’A pickup truck... the owner? Boss Wu?’
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao, who was as excited as a fan meeting her idol, left Li Yueling a little baffled.
She just couldn’t connect a pickup truck with the head of a company.
’Aren’t bosses supposed to drive BMWs, Benzes, or Audis? Who ever heard of one driving a pickup truck?’
’And... it couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it?’
Earlier, when she was downstairs, she’d seen Dong Lizhu and Wu Jun arrive in a pickup.
Dong Lizhu had introduced her nephew as Wu something-or-other. She’d already forgotten the given name, only remembering that his surname was Wu.
"Xiaoxiao, your... your Boss Wu, how old is he? What’s his name?" Li Yueling asked her niece, her expression tense as she sought confirmation.
"Our Boss Wu is very young," Li Xiaoxiao said, her eyes sparkling as she spoke of her boss. "He’s tall, handsome, and super easy to get along with. He’s practically the perfect man—the textbook definition of tall, rich, and handsome!"
Li Yueling was taken aback. Her niece had never shown any interest in finding a boyfriend, but now she was acting like a giddy, star-struck fangirl just talking about her boss.
"You still haven’t told me his name." Hearing Li Xiaoxiao describe him as tall and handsome, the image of Wu Jun popped into Li Yueling’s head. He fit both descriptions. She pressed her niece again for confirmation.
"Mm, our Boss Wu’s name is as handsome as he is. Wu Jun. Doesn’t it have a certain flair?" Li Xiaoxiao said, as if showing him off.
Wu Jun...
"Oh my god! It really is him!" Li Yueling slapped her forehead, a look of utter regret on her face.
The moment she heard the name, she instantly recalled Dong Lizhu’s introduction from earlier. Her nephew’s name *was* Wu Jun!
"What’s wrong, Auntie?" Li Xiaoxiao was completely bewildered by her aunt’s dramatic reaction.
"Acr-... acr- across the hall," Li Yueling stammered, pointing at the door with a dumbfounded expression. "Your Boss Wu just went across the hall."
"No way, it can’t be that much of a coincidence!" Li Xiaoxiao grabbed Li Yueling’s hand excitedly. "Auntie, you’re neighbors with our Boss Wu?"
"Not exactly. The person living across the hall is your Boss Wu’s aunt," Li Yueling said dejectedly, feeling as though she had ruined a golden opportunity for her niece.
"Boss Wu’s aunt?" Li Xiaoxiao’s excitement flared again. "Auntie, you’re neighbors with our Director Dong?"
"Huh?" This time, Li Yueling was completely stunned. "D-Dong Lizhu? Wasn’t she just laid off? When did she become ’Director Dong’?"
Li Xiaoxiao nodded. "Then it must be her. Our Director Dong’s name is Dong Lizhu."
Li Yueling was speechless.
’Things change so fast these days. Am I falling behind the times, or are others just moving too quickly?’
’Six months ago, he was just a small supermarket owner. Now he’s the boss of a company with tens of millions in assets and dozens of employees.’
’A woman who was unemployed and laid off just over a month ago now has an executive title.’
’The regret!’
’Why didn’t I let Xiaoxiao meet Dong Lizhu’s nephew back then?’
’If she had snatched him up before he made it big, I’d be his aunt-in-law by now.’
’With a business that big, even a little bit of his fortune trickling down to our family would have us living ten, even a hundred times better than we are now!’
"What are you two talking about?" Zheng Jingshan asked. He’d been listening in a complete fog, unable to understand a thing but sensing it was something major.
"Uncle," Li Xiaoxiao said, pointing to the door, "weren’t you just asking me to check with our HR manager if they’re still hiring delivery drivers? You’re neighbors with our manager—you live right across the hall! If you ask her yourself, it’ll be way more effective than me asking."
"I... live... across the hall... from your manager?" Zheng Jingshan pointed to his own chest, his face a mask of disbelief. He was so shocked he could barely speak properly.
Li Xiaoxiao said, "That’s right. Director Dong is in charge of HR and hiring. Her husband, Manager Ma, handles the business side. They’re both senior executives at our company. What they say carries a lot more weight than what I say."
"Old Zheng, this is what they mean when they say you have to see people with new eyes after a time! That couple across the hall has really hit the big time!" Li Yueling said with a look of envy. Then she looked at Li Xiaoxiao and felt an even deeper pang of guilt toward her niece.
’Because I was a snob who looked down on the poor, she missed out on such a perfect husband.’
She had already been extremely satisfied with Wu Jun’s looks. Now, his financial status also met her criteria—no, it far exceeded them.
Not long ago, Li Xiaoxiao had told her their company landed a foreign order worth over 60 million all at once. They were clearly a powerhouse.
’After that unpleasant incident six months ago, would he even give her niece the time of day now?’
"Auntie, how are your relations with Director Dong’s family?" Li Xiaoxiao asked, avoiding her aunt’s gaze and looking a little shy. "If we didn’t know, that would be one thing. But since we know they live right across the hall, wouldn’t it be rude not to go over and say hello?"
"Xiaoxiao, be honest with your aunt. Have you fallen for that Boss Wu of yours?" Li Yueling said. "If you really like him, I’ll swallow my pride and go talk to Lizhu about the two of you again."
Li Xiaoxiao was completely confused by her aunt’s words. ’Where is this even coming from?’
’What’s there between me and Boss Wu? And why would she have to swallow her pride?’
"There are ten girls in our department, and not a single one of them doesn’t have a crush on Boss Wu. And..." Li Xiaoxiao said with a crestfallen expression, "the people who like him also include a manager and an office director. They’re all so much more accomplished than I am. I... I just wanted to go over and say hello. That’s all."
"The... the gap between me and Boss Wu is just too big," Li Xiaoxiao said with a look of pure adoration. "Auntie, did you know? Our company was only founded less than a month ago. Including our support staff, we have fewer than forty employees in total. But this month’s sales have already broken the one-hundred-million-yuan mark. It was all accomplished under Boss Wu’s leadership. It’s a miracle. Boss Wu is an idol to every single employee at our company."
In her eyes, her niece was outstanding in every way, yet in front of the man she liked, she saw herself as an ugly duckling, feeling as small as a speck of dust. Li Yueling’s heart ached for her.
’I’ll have to find some time to ask Lizhu again if there’s any chance for those two. Even if it’s a one-in-a-thousand chance, it’s still worth asking. It’s not like asking will kill me.’
"Should we take something over and pay them a visit?" Zheng Jingshan was still thinking about the job. He’d heard from Li Xiaoxiao that her company offered good benefits—the pay was higher than the industry average, and they provided full social insurance and a housing fund. Such a good job wasn’t easy to find in today’s increasingly competitive market.
Besides, the person in charge of hiring was his neighbor of many years. While they weren’t exactly close, they had gotten along for years without a single argument. The probability of him getting the job seemed quite high.
"Let’s go over and ask," Li Yueling said. "Lizhu isn’t a petty person. She probably won’t make things difficult for us over such a small matter."
"What matter?" Zheng Jingshan and Li Xiaoxiao asked in unison, both puzzled.
"It’s nothing, nothing. I’ll go grab a few things. You two wait for me," Li Yueling said. She was too embarrassed to tell them what had happened six months ago. The family across the hall had given her a real slap in the face, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
Li Yueling grabbed a case of kefir and the roasted duck she had bought at the market earlier, ready to head out.
"Oh, right, Xiaoxiao, does your Boss Wu drink?" Zheng Jingshan suddenly asked before they left.
The scene of Wu Jun celebrating with the entire company at a grand hotel after signing the contract with that woman from Japan during the Mibo Expo, drinking with great gusto, was still vivid in Li Xiaoxiao’s memory.
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "He does. And he can really hold his liquor."
"I’ll grab a bottle of liquor, then," Zheng Jingshan said, turning back to retrieve a bottle of good stuff he’d been saving.