Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 69 - 68: The Usual Tactics of a Scumbag (Please Follow)
"Um, then, what... what should I do now?" Xia Zhijin asked, her expression adorably clueless. She clearly hadn’t understood the underlying meaning of Li Yuan’s words.
Seeing her dazed look, Li Yuan found himself liking her even more. This kind of obedient demeanor is my ideal for a treasured girl! She’s ten times better than that manipulative first love of mine who did nothing but make me angry and heartbroken.
Li Yuan said authoritatively, "Zhijin, does this mean you agree to work part-time at my company?"
"Mhm!" Xia Zhijin nodded shyly. She knew in her heart that even if she refused, she probably wouldn’t be able to escape his clutches. The first time he ever saw her, Li Yuan had abandoned the class beauty, Wang Jierong, right in front of all their classmates and the teacher. Then, he had waited for her in the school cafeteria for two hours just to treat her to a meal. Faced with such a domineering and decisive person, what could an ordinary girl like her possibly do?
Seeing Xia Zhijin agree, Li Yuan was ecstatic. Once she’s on my pirate ship, she’ll never be able to escape.
Li Yuan smiled at the shy, head-bowed Xia Zhijin. "Our company is just starting up, so we need to buy some office supplies. Why don’t you come with me to get them now? There’s a large shopping complex right under this Longyu Building. We can just walk over."
Xia Zhijin nodded, her expression still dazed. "I’ll... I’ll listen to you."
"Getting into character fast, aren’t we, Zhijin? Let’s go then," Li Yuan chuckled, finding the whole situation quite amusing.
Li Yuan was quite familiar with the area. As an international metropolis, Modu was already highly developed, even back in 2008. You could find almost anything imaginable for sale.
He walked ahead while Xia Zhijin followed closely behind like a little attendant, never straying from his side. She was terrified of getting lost. Having grown up rarely leaving her home or school, a place like a shopping mall, with its dazzling array of shops and billboards, made it extremely easy to get disoriented.
Li Yuan found it extremely amusing to watch her nervous yet curious state, occasionally stealing a glance upwards. If she weren’t so easy to tease into tears, I’d definitely be testing her limits a few more times.
When they passed a milk tea shop called "Hutian," Li Yuan stopped and asked, "Zhijin, are you thirsty? Want some milk tea, or coffee?"
Xia Zhijin quickly waved her hands, saying softly, "I’m not thirsty. I have water in my backpack."
Li Yuan knew what she was worried about. He walked right up to the counter and glanced at the menu; they were all just standard milk teas. At this time, milk tea brands were just beginning to emerge in a nascent market. Many of the famous brands from later years hadn’t even been founded yet. Compared to the future, when a single cup could easily cost twenty or thirty yuan, milk tea was still relatively cheap.
Li Yuan was already sketching out a blueprint in his mind. Establishing a beverage brand around milk tea wouldn’t be a bad idea. All I’d need to do is develop some of the newer recipes from the future, make the shops more upscale, and run various marketing campaigns—things like a ’Milk Tea Girl’ contest, or ’the first milk tea of autumn.’ Once its reputation is built, it could become a real cash cow. Beverage brands like milk tea and coffee will remain popular far into the future. Even in a tiny sixth-tier county town, the streets are lined with all sorts of milk tea shops. You can’t look down on a small milk tea shop; it’s an industry with purely massive profit margins. This is a great business opportunity. I’ll make a note of it and have my little secretary, Zhijin, draw up a proposal when we get back.
Li Yuan ordered a milk tea with grass jelly and another with coconut jelly. The two cups together cost only 10 yuan.
"Zhijin, which one do you want?" Li Yuan placed both cups in front of her so she could choose.
"Ah, I’m... I’m not thirsty," Xia Zhijin said, stunned that he had simply gone and bought two. Five yuan for a cup of milk tea was enough to cover her food expenses for an entire day.
"I’ve already bought them. It would be a waste not to drink one," Li Yuan said, pushing the milk tea with grass jelly, a straw already in it, toward her. He put on a serious expression. "This is an order from your boss. You have to drink it."
Trembling, Xia Zhijin took the cup. "Okay, Boss."
Seeing her just hold the drink without taking a sip, Li Yuan felt utterly helpless and had to exert his "authority" as the boss once more. "Zhijin, aren’t you going to listen to me? If you don’t drink it now, it’ll get cold and have to be thrown away."
After speaking, Li Yuan started sipping his own. The milk tea back then definitely wasn’t as good as it would become in the future; the taste was a little strange.
Under Li Yuan’s unwavering gaze, Xia Zhijin lowered her head, her cheeks flushed bright red. After a moment of thought, she gently parted her lips to take a sip of the milk tea.
"Is it good?" Li Yuan asked.
"It’s good," she answered shyly.
"Your first time drinking it?"
"Mhm!"
"From now on, if you want some, just get it. Let’s set a small goal first: achieve milk tea freedom."
"But, it’s... it’s too expensive."
Li Yuan opened his mouth to say something but ultimately decided against it. Instead, a certain resolve in his heart grew even stronger.
From now on, this treasured girl is mine to protect. No one will ever take her from my side.
Li Yuan was completely entranced by the sight of her, getting lost in a daze.
Xia Zhijin secretly snuck several glances at him. A faint blush crept across her flawless cheeks and up her snow-white neck. After a long moment, she finally spoke, her tone tinged with shy annoyance.
"Li... Li Yuan, can you... can you not stare at me all the time?"
"What can I do? You’re so beautiful, I could never get tired of looking at you," Li Yuan replied instinctively.
It was the honest truth. In terms of looks alone, Xia Zhijin might not have been more beautiful than Bai Weixi, Zhong Tingyue, or Jiang Zhiyu. But she possessed a unique quality—a purity like a blank sheet of paper, a glow like a firefly in the night that drew him in irresistibly.
Embarrassed and flustered by his candid confession, Xia Zhijin buried her face even lower, unable to meet his gaze. Even if she was a bit clueless, she couldn’t possibly be unaware now that Li Yuan was interested in her.
Li Yuan spoke awkwardly, "Zhijin, we should hurry and get down to business."
"Mhm!" Xia Zhijin was still unwilling to say more. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Li Yuan didn’t mind. He knew that opening up the heart of a girl who was insecure, introverted, yet incredibly strong was never going to be easy.
He led Xia Zhijin straight to the electronics section of the mall. He first browsed the smartphones and eventually settled on an orange Nokia N95. It was a good color for a girl, and it was the same model as his own phone.
A matching set for a couple.
"Boss, how much for this phone?"
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, saw Xia Zhijin standing next to Li Yuan and immediately sized up the situation. This young man was clearly buying a gift for his girlfriend.
"Young man, this phone is perfect for your girlfriend. It has a five-megapixel camera... The price is only 6,399 yuan."
Heh, this guy gets it. He knows just what I want to hear, Li Yuan thought, giving him an internal thumbs-up.
Hearing the shopkeeper refer to her as Li Yuan’s girlfriend, Xia Zhijin blushed so deeply it looked as if blood might drip from her cheeks. She bowed her head low, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, not daring to utter a sound.
Li Yuan did a quick mental calculation. The phone was 100 yuan cheaper than when he’d bought his own, so the price was fair. For electronics like smartphones, the profit margins for retail stores weren’t that large, and prices could be easily checked online.
"Are there any discounts?" Li Yuan asked.
Seeing that Li Yuan was a serious buyer, the shopkeeper’s smile widened. "Young man, if you’re taking it today, as a friendly gesture, I can knock another 100 yuan off. At that price, I’m hardly making any profit from you."
Li Yuan simply nodded. "Wrap it up for me."
"Right away, young man," the shopkeeper replied, his service becoming even more cordial now that he saw how decisive Li Yuan was.
Xia Zhijin watched as Li Yuan spent several thousand yuan in just a few minutes, her beautiful eyes wide with shock. Before she could even process it, Li Yuan spoke again. "I want to look at laptops, too. What brands do you have?"
Overjoyed, the shopkeeper replied, "We have Lenovo, Dell, Apple... Which brand do you prefer, young man?"
Li Yuan subconsciously glanced at Xia Zhijin, about to ask her preference, but he quickly shut his mouth. Asking her is the same as not asking at all.
"Let’s look at the Lenovos, then."
Fifteen minutes later, Li Yuan had his eye on a Y730A gaming and multimedia laptop that had just been released that September. The specs were decent—more than enough.
"Does this model come in pink or a light white? Something suitable for a girl."
"Of course, young man. Please wait a moment."
"What’s the price?"
"It’s 8,499, but I can give you another discount since you’re buying it."
"Fine, I’ll take it. Install the OS and all the usual software, and throw in a wireless network adapter."
"No problem."
Half an hour later, they left the store with a brand-new laptop and smartphone.
