Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Slapped in the Face Again!
Everyone looked at each other.
Maeve’s words were dripping with sarcasm. While she congratulated with a smile on her lips, the deeper meaning was to belittle Lin Qi to the extreme.
Yet Lin Qi did not get angry; instead, she smiled faintly: “Ms. Mia, do you know what the most valuable bag in the world is?”
Without thinking, Maeve responded: “Hermes, of course.”
She didn’t understand why Lin Qi suddenly asked this.
Lin Qi smiled slightly: “Yes, many classic Hermes bags don’t drop in price as second-hand; in fact, they increase in value. Unlike the bags from street stalls, you worry about not being able to sell even for 100 yuan. So, Hermes is Hermes, and street stall goods are street stalls goods. Hermes retains its value even as a second- or third-hand product. Unlike street stall goods, nobody wants them.”
She was not angry, her words were like a hidden knife, sharp and pointed.
Lin Qi knew that to get angry with such people meant losing.
Maeve’s face stiffened harshly.
She clenched her teeth but managed to hold back her anger.
Beside her, a female team member whispered fuel to the fire: “Ms. Mia, she’s clearly mocking you as unwanted street stall goods!”
Maeve glared at her, “Do you think I couldn’t hear that?!”
She suddenly stood up, staring intensely at Lin Qi, wishing she could rush up and pull her hair out.
But the office was crowded with people.
She could only swallow her resentment: “Lin Qi! So you mean to say, you are Hermes, and I’m street stall goods, is that it?! How do you manage to glorify yourself like this?”
Lin Qi said: “Huh? Ms. Mia, I never said that. I’m just stating facts about Hermes bags and street stall goods, don’t take it personally. Why would you automatically think of yourself as street stall goods?”
Maeve was so angry she nearly cracked her back teeth!
She initially wanted to mock Lin Qi for being divorced, a second-hand good, but instead, she got outplayed!
Han Na gently tugged Lin Qi’s hand: “Lin Qi, it’s okay, you still haven’t finished your meeting report.”
Lin Qi nodded, lowered her head, and prepared to organize her notes.
Suddenly, a female colleague, looking for more drama, asked: “Lin Qi, where is your boyfriend from?”
Lin Qi responded: “He’s a local.”
The colleague asked further: “Where does he work? Have you bought your wedding house and car?”
Lin Qi thought for a bit and said, “He works at the same company as me.”
Everyone was immediately abuzz.
Maeve also stunned, “The same company? Which department does he work in?”
Lin Qi pointed upwards, saying: “Upstairs.”
Huo Tingdong’s office was located upstairs.
Departments in Huace Tower increased in prestige the higher the floor.
The higher the floor, the higher the status.
Maeve furrowed her brows: “There are so many departments upstairs, how would we know which one he works in if you don’t specify?”
Lin Qi said: “Why are you rushing to inquire about him now? He’s very busy with work, and we seldom meet. But once we get married, I’ll give you wedding candies, then you’ll know.”
The female colleague gossiped further: “How much is your boyfriend’s annual income?”
Lin Qi thought about it: “Basically, it’s over a million after taxes!”
An annual income of one million is also over one million; several hundred billion is also over a million.
She wasn’t being secretive. She was afraid if she told them her fiancé is Huo Tingdong, Maeve wouldn’t believe her and would stir up more trouble.
Everyone gasped hearing her boyfriend’s annual income was over a million!
For the project team members, an annual income of a million wasn’t rare, but positions with an annual income over a million exceeded 80% of Huace employees!
The female colleague asked again: “Where’s your wedding house located?”
Lin Qi said: “We haven’t bought the wedding house yet.”
Her colleagues looked at each other and started discussing housing prices:
“House prices aren’t cheap now! A good location costs over seventy-eight thousand per square meter!”
“Yeah. Like core areas, they cost over two hundred thousand per square meter.”
“But Lin Qi’s boyfriend is a local, he presumably has a house here already!”
“For locals, owning three or four properties isn’t unusual!”
“Wow! That means Lin Qi is marrying into a wealthy family?”
“Having seven or eight properties is a wealthy family? Only in some other cities maybe, but in Beijing, you’re not considered wealthy unless you have assets worth tens of billions!”
“If I were her, why would I work so hard after getting married? It’s better to stay home and look after the family!”
“…”
Lin Qi quietly listened to their discussions, wondering why her colleagues were so interested in her affairs.
She raised her head and saw Maeve still staring intently at her.
It looked like another rivalry had formed!
“Ms. Mia…”
A male colleague gently said to Mia, “She said her boyfriend is from the upstairs department, it doesn’t look like she’s President Qi’s girlfriend, you should be relieved!”
Maeve lightened up a bit upon hearing this: “As if she deserved President Qi.”
Zhou Xiaoying coldly interjected: “If she doesn’t deserve him, do you? President Qi is one of Mr. Huo’s most trusted aides, and is being groomed as a vice president. He’ll probably get promoted next year, or the year after at the latest.”
Maeve retorted: “Don’t stand there adding your two cents! How does defending her benefit you? Don’t tell me you want to take her side to target me?”
Zhou Xiaoying glanced at her dismissively: “Why should I target someone inferior to me?”
Maeve was furious: “You…”
Zhou Xiaoying: “Your salary isn’t even as high as my base pay. People always aim higher, why would I stoop to compare myself with someone lower? That’s hilarious.”
After speaking, she stood up and went to the coffee area with her tea cup.
In the evening.
After Lin Qi finished her work, she prepared to head home.
At the company’s side entrance.
Huo Tingdong’s car was parked at the door.
Lin Qi opened the car door and got in.
Huo Tingdong had just started the car when Lin Qi suddenly said, “It’s Momo’s birthday in two days.”
Huo Tingdong looked at the calendar, surprised: “Momo’s birthday is August 22?”
The tail end of Leo.
No wonder Momo gave off a domineering Leo vibe.
Lin Qi said: “Yeah.”
Huo Tingdong said: “Then, Han’s birthday is also August 22.”
At first, Han was adopted by Mo Ke from the orphanage, and Huo Tingdong didn’t know Han’s exact birthday, so he had always celebrated it on the day Han was brought home from the orphanage.
Lin Qi said: “Han’s birthday is likely August 21.”
Huo Tingdong was momentarily taken aback: “Aren’t they twins? Why aren’t their birthdays on the same day?”
Lin Qi raised an eyebrow: “Han was born at 11:45 p.m. on the 21st, and Momo at 12:12 a.m., I remember it clearly.”