Li Xiaoyao returned to the office, and just as he had sat down for a few minutes, a knock on the door woke him up.
"Come in."
Zhang Meng pushed the door open and walked in, upon seeing Li Xiaoyao resting with his leg crossed, she couldn't help but feel speechless. The general managers she had encountered were always impeccably dressed. Li Xiaoyao, with his disheveled appearance and leg propped up at work, was definitely a first for her.
"Yo, Meng Meng, what brings you here?" There was a hint of a smile on Li Xiaoyao's lips as his eyes casually swept over her.
This girl was very clean-looking, with equally clear eyes. In this somewhat impetuous society, such girls were a rare sight.
When Zhang Meng met his gaze, her pretty face turned crimson for some reason.
Zhang Meng had a good impression of Li Xiaoyao; she thought this man was quite different from others. He didn't look at her with the lustful gaze of other men, and talking to him felt as wonderful as chatting with the boy next door.
Li Xiaoyao coughed and withdrew his gaze, asking, "What do you need?"
Zhang Meng pouted, "Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?"
Li Xiaoyao touched his nose, wondering what was up with this woman and why she had so much resentment.
Li Xiaoyao said with a smile, "Of course, you can. If you like it here, you can even work in this office from now on."
Zhang Meng hmphed lightly and walked over, "The general manager of Tianhai Company wants to invite you for lunch. Do you have time, Director Li?"
"If someone's treating me to lunch, I've got plenty of time," Li Xiaoyao stated and then asked, "Tianhai Company, what do they do? Why are they inviting me to lunch out of the blue?"
Zhang Meng replied, "It's a cosmetics company."
Li Xiaoyao uttered an "Oh," and Zhang Meng continued, "Their cosmetics are endorsed by artists from our company; they are a small company and can't afford big stars."
"So it's just the routine lunch to maintain relations, right?" Li Xiaoyao had pretty much understood the situation.
Zhang Meng shook her head, "They rarely invite us for lunch. I don't know why they suddenly invited you today."
Li Xiaoyao checked the time, "It's almost lunchtime, and I'm actually quite hungry. Call them and ask where they've booked."
Zhang Meng felt a bit helpless; the more she dealt with Li Xiaoyao, the more she realized the playful nature of this man.
Zhang Meng took out her phone and made a call. The other party had already booked a hotel, just opposite the company, a luxury five-star one at that.
Li Xiaoyao accompanied Zhang Meng to the appointment and arrived at the reserved private room.
Li Xiaoyao's suit wouldn't be ready for a few more days, so he was wearing jeans and a white shirt, exceptionally casual.
A long-legged beauty in a dress led the way ahead, guiding the two to the private room.
Zhang Meng glanced sideways and noticed Li Xiaoyao was staring at the beautiful woman's back, and she couldn't help feeling speechless.
"Wearing such short skirts, I don't know what this hotel is thinking," Zhang Meng muttered as if talking to herself.
Li Xiaoyao heard her and chuckled, "It's hot these days to wear long dresses, Meng Meng, how about you wear a long dress tomorrow too?"
Zhang Meng's face flushed red, and she retorted irritably, "The company doesn't allow long dresses."
Li Xiaoyao said, "I'm now your direct superior, I approve you to wear it."
Zhang Meng was at a loss for words, "Long dresses are too expensive, I can't afford them."
Li Xiaoyao patted his chest and said, "After dinner, I'll take you shopping. For a woman, the most important thing is image. If you have a good image, it represents the company."
Zhang Meng decided that no matter what Li Xiaoyao said, she wouldn't speak.
When they entered the private room, there were already three men inside, along with four or five women, all long-legged and busty beauties.
One of them, about forty years old, dressed in a black T-shirt, with an average build and bald, rose from the sofa and came over with a smile, looking at Li Xiaoyao and asking, "This must be President Li, right? Hello, hello, I am the general manager of Tianhai Company, Wang Jin." He then introduced the two men beside him, "These two are also from my company, Little Zhang, Little Liu."
Li Xiaoyao shook hands with Wang Jin, "Hello, President Wang."
"Come on, don't stand, have a seat," Wang Jin hospitably invited Li Xiaoyao and Zhang Meng.
Several people sat on the sofa, and Wang Jin broke out two decks of playing cards; they started to play.
While playing cards, Wang Jin chatted.
When the game was almost over, the food arrived, and they switched battlegrounds, starting to eat and drink.
The women Wang Jin brought over sat down beside each man. One of them tried to sit next to Li Xiaoyao, but Zhang Meng chased her away.
Li Xiaoyao touched his nose, initially wanting to let the girl come back, but upon seeing the murderous look in Zhang Meng's eyes, he gave up the idea.
Wang Jin ordered some liquor. Li Xiaoyao said he didn't drink. Wang Jin urged him a few times, but Li Xiaoyao still refused, and Wang Jin's face grew unsightly.
Just as he was about to continue pressing him to drink, before he could speak, his assistant Little Liu suddenly said, "President Li, show some face, just have a little. Look, you drink one, I'll drink two."
Li Xiaoyao looked at him, smiled, and said, "I don't drink."
It wasn't that Li Xiaoyao didn't drink; he just didn't want to drink with these people.
Even though it was said that there was no doing business without drinking, Li Xiaoyao was determined to break that rule. I simply won't drink; what can you do about it?
"President Li, you're really spoiling the mood," Little Liu suddenly stood up from his chair, carrying a bottle of liquor and his own glass over to Li Xiaoyao's seat. Then, he filled his glass right in front of Li Xiaoyao. He also grabbed the liquor bottle and put two drops in Li Xiaoyao's glass.
Holding up his glass, Little Liu looked at Li Xiaoyao with a hostile gaze, "President Li, give some face, you drink this much, I'll drink three."
Wang Jin watched from the side without speaking.
Li Xiaoyao had figured it out; the boss of Tianhai Company inviting him to dinner today seemed not so much about bonding as it was about putting him in his place.
Li Xiaoyao pushed the glass away, leaned back slightly, looked at Wang Jin, and said, "President Wang, your assistant is quite spirited, huh?"
Wang Jin smiled and said, "Don't be upset, President Li. Little Liu just likes a drink or two. Be understanding."
Li Xiaoyao laughed twice, nodding, and asked, "Alright, he likes to drink, right?"
Li Xiaoyao beckoned to a waitress, "Bring over a case of liquor."
The waitress was stunned for a second, then quickly fetched a case of liquor.
Li Xiaoyao pointed at the case of liquor and commanded, "Open them all."
Wang Jin and his companions didn't know what Li Xiaoyao was up to, and Zhang Meng also looked at Li Xiaoyao in confusion.
The waitress opened all the bottles and neatly placed them on the table.
Li Xiaoyao picked up a newly opened bottle of liquor and placed it in front of Little Liu. He then took the glass with two drops of liquor and said, "You like to drink, right? Come on, I'll drink with you. But, I'll set the rules: I drink one drop, you drink one bottle."