Chapter 20: The Clown
Being stared at by Gu Heng with such a gaze, Wang Hao couldn’t help but feel a chill creep up his spine. He took an involuntary step back.
"You’re right, you’re right. We were being careless."
Wang Hao rubbed his nose awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "So, what are you up to these days? You seem to be doing well."
"Unemployed."
Gu Heng couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on Wang Hao. He gave a perfunctory reply, intending to pick up the Helena gift boxes he had just purchased and leave.
Liu Nanyi, who had been chatting happily with Gu Heng just moments ago, now silently shuffled to the side.
If Liu Nanyi had entertained some ideas about Gu Heng a moment ago, thinking he was handsome and rich and worth getting to know better, then after Wang Hao returned and she learned of Gu Heng’s situation, those thoughts had faded considerably.
’A student from a prestigious university dating a high school dropout?’
’A boyfriend who might be a delivery driver, or even unemployed?’
’If this got out, wouldn’t her classmates and friends laugh her to death?’
Liu Nanyi gently bit the straw of her Overlord Tea Girl drink, her mind racing.
CLICK-CLACK-CLICK...
However, just as Gu Heng turned and picked up the five Helena gift sets, ready to leave, the crisp sound of high heels on the marble floor approached from a distance.
The newcomer was none other than Luo Xiwen.
She was carrying two bags of drinks from Overlord Tea Girl. Seeing the three unfamiliar girls who had suddenly appeared beside Gu Heng, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness.
From morning to night, there was a never-ending stream of beautiful girls around Gu Heng, each one younger and more elegant than the last.
’But...’
’Why does he look a little upset?’
Having worked at CMB for four years, Luo Xiwen had naturally honed her ability to read people. She noticed the strange look on Gu Heng’s face and swallowed the two words she was about to say—"Gu Heng"—before they could escape her lips.
"President Gu, I’m back."
"I wasn’t sure what you like to drink, so I bought you one of each of the four best-selling drinks from Overlord Tea Girl. You can try a little of each."
Luo Xiwen ignored the astonished stares from the others. She walked quickly to Gu Heng’s side, her gentle voice filled with respect.
President Gu?
As Luo Xiwen’s words fell, Liu Nanyi, her two friends, and Wang Hao all froze. None of them had expected that such a dignified and elegant woman could possibly be Gu Heng’s subordinate.
’What in the world is going on?’
’Didn’t he just say he was a delivery driver?’
’Then what’s the deal with this stunningly beautiful and classy woman?’
Liu Nanyi, Su Tang, and Feng Yao stared at the impassive Gu Heng, suddenly feeling as if he were shrouded in a layer of mist.
Was he a high school dropout and delivery driver?
Or a powerful boss with immense wealth?
Which identity was the real him?
Meanwhile, Wang Hao stared at Luo Xiwen’s dignified and lovely face, then at the Overlord Tea Girl bags in her hands.
Suddenly, he felt like a clown in front of Gu Heng.
Liu Nanyi and her friends wanted bubble tea, and he had to stand miserably in line for them.
Gu Heng wanted bubble tea, and he had a top-tier beauty like Luo Xiwen to stand in line for him.
Damn it!
This is so unfair!
What gives Gu Heng the right?!
In that moment, jealousy nearly made Wang Hao lose his mind.
He gritted his teeth so hard he could have shattered his molars, but he still couldn’t figure out why.
"Just give me any one."
Seeing Luo Xiwen return, Gu Heng’s expression softened slightly.
"Of course."
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiwen quickly took a Ten Thousand Miles of Magnolia from the bag, inserted the straw for Gu Heng, and handed it to him.
She was so attentive, she might as well have spoon-fed the drink to him.
During this, Shen Jia, the personal shopper who had just helped Gu Heng with his items, returned.
"Mr. Gu, allow me."
Seeing the Helena gift boxes in Gu Heng’s hands, Shen Jia immediately took them from him.
Gu Heng didn’t refuse.
"Let’s go."
Gu Heng gestured to Shen Jia and Luo Xiwen, then walked out of the Helena brand counter.
As for Wang Hao and Liu Nanyi and the other two girls, he didn’t spare them a single glance.
That blatant disregard created a huge sense of disparity for the three girls, who were used to being the center of attention.
"Why’d he get angry..."
"I didn’t even say anything. Does he have to be like that?"
After Gu Heng and his companions were a good distance away, Wang Hao couldn’t help but mutter a few words.
"Wang Hao, what’s the deal with that classmate of yours?"
Feng Yao, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up. As soon as she asked, Su Tang and Liu Nanyi also looked over, their curiosity piqued.
"Well, back in middle school, his parents divorced..."
Faced with the three girls’ probing gazes, Wang Hao didn’t hide anything and briefly recounted Gu Heng’s story.
"Oh, so that’s what happened..."
After learning the reason, the three girls realized they had completely misjudged the situation.
"So you’re saying that after he graduated from middle school, he started working to support himself? And now, it looks like he’s made something of himself through his own efforts, becoming a self-made success?"
Liu Nanyi’s cherry-red lips parted slightly. She hadn’t imagined that the boy, who was her age, had such a difficult past. She was even more surprised that he had managed to turn his life around in just three short years.
From a poor boy with nothing to a wealthy boss with a beautiful assistant by his side.
For girls like them, who had followed a conventional path of education, such an experience was undoubtedly a huge shock.
"Maybe..."
Wang Hao responded sullenly to Liu Nanyi’s murmur.
The superiority he felt as a student from a prestigious university had just been smashed to smithereens in front of Gu Heng.
"He probably just has a little money..."
As Wang Hao watched Liu Nanyi drink the bubble tea he had painstakingly queued to buy, his own mind was filled with the image of Gu Heng. The old insecurity washed over him again, and he couldn’t help but mutter sourly.
Hearing this, Liu Nanyi and her two friends glanced at Wang Hao but remained silent, not dignifying it with a response.
’A little money?’
’To be treated so respectfully by such a dignified and elegant beauty—anyone with half a brain knew that wasn’t the kind of treatment you get with just ’a little money’.’
But knowing was one thing. Wang Hao was their schoolmate, after all, and he had just gone through the trouble of lining up to buy them bubble tea. If he wanted to say a few sour words because he felt slighted, they could just pretend they hadn’t heard.
"Yiyi, Tangtang, I just saw a long line at the LV store in Zhuo Zhan. It looks like they got a lot of limited-edition bags in. Should we go take a look?"
Feng Yao noticed the sales associate’s gaze land on them again and, worried the associate might bring up what happened earlier, quickly made the suggestion to her two roommates.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Hearing this, Liu Nanyi immediately perked up and readily agreed.
"Let’s go, then."
Su Tang nodded, showing she had no objections.
As for Wang Hao...
As everyone knows, a "nice guy" is even worse than a simp.
Naturally, whatever the girls said, went.