Revealing All: Part One

Give me a computer desk and a computer, and I’ll be considered an employee at Sister Li’s branch. I can browse the news online—since I’m not playing games, it counts as working.

I’m basically an intern, similar to the recent college graduates—each earning a basic salary of three thousand yuan a month, plus sales commissions. Of course, the company also offers subsidies for transportation, phone bills, and meals.

Working at a foreign trade company is quite flexible; most days are uneventful. Sister Li is quite free as well, delegating the actual business to her two managers.

The company rented three apartments near the office building to serve as employee dormitories. Sister Li rented a small apartment for herself temporarily; she plans to buy a house in Mingzhou city. However, housing prices there are steep—generally around ten thousand yuan per square meter, with good apartments costing tens of thousands.

Buying a house isn’t like buying groceries; it’s hard to find a suitable second-hand property quickly. New properties are usually pre-sale, and you have to wait years to move in.

I live in the male staff apartment. Our suite has three rooms: Manager Xiao Lu occupies the largest south-facing bedroom; Xiao Hu, who arrived before me, took the second-best room; I had to settle for the smallest north-facing room. Still, it’s much better than the dilapidated place I rented before.

After work, Sister Li took me out to eat and invited Xiao Lu along. Sister Li calls her Xiao Lu, but I address her as Sister Lulu since she’s my direct superior and teaches me everything I don’t know.

I called Fu Xiaomei to see if she was free to join us for dinner.

Fu Xiaomei was surprised by my call, asking why I suddenly wanted to invite her out. I explained, “I have a friend who wants to meet you. If possible, let Sister Fang come too. Mainly, we want to discuss some foreign trade business.”

Fu Xiaomei initially thought I was interested in her alone and was disappointed to hear others were invited. However, since it involved business, she was quite interested—after all, her last deal made her a good profit.

She laughed and said, “Okay, I’ll come with Sister Fang.” We agreed on a time and place: the Dongyang Seafood Restaurant for an all-you-can-eat seafood hotpot.

Mingzhou, being a coastal city, offers abundant seafood. Sister Li, Xiao Lu, and I arrived first at Dongyang Seafood Restaurant and found a table. The seafood buffet costs 180 yuan per person, a mid-to-high-end price, usually attracting white-collar workers, young couples, and well-off customers.

I stood by the entrance to greet them. Soon Fu Xiaomei and Sister Fang arrived, happy to see me. We exchanged pleasantries and laughter. I led them to meet Sister Li and Xiao Lu and introduced everyone. Naturally, the women started chatting animatedly, sharing many common topics related to foreign trade.

Seeing them get along so well, I found it hard to join in, so I focused on eating while they enjoyed lively conversation.

After some casual talk, they moved on to the main topic. Sister Li tentatively invited Sister Fang and Fu Xiaomei to join her company.

Sister Fang neither accepted nor declined, suggesting cooperation instead—if any of them needed foreign trade products, they could collaborate and source from each other. Sister Li smiled and said, “That sounds great; we can all work together for mutual benefit.”

They laughed and chatted happily. Sister Fang even thanked me for the discount I gave her on a previous deal and insisted on paying the bill tonight. Sister Li naturally refused, and after some polite back-and-forth, Sister Li ended up paying. Sister Fang then proposed that she would treat next time, as a gesture of hospitality.

Sister Li and I smiled and agreed. After everyone was full, we went home.

At that moment, I received a call from Jin Yulian. She said, “Feng, Qian Duobao has been bothering me nonstop these days, so I’ve decided to confront him.”

Jin Yulian meant she wanted to break off their engagement. She had agreed to marry Qian Duobao before, but breaking it off would surely enrage him.

She didn’t know what the consequences would be, so she kept avoiding Qian Duobao’s harassment and didn’t dare reject him outright. I said, “Sister Yulian, don’t be afraid. I’ll come over tomorrow and go with you to confront him.”

Though she knew having me with her might escalate things, she had no one else to rely on and agreed.

I hung up and told Sister Li about Jin Yulian’s situation. Sister Li was worried and asked if she should come along.

I felt it unnecessary to involve Sister Li and said, “Don’t worry, Sister. I can handle it; you don’t need to get involved.”

Sister Li said, “Alright then, but if you run into trouble, call me. Maybe I can help.”

I replied, “Okay, if it’s serious, I’ll definitely consult you.” Sister Li added, “When you go tomorrow, just use my car. I don’t need it these days.”

I laughed and said, “Great! Aren’t you worried I might crash it?”

Sister Li scolded jokingly, “Shut up with your jinxing nonsense.”

The next morning, I called Jin Yulian to say I was driving from Mingzhou and would arrive in about an hour.

She replied, “I’m waiting for you at my villa. I also invited a lawyer to come along.”

I said, “Okay, don’t worry. I’m on my way.” She reminded me to drive carefully and said goodbye.

An hour later, I arrived at Jin Yulian’s villa. Lawyer Gu was already there, discussing matters with her.

Lawyer Gu was familiar with Jin Yulian; he had handled many legal disputes for her company. He was also present when she borrowed money from Qian Duobao last time, serving as her legal advisor.

After organizing the loan contract, Jin Yulian called Qian Duobao. Excited to hear from her, he flirted shamelessly on the phone, saying things like, “Hello, baby, I miss you to death,” and other cheesy lines.

Jin Yulian blushed slightly, glanced awkwardly at me, then said firmly, “Qian Duobao, cut the nonsense. I’m calling to discuss something important. Come to my company.”

Qian Duobao happily agreed, “Okay, baby, wait for me. I’m coming right away.”