Chapter 20

He added with a sigh, "I really envy you for knowing to take on part-time work as soon as you started college. Back when I was in college, my classmates were all busy skipping class and dating. They even said that if you hadn't experienced those two things, then your college years had been wasted. Looking back now, the only thing wasted was my own time. If I'd been like you, I might've bought a house long ago."

Gu Chen smiled. "Then you got what you wanted too. Isn't your wife your first love from college? There are only two major things in life: starting a family and building a career. You didn't miss out on either one. Even if you buy a house now, it'll be in the best location and the most upscale neighborhood in all of City A."

The client chuckled. "That's true."

As he spoke, he handed Gu Chen a business card. "I've noticed you're very good at getting to the point, and you're quite good at sweet-talking people too. If you're interested in public relations or advertising, or if you join a client-side company in the future and need to do promotional planning, come find me."

Gu Chen accepted the card with a smile and thanked him sincerely.

By the time he finished signing this deal, it was already past four in the afternoon. Gu Chen checked the time and decided not to receive any more new clients. Instead, he went to help the female colleagues in Sales Team One negotiate contracts, calculate mortgages, and lend support. He stayed busy until six-thirty in the evening, when Zhongli Sui's assistant arrived at the sales office with a designer.

"Hello, Mr. Gu." Zhongli Sui's assistant had previously handled the transfer procedures for Zhongli Sui and knew Gu Chen. He handed Gu Chen the renovation keys and said with a smile, "Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Gu."

"Assistant Lin, just call me Gu Chen." Gu Chen put away the keys and was about to take the designer to see the apartment when Assistant Lin said, "Let's have dinner first. You just got off work, Gu Chen, so you probably haven't eaten yet. We haven't eaten either. We can get to work after everyone's full."

Gu Chen nodded. Assistant Lin smiled again. "You work at the sales office. Is there anything good to eat nearby? Give us a recommendation."

Gu Chen had only been working there for two days at most, so he was not actually familiar with the area. However, the Sales Team One colleagues had treated him to lunch that afternoon, and the specialty dishes at that restaurant had all been quite good. The prices were reasonable too.

"Then let's go there," Assistant Lin agreed with a smile.

The three of them walked to a restaurant across from the sales office. Once the menu arrived, each person ordered one dish. Assistant Lin also ordered a fish, a soup, and a sweet dish. While they waited for the food, Assistant Lin introduced the designer to Gu Chen.

The designer's name was Wang Lin. She was a top designer at a highly renowned interior design company in the industry. Her work had won awards before, and her design style happened to be the postmodern style Zhongli Sui liked best.

"Mr. Zhongli discussed the renovation style he wanted with me over the phone. Based on his requirements, I've prepared a preliminary design draft. Mr. Gu, you can take a look. When we inspect the apartment later, we can discuss the specific design details."

Wang Lin took a document envelope from her bag and handed it to Gu Chen. Gu Chen accepted it and was just about to open it when Assistant Lin said with a smile, "Well, there's no rush. Let's eat first. We can talk it over slowly upstairs after dinner."

Gu Chen nodded with a smile and set the document envelope aside. Assistant Lin seemed worried that the atmosphere at the table would be too dull, so he made casual conversation with them. They happened to talk about the recently popular topics of private equity and IPOs. Gu Chen casually remarked that policies had become more relaxed. Aside from backdoor listings and stock issuances, major asset restructurings by listed companies no longer needed to seek approval from the Securities Regulatory Commission. It was much more convenient than before. Assistant Lin froze when he heard that and asked doubtfully, "Where did you hear that?"

Gu Chen paused. He suddenly remembered that this policy was emphasized in the Administrative Measures for Major Asset Restructuring of Listed Companies. And those measures seemingly had not yet gone into effect.

Gu Chen blinked and said without changing expression, "It's nothing. Maybe I remembered wrong."

Assistant Lin's eyes flickered briefly as he smiled. "I remember now. Those administrative measures were indeed approved in July, but they haven't officially taken effect yet. I really didn't expect you, Gu Chen, to pay such close attention to industry laws and regulations."

Gu Chen smiled. "It's related to my major, so I usually pay more attention to news and policies in this area. It's just armchair strategy."

After barely smoothing the matter over, Gu Chen became exceptionally cautious in the rest of the conversation. He avoided discussing anything related to his field. Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the three went upstairs to inspect the apartment.

Based on the apartment's layout and specific configuration, the designer Wang Lin recorded a large amount of data and discussed several design ideas with Gu Chen. By around eight that evening, the three went their separate ways.

Assistant Lin dropped Gu Chen off at school first, then took the designer home along the way. After the car stopped at the school entrance, Gu Chen got out and said goodbye to them. Rather than going straight back to campus, he went to a bookstore and bought a set of CPA study guides, including Economic Law, Tax Law, Auditing, Financial Cost Management, Corporate Strategy and Risk Management, and Accounting. He also bought copies of Company Law and Securities Law.

After returning to the dormitory, Gu Xiu looked at the thick stack of books Gu Chen had brought back and could not help asking, "Bro, why did you buy so many books?"

Gu Chen set the books on his desk and rubbed his sore wrist. "To read!"

Wang Miao and Xia Tian looked at each other and could not help saying sourly, "Isn't it a little too early for you to be reading these now? We've only just started freshman year. We haven't even gotten our diplomas yet, so even if you study in advance, you still can't take the exams!"

Gu Chen could not be bothered to respond to the two of them.

Wang Miao snorted and complained unhappily, "What a show-off."

Chapter 20

Because of a certain unspoken sense of crisis and urgency, Gu Chen spent the entire night studying and taking notes in the common room. He stayed up all night. The next morning, after washing up and going to the cafeteria for breakfast, his eyes were red.

"It's only just the start of the semester. You don't have to work this hard, do you?" Zhou Xiaoting carried her tray over and sat opposite Gu Chen. She also handed him the chrysanthemum, codonopsis, and goji berry tea she had brewed that morning. "What got into you? I heard you didn't sleep at all last night?"

Gu Chen blinked his slightly dry eyes. "Nothing."

He looked at the blue thermos Zhou Xiaoting had pushed toward him, somewhat puzzled. "What is this?"