Chapter 7 Chapter 07 This is not a company benefit...

After a fulfilling weekend in Hangzhou, Zhao Manzhi finally recovered and came to work in high spirits. When she walked out of the elevator, she bumped into Lin Zhuowen, who smiled and nodded to her: "Mandy, good morning."

"Good morning, Lin..." She remembered what Zhuowen said that day and immediately changed her words, "General Gavin."

"You look in a good mood today." Lin Zhuowen raised his eyebrows, "Go to the office, there is better news waiting for you."

Good news? Zhao Manzhi's heart skipped a beat.

The turmoil of that day was over. Zhuang Youkai and her exchanged emails normally. He didn't say anything else, and didn't mention the self-review. She almost forgot the fact that she had confronted Zhuang Youkai at that time. When Lin Zhuowen said this, she became uneasy.

What good news could it be? He was sending her somewhere else? It would be good not to be under Zhuang Youkai's nose, but what about the house in Shanghai after he left?

With something on her mind, her pace slowed down unconsciously. When she walked slowly to her workstation, she looked up and saw Zhuang Youkai's livid face.

"Boss, I'm sorry..." Zhao Manzhi glanced at her watch subconsciously, and saw that she was not late, and her back straightened up again, "What do you want?"

Zhuang Youkai took out a paper bag and threw it on her desk, his expression was very indifferent, "There is a cocktail party tonight, you come with me."

She said "Hui" softly, "Is this the clothes for me? Huanye treats you so well?"

"It's just shoes, someone will help you change your clothes later." Seeing her, it is inevitable to think of the chocolate that he threw aside. Does this woman think that pretending to be ignorant will be pleasing? She has watched too many cheesy idol dramas.

Zhuang Youkai looked away and added, "Also, this is not a company benefit."

In the past, Cynthia had her own cocktail party uniform, and he didn't need to worry about it at all. As for Zhao Manzhi, he simply didn't want to see his assistant wearing Zara and embarrassing herself at the cocktail party, so he was a little more concerned.

"Oh."

Zhao Manzhi didn't dare to ask more questions. She put the expensive shoe box under the table. She didn't open it carefully until Zhuang Youkai returned to the office. The glittering shoe surface cast a little starlight on her face.

This was the first time Zhao Manzhi received Jimmy Choo. Even though her family was well-off and she could afford to buy luxury goods occasionally, Zhao Manzhi had been educated to be pragmatic since she was a child and didn't pay for the brand premium. Looking at such a pair of Cinderella crystal shoes, she admitted that she was indeed a little moved.

But the next second, the excitement turned into panic. This is not an employee benefit. Is it going to be deducted from her salary?

Zhao Manzhi took a breath and closed the lid, as if she would lose a hundred dollars from her account if she looked at it one more time.

When the makeup team came to her in the afternoon, Zhao Manzhi felt something was wrong. For the sake of her boss's face, she could still grit her teeth for a pair of Jimmy Choo, but she really couldn't afford the bills for ready-to-wear dresses that cost tens of thousands and jewelry bills that cost hundreds of thousands.

With some trepidation, she whispered to the smiling and thoughtful SA in front of her: "Excuse me, is the dress rented? How much is the rent per day?"

SA seemed to have heard a big joke. Even though she smiled politely, her eyes could not hide the surprise in her heart: "Ms. Zhao, the dresses of our brand are unique and can only be sold, not rented."

She paused and said with understanding, "But don't worry, Mr. Zhuang is our old customer, and this part of the bill will be paid by him."

The boss gave her a dress? Did the sun rise from the west today? He

was still mocking her hourly wage of 60 Hong Kong dollars last week.

Zhao Manzhi knew that the gift of fate usually had a high price, but she didn't expect that this thing could be forced to buy and sell.

She was so angry that she almost bit her lower lip. Zhuang Youkai must have been resentful because of the previous incident, so he thought of this trick, letting her be a princess for a night, but the price was a lot of debt.

"...Ms. Zhao, have you chosen? The cocktail party is expected to start at 7 o'clock, and we don't have much time." The sales reminded gently.

Zhao Manzhi came back to her senses, smiled and nodded, "Okay, please give me the cheapest one."

"What about the jewelry?"

"No need."

"But..."

She lowered her eyes, looked at the pair of shiny Jimmy Choo shoes next to her, and said softly, "Let's just leave it like this. After all, I'm just an assistant. It's not appropriate to dress too grandly."

*

The dusk covered the Bund with a layer of light smoky purple. Large bunches of snow-capped mountains airlifted from the Netherlands gathered into soft clouds, loosely stacked on the huge water curtain, leaking mottled light and shadow, scattered on the shoulders of the guests from afar.
A Bentley Mulsanne slowly stopped, and the well-dressed waiter stepped forward to open the car door, lowered his eyebrows and eyes, and responded to the visitor with full awe. Before the man got out of the car, Jiang Shu, who had been waiting for a long time, greeted him with a smile, speaking in poor and funny Cantonese: "Akai, see you again." 

Hong Kong Island bankers are naturally the most distinguished guests of this cocktail party. Not only Jiang Shu, but most business gatherings require Huanye to come. Zhuang Youkai is accustomed to such a scene. He stood up and adjusted his suit before shaking his hand that had been hanging in the air for a long time: "Mr. Jiang, it's time to change the Cantonese teacher." 

Jiang Shu's smile froze for a moment, and he responded with "Hey, hey" in Mandarin, walking two steps ahead of Zhuang Youkai to lead the way, "You are stupid, you can't learn it, and you make a fool of yourself." 

After signing in front of the sign-in wall and taking a group photo, Jiang Shu took Zhuang Youkai around and finally let him go. 

To a certain extent, connections are also your business card. Jiang Shu's move was naturally a bit eager for quick success, but it could not be morally criticized. 

The sound of the symphony floated in the night breeze. Before the cocktail party started, Zhuang Youkai was already in low spirits. He held a glass of champagne and listened absentmindedly to the conversations and compliments of others. He occasionally responded with a few words, and his eyes unconsciously glanced at the entrance. 

"What are you looking at?" A clear female voice sounded, like a cool breeze in the hot summer. 

Zhuang Youkai came back to his senses and saw that it was Jiang Yu, so he raised his glass and clinked it with her. The woman's neat short hair was lifted by the wind, and the hair drew a beautiful arc. She tucked it behind her ears, and the tassel earrings swayed with it: "Don't answer me, wait for someone." 

He nodded, "My assistant." 

"Cynthia? No, you don't like to call her Cynthia, such a high-sounding name." Jiang Yu rolled his eyes and analyzed carefully, "A new person?" 

From childhood to adulthood, Jiang Yu was sharp and sharp. In Lin Zhuowen's words, if she hadn't been born in a wealthy family, she would be most suitable to go to the police station to solve cases. Seeing that he did not deny it, Jiang Yu's calm eyes rippled, and he leaned in and asked, "What kind of person is it? Why do you care so much about me?" 

"Is there any?" Zhuang Youkai put his fist to his lips and coughed twice. As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw a slender figure, Zhao Manzhi who came late. 

Her porcelain-white skin almost melted into the rose bushes, and the graceful sea blue wrapped her body curves. Under the diagonally cut skirt, there was a pair of slender and straight legs. She stepped on the pair of Jimmy Choo shoes with a starry sky. Every step was like wading into the sea and breaking through the waves.
This is a thin strapless close-fitting dress. The satin on the chest is pressed down by a sapphire, forming thick folds, which emit a faint cold light under the light. This makes the wearer's shoulders and chest almost exposed. It should be matched with extremely complicated jewelry, but Zhao Manzhi only wears a two-layer diamond-studded silver chain, which makes her look a bit thin, but fortunately, her superior face makes people not notice the inferiority of accessories at first glance. 

Jiang Yu followed his gaze and naturally found Zhao Manzhi. She shook the champagne glass with her lips curled, and the sparkling light was broken and swallowed up by the velvet long gloves: "Is it her?" 

Zhuang Youkai did not answer, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that the man's expression quickly turned cold, and he was obviously a little angry. 

He drank the rest of the wine, put the glass on the waiter's tray, strode over, looked Zhao Manzhi up and down, and said with suppressed anger, "Didn't you ask Emma to prepare everything from head to toe? What does this mean?" 

"Ah?" Zhao Manzhi didn't know why he was angry, "The jewelry is too expensive, hundreds of thousands, I can't bear it, so I just wore my own." 

"No one told you that I would pay the bill?" 

She put her chin in, as careful as a quail, "Didn't you pay for it? After all, if it's not an employee benefit, I should have to make up for it later..." 

"..." Zhuang Youkai took a deep breath, "I won't count on your money." 

He had enough of Zhao Manzhi's poverty. She couldn't even enjoy herself. Could she really be considered a woman? 

Not to mention her peers Zhuang Peiying and Zhuang Peiyi, even her grandmother Guan Yonglin knew to look good even when her hair turned gray. 

Every season, the best craftsmen from Hong Kong Island were invited to Deep Water Bay to make cheongsams. In summer, they had to use pearl satin shawls, and in winter, they had to use the finest velvet and cashmere shawls. The jadeite in their collections had to be at least of the best and clearest quality, not the imperial green glass variety. A set of clothes cost at least millions. Zhuang Youkai was used to it and thought that respecting the clothes first and the people later was a very simple and easy-to-understand principle. 

Zhao Manzhi didn't understand. Not only did she not understand, she also didn't take it seriously. She carefully adjusted the position of the necklace pendant so that it just hung on her chest, raised her face and smiled: "Anyway, I'm not an important person. It's good to be low-key when I'm with you." 

Zhuang Youkai snorted, "It's precisely because you don't have a status that your dress can't be inferior." 

"Since you don't have a status, why do you have to dress up nicely?" Zhao Manzhi was a little unwilling, but after what happened before, she only dared to mutter in a low voice, "Then you're just here to be a vase?" " 

How about welcoming you to the main guest seat, and then applauding Mandy Zhao to give the opening speech?" 

She knew that Zhuang Youkai couldn't say anything good, but she was still annoyed by the teasing. She bit her lip and glared at him, trying to hold back her anger. 

You can't argue with such a person. If you get sick from anger, he will still say that you can't bear pressure. 

Zhao Manzhi took two deep breaths and didn't say anything after all. Such obedience surprised Zhuang Youkai a little, but it made him look more mean, and a trace of regret rose in her heart. He was stunned for a moment, then said, "Follow me later, learn more, watch more, and talk less." 

"Got it." 

Zhuang Youkai's eyes stayed on her for a while, then quickly moved away. 

To be honest, Zhao Manzhi was enough to make people's eyes shine today. Her facial features were bright enough with simple light makeup, and they were even more gorgeous against the background of gorgeous clothes. Her eyes were more moving than the small diamonds on her earlobes. But these were not enough. 

In the world of fame and fortune, it has always been the superiors who have the right to make the rules of the game. Their inadvertent choices may also become a fashion for everyone to follow, whether they dress up or wear simple clothes. The obedient, especially the insignificant young girls, need to rely on jewelry to support themselves so as not to be looked down upon. 

At this point, he was very sure that Zhao Manzhi was well protected by the ivory tower of the campus and knew nothing about such unspoken rules. It is very troublesome to reason with her, but at tonight's party, if he keeps her by his side, others will not be so bold as to have evil intentions under his nose.