The highlight of the Wen Feng Gala was the auction of collectibles. Since not all the attendees had arrived yet, Li Ruobing and Su Rui casually found seats and sat down.
Deng Hao and Bai Yanyun walked straight through the crowd toward them.
"Knock knock knock!"
Su Rui tapped the tabletop with his fingers, reminding Li Ruobing, who was still scrolling through online entertainment news about Ye Qin on her phone.
"Ruobing." The sound of high heels abruptly stopped just before them. Bai Yanyun stood less than half a meter from Li Ruobing, smiling demurely. "I just returned home. I never expected to run into you here!"
"..." Li Ruobing looked up, her expression unchanged. She merely nodded calmly. "Mm."
"Ruobing... you're as aloof as ever." Bai Yanyun smiled, then gave Su Rui, who sat beside Li Ruobing, a strange look. As though she had suddenly remembered something, she tugged Deng Hao over. "Let me introduce him. Deng Hao—my boyfriend!"
Deng Hao placed his left hand smoothly over his abdomen and extended his hand to Li Ruobing with a smile. "Yan Yun has mentioned you often. Meeting you is even better than hearing of you—Miss Li truly has exceptional poise!"
Li Ruobing lightly shook Deng Hao's hand.
Su Rui sat to one side with an odd smile, watching the three of them converse.
Everything seemed calm and peaceful.
To outsiders, this might have looked like an ordinary reunion between friends who had not met for a long time. But who was Su Rui? He knew every secret, so naturally, he knew the relationship between Bai Yanyun and Li Ruobing as well.
Bai Yanyun and Li Ruobing had been friends.
But only once.
The Bai family and the Li family were both among Tongzhou's top wealthy clans and had collaborated several times. At one government project bidding conference, Li Guodong and the Bai family patriarch jointly won the construction contract.
By coincidence, Li Ruobing and Bai Yanyun, both still in middle school at the time, were present as well.
Through a chance encounter, the two girls, who were close in age, got to know each other. After spending time together a few times, they became friends.
But as time passed, Li Ruobing and Bai Yanyun began to reveal their very different personalities.
Li Ruobing was strong-willed and fiercely competitive, always wanting to come first in everything. Even in high school, she had already been highly independent and mature. Bai Yanyun, on the other hand, was the Bai family's little Princess, doted upon by everyone since childhood. Her pride had been nurtured sky-high, and all the friends she had known before had chosen to flatter and indulge her because of the Bai family.
As a result, Bai Yanyun had the temperament of a spoiled child, believing that the whole world should revolve around her.
From the moment they began spending time together, Bai Yanyun discovered that Li Ruobing consistently outshone her, whether in academic performance or popularity.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not catch up to Li Ruobing. Whenever they appeared together, the crowd's attention would always settle on Li Ruobing, who was more outstanding in every respect.
Over time, Bai Yanyun naturally became resentful and began deliberately distancing herself.
And Li Ruobing's personality meant that she would never bother saying much to Bai Yanyun over something like that.
Once a woman's jealousy took root, it was difficult to diminish, especially for a wealthy Princess like Bai Yanyun, who had been pampered since childhood.
From then on, their relationship began to deteriorate.
When they were both admitted to the same elite university, their relationship still did not improve.
After leaving high school and entering the broader stage of university, Bai Yanyun's abilities began to emerge. It seemed as though she had stepped out from beneath Li Ruobing's shadow and regained some confidence.
As descendants of wealthy families, the majors they chose were naturally related to business operations. With the influence they had absorbed since childhood and their remarkable talents, both of them earned considerable reputations within their respective departments.
The breaking point came during a simulated competition between two departments.
Li Ruobing's and Bai Yanyun's departments both belonged to the marketing division. To assess the students' overall abilities and prevent them from engaging in empty theory, the school administrator then serving as division head decided to organize a simulated competition between the two departments.
The rules were as follows... The two departments would be treated as two companies, with their students acting as employees. The school would provide both sides with identical conditions and funding. They would then choose their own products and sales channels and compete for one month. Whoever accumulated more capital in the end would win.
The winner could receive a generous academic credit reward.
It had originally been an ordinary simulation exercise, but the key was that the leaders of the two sides were... Li Ruobing and Bai Yanyun.
A confrontation between two favored daughters of heaven naturally drew everyone's attention.
Everyone at the school knew about Li Ruobing and Bai Yanyun's relationship, so their curiosity was piqued. They all wanted to see who would emerge victorious.
After learning about it, Bai Yanyun prepared for a long time. She earnestly pored over materials until late into the night and braved the scorching sun to conduct market research.
Everyone knew exactly why she was working so hard.
To defeat Li Ruobing head-on!
I'll prove to everyone that I, Bai Yanyun, am no worse than Li Ruobing. Whatever she can do, I can do too—and even better than she can!
Then...
She lost.
And it was a crushing defeat.
When the one-month deadline arrived...
The original capital of twenty thousand yuan had increased twentyfold in Li Ruobing's hands!
As for Bai Yanyun's department, not only had it failed to make any money, but Li Ruobing had even maneuvered them into spending their initial capital on a pile of worthless goods that could not be sold! Their remaining usable funds amounted to just eighteen yuan and sixty cents!
It was a merciless slaughter.
Bai Yanyun and Li Ruobing became completely famous across campus!
In the marketing division's sixty-year history, there had been at least two or three hundred simulated competitions, yet never had there been such a one-sided outcome.
Even the head of the marketing division was stunned. After learning the details of Li Ruobing's operations, he stood there dumbfounded for a full thirty seconds before praising her to one of his subordinate instructors. "Li Ruobing is a born businessman—decisive, ruthless, and bold. Even if she were not the eldest daughter of the Li family, she would still have a place in Tongzhou's future!"
"If this were not a simulation but a real business war, Bai Yanyun would probably have been driven to jump off a building by now... That girl does have some brains, but she is ultimately no match for Li Ruobing... What a pity! What a pity!"
Victory and defeat had been decided.
Bai Yanyun fell seriously ill at home and refused to see anyone.
The confidence she had painstakingly built up was shattered once again by Li Ruobing.
She had kept a low profile and prepared meticulously for so long, hoping to defeat Li Ruobing in one decisive stroke and finally hold her head high. Yet she had never expected such an outcome.
She had once believed that, even if there was a gap between herself and Li Ruobing, it was only a tiny one. But reality dealt her a crushing blow.
Since the university's founding, she was the first person to suffer such a complete defeat.
And she had lost to the person she most did not want to lose to.
Three months later, she completed the withdrawal procedures and went abroad alone. She enrolled in a prestigious arts academy and completely gave up on studying business.
After graduating from university, Li Ruobing also went abroad to study at a business school. The two of them never saw each other again.
Five years had passed since then.
That was why Li Ruobing had been somewhat surprised when she saw Bai Yanyun outside the hotel today.
Before you continue