Everyone turned towards the voice, and saw a pretty young girl standing in front of Chen Bin.
She looked about twenty years old, dressed in a sharp, casual outfit.
Her features were extremely striking, resembling a grown-up version of He Beibei.
Faced with the visibly furious girl, Chen Bin appeared quite baffled.
"What are you talking about? What did I even look at?"
The girl pointed at Du Minli and said, "You were practically trying to gouge your eyes out to stick them onto her body, and you still dare say you weren’t looking!"
Hearing this, Chen Bin immediately felt humiliated.
He retorted angrily, "She’s my colleague, and I just glanced at her because I had something to say. Why are you yelling like a lunatic?"
"Yelling like a lunatic? If you’ve got the guts, then stop staring, bottom-feeder!"
Watching Chen Bin at a loss for words, Du Minli stayed silent.
She merely adjusted her glasses slightly, looking at him mockingly.
She was curious to see what skills this new secretary possessed to challenge Lu Huisheng.
Chen Bin frowned slightly, his expression darkening.
"So what if I looked? What’s it to you?"
The girl didn’t respond but suddenly raised her leg and gave Chen Bin a harsh kick.
Completely unprepared, Chen Bin felt a sharp pain shoot through his toes.
Shouting in surprise, he angrily cried out.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"Yes, this lady is out of her mind. I just get uncomfortable around bottom-feeders like you. What can you do about it?"
Chen Bin was left speechless. Turning his head away, he stopped responding.
Seeing that he had admitted defeat, the girl let out a huff and turned to leave.
About seven hours later, the train finally arrived at Shanghai Station.
After getting off the train with Yu Jiang and the others, Chen Bin was about to line up to exit when someone tugged at him from behind.
To his dismay, it was the same girl who had stepped on his foot earlier.
His expression immediately turned sour.
"What do you mean by this? Are you not done yet?"
The girl, dropping her earlier arrogance, looked at him with an apologetic smile.
"I’m really sorry... This time, I came to ask for your help."
"Help you? With what?"
Seeing Chen Bin’s suspicious gaze, the girl hurriedly explained.
"When I got off the train, someone stole my bag. My phone and wallet were in it..."
While speaking, she even emptied her pockets to prove she wasn’t lying.
Seeing she didn’t seem to be bluffing, Chen Bin asked, "Then what do you want me to do?"
"I came to Shanghai for sightseeing, but now all my things are gone. Could you lend me some money?"
Before Chen Bin could respond, Wei Kai pulled him aside.
"Let’s go. They say that in train stations, only the trains are real. I think it’s the same in high-speed rail stations—this girl’s probably a scammer."
Though Chen Bin didn’t believe she was a scammer, he was annoyed by her earlier rudeness.
Besides, they didn’t know each other, and he had no obligation to help her.
With a sigh, he followed the group and moved forward.
Seeing him leave, the girl squatted down and started sobbing on the spot.
Catching sight of her pitiful state, Chen Bin felt an ache in his heart.
He stopped, pulled out a small wad of cash—1,000 yuan—from his backpack, and started walking back.
This was his backup cash in case his phone battery died, but now it had a use.
Seeing this, Wei Kai quickly grabbed his arm.
"Secretary Chen, she’s definitely a scammer, putting on a show to evoke sympathy. Don’t fall for it!"
Chen Bin simply patted Wei Kai’s shoulder without saying a word.
Returning to the girl, he handed her the 1,000 yuan.
Seeing this, the girl’s face lit up with excitement.
But she didn’t immediately take the money.
Instead, she wiped her tears and asked, "Are you really willing to lend me this much money?"
"Even though you like to stir up trouble and aren’t much to look at, I can’t help it—I’m just too nice."
As he finished speaking, Chen Bin grabbed her hand and slapped the money into it.
Startled, the girl asked, "Aren’t you afraid I might be a scammer?"
"If you are, so be it. Losing this 1,000 yuan won’t make much of a difference in my life."
As Chen Bin turned to leave, the girl hurriedly called after him.
"Can you leave your contact information? I’ll definitely pay you back later!"
"Don’t bother. I don’t need you to pay me back."
Watching his figure disappear into the distance, the girl felt immense gratitude in her heart.
But she was still irritated by his comment about her looks.
Seeing Chen Bin give away the money, the rest of the team collectively shook their heads.
They thought he was too soft-hearted and bound to be scammed.
The only exception was Cai Lixia, who believed Chen Bin was a good person.
When they finally exited the station, Chen Bin called Pan Hao and let him know he would arrive soon.
Pan Hao responded cheerfully, "No problem, I’ve already arranged where you’ll be staying."
Glancing at Yu Jiang and the others, Chen Bin whispered.
"I’m using public funds for this trip. You don’t need to spend a penny."
Pan Hao just chuckled and didn’t respond.
After exiting the station, Chen Bin spotted Pan Hao from afar.
He quickly brought him over to introduce him to the inspection team.
When Pan Hao shook hands with Cai Lixia, the two of them seemed both surprised and delighted, even sharing a brief embrace.
It seemed they already knew each other beforehand.
When everyone prepared to take cabs to the hotel, Chen Bin pulled Pan Hao aside and discreetly gestured towards Ma Juan, who was at the rear.
Whispering, he said, "Bro, do me a favor and take care of this."
Pan Hao immediately understood, smirking as he clapped Chen Bin’s shoulder.
"No problem. I’ll make the arrangements just right."
Once they arrived at the hotel, Pan Hao suggested.
"You’ve all come a long way from Tianhai; you must be exhausted. Get some rest first, and tonight I’ll host a welcome dinner."
After everyone went to their respective rooms, Pan Hao turned to Chen Bin.
"Why’d you bring a plus-one? You should’ve told me earlier..."
Before he could finish, there was a knock at the door.
When Chen Bin opened it, it turned out to be none other than Ma Juan, who had been following them the whole time.
Chen Bin immediately introduced her, "This is Ma Juan. She’s currently working as a Bailing Wine agent in Tianhai. And this is my old college buddy, Pan Hao, whose family runs a food processing factory here in Shanghai."
With someone else present, Ma Juan instantly switched to her professional career-woman demeanor.
Smiling, she extended her hand to Pan Hao, "Hello, I’ve heard so much about you from Chen Bin. You’re even more handsome in person!"
Pan Hao shook her hand and joked.
"I don’t believe it! This guy must’ve talked plenty of trash about me!"
After letting go of Ma Juan’s hand, Pan Hao turned to Chen Bin with a more serious tone.
"Old Chen, are you here for a genuine business inspection, or are you just using company funds for a personal trip?"
"Of course I’m here for a real inspection. My goal is to learn from your food processing factory. As for Xiao Juan, she’s just here for a casual look around."
"Got it, I understand. You guys rest up for now; I’ll make a call to sort things out."
As soon as Pan Hao left, Ma Juan pushed Chen Bin onto the bed.
It was clear she couldn’t wait any longer...