That afternoon was the last training session, mainly for summarizing. Zeng Yu listened intently, taking notes constantly. Among the trainees, Zeng Yu was the most serious.
Zeng Yu felt he couldn’t afford to be careless. He hadn’t invested a single cent in this company but had received 30% of the shares. He wanted to do everything possible so that Jiang Nan could relax and be a hands-off boss, which would make him feel more at ease.
Yuan Lei arrived late in the afternoon. Just as the elevator doors were closing, someone stuck their hand in to stop them. Yuan Lei instinctively looked up to see a blue-eyed foreigner with brown hair and a high nose. He was quite handsome.
There were only two of them in the elevator, and the foreigner’s eyes kept wandering over Yuan Lei, openly admiring her. When the elevator stopped, they both got off on the same floor. Yuan Lei hadn’t expected the foreigner to follow her all the way to the company entrance. She turned back, glaring at him, her hand reaching into her bag to grip a pepper spray, “What do you want?”
The foreigner stepped back, smiling as he shrugged, “Beautiful lady, you’ve misunderstood. My boss sent me to Jiangyu Trade to find someone named Zeng Yu to discuss business.”
“Who are you?” Yuan Lei blocked his path. “What do you want with Zeng Yu? If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t be so nosy.”
The foreigner sighed helplessly, spreading his hands, “I’m the head chef at Feixuan Restaurant. My boss wants to introduce Sophie wine to our clients. He drank it in France and thinks it’s an underrated brand.”
“Feixuan Restaurant? Michelin three-star? When did they open a branch in China?” Yuan Lei’s curiosity piqued. She knew what Michelin stars meant in the culinary world.
“The China branch is still under preparation, set to open next month on Jianghai Road. We would be honored if you could attend.”
Hearing his explanation, Yuan Lei hesitated before asking, “Will the branch maintain the three-star standard?”
The foreigner shrugged, “I can only showcase my best culinary skills to our guests. Whether it meets the three-star level, that’s not for me to say. But I must add, beautiful lady, your French is impeccable. It would be an honor to serve you at our restaurant.”
“How do you know Zeng Yu?” Yuan Lei still wasn’t convinced.
The foreigner spread his hands, “I don’t know him. My boss does. So, beautiful lady, please let me in.”
Only then did Yuan Lei step aside. The foreigner nodded politely before entering the office.
The teacher was still lecturing when he noticed the unannounced visitor and frowned, “Can I help you?”
The foreigner struggled with his Chinese, “I’m here to see Zeng Yu.”
Zeng Yu looked at him in confusion, “You want me?”
The foreigner turned to Yuan Lei, “I think I need a translator.” Yuan Lei stepped in, translating his words into Chinese.
Finally, Zeng Yu stepped forward, “I’m Zeng Yu.”
Yuan Lei said, “Let’s discuss this in the office.”
The three of them moved to the office, where the foreigner explained his intentions. The gist was what he had told Yuan Lei earlier.
Zeng Yu was completely baffled as to how this foreigner knew he was associated with Sophie wine.
With this mystery lingering, Zeng Yu closed his first business deal. Feixuan Restaurant’s China branch purchased 500 bottles of Sophie wine from Jiangyu Trade. The company had to deliver all the wine three days before the opening. The restaurant would pay 30% upfront and the remaining amount with the next order.
Before leaving, the foreigner asked Yuan Lei for her phone number, but she declined. He didn’t press the issue, simply shrugged, and left.
Yuan Lei escorted him to the door, then looked back at the puzzled Zeng Yu, “Alright, tell me, when did you contact this client?”
“I’m telling you, this was a walk-in customer. You probably won’t believe it.” Zeng Yu was still in a daze, but he wasn’t about to turn down such a golden opportunity. Moreover, the foreigner didn’t haggle over the price. Zeng Yu had prepared to offer a 5% discount, but there was no need. Where else could he find such a generous client?
“I’d have to be crazy to believe that. Tell me the truth, when did you contact Feixuan Restaurant? A Michelin three-star! Such big news, and I’m only hearing about it now.” Yuan Lei was clearly frustrated.
She couldn’t believe that the shareholder dragged into the business by Han Jiayi might be the key to their success. Could it be that this guy was a good luck charm for the company?
“Hand over your birth date.” Yuan Lei demanded.
Zeng Yu stepped back in alarm, “What for?”
“Stop asking questions and do it.”
Seeing Yuan Lei advancing step by step, Zeng Yu had no choice but to hand over his ID card, “You can check it yourself.”
Yuan Lei jotted down his birthdate and rushed back to her office. Both Yuan Lei and Han Jiayi shared a common belief in fate. Han Jiayi had once encountered a fortune teller who warned her of a calamity within five years. Three years later, she nearly died from a severe illness. Since then, she had been a firm believer. Yuan Lei’s story was different. As a child, her grandparents had her fortune told, predicting she’d face romantic setbacks. Sure enough, Yuan Lei’s college boyfriend broke up with her due to a long-distance relationship. Now approaching thirty, Yuan Lei still hadn’t found her match.
In the villa, Wang’s second uncle was chatting with a foreign friend over tea. The foreigner couldn’t understand, “Wang, you helped me start my restaurant business back then, and I’ve always wanted to repay you. But now you’re using this favor for something so small. Isn’t that a waste?”
“Worner, my friend, are you reluctant to repay a favor?” Wang’s second uncle chuckled.
Worner shrugged, “No, thank you. This is just a small matter for me. You’re my best friend, Wang.” He stood up, giving Wang’s second uncle a hug.
“Worner, compared to those strange foods we ate in Africa, having you around to cook is the real blessing. Our time together in Africa is worth more than any favor; it’s priceless.” Wang’s second uncle said, his tone serious.
Just then, Wang Zheng woke up.
Wang Zheng was groggy from the hangover, barely recalling hearing Zeng Yu’s voice before blacking out. He sat up in bed, eyes still closed, and shouted, “I need water!”
He immediately realized something was wrong. He opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar room. A hotel? No way. If Zeng Yu were going to spend money, he’d do it when Wang Zheng was sober, right? Wang Zheng muttered to himself.
Seeing the prepared toothbrush with toothpaste and a rinsing cup on the bathroom counter, Wang Zheng realized he might have been wrong. Maybe Zeng Yu wasn’t behind this.
So what had actually happened?
Wang Zheng’s thoughts were all over the place as he finished brushing his teeth. He considered taking a shower but decided against it.
When he came out, the bed was already laid out with fresh clothes. Under the foreign woman’s gaze, he quickly got dressed, asking, “Where’s my phone?”
The foreign woman walked to the nightstand, opened the drawer, and handed him his phone, “Here.”
“Your Chinese is good. Can you tell me where I am?” Wang Zheng asked, holding the phone, feeling slightly more at ease.
“I’ll answer that for you. I’m waiting downstairs, so hurry up.” Wang’s second uncle appeared in the doorway, smiling as he spoke, then left.
Wang Zheng stared blankly at his retreating figure. That face was one he’d never forget.
As a child, his father was always busy, and his mother spent her days at beauty salons and mahjong parlors. The first time Wang Zheng went to an amusement park, it was with this man.
“Wang Chengfu, you still know how to come home?” Wang Zheng suddenly burst into tears, shouting after the man.
Wang Chengfu, his second uncle, turned back slowly, signaling to the foreign woman. She quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Inside, Wang Zheng cried out loud.
Ten minutes later, Wang Zheng, now calm, walked downstairs and sat across from Wang Chengfu, glaring at him.
“Want to hit me? Go ahead!” Wang Chengfu snapped back, glaring right back at him.
Wang Zheng grunted heavily in response.
“You’re holding a grudge, right? You think I don’t? Back then, your father, my brother, insisted on that project, and no matter how much I opposed it, he wouldn’t listen. In a fit of anger, I left to make my way in the world. Later, as you know, that project brought disaster to the Wang family.”
“What project?” Wang Zheng asked.
Wang Chengfu was stunned. His nephew knew nothing about it.
“Never mind, better not to know. Your father had no choice, but I never expected your mother to take such a drastic step.”
Wang Zheng’s tears flowed again as he covered his face and sobbed. After a while, he looked up, roughly wiping his face, “I know a bit about my mom’s situation. That wicked woman took all the cash from the group’s accounts and secretly sold off some properties. I was too busy trying to get my dad out of jail to notice what she was doing.”
Wang Chengfu tapped the table, showing him a photo, “Is this her?”
Wang Zheng glanced at it, “Yeah, that’s her.”
Wang Chengfu sneered, “Don’t worry, she won’t get away. There are ways to make her beg on the streets.”
Wang Zheng shook his head with a sigh, “Even though I’m a man, I still feel like my dad’s not a great guy. After everything happened, I found out he had three women on the side. No wonder he was never home. This woman was the one he trusted the most, even had a daughter with her. Before she left, she spent an entire afternoon talking to my mom. That same night, my mom took sleeping pills. I had to tell everyone she died of a heart attack.”
“In a couple of months, your father will be eligible for medical parole. I didn’t come back to make a big deal of things. My roots in this country aren’t deep, so we’ll wait for your father to be released. Then we’ll see what to do.” Wang Chengfu said with a smile.
“So, does that mean I’ll be leaving this city?” Wang Zheng finally smiled.
“You can stay if you want, but you should figure out what you want to do. You can’t just drift through life. If you want to go back to the way things were, I can provide that too.”
“I’ll wait until my father is released and see what he wants. What I want isn’t important right now. What’s important is that our family is reunited.” Wang Zheng’s answer filled Wang Chengfu with relief.
“What about your girlfriend? What are you going to do about her?”
Wang Chengfu wasn’t asking without reason. It wasn’t hard to find out about Ye Xiyan. Wang Zheng’s father wasn’t sitting in prison for nothing. Once he’s out, those who owe him favors will repay him for taking the fall. Rebuilding the Wang family would only be a matter of time. But that could complicate Wang Zheng’s relationship with Ye Xiyan. While it didn’t bother Wang Chengfu, his brother Wang Chenghan would likely have other plans.
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