Damn it, this nasty woman had two completely different attitudes – one for him and another for others.

Was he not handsome enough?

Was he not rich enough?

“What do you care about my kindness? Xia Xiaolan, my previous offer still stands. Seeing how eager you are to find new wealthy and powerful men as patrons, you should consider my proposal even more. In the mainland, connections between officials are so tight. If you’ve been dumped by your previous boyfriend, considering his family’s background, few people would dare to pursue a serious relationship with you. But in Hong Kong, it’s fertile ground with freedom… Have you set your sights on Tang Yueyue from Meihua? In Hong Kong, there are plenty of choices at Tang Yueyue’s level.”

The previously peaceful terrace became polluted the moment Du Zhaohui arrived.

Xia Xiaolan was stunned on the spot. The Du family wasn’t just involved in smuggling; Du Zhaohui also loved playing matchmaker!

Xia Xiaolan didn’t give Young Master Du any face, immediately throwing his words back at him:

“What business is it of yours whether I find a patron or not!”

She didn’t even bother to deny it – so Xia Ziyu had been taken in by Du Zhaohui.

Xia Xiaolan had nothing worth discussing with Du Zhaohui; she was just testing the waters. Staying alone on the terrace with a wealthy young master with criminal connections wasn’t a good choice. After stumping Du Zhaohui and leaving him fuming, Xia Xiaolan quickly lifted the curtain and left.

The party was still noisy as Liu Yong came down from upstairs.

Seeing Xia Xiaolan and Du Zhaohui emerge from the terrace one after another, with Du Zhaohui wearing an eerie smile, Liu Yong worried:

“Xiaolan, are you alright?”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “I’m fine. Uncle, did you have any results on your end?”

Liu Yong himself was still in a daze, just like during New Year’s at Qijing Village when some people were talking in a room. Tang Hongen had called him in, introduced him briefly to others, and then left him hanging.

Liu Yong had thought he would be introduced to more engineering projects, but Yuanhui couldn’t handle more, and he didn’t want to owe Tang Hongen any bigger favors.

But the situation wasn’t as Liu Yong had imagined.

“Just met a few people, I only recognized Manager Huo. Later, Secretary Peng said some foreign investor wanted to meet Mayor Tang, so naturally, the rest of us tactfully left.”

Foreign investor?

Xia Xiaolan’s mind stirred – could it be Mr. Wilson from earlier?

While she was talking with Wilson on the terrace, someone had called him away, mentioning Shenzhen’s mayor. The timing matched up.

Among so many foreign investors, anyone who could directly dialogue with Tang Hongen must be investing on a large scale.

It seemed that Mr. Wilson had quite some influence.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t lamenting missing out on a powerful connection – if parties weren’t equal, there wouldn’t be any real cooperation anyway.

She and Liu Yong should focus their attention on smaller merchants.

If Xia Xiaolan had to say something, she had spotted an unexpected person.

Ji Jiangyuan, wearing a formal suit, was coming down the stairs. Xia Xiaolan hadn’t seen her classmate looking so polished in a long time. Since deciding to be financially independent, carrying tens of thousands of dollars in debt, Ji Jiangyuan obviously couldn’t afford new clothes. People rely on clothes for their appearance, and Ji Jiangyuan wasn’t like Zhou Cheng who could look dashingly spirited even in a sack – wearing old clothes had diminished Ji Jiangyuan’s looks considerably. His sudden appearance at Shenzhen’s investment promotion party, dressed so smartly, was quite strange.

Xia Xiaolan remembered going to find Ji Jiangyuan before the final exams, wanting to give him Tang Hongen’s bankbook.

What had Ji Jiangyuan said about having a high-paying part-time job?

“Uncle, I see my classmate there – that one, Uncle Tang’s son.”

Liu Yong didn’t know Ji Jiangyuan. Even if he wasn’t the mayor’s son, but just a regular classmate, they couldn’t ignore him.

“Go say hello, I’ll wait here for you.”

…

“Ji Jiangyuan, what are you doing here?”

After declining several attempts at conversation, Xia Xiaolan finally reached Ji Jiangyuan.

Ji Jiangyuan held a small fork, torturing a small bread roll at the buffet table. He kept poking holes in it without eating it.

Xia Xiaolan could tell Ji Jiangyuan was angry.

Ji Jiangyuan wasn’t surprised to see Xia Xiaolan.

“I thought you had already left.”

“You saw me earlier?”

Ji Jiangyuan nodded.

Xia Xiaolan was already beautiful, and after careful grooming, she was dazzling at tonight’s party. Ji Jiangyuan could guarantee that every man in the venue had, to varying degrees, let their gaze linger on Xia Xiaolan.

Compared to some foreign businessmen’s female companions, Xia Xiaolan was dressed too simply, without even decorative jewelry on her neck, wrists, or ears. But with such beauty, it seemed she didn’t need jewels to add to her radiance.

“Are you wondering why I’m here? Thinking that I’m saying I want to break away from the Ji family and don’t want my father’s money, but then showing up at a government-sponsored investment party in Shenzhen, trying to use his identity to gain attention and even find financial opportunities?”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “What nonsense are you talking about? What exactly happened!”

He looked quite shaken.

If it weren’t for Tang Hongen’s sake, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t bother consoling her moody classmate.

Who hasn’t gone through a rebellious phase?

Ji Jiangyuan’s current state was exactly like a late-blooming case of teenage angst.

Zhou Cheng wasn’t even two years older than Ji Jiangyuan but had already faced life and death on the battlefield. Ji Jiangyuan was like a greenhouse sapling – looking robust but internally very fragile.

Great, she had found another advantage of her boyfriend by comparison.

Ji Jiangyuan finally left the poor bread roll alone:

“Remember I mentioned George bringing a wealthy man from America? This wealthy man is George’s uncle who manages the family company. George somehow convinced him to invest in China, specifically recommending Shenzhen. This man is called Harold, a shrewd businessman with two faces. Although he listened to George’s encouragement, after arriving in China, he tricked George into going north while he came to Shenzhen… I’m at this party because of Harold. The high-paying part-time job I mentioned was being Harold’s companion.”

That’s nothing to be angry about.

Wait, shouldn’t George be the one paying Ji Jiangyuan?

Yet the American millionaire had ditched George but brought Ji Jiangyuan to Shenzhen.

Xia Xiaolan’s expression turned strange: “He seems to trust you too much.”

Ji Jiangyuan should be loyal to whoever pays him, especially since George was Ji Ya’s boyfriend. Outsiders couldn’t know that Ji Jiangyuan had fallen out with Ji Ya. This American businessman Harold was suspiciously trusting of Ji Jiangyuan – when things seem unusual, there must be something fishy!

“I thought so too, and was even pleased with myself for a couple of days.”

He believed that Harold had taken an instant liking to him.

Now he knew his thinking had been childish and laughable. Ji Jiangyuan was struck by his naivety.

Xia Xiaolan suddenly understood:

“So you discovered that Harold already knew about your relationship with Uncle Tang, and when he came to Shenzhen and ditched George, he deliberately brought you along…”

What could Xia Xiaolan say?

Young people would stop feeling hurt by such things after being fooled a few times.

A shrewd businessman always has motives – talk of instant friendship is never as real as profit!