Chapter 17

When he received the time and address of the party, Zhou Sujin forwarded it to his assistant and instructed the assistant to find out who was hosting.

The doorbell rang, and Lu Yu entered without invitation.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Sujin gestured casually towards the bar with his chin.

Lu Yu, without being polite, poured himself a drink and said leisurely, “Can’t I come here if there’s nothing going on? You’ve moved, I can’t pretend I don’t know.”

He had bought a housewarming gift, which was on its way.

Lu Yu grabbed two highball glasses, but before pouring the second one, Zhou Sujin blocked it with his hand. “You drink by yourself.”

He acquiesced and put the bottle cap back on.

Sitting by the floor-to-ceiling windows at 270 degrees, drinking, surrounded by mountains and rivers, with mist lingering, wasn’t this like living a fairy tale?

He seemed to understand why Zhou Sujin wanted to buy a high-rise flat in Jiang’an Yunchen.

“In the future, try not to come when there’s nothing going on.”

“What?” 

Lu Yu was lost in the beauty of Jiangcheng, unable to believe what his childhood friend was saying to him.

“No, why can’t I come? I can stay at your houses all over the world, and drive your cars, why can’t I come here?”

He took a big sip of his drink, feeling unjust, “And I don’t bring any trouble with me.”

Zhou Sujin replied, “That’s not the point.”

Lu Yu stared at him intently, “Did you really buy it for Wei Lai?”

For the first time, Zhou Sujin didn’t ignore such a question, but gave a response, albeit just one word: “Yeah.”

“What’s the deal with you and Wei Lai? Did she descend from the heavens with a rocket? Why’s she treated like a goddess?” Lu Yu was almost dying of curiosity about this Wei Lai person.

She had only known Zhou Sujin for a short time, but her treatment was catching up to, no, surpassing his.

In the time that followed, no matter how much Lu Yu pressed for answers, Zhou Sujin remained silent.

Lu Yu couldn’t reconcile, “I don’t hide anything from you about my feelings, I tell you everything, yet you’re wary of me.”

Zhou Sujin looked up, “What did you tell me?”

Lu Yu: “…”

Why didn’t he say anything?

Forget it, why bring up things that have already passed?

He shut his mouth and drank.

Zhou Sujin’s phone on the bar received a message, he picked it up, it was from his assistant, Yang Ze.

[Mr. Zhou, Miss Wei will be attending the anniversary party of Yunhui Group this Friday evening.]

Zhou Sujin: [Got it.]

The boss of Yunhui Group, Wen Changyun, was his childhood friend’s father-in-law. When he and Lu Yu came to Jiangcheng for investment, it was this childhood friend who set the KPI for them.

“After finishing this drink, let’s head back. I’ve been busy lately,” he dismissed Lu Yu.

Lu Yu dared not say anything, but for psychological balance, he took the remaining half bottle of wine with him before leaving.

After seeing Lu Yu, Zhou Sujin went back to his studies to continue his work.

He would often come to Jiangcheng in the next two years. He couldn’t neglect his business, so he added more investments in the Jiangcheng industrial park, still related to semiconductor materials, involving multiple parties and requiring a lot of coordination.

On Friday, at two thirty in the afternoon, Zhou Sujin arrived at the Jiangjing Business Club for a business meeting.

“Mr. Zhou, they have already arrived.”

Yang Ze hurriedly greeted him. As Zhou Sujin’s special assistant, he used to accompany him on business trips almost everywhere. But now that the boss was staying in his own house instead of hotels, he tried to remain invisible and only appeared during negotiations.

While walking, Zhou Sujin instructed, “Keep seven to seven-fifty open tonight, I need to attend Yunhui Group’s party. Decline any appointments after ten.”

“Got it.”

The boss only allocated fifty minutes for the party, including travel time. So, he would probably spend only three to five minutes at the party and would likely just exchange greetings with the chairman of Yunhui Group.

At ten in the evening, he would go to pick up Miss Wei from the party.

Yang Ze relayed the schedule to Uncle Yan, asking him to plan the routes in advance.

The party didn’t start until seven thirty. Zhou Sujin arrived at seven twenty, causing quite a stir.

Wen Changyun, the boss of Yunhui Group, personally greeted him, expressing apologies for not coming to meet him earlier.

“Uncle Wen, you’re being too polite.” Zhou Sujin took a glass of wine from the waiter’s tray and toasted Wen Changyun.

Various banquets and parties in Jiangcheng never invited him before. Tonight, he actively attended the party without addressing Wen Changyun formally, purely because of their close relationship.

“Wen Changyun, when can I visit Jiangcheng? Let’s have dinner at my place.”

Zhou Sujin politely accepted at first, then added, “Yesterday. I had a business meeting.” He returned the empty glass to the tray and took another one, “Uncle Wen, I have to excuse myself now. There are people waiting for me at the other table.”

Having only toasted two glasses of wine and chatted for less than ten minutes, Zhou Sujin left the party.

Wei Lai didn’t arrive until 7:35, and as soon as she stepped into the banquet hall, she was surrounded by a few superficial friends, all of whom she had met through Zhang Yanxin in the past. Every time they met, there were various probes, sometimes even subtle remarks, but it was all insincere.

“Lai Lai, what have you been busy with lately? I miss you so much. Where’s your Mr. Zhou? I heard he’s in Jiangcheng, why didn’t he come with you?”

Wei Lai smiled, “He’s busy.” She deliberately paused for a moment, then added slowly, “He’ll come to pick me up later when he’s done.”

In their hearts, they rolled their eyes, but let it go.

If they hadn’t broken up, he would have come with her.

Zhou Sujin had even accompanied his fiancée to eat hot pot, yet Wei Lai was still putting on airs here.

“I heard Zhou Sujin doesn’t like hot pot, is that true?”

Wei Lai’s smile remained, as she jokingly retorted, “Heard? I also heard I took a night train to Beijing to cry and reconcile with Zhou Sujin.” Then she changed the subject, “You all know I love hot pot the most, he often eats it with me at home.”

“…”

Shameless.

“Wei Lai, it’s been a while.” It was Mu Di who greeted her. Today, Zhang Yanxin had something to do and didn’t come with her.

Wei Lai nodded without much expression.

Her superficial friends glanced at Mu Di sideways, and one of them even mocked Mu Di lightly. Wei Lai was used to it. They weren’t standing up for her, but they had always disliked Mu Di because their family backgrounds were superior, and they weren’t afraid of offending her.

Mu Di didn’t bother to look at them directly. She just touched Wei Lai’s glass.

She knew Wei Lai hated her because Wei Lai had once poured her heart out to her at work. Her feelings towards Wei Lai were complicated, a mix of jealousy and guilt.

Mu Di drank the whole glass and said, “I was planning to have a drink with you and Mr. Zhou, but Mr. Zhou left so soon. We’ll have to catch up another time.”

She left with her empty glass.

Wei Lai was taken aback. Zhou Sujin had come?

He hadn’t said he would attend the party.

Her superficial friends were also puzzled, echoing the same question: Zhou Sujin had been here? When did he come?

Wei Lai took out her phone from her bag and went outside the banquet hall. [I heard you came to the party. I just arrived, why didn’t you wait for me?]

Zhou Sujin called her directly, “Wen Changyun is my friend’s father-in-law. Shouldn’t I go and greet him first before coming to pick you up later?”

So that’s how it was.

Wei Lai felt regretful, “If you had told me earlier, I would have come earlier and could have met you.”

How could Zhou Sujin not hear her true intentions? “You didn’t meet me, so you couldn’t show off in front of Mu Di?”

Being seen through, Wei Lai admitted generously, “Yeah.”

Zhou Sujin said, “I’ll pick you up at ten.”

Wei Lai’s voice was low, “Mr. Zhou, don’t forget to show your face when you pick me up.”

Zhou Sujin said, “…”

She was taking advantage of him again.

“I’m busy.” He hung up the phone.

Wei Lai put away her phone. She didn’t forget the purpose of coming to the party; she took the opportunity to get to know the person in charge of the integrated shopping mall of the complex.

After touching up her makeup, she returned to the banquet hall, where almost everyone had arrived.

During the two years with Zhang Yanxin, wherever he went, he brought her along. Coupled with Yuan Hengrui’s ‘unwavering affection’ for her, she could be considered a celebrity in the social circle of Jiangcheng, known to all.

“Wei the beauty, long time no see. It’s not easy to see you even once now.” Someone half-jokingly greeted her.

Wei Lai dealt with these situations with ease, laughing, “I almost cried my eyes out when I went to Beijing, didn’t dare to go out.”

“Ha ha.” The person clinked glasses with Wei Lai.

Wei Lai took just a sip, indicating an intention, “I’m going to find someone, let’s talk later.”

The person in charge of the integrated shopping mall had been sitting with the boss of the Fumanyuan supermarket. Mu Di was also sitting with them, and they were having a pleasant conversation. It would only add to the embarrassment if she went over to say hello now.

The boss of Fumanyuan was Mu Di’s uncle. Among all the chain supermarkets in Jiangcheng, the resources of the boss of Fumanyuan were the strongest. This time, when entering the complex, Mu Di would certainly spare no effort to help Fumanyuan seize the opportunity, which was understandable.

If she were Mu Di, she would help her uncle in the same way.

Wei Lai thoughtfully emptied her glass. Now, she and the boss of Fumanyuan would compete on their own merits.

She took another glass of wine and went to find Wen Changyun, the boss of Yunhui Group.

Wen Changyun was the busiest person tonight. Naturally, everyone who came to the party wanted to talk to the host. Wei Lai waited patiently for an hour before finally seizing the opportunity to speak privately.

“Mr. Wen, hello.”

Wen Changyun had just seen off a friend who came to show support and was about to go out for a smoke.

His voice was unfamiliar to her, so he turned around.

“Mr. Wen, hello, I’m Wei Lai, the operations manager of Wei Lai Supermarket. I won’t take up more than two minutes of your time, which should be enough.”

Wen Changyun looked at the girl in front of him, who was about the same age as his daughter, and nodded slightly.

Even though he was the wealthiest man in Jiangcheng, he was not unfamiliar with Wei Lai Supermarket. There was one opposite his company building, and he passed by it every day for over twenty years.

“Named after the supermarket?”

Wei Lai smiled, “Yes, and we’re the same age.”

She went straight to the point, “I won’t take up much of your precious time. I’d like to compete for the operating rights of the supermarket on the first floor of your complex.”

With that, she took out a string of spiral-bound cards from her handbag. The cards were only half the size of an A4 sheet of paper, an unconventional project proposal.

“Mr. Wen, please take a look.”

Wen Changyun, being both a chairman and a doting father, could always imagine if his daughter was as cautious when soliciting investments.

He resisted the urge to smoke and gestured towards the VIP area, saying, “Let’s sit over there.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wen.”

In the project proposal, Wei Lai displayed many pictures. “This is the redesigned layout of the store by the designer. Each store has a unified style, but the designs are unique in certain areas.” She also emphasized the creative ideas of the free reading bar and study room, and succinctly outlined the supermarket’s operating management philosophy on the cover page of the project proposal, making it clear and understandable.

This was the most innovative project proposal Wen Changyun had ever seen. It was convenient to carry in a handbag, unlike bringing a document to a party. The project proposal consisted of eight pages, with seven pages of pictures and only one page of text.

So two minutes were enough to read it.

He read through it again from the beginning.

The overall style of the supermarket followed the pace of young people, yet the operating philosophy was steady and practical, seeking change amidst stability.

Some collaborations often happen because of a shared idea, without so many complicated reasons.

Wen Changyun turned to his secretary, gesturing for her to come over from nearby. “Take down Miss Wei’s contact information and give her business card to Lu Song, saying it’s my idea.”

The secretary was surprised at what this girl named Wei Lai could do to make the chairman approve the operating rights of the supermarket in just a few minutes.

“Yes, Mr. Wen.”

Lu Song was the person in charge of the complex. Giving her business card to Lu Song and having him add her could almost guarantee the deal. Wei Lai thanked Wen Changyun again.

At that moment, there was another commotion at the entrance of the banquet hall.

The secretary looked over and couldn’t believe it, “Mr. Wen, Mr. Zhou is here again.”

At this moment, Wen Changyun was sitting down and couldn’t see who it was. Among the guests tonight, there were five or six bosses surnamed Zhou. He asked, “Which Mr. Zhou?”

The secretary replied, “Zhou Sujin.”

Wen Changyun was slightly startled and quickly got up to greet him.

Wei Lai also stood up from the sofa and followed.

Zhou Sujin smiled faintly and reached out his hand, “Uncle Wen, I’m bothering you again.”

Wen Changyun had already noticed the anomaly tonight but hadn’t figured out what was unusual. He joked, “I’m pleasantly surprised. Shall we have a drink upstairs?”

There was a VIP room upstairs, quiet and private.

Zhou Sujin said, “I won’t drink.”

With that, he gestured in Wei Lai’s direction, indicating for her to go over, then turned to Wen Changyun and continued, “I only stayed for a few minutes earlier, and she didn’t see me, so she’s upset. I came specifically to pick her up this time, so let’s save the drink for next time.”