MLMD -Chapter 357 Major Procurement (Part 2)

When Yue Yang woke up the next morning, he found the beauty in his arms still sleeping soundly. Her gentle breathing brushed continuously against his face, and a sweet, intoxicating fragrance enveloped him. On her beautiful oval face lingered a lazy expression of satisfaction, both physical and mental. Her slender, jade-like arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, as if afraid he might run away.

Yue Yang grasped the hands around his waist and was about to gently remove them. His movements were light, but they still startled the beauty who had been sleeping in his arms. Not only did Xiao Lu not let go, she hugged him even tighter.

Seeing that she was awake, Yue Yang stroked her soft, fluffy hair and smiled gently. “Why are you awake? Sleep a bit longer.”

“Then don’t go. Stay and sleep with me a little longer.”

Her voice was soft and sticky, like fully cooked glutinous rice—sweet, clingy, and seemingly able to glue itself straight to a man’s heart.

Yue Yang picked up the phone by the bedside and glanced at the time. Seeing that it was still early, he wasn’t in a hurry to get up. He leaned down and lightly kissed her soft, cherry-like lips, then grinned mischievously. “You little seductress—aren’t you afraid I’ll do something bad to you?”

Xiao Lu shot him a coquettish sideways glance. “Hmph… as if you haven’t already done plenty of bad things to me. You kept at it half the night yesterday—we didn’t fall asleep until three or four in the morning.”

“That can’t be blamed on me. If I remember right, you were the one who took the initiative.” Yue Yang put on an innocent, wronged expression.

“You still dare say that… it’s all your fault…” When Yue Yang brought up last night again, Xiao Lu was greatly embarrassed. The night before, she had desperately demanded him, seemingly venting all the longing and emotions built up over months of separation. At the same time, she had also intended to completely drain this rascal dry. Yet he seemed like an iron man—she had practically risked her life and ended up so exhausted she couldn’t even move a finger, but this scoundrel was still full of energy. It left her utterly baffled. Weren’t men always supposed to be the ones who lost out in this sort of thing? Why was her man so different?

Thinking of this, Xiao Lu’s long, alluring body twisted in dissatisfaction, her delicate skin constantly rubbing against Yue Yang’s body. The small flame that had just been extinguished surged up again in Yue Yang’s lower abdomen.

Naturally, Yue Yang issued a stern warning about such behavior. “I’m telling you—if you keep teasing me, I won’t be polite.”

“Hmph… what can you do to me if you’re not polite?” The big white lamb in his arms not only failed to restrain herself, she became even bolder. Her little hand slipped downward and grabbed hold of Yue Yang’s “tool” for mischief.

“Fine, you little seductress—how dare you be this outrageous. Let’s see how I deal with you!” Yue Yang roared angrily, immediately flipping over and starting to “teach a lesson” to this bold little lamb who dared provoke the big gray wolf. Soon, the bedroom once again filled with soft, breathy moans…

As the evening lights came on, the beautiful city of Mingzhu began to glow. On a bustling street stood an extremely luxurious jewelry store covering two to three thousand square meters. Xiao Lu, dressed in an elegant evening gown, held onto Yue Yang’s arm and walked in with him like a little bird snuggled close to its mate. The store was called Jade Pavilion. The moment they entered, Zhao Santong and Yun Feng came forward to greet them, accompanied by over a dozen beautiful female employees dressed in sexy uniforms.

“Hahaha… Brother Yue, it’s been months since we last met, yet you’re still as dashing as ever!” Zhao Santong spoke first. He stepped up to Yue Yang and gave his shoulder a hearty pat before breaking into a wide grin.

“Brother Zhao, you’re the same—still full of vigor after all these months. But go a bit easier with that pat; my bones can’t take your tossing around,” Yue Yang joked back.

“Heh… you’re being modest. You’re still young—how could this old man compare with you?” Zhao Santong chuckled, then winked and lowered his voice by Yue Yang’s ear. “You look pretty sturdy, so why so humble? Have you been having too much fun with foreign women these past months overseas? You should take it easy—lust is a bone-scraping steel knife!”

Since Yue Yang often disappeared for months or even half a year at a time, Zhao Santong and Yun Feng both assumed he was abroad, hence the teasing.

Seeing Zhao Santong’s somewhat lewd wink, Yue Yang couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated. What nonsense was this? These days he’d been working diligently in the Ming Dynasty for the great cause of national unity—how did that turn into fooling around with foreign women in Zhao’s mouth?

Yun Feng also chimed in with a grin. “Brother Zhao’s right. As someone who’s been there, let me give you some advice too. Playing around with foreign women is fine, but don’t ever bring one home. When it comes to marrying a wife, nothing beats Chinese women—great at running a household and living life. Just look at the girls in our store—every single one is better than those foreign women, don’t you think?”

“Heh… you two idiots!” Yue Yang was at a loss for words at their shameless grins. With so many people around, he could only glare at them fiercely.

Unexpectedly, Yun Feng got carried away and said to the uniformed women nearby with a smile, “Let me introduce him—this is President Yue, Chairman Yue, whom you often talk about. By the way, he’s the biggest shareholder of our store. And one more thing—President Yue is still single.”

He even blinked exaggeratedly. Although everyone knew Yun Feng was mostly joking, the eyes of the female employees couldn’t help but light up. President Yue might not be strikingly handsome and even wore his long hair tied in a ponytail—on most people, that would look sloppy, like a struggling artist. Yet on him, it somehow conveyed an air of refined elegance and imposing presence. Especially when he wasn’t smiling, he exuded a natural authority that commanded respect.

Since this jewelry store was jointly opened by Yue Yang, Yun Feng, and Zhao Santong, these people were all his employees. Naturally, Yue Yang examined them carefully. He withdrew his smile and began looking them over seriously.

Seeing Yue Yang’s calm, unsmiling gaze, several female clerks who had wanted to greet him froze on the spot. Though he said nothing, his eyes—filled with dignity and solemnity—pressed down on their hearts like a mountain. A few of them even stammered, unable to speak, and the atmosphere in the store suddenly became somewhat oppressive.

Zhao Santong and Yun Feng exchanged glances, both seeing a trace of amazement in each other’s eyes. They shook their heads simultaneously. With their experience, they knew Yue Yang wasn’t deliberately putting on airs—it was simply the natural aura of someone long accustomed to high authority. Even though he tried hard to restrain it, traces of it still slipped out, making the female employees nervous.

“This Brother Yue’s official air is getting stronger and stronger… what exactly does he do?” Zhao Santong muttered inwardly, then deliberately joked loudly, “Brother Yue, I admit the girls in our store are all very pretty, but staring at them like that is rather impolite.”

“Would it kill you to stop teasing me for even a moment?” Yue Yang laughed and shook his head. As soon as he smiled, the female clerks who had felt breathless moments ago suddenly brightened, as if the stern, dignified boss had instantly turned back into a warm, friendly neighbor.

At that moment, a slim woman in a sky-blue suit with a pink silk scarf at her collar stepped forward. She bowed slightly to Yue Yang and said softly, “Hello, President Yue. I’m Xu Wenli, the sales director of this store. Please advise me in the future.”

Yue Yang looked her over. She was a tall, elegant white-collar beauty, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with delicate features. Her black hair was neatly pinned up, making her look both beautiful and capable.

Soon, Yue Yang withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and smiled warmly again. “Hello, Director Xu. Since you were hired by President Zhao and President Yun, that means your ability has already earned their approval. I hope I’ll often hear good news from you in the future.”

“I won’t let the presidents down,” Xu Wenli replied confidently. “All the jade in Jade Pavilion is of excellent quality. In the month or so since opening, our turnover has already exceeded ten million. And that’s under a controlled supply strategy—otherwise, it could easily be several times higher.” Speaking of her profession, the unease she’d felt earlier vanished instantly as she slipped into work mode, fully displaying the demeanor of a career woman.

“She’s the same type as Liu Shengnan. If those two ever met, it’d be quite a scene,” Yue Yang suddenly thought to himself.

Still, he nodded in satisfaction. Professional matters should be handled by professionals—only then could a business last.

As they walked, Xu Wenli gave professional explanations beside him. Although Yue Yang wasn’t deeply versed in modern business, he could tell her explanations were clear and concise, often simplifying complex concepts with ease. He nodded approvingly and turned to Yun Feng and Zhao Santong with a smile. “You two really found a very competent manager.”

Hearing Yue Yang’s praise, Zhao Santong and Yun Feng finally let out a breath of relief. When Yue Yang had left last time, he’d left them jade worth five hundred million. He wasn’t even around when the store opened—everything from location selection to operations had been handled by them. Seeing his satisfaction now finally put their anxious hearts at ease. Though they’d been the ones to run everything, they knew full well that the most important thing—the jade supply—was entirely in Yue Yang’s hands. Without him, no matter how capable they were, they couldn’t conjure jade out of thin air. Whether in shares or importance, Yue Yang was undeniably the core of the business.

However, Xiao Lu, standing beside Yue Yang, felt a faint sourness rise in her heart when she heard him praise Xu Wenli. Though her expression didn’t change, her hand tightened around Yue Yang’s arm.

After walking for a while, Yue Yang felt dazzled by the array of jewelry on display—let alone Xiao Lu, who remained nestled against him.

Suddenly, Yue Yang stopped at a counter. He’d noticed Xiao Lu’s gaze had been firmly captured by a particular piece of jewelry.

Seeing the woman staring intently at it, Yue Yang smiled. No matter what kind of woman she was, she had no resistance to shiny jewelry—and the woman by his side was no exception.

He smiled at the sales assistant behind the counter. “Miss, please take that piece out for me to have a look.”

“Certainly!” The sales assistant was a petite, delicate-looking girl. Seeing both company presidents and the sales director accompanying Yue Yang, she didn’t dare slack off. She quickly took out the item, carefully placing it on the counter, and explained, “Sir, this is an authentic Burmese old-mine jade piece. Our company hired a master jeweler at a high salary to craft it into this violet jade necklace. Most importantly, it’s made from extremely rare violet jade and platinum. Because violet jade is very scarce, its price has always been quite high…”

Zhao Santong, Yun Feng, Xu Wenli, and the dozen or so sales assistants nearby all found it amusing that the girl was explaining the origin of the jade to the actual owner of the store.

Yue Yang stopped her mid-speech and said helplessly, “Miss, I know all about the jade’s origin. You don’t need to explain. Let me try it on first.”

With that, he picked up the necklace and turned to put it on Xiao Lu. She was wearing a low-cut dress that day. Once the violet necklace was in place, it complemented her fair, delicate skin and beautiful face perfectly. Under the lights, she seemed to glow with an unusual brilliance, exuding an air of noble elegance and breathtaking charm.

Being stared at by so many people, Xiao Lu shyly lowered her head, appearing even more beautiful.

Not only did Yue Yang nod in satisfaction, even Yun Feng exclaimed, “Brother Yue, I have to say—this piece was practically made to be worn by a girl like Xiao Lu. It’s stunning.”

Yue Yang smiled and asked, “Do you like it?”

No girl would shake her head at such a question, and Xiao Lu was no exception. Her eyes were completely captivated by the necklace as she gently touched it, a mesmerized look in her eyes.

Yue Yang nodded. “If you like it, then we’ll buy it.”

“What… buy it… for me?” Xiao Lu was instantly overwhelmed by joy. She had slowed down earlier because the violet necklace had caught her eye, but as a celebrity, she knew the market well. A piece this rare would be extremely expensive—several million at least. Anyone would think carefully before buying something like this. She hadn’t expected Yue Yang to buy it outright for her. She was momentarily stunned.

“A-Yang… isn’t this too expensive? I…” She still couldn’t believe her ears.

“Mm, it looks great,” Yue Yang said, ignoring her hesitation. He took out a bank card and handed it to the sales assistant. “Alright, no need to ask the price. Just swipe the card.”

Seeing Yun Feng and Zhao Santong about to speak, Yue Yang raised his hand to stop them, smiling. “Don’t say anything. I’m buying something right now, and when buying something, you follow the rules. This card must be swiped.”

With Yue Yang putting it that way, what could they say? They could only smile wryly and shake their heads. Zhao Santong sighed. “Brother Yue, I truly admire you. Even if I were buying something worth over three million for my wife, I’d have to think long and hard about it. You, on the other hand—without batting an eye, you give it away. I’m truly ashamed in comparison.”

Yun Feng remained silent, smiling thoughtfully as he glanced at Xiao Lu, still immersed in her joy. It seemed Brother Yue really cherished her—millions spent without a single frown. Looks like the female lead for the company’s new film later this year would need to be reconsidered.

After touring their own jewelry store, Yun Feng suggested going to appease their stomachs. Yue Yang readily agreed. The group drove to the Sheraton Hotel and booked a large private room. True to form, Yun Feng called in a group of company actresses to accompany them. Soon, over a dozen beautifully dressed female stars arrived together, instantly filling the room with lively excitement.

Seeing the scene, Zhao Santong was about to say something, but Yun Feng explained with a grin, “It’s rare that Brother Yue is back—I have to play the host properly. If you don’t like it, Brother Zhao, you’re welcome to sit aside and drink alone.” That remark nearly infuriated Zhao Santong.

Before all the dishes were served, Yun Feng joked to Yue Yang, “Brother Yue, didn’t you ask me last time to order a batch of stab-resistant vests? A buddy of mine runs that factory. He wants to meet you—would you be willing to give him the honor? If not, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

At this point, how could Yue Yang refuse? He nodded in agreement while sighing inwardly—life in the martial world really did leave one with no freedom of choice.

The private room was spacious, over fifty square meters. The three men sat together chatting, while Xiao Lu talked with the other girls from the company nearby.