The Camphor Tree Beside the Studio

Chapter 23: The Camphor Tree by the Studio

Wang Yue looked at the spacious shop next door, thought about the available funds he had, and had Sister Xiao Nan discuss the purchase with the landlord of the Mala Tang restaurant. Wang Yue would handle the money.

After eating wontons and bidding farewell to Sister Xiao Nan, Wang Yue returned to his dorm and found two unexpected people there.

"Zhang Kai, Xu Kaiyang, what are you two doing here?" Wang Yue asked, though he already knew this day would come, just much sooner than he'd anticipated. It seemed Zheng Wei was truly very important to Xu Kaiyang.

"Wang Yue, we want to work at your studio!" As Wang Yue expected, Zhang Kai and Xu Kaiyang made their request.

"What can you guys do?" Wang Yue asked deliberately.

"I can get the sales prices for all sorts of renovation materials and help buy them," Xu Kaiyang said, as if selling his family's land without a second thought.

"Alright, the company is only responsible for design, no buying!" Wang Yue rolled his eyes.

Seeing Xu Kaiyang about to speak, he interrupted, "However, the prices you mentioned are very important to me. Although I can get prices through other channels, I can't recommend them to customers. So, I can let you two join the company first and help improve our database. After that's done, you two can be responsible for bringing in clients. This job is flexible, and you'll only get commissions. I think Young Master Xu's connections are quite impressive!"

"Of course! I'll start working tomorrow!" Xu Kaiyang, seeing his goal achieved, left with a smug look.

"Boss, his real goal is Zheng Wei," Second Brother Zhang Yang kindly reminded him.

"I know!" Wang Yue showed no signs of panic.

"Aren't you worried?" Fourth Brother Liu Lei asked in surprise.

"If Xu Kaiyang had a chance, would Chen Xiaozheng even be a factor?" Before Wang Yue could answer, Second Brother Han Wen said dismissively.

The next day, Sunday, when Wang Yue arrived at the studio, Xu Kaiyang was already there, sitting in a spot very close to Zheng Wei.

"Wang Yue, Xu Kaiyang really joined our studio!" Ruan Wan looked at Wang Yue, unsure what he was thinking. Didn't he like Zheng Wei? Why would he bring in a love rival!

"Mm!" Wang Yue really wanted to explain, but he knew it would be hard to make her understand, so he said helplessly, "With your intelligence, it's not hard to see that Chen Xiaozheng isn't suitable for Zheng Wei. Let's see what moves Xu Kaiyang has to make Zheng Wei forget Chen Xiaozheng."

"This strategy of using one's strength against another is well-executed. I've learned something!" Ruan Wan suddenly spoke in a serious tone, mimicking Wang Yue, which startled him.

"She's truly a girl who plays dumb but is actually wise!" Wang Yue sighed, looking at the smug Ruan Wan. However, he truly believed that as long as Zheng Wei didn't end up with Chen Xiaozheng, Little Flying Dragon would still be Little Flying Dragon.

Xu Kaiyang's arrival accelerated the studio's operations. He directly went to his own company's procurement department and pulled out a list of all the materials. He slapped it onto Wang Yue's desk and said proudly, "This is the work you assigned me for a month. I'm free for the rest of the month!"

Wang Yue was also startled by his bold move, but he quickly understood. Xu Kaiyang was afraid Wang Yue would send him far away, where he couldn't see Zheng Wei.

Wang Yue rubbed his temples and said to Xu Kaiyang, "I thought you would drag Zheng Wei along with you, to keep her far away from Chen Xiaozheng!"

"Would you be so kind as to help me? Don't think I can't see your intentions!" Xu Kaiyang still had a "you can't fool me" expression.

"I'm not helping you. Zheng Wei is clearly stuck on Chen Xiaozheng. She needs someone to pull her out. I'm not good at playing games with people!" Wang Yue felt a bit awkward, surprised that Xu Kaiyang also thought he was infatuated with Zheng Wei.

"Even if you were good at it, I'm more familiar with this city than you are!" Xu Kaiyang suddenly realized his hobby of playing could also be an advantage, and he looked smug.

"Yes, you, Young Master Xu, are the local king! This is all yours now!" Wang Yue shamelessly encouraged him.

"But, isn't the work finished?" Xu Kaiyang felt extremely frustrated.

"Don't you still have to find clients? Just say it's inconvenient for you to talk to some of the older ladies and ask her for help," Wang Yue quickly sent him away.

"By the way, aren't you afraid I'll get the advantage by being close?" Xu Kaiyang couldn't quite figure Wang Yue out, unsure if he was telling the truth.

"Once you eliminate Chen Xiaozheng, there's still Lin Jing after that. Your road is long. Why are you focusing on me?" Wang Yue felt wronged and reminded him with regret.

"You're such a killjoy!" Xu Kaiyang left Wang Yue's office with a dejected look.

Wang Yue picked up the book he was reading and continued flipping through it. Civil engineering, there was so much to learn.

How did Xiao Nai learn so much?

Wang Yue felt his path to becoming a "god" was still a long way off. Keep going!

On Zheng Wei's birthday, everyone celebrated her 20th birthday together at the studio, offering their blessings. Xu Kaiyang gave her a necklace and a ceramic ring holder, but Zheng Wei only accepted the ceramic holder and refused to take the necklace.

When everyone looked at him, Wang Yue asked them to go outside. In the lawn not far from the studio, a pit was dug, and a camphor tree was placed inside.

"Zheng Wei, come here. This camphor tree is my gift to you, to commemorate your 20th birthday. Let's all plant it together!" Wang Yue called everyone over to help.

"Thank you!" Zheng Wei's eyes sparkled at that moment, making several boys' hearts flutter.

"Happy birthday." Wang Yue looked at Zheng Wei's happy expression and sighed that a young girl's happiness was so easily attained.

"Happy birthday." Xu Kaiyang felt immense bitterness in his heart, but he kept it to himself. Sigh, how didn't I think of that?

After Zheng Wei's birthday, Xu Kaiyang began to occasionally take Zheng Wei to meet female clients, and Zheng Wei's life also became busy.

When people are busy, they don't have time for pointless thoughts.

And when a person gets used to someone's presence, their sudden departure makes them uncomfortable.

These days, no matter what Chen Xiaozheng did, he felt something was missing, and everything became bland.

Zeng Yu noticed Chen Xiaozheng's unusual state and felt a sense of unease.

She remembered that in their first year, as a child of a wealthy family, Zeng Yu had seen all sorts of boys, but she had never met anyone like Chen Xiaozheng.

To use Wang Yue's words from the party that day, Chen Xiaozheng was a man like a calico cat: independent, diligent, poor but ambitious, yet sensitive. It was truly difficult to enter his heart.

Zeng Yu had spent two years without entering his heart, yet that lively girl had made him restless in such a short time.

Thinking of Wang Yue, Zeng Yu couldn't quite figure him out. She remembered that according to his student records, he was from a rural area, but his behavior suggested he was very accustomed to big city life. She heard from classmates that he already had his own studio in his sophomore year, which was truly dazzling.

But she also heard that Wang Yue seemed to pay a lot of attention to that lively Zheng Wei. Was that girl really that good?

"Chen Xiaozheng, do you still remember your ideals?" Zeng Yu shook her head, pushing aside other thoughts. "With your current state, you might not be able to achieve your ideals."

"I know!" Chen Xiaozheng was still sullen. He returned to his studies, no longer lost in thought.