Chapter 135 - 128: The Lioness and the Bitch

Chapter 135: Chapter 128: The Lioness and the Bitch

Meanwhile, when Jiang Ruan and Wang Wan Ning walked out of the VIP room, they found that the area outside was basically empty.

Because Gu Heng and his group had arrived, the Hermes boutique had decided to temporarily stop serving other customers, even though there were still many people queuing outside.

Although Hermes was world-famous for its leather bags, it was, in fact, a full-range luxury brand, with collections spanning men’s and women’s fashion, jewelry, watches, beauty, and even home goods.

The Hermes boutique spanned two full floors. Its most famous leather bag section took up only a quarter of the space, while the remaining three-quarters were dedicated to displays of other product categories.

"Miss Jiang, Miss Wang, do you have any preferences for your tie-in purchases?"

The assistant manager, Niu Lin, who had followed Jiang Ruan and Wang Wan Ning out of the VIP room, asked respectfully.

"Men’s items, I think."

Jiang Ruan replied without much hesitation.

"Men’s items for me, too."

Wang Wan Ning smiled at Jiang Ruan and said, "I’ll take this chance to bleed my big brother dry. I’ll buy him some menswear to make up for it, so he won’t be too pained by the expense to sleep tonight."

Seeing Wang Wan Ning strike up a conversation, Jiang Ruan was slightly taken aback before replying in a low voice, "You and your brother seem very close."

"It’s alright, I guess."

"What can I say? I’m the little sister, and he’s the big brother!"

Wang Wan Ning huffed lightly. "Besides, he’s so much older than me. If he ever dares to bully me, I’ll just tell my aunt, and she’ll deal with him!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ruan tactfully chose not to reply.

Although she was just an ordinary girl, her IQ and EQ were perfectly normal.

She had been at the banquet Yesterday and had seen Wang Junjin’s wife, An Yiqing.

However, at the family banquet Wang Junjin hosted today, the hostess had been someone else entirely.

Jiang Ruan naturally understood what their relationship implied.

Surrounded by several sales associates, the two women soon arrived at the menswear section.

The area was filled with ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, leather goods, and ties—a dazzling and expensive array.

Jiang Ruan’s gaze swept across the section until she saw the display of belts and subconsciously walked toward it.

"Miss Jiang, this is a belt made of matte Mississippi alligator leather. It’s 38 millimeters wide, and the style is perfect for a young and successful man like Chairman Gu."

Seeing Jiang Ruan’s eyes fall on the belt, Niu Lin immediately took the initiative to introduce it.

Jiang Ruan looked at the alligator belt in the display case, and an image of Gu Heng in a dress shirt and suit trousers subconsciously formed in her mind, picturing him wearing it.

The feeling was hard for Jiang Ruan to describe. It was as if she were picking out a gift for her boyfriend or husband, and she had no idea why she had walked straight over to the belts.

’Could it be because of the special meaning behind gifting a belt?’

Jiang Ruan felt an inexplicable sense of panic in her heart.

’This is just a job!’

’I’m just completing the task Gu Heng gave me!’

Jiang Ruan felt her heart threatening to spin out of control. She quickly tried to hypnotize herself back to a state of calm.

"How much is this belt?"

Jiang Ruan let out a soft breath and asked Niu Lin.

"Fifty-four thousand yuan."

Niu Lin answered truthfully.

"I’ll take one."

Jiang Ruan was inwardly stunned by the price but decided to take the belt anyway.

Afterward, she picked out two more belts for Gu Heng with the signature Hermes logo buckles.

One gold and one silver, each starting at twenty thousand yuan.

After she finished with the belts, Jiang Ruan moved on to the tie section.

"Miss Jiang, are you Chairman Gu’s secretary or his assistant?"

Just as Jiang Ruan was carefully feeling the material of each tie, Wang Wan Ning, who had just gone to the ready-to-wear section to pick out her own tie-in purchases, appeared beside her.

"Assistant."

Jiang Ruan’s movements faltered slightly.

"Since you’re his assistant, you must know Chairman Gu quite well, Miss Jiang?"

Wang Wan Ning asked again.

"Reasonably well."

Jiang Ruan replied in a low voice again.

"Then may I ask, Miss Jiang, does Chairman Gu have a girlfriend right now?"

This time, Jiang Ruan turned her head.

Facing Wang Wan Ning’s piercing gaze, she nodded lightly. "He does."

"As expected."

Wang Wan Ning smiled, her expression unchanged.

Hearing that response, Jiang Ruan turned back to the ties. But after just ten or so seconds, she turned to look at Wang Wan Ning again and couldn’t help but ask, "You seem a little interested in him."

"NONONO!"

"Not a little interested. I’m *very* interested."

Wang Wan Ning broke into a smile. "Is there any girl who wouldn’t be interested in a man with Chairman Gu’s qualifications?"

Jiang Ruan pressed her pink lips together. "So now that you know he has a girlfriend, are you still interested in him?"

"Of course, I’m still very interested!"

Wang Wan Ning answered without a second thought, seeming remarkably frank and direct.

"But... he already has a girlfriend..."

Jiang Ruan was stunned and repeated the fact once more.

"So what if he has a girlfriend?"

"She’s just a girlfriend. It’s not like he’s married."

Wang Wan Ning gave Jiang Ruan a puzzled look, her tone light and cheerful. "Besides, it’s completely normal for exceptionally outstanding and successful men to have many women around them."

"Miss Wang, I don’t quite understand your philosophy."

Jiang Ruan truly didn’t understand. In fact, she couldn’t comprehend it at all.

Although Wang Wan Ning was an illegitimate daughter, she enjoyed the life of a true heiress.

She had a multi-million yuan supercar right after turning eighteen and could get a limited-edition Hermes bag worth hundreds of thousands just by acting cute. Her life was one of affluence and bright prospects.

It was a life an ordinary girl could only dream of. Wang Wan Ning could easily find a boy who would dote on her and love only her.

But from what Jiang Ruan had just heard, it seemed that even knowing Gu Heng had a girlfriend—and possibly many other women—Wang Wan Ning was still intensely interested in him.

"Miss Jiang, have you ever watched Animal Planet?"

Facing Jiang Ruan’s extremely puzzled expression, Wang Wan Ning couldn’t help but smile. As she casually picked out ties, she continued, "On the African Savannah, a pride of lions has only one Lion King. All the other lionesses are his concubines."

"Even though those lionesses have to share one male lion, when have you ever seen a lioness go hungry? When have you ever seen a lioness get bullied?"

"Across the entire African Savannah, the lionesses who are with the Lion King are always at the top of the food chain, holding a lofty status."

"And what about female dogs?"

"They can only follow wild dogs, starving one meal and full the next, living every day in a dangerous environment. At any moment, they could become prey for other predators, always stuck at the bottom of the food chain."

At this point, Wang Wan Ning paused.

"Oh..."

"And wild dogs... they usually don’t have much ability, but they have plenty of desire."

"When they go into heat, they’ll still find other female dogs to satisfy their urges."

Though she spoke of animals, her words were entirely about people.

Wang Wan Ning picked two ties she liked from the rack, casually handed them to a nearby sales associate, and turned back to Jiang Ruan, her smile bright and brilliant. "So, Miss Jiang, hearing it like that, doesn’t being a lioness sound better?"

Jiang Ruan stared at Wang Wan Ning. Even though the other girl was much younger than her, at that moment she felt completely crushed by her way of thinking. It was a state of mind that was utterly pragmatic.

It was clear from Wang Wan Ning’s words and attitude that she knew exactly what she wanted and would immediately take action to actively pursue it.

Although Jiang Ruan was nominally Gu Heng’s assistant, she didn’t believe that a girl as smart as Wang Wan Ning couldn’t see the true nature of her relationship with Gu Heng.

Wang Wan Ning clearly knew, yet she didn’t shy away. Instead, she had taken the initiative to approach her and talk, acting as if she didn’t care at all whether Gu Heng had a woman—or several women—by his side.

For Jiang Ruan, who had been raised in a traditional family with the belief of "one life, one love, one couple," such an attitude was a huge shock.

Just as Jiang Ruan was lost in a daze, a sales associate hurried out of the VIP room and quickly walked up to her.

"Miss Jiang, Chairman Gu just made a few more purchases in the VIP room. Your new total for tie-in purchases is 2.43 million. Chairman Gu said that you are still to handle selecting all 2.43 million yuan worth of items."

The sales associate bowed slightly and spoke respectfully to Jiang Ruan.

’2.43 million in tie-in purchases?’

When the sales associate announced the total, even Wang Wan Ning was stunned for a moment.

’Just the tie-in purchases alone were 2.43 million. How much more did Gu Heng spend in there?’

The question merely passed through Wang Wan Ning’s mind before she dismissed it. She had already become somewhat immune to the extent of Gu Heng’s lavish spending.

She was more concerned about who Gu Heng would be giving all those new limited-edition Hermes bags to.

Jiang Ruan was much the same; the same question was lingering in her mind.

"Alright."

Jiang Ruan replied in a low voice.

Unconsciously, it seemed she was gradually coming to accept the established fact that Gu Heng had many women, and the resistance in her heart didn’t feel as strong anymore.

"It’ll be pretty hard to hit 2.43 million with just menswear, Miss Jiang," Wang Wan Ning offered. "Would you like some advice?"

"Please do."

After a slight hesitation, Jiang Ruan decided to accept Wang Wan Ning’s help.

She knew that Gu Heng, Wang Yan, and the others had other plans and would probably leave after resting in the VIP room for a little while longer, so she didn’t have much time to waste.

Besides, a top-tier global luxury brand like Hermes was a complete blind spot for her. She didn’t understand its tie-in purchase rules or the value of its various items.

If it had been 350,000, she could have muddled through and picked a few things.

But when the amount rose to 2.43 million, she felt overwhelmed.

When Wang Wan Ning saw Jiang Ruan accept her help, a hint of a smile flickered in her bright, lively eyes.

"The unwritten rule for Hermes tie-in purchases has always been: buy small, not big; if it’s leather, you must buy it."

"We can prioritize Hermes’s small leather goods, like belts, wallets, and messenger bags. They usually hold their value well and are very practical."

"Next are the Hermes silk scarves and shawls. They are widely popular and are very suitable for Chairman Gu to give as small gifts to female friends of different ages in his daily life."

"Finally, there are the accessories and home goods. Things like the Hermes H-logo necklaces and bracelets are very popular. They also work as gifts and are suitable for both men and women. As for the home goods, the quality is excellent, so they’re great to keep for personal use or to give away..."

On this topic, Wang Wan Ning spoke with fluent ease, quickly pointing Jiang Ruan in the right direction.

Afterward, she accompanied Jiang Ruan on a shopping spree, snapping up one worthwhile item after another. In just over twenty minutes, they had completed the 2.43 million yuan worth of tie-in purchases...

PS: Daddies, I’m back!