Be reborn and be happy to the fullest

"Xiaozhou, welcome! Take a look and see what you think of this place."

"Hyoju? She doesn't even call me 'unnie' anymore?"

Although Han Hyo-joo had anticipated the scene before her, she was still quite angry. She was only 3 months older than Nam Gyu-ri, but because she entered the industry earlier and was more famous, she was always addressed respectfully by Nam Gyu-ri.

"If you're an unnie (older sister), then you should at least do what a senior should do! What's with constantly going out with your best friend's boyfriend and flirting in front of him?"

With Lee Seok absent, Nam Gyu-ri spoke simply and directly. The way she stared at Han Hyo-joo with wide eyes even had a certain air of authority, especially with all the high-end designer clothes around her, making her look like the empress.

This made Han Xiaozhou pause for a few seconds, suddenly feeling a sense of estrangement from her best friend, and finally becoming wary. She gave a slightly arrogant smile and said casually:

“Gyuri, we sisters weren’t like this before. I remember a month ago, when we last met, we even made plans to travel to China together. I didn’t say anything because you received an invitation from Koo Young-shin at the last minute. How did things come to this because of Lee Seok?”

Women are just as attracted to men as men, and when close female friends chat in private, they are more direct. When talking about men, they comment not only on their appearance, but also on their wealth, status, and so on.

Nam Gyu-ri and Han Hyo-joo are seen as stunningly beautiful fairies by their fans, but they are also just human. When they are close, the things they talk about are no different from those of ordinary people.

Now that Han Hyo-joo has brought up the past, Nam Gyu-ri feels both nostalgic and wary. She lowers her head and thinks for a moment, then says softly, "Unnie, this time is different. Lee Seok is different. You should understand what I mean. I'm serious. I'm willing to give my all for this and will guard against any formidable enemy!"

Han Xiaozhou smirked: "So I should thank you for listing me as a formidable rival?"

Nam Gyu-ri smiled and nodded: "In terms of looks, I might be able to compete with you, but Hyo-joo unnie's pure and innocent charm is unmatched by anyone, and I'm no exception..."

Han Hyo-joo played a pure and lovely image in her breakout drama, which established a similar image throughout Asia. Moreover, her round face, unlike most Hallyu stars, perfectly complemented her temperament. Although Nam Gyu-ri's face was praised by Lee Seok as a "perfect doll," in reality, Han Hyo-joo always gives any man the feeling of being more beautiful.

Nam Gyu-ri's candid praise made Han Hyo-joo feel a little awkward. After all, she hadn't reached the point of "shamelessly trying to steal her best friend's boyfriend." But then again, her "obsession" was pretty much there, which was why she was so conflicted.

It was this conflicting feeling of "not wanting to break ties because of pride" yet "not wanting to give up" that caused Han Xiaozhou's momentum to crumble. After remaining silent for a long time, she finally relented and said:

“Gui Li, I assure you, Li Shuo and I are just normal friends right now. No, I’m here today to consult him about some business matters, yes, investment matters…”

If she were to say such things, and something were to actually happen between her and Lee Seok in the future, or even if Nam Gyu-ri caught her in bed with him, she would completely lose face as "Unnie".

Knowing this, and seemingly having her "first chance in her life to have Han Hyo-joo under her thumb," Nam Gyu-ri's sharp aura, which had been palpable since their first meeting, finally subsided. After a moment's hesitation, she said softly:
“Oppa was too tired last night and didn’t get to sleep until the early hours of the morning. I think you should come back this afternoon…”

These words could easily lead to speculation, but Han Hyo-joo was a very thoughtful person. Firstly, she knew Nam Gyu-ri well and knew that her acting skills were very poor and that there were obvious signs of acting, such as now. Secondly, she had talked with Lee Seok in the early morning and knew that he had worked all night. So she immediately deduced that the situation was close to the truth, and her mind was somewhat relieved: It seems that Nam Gyu-ri's position in Chairman Lee's heart is not so secure after all.

"He's not here, so what are you doing here? What happened between you two last night..." On the surface, Han Xiaozhou acted as if he hadn't noticed Nam Gyu-ri's slip-up, and even deliberately showed a strange expression.

Nam Gyu-ri became even more smug. Pointing inside, she said, "This is the headquarters of Sogo Korea. Naturally, it's Oppa's business. The chairman's office is very large. He worked a lot last night, so we both rested here..."

"You have a lot of work to do." Do you think I would suspect that it's the work you're doing on your body?
Han Xiaozhou was secretly pleased, but on the surface, he chatted enthusiastically with Nan Guili, occasionally praising her, and the two seemed to have returned to their old ways.

However, Nam Gyu-ri still had some sense. Even while being flattered by Han Hyo-joo to the point of being dizzy, she still wanted to keep Han Hyo-joo away from her oppa. So, after chatting for an hour, she stood up and said, "How about we go shopping together? We haven't gone shopping in a long time..."

But Han Xiaozhou didn't take the bait, shaking his head deftly with a troubled expression: "But I'm here today on important business..." As he spoke, he looked at Han Enqing, the secretary who had been standing to the side as if she were invisible but was actually extremely powerful: "Secretary Han, are you aware of my agreement with the chairman? Or rather, did the chairman give any instructions when he sent the driver to pick me up?"

While the two women were chatting, Han Enqing had already confirmed some things with Number 3 through her tablet and headset. Now, she calmly replied:
"Perhaps some of your remarks yesterday inspired the chairman in terms of investment, so last night he restructured some strategies for Shuoguo Investment. Inviting you here today might also be related to that. Of course, we don't know the specifics, but if you'd like, you can learn more about Shuoguo Investment first..."

Han Hyo-joo's beautiful eyes brightened slightly. This was the first time she had felt warmth, or even "favoritism," from this secretary since she met her: she explained things in great detail, even cleared her of suspicion of "seducing her best friend's boyfriend," and even helped her stay on the job!

Little did she know that the primary responsibility of the secretary's office was to serve the boss, and the fact that Li Shuo invited a female star was enough to prove that the boss was sexually interested in her, so naturally he would keep her there.

"Oh, okay, let's go together then. I went to bed too early yesterday and don't know what happened afterward... Um... Oppa, you came very late yesterday. What about the employees? Did they all work overtime?"

Nam Gyu-ri wasn't that clever. She couldn't see through Han Eun-jung's cover-up for Han Hyo-joo. She just casually sighed and exposed her own lie. So she quickly added the second half of the sentence, which made her look extremely clumsy.

"To be honest, before the Boss came to inspect, Shuoguo Investment's operating efficiency wasn't very high... Well, from our perspective as outsiders, it was the most relaxed subsidiary in the Shuoguo Group, bar none..."

Han Eun-jung answered as she walked, her tone light and cheerful, almost like casual banter. Inspired by her, Han Hyo-joo and Nam Gyu-ri also became more enthusiastic about the conversation. The two women began asking about things at Sogo's South Korean company, and Han Eun-jung naturally shared some interesting points:

"...Companies like Shuoguo Construction and Shuoguo Investment, which are closely related to money, actually seem quite dry to outsiders. They mostly consist of numbers and reports, and I doubt either of you would be interested in them..."

"Hehe, don't rush to refute me, because what I'm about to say is something that even I am extremely interested in, and I guarantee that all women in South Korea will go crazy for it!"

Midway through the conversation, Han Enqing pointed to the floor beneath her feet and said, "The entire floor beneath our Shuoguo Investment belongs to the South Korean Shuoguo Trading Company. Its main business is the exclusive sale of various luxury goods. In addition to Shuoguo's flagship Patek Philippe watches, the company has recently been in contact with major luxury brands. It is rumored that when the Shuoguo Luxury City opens, it will gather ten top luxury brands and dozens of high-end luxury brands that are popular throughout Asia..."

Now, both Han and Nan were completely intrigued, especially Nan Guili, whose eyes lit up as she grabbed Han Enqing's arm and kept asking, "What is Shuoguo Luxury City?" "Does Shuoguo Trading mainly deal in Patek Philippe?" "What are the ten top luxury brands?"

Han Xiaozhou was also somewhat interested in this, but she keenly sensed that this might be her chance to avoid Nam Gyu-ri. So, five minutes later, when Han Eun-jung led the two women into the office area of ​​Shuoguo Investment, where they were received by Bill Huang's secretary, Vermeer, Han Xiaozhou smiled at Nam Gyu-ri and said, "How about this, you two go and take a look at Shuoguo Trading first, and I'll give Shuoguo Investment a quick tour and then meet up with you right away?"

“Okay, okay,” Nam Gyu-ri nodded eagerly.

Han Enqing, however, worried about neglecting Han Xiaozhou, thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll take Miss Nan to Shuoguo Trading first, and then send someone to show Miss Nan around the luxury brands that Shuoguo Trading partners with. You can also pick out some gifts that were sent..."

After saying the first half of her sentence to Nam Gyu-ri, she simply said to Han Hyo-joo, "Then I'll come over..."

What was she going to do next? Naturally, it was to prove how much she, as his secretary, valued Han Xiaozhou.

In fact, it only took Han Eun-jung 15 minutes to arrange for Nam Gyu-ri to appear next to Han Hyo-joo and introduce her to the changes at Shuo-guo Investment, and...

"First Electronics, buy 3000 lots..." "SK Hynix, buy 10,000 lots..."

Around 11 a.m., Han Enqing, accompanied by Han Xiaozhou, met Bill Huang in the large trading room that Li Shuo had arranged the night before. Since Li Shuo wasn't there, he was naturally the one giving orders. When the two women entered, they were already engaged in a lively trading session…

Han Xiaozhou was a typical South Korean investor, quite knowledgeable about candlestick charts and such. She glanced around and immediately noticed the anomaly. After exchanging pleasantries with Bill Huang, she excitedly exclaimed, "President Huang, are you building a position? Amazing! You're buying thousands, even tens of thousands of lots at a time!" (End of Chapter)