a high-level manager with considerable authority.
She was also widely acknowledged as the most beautiful woman in the company.
Xu Yun: "Not really. The wedding's off, so I've naturally got more money to spare."
Su Mu: "What happened? You're really not getting married? Don't be impulsive."
Xu Yun: "It wasn't an impulsive decision. I've thought it through."
Su Mu: "Alright then. As long as you're sure."
Su Mu: "By the way, there's a small issue with your timecard this month. I'll take care of it for you in a bit, otherwise you'll lose your perfect attendance bonus."
Xu Yun: "Thanks, Sis."
Su Mu: "Don't mention it. You've helped me out plenty of times, too."
Looking at Su Mu's messages, Xu Yun couldn't help but recall how they had become friends.
He remembered that when Su Mu first joined the company, she didn't have a single friend.
She had been "parachuted" in, was gorgeous, and had been made head of the Administration Department right away.
On top of that, the boss seemed to dote on her, always asking after her well-being. So, rumors quickly started to spread that she must be having an affair with the boss—that she was his mistress.
It wasn't just others; even Xu Yun himself had thought so at the time.
Until one night, when he returned to the office to grab some files...