Contradicting Hearts - Chapter 7 - Just Say He's Cute Too

Lin Jize had this admirable quality-he never put on airs. He didn’t flaunt himself, but neither did he feign humility.

“Someone like you staying single is such a waste of resources!” Wu Xing remarked, canceling his recent like on Lin Jize’s photo right in front of him. He then left a comment, “Just average, I think Wu Xing from Clinical Class 2 is way more handsome.”

Within seconds, comments flooded in, slamming Wu Xing’s taste, with a few even hurling insults at him for his “stupid” opinion.

“Ugh!” Wu Xing shook his head, reluctantly deleting his comment. “A bunch of trend-followers, they don’t get niche beauty. But seriously, do you have a girlfriend or not? Are you secretly dating someone?”

Lin Jize didn’t answer. Instead, he picked up the largest piece of braised pork belly with his chopsticks and waved it in front of Wu Xing’s face. “Three people who appreciate your beauty, huh?”

Wu Xing cleared his throat, but Lin Jize didn’t give him a chance to speak. With a swift motion, he shoved the meat into Wu Xing’s mouth. “Jerk.”

The sensation on his lips made Wu Xing’s stomach churn.

So, what exactly did he do to annoy Lin Jize? Was it the lack of a like, or the girlfriend question?

To quell his queasiness, after lunch, Wu Xing dragged Lin Jize to the supermarket to buy a pack of plum candies. As they exited, a sleek black Land Rover Defender caught his eye. Like most men, Wu Xing had a thing for cars, so he took a few extra glances. As they approached the Land Rover, its hazard lights flashed, and Wu Xing instinctively glanced at the driver’s seat, noticing the woman inside seemed to wink at him.

Feigning nonchalance, Wu Xing stiffened his neck and tugged at Lin Jize’s sleeve, whispering, “Listen, don’t look at that car. The woman inside seems interested in me, she…”

Before he could finish, the woman who was supposedly interested in him got out of the car and walked towards them.

“Hey there, handsome. Mind adding me on WeChat?” Hao Sijia said, her lips curled into a playful smile as she stopped in front of Lin Jize.

Wu Xing felt utterly embarrassed. So, she was interested in Lin Jize after all. Still, he loyally tried to shield Lin Jize from unwanted attention. “Sorry, my buddy here has a girlfriend.”

“Oh? He has a girlfriend?” Hao Sijia looked at Lin Jize with a teasing smile. “That’s a shame.”

Wu Xing found her quite appealing himself and decided to seize the opportunity. “Not really a shame. If he’s not available, how about me?”

“You?” Hao Sijia chuckled softly but actually took a moment to appraise Wu Xing. “Not bad.”

“Then how about adding me on WeChat?”

Hao Sijia glanced at Lin Jize, who remained expressionless. “Is it okay to add him?”

Wu Xing thought she was asking him, “Of course, it’s okay.” He opened his QR code and offered it to Hao Sijia.

“Is it really okay?” Hao Sijia repeated, seemingly to herself, but still, Lin Jize didn’t react. “Alright, let’s add.” Hao Sijia swiftly scanned the code, and Wu Xing immediately accepted the request.

“Well, let’s chat later then.” Wu Xing hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.

Hao Sijia raised an eyebrow, “Sure thing.”

“Then I’ll be off with my friend.”

Hao Sijia nodded with a smile. Wu Xing, feeling a bit bashful, scratched the back of his neck and turned to Lin Jize, “Let’s go.”

After a long silence, Lin Jize finally spoke, “You go ahead. I need to head back to the supermarket; I forgot to buy something.”

“Oh, okay.” Wu Xing waved at Hao Sijia again before walking away with his phone.

Once Wu Xing was out of sight, Hao Sijia turned back to Lin Jize, feigning curiosity, “What did you forget to buy?”

Lin Jize ignored her, opened the car door, and got in.

“No classes?”

“Yeah.”

“I want to have that beer duck you cooked last time for dinner.”

Lin Jize let out a small snort, “You really like duck.”

Hao Sijia brushed off his sarcastic tone, “Yep, so make plenty tonight.”

On the way, Hao Sijia’s phone buzzed several times. At a red light, she glanced at it.

“Your classmate is quite enthusiastic.”

Scrolling through Wu Xing’s messages, Lin Jize noticed the light turn green and reminded her, “You can go now.”

“Reply for me,” Hao Sijia tossed her phone to Lin Jize, “Just say he’s cute too.”

Without a word, Lin Jize took the phone, typed a few words, then turned it off and placed it back in the console.

That evening, Lin Jize didn’t make duck; he cooked a fish instead. Hao Sijia loved fish eyes, but when she checked the fish head, both eyes were missing. She asked Lin Jize where the eyes went, and he replied that the fish was blind.

Around eleven, Wu Xing sent a few more messages to Hao Sijia. Bored, she scrolled up and saw the last message she had “sent” to Wu Xing, the one Lin Jize had typed for her-“Just say he’s cute too.”

Lying on her side with her head propped on her hand, Hao Sijia tossed her phone aside and whistled at Lin Jize, who had just come out of the shower. Lin Jize ignored her, so she stretched out her long leg and hooked him with her foot, “You’re pretty cute too, Lin.”

…

At the weekly meeting, the Marketing Department reported recent complaints from franchisees to Hao Sijia. Her studio brand was experimenting with online live streaming, which was doing well, accounting for 40% of total sales. However, the offline franchisees were unhappy, feeling that the online presence was stealing their customers. The Marketing Department said their phones were ringing off the hook with calls from disgruntled franchisees.

After listening to the department head’s report, Hao Sijia calmly asked, “Is this really something to fret over?”

“Why couldn’t Nokia transition back then? It wasn’t that they couldn’t make smartphones; they were tied down by the profit chains of feature phones. What’s that called again,” Hao Sijia recalled Lin Jize telling her, “Oh, path dependence. Just like Kodak made the world’s first digital camera, but 70% of their profits came from film. If they sold digital cameras, who would buy their film?”

Hao Sijia made her stance clear, “But I won’t let my brand be held hostage by those vested interests.”

Wang Ke agreed with Hao Sijia’s perspective, “The franchisees aren’t against our brand doing online streaming; they’re against online sales cutting into their profits. As long as we can bring them greater benefits, they won’t care about the current ones.”

“Then let’s go for digital marketing.” Hao Sijia took a sip of her coffee, “So bitter, no sugar, Zora?”

“Sorry.” Wang Ke pushed her own cup towards Hao Sijia, indicating she should drink it. Feeling drowsy, Hao Sijia didn’t fuss, took a gulp, “One code, one coupon.”

Customers entering the store are called precise traffic. They scan a code, receive a coupon online, and are then directed to offline stores for conversion, eventually tracking back to share profits with franchisees.

“Empower the franchisees,” Wang Ke glanced at the yawning Hao Sijia and continued explaining, “Create a network and community to help franchisees with customer flow, conversion rates, and repeat purchases. So, Marketing Department, make sure to communicate effectively with them and provide the necessary training. Convey the information accurately to the franchisees. Some will understand, and for those who don’t, explain it again. If they still don’t get it…”

“If you can’t understand, you’re out,” Hao Sijia said without mercy. “We don’t need partners who lack vision and brains.”

“Tell them, we’re not fighting over a slice of cake; we’re making a bigger cake together. Also,” Hao Sijia stretched her arms and scanned everyone in the meeting room, “Marketing Department, and all other departments, I’m paying you not to just gather and summarize problems, but to solve them.”

As soon as the meeting ended, Hao Sijia collapsed into her executive chair, looking utterly drained.

“Feeling off?” Wang Ke made her a fresh cup of coffee.

“No.”

“You don’t seem well.”

Hao Sijia smiled weakly, pointing to the dark circles under her eyes, “I’m never really in good shape.”

Something occurred to Wang Ke, and she suddenly grabbed Hao Sijia’s hand holding the coffee cup.

“Hmm?” Hao Sijia was puzzled.

“Your period is coming up, right?” Wang Ke took the coffee away. “Better not drink this.”

Hao Sijia, who seldom kept track of the dates, chuckled, “Keeping track for me, Zora? That’s thoughtful.”

Wang Ke stared at the cup’s rim, still bearing Hao Sijia’s lipstick mark, and just nodded.

Perhaps it was indeed because her period was near, but Hao Sijia felt the hormonal fluctuations within her made her irritable and weak. Even at the bar today, she couldn’t muster the energy to notice a muscular, handsome guy. She had planned just to sit with Ye Jingshu for a while before heading home, but, unfortunately, she ran into a franchisee of the brand. This franchisee owned about twenty stores in the city alone but was also the leader in opposing the brand’s online live sales. Hao Sijia was puzzled; here was someone who had made a fortune, yet seemed increasingly narrow-minded, lacking any vision or foresight.

No matter her private disdain, Hao Sijia kept a polite facade. She tapped Ye Jingshu, who seemed somewhat distracted, “I’m going over there to say hello.”

Ye Jingshu snapped back to reality, nodded, and reminded Hao Sijia to drink less.

“Mr. Chen!” Hao Sijia casually pushed past a group of young girls on the outskirts and approached Chen Sheng, “What a coincidence!”

The group of girls, mistaking Hao Sijia for another freeloader trying to score a seat, sized her up with wary and contemptuous eyes, as if resenting her for stealing their spotlight.

Chen Sheng’s gaze traveled up Hao Sijia’s attractive legs. Recognizing her, he stood up, patted the empty seat beside him, and gestured for her to sit, “Ms. Hao is here too!”

“Yes, I saw you and thought I’d come over to offer a drink.”

Hao Sijia knew that Chen Sheng was no gentleman, and when his lecherous eyes lingered on her chest, she felt nauseated. If she were still in her early twenties, she might have reacted like they do in the dramas, smashing a bottle over his head, but her experiences and rationality told her that would gain her nothing.

Most of the time, Hao Sijia never revealed her true self, always masked whenever interests were involved.

Chen Sheng was no fool. He understood the arguments Hao Sijia presented, weighing their pros and cons. But, having initially led the opposition, now retracting his stance would be like slapping his own face among the franchisees. He needed a way out without losing face.

So, for the sake of Chen Sheng’s pride, Hao Sijia opened two bottles of Louis XIII at his booth and kept toasting him.

From Ye Jingshu’s angle, Chen Sheng’s wandering hands were on Hao Sijia’s thigh, whispering something into her ear, laughing vulgarly. Ye Jingshu knew Hao Sijia was aware, but still couldn’t stand it. Worried she might act rashly and ruin Hao Sijia’s business dealings, Ye Jingshu downed a glass of wine and decided to stay in the restroom.