This situation definitely ranked among the top three of "the most embarrassing moments in Jian Yan's life".

  He Xiu sat opposite her and looked at her, frowning slightly, as if waiting for her answer.

  Jian Yan's mood at this moment was like being picked by the teacher to answer a math problem she couldn't solve. She felt both embarrassed and awkward.

  "Well, it's like this..." She coughed twice involuntarily, lowered her head and avoided looking at him. "I heard from others that the clothes Mr. Tang Zheng bought for his girlfriend last time were given to you."

  He Xiu: "..."

  "And last time..." Jian Yan raised her hand and nervously brushed the hair on her forehead. "When Lin Zhen and I met you in the restaurant, didn't he order the piece 'Salut d'Amour' to confess his love to you?"

  He Xiu: "…………"

  Tang Zheng was really something. It was bad enough that he had tricked him when they were at school, and now even in society, he could still find new ways to play tricks on him.

  "Now the whole sales floor is gossiping about it..."

  He Xiu's eyebrows twitched. "Is it about the Dream Wardrobe?"

  "Yeah..." Jian Yan was now worried whether they would have their salaries deducted.

  "Okay, I see." He Xiu gave her a smile.

  Jian Yan: "..."

  "Well..."

  "I definitely don't like men." Before Jian Yan could finish her sentence, He Xiu interrupted her again. "I was just keeping that coat for Tang Zheng's future girlfriend temporarily. And that piece 'Salut d'Amour' was ordered by him to hit on the girl playing the violin."

  "Oh, I see..." Jian Yan nodded, half-believing, and then closed her mouth, not saying anything more.

  The air was so quiet that it was a bit scary. She ate the last Shrimp and Chive Dumpling, and finally heard He Xiu say, "Please tell Huihui that I'll be going to the Dream Wardrobe for a short meeting at 6:30."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  Okay.

  When she got back to the sales floor, she told the team leader this dreadful news. The team leader asked her what kind of meeting Manager He was going to have, but she just shook her head and said she didn't know.

  At 6:30 pm, all the employees of Starlight Department Store had finished their dinners.

  Manager He arrived as promised.

  Since the sales floor couldn't be without sales assistants, He Xiu got straight to the point and kept it brief. "I heard that recently someone on the sales floor has been spreading rumors about me, rumors related to Tang Zheng and me."

  ……

  The employees all knew exactly which matter he was referring to, but at this moment, they all, without prior agreement, acted very innocent and ignorant. Seeing them looking at each other in bewilderment, He Xiu curved his lips into a smile. "I won't pursue who started spreading this rumor. However, in the future, if anyone spreads rumors about me again, their salaries and bonuses will be deducted."

  "……Understood, Manager He!"

  He Xiu nodded in satisfaction. "Then you can continue with your work. Remember to inform the colleagues who weren't here."

  "Okay, Manager He!"

  After He Xiu left, the female colleague who had first told Jian Yan the "gossip" about He Xiu and Tang Zheng let out a sigh of relief, then leaned over to Jian Yan and asked her, "Do you think Manager He and Tang Zheng have broken up?"

  Jian Yan: "…………"

  In short, they were determined to pair the two of them up no matter what. She understood that.

  "By the way, do you all have Manager He's phone number?" Jian Yan suddenly remembered this and asked.

  The female colleague said, "Yeah, it's written on his business card. Do you want it? I have several here."

  "No, thank you." Jian Yan didn't take He Xiu's business card, so she didn't notice that the phone number printed on He Xiu's business card was different from the one he had given her.

  After He Xiu returned to his office, he took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Tang Zheng: "Our friendship has come to an end. Goodbye, my friend. :)"

  When Tang Zheng received this message, he was completely confused: "why??"

  "Your message has been sent, but the recipient has rejected it."

  ……

  Tang Zheng was extremely confused.

  He had actually been blocked? How had he offended this master recently??

  He directly called He Xiu. Fortunately, he could still get through to He Xiu's phone. "What the hell are you doing?"

  He Xiu said, "Oh, I haven't blocked your phone number yet. Thanks for the reminder."

  Tang Zheng: "……"

  "Are you on your period today?" he asked.

  Without saying a word, He Xiu hung up the phone.

  Tang Zheng quickly dialed a second call. As soon as He Xiu picked up, he said, "The way you hung up the phone is exactly the same as my ex-girlfriend's."

  He Xiu curved his lips into a smile. "What did you say?"

  Tang Zheng: "……"

  Even through the phone, he could feel the intense chill.

  "Master He, how on earth have I offended you?" Tang Zheng immediately backed down.

  He Xiu said, "Your very existence offends me."

  Tang Zheng: "……"

  Fine, then I'll disappear quickly. Tang Zheng hung up the phone tactfully.

  He thought that He Xiu must be on his period.

  When He Xiu led the supervisors of each floor to patrol the sales floor in the evening, the employees of the Dream Wardrobe stood extremely straight. They all held their breath until He Xiu walked away before they relaxed.

  After getting off work, the team leader distributed brochures and invitation tickets for the internal discount event to them. The golden brochures were quite nicely designed.

  "Saturday is the day after tomorrow. Everyone may be very busy, so be prepared mentally. Also, two small Christmas trees may be delivered tomorrow. Everyone needs to decorate them before the discount event starts."

  "Understood."

  "Then let's get off work. It's getting late. Everyone be careful on the way home."

  Jian Yan gave a female colleague a ride home on her way. It was already 11 o'clock when she got home. She took a shower and then lay on the bed looking through the brochure of the discount event.

  The annual discount event had a great promotion intensity, and the entire Starlight Department Store was participating. She was considering whether to buy something for herself when Lin Zhen's call came in. "What are you doing? Have you gone to bed?"

  "……" Jian Yan felt as if she was being checked on by a teacher during her college days. "Not yet. I'm looking at the brochure of the Starlight Department Store's discount event."

  "Oh, it's that time of the discount event again. Which store and when?"

  "Just the main store. This Saturday. I checked, and Yu's Dessert House also has a discount. If you buy three kinds of desserts, you'll get a 12% discount!"

  "That's good. Is it any three kinds from all the stores?"

  "Yes, but it will definitely be hard to get them. You can't even buy them if you go late when there's no discount." Jian Yan was thinking about whether to find some time to buy something herself.

  "Hahaha, I can queue up early in the morning!" After saying this, Lin Zhen suddenly realized that they had strayed from the topic. "I didn't call to talk to you about this. The publishing contract for the hardcover collector's edition of 'Shang Ke' has been prepared. I've sent it to your email. You can read it tomorrow, print it out, and send it back. For the remaining specific matters, you can communicate with your editor."

  "Okay."

  "Then I'll go to bed. You go to bed early too!"

  As soon as Lin Zhen finished speaking, she hung up the phone. Jian Yan was taken aback for a moment and thought, had she forgotten to tell Lin Zhen that Manager He and Tang Zheng weren't actually gay?

  ……Forget it. She would tell her next time there was an opportunity.

  The next day, she was working the late shift. In the morning, she communicated with the editor of "Shang Ke" about the matters regarding the collector's edition. Then she started to conceive the new large posters and daily sketches she needed to draw.

  Creating these kind of daily short sketches actually required a great deal of energy. After organizing a few of them, Jian Yan decided to draw for a while to change her train of thought.

  She had already colored half of the Christmas-themed drawing. She should be able to finish it before Christmas. Realizing that she seemed to haven't posted on Weibo for a long time, she took a screenshot of part of the drawing and uploaded it to Weibo.

  Tangzhi v: Three-quarters of the Christmas-themed drawing has been completed. So happy [Haha]

  The fans who saw this Weibo post quickly left their comments below.

  "So beautiful! Teacher Tangzhi, remember to take a rest!"

  "The teacher is truly a workaholic [Hehe]"

  "Nan Si, hurry up! Teacher Tangzhi has posted on Weibo again. Come and give it a like!"

  "Hahahaha, stop it, the one above [Laughing emoji]"

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  "Husband Nan Si! It's time to update your Weibo!"

  Jian Yan: "……"

  She logged into QQ and checked. Nan Si's avatar was gray, indicating that he probably wasn't online.

  Tangzhi: Big Nan Si, your little fans are urging you to update your Weibo [Giggling]

  She sent this message and then turned off the computer and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. When she went to work in the afternoon, the staff delivered the Christmas trees. The team leader asked them to put the Christmas trees inside first and decorate them after getting off work in the evening.

  "Ah, we have to work overtime again..." A colleague muttered softly. While moving the Christmas tree, Jian Yan comforted her, "It's the end of the year. Everyone is busy. Think about the year-end bonus. Does it make you feel better?"

  The colleague nodded. "Yeah, thinking about it that way really makes me feel much better!"

  Jian Yan said, "So, what can relieve our worries? Only getting rich overnight."

  This was really a profound truth.

  "Hahaha." The colleague laughed when she heard this. The team leader turned to look at them and said, "What are you chatting about? Don't be lazy. There's still a lot to do."

  Jian Yan and the colleague looked at each other, then quickly and nimbly moved the Christmas tree to the break room and placed it properly.

  After getting off work in the evening, several of them stayed behind. Some decorated the Christmas tree, and some arranged the sales floor for the discount event the next day. Jian Yan quite liked doing this kind of manual work and was actually enjoying it.

  "Jian Yan, what's the discount for these shoes?" A colleague who was sticking the discount labels asked her.

  Jian Yan said, "These are from biubiu, with a 20% discount. The pair next to them is from b&r, with a 40% discount. These two pairs of shoes look quite similar, so be careful."

  "They look too similar. Who copied whom?"

  Jian Yan smiled and said, "In the design field, this kind of mutual reference is inevitable, especially for these knee-high boots. The styles are relatively simple anyway."

  The colleague pursed her lips. "You can tell them apart at a glance."

  "If you look closely, there's still a difference in the leather. And the heels of biubiu's shoes are a few millimeters higher."

  Colleague: "……"

  You can even tell the difference of a few millimeters? Are you the Monkey King...?

  "Aren't you off work yet?" He Xiu's voice suddenly sounded in the empty mall, and several employees were taken aback.

  "Manager He." The employees all stopped what they were doing and stood up to greet him.

  He Xiu nodded at them and said, "Carry on with your work. Don't mind me."

  Hearing what he said, they really ignored him. They all wanted to finish the arrangement as soon as possible and get off work. He Xiu looked around the Dream Wardrobe and walked up to Jian Yan. "Do you need any help?"

  Jian Yan quickly said, "No, no. I'll finish it soon."

  He Xiu smiled, squatted down, and helped her decorate the Christmas tree. "How about putting this star here?"

  "I think it would look better with a snowman."

  "This one?" He Xiu picked up a snowman, placed it there, and compared it. "It does seem nice."

  Seeing this, the other colleagues also called out to Manager He one after another: "Manager He, Manager He, look at this sweater. Which scarf would go better with it?"

  "Manager He! Do you think this dress would go better with this fur coat or this overcoat?"

  "Manager He..."

  Manager He smiled at them. "Do you think I hired you to do what?"

  ……

  The chattering female colleagues finally became quiet again.

  A colleague whispered a complaint, "I should have gone to decorate the Christmas tree too..."

  Jian Yan couldn't help but laugh softly. "How about you come to decorate the Christmas tree, and I'll dress the mannequin?"

  The colleague blinked her eyes excitedly, then turned back and said, "No, Manager He... You can keep the Christmas tree decoration."

  He Xiu picked up the little star again and placed it on the Christmas tree. "How about here?"

  Jian Yan looked at it and nodded. "Yeah, it's great."

  A group of them were busy until almost 11 o'clock, and finally, they finished arranging the sales floor. He Xiu tidied up his coat and asked, "It's so late. How are you going to get home?"

  "Qingqing and I live nearby. We'll go home together."

  "Sister Huihui will give me a ride home."

  "I rode my scooter here..."

  He Xiu looked at Jian Yan. "How about you? How are you going home?"

  Jian Yan said, "I drove here. It's okay."

  He Xiu thought for a moment and said to them, "Well, those who live far away and are alone can take my car home. It's not safe for you to be alone at this late hour."

  The female colleagues almost jumped for joy on the spot. "Aww! Manager He, you're so gentle~~!"

  Jian Yan: "……"

  Were these really the same colleagues she had known during the day? Why did they seem like completely different people at night, even daring to flirt with the manager?

  After confirming which female colleagues he would send home, He Xiu looked at Jian Yan again. "Then drive carefully by yourself. Send me a message when you get home."

  "Okay."

  "Manager He, should we send you a message when we get home too~~"

  "You can send it to Huihui."

  "……"

  No matter what, we're going to send it to you!

  That night, He Xiu received several text messages from female employees reporting that they were safe on his work phone, which made him both amused and helpless. After a while, he also received a message on his personal phone.

  Jian Yan: Manager He, I've already arrived home. I took a shower first just now, so I'm sending you the message now. Sorry about that.

  He Xiu raised his lips and smiled, then replied to her, "It doesn't matter. As long as you're home safely. You still have to go to work tomorrow. Go to bed early. Good night."

  Jian Yan: Good night ^_^

  Although Jian Yan said good night to him, she didn't go to bed obediently. She logged into QQ again, wanting to see if Nan Si had replied to her message.

  There really was a reply.

  Nan Si: Sorry, my fans have all gone to your Weibo to urge me [Sweating emoji]

  This message was sent to her at around 9 pm. Jian Yan thought for a moment and replied, "It's okay. It would be more practical for you to post a Weibo [Giggling]"

  The message notification sound of QQ rang. He Xiu picked up his phone and saw that it was from Tangzhi. His eyebrows lifted. Didn't she say good night? Was she secretly playing with her phone?

  The innocent Jian Yan had no idea that she had been caught red-handed.

  Nan Si: Teacher, why aren't you going to bed so late?

  Tangzhi: Uh, I was just about to go to bed...

  Nan Si: Then good night, teacher ^_^

  Tangzhi: ……Yeah, good night

  She thought that Nan Si must have wanted to go to bed.

  Thinking that the discount event tomorrow would definitely be very busy, Jian Yan turned off the light and finally lay down.

  On Saturday, she arrived at the store ten minutes earlier than usual. All the sales floors were nervously making the final preparations before opening.

  "At the internal discount event at the new store last week, I heard it was extremely crowded. There haven't been so many people since it opened!"

  Jian Yan had also heard about this. While tidying up the clothes on the mannequin, she said, "Fortunately, I brought twice as much food as usual for lunch."

  Colleague: "……"

  Is that the point?

  "By the way, it seems that models have been invited to do a fashion show today. I saw them setting up yesterday." Another colleague joined their conversation. Jian Yan looked at her in surprise. "Where are they having the fashion show? Is there a catwalk?"

  "Catwalk? The mall is a place where every inch of land is precious. They just laid a carpet in the corridor in front of their specialty store."

  Jian Yan said, "Isn't there another brand next to that corridor? Don't they have any objections?"

  "I don't know. It will definitely have an impact. They must have communicated with each other."

  The team leader walked over quickly and said to them, "Stop chatting. There are still ten minutes before the store opens, and there are already customers queuing outside."

  Colleague A quietly pursed her lips. "Every time there's a discount event, it's so crazy that I think the whole mall is giving things away for free."

  Jian Yan smiled. Actually, if she wasn't working, she would also want to come and buy things. Some of the vegetables and meat in the supermarket were really cheap.

  As the store opening time approached, the supervisors of