What Jin Xia considered perfectly ordinary little things looked anything but ordinary from those people's perspective!
They looked more like solid proof of her extraordinary, exalted status!
Sitting in the car, Jin Xia gently rubbed her temples. "Did they pressure you to invest?"
She hit the nail on the head. An He gave a strained smile, looking deeply troubled. "The bank said you still have a month before you turn eighteen. Even though it's demolition compensation, having such large sums come in and then go straight back out actually goes against their rules..."
Against their rules?
Jin Xia let out a long breath. "Then let's go meet this manager from Jianjun Bank."
An He contacted the other party. After hanging up, she quickly gave Jin Xia the address. "It's at the club on the top floor of the Hua'en Building. Do you want me to come with you?"
"No."
Jin Xia kept it brief.
It was just a matter of dealing with a few bank managers who wanted her to invest or make deposits. That was hardly difficult for her.
But it was also today's incident that made Jin Xia realize...
With her constantly transferring such large sums in and out, her transfers would probably be capped soon. It was just as well that this bank manager had approached her. That was much easier than having to approach the bank herself later.
Outside the club, several servers in qipaos hurried over with smiles as soon as they saw Jin Xia enter. "Miss, do you have a reservation? Which room?"
Jin Xia glanced at the club before her and said calmly, "I'm looking for Manager Zhang, Zhang Yu."
"Manager Zhang is inside."
The lead server guided her to a private room at the very back.
Just as Jin Xia was about to enter, she heard a man's voice inside.
The man said harshly, "Our bank's targets for the second half of the year all depend on tonight's dinner."
"But if we ask for a fifty-million deposit on a three-year fixed term right off the bat, will the client agree?"
The woman speaking was clearly deferential, nowhere near as forceful as the man.
Jin Xia pushed the door open and immediately saw a man and a woman seated at a round table.
Both visibly froze when they saw Jin Xia, but quickly recovered.
If Jin Xia's guess was right, the woman who stood up should be the Manager Zhang An He had mentioned. As for the man...
Zhang Yu greeted her with a smile. "Hello, young lady. I'm Zhang Yu, and this is our bank's vice president, Bank President Lin."
Even the vice president had come in person. Clearly, their bank was under considerable pressure to meet its targets for the second half of the year.
Lin Yi glanced at Jin Xia, quickly concealing the disdain in his eyes. "You're Xia, right?"
Lin Yi came forward enthusiastically, moving to shake Jin Xia's hand.
But Jin Xia gave him no such courtesy. She walked straight to a seat with its back to the door and sat down. "An He told me your bank is having trouble with how quickly I transfer money in and out?"
"Well..."
Zhang Yu seemed unsure how to answer and simply kept looking up at Lin Yi beside her.
Lin Yi grinned and turned the lazy Susan. "Let's order first. Xia, our main purpose in coming here today was to meet you and make friends. Let's leave work matters aside while we eat."
"Server."
Jin Xia snapped her fingers to summon the server standing outside, then instructed, "Bring me two more menus."
The server brought the menus in, giving one each to Lin Yi and Zhang Yu.
Jin Xia said mildly, "You could try the house specialty, fish maw and pigeon kidney soup."
With that single sentence, she took control of the dinner.
Zhang Yu gave an awkward smile, unsure how to respond, and nodded. "Since Xia suggested it, let's order a serving to try."
Lin Yi looked somewhat awkward and stiff.
The dishes soon arrived. During the meal, Lin Yi tried several times to broach the subject, only to see Jin Xia sitting silently in her chair, quietly eating the food on her plate.
The words were already on the tip of his tongue, but he had no idea how to bring them out.
Zhang Yu kept searching for topics, making polite small talk. "You've just started university. Are you familiar with the area yet?"
"I'm a local."
The implication behind Jin Xia's words was a jab at the bank for not doing its background research thoroughly enough.
Deeply embarrassed, Zhang Yu hurriedly raised the glass of baijiu beside her. "It must be fate that brought us together here today. Let me drink first as a gesture of respect."
"I think making a woman drink competitively during business negotiations is a very demeaning thing to do. What do you think, Bank President Lin?"
Jin Xia raised her eyes to Lin Yi a short distance away.
Lin Yi hurried to smooth things over. "Yes, yes... Zhang just felt such an instant connection with you that she got carried away! You don't know this, but she doesn't usually like drinking. She's just so happy today..."
After saying all that, Lin Yi hurriedly wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead with his hand.
He had never expected the girl sitting before him, only seventeen or eighteen, to be even harder to handle than he had imagined.
A bank president like him had been thwarted several times by this young girl!
Zhang Yu set down her glass, her expression looking as though a weight had been lifted.
Jin Xia did not need to think hard to know that no woman wanted to drink competitively to secure business. As a fellow woman, she naturally felt for Zhang Yu.
Originally, she had not intended to deposit her money in Jianjun Bank, but after meeting this Bank President Lin today...
She slowly raised the juice beside her and smiled. "Bank President Lin, although I think drinking is demeaning for women, men are different."
"Exactly. The moment I saw you today, Xia, I felt as though we'd known each other forever. I remember there's a young girl in my neighborhood who's just as pretty and cute as you. You're about the same age! She must have started university this year too, right? Ah, that girl's really had it hard..."
The moment Lin Yi opened his mouth, the sleazy old-man vibes came spilling out. He picked up the liquor carafe and filled the glass in front of him with baijiu.
Still rambling, he strolled straight toward Jin Xia. "Little sister... let me take the liberty of calling you that today. As your big brother, I have a presumptuous request I'd like to discuss with you. Our bank is facing a very tough performance review for the second half of the year, and we're still two hundred million short. I'm so worried my hair's about to fall out."
Jin Xia looked up and glanced at him. "You mean you want me to deposit two hundred million in your bank?"
At her words, both Lin Yi's and Zhang Yu's eyes visibly lit up.
Lin Yi's hands shook with excitement. "Little sister, rest assured. If you really deposit two hundred million with our bank, I'll make sure to pick the best-value deposit plan for you. You see, you're still young. You don't understand the importance of managing your money..."
Before Lin Yi could finish, Jin Xia interrupted him. "I don't have two hundred million. I think you've come to the wrong person."
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