A New Watch

Today was payday. All day long, everyone at the company had been waiting with quiet anticipation for the text confirming their salary had arrived.

After all, they counted on this one day each month.

Around three in the afternoon, the salary notifications began trickling in. In the otherwise quiet office, low murmurs rippled from one end to the other.

Zhang Yang got a message too. He glanced at the amount and felt nothing in particular.

He was already making six hundred thousand a month. How could a mere ten thousand yuan salary possibly stir him?

For other people, ten thousand yuan was a month's pay, earned through backbreaking work.

For him, ten thousand yuan was... half a day's income.

"Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang!" Xiang Youde lowered his voice from across the desk. "How much did you get?"

The company didn't keep salaries secret, and the atmosphere was fairly relaxed. No one minded employees sharing salary information, so asking around on payday was routine.

Zhang Yang didn't hide it. He casually told him the amount.

"About the same as me, then. What a shame. Before the money's even warm in my hands, I have to pay part of my mortgage." Xiang Youde smacked his lips and started transferring money to his mortgage account.

He'd taken out a loan to buy a house in his hometown years ago and had to pay more than three thousand yuan a month. He was practically drowning in debt. The pressure was heavy, but since housing prices kept rising, that offered him a little comfort for all his hard work.

Zhang Yang's family had only one house back home, but that wasn't a problem. At his current rate of earning twenty thousand yuan a day, saving up for another house before his next trip home would be a piece of cake.

At the company, salaries in the Sales Department fluctuated quite a bit, but everyone else's pay was relatively steady. That was especially true in the Planning Department, where there wasn't much difference between employees.

For once, no one had to work overtime on payday, and everyone headed home chatting and laughing.

"Zhang Yang, want to grab a bite after work?" Xiang Youde's weight-loss plan seemed to have been nipped in the bud before it even began. Zhang Yang had seen him order diet meals for two days, only to give up completely—and then start eating even more junk food than before.

"Not today. I'm busy." Zhang Yang waved a hand.

After work, he planned to make time to pick up his watch from the Vacheron Constantin boutique on West Nanjing Road.

"I don't get it. You don't even have a girlfriend, so what could you possibly have to do after work?" Xiang Youde muttered before leaving on his own.

Zhang Yang stepped out of the elevator into the office building's lobby and was about to head for the subway.

"Zhang Yang!" Bei Wei jogged up behind him.

"What's up?" Zhang Yang stopped.

"It's payday. Let me treat you to dinner?" Bei Wei gently waved her phone in front of him. "We can have something nice."

"You don't have to." Zhang Yang shook his head. "It's not easy making money."

"Come on, Zhang Yang. I spend everything I earn anyway." Bei Wei gave his arm a light tug. "If we wait a few more days, I might not be able to treat you even if I want to."

Zhang Yang believed her.

The girl did spend a lot. She had a Starbucks every morning and evening, and apparently her place in Magic City was pretty nice too. Makeup, skincare, clothes—those were all regular monthly expenses. It really wasn't easy for her to save anything.

That made him even more reluctant to let her pay.

"Then how about I treat you?" Zhang Yang looked at Bei Wei, who stood prettily before him in a Chanel-style skirt. "If you're not in a hurry, you can come with me to West Nanjing Road first. I have something to take care of."

"Sure, I'll go with you. But I'm still paying!" Bei Wei insisted. "Zhang Yang, just give me this chance. Otherwise, I'll keep thinking about it and feel bad. That Japanese meal last time was so expensive..."

"Fine." Zhang Yang smiled helplessly. "Do whatever you want."

At that, Bei Wei's face lit up with a smile.

The subway was packed with commuters during rush hour.

Standing amid the stream of people getting on and off, Zhang Yang noticed Bei Wei losing her balance and instinctively put an arm around her delicate shoulder.

It was an automatic gesture for him, but Bei Wei froze. Her whole body tensed up. She didn't say anything, only lowered her head shyly as she let him hold her.

"This is our stop." Zhang Yang naturally lowered his arm.

"Mm." Bei Wei's voice was as faint as a mosquito's. Her cheeks flushed as she followed Zhang Yang off the train.

The two left the subway station and walked toward West Nanjing Road.

They had only walked a few hundred meters from the exit when—

"That egg-pancake shop up ahead looks popular. How about you treat me to one of those?" Zhang Yang pointed to a shop nearby. It looked busy, with a short line outside.

"Huh? Just that?" Bei Wei had been ready to splurge on dinner, so she looked taken aback and a little embarrassed.

How much could something like that cost?

"Come on. I was just in the mood for one." Zhang Yang walked closer, already catching the familiar aroma.

A deluxe meal for one cost twenty yuan. For the two of them, it was forty.

Feeling a little awkward, Bei Wei pulled out her phone to scan and pay, muttering that she'd treat Zhang Yang properly another time.

A moment later, each of them held a fragrant, soft-crusted egg pancake as they walked and ate. Crowds surged around them. Everywhere they looked, luxury brands and high-end businesses stood side by side. It truly was China's number-one commercial street.

"Zhang Yang, how are things going with the girl from yesterday? Is it going well?"

"Pretty well." As Zhang Yang ate his egg pancake, its taste reminded him so much of home that, for a moment, he almost thought he was back there. But the crowds and dazzling prosperity around him kept reminding him again and again that this was Magic City—the beginning and end of his dreams.

"When the time comes, I'll help you pick things out. You can ask me about clothes and outfits anytime. I guarantee I'll help you take your style to the next level." Bei Wei patted her chest and made the promise with all the confidence of a woman flaunting two plump steamed buns.

Zhang Yang's gaze lingered for a moment before he looked away.

To be fair, Bei Wei had excellent taste in clothes. Did every beautiful woman have to be good at this sort of thing?

When they passed a trendy clothing shop, Bei Wei got excited and actually dragged Zhang Yang inside to try on some outfits.

Shirts, T-shirts, retro, minimalist...

She effortlessly pulled off every style. Her eye for fashion really was excellent.

Zhang Yang had only gone along with it on a whim, but he never expected that several of the outfits would really hit the mark for him.

"Zhang Yang, you look great!" Bei Wei gave him a thumbs-up from the side.

With Bei Wei cheering him on the whole time, and the outfits looking pretty good to him too, Zhang Yang simply bought them all. They hadn't cost much anyway.

But Bei Wei seemed to be enjoying herself a little too much, so Zhang Yang had to call a halt.

"Bei Wei, I still have something to take care of..."

"Oh, sorry. I completely forgot..." Bei Wei still seemed a little reluctant to stop. "By the way, where are you going?"

"I bought a watch but haven't picked it up yet. I'm taking the chance to get it today." Zhang Yang scanned the area and spotted the distinctive Maltese Cross of Vacheron Constantin on a storefront farther down the street.

"Congratulations on your new watch, Zhang Yang!" Bei Wei offered a quiet congratulations.

Though she was a woman and wasn't particularly interested in watches, she knew how important a watch was to a man.