Chapter 181: Tang Song, Tang Zong

During his university years, Du Du Du Shaokai was somewhat well-known among the Class of 2016 students in the School of Computer Science and Technology.

He was handsome, drove a small sedan, was cheerful and outgoing, and spent money lavishly.

He knew Qiu Yu and Wang Ning, who were also in the school's student union, and their relationship was fairly good.

However, after graduation, they had almost no contact, at most occasionally liking each other's posts on social media.

But for Du Du Du Shaokai, who was currently in dire straits, they were simply a lifeline.

That bunch of idiotic rich second-generation kids completely ignored him; having a few alumni he could actually talk to felt like pulling himself free.

Du Du Du Shaokai heavily set down the wine glass in his hand, quickly stood up, and walked over with a face full of smiles.

He patted Wang Ning's shoulder and said cheerfully, "Not bad, Wang Ning, you kid are doing quite well now too. Wearing this polo shirt and that little watch, you really have the flavor of a successful person."

Wang Ning raised his eyebrows proudly. "I'm doing alright."

Then, Du Du Du Shaokai turned to Qiu Yu with a goofy grin and opened his arms. "Sister Li Li Xiaoyu, we haven't seen each other in nearly three years; surely a hug isn't too much to ask?"

Qiu Yu smiled, reached out, and tapped his arm. "You guy, you've grown three years older, yet you're still so mischievous."

"I call this staying true to my original heart! A man remains a boy until he dies!"

The two laughed and teased each other for a few moments.

Although Qiu Yu was smiling on the surface, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Du Du Du Shaokai always carried a lingering sense of emotion.

During those university years, she had actually developed feelings for Du Du Du Shaokai.

After all, his appearance and conditions were very good; he understood romance, knew how to speak sweet nothings, and could play the guitar, making him very popular with the girls in the student union.

However, she later discovered he was truly too promiscuous, having switched through several girlfriends both on and off campus.

Later, those little thoughts gradually faded, and when she came to Yancheng this time, she hadn't planned on meeting him.

Yet fate is so magical; just as she stepped onto the second floor of the bar, she saw that somewhat familiar figure.

Pretending to be calm as she approached his side, only then did she call out his name.

Three years had passed, and he looked a bit more mature.

With his hair parted two-eight on the side, wearing a black embroidered shirt and coffee-colored trousers, he looked handsome with a touch of refinement, yet when he smiled, there was a hint of roguishness.

It was as if it had brought her back to that sun-drenched university campus.

Du Du Du Shaokai glanced to the side, pointed at the few alumni beside them, and said thoughtfully, "These seem to be classmates from your Software Engineering major, right? You are... Lu... Lu Lu Lu Ziming?"

Since the others were not in the student union, he was not familiar with them; at school, their interactions were limited to exchanging smiles upon meeting.

However, he still had some impression of Lu Lu Lu Ziming, this rich second-generation kid, who could also be considered a prominent figure on campus.

"Hello." Lu Lu Lu Ziming nodded; since they were not close, he did not say much more.

His height was around 178 centimeters, his facial features had strong definition, and his appearance and temperament leaned towards steady and tough; he wasn't exactly handsome, but he looked very agreeable.

"Indeed, they are all my university classmates." Qiu Yu retracted her wandering thoughts, pointed at the booth behind him, and asked curiously, "Are these your friends?"

In the few years since entering society, working in pre-sales technical support, she had encountered many people and had sharpened her eye.

From the clothing and temperament of these men and women, one could discern many things.

The expression on Du Du Du Shaokai's face stiffened slightly, and he pretended to be casual. "They are all company colleagues; we came out together for team building."

Just then, a girl sitting beside Qi Wen stood up and actively waved at them.

She spoke openly and generously, "Lu Lu Lu Ziming, long time no see."

Lu Lu Lu Ziming paused, looked her over carefully for a few moments, and said in surprise, "Pei Pei Pei Xinxin?"

"Haha, is it a bit hard to recognize? You haven't changed much though." Pei Pei Pei Xinxin covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

Lu Lu Lu Ziming nodded and praised, "You are even more beautiful than before."

This Pei Pei Pei Xinxin was a blind date partner his father had introduced previously, back when he was in his third year of graduate school.

The two had dated as friends for a while, but since there was truly no spark, the matter had quietly ended.

Having not seen each other for over half a year, Pei Pei Pei Xinxin had changed her hairstyle, wore heavy makeup, and dressed very sexily, differing greatly from the impression he had of her.

Coupled with the dim lighting of the bar, if she hadn't spoken, Lu Lu Lu Ziming would never have recognized her.

Qi Wen crossed her legs and asked, "Pei Pei Xinxin, is this your friend?"

Pei Pei Pei Xinxin turned her head and said with a smile, "Mm, Lu Lu Ziming's older sister is a supervisor in the Sales Department of Zhongcheng Group, and she is a colleague of my uncle."

She spoke quite politely; in reality, Lu Lu Lu Ziming's older sister was merely a supervisor of a sales team, while her uncle was the Sales Department Manager.

"Oh?" Li Li Li Junyi raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Liang Liang Yufan, I recall your family holds shares in Zhongcheng Group, right?"

Liang Liang Liang Yufan took a sip of the orange-red liquor and said casually, "Just a tiny bit, around 2%."

Qi Wen blinked her eyes and said, "Then it still comes down to our Supervisor Supervisor Tian; her father is a major shareholder and Executive Director of Zhongcheng Group."

"Uh, I almost forgot about Sorry Xiao Jing; mainly because she usually doesn't hang out with us and is too low-key."

Listening to the conversation among the few people in the booth, Lu Lu Lu Ziming, Qiu Yu, and the others felt their hearts skip a beat.

What kind of backgrounds are these? They seem incredibly impressive.

Lu Lu Lu Ziming knew quite a lot about the enterprise where his older sister worked.

It was a well-known industrial company in Yancheng, deeply entrenched in industries like textiles and standard parts for many years, with net assets exceeding 1.2 billion and nearly 3,500 employees.

For a shareholder and director of such an industrial group, one could imagine how powerful they were.

Especially now that he had joined Yanjing Yanjing Tiancheng Capital, his understanding was even clearer.

Even among the rich second generation, there were class boundaries, such as between him and these people.

Lu Lu Lu Ziming licked his lips, a warm smile appearing on his face. "It seems we are quite fated; how about we have a few drinks together later? Our booth is at T23."

Liang Liang Liang Yufan and the others politely exchanged a few formalities, showing no intention of inviting him to sit with them.

After all, today was a small internal team-building event for Jinxiu Trading, and moreover, they did not think highly of these people, having little desire to associate with them.

Li Li Li Junyi looked at Pei Pei Pei Xinxin, then at Lu Lu Lu Ziming.

He called out to the bar staff nearby, "Arrange for these honored guests to sit in the booth next to ours; waive the bill for tonight. Feel free to drink and eat whatever you like; don't be polite with me."

Qiu Yu, Wang Ning, and the others were instantly dumbfounded.

What does this mean?

A female marketer wearing a suit and skirt quickly bent at the waist and said with fiery enthusiasm, "Got it, Young Master Li!"

After speaking, she reached out to them. "Please, come sit in booth T10 over here; just tell me directly if you want to order anything."

Watching these alumni who were still stunned, Du Du Du Shaokai still could not suppress his flamboyant nature.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he explained, "He is Li Li Li Junyi from our company's Strategic Investment Department; this bar belongs to his family."

Qiu Yu paused, then bent awkwardly. "Thank you, Young Master Li, for treating us!"

Originally, she was the one treating her old classmates to drinks today; now that they were waiving the bill and even upgrading their booth, naturally, she had to be the one to express gratitude.

Looking at the group of rich second-generation kids leaning casually on the sofa with indifferent and free-spirited expressions, a strong desire to associate with them surged in her heart.

These were all top-tier connections!

Unfortunately, she was clear about her own situation; she was simply not qualified to mingle with them, and even Lu Lu Lu Ziming was not qualified.

The others also hurriedly followed suit with their thanks.

Li Li Li Junyi stood up politely and smiled. "No need for such politeness; thank you all for coming to drink and support us; welcome to visit often in the future."

As a second-generation entrepreneur who had received elite education since childhood, his personal quality and abilities were outstanding, and he was very generous.

A round of drinks was nothing much in terms of cost.

It was enough just to make Pei Pei Pei Xinxin look good.

The group of eight sat down in the booth nearby, five men and three women.

Directly opposite them was the large stage of the LiveHouse, allowing them to feel the fiery atmosphere of the scene without any obstruction.

Du Du Du Shaokai thought for a moment, then simply sat down at their table.

Leaning against the spacious and soft sofa, he ordered a few bottles of the beer he liked to drink.

While chatting casually with a few alumni, he kept checking the time on his phone.

He planned to wait until it was time, then go directly to the entrance to wait for Supervisor Tian Jing.

Qiu Yu said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry everyone, I didn't expect unexpected company matters to arise, delaying things by a day."

Originally, she was supposed to arrive in Yancheng on Friday afternoon and had arranged to gather on Friday night.

However, because a client she was responsible for encountered problems, her schedule changed, and the gathering time was moved to Saturday.

"It's fine; we can relax and have more fun on the weekend."

"Right, right, right, tonight we drink until we drop!"

"Come on, classmates, let's make a toast." Qiu Yu raised the Wusu beer in her hand. "To celebrate our reunion after three years!"

"Come! Cheers!"

"Clink, clink, clink—" The sound of glass bottles colliding rang out.

Everyone sighed over each other's changes and recalled memories from their university days.

"Li Li Xiaoyu, you switched careers to work in pre-sales at a big company; is it much easier?"

"It's also very hard; nowadays I often have to travel on business, running all over the country." Qiu Yu shook her head helplessly.

Her own programming talent was quite average, and she often struggled to sort out the logic of code.

After barely working for a year, she directly switched careers to pre-sales technical support, which was ultimately a sales position and very unstable.

She looked at Lu Lu Lu Ziming across from her and said in a low voice, "I truly envy Lu Lu Ziming; graduating with a master's degree, his family arranged housing and a car for him, and he even entered such a good financial company."

"Yeah, Lu Lu Ziming is probably the one from our class doing the best."

"Wang Ning isn't bad either; isn't he currently the Technical Director at School Beauty Shen's company? He even has shares."

"It's going okay, though our company has currently encountered some development bottlenecks and is actively seeking financing; a while ago, I even attended a roadshow with Shen Shen Shen Yu Yan." Wang Ning was allergic to alcohol; after drinking a bit of beer, his face immediately turned ruddy, and his speech became somewhat slurred.

Hearing the name "Shen Shen Shen Shen Yu Yan," the boys present all showed fluctuations of emotion in their eyes.

For their graduating class, this name was ultimately unavoidable, having even become a symbol of youth and a white moonlight for many people.

Lu Lu Lu Ziming lifted the wine bottle and gulped down several large mouthfuls.

From university through graduate school, he had pursued Shen Shen Shen Shen Yu Yan for four years.

It was not until last year that he finally gave up, following his family's advice to start going on blind dates.

As the time approached 8:00 PM, more and more people filled the LiveHouse.

The host took the stage and delivered a passionate opening speech.

Subsequently, a three-person band ascended the stage.

Accompanied by the rhythm of guitars and drumbeats, energetic rock music rang out throughout the entire bar.

"BGM: Time that seems nonexistent has become infinite in your eyes; youth is filled with sleeplessness..."

The intense rhythm and melody made people unable to help swaying along; instantly, the bar's dance floor became a chaotic scene of wild dancing as spotlights swept across the venue.

Li Li Li Junyi beckoned his colleagues to leave their booth, gathering at the glass railing on the second floor to cheer and clink glasses along with the music.

Several female colleagues, dressed in sexy and glamorous attire, waved prepared fans and wore sunglasses as they swayed, creating a pleasing sight.

"BGM: If you haven't fallen asleep yet, if I still haven't stopped chasing..."

Qiu Yu looked at the handsome Du Du Du Shaokai beside her, smiled, tugged his arm, and shouted loudly: "Classmates, let's get hyped!"

Du Du Du Shaokai looked at Qiu Yu beside him, with her exquisite makeup and swaying body, feeling a certain itch in his heart.

Although Qiu Yu could not be considered a great beauty, her figure and temperament were quite good; back in the day, within the computer science department where girls were scarce, she had been quite popular.

If not for the matter involving Xiao Jing tonight, he could have flirted with her and sparked some interesting little story.

The song "Take Me to Find Nightlife" ended.

Du Du Du Shaokai opened his phone to check the time; it was about right, and he was just about to speak.

Qiu Yu suddenly asked: "Du Du Shaokai, which company are you working at now? Are you doing programming?"

Hearing this, the others also looked over curiously.

Du Du Du Shaokai put away his phone and casually dismissed the question: "Jinxiu Trading; I'm not working as a programmer anymore. By the way, a friend of mine has arrived; I'm going down to pick them up. See you in a bit."

Having said this, Du Du Du Shaokai walked quickly toward the stairs.

"Jinxiu Trading?" Lu Lu Lu Ziming raised his eyebrows.

Qiu Yu asked curiously: "What's wrong, Lu Lu Ziming? Do you know this company?"

Lu Lu Lu Ziming nodded slightly. "It was invested in by Smile Holdings a while ago and is very hot in the investment circle. The company is considered a leader in the clothing trade industry of Yan Province; relying on the ecosystem of Smile Holdings, it has already begun engaging in cross-border business."

"So impressive!" Qiu Yu's eyes lit up.

The others also followed with a sigh of admiration.

Lu Lu Lu Ziming smiled and said: "There is one more thing; Tang Song is also at Jinxiu Trading."

"Tang Song?"

"Oh, it's that Tang Song!"

"Tang Song was the most hardworking student I saw in university; he truly went all out!"

Qiu Yu seriously racked her memory, and gradually, a roughly complete image emerged in her mind.

When they first started university, he looked quite delicate and refined, but later he became increasingly unrestrained.

His dress and appearance were very careless; he was silent and introverted, loved studying, had excellent grades, frequently appeared in the library and study rooms, and often took leave to go out and work part-time jobs.

Overall, he was a student with very little presence; if Lu Lu Lu Ziming had not brought him up, they probably would not have talked about him tonight at all.

Thinking of Tang Song, Wang Ning bared his teeth, feeling very displeased in his heart.

Not only did Tang Song steal the spotlight at the investment negotiation meeting last time, but at the banquet, he also gave this old class monitor a cold shoulder.

Damn! Does he think he's so great? Next time we meet, I must give him a cold shoulder in return!

"Lu Lu Lu Ziming!" Pei Pei Pei Xinxin waved a glow stick in front of him and, pointing toward the entrance on the first floor, said: "A female colleague is coming over to hang out later; you can go over and offer a toast!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lu Lu Lu Ziming was completely confused.

Pei Pei Pei Xinxin smiled and said: "It's the colleague that Du Du Du Shaokai went down to pick up, Supervisor Tian Jing. Her father is a major shareholder of Zhongcheng Group; if you get to know her, it should be beneficial for your sister's development within the group."

Lu Lu Lu Ziming's eyes lit up. "Understood, thank you, Pei Pei Xinxin."

"You're welcome."

Qiu Yu, standing nearby, could not help but ask: "Beauty, are you all employees of Jinxiu Trading?"

"Mm, yes, though we are not in the same department; consider this a cross-departmental team building, haha." Pei Pei Pei Xinxin nodded lightly, waving her glow stick along with the music.

"Then what about Du Du Du Shaokai? Which department is he in?"

"He is currently in the Channel Department."

Looking at this group of second-generation rich kids nearby who possessed such great temperament, Qiu Yu's heart skipped a beat.

The Channel Department of a trading company is absolutely a core department!

For Du Du Du Shaokai to appear among them as a colleague and be able to befriend these people as equals, he must be highly valued within the company; perhaps he also has some background.

Judging by this, he is truly doing very well now, with a bright future ahead.

A female classmate leaned forward slightly and asked curiously: "Then what about Tang Song? He should be in the Technical Department, right?"

During their university days, Tang Song's studies were excellent, and his technical skills were very high; this was something everyone acknowledged.

Outside DrinkOld.

The air, having just experienced rain, was extremely fresh and crisp.

Du Du Du Shaokai stood at the entrance, adjusting his hairstyle and clothes in front of his phone camera; he stood straight as an arrow, feeling somewhat nervous in his heart.

He waited for only a short while.

Bright lights illuminated the entrance.

"Vroom vroom vroom—" The sound of an engine rose as a black Maybach slowly drove up, coming to a steady stop right in front of the main entrance.

After a moment, the rear car door was slowly pushed open.

Supervisor Tian Jing, wearing a black evening gown and looking sexy and sweet, stepped out.

Du Du Du Shaokai took a deep breath, a brilliant smile appearing on his face, and was just about to step forward.

Immediately after, a tall figure crawled out as well.

Supervisor Tian Jing naturally looped her arm through his, saying sweetly: "Song, we've arrived; it's the most lively time right now, let's go to the dance floor together!"

Du Du Du Shaokai's foot, which had just taken half a step forward, stopped; his face was illuminated green by the neon lights at the entrance.

The two of them stepped up the stairs.

Tang Song saw Little Du standing dumbfounded at the entrance, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said nothing.

Supervisor Tian Jing seemed to completely fail to notice Du Du Du Shaokai.

Holding Tang Song's arm, she talked on her own about the dances she had learned, her eyes full of nothing but him.

In the instant they brushed past, Du Du Du Shaokai clenched his fists tightly, trembling with anger and turning cold.

Walking through the main entrance and moving forward along the corridor, Tang Song curiously surveyed the surroundings.

DrinkOld was a purely American retro industrial-style bar; old-fashioned furniture, retro lighting fixtures, and leather sofas all looked very stylish.

Elements such as exposed brick walls, concrete ceilings, and steel structures were extensively utilized.

"Uh... Tang Song..." Pei Pei Pei Xinxin opened her mouth, somewhat unsure of how to answer.

"What's wrong, Pei Pei Xinxin?" Lu Lu Lu Ziming asked strangely: "Tang Song is at your company, right? I even saw his offer letter."

On stage, the band switched to another song, "Summer Sōseki" by Orange Ocean.

Rhythmic bass sounds rang out.

Li Li Li Junyi, holding his wine, turned his head and smiled: "Of course, who doesn't know our Tang Zong?"

Tang Zong?

Due to the loud music, they were not certain whether they had heard "Tang Song" or "Tang Zong."

Qiu Yu was just about to press for more details.

Qi Wen leaned over the railing on the second floor, resting her elbows on the glass handrail, and shouted loudly: "Wow, Xiao Jing has arrived! She looks so gorgeous today!"

Immediately, this group of colleagues all looked toward the entrance on the first floor.

Inside the dimly lit bar.

The exposed cold-white skin was like bright moonlight, pure and beautiful.

On the black evening gown she wore, sprinkled with tiny diamonds, she looked exceptionally dazzling.

Subsequently, everyone's gaze converged again onto the young man beside her.

Supervisor Tian Jing was hanging onto his arm just like that, the two of them standing very close together.

He was wearing a dark suit that leaned towards casual, tailored and well-proportioned; his jacket was slightly open, revealing a clean white shirt underneath.

His features were clear and handsome, his figure tall and straight, carrying a unique temperament; his stride was calm and confident, as if every step landed on the beat of the music. In the retro, dim environment of the bar, he appeared even more outstanding.

"Clang~" The wine bottle in Li Li Li Junyi's hand fell to the floor, and he blurted out: "Holy crap! How... how did Tang Zong and Supervisor Tian Jing end up together?"