Chapter 1069: Club Invitation

Su Yang was completely dazed today; Fang Jingwen always gave him a feeling that was both strange and familiar.

Usually, at most they just send a message or make a call, at most just a casual acquaintance between colleagues; but occasionally when they are at his place, he acts like an old close friend, considering everything for him, which makes him feel a bit embarrassed.

But isn't your consideration a bit too broad? Earlier when you mentioned Zhou Ruohan, you weren't gritting your teeth, were you? Now you've become mature.

In that case, it seems Ruo Han is being petty, always guarding against you.

But upon reflection, Zhou Ruohan seems to have become much more broad-minded. He said, 'I've already told him before, I'm just like this: the more dangerous and challenging something is, the more willing I am to do it. A lifetime only has this much time; if I don't do these things now, by the time I'm forty or fifty I won't be able to, nor will I have the energy and courage.'

'I remember now, he made an appointment with you to have me meet Minister Fang. When did you become so magnanimous, willing to give him face?'

Fang Jingwen said: 'Just as you said, people always have to mature. Besides, I'm not that narrow-minded, and I don't care about so-called gains and losses. How does that saying go? Once you've had something, it's enough; to crave more only turns it into an obsession in your heart, which ends up affecting yourself.'

The more Su Yang listened, the less he understood: 'What have you gotten? Or did he give you something? Do you two have some private deal?'

Of course, he was just thinking about these questions; he could never actually ask them out loud.

Finally, Fang Jingwen added: 'I heard that those rich young masters in Jingcheng are planning another gathering? A couple of days ago someone already gave me a heads‑up, so I expect they'll invite you too—this time the son of the former Central Office Director is going.'

'I think they might use the occasion to give you a hard time, so I'll go as well. All right, hurry back now, or else they'll call looking for you and it'll be awkward.'

On his way back, Su Yang kept wondering who exactly the office director was; when he got to that point, he suddenly recalled a leader— a bona fide member of the Young and Strong Faction, only in his forties, who had already become the Central Office Director and is now one of the leaders.

In the Jingcheng Club circle, he's probably the highest‑ranking young master there.

The previous one from the Southwest had the same rank, but back then he was nowhere near as prominent as this one.

Moreover, the one who came before was merely his niece, whereas the one coming now is a genuine young master.

In this circle, personal ability matters far less than the aura of one's forefathers; now that Old Zhou has stepped down, the status of the Zhou family's son‑in‑law is bound to plummet.

Nevertheless, facing such a challenge, he will certainly keep it in mind, still wanting to uphold the principle of not seeking trouble but not fearing it either.

Sure enough, that afternoon he got a call from the Little Witch: 'Su Yang, I know you're in Jingcheng; there's a club event tonight and they want to invite you too. But I don't really advise you to go this time, because these people aren't exactly well‑meaning. Besides, some you can provoke, some you definitely shouldn't—especially at this critical juncture.'

Su Yang naturally knew who the Little Witch meant, and also knew what the consequences of not going would be, but he still smiled and asked, 'What if I really don't go—what would happen?'

The Little Witch solemnly repeated what Zhou Ruohan had said before, then added: 'That's why I'm clearly unwilling to let you come and yet I'm calling you—at least I want you to know about this, otherwise if things go wrong later you might blame me.'

Su Yang said: 'It's not exactly a mountain of knives or a sea of fire—what can they do to me? But I'd like to know what the theme of this outing is. It's impossible they'd just invite everyone out for no reason; that would be pointless.'

The Little Witch said: 'I heard it's because some super‑young master wants to declare his love for a certain nouveau‑riche belle in the circle, so they mainly want everyone to witness it, and incidentally to poke fun at you.'

'The reason I don't want you to come, aside from talking about the aftermath, is that Zhou Tong isn't here; if you go and they really start to act rough, what would we do? These people usually look all proper and upright, but in reality they may not be as decent as they appear.'

'Besides, the last time we were at the club, you guys also got into a fight with Tian Xiaofei and Zhang Jiangbo, and in the end it wasn't just nothing, was it?'

Su Yang laughed: 'Haha, I actually wanted to see a bit of human warmth and coldness too, and I'd like to find out just who this super‑young master is—this is also a chance for me to broaden my horizons.'

Su Yang already had a competitive streak deep down; knowing there's a tiger in the mountain, he still heads straight for Tiger Mountain.

Now that we've heard a super‑young master wants to declare his love, his gossip‑mongering heart flared up instantly.

To be honest, he's usually under high‑pressure work; when he suddenly relaxes like this, if there's no bit of excitement, these plain, ordinary days really leave him feeling unaccustomed.

After hanging up, he and Zhou Ruohan still counted up the young ladies in the circle; although he didn't know, Zhou Ruohan did, and she roughly calculated that there are at least seven or eight between the ages of twenty and thirty.

But among them there are also some, like Li Qiuishui and the Little Witch Liu Zixuan, who are nieces of certain elders in their families.

Su Yang thought of a question: 'You say these people aren't just idly showing off, right? If you take a liking to someone, why not just say it in private? What's the point of making a show of it—what if you end up embarrassed?'

Zhou Ruohan replied: 'That usually doesn't happen, and although some of us have been together in private before, you know these people always want to reach a climax in everything. Moreover, the more they consider themselves high‑status, the more they want to do this sort of thing, letting everyone witness it—basically they just want to show off.'

'Another reason is Zhou Tong's doing—last time after a matchmaking meeting he said he didn't want to associate with girls who had studied abroad, and he went on and on about how awful such girls were; frankly, what he said was hard to ear.'

Hearing that made me want to beat him up, even though I've never gone abroad myself. I just don't believe that all girls who study overseas are like that, so the reputation of those who have studied abroad has been ruined; some families that care about reputation now have no interest in such girls, unless the family's foundation is exceptionally deep—in that case it's a different matter.

'If you really filter it down like that, only a few people meet the standard. Because in this circle, those who dare to show off so prominently are at least the likes of Jia Guolong; the ones they favor are inevitably the daughters of provincial‑ or ministerial‑level bigwigs—even if they're nieces or cousins, they probably wouldn't catch their eye.'

'Besides, he didn't invite us—we'll just go and see for ourselves. To be honest, I've been stuck at home lately and I'm bored out of my mind; going out for some liveliness would be nice, and at the same time let our little treasure see the world, hahaha.'