August 29, Saturday.
Zhao Chen came back from the office earlier than usual, carrying new tea sent by Su Wantang.
When the door was opened, Shen Zhiyi was sitting on the Living Room sofa with a laptop on his lap.
On the screen is a cross-border compliance memorandum that Henglong Legal Department will submit next week.
But her eyes fell on the phone without moving, her fingers hovering above the screen, as if she was repeatedly considering a message that she had typed and deleted.
Zhao Chen put the tea on the coffee table and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"
Shen Zhiyi turned the phone over and clasped it on the sofa, turned his head and looked at him,
The tone is as direct as usual legal analysis, but there is something embarrassing hidden in the end.
"Zhou Lin, the high school class monitor, called for class reunion in the group, this is Saturday.
She said - 'Everyone should bring his/her family members, those who are married should bring their husbands, those who have boyfriends should bring their boyfriends, and those who are single should come by themselves.
' followed by a long string of 'received' and 'bring family members +1'.
She specially liked me and said, 'Zhiyi You were the most promising before. If you live a good life, don't forget your old classmates.'"
"You want to go?"
"I don't want to go alone."
She turned her phone over, and on the screen was a message posted by Zhou Lin in the group. The words were filled with an undeniable passion,
"I didn't talk much in the class during my three years of high school, and I didn't keep in touch much after graduation.
Zhou Lin I don't know my current situation, I only know that I have a boyfriend.
If I went alone, she would probably hold me back all night and ask, 'Why didn't your boyfriend come? Is he very busy?'"
Zhao Chen leaned on the back of the sofa and looked at her.
Shen Zhiyi There are rare times like this - she never needs anyone to stand in front of her when doing legal analysis.
Every cross-border contract handled independently by the Henglong Legal Department is written to the letter.
But now when she said "I don't want to go alone", that very faint, almost ignored sense of dependence,
It reminded him of what she said a long time ago, "Your point of view is right, but your wording is too mild" after she stood opposite him in the Zhengfa University moot court and refuted him thoroughly.
After all these years, she hasn't changed at all.
"What time is Saturday?"
"At six o'clock in the evening. Yuzhong District ordered it from Private Kitchen Restaurant, Zhou Lin."
Zhao Chen picked up the phone and sent a message to Chen Xi, asking her to advance Friday's quarterly review meeting to the morning.
After sending it, he picked up the new tea sent by Su Wantang and smelled it.
"Then go. It just so happens that I also want to see your high school classmates."
Saturday In the evening, the restaurant is in a small single-family courtyard renovated by Old Residential Building in Yuzhong District.
The banyan tree at the door covered half of the signboard, and warm yellow light leaked from Floor-to-Ceiling Window.
When the private room door was pushed open, more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned around.
The round table is large, and there are several plates of cold dishes on the turntable and a bottle of Red Wine that has been opened.
Zhou Lin was sitting next to the main seat. When he saw Shen Zhiyi coming in, he immediately stood up and greeted her, smiling too warmly.
"Zhiyi! Long time no see, long time no see--"
Her eyes quickly slid from Shen Zhiyi's face to Zhao Chen's body. She looked up and down for a moment, and then turned to Shen Zhiyi.
"This is your boyfriend, right? Come in, come in, I've reserved a place for you."
That position is in the middle of Long Table, close to the turntable, with a normal view and half a table away from the main seat.
Zhao Chen glanced at the seats--
Sitting next to the main seat was a man wearing a dark blue POLO shirt.
He is about twenty-five years old, his hair is combed sleekly, and the watch on his wrist has a metallic luster under the light.
He was leaning on the back of the chair and talking to the person next to him. His voice was not loud, but it could be heard throughout the private room.
"Our company won two more projects in Shan City this year"
Words like "The real estate industry is not easy to do, but the focus is getting higher and higher."
Zhou Lin deliberately raised the volume when introducing it.
"This is Li Cheng, the top scorer in the college entrance examination in our class. Now he is the regional manager of Chuangrong, with an annual salary of seven figures."
Li Cheng waved his hand and said with a smile, "What kind of income is it? It's not worth mentioning."
But his eyes crossed Zhou Lin's shoulders and paused for a moment on Shen Zhiyi's face.
He noticed Shen Zhiyi the moment she walked into the private room--
Wearing a beige dress, with her hair down and draped over her shoulders, there was something about her movements that was rarely seen in other girls here.
That kind of thing is not appearance, but temperament.
He has been in society for several years and has seen many scenes. He can tell at a glance who is really confident and who is just pretending.
"Zhiyi, sit here." Zhou Lin guided Shen Zhiyi to the position next to Li Cheng.
Zhao Chen pulled out the chair for Shen Zhiyi and sat down next to her.
As soon as I sat down, Sun Tingting across from me spoke.
She had the best relationship with Zhou Lin back then, and now works as an account manager in a bank. Her makeup is exquisite but her foundation is white, and her lipstick is several shades brighter than her skin tone.
"Zhiyi, I heard that you had an internship in a law firm? Which law firm are you currently employed in?"
"I am currently doing business at Henglong Group." Shen Zhiyi said in a calm tone.
"Henglong? Is it the Henglong who does real estate?"
Sun Tingting blinked, and there was an additional tone in his tone.
"I understand" casually,
"I remember it used to be quite big, but now Real Estate Industry is not so good.
But Legal Department is stable and suitable for girls."
She turned her head and raised her chin in the direction of Li Cheng,
"Brother Cheng is working at Real Estate Industry and has a stable seven-digit income a year.
Girls can do business in a safe and reliable manner, and they don't have to beg for help every day like we do in banks."
"Where is your boyfriend? What does he do?" Zhou Lin promptly brought the topic to Zhao Chen.
Shen Zhiyi glanced at Zhao Chen and answered for him.
"He mainly does some stock investments."
The air in the private room paused for half a beat.
Li Cheng's fingers holding the wine glass moved slightly, then he put the wine glass on the turntable, turned half a circle, and the wine bottle just stopped in front of Zhao Chen.
"I'm investing in stocks. The market has been good in the past few years, and I can make money even if I buy it with my eyes closed.
It hasn't worked in the past two years, and many investors have withdrawn. Zhao Chen What direction are you mainly looking at now?"
"New Energy and Hard Technology."
"New Energy is good, New Energy is good."
Li Cheng nodded, with a condescending and easy-going tone,
"Our company also wanted to invest in a lithium battery project the year before last, and after three months of due diligence, we still didn't invest.
Why? The account period is too long, upstream material prices fluctuate too much, downstream payment collection is slow, and cash flow cannot support it.
People who deal in stocks may not know much about the actual operations of the company - the data on the report and the data in the workshop are two different things.
If you invest in New Energy, you don't have a foundation in the industrial chain. You can't understand it just by looking at the K-line."
When he said the last sentence, he looked across the round table and paused for a moment on Zhao Chen's face.
The look in his eyes was so light that the people next to him couldn't notice it, but Zhao Chen understood it--
He was waiting for Zhao Chen to refute, and then took advantage of the situation to bring the topic to his real estate project, using "I have been in industry" to suppress "You are just a stock trader".
Zhao Chen did not answer the call.
He picked up the wine bottle, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly picked up the cup and took a sip.
Zhou Lin took over the conversation at the right time, holding up his wine glass and motioning in the direction of Li Cheng.
"Brother Cheng is a real person. He does the entire chain from land acquisition to development to sales. That's what he knows.
When it comes to investing, you have to depend on the weather. As long as the market is good, it's fine. If the market is bad, there's nothing you can do about it."
"Zhao Chen, you investors, when the policy direction changes, you don't know where to put the money in your hands.
Unlike Brother Cheng, who is in the industry, his roots are deep and cannot be blown down no matter how strong the wind is."
After Sun Tingting finished speaking, he glanced at Shen Zhiyi from the corner of his eyes.
The atmosphere in the private room subtly shifted at an angle.
Several male classmates began to echo,
Some people say, "Yes, those who are doing business now are the real ones."
Someone asked Li Cheng, "When will your new project be launched?" His tone was a little more enthusiastic than before.
Most of the female classmates lowered their heads to pick up the food. Occasionally, some of them looked up and glanced at Shen Zhiyi, with an indescribable meaning in their eyes.
Shen Zhiyi has not been very gregarious since high school. He doesn't talk much and has good grades. He is the kind of person in the class who "doesn't have a strong sense of presence but no one dares to look down on him".
Now she brought a man wearing a casual shirt to attend the class reunion. The man didn't talk much throughout the whole process and only said that he "does stock investment"--
In their view, this just confirmed their preconceived judgment.
The girl who was the most promising back then ended up just finding a "stock trader".
The one who did the best was Li Cheng.
With an annual salary of seven figures, land development, and real success.
"Zhiyi, you used to study so well, we all thought you would go to a big law firm.
Now I work in Henglong, which is pretty good and stable."
Sun Tingting made the word "stable" very clear.
Zhou Lin picked up the wine glass and stood up at the right time.
"Come on, let's have a drink.
It's a rare gathering, so Brother Cheng specially brought a bottle of good wine today, a bottle costing more than a thousand dollars."
Everyone raised their glasses.
Zhao Chen picked up the teacup, clinked it and took a sip.