Chapter 341 – The Pressure Is On

Zhang Yan quickly responded, “That’s enough.”

She was worried Zhang Lu might hear and start picking more clothes again. If she hadn’t stopped her earlier, Zhang Lu would’ve chosen four or five outfits, totaling over a hundred yuan. That’s why she made her pick only one, which led to the current situation.

Zhang Lu wasn’t exactly pleased, but she did admit to herself that she might have gone a bit overboard just now.

At that moment, a voice called out, “Zhang Yan, it really is you! I thought I was seeing things just now.”

“Li Tong! I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Zhang Yan replied excitedly.

This was her best friend from school—more accurately, her closest girlfriend.

When Li Tong saw Zhou Yimin and Zhang Lu standing nearby, she recognized Zhang Lu. As for the guy beside her, that had to be Zhang Yan’s boyfriend. So she asked, “Comrade, are you Zhou Yimin?”

“Hello, yes, I’m Zhou Yimin,” he replied.

“Zhang Yan, your boyfriend’s pretty handsome. Are you two shopping for clothes?” Li Tong asked.

“Yes! You too?” Zhang Yan replied.

“I’m just browsing. I can’t really afford anything here,” Li Tong said candidly.

Her family wasn’t as well-off as Zhang Yan’s, but she never felt ashamed or inferior because of it. It was precisely to improve her family’s situation that she studied so hard. At this time, being a college student was a huge deal—graduating meant guaranteed job placement, usually in leadership roles.

Then Zhang Lu asked, “Brother Yimin, what’s this you’re holding?”

She’d noticed a package beside him—it clearly looked expensive.

Zhou Yimin answered honestly, “It’s a coat for your sister.”

“Wow! Can I see it?” Zhang Lu was curious what kind of gift he had picked for her sister.

Zhou Yimin humored her curiosity. “Sure!”

Zhang Lu quickly opened the package and found a long velvet coat with a fur collar. She immediately let out a gasp: “So pretty!”

Her reaction caught Zhang Yan and Li Tong’s attention. When they turned to look, they were both stunned by the coat.

Zhang Yan was especially dumbfounded—wasn’t this the coat she had just been eyeing but gave up on because it was too expensive? She rushed over. “Yimin, this coat is too expensive! Go return it right away!”

As much as she liked it, she couldn’t justify the price. People nowadays weren’t into flashy, wasteful spending.

“It can’t be returned once it’s bought,” Zhou Yimin said.

The shop assistant chimed in to back him up, “Yes, comrade. It’s already been paid for, so it can’t be returned.”

Zhang Yan felt a pang in her heart—over eighty yuan, which was basically two months of Zhou Yimin’s salary.

“Since you can’t return it, why not try it on?” Zhang Lu helpfully chimed in.

Li Tong, too, looked at the coat with envy. If only she had a boyfriend like that—or even one half as good. After all, she had heard of Zhou Yimin before.

Zhang Yan had no choice but to take the coat and try it on. Once she put it on, her entire aura transformed.

“Zhang Yan, this coat suits you so well,” Li Tong praised immediately.

Zhou Yimin agreed, “It really does suit you.”

Zhang Yan was secretly delighted by the compliment, but when she thought about the price, that joy was quickly tempered.

Then Zhou Yimin paid for the clothes both she and Zhang Lu were holding. Zhang Yan didn’t want him to keep spending, but he simply snatched the clothes and went to the cashier.

After shopping, Zhou Yimin originally wanted to browse around the store a bit more, but Zhang Yan, worried he’d spend even more money, suggested they go outside and walk around.

Li Tong hadn’t planned on tagging along, but Zhang Yan figured having one “third wheel” was no different from having two, so she invited her along.

As they passed a street vendor selling candied hawthorns, Zhang Lu’s mouth watered. “Brother Yimin, can I have a skewer of candied hawthorn?”

“Sure, I’ll go buy some,” Zhou Yimin agreed without hesitation and ran off to buy them.

As soon as he walked away, Li Tong said, “Zhang Yan, your boyfriend is amazing! That coat was so expensive, and he bought it just like that!”

“Yeah… but he’s kind of too generous,” Zhang Yan admitted.

Li Tong was full of envy. “If only I could find someone like him.”

“You definitely will,” Zhang Yan said. But in her heart, she thought, No one could possibly be better than Zhou Yimin—though she didn’t say that out loud.

Soon, Zhou Yimin returned with four skewers of candied hawthorn.

The four of them strolled for another hour or so. When Zhou Yimin checked the time and saw it was getting late, he scratched his head and said, “Sorry, I have a dinner meeting with the factory leadership. I can’t stay any longer.”

“It’s fine, Yimin. Work is important,” Zhang Yan replied, understandingly.

Men were supposed to focus on their careers. If he had no ambition at all, she wouldn’t have liked him in the first place.

Zhou Yimin escorted the three of them home. Zhang Auntie had originally wanted to keep him for dinner, but after hearing he had to meet with factory leaders, she didn’t insist.

Having dinner with the higher-ups was a rare opportunity—not something just anyone could do. Of course, they wouldn’t get in the way.

Zhou Yimin then rode off toward the steel factory on his bicycle.

Once he was out of sight, Zhang Auntie looked at Zhang Yan and spoke earnestly: “Girl, Yimin is getting more and more outstanding. You’d better keep a close eye on him. A man like that—there are plenty of women out there who’d want to marry him.”

It wasn’t alarmist talk; it made perfect sense. Zhou Yimin was still young but already a team leader. And with all the merits he was earning, it wouldn’t be long before he was promoted again.

“Mom, I know. I’m working hard too, but the harder I try, the more I feel like I’m falling behind,” Zhang Yan said, a little deflated.

At school, she wasn’t the very best, but she was among the top students. Yet every time she heard about Zhou Yimin inventing something new or helping the country earn foreign currency, she felt the gap widening.

Take instant noodles and rice cookers, for example—those two things alone had been consistently generating foreign exchange for the country.

Having such an exceptional boyfriend came with a lot of pressure.

After a ride of fifteen to twenty minutes, Zhou Yimin finally arrived at the steel factory. He had already packed the gifts for the leaders in a burlap sack beforehand—he didn’t want to be seen carrying them once inside the factory.

When he got to the gate, he saw someone from the security team still on duty. No surprise there—the factory had a lot of valuable assets, and if there wasn’t someone guarding it, things could easily get stolen.

“Brother Zhao, you’re on duty again today?” Zhou Yimin greeted Zhao Dezhi.

Zhao Dezhi was a bit surprised. “Team Lead Zhou, what brings you back tonight?”

Then it hit him—probably a dinner with the factory leaders.

Zhou Yimin didn’t hold back. He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and tossed it to Zhao Dezhi, then rode his bike through the gate.

(End of chapter)