Chapter 199 - 179: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

The more Xia Jie listened, the more confused she became. What Manager Yang was saying sounded like a movie script, but this was real life.

"To be the supervisor for NLB."

"You—" Xia Jie was so furious she was on the verge of tears. Just a moment ago, she’d thought he was a good person, but after all that, he was just making fun of her again. She had finally gotten out of Futong Commerce; how could she possibly go back to being a supervisor? Besides, even if she wanted to, the company wouldn’t agree. He himself had just said Zhang Li was now in charge of NLB, and now he was saying this? He was infuriating.

Xia Jie was upset and didn’t even want to speak. She lowered her head, looking utterly dejected. ’Rubbing salt in the wound at a time like this... he’s just awful.’

"What’s wrong? Why the long face again?" Yang Hui asked, taking a sip of his fruit juice.

"Please don’t joke about this. I was just starting to feel better, and now you’re bringing it up again. How could I possibly go back to Futong Commerce?"

She pouted, her voice full of grievance, which made Yang Hui laugh again. He realized he had a bit of a mischievous side. ’Alright, I’ll stop teasing her,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, she’s really going to start crying.’

Just then, the waiter brought over his steak dinner. Yang Hui said to Xia Jie, "Cut this for me, and I’ll tell you what’s going on."

"I don’t want to know what’s going on. You’re just picking on me."

She looked as if she’d been horribly wronged, but she still picked up the steak knife to help him. "This is my first time eating this, so I’m not very good at cutting it. Please don’t judge me."

He shook his head. "Be careful. If you cut it poorly, it’ll ruin the texture for me. I know how to cut it myself, but it’s a hassle and I can’t be bothered."

Xia Jie silently cut the steak, no longer responding to him. ’Is he even human? Does he act like one?’

As she cut the steak, she glanced at Yang Hui out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was on his phone, messaging someone.

’I don’t get how he’s so busy all the time. He can’t even get through a meal without work popping up. I heard Zhu Jing does all his work for him at the office; I’ve never heard anything about him being this busy. Is he busy texting some girl? Yes, that must be it. He’s a total player.’

She didn’t notice that she was now cutting the steak with much more force, as if venting her frustration. It was like she wasn’t just cutting a steak, but carving out a certain someone’s philandering heart.

After sending his message, Yang Hui looked at the neatly cut steak in front of him and nodded in satisfaction. "You have a knack for this. From now on, whenever we eat together, this will be your job."

Xia Jie suddenly felt this man was even more infuriating than Li Yang. Li Yang was the type to make you work without wanting to pay. With this man, the more capable you were, the more unending work you’d have.

"What I was talking about before—it’s all been arranged. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be in charge of NLB."

Xia Jie stared at him, her eyes wide. If the questions swirling in her head could be visualized, there would be at least a hundred thousand question marks floating above it.

’Why is he bringing this up again? How could I possibly be in charge of NLB? How could he arrange that?’

He decided to stop teasing her. At this rate, they wouldn’t even be able to finish their meal. "Yanghe Commerce’s HR will contact you this afternoon. Tomorrow, you’ll start your new job at Yanghe Commerce. Your grade will be P10, with a base salary of 18,000 a month. HR will fill you in on the other benefits. I’m not going to list them all; it’s too much effort."

The silver knife froze between Xia Jie’s fingers. Bloody juices from the medium-well steak seeped out, staining the bone china plate. Yang Hui wiped the corner of his mouth with an elegant, unhurried motion, as if his mention of "a job with an 18,000 monthly salary" was as casual as discussing the weather.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened until they were perfectly round, the reflection of the crystal chandelier shattering into a swirl of bright specks within them. "You’re... you’re kidding me again."

’How could he arrange for me to work at Yanghe Commerce? If it’s true, forget a monthly salary of 18,000; I’d be willing to go for 8,000 or even less! But how could an operations manager from Futong Commerce possibly arrange things at Yanghe Commerce?

Ugh, how could I be so naive? He’s just messing with me. He’s been messing with me ever since I got in the car.’

Her right hand unconsciously tightened its grip on her fork, jabbing at the asparagus on her plate until it was a complete mess.

Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen—it was an unknown number. Just as she was about to decline the call, Yang Hui said nonchalantly from beside her, "You should probably get that."

He knew that HR would act on his arrangements immediately. He didn’t need to see the number to guess it was them calling Xia Jie.

She hesitantly picked up her phone and answered. It seemed she was incapable of resisting his words; whatever he said, she did. Her only act of defiance had been shouting "stop" during that final moment at Yuzu Xuan—a rebellion that had taken all the courage she could muster.

"Hello, is this Ms. Xia Jie? I’m with HR at Yanghe Commerce..."

The knife and fork in Xia Jie’s left hand fell to the tiled floor with a CLATTER, bouncing once, but she was completely oblivious. It wasn’t until the person on the other end of the line called her name several times that she snapped out of it. She gave Yang Hui a deep, searching look before speaking into the phone, "Hello, this is Xia Jie."

The HR representative from Yanghe Commerce was calling about one thing: a manager had recommended Xia Jie to the company, and they wanted to confirm if she could start work tomorrow. If she could, they would send over the official offer letter today for her to accept.

Of course she could confirm. Her departure from Futong Commerce hadn’t been a normal resignation; HR knew Li Yang had forced her out, so they hadn’t dared to make her stay a single day longer. Handing over her duties wasn’t an issue, either. She had only just taken over management of the stores and hadn’t even had a chance to visit the branches in the other prefecture-level cities. She hadn’t even met all the store managers and staff yet, so there was naturally very little to hand over to Zhang Li.

After ending the call with HR from Yanghe Commerce, she still felt like she was in a dream. Yang Hui had congratulated her on a new beginning, and what was this if not exactly that?

She had long since grown tired of Futong Commerce’s management style, only staying on because she needed the job to make a living. Now, after being forced out, she was unexpectedly going to Yanghe Commerce. Ever since the store clerk, Xiaotang, had told her about its corporate culture, she had been dying to work there, even if she didn’t fully understand the business. On top of that, the salary was so high—18,000 a month, plus bonuses and great benefits. It was far more than what her previous boss, Zhang Li, was paid.