Although I hate this kind of comparison, I can't let myself lose face.

I heard that the most successful classmate has already built his company into a company that's about to go public.

I feel quite threatened and I'm thinking: if I could be at such a high level as my classmate, would I be able to get along with Ye Zhi more naturally?

Honestly, I still don't understand whether the problem between Ye Zhi and me stems from a wealth gap or a clash of values.

Anyway, just thinking about it makes me feel pretty upset.

...

After a moment of confusion, Yang Sisi knocked on my door. She had already gotten ready and told me to get up and leave quickly because I had an appointment with Manager Yao of "Cangshan Yishu" this afternoon to discuss advertising agency matters.

In just over ten minutes, I got myself ready, had a quick breakfast, and then drove back to Dali with Yang Sisi.

As for Wednesday, let him recover from his injury in Shangri-La first, and then he can meet up with me in Dali.

...

Because we had made ample preparations and taken a shortcut, the return trip was not as dangerous as the journey there. Yang Sisi and I arrived in Dali at 3 p.m.

I asked her to take me to "Cangshan Villa," and then I went straight to the office of Manager Yao in the Marketing Department.

As soon as I entered, I apologized to Manager Yao, saying, "I'm so sorry... My friend had some business yesterday and went to Shangri-La. He rushed back today and is still half an hour late. I hope you don't mind."

"Everyone has urgent matters to attend to, I understand... Please sit down first, let's discuss the details of the contract again, and if there are no problems, we'll sign the contract."

"No need for all that trouble, just use your department's contract template... I'm fine with it."

"Okay... If you don't have any special requirements, then sign according to our contract template."

I nodded, and after a brief silence, I said, "Manager Yao, I'd like to ask, after we sign this contract, how long will it take to receive your advance payment?"

"This requires Mr. Ye's personal signature before the finance department will approve it... Mr. Ye just returned to Shanghai, so it will probably take a while."

"This is such a small amount of money, and it requires your CEO Ye's personal approval?"

“Our group is particularly cautious about the flow of funds… I hope you understand.”

I urgently needed the money, and although Manager Yao had already made things clear, I still asked with some skepticism, "What if it's a particularly large sum of money that you need urgently, but she's not here?"

"This is a special case, so we'll have General Manager Ye authorize the person in charge below to sign on his behalf... However, this situation is very rare."

"Anyway, we can't get around your CEO Ye."

"That's how it works... Don't worry, a large group like ours wouldn't cheat you out of such a small amount of advertising fees."

I nodded and stopped talking, but I kept thinking about whether I should call Ye Zhi and ask her to approve the money as soon as possible. I'm in a tough spot. Not to mention the money needed for the bar, I also have to pay a lot of money upfront for the advertising wipes since the prepayment hasn't arrived yet!