Reunion Beneath the Camphor Tree

Reunion Beneath the Camphor Tree

That day's gathering ended not long after Wang Yue suddenly started showing off.

The next day, they drove straight to the East University Town in Shangdu. After looking around the area, Wang Yue bought an entire floor on Lakeheart Island and told Li Weijuan to have the company cover the renovations. He left the rest to her.

He also bought four apartments on one floor in a nearby complex, one for each of the three of them, with the cost to be gradually deducted from their salaries and transferred to his own salary account. The remaining apartment would serve as a place for him and Ruan Wan to stay.

Everyone was stunned by Wang Yue's generosity. The chubby Liu Lei had already started discussing marriage with his girlfriend. The only thing they'd been missing was a home of their own, and now that problem was solved.

After taking care of all that, they left the remaining matters to Li Weijuan and the others, then Wang Yue and Ruan Wan continued south with Little Yuan Yuan.

They'd barely left when Li Weijuan and the other two spread the news of Wang Yue's newfound wealth to Zheng Wei. So, as soon as they walked out of the high-speed rail station, they found Zheng Wei, Han Wen, Zhu Xiaobei, Zhang Kai, and Xu Kaiyang waiting for them.

Zheng Wei first hugged Ruan Wan, then went to tease Little Yuan Yuan. Yuan Yuan recognized Zheng Wei's voice and called her godmother in her sweet, babyish voice. Zheng Wei was over the moon.

But the smile vanished from Zheng Wei's face as soon as she turned and met Wang Yue's gaze. She looked so stern she could have gone pro as a face-changing performer.

"Boss Wang, we've picked out a place. Come on, let's go pay!" Zheng Wei said with a fierce look.

"Let's go. I'll swipe my card!" Wang Yue replied without hesitation.

Wang Yue's attitude pleased everyone there, especially Zheng Wei, who'd been so fierce just moments before.

"We need office space, too. Our current place is way too small!" Zheng Wei raised the price.

"Sure, we'll buy it. Absolutely!" Wang Yue was just as decisive. At that, everyone finally cracked. Han Wen came up and punched Wang Yue lightly in the chest, laughing, and the others joined in.

On the way to the company, Wang Yue turned to Xu Kaiyang and asked, "Old Xu, it's been all these years. How come you still haven't won her over? I honestly don't know what to say."

"Don't ask. At the beginning of the year, I even went with her to visit her parents. She never admitted it, but she'd basically accepted me!" Xu Kaiyang said helplessly. "I was happy for a few days, then your company collaborated with Xingmao and she ran into Lin Jing. Later, Chen Xiaozheng was sent straight to Dongfang Xingchen as an assistant general manager, and they ended up working with Xingmao, too."

Wang Yue patted his shoulder in consolation, then said, "From what I know about Zheng Wei, you've got a chance to compete with Chen Xiaozheng and Lin Jing now. She won't settle when it comes to love. Since she's taken you home to meet her parents, you've got a pretty good shot."

"Right? That's what I think!" Xu Kaiyang said, excited.

"And people don't change easily. Chen Xiaozheng was willing to compromise for his career back then, so he'll probably do the same again. Don't do anything that backfires," Wang Yue warned him.

"Oh, all right. What about Lin Jing, then?" Xu Kaiyang asked earnestly this time.

"As long as Lin Jing's parents are around, he has no chance. Pray they live to a hundred!" Wang Yue said, exasperated. He didn't know, either.

The group returned to the two-story building where the company was located. Wang Yue looked at the camphor tree on the lawn, now seven or eight meters tall, and felt as if he'd returned to that day all those years ago.

Little Yuan Yuan was delighted by the tall camphor tree. She didn't know what it was called, but thought it was beautiful, and ran off to play.

Inside, the company was indeed cramped. The aisle down the middle was so narrow that even a slightly chubby person wouldn't dare walk too quickly. It didn't have the feel of a big company at all.

After walking around, Wang Yue came back outside and said to Zheng Wei, "We'll have a building in Magic City for our headquarters someday. Do you want to go there directly, or buy a floor here?"

"Magic City, huh?" Zheng Wei did want to go. Lin Jing and Chen Xiaozheng were both there, and she didn't feel like facing them just yet; she was still angry. She glanced at Xu Kaiyang. "I'll go to Magic City. Xiaobei can take charge here?"

"You two should go together. It's not that I don't trust you, but there's too much to handle over there for one person," Wang Yue said, feeling a headache coming on. He'd never run a big company before, either.

"Then let Han Wen take charge here," Zheng Wei said after thinking it over. "What do you think?"

"You decide. Once you get to Magic City, you'll have to set up the headquarters. You'll need to consider all of this as a whole. I won't interfere," Wang Yue said, ready to be a hands-off boss again.

"What about you?" Zheng Wei asked, a little annoyed by how much of a slacker he seemed.

"Me? I'm going back to school, General Manager Zheng!" Wang Yue said, as if he had complete confidence in her.

Xu Kaiyang, who'd heard Wang Yue's arrangements from nearby, was thrilled. Lin Jing and Chen Xiaozheng's company headquarters were also in Magic City, but they'd both come all this way to work here, so they wouldn't be able to go back anytime soon.

Zhu Xiaobei didn't mind. After what had happened that year, she'd reined in her old nature quite a bit and was now more focused on technology.

Zhang Kai had grown up a lot, too. He was no longer the same student who'd failed his classes, repeated a year, and drifted through school. He could clearly see that he was the least capable of them all, and without everyone looking out for him, he would have fallen behind long ago.

Han Wen had been with Wang Yue from the very beginning. No matter how you looked at it, he was the best choice once Zheng Wei and Zhu Xiaobei went to Magic City.

And so it was settled. Wang Yue was still an unqualified boss, managing the company through connections and favoritism.

But he'd learned that approach from Xiao Nai's company and was simply putting it into practice. For now, it seemed to be working; the company was doing quite well.

"Ruan Ruan, aren't you going to do something about your Old Wang? He's a father now, but he still loves going to school!" Zheng Wei was at a loss over Wang Yue, so she turned to Ruan Wan to complain.

"I think it's great," Ruan Wan said with a smile, saying no more.

"Weiwei, haven't you noticed that Ruan Ruan always goes along with her husband? There's no point talking to her," Zhu Xiaobei said bluntly.

"Fine. I thought Pig North was the one who'd cling to school and never want to leave. Who knew there was someone even worse?" Zheng Wei grumbled.

"Stop bothering Wang Yue and his wife while they quietly make their fortune. Let's think about this tree instead. It was your birthday present, and you can't exactly move it!" Xu Kaiyang said, glaring at Wang Yue.

Wang Yue rubbed his nose, helpless, but still said, "This tree is a witness to our friendship. I won't sell this little office building. I'll leave it here forever."

"Yeah. We've watched the tree grow, and the tree has grown alongside our company!" Now that Ruan Wan was looking at the camphor tree, the knot she'd carried since the northbound journey was gone. She knew Wang Yue had once had feelings for Zheng Wei, too, but by now, only friendship remained.

Everyone chatted beneath the camphor tree. That evening, they asked Zhu Xiaonan's husband, a chef, to help with a barbecue. It wasn't until late at night that they finally dispersed, leaving the camphor tree alone on the lawn, watching the departing group and the office building that had nearly disappeared into darkness.

Happy New Year, everyone. May everything go your way.