A Fashion Expert

Bei Wei sat off to the side, sipping through a straw. She smiled along with everyone else but didn't join the conversation.

Although Bei Wei seemed to have started it all, no one had made her the target of the joke. Bei Wei and Zhang Yang? They were complete opposites. No one thought there was any chance of the two of them getting together.

"Sure, then I'll thank you in advance, Sister Liu." Zhang Yang made the polite remark as he glanced down at his phone.

Just now, Bei Wei had discreetly sent him a message.

Bei Wei: "Brother Zhang, why did you order so many drinks? That must've cost a lot!"

Zhang Yang: "It's not that much. Better than giving someone a chance to make a fuss over it. By the way, if you're going to treat me again, remember to do it after work."

Bei Wei: "After work? Brother Zhang, don't you have to keep the woman from the other day company?"

Zhang Yang: "We broke up ages ago."

Bei Wei: "Huh?"

When he looked up again, all Zhang Yang could see was half of Bei Wei's head and her dark ponytail peeking out from behind her computer.

After work, the system's pleasant notification finally sounded in Zhang Yang's ear. He had completed the small fashion task with no effort at all.

Another three experience points were added to his account.

Zhang Yang checked his current progress: Level 3 (4/25). He needed 21 more points to level up, and had taken another small step toward his goal of earning fifty thousand a day.

He also immediately received the other reward: fashion sense.

As he walked along the streets of Magic City, all kinds of insights about fashion sprang into Zhang Yang's mind.

Among the pedestrians, there were fashionably dressed trendsetters and sexy women in crop tops and figure-hugging skirts. At a glance, Zhang Yang could tell whose outfits worked best and whose could use some improvement.

"At least I won't have to ask anyone for fashion advice anymore." Zhang Yang was in an excellent mood.

Before, he hadn't known a thing about fashion. In fact, he'd never given it any thought. He'd just worn the same few things over and over: shirts, T-shirts, jeans, and plaid shirts.

But now? All he had to do was think, and outfit ideas came to him with ease.

With this kind of ability, he could fit right in at any fashion company. Becoming a chief designer or a fashion expert would be no problem at all.

Wanting to learn by doing, Zhang Yang headed to a nearby upscale shopping center to pick out a few business outfits and test his new fashion sense.

After walking around Yinxiang City, Zhang Yang went into the Armani store.

Armani menswear was a luxury brand, and its suits weren't cheap. Prices could easily exceed ten thousand yuan.

Zhang Yang had only forty or fifty thousand yuan on him. Normally, if someone had only that much money and splurged over ten thousand on a suit, it would be an obviously unwise purchase. But that wasn't an issue for Zhang Yang at all.

Even if he spent all his money, he'd wake up to another twenty thousand the next day.

If he lived frugally and saved for a month, he'd have six hundred thousand.

So even while browsing a high-end menswear store, Zhang Yang felt perfectly at ease. Besides, most of the clothes in the store were only just over ten thousand, which was no problem for him.

"I'll take this one and this one, please." Zhang Yang took one look around and picked out two casual suits.

A little while later, he tried them both on.

As expected, his newly acquired fashion sense was extraordinary. The outfits immediately elevated his whole look. He wasn't quite six feet tall, but somehow he gave off the impression that he was.

The casual suits had a touch of business style without looking out of place in everyday settings. There was nothing wrong with wearing them day to day.

The two suits cost a little over twenty thousand in total. Zhang Yang paid without hesitation and left.

More than half an hour later, at Xinju Apartment, Zhang Yang received a belated call from his parents.

"The girl's family said you didn't like her and turned her down. How full of yourself are you?" Song Wenqin launched straight into a scolding.

It wasn't that she was impatient. She knew her son was already reaching above his station by going after that woman, so for Zhang Yang to turn her down instead was simply unreasonable.

"Mom, if we're not right for each other, we're not right for each other. We only met once." Zhang Yang laughed.

"Not right for each other? Let's see what kind of woman you bring home, then." Song Wenqin hung up in a huff.

His mother had always been hot-tempered, and Zhang Yang was used to it. He figured she had another half-sentence she hadn't said, probably because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. It would've been something like, "Why don't you take a look in the mirror?"

His father, Zhang Zhaohai, quietly called him later.

"You couldn't possibly have done that. I think she was the one who turned you down, then made excuses and blamed you. These young women nowadays, honestly..." Zhang Zhaohai sighed.

Zhang Yang could only thank his father. So that was the kind of person his dad thought he was.

The next afternoon, the boss, Song Mingyang, went with Sales Director Old Shao to meet people from Shihong. Zhang Yang left work early to accompany them.

He'd just be there as backup that evening, but it didn't matter. He wasn't responsible for negotiating the deal. He'd answer questions whenever they needed him to.

"Zhang Yang, you've put that outfit together really well. Armani, right?" Song Mingyang said with a smile as he looked Zhang Yang over in the elevator. "A man should invest in himself. You really do need a few outfits you can be proud to wear."

He spoke with the confidence of someone who'd been through it all.

Song Mingyang had started from nothing and built a company with dozens of employees and an annual income of several million. He certainly had the credentials to say that.

"This is such an important meeting tonight. I can't let you down, Mr. Song, can I?" Zhang Yang smiled. Compared with the Vacheron Constantin worth seven hundred thousand yuan peeking out from Song Mingyang's sleeve, his Armani outfit was modest in the extreme.

Still, with his boss right there, Zhang Yang wouldn't steal the spotlight. He glanced at Song Mingyang's half-rolled sleeve and thought of the gleaming watch face.

"Once we successfully close this deal today, I'll make sure you get credit for it," Song Mingyang said with a nod.

Credit or no credit, it was just an empty promise. Song Mingyang was saying it casually, and Zhang Yang listened just as casually. He didn't take it to heart.

A sleek black Maybach S480 was parked outside the office building.

As the boss's car and the company's public face, it was also tax-deductible. With an on-road price of less than two million yuan, it was naturally a respectable car that made a good impression.

There was no driver, though. Without a Rolls-Royce, having a chauffeur would seem a little out of place.

Song Mingyang drove himself, Old Shao sat in the front passenger seat, and Zhang Yang took the back. They headed to the hotel they'd booked to meet with the people from Shihong Real Estate.

Shihong Real Estate wasn't based in Magic City, but it was a formidable company in its home market. To an advertising agency like theirs, it was an important client they needed to treat with the utmost care.

So even though only a marketing director was coming this time, Song Mingyang was giving the meeting his full attention.

"Old Hong is still Shihong's marketing director. I know him well. If we look after him properly, things should go smoothly," Song Mingyang said as he chatted with Old Shao.

"Landing this deal would be a huge win," Old Shao said with a sigh.

Given the company's current size, a contract with Shihong Group would be enough to bring in a handsome profit.

Sitting in the back, Zhang Yang recalled the several Shihong Real Estate advertising proposals he'd worked on. As he remembered it, the company especially liked traditional Chinese styles, and several of its developments had been marketed that way. Naturally, the advertising proposals had to reflect that.

You needed a certain amount of literary sensibility to pull that off.