I am proud of you

"What you said is quite similar to what that General Manager Liu said." Zhou Xiaoyi's eyes were full of inquiry. "Old classmate, is your company mainly engaged in investment?"

"Yes." Zhang Yang nodded.

"Hey old classmate, now there's a motivated young person in front of you, full of imagination for the future, asking you for a few million to realize a dream. Do you think that's too much?" Zhou Xiaoyi joked.

"Where are you?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile. "Investing millions in a young person with great potential and drive is indeed rare."

"Oh no, I've really gotten this excited!" Zhou Xiaoyi's eyes immediately lit up with hearts as she patted her chest.

In the afternoon.

Zhang Yang and his old classmate, whom he hadn't seen for many years, chatted over tea in his office in Pudong while quietly admiring the vast skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Upon closer inspection, Zhou Xiaoyi, looking at her composed and dignified old classmate, was repeatedly lost in a daze.

Zhang Yang was right in front of me.

But for some reason, she could feel a sense of distance that was both desirable and unattainable, something she could see but couldn't touch.

After ten years apart, the two were now from two different worlds.

Don't be fooled by how easily Zhang Yang chats and laughs with her now; if it weren't for their classmate relationship, she might not even have seen Zhang Yang.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in." Zhang Yang glanced at him.

The driver, Xiao Sun, gently pushed open the door and came in. "Chairman Zhang, I've retrieved the car."

He handed Zhang Yang the keys to his Rolls-Royce Phantom.

"Okay, I'll call you if I need a car." Zhang Yang nodded and casually placed the car keys on the table.

Zhou Xiaoyi glanced at it curiously, then clicked her tongue and pulled her head back, because she saw that the car key had a dazzling double R logo; it was the key to a Rolls-Royce.

"Lunch was a bit simple, I'll make the arrangements for dinner," Zhang Yang said, glancing at the time. He planned to order a Michelin Black Pearl or something to properly treat his old classmate.

"No, wasn't lunch grand enough? Let's keep it simple for dinner, how about some home-cooked dishes?" Zhou Xiaoyi quickly waved her hand to politely decline.

Is it convenient for me to come to your house?

"Sure, no problem at all, but I need to buy some groceries first." Zhang Yang readily agreed. "By the way, did you get enough ingredients this time?"

"This is amazing, a truly unexpected delight!" Zhou Xiaoyi exclaimed with a smile.

A moment later, the two went downstairs and headed straight for the garage.

"Old classmate, please get in the passenger seat." Zhang Yang opened the door of his Cullinan and invited Zhou Xiaoyi in.

"I'm flattered." Zhou Xiaoyi looked at the Rolls-Royce in front of her, suppressing her shock. "Was this the car your driver just delivered?"

"No, whose Cullinan has a driver? It's that Phantom." Zhang Yang pressed the car key.

Not far away, the Phantom, whose aura surpasses even Phantom of the Cullinan, flashed its headlights.

Zhou Xiaoyi immediately fell silent.

She held her breath and tried her best to appear natural as she sat in the passenger seat.

At least, he's worthy of being the co-pilot of the Cullinan.

Once inside the car and the door closed, the woman's sensitivity allowed her to smell more than one perfume.

"Zhang Yang, let me ask you something. Am I the least attractive and lowest-ranking passenger in your car?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked Zhang Yang nervously.

"Be more confident, don't belittle yourself like that," Zhang Yang said with a smile, glancing at Zhou Xiaoyi.

"Okay then, that's a small relief." Zhou Xiaoyi took out her phone. "May I film a short clip?"

"Okay, go ahead and film it." Zhang Yang nodded. "But when you're doing post-production, could you... um... blur my face?"

In Zhou Xiaoyi's other videos, there's nothing wrong with showing off his classmates, whether they're doing well or not. But when it comes to him... to be honest, it's not that he's being pretentious.

It's best to avoid appearing on camera if possible.

"Is that so? Okay, I understand." Zhou Xiaoyi instantly understood Zhang Yang's meaning. She knew that her old classmate wanted to continue keeping a low profile.

"Thanks. I'll cook tonight myself," Zhang Yang said, waving his hand.

A moment later, he drove straight to a City'super supermarket in the IFC mall. This supermarket has high-end ingredients and can basically sell any high-end ingredients you want.

If you're in a rush to buy a meal, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in one go is not uncommon.

As a wealthy man, Zhang Yang naturally didn't need to look at prices when buying things. He would just push his cart, think about what dishes he wanted to cook for dinner, and grab whatever he wanted.

Zhou Xiaoyi, on the other hand, was completely terrified.

A bottle of red wine, 300,000...

A single small ham costs tens of thousands of yuan...

Considering how expensive these things are, maybe I should look at household items instead.

Okay.

I picked up a bottle of honey at random, glanced at the price—eight thousand eight hundred and eighty—and thought, "How about a bottle of vinegar then?"

Then I looked at the price: seven thousand eight hundred and eighty.

Zhou Xiaoyi's hand trembled, and she dared not look anymore.

She looked up at Zhang Yang in front of her, who was constantly carrying things without checking the prices, and was once again deeply shocked and stunned.

"Alright, alright, old classmate, it's really just a simple home-cooked meal. Have you even calculated how much all this cost?" She quickly stepped forward, trying to stop Zhang Yang.

"Price? I haven't calculated it." Zhang Yang shook his head.

With his financial resources, going to the supermarket, even the most upscale one, at these prices, would be too tiring, wouldn't it?

"It's okay, I'll just buy it and keep it at home. We can eat it whenever it's inconvenient."

As Zhou Xiaoyi watched the bill steadily increase, her heart trembled.

Just one trip to the supermarket cost me seventy or eighty thousand yuan.

Zhang Yang paid the bill casually, then looked at his somewhat stunned old classmate, "Let's go, everything's ready."

Zhou Xiaoyi seemed to wake from a dream and nodded quickly.

At dusk, COFCO Seaview No. 1.

"Please sit anywhere," Zhang Yang said, turning on the light.

The spacious single-level apartment was suddenly brightly lit.

Zhou Xiaoyi stood there somewhat awkwardly, looking at everything before her and feeling the overwhelming atmosphere of extravagance, and was momentarily speechless.

"Your house is really big."

"It's alright, there are plenty of houses bigger than mine." Zhang Yang smiled and invited Zhou Xiaoyi inside, also giving her some fruit and snacks. "I'll go cook first."

"Um, can I walk around a bit?" Zhou Xiaoyi couldn't sit down at all; she just wanted to explore the place further.

"Go wherever you like," Zhang Yang said.

Then he went to the kitchen first.

Suppressing her shock, Zhou Xiaoyi strolled through the vast single-level apartment.

Neighboring Tomson Riviera, with prices reaching hundreds of thousands per square meter and individual apartments costing over 100 million, it was undoubtedly a top-tier luxury residence back then, adorned with various labels. What did Zhou Xiaoyi do to deserve being a guest here at this moment? And most importantly, the homeowner was personally cooking for her.

All of this stemmed from a relationship that was almost nonexistent, based entirely on politeness between junior high school classmates.

She slowly walked onto the balcony, felt the breeze from the Huangpu River, looked at the dazzling century-old the Bund across the river, and gazed at the distant Magic City skyline, taking a deep breath.

At this moment, all that remains in my heart is an indescribable shock.

Zhou Xiaoyi raised her phone and captured the scene, even having already thought of the caption she would use later.

Standing on the balcony of Zhang Yang's apartment, looking at the century-old the Bund across the water, I finally understand the meaning of hard work.

[Perhaps it's like the saying goes, fortunes change every thirty years; that boy in the corner ten years ago has finally reached a height we can never attain.]

Zhou Xiaoyi turned to look at the figure in the kitchen in the distance, blinked, and felt a strange sense of melancholy.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will likely be the only time she and Zhang Yang cross paths.

To be honest, I don't know if I have any other thoughts or feelings for them.

Please, is this super good?

My former classmate has long since become a wealthy and handsome heartthrob. Who wouldn't be attracted to a heartthrob?

But she knew she didn't deserve it.

"Damn funny girl." Zhou Xiaoyi sighed dejectedly and silently returned to the living room.

The dinner table was incredibly lavish that evening.

As Zhou Xiaoyi savored the delicious food, she could almost hear the clinking of coins.

These ingredients are all very expensive.

"Eat up, why do you seem a little reluctant to pick up your chopsticks?" Zhang Yang looked at Zhou Xiaoyi, who was holding her chopsticks and looking hesitant, with amusement.

"No, no, there are just too many delicious things to choose from, I don't know where to start." Zhou Xiaoyi swallowed hard and carefully ate a piece of stir-fried Kagoshima black pork made by Zhang Yang.

Top-quality ingredients, home-style cooking.

That's amazing.

"Take your time eating. Have you booked your hotel yet? I'll take you there later," Zhang Yang asked.

"It's booked, it's booked. I'll just take a taxi there later, so I won't trouble my old classmate." Zhou Xiaoyi smiled apologetically, feeling that she was troubling Zhang Yang too much.

"Don't stand on ceremony with me," Zhang Yang replied directly.

Zhou Xiaoyi had no choice but to shut up and enjoy the expensive dinner, savoring this rare experience that she might never have again in her life.

After dinner, Zhang Yang invited Zhou Xiaoyi to stay for a while, where they drank some tea and chatted.

This marks the end of today's meeting, which spans ten years.

"Huh? Your phone is ringing." Zhou Xiaoyi has sharp eyes and immediately noticed a video call coming in on Zhang Yang's phone; the profile picture was of a girl.

Hmm, it doesn't look like an online image.

These days, anyone who dares to use their own photo as their profile picture is definitely not just ordinary confident.

"Oh, I'll take it." Zhang Yang glanced at it; it was a video call from Bei Wei. He answered it casually and walked to the side.

Zhou Xiaoyi sipped her tea gently beside her, while also listening intently.

Judging from their tone of voice...

Is this... his official girlfriend?

She glanced furtively at Zhang Yang's phone screen not far away and could vaguely see a girl with fair, glowing skin and a sweet voice.

"If I had a boyfriend like that, I'd be so sweet too, I'd instantly become the sweetest girl in the world," Zhou Xiaoyi thought to herself, feeling incredibly envious of this girl.

A moment later, Zhang Yang ended the video call and sat down again.

"Girlfriend?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked with a smile, "Is she just showing concern for you, or checking up on you?"

"Checking up on me?" Zhang Yang shook his head with a smile. "That's not going to happen."

"That's true. Smart girls should know that the more you keep a close eye on a boyfriend like you, the faster you'll lose him," Zhou Xiaoyi said after thinking for a moment. "Turning a blind eye is the way to a lasting relationship."

"Wow, that's a pretty clear-headed idea," Zhang Yang exclaimed in surprise. "Then what about your boyfriend in the future...?"

"No way, it depends on the person," Zhou Xiaoyi said without hesitation. "Anyone who doesn't have the ability but still dreams of cheating can go to hell."

Later that evening, Zhang Yang drove Zhou Xiaoyi home.

On the way, Zhou Xiaoyi was somewhat silent, as if she had suddenly fallen silent after being excited and talkative.

"Of all the classmates I met, you touched me the most. I don't even know how to edit the video when I get back."

"I don't know much about editing, but you've done a great job with the previous episodes, so mine shouldn't be any different, right? Anyway, good luck." Zhang Yang looked at Zhou Xiaoyi, who had a slightly worried expression, and said, "I wish you continued success."

"By the way, although it might be a bit presumptuous of me to say this, we haven't really interacted much since junior high, let alone been friends. But now, can I officially become your friend?" Zhou Xiaoyi asked nervously.

"No, is it really necessary to be so formal?" Zhang Yang chuckled. "A stranger, or even a complete stranger, let alone an old classmate like you."

"Okay, so I'm only a tiny bit better than strangers after all." Zhou Xiaoyi laughed, then looked at Zhang Yang and suddenly said solemnly, "Zhang Yang, I'm proud to have a classmate like you."

Zhang Yang was slightly taken aback. Looking at Zhou Xiaoyi's sincere expression, he felt a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.

After he became successful, those people he once knew...

There was envy, there was shock, there were all kinds of people, but never before had anyone, like Zhou Xiaoyi in front of them, said they were proud of him as a classmate.

In front of the hotel, Zhang Yang, moved by what he saw, suddenly opened his arms wide, his eyes clear and pure.

Let's give each other a hug.

"Okay." Zhou Xiaoyi smiled and stepped forward to hug Zhang Yang. "My first time hugging my idol, it's a memorable moment."

A moment later, Zhou Xiaoyi walked towards the hotel and disappeared through the gate.

Zhang Yang drove the Cullinan straight back.

Although he said they were going to be friends, he knew that his interactions with this suddenly reappearing junior high school classmate would end there.

Ultimately, we're not from the same circle; I simply offered my hospitality as a host, and that was it.

"I really didn't expect that one of my junior high school classmates would become such a viral blogger," Zhang Yang muttered to himself, glancing casually at the road ahead.

"Huh? What's that up ahead?"

He suddenly saw a familiar figure standing by the roadside.

··

In front of the bar, Bai Jingyi had just finished meeting up with some classmates and was hailing a taxi.

These are all girls who stayed in Magic City after graduation; some were classmates and roommates, while others were classmates and boys.

There were six or seven people in the group.

"Bai Jingyi, I think you should be more careful about your current job. After all, as a personal assistant, it's easy to run into a boss with bad intentions." Gao Fei, a boy in the same class, was quite worried and repeatedly gave her this advice.

"Yes, Jingyi, Gao Fei's concerns are valid. You can't be fooled by your current treatment. There's no such thing as a free lunch," her roommate An An advised.