The venue chosen for the discussion forum that day was outdoors, because the temperature was just right, and the space was large enough. In the past, for this kind of forum, to avoid the embarrassment of having too few attendees for the guests, each senior class had to calculate attendance rates. But this time, since students had shown great enthusiasm ever since the guest list was announced, there was no mandatory attendance requirement. However, the best viewing spots were, of course, reserved for graduating seniors.
So when Zuo Ning and Lu Nianqi arrived, they could only stand on the outskirts and silently sigh as they looked at the crowd-packed venue. “I should’ve brought binoculars,” Zuo Ning said.
Hearing his sigh, Lu Nianqi laughed and said, “You get to see Second Brother every day, is it really that serious?”
Zuo Ning replied, “That’s different.” At home, Lu Chenghe was more casual, completely relaxed, no different from an ordinary person. But at the company, he was used to giving orders; he just had to sit there and direct things.
This was the first time he had seen Lu Chenghe hosting a discussion forum. Back when he was in college, he had attended forums for graduating students, where the invited guests were all humorous and engaging, even interacting with the students to warm up the atmosphere. He really couldn’t imagine Lu Chenghe in that role, so naturally, he was determined to get a good look.
Luckily, his eyesight was excellent. Even standing this far away, he could still see the people on stage clearly. It was just that the distance created too much of a sense of detachment, which annoyed him a little.
As Zuo Ning scanned the surroundings, he suddenly spotted an irritating figure. Tugging on Lu Nianqi’s sleeve, he said, “Isn’t the front row reserved for seniors? That Lu Jinsheng is already a graduate student. Why is he allowed to sit there?”
With so many people present, even with Lu Nianqi’s sharp vision, he could only make out the rough outlines of someone in the front row; there was no way to see facial features clearly. Hearing Zuo Ning’s question, he could only respond, “The Lu family’s young master—of course, they have to give him some face.”
Zuo Ning turned his head to look at him. “Then you, too.”
Lu Nianqi smiled. “I kind of joined halfway, didn’t I? Besides, his influence is way greater than mine. Even the school leaders probably give him some face. Sitting in the front isn’t strange at all.”
Just as Zuo Ning was about to see if they could squeeze forward somehow, Ding Rui walked over. “I’ve been looking for you two everywhere. Are you planning to just take a look and leave, or are you waiting for the forum to finish?”
Zuo Ning said, “Let’s wait till it’s over.” This was Lu Chenghe’s first time hosting something like this. No matter what, he had to watch the whole thing from start to finish.
Ding Rui said, “Then come with me to the front. There are seats available up there.”
Hearing that he could get a closer look, Zuo Ning, of course, didn’t refuse. Smiling from ear to ear, he grabbed Lu Nianqi and followed Ding Rui, slipping through the crowd to the front. Though it wasn’t dead center in the first row, the seats were near the edge, but at least they were close to the stage. Even though they weren’t that close to Lu Jinsheng and the venue was a bit noisy, Zuo Ning still perked up his ears out of nosy curiosity to listen in on the conversation over there.
After catching part of it, Zuo Ning asked Lu Nianqi, “Who’s that person sitting to Lu Jinsheng’s left? Do you know him?”
Lu Nianqi squinted for a while, then shook his head. Off to the side, Ding Rui said, “That’s someone from the Xia family. He’s the son of the CEO of Yongwan Appliance City.”
Zuo Ning looked at Ding Rui and couldn’t help but marvel, “You really know a lot. You’re like the campus know-it-all. It’s like you’re aware of everything.”
Ding Rui chuckled and said, “Even though our university isn’t quite what you’d call an elite school, we still have a fair number of kids from powerful families. So when it comes to certain information, you’ve got to stay aware of it. Otherwise, if you accidentally offend someone, people like us—little nobodies with no backing—are the ones who get bullied.”
Zuo Ning nodded at that. “Exactly, exactly. There are so many people who throw their weight around just because they were born lucky. Looks like college really is like a miniature society. No joke at all.”
The university he attended before definitely wasn’t as good as this one, but there were still rich kids there. Some of them truly didn’t treat people like human beings. Because they were generous with their money, they always had a crowd of flunkies following them around. Zuo Ning had seen more than once how one of those guys would either beat or yell at the people around him, and the ones being beaten or yelled at still had to smile and take it. Zuo Ning never understood why they put up with it. Couldn’t they make money somewhere else? Why sell off their self-respect?
Looking now at the people gathered around Lu Jinsheng, Zuo Ning silently shook his head. Whether rich or poor, there’s always no shortage of bootlickers.
Lu Nianqi turned to Zuo Ning and asked, “Why are you asking about that guy?”
Zuo Ning glanced over in that direction and let out a light snort. “That guy surnamed Xia is trying to get Lu Jinsheng to arrange a meeting with Chenghe. Sounds like there’s some kind of project in his family that they want to collaborate with the Lu Corporation on.”
As for business matters, Lu Nianqi didn’t understand much. He wasn’t studying anything related to commerce, and he’d never been exposed to that world growing up, so he didn’t ask further. But Zuo Ning continued, “I’d bet money on this. If that guy really does get to meet Chenghe through Lu Jinsheng, no matter what kind of project he has, the deal definitely won’t go through.”
Both Lu Nianqi and Ding Rui looked at him, puzzled. Zuo Ning smiled and explained: “To Chenghe, this kind of approach is just another form of backdoor dealing. The Lu Corporation has a dedicated project department that handles all external cooperation. Anyone who wants to work with Lu Corp has to go through that department and be reviewed step by step. For a project to be decided directly by Chenghe himself, it would have to be some huge international collaboration. Something this small, trying to sneak in through personal connections—he’ll absolutely be blacklisted.”
Ding Rui laughed. “You really know a lot about Lu Corp.”
Zuo Ning just smiled without replying. He went to work with Lu Chenghe every day and watched him handle affairs firsthand. This level of understanding was just the basics.
Meanwhile, over where the request was being made, Lu Jinsheng subtly furrowed his brows, then said, “My cousin has always kept personal and professional matters strictly separate, and he especially dislikes mixing business into private interactions. I’d suggest you go through the proper channels for cooperation. Even if you manage to speak with him, he won’t listen to any talk about your project.”
Young Master Xia laughed and said, “Of course, I wouldn’t be that reckless. I just want a chance to get up close to my idol. I only want to go over and say hello, get my face recognized a bit. No need to force it. Anyway, you’ll definitely be going over to greet your cousin later, right? I’ll just tag along.”
Just thinking about Lu Chenghe made Lu Jinsheng feel a wave of irritation. Though they were cousins, aside from seeing each other at the annual family banquet, they practically had no contact. To be honest, he hadn’t wanted to come today at all—but not showing up wouldn’t have looked right. To outsiders, they were family. If he didn’t attend, it would only make people think their relationship was actually strained. Even though it was strained in reality and he had never even spoken a full sentence to Lu Chenghe, that wasn’t something outsiders needed to know.
Now, those three brothers held the reins to the entire Lu family’s economic power. The eldest cousin was famously stern—a patriarchal type, with a gaze that sometimes came off downright vicious. The fourth cousin was a cynical player, like a sly fox. He might smile at you up front and stab you in the back without warning. Among them, only this Second Cousin, Lu Chenghe, appeared the most normal. Though cold, at least he was elegant and courteous.
He didn’t plan to do anything extra. He just hoped that when he went over to greet his cousin later, he’d get a normal response. At the very least, they had to maintain appearances. Based on what he knew of his Second Cousin’s personality, there shouldn’t be any problem.
On the other side, Zuo Ning, who was openly and righteously eavesdropping, had no idea what Lu Jinsheng was planning, but he’d already made up his mind. Later, he had to rush over and drag Lu Chenghe away first. No way was he going to give that guy a chance to sneak in and “show his face”!
Before the guest speakers came on stage, there was always one of those “I’ll just say a few words” teachers, who then went on to talk for an unbearably long time.
Zuo Ning listened through it with one yawn after another. Finally, when the host began introducing the guest speakers, he instantly perked up.
When Lu Chenghe walked up onto the stage from the back, Zuo Ning felt like the whole world lit up.
That perfectly tailored dark suit, his neatly styled hair accentuating already handsome features—everything about him looked even better than usual. And the moment he opened his mouth to speak, holding the microphone, all the cheers from the crowd were completely drowned out in Zuo Ning’s ears. In his eyes, only the man on the stage existed.
Lu Nianqi had merely turned his head out of instinct to look at Zuo Ning, only to see that silly, lovestruck grin spreading across his face. He couldn’t help but reach out and nudge Zuo Ning’s chin upward. “You’re about to start drooling.”
Zuo Ning instinctively touched his mouth, but felt nothing, so he glared at Lu Nianqi before quickly turning back, completely absorbed in watching Lu Chenghe again.
Although Lu Chenghe had never participated in a graduation-season forum like this before, events like these were, when it came down to it, just about sharing one’s experiences. But what he was sharing were the insights of a leader—what kind of subordinates he preferred, from the perspective of someone in charge.
While he spoke, he kept an eye on where his Little Pudding was sitting. Before coming on stage, he had wondered where Zuo Ning would be squeezed in among the crowd, and whether he’d be easy to spot. But once he got up there, he realized he’d been overthinking it. Even though it wasn’t dead center, he spotted him in an instant. That dopey smile, and the way he was deliberately making funny gestures when he saw Lu Chenghe glance his way… If he hadn’t been keeping his expression tightly in check, he might’ve burst out laughing on stage thanks to that little guy.
Of course, the school wouldn’t just have one guest standing there giving a speech the whole time. There were interactions with the host to warm up the atmosphere, as well as Q&A segments. It was clear that some students had come prepared, asking tough, tricky questions about the professional world.
But every time Zuo Ning hadn’t even had the chance to really think through the meaning of a question, Lu Chenghe had already given the perfect answer. If it weren’t for the fact that the person on stage was Lu Chenghe, Zuo Ning would’ve definitely thought the school had scripted all of it in advance.
Over an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Many people still felt it wasn’t enough. Zuo Ning heard tons of praise for Lu Chenghe—how he was not only handsome but smart, good-looking, and rich. All those voices filled with envy made Zuo Ning feel incredibly proud.
When he saw Lu Chenghe walking backstage, Zuo Ning hurried to follow, even asking Ding Rui to call over that Ma Yi girl, too. But as soon as he got close, he saw several school administrators gathered around Lu Chenghe. Though he wanted to rush up to him, he knew how to behave in public, so he obediently waited on the side.
He had just been standing there a short while when he saw Lu Jinsheng approaching, striding directly toward Lu Chenghe. Zuo Ning immediately puffed up his cheeks in frustration. He really wanted to jump out and block the guy from getting close, but that kind of childish behavior was fine in private, not in front of a crowd like this.
What he didn’t expect, though, was that just as Lu Jinsheng was only two or three steps away, Lu Chenghe didn’t even spare him a glance and walked straight in his direction. Lu Jinsheng froze awkwardly in place.
Zuo Ning stared at Lu Chenghe with a dazed look. Lu Chenghe smiled and rubbed his head. “Do you still have any classes today?”
Zuo Ning quickly shook his head. He had already finished for the day. He was just waiting for Lu Chenghe’s forum all along.
Lu Chenghe turned to Lu Nianqi. “What about you? If you don’t have class, let’s have dinner later.”
Lu Nianqi quickly replied, “I’ve got a class this evening.” There was no way he was going to be a third wheel. Even if he didn’t have class, he’d conjure one up!
Since there was class, Lu Chenghe didn’t press the matter. He looked back at his Little Pudding. “And that person you mentioned?”
Zuo Ning immediately grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the exit. He’d already asked Ding Rui to wait outside—he had planned this all along to find a reason to drag Lu Chenghe away and give Lu Jinsheng no chance to butt in.
Until Lu Chenghe and the others left the venue, Lu Jinsheng remained frozen where he stood. The young master from the Xia family, who had come along hoping to get familiar with Lu Chenghe, glanced at him and gave a light laugh. “Today was really rough on you, Young Master Lu. I’ve got something else to do—guess I’ll be heading off first.”
Lu Jinsheng only felt a burning pain on his face, as if he’d been slapped countless times without a sound. It was like the whole world was mocking him, everyone staring at him. By the time he got home from the venue, he couldn’t even remember how he had left. In all his life, he had never been so humiliated. But the one who did it was Lu Chenghe. There was nothing he could do to retaliate.
Ma Yi hadn’t expected to be able to get so close to Lu Chenghe. Even before he reached her, she had already been crying uncontrollably. When Lu Chenghe finally stood in front of her, she felt as if her throat was completely blocked—she couldn’t make a sound. All she could do was bow deeply in gratitude, her mind going utterly blank.
He was her benefactor. If not for his financial support, she would’ve been trapped in the mountains for her whole life, with no chance to see such a beautiful world. But she was still so powerless—she couldn’t even begin to repay him. Apart from saying “thank you” again and again, she had no idea how else to express her gratitude.
Looking at the girl whose face was streaked with tears, Lu Chenghe could only offer a few words of comfort and encouraged her to keep studying hard, to live a life worthy of herself.
Taking the opportunity, Zuo Ning introduced Ding Rui, who stood nearby, to Lu Chenghe. Zuo Ning knew Ding Rui was a smooth operator. Whether or not he had intentionally helped set this meeting up to gain some favor, it was still a good deed. Zuo Ning wasn’t naive enough to think only completely selfless people were “good” people—that kind of person wasn’t a good person, they were a fool. Someone who helped others with a bit of personal motive—that felt real to him.
Besides, it was just a small favor, and he hadn’t lost anything. And Lu Chenghe was so discerning. Zuo Ning had zero worry that he’d be fooled by anyone.
Lu Chenghe didn’t stay long at the school. Soon after, he left with his Little Pudding. All the way back, Little Pudding chattered nonstop about how amazing he had looked on stage, how captivating he was. Watching him ramble on so proudly, Lu Chenghe chuckled, “They were praising me. What are you so smug about?”
Zuo Ning snorted, “You’re all mine. My man is so outstanding, so amazing—of course I should be proud.” Then he turned and asked Lu Chenghe, “Did you do that on purpose just now? Ignoring Lu Jinsheng like that? I don’t believe you didn’t see him walking right toward you.”
Lu Chenghe raised his brows slightly. “Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”
Zuo Ning let out a cheeky laugh. “I was hoping you’d do that, but it was just a thought. After all, he’s still your younger cousin. And I figured you wouldn’t really go so far as to make an enemy out of someone like that. People like you—old foxes in the business world—you’re used to keeping things smooth on all sides. Plus, you two don’t have much interaction anyway, so I thought maybe you’d at least say a couple of polite words.”
Lu Chenghe reached out and pinched his face. “Old fox?”
Zuo Ning blinked at him a couple of times, then suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist and threw himself into his embrace. “That was a compliment! Foxes are super smart! I couldn’t even become a fox if I wanted to.”
Lu Chenghe let out a cold snort. “Indeed. With your IQ, you’re only fit to be one of the Three Stooges.”
Zuo Ning immediately puffed up in anger and glared at Lu Chenghe. “Hey! Personal attacks aren’t allowed!”
