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Zhongli Sui looked thoughtful. "You're remarkably well-informed."

You knew his daily habits inside out. You knew about Tiansui Capital's acquisition of Haoyang Technology. You knew that XD Group in Country D had bypassed the patent barriers to develop a more advanced AI system. You even knew that Pan Haoyang had slept with a Las Vegas tycoon's mistress and was now being hounded for debts, desperate for cash.

Every single matter involved either trade secrets or personal privacy. How could an out-of-town student who had just finished the college entrance exams and had only been in City A for a short time know all this so clearly?

Without betraying a thing, Zhongli Sui lowered his gaze slightly. Taking out his phone, he said, "Let's add each other on WeChat. If you need me to provide any documents when handling the transfer, it'll be easier to get in touch."

Gu Chen looked at the QR code Zhongli Sui held out. "I don't have a phone."

Zhongli Sui paused slightly. Seeing Gu Chen's bashful expression, he smiled. "That's all right. We can discuss that later."

The atmosphere fell somewhat silent.

Zhongli Sui smiled. "It seems this meeting really was an accident."

Gu Chen: "?"

With a hint of regret, Zhongli Sui said, "If this had truly been a carefully arranged encounter, how could you not even have bought a phone? You left me unable to get your contact information even though I wanted it."

Gu Chen's lips moved, but he did not know how to respond. He was not someone skilled at socializing in every situation. In his previous life, he had suffered plenty of losses and been wrongly blamed more than once because he was tongue-tied and did not know how to speak well. Gu Chen had long since grown used to it. But the person speaking now was Zhongli Sui, whom he had admired and envied in his previous life. Gu Chen felt he ought to say something.

Before Gu Chen could figure out what to say, Zhongli Sui sighed again. "Do you know? You're the first person to refuse to give me their contact information."

Gu Chen: "..."

Looking at Gu Chen's troubled expression, Zhongli Sui smiled. "This feeling is quite novel. I think I should savor it properly."

Gu Chen forced out, "I didn't mean to refuse you. How about I write down your WeChat ID, and add you once I buy a phone?"

"No rush." Zhongli Sui fiddled with his phone. "It's still early. Why don't we discuss how this apartment should be renovated?"

Gu Chen instinctively began examining the layout of the rooms.

Zhongli Sui watched Gu Chen without showing it. "What does your family do?"

"My dad is a carpenter. My mom is an elementary school teacher. We also have two mu of land, which we've leased out." Gu Chen answered honestly. In fact, within Gu Family Village, the Gu family was not badly off. They could even be considered fairly well-to-do. Otherwise, when Gu Chen's mother had found Gu Xiu by the river and the police could not locate the child's parents, the Gu family would not have kept him.

But compared with story characters like the Ling Group and Huo Mingzhang, who had both money and power, the Gu family could not compare no matter how hard they tried. That was why, after Gu Xiu returned to his biological family in his previous life, the Ling family had always suspected that he was repaying kindness with ulterior motives and coveting the Ling family's benefits. Gu Chen had been unable to explain it clearly.

Thinking about it now, it would have been better if he had had a little backbone back then and not gone to work for the Ling Group. He could only blame himself for craving comfort. Near graduation, all he wanted was a job that would let him stay in City A. Because of Gu Xiu, he also naturally felt an extra sense of closeness toward the Ling Group. Without much thought, he had made a request of the Ling family. He had also been too confident in his status as an A University graduate.

Thinking about it now, the Ling family must have found it rather awkward!

Gu Chen gave a self-mocking smile, then pulled himself together and made polite conversation with Zhongli Sui. "What kind of decor does Mr. Zhongli like?"

Zhongli Sui sized Gu Chen up. "Based on how well you know me, what kind of decor do you think I like?"

Gu Chen hesitated, then felt that he had already exposed the general direction of things. There was no point concealing these minor details anymore. "Postmodern style."

Zhongli Sui nodded, then asked, "What about you?"

"?" Gu Chen looked at Zhongli Sui in confusion. He felt he was having trouble keeping up with Zhongli Sui's train of thought.

Zhongli Sui patiently explained, "If it were your apartment, how would you want to decorate it?"

Gu Chen: "..."

Zhongli Sui smiled. "Just asking casually. After all, you know my preferences so clearly, while I know nothing about you. Consider it satisfying my curiosity, all right?"

Gu Chen thought about it and answered straightforwardly, "If it were mine, I'd probably prefer a warm color palette. Something more comfortable."

Zhongli Sui seemed a little surprised. "I couldn't tell. Our Gu Chen is quite the warm-hearted man."

It seemed that Zhongli Sui had already figured out that Gu Chen was not good at keeping a conversation going. After a pause, Zhongli Sui said with slight regret, "I thought you liked me so much that your preferred style of decor would be similar to mine."

Gu Chen smiled. "I just think you're very impressive in the investment field."

"You're not bad yourself." Zhongli Sui said evenly, "If the two things you told me are true—that XD Group in Country D has already mastered more advanced AI technology, and that Haoyang Technology's reserve price is only 7.8 billion—then I owe you a great favor."

Zhongli Sui asked, "How would you like me to repay you?"

Gu Chen's heart tightened. He was truly afraid of those words now.

"There's nothing to repay. I only mentioned it casually. Whether you believe it is up to you, and how you negotiate and sign the contract is still up to you." Gu Chen paused, realizing that what he had just said might have been ambiguous. He hurriedly explained, "What I mean is, I only told you what I know. I said it casually, and you don't need to repay me. But everything I said is true. You can send someone to verify it."

As soon as Gu Chen finished speaking, Zhongli Sui's phone suddenly rang. Zhongli Sui glanced at the caller ID and smiled. "My assistant should be here. Let's go downstairs."

Gu Chen nodded. He drove Zhongli Sui back to the sales office in the sightseeing cart. Zhongli Sui's assistant was already waiting in the lobby.

Cao Yan stood nearby, smiling obsequiously as he entertained him. Liao Chunhua and the other employees stood behind, watching the excitement. When they saw Gu Chen return with someone, all the female employees from Sales Team One waved at Gu Chen and cheered him on. It looked like everyone already knew Gu Chen had closed a deal.

"Where is it?" Zhongli Sui walked up to his assistant and asked.

The assistant picked up a branded store's plastic bag from the display stand, took out a phone box, and handed it over. Zhongli Sui accepted it and casually passed it to Gu Chen. "Consider it a gift for our first meeting."