After Ye Chen had taken care of his mother-in-law's problem, she took the cash to the bank and happily deposited it.
Ye Chen went straight home.
As soon as he entered, he saw that his wife Xiao Churan had changed out of her shoes at the door. Knowing she was already back, he went straight to the bedroom.
He had just entered the bedroom when he saw Xiao Churan hanging up the phone, her face full of delight and excitement.
Curious, he asked, "Honey, who were you just talking to?"
"My best friend, Dong Ruolin!" Xiao Churan said excitedly. "Do you remember her?"
"I do." Ye Chen nodded. "She went to university in Jinling too, and you two were pretty close. Wasn't she the daughter of a prominent family in Yanjing?"
"That's right," Xiao Churan said. "Ruolin's family is quite influential in Yanjing."
Ye Chen smiled and asked, "What, is she coming to Jinling to see you?"
"Not just to see me. She's coming to work in Jinling!"
Ye Chen asked in confusion, "She's the daughter of a prominent family in Yanjing. Why would she come to Jinling for a job instead of managing her own family's business?"
"I'm not really sure either," Xiao Churan said. "She said she was coming to work for the Emgrand Group, but I don't know why she's coming all this way to work for Emgrand."
Ye Chen nodded, but inwardly he thought, Although the Dong Family is far inferior to the Ye Family, it still has some influence in Yanjing. Dong Ruolin has no need to give up her family's business to work for my Dihao Group.
Could this woman have some special purpose in coming to the Dihao Group?
Ye Chen was puzzled, but he couldn't be certain for the time being.
It seemed he would have to wait until Dong Ruolin joined the Dihao Group, then have Wang Dongxue look into her background.
Just then, Xiao Churan seemed to remember something. She slapped her forehead and said, "Oh, right, Ye Chen, I have a meeting with the people from the Dihao Group tomorrow and can't get away. Could you pick Ruolin up at the airport for me and arrange somewhere to welcome her?"
"All right. I'll make arrangements in advance tomorrow," Ye Chen agreed.
"Oh, and find somewhere nice. Don't worry about the money; take my bank card."
As she spoke, she started to hand him her wallet.
"No need," Ye Chen said quickly. "I know someone who owns a restaurant that seems pretty good. I can arrange it."
With that, Ye Chen took out his phone, intending to text Chen Zekai at the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel and ask him to arrange a banquet.
But on second thought, the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel was a surprise for his wife. It would be better to entertain Dong Ruolin somewhere else.
So he sent Master Hong Wu a text.
"I'm hosting a banquet for a friend. Arrange an upscale hotel for me, but not the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel."
Master Hong Wu replied almost immediately: "Don't worry, Mr. Ye. I own a restaurant called the Heavenly Fragrance House. It's one of Jinling's top restaurants, on par with the Buckingham Palace Grand Hotel. Tomorrow I'll arrange the best diamond private room and the finest banquet for you, and await your arrival."
Ye Chen replied with a single word: "Okay."
The next day, Xiao Churan spent the whole day at the Dihao Group, busy handling matters related to the cooperation.
Ye Chen called Wang Dongxue, the Dihao Group's vice chairwoman, to ask about Dong Ruolin joining the company.
Wang Dongxue was surprised that Ye Chen knew about it. She said Dong Ruolin had applied for the position of administrative director, a middle-management role. The group had found her résumé quite good and decided to hire her, and she was already scheduled to start in a few days.
So Ye Chen instructed her to keep an eye on Dong Ruolin after she joined and report any developments to him immediately.
After making arrangements with Wang Dongxue, Ye Chen went out that afternoon and took a taxi to the airport to pick up Xiao Churan's best friend, Dong Ruolin.
When the taxi reached the airport, Ye Chen was just about to head into the arrivals hall when a Mercedes G-Class suddenly braked hard and pulled up sideways in front of him.
Xiao Churan's cousin, Xiao Hailong, suddenly poked his head out of the window. He frowned at Ye Chen in confusion and asked, "Ye Chen, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick up a friend of Churan's. What are you all doing here?"
Ye Chen frowned and noticed that everyone in the G-Class was someone he knew. Besides Xiao Hailong, there were Wang Yunfei and Xiao Weiwei.
"The one you're talking about is Miss Dong, right?" Xiao Hailong said contemptuously. "We'll be entertaining her. We don't need you, so get lost!"
Ye Chen snorted coldly. "If you want someone to get lost, do it yourself."
With that, Ye Chen ignored them and walked straight into the arrivals hall.
Xiao Hailong was so angry that he was about to start cursing when Xiao Weiwei hurriedly reminded him, "Brother, Miss Dong will be here soon. Grandma reminded you to make a good impression on her! If you can make her my sister-in-law, no one in our family will be able to match your standing. Don't stoop to this loser's level right now."
Xiao Hailong came to his senses at once.
He had almost forgotten the main reason he was here today.
Welcoming Dong Ruolin was secondary. The most important thing was to make a good impression on her and win her over.
The Dong Family had extraordinary influence in Yanjing. If he could get together with her, he would soar straight into the clouds, and even the Xiao Family's chickens and dogs would ascend to heaven with him.
So he swallowed his displeasure with Ye Chen, and everyone hurried out of the car and headed for the arrivals hall as well.
Just then, a strikingly conspicuous young woman appeared in the crowd. She was young and beautiful.
Her long chestnut hair hung loose, and her white skirt suit outlined her shapely figure.
Although she wore sunglasses, her skin was as white as porcelain, her cherry lips were a fiery red, and her city-toppling beauty could not be concealed.
On closer inspection, her looks were no less stunning than Xiao Churan's. Each had her own charms.
For a moment, the gazes of everyone waiting outside the passage turned to her as one.
Xiao Hailong was already staring in a daze.
Even Wang Yunfei, who had come along to watch the excitement, was awestruck and couldn't help exclaiming, "As expected of a young lady from a prominent Yanjing family. She really does have a different bearing."
At that moment, Dong Ruolin spotted them too. She hurried over from the crowd and waved at them. "Hailong, Weiwei, and Ye Chen, long time no see!"
A wave of heat surged through Xiao Hailong's heart, and he spoke first. "Long time no see, Ruolin. You've gotten even prettier."
Ye Chen smiled and added, "Long time no see."
Xiao Hailong hurriedly said, "Ruolin, when I heard you were coming, I booked a private room at the best hotel in Jinling to welcome you. Let's hurry over there now."
Dong Ruolin glanced at Ye Chen, then said apologetically to Xiao Hailong, "Hailong, I'm really sorry. I already made plans with Churan and Ye Chen. Let's meet another day. I'll be staying in Jinling for a long time this time anyway, so there will be plenty of chances."
When Xiao Hailong heard this, he couldn't help feeling furious. On such an important day, that stinking loser Ye Chen had come to get in his way. He was utterly detestable.
So he deliberately said, "Ruolin, to welcome you, I booked a room at the Heavenly Fragrance House, the most famous restaurant in Jinling. It's a gold private room with a minimum spend of three hundred thousand!"
He shot Ye Chen a contemptuous look and sneered. "I wonder where my live-in brother-in-law booked his banquet? If it's too low-class, wouldn't that be an insult to you?"