BZZZT—
BZZZT—
BZZZT—
「The next morning.」
A groggy Tang Wan was woken up by the incessant buzzing of her phone.
She picked it up and saw it was a video call from Zhang Weidong, so she casually answered.
"What is it...?" Tang Wan was still half-asleep, not fully awake.
"Where are you? I’ve been calling you all night, and you didn’t pick up!"
Tang Wan rubbed her temples. She had drunk too much last night, and her head was still throbbing. She wasn’t thinking clearly.
"At home, of course. Where else would I be?"
"Tang Wan! You say you’re at home? Do you take me for an idiot?!"
"If I’m not at home, where else could I—..."
Just as she said that, Tang Wan realized something was wrong!
’This isn’t my bed!’
She shot her head up and looked around at her surroundings. This wasn’t her home!
’It’s a hotel!’
’How did I end up here?!’
Shooting up like a spring, Tang Wan was instantly wide awake, her mind racing to recall what happened last night...
’Last night, I had dinner with President Lin and President Fang.’
’To thank President Lin for the opportunity, I drank a lot. When we left, I got into President Lin’s car. After that, I don’t remember anything.’
She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a hotel-provided pajama set.
’Who changed me?’
’Could it be... after I got drunk, President Lin brought me to a hotel and then... he...’
Tang Wan’s expression went blank. ’Could his offer to promote me have been a lie, and his real goal was to...’
’What is all this nonsense...’
Tang Wan tapped her own head.
’Considering President Lin’s looks and wealth, he would never have to resort to something like this. Every woman around him is just as good as me, if not better. He wouldn’t pull a stunt like this on me.’
’He probably just saw that I was drunk and brought me to a hotel.’
’As for the clothes, that was probably Fang Jie’s doing.’
"Tang Wan! I’m talking to you!" Zhang Weidong’s voice grew louder, turning into a roar.
"Lower your voice, I can hear you!"
Tang Wan was getting impatient. Her anger from last night was still simmering.
"You said you were at home! How do you explain this to me?!"
"I blacked out last night. I thought they took me home, but I guess they brought me to a hotel instead."
"Are you taking me for a fool?! Do you really think I don’t know anything?!"
Tang Wan knew what Zhang Weidong was thinking.
In a situation like this, it was normal for him to misunderstand.
"We’ve been together for over a year. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? I would never do something like that. You’re overthinking it."
"But your current state is very suspicious!"
"What state?!" Tang Wan raised her voice. "The people at dinner last night included President Fang! Not only did he offer me the female lead role, he even wrote a song for me! What’s wrong with having a few extra drinks to thank them?!"
"You should remember your place! You’re a teacher! You’re my girlfriend! Did I give you permission to go drinking with other men?!"
"I’ll do whatever I want! Why should I have to listen to you?!"
Tang Wan’s voice rose. "Let me tell you something, Zhang Weidong. It’s true I’m a teacher, but I’ll do what I want! It has nothing to do with you!"
In a fit of anger, Tang Wan hung up the video call.
She was fuming, with no way to vent her anger.
...
「Xingcheng Bay Phase II, Huipin City.」
Promotional banners blanketed the entrance of Huipin City.
All of them revolved around a single theme: sales!
However, words like ’Grand Opening’ were nowhere to be found on these banners.
Adding them would be an admission that they had been defeated by Berkeley before.
This event was framed as a discount promotion, unrelated to a reopening.
Thanks to advance hype, a hefty budget for online ads, and buying a lot of traffic, a large crowd flooded into Huipin City after it opened.
However, foot traffic at Berkeley hadn’t decreased by much.
A fan effect had already taken hold. They were both just supermarkets, so even with a sale, the prices wouldn’t be drastically different. People who were used to shopping at Berkeley still chose to go there. The only difference was that the checkout lines weren’t as ridiculously long as usual.
"I have to say, their stuff is really cheap. It seems a little cheaper than Berkeley, even."
A few price-sensitive, middle-aged women noticed the price difference after just a quick comparison.
"But it’s only cheaper by a few cents. It’s not a huge difference."
"A few cents is still money. It’s so hard to make a living these days. Every penny saved is a penny earned."
"That’s true, but look at the quality of these vegetables and fruits. They seem a little worse than Berkeley’s."
"Well, it’s cheaper, so that’s to be expected. I just wonder what their after-sales service is like."
"I doubt it can compare to Berkeley. A few days ago, I bought a watermelon, got it home, and it didn’t taste good. I made one phone call, and they gave me a refund."
"In terms of service, I don’t think they can match Berkeley. But anyway, the stuff here is cheap, so I’m buying it."
Meanwhile, Han Shengqun, Han Guangqi, and other executives from the group were all standing at the entrance of Huipin City.
Right at that moment, two Coaster buses pulled up in front of them.
About a dozen people in business jackets got out of the vehicles one after another, and Han Shengqun was the first to step forward and greet them.
"Distinguished leaders, welcome to Huipin City for your inspection."
"As a local enterprise, you must uphold the image of a local brand and set a good example."
"You are absolutely right, sir. This has long been the guiding principle of our Huipin Group..."

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