There was a long silence on the other end of the call, as if confused. Then came a voice, “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Zhang Xiaofeng’s former boss, Su Qianghai! You people must fire him immediately! I said so!”
On the other side, the young man felt completely baffled. Who the hell was this guy, calling in with so much rage? Did someone in his family die or something?
He cursed loudly, “I don’t know you, who the hell are you?! What makes you think you’re anyone important? Are you our boss? You think just because you say it, it happens? Does your word mean a damn thing here?”
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Su Qianghai was stunned—he had been hung up on!
He stood there dazed. A moment later, his rage flared again, his nose nearly twisting from fury. He redialed the number, but after just one ring, the other side instantly hung up on him again!
Fuming with anger, steam practically coming out of his ears, Su Qianghai turned to Su Yuebai and said, “Xiaoyue, let’s go to that company in person!”
Su Yuebai said hesitantly, “Dad, isn’t that going too far? You’re not even their boss, how can you just…”
“Shut up! I said we can, so we can! I said so!”
Already seething with fury, Su Qianghai stormed on, “If you’re not coming, forget it. I’ll go myself!”
Without another word to Su Yuebai, he threw down the watering can, rushed into his car, started it with a roar, and sped off.
Su Yuebai stood frozen, silent. She understood—her father was utterly humiliated and furious.
…
Su Qianghai tore through traffic and soon arrived at the Bomei Building. He was so angry he didn’t even bother to park properly, simply leaving the car wherever he could and rushing inside. When he reached the entrance of Zhang Xiaofeng’s company, he was immediately stopped by a security guard before he could even pass the access gate.
“What the hell are you doing?” Su Qianghai shouted furiously at him.
The security guard was a tall, burly man in his twenties, about 1.92 meters tall. He looked down at Su Qianghai with a stern expression and said, “I don’t know you. You don’t work here. Outsiders aren’t allowed in.”
“I’ll exclude your damn grandfather! I’m Su Qianghai! I own a company in PD! I’m loaded! Who the hell do you think you are, stopping me?!”
The guard’s face changed, but he replied coldly, “I don’t care who you are! Outsiders aren’t allowed in here. Try anything and I’ll call the police!”
Su Qianghai glared at the man. His chest was burning with fury. He couldn’t believe he was being blocked by some lowly gatekeeper! He was boiling mad!
The guard sneered, “I’m blocking you, so what? You think having money makes you untouchable? Try laying a finger on me!”
Su Qianghai stared at the guard. He was much taller than him, solidly built, muscular like someone out of an American action movie. After a long moment of staring, he yelled, “I’ll remember you! Just wait and see!”
“I’m not interested in you!” the guard snapped disdainfully. What did his money have to do with him? The guy clearly came looking for trouble—of course he wouldn’t be let in.
Defeated and fuming, Su Qianghai stormed off in frustration!
…
When he got home, he didn’t even look at Su Yuebai. He tore off his clothes and dove straight into the swimming pool. He needed to vent! His chest felt like it was about to explode, anger stuck halfway up his throat.
Just thinking about that security guard made him sick to his stomach!
From afar, Su Yuebai asked, “Dad, what happened? How did it go?”
“Don’t ask! Damn his ancestors!” Su Qianghai’s furious shout echoed from the pool.
Su Yuebai’s face fell. She guessed her father probably hadn’t seen Zhang Xiaofeng. She didn’t ask further. Most likely he had been stopped by security—after all, how could any company not have security at the entrance?
Looking at the pool, Su Yuebai suddenly recalled that Zhang Xiaofeng had swum in it once, back on December 21 last year. She had filled the pool with warm water for herself and enjoyed a long, comfortable swim. After she finished, her mom changed the water and used it next. Then other family members also took turns. When Zhang Xiaofeng wanted to bathe, there was no more clean water left. So he used the water her father had already used to clean himself.
Back then, her father had sat on a lounge chair and commented behind his back, “I can’t stand that guy. Sure, he works hard and is capable, but you marrying him? I still think you settled. What makes him worthy of you? Our family is worth tens of millions. And him? He doesn’t belong in our league. Go open the drain valve—let the water out. I want to see how he bathes.”
She had actually gone and done it. She opened the drain valve, and the pool water gushed out completely. Zhang Xiaofeng stood there stunned, looking around in disbelief.
His expression back then was awkward and helpless. Then it turned into quiet sorrow and self-loathing. He must’ve felt like he had no dignity at all, like he was being treated as less than a person. Just imagine—he wasn’t even allowed a proper bath. The water was drained while he stood there. How painful and humiliating that must’ve felt.
Oh God, what was I doing back then!?
Later, he gave up on bathing and climbed out of the pool silently, changed into his clothes, and walked toward the basement with his head down. His whole demeanor was downcast. As he passed her, she had said coldly, “Who told you to go to the pool? Don’t we have showers in the bathroom?”
He had looked at her awkwardly, stunned, then showed clear inferiority and humility in his eyes, like he wasn’t worthy of using the pool. Her father must’ve thought the same at the time.
Zhang Xiaofeng said softly, “Understood. From now on, I’ll use the shower. If there’s nothing else, I’ll just stay in the basement.”
She didn’t respond and simply walked away.
A couple of days later, he brought her a bouquet of flowers during lunch. Inside was a card—turns out that day had been her birthday. He had written:
“Yueyue, I bought a bouquet of your favorite tulips. Do you like them? Are you happy? People change—I don’t know why you’ve become like this. But I’ll never forget how good you used to be to me. Please accept these tulips. I love you. Like these flowers, I’ll always try to bring you joy and happiness. —Your forever-loving Zhang Xiaofeng.” This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
At the time, she’d felt a bit moved and accepted the flowers. But not long after, her coldness returned.
“I regret it so much! Why didn’t I cherish him? How could I become that kind of person? …Wuwuwu!!…”
Remembering those words, Su Yuebai sat on the floor and covered her face, sobbing bitterly.
…
At 2:30 p.m., Su Yuebai arrived at the Bomei Building. She stood far from the exit, waiting for Zhang Xiaofeng. No matter what, she wanted to see him, to ask him to come home. Even if he truly never wanted to return, she would keep looking for him.
But things didn’t go as she wished. She waited until 6:30 p.m. and still didn’t see him. She swore she had kept a close watch on the exit the whole time. So where did he go? Was he avoiding her?
She asked someone nearby and quickly found out—there wasn’t only one exit! Zhang Xiaofeng must’ve seen her and slipped out another way. He didn’t want to see her!
…
On the other side, Zhang Xiaofeng had already left through the back door and arrived at his vending spot.
His choice of location was excellent—it was a street corner with wide visibility. Anyone passing by would see his stall first. And since he sold essential warm gear, in no time he had already closed 15 sales and made over 300 yuan.
By 8:00 p.m., he had sold more than 40 items. The best-seller today was men’s thermal gloves. Zhang Xiaofeng noticed many old residential buildings in the area were under renovation. That explained the many workers around—he’d definitely need to stock more gloves tomorrow.
By coincidence, his boss drove by and rolled down the window. “Xiaofeng, you’re running your stall here?”
“Yeah. Want some gloves? I’ll give you a couple!” Zhang Xiaofeng walked over and handed him two pairs. After all, he had received an advance to start this business—showing some courtesy was the least he could do.
“Ay, no need. I don’t do hard labor. What would I use them for?”
“You’ll need them when you’re out and about. Don’t be polite.” Zhang Xiaofeng stuffed them into his car.
Zhang Longfa smiled, nodded, and said, “Keep it up. I really believe in you.” They chatted a bit more, then he drove away.
Zhang Xiaofeng continued running his stall. There were a lot of people out today, and many stopped for a few seconds in front of his stall. If they saw something they liked, they’d linger longer. Even if they didn’t buy, just drawing attention was a good sign. He carefully rearranged his best-selling items to the most visible spots. As expected, more people stopped, and his sales climbed rapidly.
He kept selling until 10:00 p.m. Since it was the weekend and foot traffic was high, he made great sales today—netting over 800 yuan in profit. Zhang Xiaofeng couldn’t help but feel lucky. As it got late, he packed up and left.
Back at his place, Zhang Xiaofeng took a shower and lay down to sleep.
Just then, his phone buzzed. Someone was calling.