Su Mianmian blinked her bright eyes. "How could that be? Why would I speak up for Sister Xue Jing? You kindly saved her yesterday, and instead of being grateful, she agreed to let the company post your photos online without consulting you beforehand. That's incredibly unethical."
Gu Yizhou hadn't expected Su Mianmian to say something like that, and he felt somewhat relieved. Yesterday, when she asked him to hug Xue Jing, he really wanted to crack open her head to see what was inside—how could she be so heartless as to let her husband hug another woman?
"Then why were you tugging at my sleeve?" Su Mianmian tapped the watch face on Gu Yizhou's wrist with her fingertips. "I wanted to remind you that if we don't leave soon, I'll be late for work."
...Although Gu Yizhou quickly removed the trending topic, he still couldn't keep up with the speed at which netizens were taking screenshots. Because the photos were posted during rush hour, many people saw those news articles.
When Su Mianmian went to the restroom, several female colleagues were still excitedly discussing it. "Hey, did you guys see it?
For those who didn't, let me show you those photos. Honestly, I really didn't expect the president of the Gu Group to be so young, and more importantly, so handsome. I'm not exaggerating, 'handsome' doesn't even begin to describe him."
Another colleague immediately chimed in, "Indeed, great minds think alike. Tall and imposing, with striking features. Compared to him, all those pretty boys in movies and TV dramas pale in comparison." "Hey? Is nobody paying attention to Xue Jing?
She's gorgeous too. Even after being beaten up, it doesn't diminish her beauty at all. She and Gu Yizhou are a perfect match!" Su Mianmian finished using the restroom and quietly walked over to wash her hands next to them.
A female colleague, bursting with a desire to share, sidled up to Su Mianmian. "Hey, Mianmian, have you seen this news? Wait a minute, I'll show you the photos."
With that, without waiting for Su Mianmian's reaction, she shoved a photo of Gu Yizhou embracing Xue Jing in front of her eyes. "Look, aren't they a perfect match?" Su Mianmian forced a smile and mumbled, "They are quite a good match."
The colleague, even more excited by the confirmation, clicked her tongue in regret. "It would have been even better if that girl next to her, blurred out, wasn't in the picture." Su Mianmian's face fell slightly, but she didn't say anything.
Just then, Liu Shu came in to touch up her makeup. Seeing the group, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes. "Gossiping in the restroom during work hours? Have you all finished your business?"
The female colleagues, always afraid to speak out against Liu Shu, exchanged glances. Some touched up their makeup, others washed their hands.
Liu Shu snorted and then looked at Su Mianmian, "By the way, Su Mianmian, how much was the cleaning fee for that shirt of yours again? Tell me and I'll pay you right away, so you won't go around saying I'm bullying you and taking advantage of you."
Su Mianmian was already a little unhappy, and Liu Shu had come to her, so she couldn't blame her. "Five hundred and eighty, just transfer five hundred to me, Deputy Manager Liu." "Five hundred and eighty?!"
Liu Shu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Su Mianmian, what kind of lousy shirt is that? Just a cleaning, and it costs five hundred and eighty?" "With that money, you could buy ten new ones at the wholesale market! I think you're really desperate for money!"
A female colleague nearby also couldn't believe that cleaning a piece of clothing could cost several hundred yuan, and gently tugged at Su Mianmian's clothes. "Mianmian, did you add an extra zero?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Shu became even more agitated, laughing sarcastically, "Not only did you add an extra zero, but you probably missed a decimal point too. Five yuan and eighty cents is about right."
Su Mianmian didn't rush to argue, waiting for Liu Shu to finish laughing before saying, "Deputy Manager Liu, you don't want to pay for the cleaning? In that case, fine, ten new ones won't cost you anything."
"I won't take advantage of you. I only wore that shirt one day, and I probably won't wear it again. Leaving aside depreciation, you can charge me 100 yuan at market price." "Give me 80% compensation." "80%, how much is that?"
Su Mianmian searched for the price of the shirt on her phone and held it out to Liu Shu. "I'm bad at math, Deputy Manager Liu, calculate it yourself."
Liu Shu initially looked down on Su Mianmian's phone, but her pupils dilated instantly when she saw the price. "18,000? Your shabby shirt costs 18,000? Su Mianmian, are you crazy?!"
Several female colleagues nearby, hearing Liu Shu's words, also curiously gathered around to look at the picture on Su Mianmian's phone. One colleague, who was somewhat familiar with luxury brands, glanced at it and was somewhat surprised.
"Oh, isn't this a C brand shirt? For C brand, this price is quite reasonable." Liu Shu's previously arrogant face instantly changed color rapidly, turning white one moment and green the next. "Su Mianmian, you say your shirt is from C brand, so it's from C brand? Who knows if you just grabbed a random photo to fool me?" Su Mianmian was speechless at Liu Shu's unreasonable accusations. "Deputy Manager Liu, you just suspect I used a fake photo to cheat you.
Please wait a moment, I'll make a call now."
Su Mianmian then called Aunt Zhou directly. "Aunt Zhou, could you please send me a picture of the care label for the shirt I wore on my first day of work? Also, if you have the purchase receipt, please send it to me as well. Yes, I need it urgently now."
Su Mianmian hung up the phone, glancing at the somewhat flustered Liu Shu and the colleagues who had been standing by watching the commotion. "Deputy Manager Liu, senior colleagues, if you're not in a hurry, would you like to wait a bit?"
Liu Shu was clearly flustered, but she still rolled her eyes, feigning composure, as if to say, "Let's see what tricks you can pull," before slowly applying lipstick in front of the mirror.
The female colleague who had just recognized the shirt as a C brand leaned closer to Su Mianmian. "Mianmian, is that really a C brand shirt?" Su Mianmian smiled. "We'll find out soon enough. No one will believe me now."
Another colleague, seemingly wanting to see Liu Shu make a fool of herself, sighed meaningfully. "Deputy Manager Liu, why not just pay for the cleaning? We're all colleagues; Mianmian probably won't hold a grudge. Why make things so tense?"
"Yeah, yeah, Mianmian just said she only needed you to pay 500. Don't end up paying over 10,000 instead of 500. That would be a huge loss." Liu Shu knew, of course, that they just wanted to see her fail.
Actually, she was also gambling—gambling that Su Mianmian, an intern who hadn't even graduated from university, couldn't possibly have that much money to buy luxury goods. She was just deliberately trying to scare her.
Thinking this, Liu Shu regained her confidence, puffing out her already impressive chest. "Don't try to persuade me! Today, we'll do as Su Mianmian says. As long as she shows me the evidence, I'll accept whatever it takes!"
Just as she finished speaking, everyone heard Su Mianmian's phone ring twice. Everyone instinctively crowded around Su Mianmian and, sure enough, saw the care label on the shirt with the C brand logo, along with the original purchase receipt.
Eighteen thousand yuan, not a penny more, not a penny less. Liu Shu, standing closest to Su Mianmian's phone, saw it more clearly than anyone else and was immediately dumbfounded. "Pay up, Deputy Manager Liu," one of her female colleagues said, not wanting to miss out on the drama.
She crossed her arms, adopting a "I'll watch you pay up today, I won't leave until you do" attitude.