Qin Guan and Liu Xiaoyang held a chicken wing in one hand and a cup of juice in the other as they watched their roommates wine and dine. The two boys were thinking to themselves, “Drink as much as you like. You’ll finally make yourselves suffer.”
It had only been half an hour since the boys had started eating, but the waitress had already cleaned the table twice. Feeling his stomach, Qin Guan stopped eating.
Mu Lejiang was surprised to find that Qin Guan had not eaten that much. With a toothpick in his mouth, he said, “Come on, man!”
Qin Guan answered helplessly, “I’d love to, but look at me! I can’t eat too much.”
The boys took a glance at Qin Guan’s tight suit and waistcoat. They imagined how he would look if he got full. They all shook their heads and said, “You’re right, you can’t.”
Qin Guan looked at his watch and decided to go back to the exhibition hall. He could not just sit there and watch the boys eat, so he bid them goodbye and went back. When he got to the hall, he did not put the suit jacket on again. The lights inside were so many that the temperature was up by 2-3 degrees Celsius because of the heat they generated.
Qin Guan undid two buttons at the top of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. When the director passed by and took a look at him, he nodded at the boy in satisfaction.
Qin Guan did not know why the director had nodded at him until the afternoon session began. There weren’t just distributors and agents from all over the country. Wine and spirit collectors, bar owners and wine shoppers had also come to the exhibition. Even some citizens and media representatives had come to experience the foreign wine culture.
Qin Guan relaxed. The director had gotten him a fashion magazine to read so he could recreate a casual style.
Qin Guan took a seat on the high chair in a relaxed mood. From time to time, he would fill a glass and sip a little wine, enjoying his leisure time. All the other staff were glaring at him.
Before Qin Guan could enjoy it to his heart’s content though, he heard a voice from behind him, “Mr. Qin! You’re here! I found you!”
Qin Guan turned his head. “Gosh! What is she doing here?” It was Huang Jiajia.
Qin Guan was surprised. “How did you know I’d be here?” he asked.
Huang Jiajia looked at Qin Guan proudly and replied, “You told me you had a part-time job last time and would have to put off our class. I checked online and noticed that the only exhibition today was in ICC. That’s why I came here. I made it!” Huang Jiajia fanned herself with her hands. “Gee! It’s too warm in here. I’ll wait for you so we can go back together, Mr. Qin.”
Qin Guan immediately put his hands together, raised them up and bowed. “Oh, my God! I’m begging you to go back home. Please don’t cause any trouble here.”
Haung Jiajia looked upset as she said, “Why would I cause trouble? I’ll be a good girl, I promise. I just wanna wait for you here.”
As Qin Guan and Huang Jiajia were talking beside the booth, another voice rang out from behind them, “Qin Guan, what are you doing here?”
Qin Guan turned around. “Oh, my God! It’s Cong Nianwei!”
Right away, he put his hands down and pretended to clean his shirt. He patted himself off and smirked. “Cong Nianwei! What are you doing here?”
Cong Nianwei took a look at Qin Guan and the girl behind him, who was glaring at her.
“I came to greet my high school classmate who works here. Is it a bad time?”
“No, of course not. I was just surprised is all.”
Cong Nianwei did not answer right away. She gave him a gentle smile before she said, “So why are you talking instead of working? Is this your new friend? Why don’t you introduce us?”
Qin Guan was charmed by Cong Nianwei’s gentle smile. He stared at Cong Nianwei as he shook his head. “Oh, no. She’s my student. I asked her to go back home.”
Suddenly, Huang Jiajia popped out from behind him. “I’m Mr. Qin’s student. Who are you?” She was upset by Cong Nianwei’s appearance, which had interrupted her conversation with Qin Guan. She felt that Qin Guan’s silliness was offending, so she decided to have a talk with this girl.
Noticing that it was a little girl, Cong Nianwei was relieved. “You’re Qin Guan’s student, right?” she said in a soft tone. “He’s told me all about you. Nice to meet you.”
Huang Jiajia got even more upset. The girl before her was truly pretty. She was nothing like her. She was really intelligent, gentle, and polite, while Huang Jiajia just looked like a cute girl with poor taste.
Huang Jiajia was unhappy. “Yes. I’m Mr. Qin’s student. Aren’t you his high school classmate?” she said impolitely. “I’m waiting for Mr. Qin so we can go back together.”
Cong Nianwei said nothing. She looked at Qin Guan as if she wanted to say something to him. Qin Guan suddenly realized what was happening between the two girls. Immediately, he explained, “Huang Jiajia, this is my high school classmate and potential girlfriend. If she accepts my request, she will become your teacher’s girlfriend.”
Hearing this, Huang Jiajia somehow felt wronged. Tears filled her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry before Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei. Instead, she mumbled, “She hasn’t answered your request, but you’ve been such a coward. What’s so good about that?” Then she glanced at Cong Nianwei, bowed her head down, and stopped talking.
Qin Guan did not yield to the strong, but he did to the weak. The fact that Huang Jiajia was in such low spirits made him feel sorry for her.
Cong Nianwei take a look at Qin Guan and told Huang Jiajia, “Since you’re here, why don’t you look around until Mr. Qin can go back with you? He won’t miss your class.”
Haung Jiajia raised her head. She felt that Cong Nianwei’s words were really offensive. As if she couldn’t stay with Mr. Qin unless Cong Nianwei approved it! Huang Jiajia held her handbag so tight she almost tore it apart. “I don’t need your pity!” she sobbed. “I’m going back now!” Then she walked out without even looking back.
Qin Guan gestured at Cong Nian and followed Huang Jiajia, saying, “It’s better that you go back. I have work to do here. The afternoon session won’t be long though, so I’ll stick to my plan and won’t miss the class. I promise!”
Haung Jiajia looked at Qin Guan as she laughed angrily. “Go back to your girl, you fool!” she said before she left.
Qin Guan was confused. He had not expected Haung Jiajia to scold him under the circumstances. He could not figure out why she had.
When Qin Guan returned to the booth, he found Cong Nianwei sitting on the resting chair, reading a magazine quietly.
Delighted, he sat on the chair opposite Cong Nianwei and said, “Wait a minute, I’ll talk to the director and ask him to allow me to work around the hall.” Then he ran to the director to negotiate with him.
It took Qin Guan quite a few minutes to persuade the director to grant his request. The director asked Qin Guan to take a pile of advertising posters and stick some brand logos on his face and chest.
After checking that the logos were easy to stick and remove, Qin Guan asked the director for a few more as souvenirs.
When he was ready, he took the posters and told Cong Nianwei, “Okay, let’s take a walk around the hall.” Cong Nianwei put down the magazine and walked with Qin Guan.
They walked along the aisles of the hall. Qin Guan really stood out among the rest of the staff. Even though he was holding the posters in a causal way, he attracted people like a light bulb. Anyone interested would come up to him and ask for a poster, and Qin Guan would tell them where his booth was.
After a while, Cong Nianwei told Qin Guan in an amused way, “Have you noticed it’s usually mature women who ask you for a poster?”
Qin Guan looked at Cong Nianwei’s shiny black hair. He felt that something was off about what she’d said. In a short time, he had already handed out all his posters. Even the sticky notes in his hands were gone. Female customers had taken them to stick them to their faces and legs.
As they walked back to the booth, the director came and patted Qin Guan’s shoulder in excitement. Qin Guan was puzzled. The director said, “Qin, you did a very good job! I’ll ask the cashier to give you 200 yuan.”
Qin Guan looked at the director in bewilderment. The director pointed at the reception area, and Qin Guan saw some female customers who had asked for posters and sticky notes sitting there. Among the women, some were wine collectors and others were hotel managers. No matter how much the actual sale volume was, it had to be quite profitable for the exhibitor to win the approval of several luxurious hotels.
Qin Guan deserved the prize without a shadow of a doubt. The director decided to invite him more often to future exhibitions.
Qin Guan did not pretend to refuse the money. As the visitors started to leave, the exhibitors began to pack up for closing.
Taking the money from the cashier, Qin Guan held Cong Nianwei’s hand and left the hall, ignoring the complaining staff.
Cong Nianwei made fun of Qin Guan, “Not bad, Qin Guan. You made a month’s salary in a day.” Qin Guan nodded and answered in a serious tone, “This is just the beginning. I wanna be a rich man someday.”
Cong Nianwei burst into laughter. Qin Guan did not understand why she was laughing. He had not made a joke. Becoming rich was really his dream.