174. Have You Achieved Financial Freedom?

Zhang Yang picked up his phone and glanced at it.

"Old classmate, long time no see, do you still remember me?" Zhou Xiaoyi sent a message.

"Yes, I remember," Zhang Yang replied.

"Haha, you seem to be the same as you were in junior high, still not very talkative, quite taciturn." Zhou Xiaoyi quickly sent a message, a series of perfunctory greetings, "It's like this, there's something I'd like to ask you, my old classmate, for help with, um... are you available for a voice call now?"

"It's convenient, you can make the call." Zhang Yang sighed slightly; how could he not know what it was about?

A moment later, a voice call came in.

Zhang Yang walked to the balcony and answered the call.

"Hello Zhang Yang, it's like this, I'm currently working in self-media." Zhou Xiaoyi then explained the whole story.

Zhang Yang didn't interrupt and listened quietly.

"Look, I just happened to run into you. How about it, old classmate? Shall I give you a visit?" Zhou Xiaoyi said in the voice message.

"Of course I welcome you as a guest, but it's not really appropriate for me to record my current situation and then post it online. It's not very convenient for me personally," Zhang Yang politely declined.

"You're still so shy. Be more confident, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Look at our classmates from before, most of them are living ordinary, unremarkable lives. Old classmate, you agree now? Is it okay?" Zhou Xiaoyi said with a smile.

"Alright, then you can come." Zhang Yang nodded.

At worst, when the time comes, he can let Zhou Xiaoyi choose where to take pictures and send them out. He's not one to dawdle.

"Great! I'll head to Magic City now, I'll be there soon. Shall we meet up at noon?" Zhou Xiaoyi said with a smile.

"Then... shall I come pick you up?" Zhang Yang asked politely.

"No need, no need. I can't take up too much of your time. How about I come to your workplace at noon? We can chat for a while during lunch break? How about that?" Zhou Xiaoyi said.

"Can."

A moment later, the call ended, and Zhang Yang casually sent Zhou Xiaoyi an office building address, not giving the matter much thought.

He then drove his Cullinan to Cloud Sea Capital.

Inside the company, Zhang Yang sat calmly in his office, reviewing the latest work progress from HR, and also meeting with the newly hired full-time driver.

The driver was a particularly young and agile man.

Zhang Yang specifically requested that the age be specified.

To be a driver, you need flexible hours and to be available whenever the boss calls. If you hire a middle-aged person with a family, they can't do that, but a young, single person can.

"You told me about the working hours, right? Is that acceptable?" Zhang Yang casually flipped through the resume.

"Chairman Zhang, absolutely." Driver Xiao Sun said without hesitation.

"Alright, you can start work today. Go to the maintenance center tonight and drive my Phantom back to the company," Zhang Yang instructed. "You can go now."

The driver, Xiao Sun, immediately nodded and left the office first.

No sooner had the driver, Xiao Sun, left than Bai Jingyi gently pushed open the office door and brought in coffee.

"Mr. Zhang, your coffee has been served with ice."

"Thank you." Zhang Yang took the coffee and glanced at Bai Jingyi today.

Um?

He looked Bai Jingyi up and down.

A floral chiffon blouse and a pencil skirt, paired with Bai Jingyi's youthful and vibrant aura, is both refreshing and sexy.

Zhang Yang couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"Chairman Zhang, is there... a problem?" Bai Jingyi asked, a little shyly and nervously.

"No problem, you have a great sense of style," Zhang Yang commented, turning his gaze away.

"Thank you for the compliment, Chairman Zhang." Bai Jingyi was secretly delighted.

"I might be at the company around noon and in the afternoon. You can continue to familiarize yourself with the work, and maybe help out at the administration department or something." Zhang Yang checked the time and then looked at his phone.

Not long ago, Zhou Xiaoyi sent him a message saying that she had arrived in Magic City and was on her way here.

We'll meet downstairs in a bit.

"Okay, Chairman Zhang. By the way, Chairman Zhang, I have a party tonight, so I was thinking..." Bai Jingyi said hesitantly in a low voice.

"Do you need to ask for leave?" Zhang Yang asked, looking up.

"No, no," Bai Jingyi hurriedly waved her hand, "It's just that if you have any plans tonight, I might not be able to respond in time, so..."

"I thought it was something serious," Zhang Yang said with amusement. "You're an assistant, not a 24-hour assistant. You should just go home when it's time to leave."

"Oh? Thank you, Chairman Zhang." Bai Jingyi was so happy that she quickly bowed to thank him, which made Zhang Yang a little embarrassed.

Not long after Bai Jingyi left the office, Zhang Yang received a message on his phone.

"Zhang Yang, I'm downstairs."

"Okay, I'll go down now," Zhang Yang replied, getting up and leaving the office.

Downstairs in the office building, Zhou Xiaoyi had just come out of the subway.

As she exited the subway and walked to the office building, she casually turned on her recording device and recorded a short video.

"I'm in Pudong now. I'm going to meet my junior high school classmate later. To be honest, it's been ten years since we last met, and I'm not sure if I'll recognize him at first glance."

Then, she stood downstairs in the office building, waiting while reviewing the specific details and what they would talk about later.

Since the goal is to create short videos, the quality must be taken into account.

I had to prepare in advance for each meeting with classmates, including the topics we would discuss and our final reflections. Sometimes, I would even need to ask the classmates for their help.

As noon approached, the office building lobby was bustling with people.

White-collar workers, office workers, delivery drivers...

To ensure the authenticity of the effect, Zhou Xiaoyi kept the recording equipment on and kept looking at the entrance and exit, trying hard to find the shadow of that person in her memory.

"Is this the one over here? The slightly chubby one who ran over?"

"What about that one over there? The one wearing glasses, walking briskly, with tired eyes?"

Several men in a row were not the ones she was waiting for.

As she waited, bored out of her mind, Zhou Xiaoyi suddenly blinked and began to stare intently at a tall and handsome figure not far away.

Wow, this guy is really handsome, with great charisma and a great physique.

Stealing a moment from my busy schedule to look at some handsome guys is really nice.

As Zhou Xiaoyi was admiring the handsome man from afar, she was suddenly surprised to find that he was heading straight for her.

Before long, it actually stopped right in front of her.

"Hi, have you been waiting long?" The handsome guy greeted her with a smile.

"We... know each other?" Zhou Xiaoyi's heart pounded as she tentatively asked, while an unbelievable thought flashed through her mind.

That's unlikely, isn't it? Probably not.

"Zhou Xiaoyi, I haven't mistaken you for someone else, have I?" The handsome man's words were like a thunderbolt.

"You, you, you!" Zhou Xiaoyi's eyes widened, and she became somewhat incoherent.

She looked at the handsome face in front of her, a face that looked good from every angle.

Little by little, the figure from the depths of my memory emerged, constantly overlapping with the handsome man before me.

Immediately afterwards, she gasped in shock.

"Zhang Yang?! You're Zhang Yang?!"

"You didn't recognize me just now?" Zhang Yang looked at Zhou Xiaoyi, whose mouth was agape in surprise, and shook his head with a smile.

"No way, you're really Zhang Yang? That's unbelievable," Zhou Xiaoyi muttered to herself.

"Let's go, let's eat first, we can chat while we eat," Zhang Yang said. "It's been so many years, I never imagined you'd become such a big internet celebrity."

"No, no, not at all. I'm just a 'porter'," Zhou Xiaoyi said shyly, snapping out of her reverie. "My job is simply to share your old classmates' stories and hopefully resonate with netizens."

Logically speaking, in previous videos of her meeting with classmates she hadn't seen for years, she was actually quite talkative and cheerful. But for some reason, when she met Zhang Yang today, she seemed rather reserved and unable to relax.

In contrast, this old classmate was handsome and dashing, with an indescribable charisma in every gesture.

"You're being modest," Zhang Yang said with a smile. "I also watched your video, and I feel like everyone has changed a lot."

"No matter how much things change, can it be as big as you? If your episode gets released, it'll be a game-changer! By the way, old classmate, you're working in this building now? What do you mainly do?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked, her face full of curiosity.

"Me? I own my own company," Zhang Yang said.

"Start your own company? That's great!" Zhou Xiaoyi was even more surprised.

She had a feeling that this episode would have an unimaginable number of surprises.

After so many episodes, some of my former classmates are living ordinary lives, some have excelled and become elites, and of course, some have started their own businesses.

However, not a single one of them actually started a company.

Although we don't yet know the specifics of Zhang Yang's company, or its size, the fact that it can be located in a Grade A office building in Pudong suggests that it must be a large-scale operation.

"It's alright, nothing special," Zhang Yang said modestly.

"Old classmate, could you take me to your company for a look around later? Please," Zhou Xiaoyi pleaded, her eyes gleaming.

"Sure, you can choose where to send it then," Zhang Yang said.

"I can't believe it. After all these years, you're still as low-key as ever." Zhou Xiaoyi immediately gave an OK sign.

For lunch, Zhang Yang didn't specifically plan where to go; he simply went to a nearby restaurant and had a casual meal.

"Whatever" is a term used by Zhang Yang.

In Zhou Xiaoyi's eyes, this restaurant, where the average cost per person is several hundred yuan, is by no means casual; on the contrary, it can be described as exceptionally grand.

"As expected of a boss, treating me to such a nice meal." Zhou Xiaoyi rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Zhang Yang. "By the way, I wanted to ask you a small question: have you achieved financial freedom by now?"

"That's so direct, is that how you ask right off the bat?" Zhang Yang couldn't help but laugh.

"I definitely need some sharp questions, or to put it simply, intriguing questions. To be honest, I have so many questions I want to ask and so much I want to know," Zhou Xiaoyi said.

"I guess so," Zhang Yang said after a moment's thought.

"What kind of financial freedom?" Zhou Xiaoyi was really surprised that Zhang Yang answered so directly and without any hesitation. "You know, there are many kinds of financial freedom. It's having enough money to get by without financial pressure, being able to do what you like, or being able to buy whatever you want without having to worry about money at all, or..."

"Well... it's barely true, so money isn't really a concern..." Zhang Yang said.

"Wow." Zhou Xiaoyi fell silent.

She's not stupid; she naturally knows what kind of confidence it takes to say those words so casually in Magic City.

After the meal, the two walked back to the office building.

We chatted the whole way.

"I never imagined that the quietest kid in my junior high class would become so dazzling. By the way, you're probably not married yet, are you?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked as she walked side by side with Zhang Yang.

"No." Zhang Yang shook his head.

"Hmm... as expected, career comes first. What about a girlfriend? You must have one by now, right?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked, nodding her chin slightly.

"Yes." Zhang Yang nodded again.

"What is your girlfriend doing now?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked, staring at Zhang Yang.

"I opened a bookstore/cafe for her, so I guess she's doing something she's always wanted to do." Zhang Yang glanced at Zhou Xiaoyi. "Um, have you been recording all this time?"

Zhou Xiaoyi smiled happily.

"What's wrong? Worried I'll leak your privacy? Don't worry, old classmate, I'll definitely let you see the video before uploading it, so you can rest assured."

The two walked to the bottom of the office building and entered the elevator.

A moment later, the elevator doors opened.

"Hello, Chairman Zhang."

As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by two voices from the receptionist.

Even though Zhou Xiaoyi had prepared herself mentally, she was still shocked to be standing in her old classmate's company at this moment.

"Cloud Sea Capital?" she murmured the company name, looking at the company that occupied the entire floor, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

She's not some clueless newbie.

On the contrary, she knows far more common sense than others.

For example, in Pudong, Lujiazui, the rent for this entire floor would definitely be in the millions per year. She finally understood the weight behind her old classmate's nonchalant talk about not worrying about money.

"Let me show you around," Zhang Yang said, glancing at Zhou Xiaoyi.

Zhou Xiaoyi nodded quickly and followed behind Zhang Yang.

Inside the impressive company, every detail exudes an air of sophistication and refinement, and the employees working here subtly radiate an aura of high-level white-collar workers.

Zhou Xiaoyi increasingly felt that this was definitely not an ordinary small company.

"Sit wherever you like, old classmate, don't be shy." In the chairman's office, Zhang Yang sat down in the boss's chair and said to Zhou Xiaoyi, who seemed a little reserved.

"Zhang Yang, this place is so grand!" Zhou Xiaoyi looked at the furnishings in the huge chairman's office, then at the vast expanse of Lujiazui in Pudong outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a feeling of disbelief welled up in her heart.

Zhang Yang smiled without saying a word.

The office door was gently knocked open, and Bai Jingyi brought tea to Zhou Xiaoyi.

Looking at the girl in front of her, who was a great beauty in terms of both figure and appearance, Zhou Xiaoyi couldn't help but feel secretly shocked.

After everyone left, she finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Old classmate, you've got an assistant now? And a beautiful one at that?!"

"What are you saying? An assistant is an assistant. In my eyes, there's no distinction between beautiful and ugly. You just have to emphasize 'beautiful assistant'," Zhang Yang laughed. "You know I'm actually face-blind, right?"