After chatting for a while longer, Xu Donghe finally stood up to take his leave, and Shu Ya saw him out.
In the elevator, Xu Donghe said to Shu Ya with a smile,
"Little girl, you must be that young man's girlfriend, right?"
Shu Ya was taken aback for a moment, her pretty face involuntarily blushing as she asked shyly, "What makes you think that?"
"You might not know, but that kid is extremely proud deep down, and in his life, he never asks anyone for favors. Today he made a special call, asking me to come and help you resolve the crisis at your company, which is enough to show how much he values you.
If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn't have bothered to give them the time of day," Xu Donghe said with a smile, noticing that Shu Ya didn't understand Hao Jian as well as he did.
"No. Really?" Shu Ya's mind went blank, could it be that guy... was interested in her?
Xu Donghe didn't explain further but said meaningfully to Shu Ya,
"If you truly love him, then treat him well. Don't be fooled by the carefree facade he puts on all the time, he's actually been through a lot of hardships, so try not to hurt him."
"Yes, I understand," agreed Shu Ya, nodding earnestly.
"See you when I see you."
Xu Donghe smiled, got into his car, and then the vehicle started up and drove away, leaving a trail of dust behind.
Shu Ya watched as the sedan became smaller in the distance and muttered to herself,
"Hao Jian, Hao Jian, what kind of person are you really?"
On the weekend, Hao Jian specifically went to the department store not for anything else but to buy a wedding ring for Shu Ya that would make her heart sing.
Even though it was a fake marriage, he could not skip this ritual.
After browsing for a while, he found a Shu Ya Group owned store inside the mall and walked straight in.
"Sir, what kind of jewelry would you like to pick out?"
A sales associate approached him, but when she took a clear look at Hao Jian's face, she paused, then covered her mouth in shock.
Hao Jian looked around, then touched his head, puzzled as he looked back at her,
"Look, beauty, although I know I'm unreasonably handsome, you don't have to give me that expression, right? Tell me I'm not looking exceptionally devastating today?"
The sales associate bit her lip, and then hesitantly asked,
"Are... are you Hao Jian?"
"Eh? Am I really that famous? I've been laying so low, and you still recognized me?" Hao Jian also let out a small surprised sound.
The sales associate was instantly defeated by Hao Jian's shamelessness, her smile blooming like a flower!
After taking a few deep breaths and hiding her amusement, the sales associate finally said,
"Hao Jian, don't you remember me? I was your desk mate in high school, Chen Zhiyan!"
Chen Zhiyan was full of surprise, not having expected to encounter Hao Jian here.
"Chen Zhiyan?" Hao Jian thought for a moment and then suddenly slapped his hand,
"I remember now, you're Little Fatty Girl? Whoa, this is not scientific, did you have plastic surgery? How did you become so beautiful?"
"You're so annoying! I've not been fat since junior year of high school, okay?" Chen Zhiyan said, a bit angry, obviously not fond of the nickname.
"Yes, yes, yes, but I've gotten used to calling her Little Fatty Girl, you know."
Hao Jian laughed heartily. At this moment, as he looked Chen Zhiyan up and down, he found that she had become even more radiant, almost unrecognizable from her high school days.
"Right, what brings you here?" Hao Jian asked curiously.
"Me? I work here." Chen Zhiyan replied with a somewhat forced smile as Hao Jian asked this question.
"But I remember your dad was a real estate chairman. Back in high school, he used to have the driver drop you off at school, which made all of us 'loser' students green with envy. How come you're working in this tiny store now?"
Hao Jian didn't understand. To his knowledge, Chen Zhiyan was supposed to be a wealthy heiress.
"Oh, I get it, you're here to experience life, right? I've heard about this before - you city folk really know how to live it up."
With this thought, Hao Jian burst into hearty laughter.
But Chen Zhiyan did not laugh. Instead, her face became shrouded in gloom.
Seeing this, Hao Jian instinctively closed his mouth and shrank his head, saying:
"Sorry, did I say something wrong?"
Chen Zhiyan shook her head and said, "I'm not here to experience life. About five years ago, my dad's company went bankrupt and he racked up a huge amount of debt, which now requires me to work continuously to pay off."
Hao Jian was taken aback, and then scratched his head somewhat embarrassingly:
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's alright, it's all in the past." Chen Zhiyan smiled again and changed the subject:
"Anyway, what brings you here? Looking to buy some jewelry?"
"Yes, I'm getting married and want to pick out a pair of rings for my fiancée," said Hao Jian with a smile.
"No way?" Chen Zhiyan looked at Hao Jian with surprise.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hao Jian asked, not understanding:
"Is there something wrong with a handsome guy like me getting married?"
"No, it's just strange. Back in school, you said you'd rather die than get married."
Chen Zhiyan clearly remembered this. Back then, when Hao Jian was chatting with a bunch of boys, he mentioned this, and it had upset her for a long time.
"Damn, so I was already so unrestrained back then? Huh? You can tell you paid a lot of attention to me. You remember things even I don't recall," Hao Jian joked.
"Of course. You were quite the figure in high school, and half the topics girls chatted about during breaks were about you. I wasn't an exception," Chen Zhiyan replied straightforwardly, "I had a crush on you back then too. But as Little Fatty Girl, I felt like an ugly duckling next to you and never dared to confess."
"Ah? The handsome suffer from their charm," said Hao Jian, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. So, when's the wedding? Are you going to invite me, an old classmate?" Chen Zhiyan asked with a teasing smile.
"Of course, I'll invite you. I haven't decided on a date for the banquet yet, but I'll definitely let you know when I do."
Hao Jian replied promptly, then suddenly thought of something and asked:
"By the way, I heard you were dating Sun Renyao a while back. So many years have gone by; are you two married yet?"
The moment Hao Jian brought this up, Chen Zhiyan's expression froze, and then she suddenly burst into tears. It was as if she'd been deeply wronged, and without caring about the many customers around, she lost control and sobbed uncontrollably.
Hao Jian was dumbstruck. Had he said the wrong thing again?