Invincible Young Master in the City

Returning to his office, Lu Xiaoman immediately came up with a slightly tense face and asked, "Ye Fan, you were gone for so long, is everything alright?"

"Hehe, of course, it's alright," Ye Fan said with a lazy smile, spreading his hands, "If something was wrong, do you think I could still smile so brilliantly?"

"That's good to hear," Lu Xiaoman visibly sighed with relief.

Suddenly, the office door was slammed open.

Lu Xiaoman jumped, and together with Ye Fan, they both turned to look.

There stood He Jiaqiang, with his big belly thrust forward, strutting in with a look of arrogant triumph on his face.

Lu Xiaoman's pretty face noticeably tightened, and her eyes showed a bit of fear.

Ye Fan turned around, lazily crossing his arms over his chest, and said with a cold, mocking tone, "I was wondering who could be so rude. It turns out to be Qiang Jiahe."

Having his name called out backward by Ye Fan immediately soured He Jiaqiang's good mood, and he huffed, "Ye Fan, you're being arrogant and putting on airs even when death is staring you in the face! In three days, you'll tuck your tail between your legs like a homeless dog and crawl out of the company! It's impossible to persuade Gao Feng to change sides and join Emali Group within three days!"

"I'm not afraid to tell you, Gao Feng called me today, and he couldn't have been more furious."

He paused, then let out a strange laugh, "Hehe, I bet he smashed his phone after hanging up. Hahaha..."

Hearing all this, Lu Xiaoman's face instantly turned pale, her delicate body shook, and she nearly couldn't stand steady. She turned to Ye Fan, overwhelmed with guilt.

"So, he was forced into making a military order to get Gao Feng to sign a contract and defect to our company within three days. But he just lied to me and said nothing was wrong? Given He Jiaqiang's cunning, he must have sabotaged the task, how could Ye Fan possibly complete it?" She wept inside, "Sob, sob, it's my fault he lost such a good job. Sob, sob..."

With calm mockery, Ye Fan said, "I knew about your trickery all along, it was to be expected."

Seeing that Ye Fan wasn't at all worried and didn't show the deep concern he was hoping to see, He Jiaqiang felt somewhat deflated.

He forced a laugh and said, "Ye Fan, keep showing your sharp tongue, but I hope your real ability is even one-tenth of your mouth. Hahaha..."

He left with a triumphant laugh.

Unless the sun rose from the west, there was no way Ye Fan could get Gao Feng to defect to the company. No, even if the sun rose from the west, this little scoundrel didn't have the capability! He Jiaqiang thought smugly to himself.

After He Jiaqiang left, Ye Fan turned to look at Lu Xiaoman, who was pale with tearful eyes, and he asked anxiously, "Sister Xiaoman, what's wrong?"

"Ye Fan, I'm sorry," Lu Xiaoman looked at Ye Fan guilt-ridden and said, "If it weren't for me, He Jiaqiang wouldn't have targeted you, wouldn't have set a trap to drive you out of the company and made you lose your good job."

Ye Fan waved his hand and laughed, "It has nothing to do with you. I couldn't stand him anyway. So ugly and sleazy-looking, and on top of that, he keeps leering at you. No, I have to find a way to get him out of the company."

Hearing Ye Fan talk about getting He Jiaqiang out of Emali Group made Lu Xiaoman widen her eyes in disbelief.

Ye Fan continued to reassure Lu Xiaoman, "Sister Xiaoman, don't worry, if I said I would get Gao Feng to sign a contract and switch to our company within three days, then I'll make it happen!"

Lu Xiaoman bowed her head, feeling it was absolutely impossible. It wasn't that she didn't believe in Ye Fan's abilities, but realistically, Ye Fan was just a newly employed junior worker; recruiting an important talent within three days was difficult enough, let alone with He Jiaqiang's sabotage, and Gao Feng's aversion to Emali Group. She couldn't see a glimmer of hope.

Seeing Lu Xiaoman was still worried, Ye Fan continued, "Hehe, don't frown like that, you'll turn ugly. Besides, even if I leave Emali Group, the sky won't fall. Where one door shuts, another opens. Maybe I could end up as a general manager in another company."

Comforted by Ye Fan, Lu Xiaoman's gloom lifted a bit, and looking up to see Ye Fan grinning cheekily, her heart felt both love and annoyance as she glared at him and scolded, "You always talk big, can you be a bit more reliable? If you can be a general manager, then I could be a chairman."

"Hehe," Ye Fan laughed without argument, thinking to himself, "Mom has seven or eight big companies under her thumb waiting for me to be the general manager. But I really can't be bothered with the hassle."

...

...

Finally, six o'clock arrived, and Ye Fan could hardly wait.

"Lu Xiaoman, you promised to let me take you out to dinner as an apology tonight. You can't back out now," he walked up to Lu Xiaoman's desk and, looking down at her upturned pretty face, said.

Seeing Ye Fan's eager, expectant eyes, Lu Xiaoman felt a secret joy. She pursed her lips, smiling, and joked, "Okay, I'll give you a chance. I want to eat abalone, I want lobster, I want a full Manchu Han Imperial Feast... I'll eat you into poverty!"

But to her surprise, Ye Fan displayed a gloomy expression and said weakly, "I'm already very poor. You see, my entire outfit doesn't even add up to a hundred bucks. So, let me clarify upfront, I can't afford to treat you to a feast of abalone and lobster."

Lu Xiaoman's pretty face registered shock. Wasn't it common for guys to puff themselves up and take a girl to the fanciest restaurant they could afford when inviting her out? Sure, her demand for abalone and lobster was just a joke. Even if they were really heading to a high-end place, she would firmly refuse, but she never expected him to flatly refuse her.

This was infuriating! Absolutely detestable!

"Stingy!" Lu Xiaoman grit her teeth in frustration. This was the first time she was accepting a dinner invitation from a guy, and this was the treatment she got. She was on the verge of tears!

"The stingy man knows how to live and manage a household," Ye Fan said with a grin.

Lu Xiaoman could only roll her eyes, too annoyed to deal with Ye Fan.

Nevertheless, after work, she followed Ye Fan to the elevator down to the underground parking lot and got into his second-hand Alto.

Driving away from Emali Group, Ye Fan was searching for a restaurant, but since he hadn't been in Hua Hai City for long, he had no idea where to take her for a suitable meal.

Seeing Ye Fan driving around aimlessly like a headless fly, Lu Xiaoman couldn't take it anymore and said, "There are plenty of restaurants on Chaoyang Road. Don't worry, the cost there won't bankrupt you!"

Her tone bore a clear edge of grudge as she spat out the last sentence, indicating how much it was bothering her.

Ye Fan pretended not to notice and smiled, "Okay, let's head to Chaoyang Road."

With that, he activated the GPS and steered towards Chaoyang Road.

Upon arriving, indeed, most of the street was lined with eateries.

Most were unassuming small diners, skewer stalls, and fast-food joints, with the occasional restaurant that had a barely acceptable environment.

Ye Fan drove from one end of Chaoyang Road to the other, then made a U-turn to come back, finally picking what he thought was the best-looking restaurant.

After parking, Ye Fan was unbuckling his seatbelt and said to Lu Xiaoman, "Let's eat here at this restaurant. Mingxuan Pavilion, sounds decent."

"Um, okay," Lu Xiaoman answered with a smile, her pretty face now free of any look of disdain.

They entered the restaurant and despite it not being upscale, the interior was reasonably elegant.

They settled at a clean table near the glass wall, and a waiter immediately brought the menu.

"You order," Ye Fan handed the menu to Lu Xiaoman.

Lu Xiaoman took the menu, glanced at the prices, then chose two dishes, one a simple stir-fried pork with vegetables, and the other a seasonal green vegetable.

"That's it? Just two?" Ye Fan asked as he looked at Lu Xiaoman.

Lu Xiaoman replied, "You order a soup. It's just the two of us, ordering more would be a waste if we can't finish it."

Ye Fan shook his head and said, "Even though I can't afford to treat you to abalone and lobster, I can't let our first meal together be so modest."

"Giggle," Lu Xiaoman smiled beautifully, teasingly said, "I was just teasing you in the office. You're new to work and without support in Hua Hai City; life must be tight. How could I really expect you to treat me to a big meal? Hurry up and choose a soup, the waiter is getting anxious."

"Beef stir-fried with green chili, tofu soup with fish head," Ye Fan quickly ordered two more dishes, then passed the menu back to the waiter.

Lu Xiaoman protested, "That's more than we need."

Ye Fan laughed, "You may not eat much, but I have a big appetite. I need this much to be full."

After that, he turned to the waiter and said, "That'll be all, please start serving the food."