President Zhou, Don’t Forget To Show Your Face When You Pick Me Up
Upon receiving the time and address of the gala, Zhou Sujin forwarded the details to his secretary and instructed him to find out who was hosting the event.
The doorbell rang, and Lu An arrived uninvited.
What brings you here? Zhou Sujin motioned toward the bar with his chin, indicating he could help himself.
Lu An, never one to stand on ceremony, selected the most expensive bottle of wine available and said, “Can’t I come over just to hang out? I can’t pretend not to know about your housewarming.”
He had bought a housewarming gift, which was on its way.
Lu An picked up two wine glasses, but before he could pour into the second one, Zhou Sujin stopped him with his hand. “You drink by yourself.”
Lu An shrugged and re-corked the bottle.
Sitting in front of the 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows, sipping wine, and taking in the view of the surrounding mountains and misty clouds, he thought, This must be the life of the gods.
He could understand why Zhou Sujin chose to buy a high-floor, spacious condo in Jiang’an Cloud Residences.
“Try not to come over unless necessary.”
“What?”
Lu An was lost in the beauty of the scenery and couldn’t believe what his childhood friend was saying to him.
“Wait, why can’t I come? I can stay in any of your properties around the world and borrow any of your cars, but I can’t come here?”
He took a big gulp of wine, feeling slighted. “It’s not like I’m bringing over random people.”
Zhou Sujin: “That doesn’t matter.”
Lu An stared at him intently. “Did you really buy this place for Wei Lai?”
For the first time, Zhou Sujin didn’t dismiss such a question and actually responded, albeit with a single word. “En.”
“What exactly is going on between you and Wei Lai? You’re moving faster than a rocket! Is she some kind of fairy descended from heaven?” Lu An was dying of curiosity about this Wei Lai.
She had only known Zhou Sujin for such a short time, yet her treatment was already the same as his.
No, it had already surpassed his.
No matter how much Lu An pressed for details, Zhou Sujin refused to divulge further.
Lu An felt indignant. “I never hide anything about my relationships from you. I tell you everything, yet you’re keeping things from me.”
Zhou Sujin looked up. “What have you told me?”
Lu An: “…”
Whatever, no point bringing up the past.
He took another sip of his wine in silence.
Zhou Sujin’s phone on the bar buzzed. He picked it up immediately and saw it was a message from his secretary, Yang Ze.
“President Zhou, Miss Wei is attending the Yunhui Group’s annual gala this Friday night.“
Zhou Sujin: “Got it.“
Yunhui Group’s boss, Wen Changyun, was his childhood friend’s father-in-law. Back when he and Lu An came to Jiang City to invest, it was this childhood friend who set their KPIs.
“Finish your drink and head back. I’ve got a lot on my plate lately.” He showed his visitor the door.
Lu An, though angry, didn’t argue. To make himself feel better, he swiped the remaining half bottle of wine on his way out.
After seeing Lu An out, Zhou Sujin returned to his study to continue working.
Over the next two years, he’ll need to visit Jiang City frequently. He couldn’t neglect his work and responsibilities. So, he decided to increase investments in Jiang City Industrial Park, still focusing on semiconductor materials. It involved multiple parties and required significant coordination.
On Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., Zhou Sujin arrived at the Riverside Club* for a scheduled meeting.
Riverside Club – this refers to a private member’s club where members have to pay an annual fee to be part of
“President Zhou, they’ve arrived.”
Yang Ze hurried over. As Zhou Sujin’s executive assistant, he used to be virtually inseparable from him during business trips like a shadow. However, now that the boss no longer stayed in hotels but in his own house, he tried to remain inconspicuous, only appearing during negotiations.
As they walked, Zhou Sujin instructed, “Clear my schedule from 7:00 to 7:50 tonight. I’ll be attending Yunhui Group’s annual gala. Any appointments after 10:00, cancel them all.”
“Got it.”
With only 50 minutes allocated by the boss for the gala, including travel time, it seemed he would only spend three to five minutes at the event, likely just to greet the Yunhui Group’s chairman.
At 10:00 p.m., it was to pick up Miss Wei from the gala.
Yang Ze sent both time slots to Uncle Yan, asking him to plan the routes in advance.
The party didn’t start until 7:30 p.m., but Zhou Sujin arrived at 7:20 p.m., causing quite a stir.
Wen Changyun, the chairman of Yunhui Group, personally greeted Zhou Sujin and apologized for any oversight in welcoming him.
“Uncle Wen, you’re too polite,” Zhou Sujin said, taking a glass of wine from a server’s tray and toasting Wen Changyun.
It was rare for any soiree in Jiang City to successfully invite Zhou Sujin. His presence tonight, and his choice to address Wen Changyun informally, was entirely due to this childhood friend.
Wen Changyun: “When did you arrive here? Come over for dinner when you’re free.”
Zhou Sujin responded courteously, “Last night. I’m here to meet investors.” He placed his empty glass back on the tray and took another. “Uncle Wen, please excuse me. There’s a table of people waiting for me over there.”
After toasting twice and chatting for less than 10 minutes, Zhou Sujin left the gala.
Wei Lai arrived at 7:35 PM. As soon as she entered the venue, she was surrounded by a group of superficial friends, women she had met through Zhang Yanxin. Every encounter with them involved various forms of probing and often veiled remarks, devoid of genuine concern.
“Lai Lai, what have you been up to lately? We’ve missed you so much! Where’s your CEO Zhou? We heard he’s here in the city. Why didn’t he come with you?”
Wei Lai smiled. “He’s busy.” She paused deliberately and then added, “He’ll come pick me up later once he’s done with work.”
The women inwardly rolled their eyes. Sure, like we believe that.
If you two really hadn’t broken up, he’d be here with you.
Come on, even Zhou Sujin accompanied his marriage partner to hotpot, and you’re still here yapping.
“I heard that President Zhou doesn’t like hotpot. Is that true?”
Wei Lai kept her smile, responding with a self-deprecating retort, “Heard? I also heard I took an overnight bullet train to Beijing, crying to win Zhou Sujin back.” She then shifted the topic smoothly, “But you all know I love hotpot the most. He often eats it at home with me.”
Shameless.
“Long time no see, Wei Lai.” The one who greeted her was Mu Di. Today, Zhang Yanxin had some business to tend to and didn’t come with her.
Wei Lai gave a slight nod without showing any emotion.
Her superficial friends shot sidelong glances at Mu Di, with one of them even sneering at her. Wei Lai was used to it; they weren’t standing up for her but simply didn’t like Mu Di. Their family backgrounds were all outstanding, so they weren’t afraid of offending her.
Mu Di didn’t even look at them and gently clinked her glass against Wei Lai’s.
She knew Wei Lai hated her, especially since Wei Lai had once poured her heart out for her at work. Her feelings for Wei Lai were complex, a mix of jealousy and guilt.
Mu Di downed her drink. “I was hoping to have a drink with you and President Zhou, but I didn’t expect him to leave so quickly. Let’s catch up another time.”
With that, she walked away with her empty glass.
Wei Lai was stunned.
Zhou Sujin was here?
She never mentioned he would attend the gala.
Her superficial friends were equally puzzled, echoing the same question: Zhou Sujin was here? When did he come?
Wei Lai pulled her phone out from her purse and stepped outside the venue, texting Zhou Sujin, “I heard you were here at the gala? I just got here. Why didn’t you wait for me?“
Zhou Sujin called her directly, “Wen Changyun is my friend’s father-in-law. Since I’ll be picking you up later, I thought I should stop by and say hi first.”
So that was it.
Wei Lai said regretfully, “If you had told me beforehand, I would’ve come earlier and we could’ve met.”
Zhou Sujin could easily read her true intentions. “Did not meeting me ruin your chance to show off in front of Mu Di?”
Being seen through, Wei Lai admitted openly, “En.”
Zhou Sujin: “I’ll pick you up at ten.”
Wei Lai said softly, “President Zhou, don’t forget to show your face when you pick me up.”
Zhou Sujin: “…”
Give an inch, and she’ll want a mile by acting cute with him again.
“I have to get back to work,” he said before hanging up the phone.
Wei Lai put away her phone, reminding herself of the real reason she was at the gala: to find an opportunity to meet the person in charge of Yunhui Group’s malls.
After touching up her makeup, she returned to the venue, which was now bustling with people.
During the two years with Zhang Yanxin, he had taken her everywhere he went. Along with Yuan Hengrui’s “persistent infatuation” with her, she had become quite a well-known figure in Jiang City’s social circle.
“Gorgeous, long time no see. Haven’t seen you around lately; it’s getting hard to catch a glimpse of you now,” someone joked as they greeted her.
Wei Lai handled these interactions with ease and said with a smile, “It’s because I’ve been crying my eyes out in Beijing that I nearly went blind, so I didn’t dare step outside.”
“Haha,” the person laughed, clinking their glass with hers.
Wei Lai drank a sip, just for the gesture. “I need to find someone. Let’s catch up later.”
Tonight, the person in charge of the malls was seated with the owner of Blissful Garden Supermarket and Mu Di, chatting happily. Approaching them now would only be awkward for her.
Blissful Garden Supermarket’s owner was Mu Di’s uncle and had the strongest connections among all the community chain supermarkets in Jiang City. It was no surprise that Mu Di would do everything she could to help Blissful Garden Supermarket secure the spot in the mall.
If she were Mu Di, she would do the same to help out her uncle.
Contemplating the situation, Wei Lai downed her drink in one go. Now it was a matter of competing based on their respective merits.
She grabbed another drink and made her way toward Wen Changyun, Yunhui Group’s Chairman.
Wen Changyun was the busiest person tonight. Naturally, everyone attending the gala wanted to chat with the host. Wei Lai had been waiting patiently by the side for a full hour before finally seizing a brief opportunity to chat with him alone.
“Hi, Mr. Wen.”
Wen Changyun had just seen off a friend who came to show support and was about to step out for a smoke.
The voice was unfamiliar, so he turned around.
“Hi, Mr. Wen, I’m Wei Lai, the Operations Manager for Wei Lai Supermarket. I just need two minutes of your time, two minutes is all I need.”
Wen Changyun looked at the girl in front of him, who was about the same age as his daughter and nodded slightly.
Even as the richest man in Jiang City, he was not unfamiliar with Wei Lai Supermarket. There was one right across from his company’s building, a store he passed by every day on his way to and from work for over 20 years.
“Same name as the supermarket?”
Wei Lai smiled. “Yes, and the same age too.”
She got straight to the point, “I only need two minutes of your precious time. I’d like to discuss the possibility of securing the operating rights for the supermarket in the basement level of your company’s new mall.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a set of ring-bound cards from her purse. Each card was half the size of an A4 paper, an unconventional project proposal.
“Mr. Wen, please take a look.”
Wen Changyun, both a chairman and a doting father, couldn’t help but think of his own daughter. He wondered if she was just as cautious when seeking investments.
Suppressing his urge to smoke, he gestured toward the VIP area with a nod of his chin. “Let’s go sit over there.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wen.”
Wei Lai presented numerous pictures in the project proposal. “Here’s a redesigned interior layout by our designer for our stores. Each store follows a unified style, yet each has its unique features.” She then highlighted the innovative concepts of the free book bar and study room, succinctly summarizing the supermarket’s management philosophy on the cover page of the project proposal, making it clear and concise.
This was the most creative project proposal Wen Changyun had ever seen. It was convenient enough to fit in a purse, which was essential for attending a party without carrying bulky documents. The proposal consisted of eight pages, with seven pages of images, and only the first page containing text.
So, two minutes were enough to look through it.
He went through it again from the beginning.
The overall style of the supermarket was in step with the younger generation, yet its management philosophy remained grounded and steadfast, seeking stability amidst change.
Sometimes, partnerships simply boil down to the alignment of a single idea, without any complex reasons.
Wen Changyun turned and gestured for his secretary to approach. “Get Xiao Wei’s contact information and pass her business card to Lu Song. Tell him it’s my decision.”
The secretary was surprised at what this girl named Wei Lai could possibly have done to secure the operating rights of the supermarket from the Chairman in just a few minutes.
“Got it, Chairman Wen.”
Lu Song was the person in charge of the malls. Passing Wei Lai’s business card to him and having Lu Song contact her meant that the deal was essentially sealed. Wei Lai thanked Wen Changyun once again.
Just at this moment, there was another commotion near the entrance of the venue.
The secretary glanced over, hardly believing his eyes. “Chairman Wen, President Zhou is here again.”
Wen Changyun, seated at the moment, couldn’t see who it was. Among the guests tonight, there were five or six CEOs with the surname Zhou, so he asked, “Which President Zhou?”
Secretary: “Zhou Sujin.”
Wen Changyun was momentarily taken aback but quickly stood up to greet him.
Wei Lai rose from the sofa and followed suit.
Zhou Sujin smiled as he extended his hand. “Uncle Wen, sorry to bother you again.”
Wen Changyun had already sensed something unusual tonight but hadn’t quite pinpointed what it was. He joked, “I’m pleasantly surprised. Let’s have a drink upstairs?
There was a VIP room upstairs, quiet and private.
Zhou Sujin: “Thank you, but I’m good for tonight.”
With that, he gestured toward Wei Lai, indicating for her to come over, then turned back to Wen Changyun. “I was in a rush earlier, so I could only stay for a few minutes. She wasn’t happy to have missed me, so I came back to specifically pick her up. Let’s save the drinks for next time.”
