Chapter Twenty-Three
As Peng Kun walked out of the office with a worried look on his face, he had just reached the door when someone suddenly called out to him from behind: "President Peng!"
He turned around and saw Zuo Xutong catching up breathlessly, her voice urgent: "I have to explain what happened last time to you."
He glanced at her, but didn't say anything. He was still thinking about the financing, so he kept his head down and continued walking.
Zuo Xutong was not about to give up and followed him closely: "Listen to me, Mr. Luan of Chaoma New Energy is indeed my classmate, but we haven't been in contact for a long time."
Peng Kun stopped and looked at her thoughtfully, then asked, "You want to explain, right?"
Zuo Xutong quickly nodded.
“If you can do me a favor, I’ll give you a chance to explain,” he said.
"No problem, as long as I can do it."
“I’m going to meet an investor tonight, a woman, and she might be interested in me,” Peng Kun said without any attempt to hide it.
Zuo Xutong had heard about the company's current predicament, and upon hearing that the boss was going to use his body to save the company, he immediately felt great respect for him.
However, he quickly added, "Once she agrees to invest, I'll send you a message, and you should show up in time to rescue me."
He actually used the word "rescue," and Zuo Xutong suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem. She exclaimed, "Oh, I see! You want me to play your girlfriend, right? Don't worry, acting is my forte. If it weren't for the sake of our country's scientific and technological development, I might even be an actress myself!" She boasted about herself to the skies, as if becoming an actress would immediately earn her an Oscar.
"Really?" Peng Kun looked at her with a skeptical expression.
"Of course, I even acted in plays when I was in college," she said sincerely.
What play?
"Camel Xiangzi".
What role are you playing?
"I'll play the camel."
Peng Kun was impressed. He had never seen someone act like a Golden Horse Award-winning actress just because they played a camel. He suddenly regretted entrusting such an important task to her. After walking for a while, he asked again, "Isn't Camel Xiangzi a nickname for one person?"
“That’s right, but there are three camels in the play,” Zuo Xutong paused, “and I play one of them.” Peng Kun was about to vomit blood from her, but she kept nagging, “Think about it, I can play a camel, a different species, so why can’t I play your girlfriend?”
Peng Kun turned his face and looked her up and down, shaking his head and saying, "It really won't work. You should go to the mall and change into something nicer, otherwise you'll look too embarrassing. If she sees that I have a girlfriend like this, she'll harass me even more recklessly in the future."
Zuo Xutong was surprised by his bluntness and lack of consideration for her feelings. She was annoyed that he would insult her like this after helping her for free. However, in order to persuade him to restart the Shengguang project, she dared not utter a word of rebuttal and could only endure the humiliation and obediently nod: "Okay, I will follow your arrangements."
The two arrived at an upscale shopping mall, took the escalator to the second floor, and Peng Kun chose a trendy women's clothing store. Once inside, Zuo Xutong didn't bother to choose clothes properly; instead, she focused solely on pulling down the collars of clothes, ignoring the sales staff's explanations—it was utterly embarrassing. Finally, Peng Kun couldn't take it anymore, pulled her aside, and whispered, "Why aren't you choosing clothes properly? Why are you always pulling down people's collars?"
"I want to flip the price tag over to see the price, but it's too expensive for me," Zuo Xutong said honestly.
Peng Kun was on the verge of exploding again. He suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "All your expenses in this mall today will be reimbursed by the company. Hurry up and pick something out, don't let it interfere with important business!"
"You should have said so earlier! I was so nervous just now." Now Zuo Xutong finally focused her attention on the style of the clothes. However, her taste has never been very good. Finally, with the recommendation of the waiter, she chose a light champagne-colored silk fitted shirt, paired with a light wool high-waisted A-line skirt, and a pair of nude pointed-toe mid-heel shoes.
After changing her clothes, her overall demeanor improved significantly. Peng Kun looked at her and finally nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. Now go get your hair done." Then he looked at the sales assistant, "Are there any hair salons in the mall?"
"There's a styling studio on the fifth floor that caters specifically to women; they offer hairdressing and makeup services," the waiter said.
"Did you hear that? Go over there yourself, then find me at Starbucks on the first floor." Peng Kun didn't want to embarrass himself with her any longer, so he sent her upstairs and went to have his coffee.
After getting her hair done and makeup applied, Zuo Xutong almost didn't recognize herself when she looked in the mirror. No wonder they say hair is a person's second face; it's absolutely true. She didn't have time to think much, paid the bill, and hurried downstairs. On her way to Starbucks, she was constantly stared at, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
When she walked up to Peng Kun, he was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that a woman could look so different when she dressed up or not. After she had carefully tidied herself up, she was instantly radiant and so beautiful that people dared not look directly at her.
He turned his head away, looking elsewhere.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zuo Xutong had no choice but to ask, "Do you think this is okay?"
"It's alright, he's barely good enough for me," Peng Kun said.
The two left the coffee shop and walked towards the entrance to the underground parking lot on the other side of the mall. On the way, they passed a gold and jewelry counter. Zuo Xutong suddenly stopped and pointed to a rose gold necklace inlaid with emeralds in the counter, saying, "Yes, I also feel like something is missing. Would it be better to wear a necklace?"
Peng Kun glanced at the price tag on the necklace, which was over 20,000 yuan. At this moment, the sales clerk also noticed them. This store rarely saw any customers all day long, but the "couple's" attire clearly indicated that they had purchasing power. She quickly walked over and greeted them warmly, "What would you two like to see?"
"I'd like to see this necklace. Also, my hair is completely bald, so I'll need to wear a hair accessory or something," Zuo Xutong said, then asked the salesperson, "Do you have any gold hair ornaments?"
Peng Kun's eyes widened: "A gold headdress? How about I buy you a gold ingot to take home too?"
"Really?" She pretended not to understand his sarcasm and said happily, "But I don't like gold, it's too tacky. I'd prefer platinum."
“Yes, buy a platinum one. That way, you won’t need to buy raw materials for membrane electrode experiments in the future. You can just cut it directly from the top,” Peng Kun said.
"That's a great idea! Let's buy a platinum necklace too."
The two chatted back and forth, making the waitress next to them very happy. She thought to herself that since this couple was so wealthy, her sales today would be at least 20,000. So she said with a smile, "Miss, we have a pure gold hairpin in our store that would match your hairstyle perfectly today."
"No need, thank you." After saying that, Peng Kun grabbed Zuo Xutong's arm and forcibly dragged her away, muttering as he walked, "You don't need to wear anything. You're good enough for me, it's me who's not good enough for you, okay?"
Zuo Xutong smiled smugly and stopped asking for the necklace and hair accessory.
Before meeting Geng Yue, Zuo Xutong had always associated her with the wealthy women who had overdosed on Botox injections, resulting in facial swelling that made them look like wax figures. So after receiving Peng Kun's message, she didn't dare to delay for a moment and rushed to their location.
To make this "chance encounter" seem plausible, Peng Kun changed the previously arranged private club to a high-end Western restaurant. Although the restaurant was located on the street, it didn't have many customers due to its high prices. The two sat on the first floor by the window, so that Zuo Xutong could "discover" them from the outside while "shopping". According to the plan, she would first knock on the window glass, and then rush in, consumed by jealousy.
As a result, Zuo Xutong was captivated by Geng Yue at first sight. She was too beautiful, with stunning looks and figure, and exquisite and three-dimensional features like a Greek statue. Her dark red low-cut strapless dress highlighted her exquisite and full curves. She was like Aphrodite who could charm all living beings. Even women passing by her couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Looking at Peng Kun sitting opposite her, he was wearing a navy blue suit with a clean and crisp white shirt, and his meticulously trimmed short hair made him look incredibly handsome. They were truly a match made in heaven!
Zuo Xutong had never seen Peng Kun dressed like this before. He usually dressed like a gray rat. Although he was handsome, his shabby clothes made him look like an ordinary person on the street, but he was not particularly noticeable either.
Zuo Xutong admired the handsome man and beautiful woman through the glass, almost forgetting her mission. It wasn't until Peng Kun winked at her for the nth time that she finally dropped her infatuated expression, pretended to walk in, and cruelly shattered this beautiful scene.
After the two left the Western restaurant, Peng Kun complained with a displeased look: "You didn't show any of the jealousy and hostility a woman should have when she sees her boyfriend on a date with another woman."
"Oh, really?" This was indeed a difficult thing for Zuo Xutong. She rarely had such feelings because if a woman's goal was her career rather than a man, she would not feel hostility towards women who were prettier than herself.
"Yes, you're practically sending us your blessings."
Zuo Xutong also felt guilty about her behavior just now, and asked nervously, "Did she agree to invest?"
“I agreed.” But Peng Kun didn’t say that he was a step too late. Geng Yue had already invested a large sum of money in Chaoma New Energy, so her investment in Polar Blue Sky was just a drop in the bucket, only enough to extend the company’s operations for two months. But in order to secure those precious two months, he almost lost everything himself.
However, after hearing his words, Zuo Xutong finally felt relieved and hesitated before continuing, "But isn't what you're doing a bit..."
"You're overthinking it. She and her husband have wanted to invest in new energy for a long time, but I didn't want to get involved with her, so I never agreed." Peng Kun is now regretting not making the first move, letting Luan Mingfeng get the better deal.
"She got married?" Zuo Xutong asked in surprise.
"They already have children."
"No wonder you disagreed, so you wanted to be someone's mistress."
"Not really, the couple each do their own thing and don't interfere with each other."
"The world of the rich is so exciting," Zuo Xutong thought to herself.
“Alright, you’ve completed your task. I’m now fulfilling my promise and giving you a chance to explain,” Peng Kun said.
Zuo Xutong perked up. She knew very well that Peng Kun wouldn't have the patience to listen to her explanation a second time, so if she wanted him to believe her, she had to be honest enough. So she used the most concise language to tell him all about her experiences from high school to dropping out of her doctoral program.
After hearing this, Peng Kun remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "It's hard to imagine that a woman like you would give up her studies for love."
Zuo Xutong sighed helplessly, expressing her understanding of his lack of understanding, and said casually, "I must have been poisoned at the time."
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