"Brother~ has anyone ever told you... you look incredibly handsome today!"
Su Qingya stared, a bit stunned, at his black polo shirt, dark gray trousers, and the brown leather shoes on his feet.
Su Chen paced in front of the mirror, nodding in satisfaction at his handsome reflection.
"If you paired it with a nice watch, it would be perfect!" Su Qingya said wistfully.
Su Qingya's words were a good reminder. He really was missing a proper watch.
He'd been thinking about buying a watch for a while now, but his pockets were tight. With only a little over a million in his bank account, it wasn't nearly enough to buy a truly fine timepiece. He'd have to wait until next month's funds from the system arrived.
'It's only two or three days until the first of the month,' Su Chen mused. 'When the time comes, I'm definitely buying a high-end watch, no matter what.'
After straightening his cuffs, Su Chen grabbed his car keys and got ready to head out.
Seeing Su Chen's preparations, Su Qingya asked with a hint of confusion, "Brother~ are you going out?"
"Yeah, I have to run some errands. I'm also going to a banquet tonight. Want to come with?" Su Chen asked offhandedly.
"I can't. I have to stream this afternoon!" Su Qingya said, shaking her head.
Ever since the incident on the platform's forums a couple of days ago, Su Qingya's popularity had skyrocketed. She currently had 100,000 followers, which made her a mid-tier streamer on Douyu.
She was completely focused on streaming right now; she had no time to go out and have fun.
"Alright. I'll be back late tonight, so tell Aunt Tang not to make dinner for me." With that, Su Chen walked out the door.
The original plan was for Emma to pick him up, but Su Chen had a sudden urge to go see the Louis Vuitton Group's Greater China Headquarters for himself. To be blunt, he was curious and wanted to see what it was like.
The Louis Vuitton Group's Greater China headquarters was located in Lujiazui's Jinmao Mansion, which was very close to where Su Chen lived—only a few minutes away by car.
The moment Su Chen reached the parking entrance of Jinmao Mansion, he was stopped by security guards.
'What's going on?' Su Chen wondered, looking out the window in surprise. Two other cars ahead of him had also been stopped.
While Su Chen was still puzzled, he saw a security guard approaching with a black bomb-sniffing dog on a leash.
"Sorry, sir. All civilian vehicles without an internal access pass are subject to inspection. We'll need your cooperation."
Su Chen frowned slightly but still nodded. "No problem."
The security guard was quite thorough. He led the dog in a full circle around Su Chen's car and even had him open the trunk for the dog to sniff. Only after confirming there were no issues was Su Chen allowed into the parking garage.
A wry smile appeared on Su Chen's face. "Heh... I guess you learn something new every day. I never would have thought entering Jinmao Mansion would require this kind of inspection."
He'd never seen anything like it. He supposed it just showed how little he'd gotten out.
The Louis Vuitton Group was on the 66th floor of Jinmao Mansion. To Su Chen's surprise, the elevator was an express that went straight to his floor without any stops.
As soon as he walked through the main doors of the Louis Vuitton Group's Greater China Headquarters, Su Chen was stopped by the receptionist.
"Hello, sir. How may I help you?"
The receptionist spoke with a slight Taiwanese accent, and the sound of her voice sent a pleasant tingle down Su Chen's spine.
"Ah, I'm here to see your president, Emma."
"To see President Emma? Sir, do you have an appointment?" The receptionist looked at Su Chen with a trace of doubt. She hadn't received any notice from management, which meant there were no scheduled visitors for the president today.
"I don't have an appointment. Could you please let your president know that Su Chen is here?" His visit had been a spur-of-the-moment decision; he hadn't called Emma beforehand.
The receptionist studied Su Chen for a moment. Seeing his earnest expression, she picked up her desk phone and dialed the office of the president's secretary.
"Secretary Li, there's a Mr. Su Chen at the front desk to see the president."
"No, he doesn't have an appointment."
"He didn't say what it's regarding."
"The president is in a meeting? Okay, I understand."
After hanging up, the receptionist looked up at Su Chen. "I'm sorry, sir. The president is in a meeting right now and isn't available. If you'd like to wait, I can call again to check once the meeting is over."
Su Chen didn't answer immediately. He considered calling Emma directly but then decided against it. After all, he wasn't in a rush. Waiting a little while was fine.
"Fine."
Since Su Chen agreed, the receptionist led him to the waiting area and even made him a cup of coffee.
Big corporations really were different. The waiting area was about eighty square meters, divided into several separate lounging sections, and even the seats were designer sofas.
"Su Chen?"
Just as Su Chen was taking in his surroundings, a surprised voice called out from nearby.
'Hm? Who's calling me?' Su Chen followed the voice and saw a young woman in professional office attire looking at him in surprise.
"And you are...?" Su Chen asked, a flicker of confusion in his eyes as the woman approached. 'I don't think I know her.'
He studied her for a few more moments but still couldn't recall who she was.
"What, you don't recognize an old classmate?" the woman said with a smile.
"Old classmate?" Su Chen mentally ran through the list of his former classmates but couldn't place the woman standing before him.
The woman saw the confusion in his eyes and said with a smile, "It's me, Qin Ying!"
"Qin Ying?" Su Chen exclaimed in surprise.
That was a name Su Chen was far from unfamiliar with; in fact, it was etched deep in his memory.
In high school, she and Li Yue had been known as the "Class 7 Duo." They were originally called the "Fat and Thin Monks," but they later found the nickname a bit off-putting and changed it to just "the Duo."
The two of them had been quite a pair—one was impossibly skinny, and the other was impossibly overweight. What's more, Li Yue's grades were exceptionally poor, while Qin Ying was at the top of their year and one of the few in their graduating class to get into a university.
They were polar opposites in more ways than one, but back in high school, the two had been exceptionally close.
"They say a girl is a different person by the time she's eighteen, and you've really changed so much! And that Li Yue, he slimmed down too. Who would've thought that both members of the 'Class 7 Duo' would end up thin!"
A glint flashed in Qin Ying's eyes at the mention of Li Yue's name, but Su Chen, caught up in his reminiscing, didn't notice it at all.
"I guess so. I was pretty insecure about my weight for a while after I started college, and it took a lot of hard work to finally lose it." A hint of sadness touched Qin Ying's expression as she spoke. Only she knew what those years had really been like.
"So you work here?" Su Chen asked, noticing the blue ID badge hanging around her neck.
"Mhm. I joined Louis Vuitton after graduating from university."
"That's impressive! Looks like you're the most successful one out of all our old classmates." Su Chen had to admit, Qin Ying truly was outstanding.
Getting into a major corporation like Louis Vuitton after attending an ordinary university was no small feat.
They chatted for five or six minutes before Qin Ying was called away by a colleague. Before she left, they exchanged contact information.
What Su Chen didn't notice was that as they were adding each other on WeChat, Li Yue's name was sitting right at the top of Qin Ying's recent chats.