Chapter 52: He Came from the Rain

Meng Xingzhe stared at the two photos, feeling a surge of frustration.

A new message popped up on the screen.

Bei Luonan: [Xingxing, oh Xingxing, you’re no longer the elegant and refined person you once were. Now you’re so crude you even suck on chicken bones!!!]

“…”

Meng Xingzhe couldn’t help but look around. The dining area of the fried chicken shop was open, and he wondered where Bei Luonan was hiding to take such sneaky photos of him.

Seeing him look around and forget about his chicken, Yao Jia asked, “What are you looking for?”

Meng Xingzhe turned back and said, “I’m just checking if someone as handsome as me eating chicken would get photographed.”

“…” Yao Jia almost threw a chicken bone at his shameless face.

Meng Xingzhe, worried she might spot Bei Luonan, quickly changed the subject, “Hey, why aren’t you spending the weekend with your boyfriend? Are things not going well between you two?”

If Yao Jia’s mouth wasn’t full of fried chicken, she would have spat at Meng Xingzhe.

“Why do you always have to be so negative?” His negativity sparked her rebellious side, and she retorted, glaring at him, “I’ll have you know, Yue Xuran and I are as solid as gold. Envy us all you want.”

She paused and gave a convincing reason, “Yue Xuran is busy preparing for a new product launch these days. I can’t disturb him at such a crucial time.”

Meng Xingzhe’s ears seemed to amplify the phrase “solid as gold,” making it particularly grating. He felt like slapping himself—wasn’t the fried chicken tasty enough to keep his mouth shut? Why did he have to invite this bitter dog food upon himself?

He put on gloves and aggressively tore into the chicken leg, eating even more crudely than before.

After finishing the fried chicken, Yao Jia felt satisfied. She removed her disposable gloves, wiped her mouth, and waved at Meng Xingzhe, “Let’s go check out the Xingbei store!”

Meng Xingzhe blocked her with his leg, “First, you need to award the ‘Most Crude Chicken Eater’ title, or I’ll feel unsettled.”

Yao Jia: “…”

“Fine, fine, you win! You’re the crudest! I hereby declare you the crudest chicken eater in the city!” Yao Jia announced the award with exaggerated flair.

Meng Xingzhe grinned and withdrew his leg.

“…” Yao Jia was exasperated. No matter how unflattering the title, as long as it had “most” in it, Meng Xingzhe had to claim it.

He was truly something else!

The recipient of the ‘Most Crude’ award seemed quite pleased, standing up with a smug face and handing a few bills to Yao Jia, “Brother Xing is happy today, this meal’s on me.”

“…” Yao Jia was impressed. She might have just found a way to trick him into spending money on her in the future…

The two left the fried chicken shop and headed to the Xingbei Technology store.

As soon as they entered, Yao Jia was captivated by the array of small appliances.

Xingbei’s small appliances were truly innovative, each with numerous novel features.

For example, their rice cooker had a full panel of touch buttons with a wide range of functions, offering six or seven different cooking modes. Yao Jia was keenly interested, examining each cooking mode. Then there was the dishwasher, with eight washing modes. Yao Jia eagerly explored the differences between them.

After the dishwasher, she moved on to the bread maker, which had a dozen or so buttons, looking highly advanced and multifunctional. Yao Jia enthusiastically studied the bread maker’s buttons to see what each could do.

The microwave also boasted many new features and touch buttons.

The water dispenser, with its various modes, drew Yao Jia’s attention as she investigated their differences.

…

Yao Jia examined each product thoroughly.

While researching, she even discussed the principles of the appliances with Meng Xingzhe.

Meng Xingzhe was surprised by her detailed explanations, “You know so much? Is this really you?”

Yao Jia scoffed, “Can’t I study hard and improve every day?”

Meng Xingzhe laughed.

He had assumed her knowledge of appliance principles was just enough to handle difficult customers, but now she could engage in a back-and-forth conversation with him.

It’s important to note that he was the owner of an appliance company, not just a customer service rep. Her rapid progress genuinely surprised him. She was clearly a smart kid, like those students who usually lagged behind in class but could suddenly top the exams with a bit of effort.

Standing by, watching Yao Jia eagerly study each product’s features, Meng Xingzhe felt a proud banner waving in his heart.

A sales assistant approached, a young girl with a friendly smile, “Hello, are there any products you’re interested in? I can give you a detailed introduction to their features!”

After speaking, she glanced at Meng Xingzhe and froze.

Meng Xingzhe’s heart skipped a beat, worried that Bei Luonan might have slipped up, leaving someone who recognized him unescorted back home for a break.

The next second, he saw the sales assistant blush, biting her lip with a shy smile.

Then she turned to Yao Jia and whispered, “Your boyfriend is really handsome!”

Meng Xingzhe: “…” Were the employees at his company’s store all such fangirls?!

Yao Jia didn’t even look up, still engrossed in the electric lunch box’s features, and casually replied to the sales assistant, “He’s all yours.”

The sales assistant blushed even more, stealing glances at Meng Xingzhe and smiling each time.

Meng Xingzhe: “…”

He impatiently told the sales assistant, “You can go about your business. We’ll call you if we need anything.”

Yao Jia glanced at him.

The sales assistant walked away, looking back repeatedly.

Meng Xingzhe leaned against the counter, eyebrows raised with a hint of mischief, and asked Yao Jia, “Why did you give me such a weird look just now?”

Yao Jia continued examining the electric lunch box, “I think you were too rude to the young lady earlier. It didn’t feel like a customer talking to a sales assistant, more like you were her boss.”

“…”

Sometimes Meng Xingzhe really admired women’s sixth sense—what they casually said often turned out to be true.

He chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject, “The products here are pretty good, right? As functional small appliances, they live up to their reputation, don’t they?”

He pointed at the various products and said to Yao Jia, “Aren’t these products’ features trendy and stylish? They’re very popular with young people nowadays. Yao Xiaojia, do you believe that soon, Xingbei Technology’s product sales might surpass Kunyu Electric?”

Meng Xingzhe’s pride in his products was palpable, just waiting for Yao Jia to nod and agree, allowing his pride to burst forth like a wild horse.

But Yao Jia frowned and said, “They’re good.”

She paused and added, “But I think they could be better.”

Hearing the first part, Meng Xingzhe’s chin instinctively tilted upwards, the angle screaming “pride.” But upon hearing the latter part, his upward motion froze, and after a moment of surprise, he quickly retracted his chin.

He asked Yao Jia, “What do you mean, they could be better?”

He looked at his products with the affectionate eyes of a proud parent, believing each was already in its most perfect state.

Yao Jia pondered for a moment, then turned to Meng Xingzhe, “Have I ever told you that I’m really interested in all kinds of design? My design philosophy is ‘less is more.'”

She gestured toward the products she had just examined—the rice cooker, dishwasher, bread maker, microwave, water dispenser, electric lunch box—and said, “But these products are overly complicated. The technical skills of the developers must be quite strong to achieve so many functions. While these products are comprehensive, numerous, and advanced, how many features are commonly used? Most buttons might not even be pressed a few times before the product is discarded. The few times they are used might just be young people experimenting out of curiosity, finding it novel, and then that’s it.”

“For example,” Yao Jia pointed at the rice cooker and said to Meng Xingzhe, “it actually has seven different cooking modes. It seems impressive and sophisticated, but can we really taste the difference between rice cooked in these seven modes? In the end, everyone just tends to use the quickest cooking mode, don’t you think?”

Meng Xingzhe leaned lazily against the counter, listening. As she continued, he straightened up, his expression becoming serious.

“Go on,” Meng Xingzhe urged Yao Jia.

“And then there’s the microwave. It has a whole panel of high-end features. Young people might experiment with each function out of curiosity, but what about middle-aged and older people? I doubt they’d buy something complicated to operate. For them, the simpler the product, the better. This whole panel of buttons is just superfluous to them.”

Meng Xingzhe pondered, secretly taking out his phone to start recording.

“Could you repeat what you just said?”

Yao Jia looked puzzled. “?”

Meng Xingzhe replied, “I have a memory like a goldfish. I forget the beginning by the time I reach the end. Please, repeat it so I can catch everything.”

Yao Jia chuckled, unfazed by his request, and repeated her earlier points.

“Keep going. I want to hear more of your thoughts,” Meng Xingzhe said, holding his phone.

Yao Jia thought for a moment and continued, “Well, from a cost perspective, the more functions a product from Xingbei Technology has, the higher the cost and the more expensive it becomes. Young people who have the spending power and are interested in new things might be willing to try these functional products. That’s why Xingbei Technology’s products seem to be selling well now because they focus on the internet, which is mainly a young people’s market.”

She paused, then added, “But for the general public, especially middle-aged and older customers, they won’t pay for flashy but unnecessary features. These dazzling functions are unnecessary for them, and they won’t spend extra money on what they see as superfluous. So, I think they would prefer to buy appliances from traditional companies like Kunyu Electric.”

“And then?” Meng Xingzhe prompted.

“Then, I think as Xingbei Technology continues to sell its products, sales will hit a bottleneck because the market of young people willing to try complex new features will gradually become saturated. So, your idea that Xingbei Technology’s sales will surpass Kunyu Electric’s won’t happen anytime soon. As Kunyu employees, we don’t need to worry too much because Xingbei is not yet a threat to us.”

Meng Xingzhe controlled his racing heart and maintained a calm and composed expression.

He thought that the reason he and Bei Luonan couldn’t figure out why Xingbei Technology’s products weren’t outselling Kunyu Electric’s seemed to be clear from Yao Jia’s insights.

“When did you start considering costs in your analysis?” Meng Xingzhe asked, surprised.

Yao Jia coughed, trying to appear casual. “Oh, that. To be honest, I studied financial management in school, but I never really applied it until now.” She was beginning to put her learning into practice.

Meng Xingzhe was quietly amazed. He had never seen someone grasp concepts and improve so quickly.

“If it were up to you, how would you suggest Xingbei Technology adjust its strategy?” he asked Yao Jia casually.

“I’m just speaking off the cuff,” Yao Jia said, tilting her head and tapping her chin with her fingers in a playful and lively manner. “First, they need to segment the market, dividing products into those aimed at high-end customers and those for the general public. For young people, trendsetters, and tech enthusiasts, they should continue producing highly functional and relatively expensive products, relying on these users to build a brand reputation for high-end products. For the general public, they should retain only the most advanced and practical features, omitting the rest. This streamlining would reduce costs, allowing the products to be sold at a more accessible price. Since the high-end clientele has already established the brand’s premium reputation, the general public will feel it’s a good deal to buy a high-end brand product at a popular price.”

After speaking, Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe.

She was startled when she saw him.

He was watching her intently, without blinking, with utmost seriousness.

His focused gaze made her a bit uneasy. “Hey, don’t stare at me like that. I’m just rambling!”

Meng Xingzhe looked at her and suddenly smiled. That smile made Yao Jia feel like the entire store had brightened. “No, you’re not rambling,” Meng Xingzhe said.

—Your answer matches exactly what I’ve been thinking.

Since starting the business, he and Bei Luonan had focused on “functionality” as their product’s main selling point. Unexpectedly, what they were most proud of was also the bottleneck limiting their continued growth.

Being so immersed in Xingbei Technology, they had been too focused on technology and functionality to see as clearly as Yao Jia, who was outside the company and could pinpoint the bottleneck issue so directly.

He knew staring at Yao Jia like that was abrupt, but he couldn’t help it.

He was too excited and thrilled inside, yet he couldn’t reveal why. He could only focus these emotions into his gaze, silently expressing them to her.

The sales bottleneck Xingbei Technology had been unable to break through was suddenly clear to him.

That day, after returning home from Xingbei Technology, Yao Jia found Meng Xingzhe acting as if possessed. As soon as he entered the dormitory, he rushed to his room, as if a great secret was waiting for him to nurture it.

Once in his room, Meng Xingzhe excitedly called Bei Luonan, “Bei Bei, quickly notify the R&D Department, Design Department, Product Department… all key personnel and mid-to-high-level staff to meet in the conference room first thing tomorrow morning!”

“???” Bei Luonan was utterly baffled. “What’s gotten into you? Today you suddenly sent everyone home, and now you’re calling them back for a meeting tomorrow. Who taught you this rebellious spirit? Was it Yao Xiaojia?”

Meng Xingzhe replied, “I was indeed inspired by her today. I think we’ve found the reason why our supposedly top-notch products aren’t outselling Kunyu Electric’s! We can have a deeper discussion with everyone tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Bei Luonan immediately stopped complaining. “I’ll have the secretary from the President’s Office send out the meeting notice right away!”

The next morning, while Yao Jia was still sleeping in, Meng Xingzhe had already left.

He and the various department heads and mid-to-high-level staff engaged in an intense brainstorming session. The result was that everyone agreed with Yao Jia’s design philosophy of simplifying products for the general market.

During the meeting, Meng Xingzhe and Bei Luonan assigned tasks to each department, instructing the R&D, Design, and Product Departments to quickly come up with product improvement plans. The marketing department was also tasked with creating a new marketing strategy for the improved products.

The meeting lasted from morning until afternoon, with the weather outside changing from clear skies to overcast.

A significant autumn rain was brewing in the gray sky. To prevent everyone from getting soaked and chilled, Meng Xingzhe promptly announced the end of the meeting.

Though the day’s brainstorming left everyone a bit tired, the announcement of the meeting’s conclusion was met with excitement because they had identified the bottleneck issue.

Bei Luonan had been worried that after the meeting, Meng Xingzhe might suggest ending his undercover role early, now that they had found the sales bottleneck. If that happened, Meng Yutang’s efforts would be in vain.

He had already planned it out. If Meng Xingzhe brought it up, he would insist on the three-month period and use the excuse that the issues Yao Jia helped discover were still theoretical and needed time to be verified. Until the improved product showed significant sales, Meng Xingzhe couldn’t demand an early end to his three-month stint as a small-time employee in the Kunyu Customer Service Department.

To his surprise, Meng Xingzhe didn’t mention it at all. Instead, he cheerfully snatched a pink banknote from him, claiming it was going to rain and he needed to take a taxi back to maintain his suave appearance upon entering the dormitory.

He strutted off as if someone in the dorm was waiting to admire him.

Meng Xingzhe used the money he took from Bei Luonan to take a taxi back to the dorm. He felt the heavens were particularly kind today, as if waiting for him to get home before letting the rain pour.

Just as he stepped inside, a thunderclap split the sky, and lightning tore a hole through the dense clouds. The rain, no longer held back, poured down in torrents, bringing a chill to the autumn air.

The rain was so heavy that it blurred the line between heaven and earth.

As the rain began, the cold seeped through every crack and crevice of the house. Meng Xingzhe, who had left wearing only a shirt, put on a jacket after entering.

He wandered around the house but couldn’t sense Yao Jia’s presence.

He knocked on Yao Jia’s door, intending to ask about dinner plans. But there was no response from her room.

She wasn’t home.

Looking at the storm outside, Meng Xingzhe took out his phone to call Yao Jia. To his surprise, her phone rang from the kitchen.

He thought Yao Jia might be in the kitchen and hurried over, ready to ask why she was hiding.

But the kitchen was empty, except for Yao Jia’s phone singing loudly on the shelf.

There was an empty spot on the shelf.

Meng Xingzhe stood there, trying to recall what used to occupy that space.

It seemed to be a reusable shopping bag from the supermarket that Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng liked to fold and store there after shopping.

Looking at the empty space, Meng Xingzhe guessed that Yao Jia had made a foolish mistake—she must have taken the shopping bag and forgotten her phone.

So—

She must have gone to the supermarket.

Yao Jia had fallen asleep while reading in the afternoon. When she woke up, she saw the overcast sky and checked the weather forecast, which predicted heavy rain in the evening.

She quickly got up, planning to beat the rain by going to the supermarket for some groceries, ensuring they had food for dinner since ordering takeout in a storm wasn’t ideal.

The weather had been mild yesterday, so she didn’t think much of it. She wore a long-sleeved shirt, grabbed a shopping bag from the kitchen, and headed out.

But before she could leave the supermarket after shopping, she heard the fierce sound of rain pounding the ground outside and the cries of people caught in the storm without umbrellas.

Yao Jia hurried to the umbrella section, hoping to buy one to fend off the rain. But even the most expensive ones were sold out.

Undeterred, she went to look for raincoats.

—But the shelves were as empty as Meng Xingzhe’s wallet.

With no other options, Yao Jia went to check out, deciding to take things as they came.

At checkout, she realized she had forgotten her phone at home in her sleepy haze.

Fortunately, she had a banknote with her; otherwise, she would have had to return all the groceries she had picked out.

After paying, Yao Jia stood at the supermarket entrance, testing the weather. As soon as she opened the door and peeked out, she shivered violently.

The rain was so cold it felt like winter had arrived in autumn. Her teeth chattered from the chill.

She quickly retreated inside. At that moment, she cursed herself for forgetting her phone. Now, she couldn’t even go back into the supermarket to buy a jacket.

She stood there with her shopping bags, moving aside to avoid blocking the entrance. Through the foggy glass, she watched the rain outside, wondering when it would let up and when she could return to the dorm.

If she had her phone, she could have called for help, asked Ling Xiaoxin or Meng Xingzhe to come get her. But without it, and without remembering anyone’s phone numbers, she was cut off from the outside world.

As she watched the misty rain, she felt a sense of despair, as if she were trapped in an apocalyptic scenario with no hope of rescue.

She overheard a woman saying to her husband, “Should we just make a run for it? It’s too hard to get a taxi here, especially in this weather. Who knows how long this rain will last?”

Her husband replied, “No way! It’s too cold outside. You’ll get sick if you get wet. Let’s wait a bit. I’ll call my brother to bring us an umbrella.”

Yao Jia silently endured the display of affection. After a while, someone indeed came to bring them an umbrella and took them away.

Gradually, others trapped by the rain were also picked up.

Watching this, Yao Jia felt a bit disheartened.

Everyone had someone to expect, someone to bring them an umbrella, and soon they could go home.

But she had no expectations, no one to contact her, no one knew she was at the supermarket, and the rain seemed endless. She had no idea when she could go home.

Turning her head, she saw only a few people left, some waiting for a ride, others for someone to bring them an umbrella.

Yao Jia lowered her head in dejection.

Suddenly, she heard two young girls behind her speaking excitedly.

“Hey, look at that guy who just walked in! He’s so damn handsome!”

“Oh my god, that face! That body! Those long legs! Is he looking for someone? Oh my god, I think he just looked at me! Oh, why did he look away? Look at me, look at me! I can be your girlfriend, I promise!”

Yao Jia couldn’t help but chuckle. Young girls were always so full of energy.

She smiled as she casually looked up towards the entrance.

And there she froze.

Meng Xingzhe was standing at the door, scanning the surroundings.

When his gaze landed on her, he paused, then walked straight towards her without hesitation.

In that moment, Yao Jia felt her heart thump with every step he took.

When Meng Xingzhe stopped in front of her, she heard the two girls behind her exclaiming, “Oh my god, I want to switch places with that girl in front!”

Yao Jia burst into laughter.

She looked up and asked, “Meng Xingzhe, did you come here just to pick me up?”