Top Grade Pure Beauty CEO

Tang Youde felt incredibly excited and thrilled, he knew his brother-in-law was someone who could accomplish great things. Although he wasn't clear on the specifics of what his brother-in-law did, based on the events of today, he at least understood one thing—that his brother-in-law had underworld connections.

Tang Youde greatly admired his brother-in-law and wanted to become a man like him someday, someone who could summon a dozen cars and fifty or sixty people with just one phone call.

He clearly remembered the frightened expression on Zhang Daneng's face, as well as the regretful and resentful look in Wu Yuan's eyes.

And all of this had been brought about by his brother-in-law.

Originally, Li Xiaoyao had intended to treat Heizi and his group to a meal and drinks, but Heizi had declined, claiming that he needed to leave immediately.

Li Xiaoyao didn't insist, only mentioning that they should have a drink together when the opportunity arose.

Li Xiaoyao, with his background as a mercenary, had noticed something special about Heizi the first time he saw him.

This tall, bald man with a lively spark in his eyes definitely possessed impressive martial skills.

Those who practiced martial arts moved with agile yet stable steps and had penetrating or restrained gazes. This Heizi was clearly a trained fighter, and his skills were certainly not shallow.

It seemed that this person must be one of Zhao Si's most trusted aides, and the fact that he was willing to lend such an adept fighter to him for the day was a clear sign of his esteem.

In the taxi, Li Xiaoyao asked, "What do you feel like eating for lunch?"

Still caught up in his excitement, upon hearing Li Xiaoyao's question, Tang Youde said, "Let's buy some groceries and go home to cook. Everything is quite expensive in Ling City."

Li Xiaoyao looked at Tang Youde in some surprise. He didn't expect this young college student to be so thrifty. This pleased Li Xiaoyao as he had thought Tang Youde, after witnessing his capabilities, would start thinking of him as a rich man and begin asking for money, but it turned out he was mistaken.

It had to be said, Tang Tiantian and her brother were not people who chased after vanity.

If Tang Youde had just expressed a desire to dine at some five-star hotel, Li Xiaoyao wouldn't have said anything out loud but his impression of him would definitely not be good.

"Cooking takes time, and there's no need to go back. Come on, let's go find your sister and eat out," Li Xiaoyao said.

"Sure, brother-in-law, it's your call," Tang Youde nodded obediently.

The taxi stopped outside the shopping mall where Tang Tiantian worked. Li Xiaoyao and Tang Youde went into the mall, and Li Xiaoyao took out his phone to call Tang Tiantian when he noticed several missed calls on his mobile.

Upon checking, they were all from Zhuo Yi and Zhang Meng.

Li Xiaoyao had set his phone to silent, so he didn't hear the incoming calls. He called Zhang Meng back and after only one ring, she picked up.

"Xiaoyao brother, are you alright?" Zhang Meng asked anxiously.

Li Xiaoyao was taken aback and asked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You didn't come to the company this morning, and Zhuo Yi and I thought that you had been retaliated against by the Long Family. We even called the police, but they said they don't file a case unless it's been twenty-four hours," Zhang Meng said, relieved to hear that Li Xiaoyao was fine and then reproached, "Really, Xiaoyao brother, you should at least have called in sick if you weren't coming to work in the morning. Director Lan was also worried about you."

"Director Lan was worried about me? Is that true?" Li Xiaoyao knew that woman, always so cold and expressionless as if everyone owed her money.

"Really, when Zhuo Yi and I saw that you hadn't come, we told Director Lan, and she even made several phone calls."

"I overslept this morning and just didn't make it. Forgot to call. Can you tell Director Lan for me that I'm taking the day off and will be back at work tomorrow?" Li Xiaoyao knew he couldn't go to the company now; after lunch, he still needed to meet Zhao Si to discuss dealing with Hu Zhi.

After ending the call, the two of them arrived at the counter where Tang Tiantian worked, but Tang Tiantian was not there.

Li Xiaoyao and Tang Youde stood in front of the counter, and another female employee approached them, smiling, "Gentlemen, may I ask which makeup product you would like to know about?"

Li Xiaoyao said, "I'm looking for Tiantian, is she here?"

The woman paused for a moment, then replied, "Oh, Tiantian went to the manager's office, she'll be back in a bit."

Li Xiaoyao nodded his head and waited with Tang Youde at the counter for her.

About ten minutes later, Tang Tiantian returned. Li Xiaoyao, who was watching from afar, noticed that Tang Tiantian's expression seemed off, with some redness around her eyes.

Li Xiaoyao immediately frowned with concern, and at this moment, Tang Tiantian also saw them and walked over quickly.

"Why are you here?" Tang Tiantian asked, puzzled yet happy.

Just the night before, she had opened up to Li Xiaoyao, offering her first time to him, and now Li Xiaoyao had come to her workplace at noon, which touched her deeply.

"Sis, have you been crying?" Tang Youde also noticed that something was amiss with Tang Tiantian.

Tang Tiantian forced a smile and said, "I'm fine, what brings you here?"

Seeing that Tang Tiantian was reluctant to elaborate, Li Xiaoyao didn't ask further. He knew her character well; although gentle and kind, she was stubborn at her core. If she wanted to talk, she would do so without hesitation, but if she chose not to, no amount of questioning would change that.

Li Xiaoyao asked, "When do you get off work? Let's go out for dinner together."

Tang Tiantian glanced at her phone for the time and said, "I'll be off in fifteen minutes. Please take a seat over there and wait for me."

Not wanting to disturb her at work, Li Xiaoyao and Tang Youde went to the rest area of the shopping mall to wait.

About ten minutes later, close to Tang Tiantian's finishing time, a man in his thirties wearing a suit and tie suddenly walked up to the counter and spoke a few words to her. While talking, Tang Tiantian's expression was a mix of anger and helplessness.

Li Xiaoyao had been keeping an eye on Tang Tiantian and, noticing this, promptly approached them.

Li Xiaoyao respected Tang Tiantian, and he wouldn't pry into matters she chose not to discuss, but he absolutely could not tolerate seeing his woman being aggrieved.

Li Xiaoyao had already extended his mind over the counter area, and he overheard the content of the conversation between the man and Tang Tiantian.

"You are on duty this noon." The man was Tang Tiantian's manager, and suddenly, just before the end of her shift, he approached her to demand that she take the duty shift, which was clearly a deliberate attempt to target Tang Tiantian.

Tang Tiantian immediately objected, saying, "It's not my turn to be on duty today, and I've already made plans."

The manager smiled and said, "Tiantian, I'm the manager. If I say you are on duty today, then you are on duty. Of course, you can choose not to be, but if you leave later, I'll consider it absenteeism for today."

Tang Tiantian's lips were pressed tightly together, trembling slightly from anger.

"You're despicable!"

The manager did not care, his eyes leering at Tang Tiantian as he said, "Tiantian, think carefully about the proposal I made to you before."

[Dear readers, your strong recommendations have brought an update in the wee hours of the morning, and if you continue to show your support today, I'll update again tomorrow at dawn!]