Crane-Crest Red

He lit up his phone, opened WeChat, and entered the Mysterious Group.

Zhu Lili's fingers flew across the screen. In the blink of an eye, she typed several lines into the group: "Recommending a promising stock. Great fundamentals, bullish long-term prospects, suitable for long-term holding. Anyone interested in buying in, come to Melody V508 now."

As though a stone had been dropped into a deep pool, the Mysterious Group, which had been still as stagnant water, immediately rippled with waves.

"No picture, no truth."

"Lili, don't scam your sisters."

"Thanks for the invite. I'm in Vientiane City and just entered the LV store. I won't be coming tonight."

"I only do short-term trades."

"I just lost money trading stocks. I'm on my last breath, so don't count me in."

"Hehe."

Seeing the replies in the group, three black lines immediately appeared across Zhu Lili's forehead.

These little bitches.

They were treating her sincere heart like donkey liver and lungs!

They said every woman had a matchmaker's heart, and Zhu Lili was no exception.

The moment she had seen Gao Jing earlier, her heart had skipped a beat.

It was not that she had fallen for Gao Jing after changing her affections. In this life, she was tied to Zhang Hongyuan, with no thoughts of anyone else.

She was simply thinking of how several of her best friends were still single, so she sincerely wanted to recommend him.

If it could bring about a match, it would be a fine thing indeed.

Zhu Lili had not only just met Gao Jing. Zhang Hongyuan had previously asked her to introduce a girlfriend to Gao Jing.

But after learning about Gao Jing's circumstances, Zhu Lili had brushed it off at the time.

It had not seemed very suitable.

Yet when she saw the completely transformed Gao Jing today, she could not help recalling what her boyfriend had once said.

So she hinted that Zhang Hongyuan should arrange a gathering.

In the end, the private room had been booked, but her group of besties showed little interest.

They had even questioned her.

Zhu Lili immediately felt that her reputation in the group had suffered a severe crisis!

She gritted her teeth and held her phone in both hands, pretending to send messages.

Then she secretly snapped a photo of Gao Jing.

Zhu Lili's photography skills had been tempered through countless trials. She switched on portrait mode and added a light filter.

In the photo, Gao Jing was turned halfway to the side, chatting with Zhang Hongyuan.

A faint smile hung on his face. Ceiling lights streamed down upon him, and against the blurred background, the image somehow possessed the texture and colors of a movie scene.

Outstanding and extraordinary!

Zhu Lili was also extremely satisfied with the candid shot. She immediately uploaded it to the Mysterious Group.

I refuse to believe you can still remain unmoved!

If she had just thrown a stone into a pond, then now she had undoubtedly tossed in a bomb.

The fish were instantly sent scattering in shock.

"Wow, he really is a handsome guy!"

"Lili is reliable for once. He's totally my type."

"Ah, Sister Lili, have you arrived yet? I'm already in a taxi."

"Whether he's handsome doesn't really matter to me, and I'm not planning to buy in. I just mainly want to sing K."

"I think I can still be saved."

"If his performance is good, long-term holding can also be considered."

"Coming!"

Watching the flood of responses in the group, Zhu Lili chuckled.

Women.

Meanwhile, Gao Jing and Zhang Hongyuan had no idea what kind of reversal had taken place in Zhu Lili's girls' group.

The two had already eaten and drunk their fill. Gao Jing called over the waiter and paid the bill.

They left the stir-fry stall together and headed for the KTV.

Once they got into the taxi, Zhang Hongyuan asked his girlfriend, "How many of your friends are coming?"

Zhu Lili checked her phone. "Six have signed up so far, and two are bringing their partners."

"Mm, no problem."

Zhang Hongyuan did not care in the slightest. "The more people there are, the livelier and more fun it'll be. Oh, right..."

He asked, "Is Song Xue coming?"

"What?"

Zhu Lili put down her phone, a smile that was not quite a smile appearing on her face. "You're still thinking about her?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Zhang Hongyuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. "When have I ever been thinking about her? It's just that she's the prettiest... Ahem!"

He had said the wrong thing and got viciously pinched.

Gao Jing, seated in the front passenger seat, smiled faintly.

He could tell that this friend of his had been completely wrapped around Zhu Lili's finger.

He was tied to her for life.

That was quite good.

Gao Jing also knew perfectly well that the couple wanted to introduce girls to him.

Although he had absolutely no plans to date at the moment, there was no need to reject his friends' goodwill.

It was nice for everyone to have some lively fun together.

When they reached Melody, the three took the elevator straight to the fifth floor.

After settling into their reserved private room, Zhang Hongyuan generously ordered a huge spread of alcohol, drinks, fruit platters, and snacks.

This time, he had returned to Cloud City for work, and there was no longer anyone in the company who offended his eyes. He was in an exceptionally good mood.

After the waiter delivered everything, Zhu Lili's girlfriends and friends also began arriving one after another.

Nine came in total, including two couples. Together with Gao Jing and the other two, there were twelve people altogether.

They filled a large private room comfortably.

Zhang Hongyuan knew all of them, so he introduced them to Gao Jing one by one.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Zhu Lili's friends were all above the passing line in looks, averaging around six or seven out of ten.

None were especially ugly, nor were any exceptionally beautiful. Basically, they were all urban white-collar workers like Zhu Lili.

Some were bold and fiery, daring to openly scrutinize Gao Jing without restraint.

Others were polite and reserved, their courtesy carrying a trace of restraint.

Although every one of them had looked ravenous in the group chat earlier, none acted lovestruck upon seeing the True Person.

It was not that the True Person was worse than the photo. Something like temperament simply could not be captured perfectly by a phone.

The girls' first impression of Gao Jing was actually quite good.

He was undeniably handsome.

However, these urban junior white-collar workers had sharp eyes. With one sweep, they judged that everything Gao Jing wore from head to toe cost no more than three hundred yuan.

T-shirt, jeans, and casual shoes—Taobao goods bought during a spend-two-hundred-save-one-twenty sale.

And Zhu Lili had already said in the group that Gao Jing was a promising stock with bullish long-term prospects, suitable for long-term holding.

What did that mean?

A tall, poor, handsome guy!

Potential was difficult to judge. No one knew what the future would bring.

To these girls who had long since entered society, tall, poor, handsome guys were like Crane-Crest Red.

Beautiful to look at, but deadly poison in truth.

They could not afford to play, did not dare gamble, and especially did not want to stake their precious youth and money on it!

Girls still studying in school and girls who had spent several years in society really were different species.

Of course, reality was reality. No one was foolish enough to put their snobbish side on display.

It was only a friends' gathering for singing K. How nice it was for everyone to laugh and have fun without needing to give up anything.

As Zhu Lili seized the microphone and began singing first, the atmosphere in the private room quickly grew lively.

Gao Jing and Zhang Hongyuan each downed a Corona.

Putting down his empty bottle, Zhang Hongyuan shot Gao Jing a meaningful look. "Old Gao, don't just look after yourself."

He glanced at the girl seated to Gao Jing's right.

The girl was named Song Xue, the prettiest among Zhu Lili's group of besties.

Her looks were at least a 7.5 out of 10, and with makeup and styling, she could reach an 8. Her temperament was also quite commendable.

She was tall and slender.

Just a little flat.

She had not come on her own to see a handsome guy. Another one of Zhu Lili's friends had dragged her along.

Before coming to Melody, the two had been shopping in Vientiane City.

After they arrived, Zhu Lili arranged for Song Xue to sit beside Gao Jing.

Her intentions were obvious.

But Song Xue's impression of Gao Jing was merely ordinary.

Quite a few handsome men had pursued her. Gao Jing was neither devastatingly handsome nor did he match her standards.

Song Xue had not rejected Zhu Lili's deliberate arrangement.

But after the introductions and taking her seat, she only whispered with the friend beside her.

The two sides were as clearly divided as the Jing and Wei Rivers.

Naturally, Gao Jing could sense her reserve and distance.

Why would he go out of his way to curry favor with her?

Opening a bottle of Corona, Gao Jing smiled. "Nonsense. Of course I have to take care of you. Another one!"

"Afraid of you?"

Gao Jing simply would not take the bait, and Zhang Hongyuan could not possibly force him to become a simp. "We're not going home until we're drunk tonight!"

Gao Jing chuckled.

Just as the two were drinking merrily, a young man seated opposite them came over holding a beer bottle and said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, I'll drink to you."

Zhang Hongyuan hurriedly stood up. "Brother Zheng, you're too polite. I'll drink to you."

This young man was the "family member" brought by one of Zhu Lili's besties. His name was Zheng Xing'an.

He was not tall and wore Burberry from head to toe.

As he held out his beer bottle to Zhang Hongyuan, the brand-new Green Submariner on his wrist gleamed brightly.

Though Zheng Xing'an had the lowest height and looks among the four men in the private room,

his wealth was undoubtedly the highest—at least, it looked like it was.

Zhang Hongyuan was also very polite to him.

After clinking bottles with Zhang Hongyuan, Zheng Xing'an turned his gaze toward Gao Jing. "This friend, let's have one too."

Gao Jing smiled and rose to his feet. "Sure."

He noticed that while the other man's gaze seemed to rest on him, his eyes were actually fixed on Song Xue beside him.

Interesting!