He was a middle-aged man built like an iron tower.
He wore a black suit and looked to be about two meters tall.
He stood behind Zhou Yunqiong, his dark face stern, his eyes sharp.
Even without saying a word, he gave off such a powerful sense of oppression that people instinctively wanted to keep their distance.
No wonder Li Hansheng had taken two steps back.
"This is Uncle Zuo. My family was worried about me being out alone, so they asked him to accompany me."
Zhou Yunqiong smiled as she explained, putting everyone at ease. Her tone was warm and friendly.
"Oh, I see."
Li Hansheng gave an awkward laugh to cover his embarrassment, then turned and said, "Yunqiong's here. Let's all welcome her."
"Welcome, welcome."
"Yunqiong, you finally made it."
"We've been waiting forever. Come on, take a seat."
Almost everyone in the room stood up, smiling and greeting her with great courtesy.
Her classmates knew all about Zhou Yunqiong's family background. In today's society, wealth and connections naturally earned a person everyone's respect, so they all greeted her eagerly. As for Uncle Zuo, they knew he was some kind of bodyguard.
Of course, Lu Yuan was different from everyone else. He remained seated, drinking on his own, with no intention of getting up.
A few people frowned slightly at the sight, thinking he was putting on airs.
Even if you've made it now, can you compare with Zhou Yunqiong's family background?
But Zhou Yunqiong didn't seem to mind at all.
At everyone's urging, she took the seat of honor in the room.
By then, all the dishes had been served, but no one dared pick up their chopsticks first. They were all waiting.
"We're all classmates. There's no need to be so formal. Let's eat." Zhou Yunqiong smiled faintly, then took the initiative to reminisce about their university days. Only then did the atmosphere begin to warm up.
She was beautiful. Though her manner was cool and distant, she now showed a warm, approachable side.
Before long, some of her classmates loosened up a little and joined in.
Naturally, Zhou Yunqiong remained the center of conversation.
Back in university, things would never have been like this. After all, they hadn't yet entered the working world.
But things were different now. Only after being battered by reality did they understand what it was.
Some of the female classmates were wondering whether they should build a good relationship with her.
If that could earn them a chance to work at Wuzhou Group, even at one of its branches, it would be enough to change their lives. After all, it was one of Shanghai City's top three conglomerates.
So many of them eagerly raised their glasses, clinked drinks, and fawned over her in every way.
The most enthusiastic of them all were Li Hansheng and Wang Zibo.
They kept bringing up funny stories from university.
They even made Zhou Yunqiong smile. Her smile outshone the lights in the room.
"Remember? It was sometime in the afternoon, during the first semester of freshman year. Lu Yuan walked into the classroom with a bouquet of flowers and said he was going to confess to Zhou." A female classmate, caught up in the conversation, blurted out the story.
The room fell silent at once, and everyone turned to look.
But Lu Yuan kept his head down, quietly eating as everyone watched him, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
The sight made everyone wonder.
It was common knowledge among their classmates that Lu Yuan had liked Zhou Yunqiong for four years.
But now that they'd met again, why wasn't he reacting at all? Shouldn't he have been the most eager to impress her?
Zhou Yunqiong looked over and frowned slightly. She had noticed it already: from the moment she entered until now, Lu Yuan was the only classmate who hadn't tried to talk to her. He hadn't even looked up once. He was frighteningly quiet.
It just wasn't like him.
"That's all in the past. Let's talk about something else."
Zhou Yunqiong spoke up to change the subject, then took a long look at Lu Yuan.
"Lu, we rarely get together like this. Why aren't you chatting with everyone?"
Chen Song, seated beside him, asked quietly. He found it strange.
"You haven't said much either, have you?"
Lu Yuan answered calmly. He had no interest in this kind of gathering. If not for what he needed, he wouldn't have wasted his time coming.
"I..." Chen Song froze, then lowered his head and fell silent. His family was the poorest among their classmates, and he was deeply insecure. Wherever he went, he was just an ordinary, forgettable extra.
Even if he suddenly announced that he was leaving, no one would care.
Lu Yuan understood that, of course, so he didn't press him.
Instead, he chatted with Chen Song on and off and asked a little about his family.
Time passed slowly. Everyone had finished eating, and Li Hansheng suggested singing karaoke. Everyone agreed.
They had booked the Cloud Grand Hotel's most luxurious suite, which had a karaoke room right next door.
"Lu, let's head over too," Chen Song said as he watched their classmates stream into the next room and stood up.
"No rush."
Lu Yuan shook his head, then said, "I remember your family has an heirloom, an ancient little ding. Is that right?"
"Yeah. It's still in my dad's suitcase. Why?" Chen Song paused, then continued, "Are you interested in it, Lu?"
"I am." Lu Yuan didn't deny it. At last, he revealed the real reason he had come.
The class reunion had only been a convenient excuse. What truly interested him was the ancient little ding belonging to Chen Song's family.
It wasn't a treasure, nor was it like the Bodhi Ancient Tree, which would bring him incredible benefits after the global transformation. But it was something extraordinarily mysterious, tied to a whole series of plans that would come later. It was very important.
"This..." Chen Song hesitated.
"I know someone once offered two hundred thousand for that little ding, but your dad turned them down," Lu Yuan interrupted, then continued. "I can offer more. You mentioned during our chat that your dad has diabetes and your family has a lot of expenses. I imagine you could really use some money to tide you over, couldn't you?"
"But..." Chen Song started to say something else.
"Five hundred thousand."
Lu Yuan held up three fingers and added, "And I can transfer three hundred thousand to you right now as a deposit."
He said no more, choosing to wait quietly. At a time like this, he couldn't afford to seem too eager.
The reason he'd been so patient earlier was that he wanted to tailor his offer to the situation.
Find out what the other person needed, then name a price.
That was the wisest approach.
To be sure, Lu Yuan had plenty of money and could offer even more. But if there was a better way, why not use it?
"I'd like to go home and discuss it with my dad."
Chen Song opened his mouth, clearly startled by the amount. His family really did need that kind of money.
But he didn't agree right away. He said he wanted to talk it over at home.
"Then give me your bank card number first."
Lu Yuan smiled, asked for his account number, and transferred three hundred thousand on the spot. "I'll wait to hear from you."
After that, he nodded to Chen Song and walked straight out of the room.
He knew he'd more or less accomplished what he'd come here to do.
"Hey, Lu, aren't you going to sing with us?"
"No. I have something to take care of."
Before you continue