Zhang Xin dressed up and took a velvet box out of her coat pocket, tossing it casually to the man.
The man fumbled to catch it, opened it for a glance—a high-end watch, receipt tucked inside, a five-figure price.
The man’s expression immediately changed to disbelief as he looked at Zhang Xin: "What do you mean by this?"
Zhang Xin ran her hand through her hair: "Let’s end this."
The man’s eyes widened: "What?"
Zhang Xin turned her head, showing not the slightest hint of nostalgia or reluctance, as if discussing the weather, she said softly: "I won’t be coming over anymore, you don’t need to look for me."
The man stepped forward quickly, grabbing Zhang Xin’s arm: "Why?"
Zhang Xin’s face was emotionless: "Tired of it."
The man’s voice raised slightly: "Tired? Did I not satisfy you? Or did I do something wrong? Just like that, what do you mean tired of it?"
Zhang Xin stood unmoved, her gaze on the man’s face: "When we first got together, we agreed on this, when we’re tired, we part ways."
The man’s emotions suddenly became intense: "Was I not good enough to you?"
Zhang Xin was about to speak when her phone rang in her pocket, her eyes lit up slightly as she quickly took it out. After one glance at the caller ID, her face immediately darkened, she ended the call and said in a gloomy tone: "I’m leaving."
She turned to leave, the man grew anxious instantly, agitated, he held onto her arm: "Zhang Xin, you can’t do this to me!"
Zhang Xin looked coldly at the arm he was holding: "Let go."
The man’s eyes reddened: "Don’t push it too far!"
Zhang Xin’s voice was icy: "I’ll say it one last time, let go!"
The man flung her hand away, retreating two steps, pointing towards the door, yelling furiously: "If you walk out that door today, don’t ever come back to find me!"
The answer he got was the sound of the door being closed and locked.
The train compartment was noisy, the air suffocating.
"Meimei! Wake up, eat something before you sleep again!"
Zhao Meimei groggily awoke, confusedly looking at her mother by the bedside, her eyes sleepy.
Liu Xiue gently nudged her: "You’ve slept the whole day, get up and eat something."
Zhao Meimei slowly climbed down from the middle bunk, her neck hunched, head resting on the upper bunk, she yawned lazily: "Mom, my whole body aches."
Liu Xiue felt a pang of affection, reaching out to support her: "Move around a bit, eat something, you’ll feel better."
Zhao Meimei sat for a moment to wake fully, as she climbed down the bunk, she remembered her phone, quickly reaching for it.
She climbed to the lower bunk, squeezing in next to her dad.
Liu Xiue took out the food, arranging it neatly on the table.
Zhao Meimei leaned against the train wall, opened her phone, three new text messages.
"I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow."
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
A subtle but unnoticeable expression appeared in Zhao Meimei’s eyes, her heart warmed, she quickly replied: Brother, I miss you so much I’m dying.
"Stop fiddling with your phone, come and eat!" Liu Xiue called out.
Zhao Meimei agreed with a word, putting the phone into her pocket.
Shi Yang sat with Qu Chaozong in the mall’s commercial management office, talking with the department head.
The head was a small-framed woman, wearing glasses, with a trained smile and squinty eyebrows when she spoke: "The mall is indeed recruiting businesses now, but the area you want is too large and it’s taking up the luggage section. Although we plan for a regional adjustment this time, it’s only a small scale, not to mention many brands have already signed renewal contracts early."
Shi Yang smiled slightly: "The formal contracts haven’t been signed yet, have they? Besides, I looked before, the luggage section has seven shops, but only three are well-known brands. The bedding section beside the luggage area hasn’t been fully leased this year, has it?"
The head was taken aback, looked at Shi Yang: "But you can’t take half of a section, can you? There’s two fire lanes in between, and the location you want is next to the elevator, that position was agreed with the #￥ brand for the end of the year."
Mentioning the #￥ brand, Shi Yang’s heart skipped a beat, he hadn’t foreseen this issue, if they took the elevator spot, then Naughty Castle’s location would end up in two completely non-adjacent dead ends, split into two sections.
Seeing Shi Yang’s remarkable appearance and eloquent demeanor, the head knew he must have a significant background, she politely advised: "Actually, this city isn’t the only mall. Moreover, though your project sounds great, the time from start to official operation is too long. Our mall follows sales figures, if by the end of the year, it can’t meet the specified sales targets, it will affect the whole section and floor’s performance."
Shi Yang frowned in thought, realizing that starting through the head might be tricky; he needed another means to communicate through higher-ups.
He thought for a moment, just about to say goodbye, when the office phone rang.
The head answered the call, leaving Shi Yang to wait in peace.
Qu Chaozong leaned in, speaking in a voice only the two could hear: "Why didn’t you mention Brother Li’s method of selling membership cards in advance to raise funds? You could achieve a year’s turnover in two months."
Shi Yang shook his head, glanced at the head engrossed in the call, and answered quietly: "It’s useless, we need to figure out those brands’ backgrounds, and last year’s specific sales figures first."
Qu Chaozong wanted to ask more but was stopped by a look from Shi Yang.
After the call, Shi Yang stood up to say goodbye.
The head picked up a folder from the rack nearby, smiling as she stood: "I just happen to be heading to the market, let’s walk together."
As they walked, Shi Yang refrained from conversing more with the head, knowing that saying more would be pointless.
Qu Chaozong couldn’t hold back, unlike Shi Yang’s calm and steady demeanor.
Qu Chaozong stepped forward, squeezing next to the head, with a smiling face: "We sincerely want to rent the space. Though Naughty Castle is new, we have chain stores open in the provincial city, ready for operation at any time..."
The head politely said: "This isn’t something I can decide, because there’s simply no space left. I have things to do, I’ll go ahead."
Qu Chaozong watched the head’s figure departing without a backward glance, suddenly feeling a deep sense of powerlessness. He turned to Shi Yang: "Is that it? Won’t you fight for it?"
Shi Yang said blandly: "It’s a dead end here, let’s try another way."
Qu Chaozong exhaled a long breath.
The head holding the folder reached the staff-only elevator, just as she pressed the button, she heard a gentle female voice call out: "Hi!"
The head turned around in surprise, and upon seeing who it was, was stunned, quickly greeting: "Miss Zhang!"