Gu Susu’s hand, holding chopsticks, paused. "He and I have made things clear. He should have figured it out by now. Some things can't be forced."
"That's good then."
Gu Susu tapped his chopsticks with hers and asked, "But when are you and Huo Jin getting married? I'm still waiting for your wedding candy."
Chang Qingchuan gave a wry smile. "When I can be worthy of her, when I can afford to marry her."
"What kind of talk is that? If you can't earn wealth comparable to the Huo family in your entire life, are you just going to let her wait for you forever?" Gu Susu propped her head with her hand. "Since Huo Jin fell for you, what she values isn't how much money you can earn, but who you are. You should propose to Huo Jin too. She's a rich young lady, she's seen everything. You should focus on how to cherish her properly."
Chang Qingchuan said dejectedly, "But her family doesn't think that way. Her father won't even meet me. How can I propose?"
Gu Susu hadn't expected it to be like this. She sighed, "As long as she's willing, then you two should just get the marriage certificate directly and make it a done deal. Let's see how her family can break you up then!"
"She said the same thing, but I feel it's not right. It would be too much of a compromise for her, so I didn't agree." Chang Qingchuan felt a mix of emotions about this. He was grateful that Huo Jin was so good to him, but at the same time, he doubted and hesitated.
If he really agreed to Huo Jin and dragged her into a life of poverty, could this young lady from a wealthy family endure it after a long time?
She would definitely regret it then, and what would that make him?
Gu Susu pointed out sharply, "It seems the problem is still yours. You're overthinking things. It's a bit like me back then, not seeing my own heart clearly..."
Just then, more dishes they had ordered arrived. Chang Qingchuan interrupted her, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's just have a good meal. We both have to rush back to work after eating."
Hearing him say that, Gu Susu glanced at the time and realized it was getting late. It was already past the lunch break. If she didn't hurry, her work for the day wouldn't be finished even with overtime.
She immediately started eating heartily, thinking of getting back to the company as quickly as possible.
Chang Qingchuan advised her to slow down, suggesting she could pack it if necessary.
"That's a good idea." Without hesitation, she called the waiter, packed her portion, and then smiled and waved goodbye to Chang Qingchuan.
Chang Qingchuan smiled and waved back, "Hurry back to your company. No wonder even Lu Zhiming calls you a workaholic, and a rare female workaholic at that."
Gu Susu didn't have time to care about them badmouthing her behind her back; she left first.
Chang Qingchuan ate alone, shaking his head, finding it amusing. Lu Zhiming had privately asked him if Gu Susu was very short of money or had any family difficulties.
Who would have thought her ex-husband was Qin Tianyi and her childhood friend was Yang Sijie? It was impossible for her to be short of money. It was just that people with more resources tended to work even harder.
As he was eating alone, his phone rang. He saw it was Huo Jin calling.
"Qingchuan, what were you doing at noon? Have you had lunch?" Huo Jin asked with concern.
"I'm eating now. What about you? Have you been busy lately? Is business good at your new store?"
Huo Jin said weakly, "It's okay, but the customers who come to the store seem so unenergetic."
"How can you describe customers like that? They come to your store to spend money, and you say they're unenergetic." Chang Qingchuan knew she would be like this.
Running and managing a store was actually very hard work. How could Huo Jin handle it? It was just a hobby, wasn't it?
"It's probably because it just opened, and the customers are still very limited. I will definitely make this luxury store famous and attract more customers."
"It's good that you can still think that way. I'll visit your store when I have time," Chang Qingchuan encouraged her.
Huo Jin immediately perked up and asked, "Then when do you have time? You're a design director, after all. A personal visit and guidance would be great. You can check my buying judgment."
"I don't have time today," Chang Qingchuan made an excuse. "After lunch, I have to rush back to the company. There's too much work at the company today."
Huo Jin's voice on the phone became dispirited. "Okay, you focus on your work."
Chang Qingchuan felt a bit reluctant and said, "How about tomorrow? I should be able to free up some time tomorrow."
Huo Jin's tone immediately became excited. "Great, then I'll wait for you at the store tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll contact you before I come."
"I love you, darling," Huo Jin whispered and quickly hung up.
Chang Qingchuan's heart felt sweet, but the sweetness didn't last a few minutes before his heart became heavy again.
He hadn't gone to Huo Jin's newly opened luxury store because he was afraid he would feel inferior.
Despite working hard until now, he still didn't have the ability to open his own men's fashion brand store.
But Huo Jin, with her family's advantage, could open a luxury store as soon as she wanted, and she dealt in top luxury goods. Perhaps, as Gu Susu said, he would never be able to earn Huo Jin's respect even if he worked his entire life. This love was truly too difficult for him.
...
Inside the Jin Ai Luxury Store, Huo Jin finished her call, still holding her phone and smiling.
Shu Yan carefully placed a Jaeger-LeCoultre men's watch worth nearly a million yuan. Seeing Huo Jin smiling with a flushed face, she knew she had just finished a call with Chang Qingchuan.
She walked over to Huo Jin and gently patted her shoulder. "What are you smiling about? Is that Chang Qingchuan really that good? I don't understand what's so good about him. Look at the men selecting items in our store, their financial strength is all stronger than Chang Qingchuan's. Pick any one of them, and after marriage, they'll all be more suitable for you than Chang Qingchuan."
Huo Jin put down her phone and looked at her. "Are you in league with my dad? If I had known, I wouldn't have asked you to help."
"I'm not in league with Uncle Huo at all. Even if I were foolish, I can see that Uncle Huo has deliberately arranged for many young talents to buy things at the store to create opportunities for you. Don't you like any of them?" Shu Yan asked her.
Huo Jin randomly pressed some buttons on the calculator in front of her and shook her head. "No interest. If you're interested, pick one. I'll tell my dad to help you two get together."
Shu Yan immediately said, "I don't want to."
"I'm serious. If you consider someone else, you can completely forget about Qin Tianyi and never let him hurt you again."
Shu Yan said disdainfully, "You don't even like them, and you want to pass them on to me? No way."
"I'm not saying other men are bad. I have a boyfriend, so of course, I have principles and boundaries."
"I won't give up easily either."
Huo Jin stared at her in surprise. "You still won't give up? Are you crazy? They say you won't turn back until you hit a dead end, but you're hitting the dead end and still not turning back..."
"Don't worry," Shu Yan interrupted. "I'll be more sensible in the future and won't be so foolish. Besides, even though Qin Tianyi broke off his engagement with me, he's not with Gu Susu, and there's no other woman around him. Why should I give up?"