bioinnovel Chapter 861 Zhao Xiangjun's Brooch
Chapter 861 Zhao Xiangjun's Brooch
"I don't know his name, only that his surname is He, and his WeChat name is 'A Great River'."
Xu Jia had even less recollection of this online name. "Are you sure it's from [Yinuo Group]?"
"Yes, that's for sure. The general manager of Four Seasons Department Store approached him to discuss cooperation with [Sa Mo]. If he weren't from the Yinuo Group, they wouldn't have approached him."
Nodding, Xu Jia roughly understood the situation. It was probably a channel representative from the Jiangzhou branch of the Yinuo Group, responsible for business development. Now, as the regional general manager and senior vice president of the group, she rarely paid attention to the channel representatives of a branch office.
She remembered that the previous employees were surnamed Xu. But recently, due to the company's rapid development, many new staff had been added to various functional departments. Naturally, she didn't recognize these newcomers.
"Inno Group, this company is huge. I didn't expect that the company leaders wouldn't know each other. Mr. Xu, if there's an opportunity later, I'll introduce you to Mr. He. That way, you can look out for each other within the company, right?"
"Oh, okay!" Xu Jia smiled, brushing it off.
Qianqian had never worked for an outside company before, and her understanding of company situations mainly came from TV dramas, movies, and vivid descriptions from guests. She thought it was normal for the people in the hotel management department not to know their superiors, just like at Tianchi Hot Spring.
The owner brought over the rice noodles and also a jar of chili sauce.
"I didn't dare put too much spice in it. If you think it's not spicy enough, you can add more yourself!"
Seeing the bright red rice noodles, everyone else hesitated, unsure if they should add more. But Zhao Xiangjun and Diao Chan, in perfect unison, asked each other, "Would you like some?"
Then, the two of them laughed.
Zhao Xiangjun picked up the chili jar, filled a spoonful, and gave it to Diao Chan: "Is that enough?"
Diao Chan quickly pushed her bowl forward: "Okay, thank you, Sister Xiangjun!"
Xu Jia discovered that although Diao Chan didn't like to talk much, when she did speak, she was incredibly sweet-talking and had a very charming voice! In this respect, she was very similar to Xiang Jun.
Zhao Xiangjun added about the same amount of chili peppers to her own plate. Diao Chan was quite surprised when she saw this, as Chen Xiao's wife had so many similar tastes to hers.
After finishing her meal, Xu Jia called the restaurant owner over to pay the bill.
"President Xu, please give me a chance today," Diao Chan said, mainly because she felt that Chen Xiao was so poor that he couldn't afford to eat, and if Zhao Xiangjun was going to pay the bill anyway, she wanted to save Chen Xiao some money.
Xu Jia thought about it and decided not to argue. A few bowls of rice noodles were practically nothing to her. And it was fortunate that way; if she had paid, Chen Xiao wouldn't have been able to complete his task for the day, which would have been a huge loss!
"Okay, let's meet up for shopping next time, and I'll treat you then."
Diao Chan initially thought Xu Jia was just being polite, and had just nodded in agreement when Xu Jia added, "The day after tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow? Let's do it together."
"what?"
Xu Jia asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?"
"No, I'm going abroad the day after tomorrow."
Ok?
Zhao Xiangjun, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up: "Is something the matter?"
Diao Chan nodded. It seemed Chen Xiao's wife was much smarter than him; Chen Xiao's first reaction was to go on vacation. How could someone as homebody as herself possibly go on vacation?
She explained, "I'm going to MALI to see my dad!"
“MALI?” Zhao Xiangjun frowned. Although she was not involved in the management of Junxiao Group, Chen Xiao, Zhang Ziqian, and Xu Wu often discussed the layout of various mines in Africa at home, so she naturally knew that the situation in MALI was very tense.
"Does your father work over there?" she asked with concern.
"Yes, she recently got pneumonia, so I'm going to take care of her!"
“Of course we should go!” Zhao Xiangjun nodded in strong agreement. As a daughter herself, she put herself in her parents’ shoes; if her parents were in trouble, she would naturally be there for them immediately. She hadn’t even considered hiring a caregiver; no amount of money could compare to having her children by her side.
As she spoke, Zhao Xiangjun took a simple jewelry box from her handbag. "Xiao Chan, this brooch is for you. It can help you ward off bad luck."
"Ah~! I can't accept your gift." Diao Chan was speechless. This couple was both poor but generous.
Xu Jia's eyes flashed with surprise when she saw Zhao Xiangjun's actions. Xiangjun was really good to this Diao Chan, actually giving her this.
Others might not know, but she certainly did. Chen Xiao had commissioned the designers at [Starry Sky] to create a unique brooch.
This brooch has a built-in RFID encryption chip. As long as it passes through the various core areas of Junxiao Group, the back-end authentication device will automatically read it and notify the arrival of the group's core members.
Xiangjun's brooch naturally possessed the highest level of authority; wearing it allowed her to mobilize all the resources of the Junxiao Group. Xu Jia understood that Zhao Xiangjun knew of the dangers in MALI and gave this to Diao Chan so that once she arrived in MALI and passed through the area defended by the [Blue Star Guardians], the backend would immediately receive an alert. At that time, she would receive the highest level of protection.
Zhao Xiangjun pushed the brooch over: "Keep it. I had it made myself, it didn't cost any money!! I'll give it to you for good luck!"
It was indeed made by someone I hired myself, and it certainly didn't cost any money, but that doesn't mean it's worthless. Putting aside its symbolic meaning, even the cost of making it is astronomical.
"Shall I open it and take a look?" Diao Chan hesitated. If it really wasn't worth much, she would accept it. But if it was too valuable, she couldn't accept it!
With Zhao Xiangjun's nod of approval, Diao Chan opened the jewelry box, and Juan Jie and Qianqian looked over at the same time.
There was no gold chain, no trendy high-jewelry, only a platinum brooch the width of a finger joint, with an extremely fine matte brushed finish. In the center of the brooch was a small, dark red dot—like a drop of congealed blood, or a volcanic rock from the deep sea. Even in dim light, that "drop of blood" shimmered with a halo of shifting, dark green iridescence.
"Is this a garnet?" Sister Juan asked curiously.
Diao Chan didn't recognize it either, so she turned to Sister Juan to ask her if the thing was valuable.
"Xiao Chan, you should keep it. Just like Xiang Jun said, it's not very valuable; it's mainly symbolic."
Xu Jia almost burst out laughing. A garnet? As Diao Chan moved her hand, the brilliance on the brooch seemed to move on its own, as if it were alive. She recalled an old saying: "That kind of stone is called Imperial Topaz; one is enough to buy an apartment in Lujiazui."
Zhao Xiangjun hummed in agreement: "More or less."
Whether it's imperial topaz or garnet, she really didn't see much difference.
"Okay, thank you, Sister Xiangjun." Diao Chan accepted the gift, thinking to herself that she should give Zhao Xiangjun a gift in return next time they met, otherwise she would feel too embarrassed to always be accepting her gifts!
Sister Juan and Qianqian were initially a little uneasy about Xu Jia's status as a leader of the Yinuo Group, but seeing how close they were to Diao Chan, they suggested as everyone was parting, "President Xu, Xiangjun, let's exchange WeChat contacts."
Zhao Xiangjun turned around: "I don't usually add people on WeChat, sorry."
Her voice was cool and aloof, conveying both a sense of unapproachability and a sincere apology.
Xu Jia laughed and said, "Let's not add them. I don't add people on WeChat anyway. Xiangjun doesn't even have more than 20 people on her WeChat."
After they left, Qianqian pursed her lips and said, "They look down on us, huh? So proud of themselves!"
Sister Juan smiled and said, "Zhao Xiangjun and Xiao Chan are quite similar. Xiao Chan probably has no more than 20 people on her WeChat and fewer than 20 people in her phone contacts."
Diao Chan didn't speak, carrying the food she was going to bring for Chen Xiao in one hand and the brooch Zhao Xiangjun had given her in the other. Just as Sister Juan had said, Zhao Xiangjun's personality was really similar to hers, which was probably why the two hit it off so well at first sight.
Chen Xiao spent the whole afternoon lying in the Tianchi Hot Spring. This system is inhuman; the task it gave him was a complete waste of time.
buzz~
I picked up my phone; it was Diao Nan calling. Why is this guy so annoying?
"Hello~"
"Chen Xiao, I'd like to invite you to a bar for drinks tonight."
"Never mind, I'll save you some money."
"No way, I make 6 a month!" You son of a bitch, you're never going to stop!
"Okay, going to a bar is fine, but I want to go to Space Plus Bar."
"Space Plus Bar?" Diao Nan hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "OK!"
Huh? That's impressive. Space Plus is probably the most expensive bar in Jiangzhou. How did Diao Nan have the courage to go there?
When Diao Chan returned and brought him food, he asked her what had happened and found out that Diao Nan hadn't invited her.
"I need to work to earn money, I don't have time to go to bars and fool around. Besides, I don't drink."
Chen Xiao checked the food he had brought for the day; everything was normal. The girl had finally stopped playing pranks. Little did he know, Diao Chan had let him off the hook entirely out of respect for Zhao Xiangjun.
Space Plus Bar
The last time Chen Xiao came over was with Li Xingxing. I remember that night he swiped his card for 36 yuan, maxing out several credit cards in a row.
Thinking of Li Xingxing, I realized that Diao Nan's personality is even more extreme than Li Xingxing's.
"Come on, come on, this way." Diao Nan had been keeping an eye on the entrance, and he saw Chen Xiao as soon as he came in.
Diao Nan's loud greeting also attracted the attention of others. Upon seeing Chen Xiao enter through the door, most people simply noticed a handsome guy and then went back to their own business.
One of the beauties' eyes lit up. "President Chen! It's President Chen! He hasn't been here in so long!"
Chen Xiao walked over to Diao Nan and asked, "Why don't you find a girl to keep you company?"
"Damn it, Chen Xiao, are you even human? With your relationship with my sister, you expect me to find you a girl?" Diao Nan said, as if she had been stabbed in the back.
"My relationship with Diao Chan?" Chen Xiao paused for a moment, then offered no explanation. "It's just an act, why are you getting so worked up!"
"Chen Xiao, you're being vulgar! Let me tell you, in a place like this, paying to find women is no skill, and it's meaningless. Someone as handsome as me can have women swarming around me with just a snap of my fingers!"
"Like Tan Yun?" Chen Xiao asked with a joking smile.
"Damn it, why bring up something you shouldn't say!" Diao Nan said angrily.
"I just can't stand the way you brag," Chen Xiao said. He had been quite bored these past two days because of the mission, so now that he was here, he launched a barrage of verbal attacks on Diao Nan.
"Who's bragging? Who's bragging? Come on, let me show you!"
As Diao Nan spoke, he took out his phone and gestured for Chen Xiao to sit down next to him.
Chen Xiao didn't know what he wanted to see, but out of curiosity, she sat down next to him and found a person named Xiao Ya on his WeChat account. Judging from the profile picture, Xiao Ya was quite pretty.
"Look at this one, isn't she pretty? She's my college classmate, and she's had a crush on me for years. I've never given her a chance, otherwise I could just snap my fingers and she'd come running!"
"Hehe~!" Chen Xiao's expression was as if he had heard a huge joke.
"Come on, come on, let me show you!" Then, under Chen Xiao's gaze, he sent a message to the other party:
[Diao Nan: I've liked you for a long time, will you be my girlfriend?]
Chen Xiao gasped. Is this how you pursue a girl? What an idiot!
Diao Nan also gave him a smug emoji, meaning—you just wait and see. Soon, the other party replied:
[Xiao Ya: Are you in a hurry?]
Now, not only was Chen Xiao confused, but Diao Nan also didn't understand what it meant, and replied:
[Diao Nan: What do you mean by being in a hurry?]
[Xiao Ya: Didn't you say you wanted me to be your girlfriend? I'm asking if you're in a hurry?]
[Diao Nan: What does this have to do with whether or not you're in a hurry!]
The plot also caught Chen Xiao's attention; he had never seen a script like this before.
[Xiao Ya: If you're not in a hurry, wait until I finish discussing this one.]
*Pfft!* Chen Xiao spat out a mouthful of water.
Diao Nan's face turned ugly, and after a long while, she replied, "Damn, this is absolutely outrageous in the entire dating world!"
"Chen Xiao, that doesn't count. I'm blocking her. I guess I misjudged her!"
Chen Xiaozhen was amused by this guy, "Hey, don't be so direct when you're pursuing a girl, can't you be a little more subtle?"
Be more subtle? "Okay, I'll use your method!"
Diao Nan found a woman named Han Mei in his contacts. "Here, she's always admired my talent."
"What talent?"
"She said I'm good with words and especially good at making girls happy."
Chen Xiao was incredulous. "This woman is so hypocritical."
"You don't understand. You can't appreciate my good qualities. Just watch how I win her over in three minutes."
After Diao Nan finished speaking, she sent a message to Han Mei:
[Diao Nan: Hi, old classmate, it's been a few weeks since we last met!]
[Han Mei: It's you, Diao Nan. Were you at the last gathering?]
Chen Xiao:
Diao Nan blushed and continued typing:
[Diao Nan: Of course! I was amazed by your singing back then; I especially loved that song you sang.]
[Han Mei: Heart JPG, shy JPG! Really? Which song are you talking about?]
[Diao Nan: I don't know the song title, but I remember the lyrics you sang—'Fun licking pig's ass, likes to pick at poop']
Pfft!
Chen Xiao spat out another mouthful of water. Was this guy really trying to pick up girls, or was he provoking someone?
There was a long silence on the other end, before a message was finally sent:
[Han Mei: Get lost! That's 'three parts destiny, seven parts hard work,' you illiterate!]
Chen Xiao silently stood up, preparing to return to his seat.
"Damn it, Chen Xiao, I think I'd better find a girl." He then suddenly his eyes lit up: "Wow, what a beautiful girl! She's walking towards me with a smile!" (End of Chapter)