Chapter 132: 129. Tian Yaohui

Liu Ming was chatting with someone; he was purely a wallflower here, representing his company just to show his respects.

Originally, this would have been a great opportunity for Liu Ming to take the chance to build some connections, but ever since he heard the news of Siyan's divorce from Sicheng yesterday, his mind had not been on that.

The reason he had been promoted so quickly over these many years was largely because he had poured almost all of his energy into his work.

Many times, Liu Ming thought he had forgotten Siyan, but starting from yesterday, that joy, happiness, and anticipation radiating from the depths of his soul told him that he had never forgotten.

Suddenly, Liu Ming saw the person he missed day and night in the crowd, and for a moment, he didn't quite react.

After Siyan and the others entered, they had been following behind Zhao Jingyu, watching her greet a group of people with a smile and a composed demeanor.

Over these years, Zhao Jingyu had also been tempered by Huo Zhiyuan's side, and handling such scenes was second nature to her.

Zhao Jingyu was also looking after Siyan and the others, allowing them to learn many things.

"Siyan." Liu Ming composed himself and came to Siyan's side.

Looking at Liu Ming, Siyan and Qian Li were both a bit stunned. "Da Ming, why are you here? No, when did you get back?" Qian Li was somewhat pleasantly surprised; they hadn't seen each other for many years.

"Just got back. This time, the company sent me to attend the engagement ceremony of a partner's daughter," Liu Ming said with a smile, his eyes glancing at Siyan from time to time.

Liu Ming did not know Sun Gaixin, or rather, he had only met him for a very brief moment when Siyan and Sun Gaixin had just started dating, and never saw him again after that. So, at the entrance, he hadn't recognized Sun Gaixin; he only knew the name but didn't put it together. After all, he had just heard that Siyan was divorced, and even if Sun Gaixin had found someone new, it couldn't be this fast.

And it was the daughter of such a Big Boss, so Liu Ming thought it was someone with the same name.

Just as Siyan and the others were chatting and reminiscing, Zhang Ran also walked in. The place was quite large, and Zhang Ran didn't see Siyan; after all, he didn't know Siyan had come here.

"Hungry? Let's get something to eat first." Zhang Ran and He Yong casually found a place to sit down.

"I am actually a bit hungry," He Yong said.

Immediately, the two of them headed straight for the food area under the surprised gazes of some people.

It had only just begun, and everyone was still chatting and making friends, but these two were something else—they came and started eating immediately.

"Buddy, try this; this stuff is good." A young man approached Zhang Ran and handed him a piece of food that looked like a crab leg, though it didn't seem to be one.

"Thanks." Zhang Ran didn't stand on ceremony and took it.

"My name is Huang Xunceng. What's your name, buddy?" Huang Xunceng seemed to be the type who got familiar quickly.

Zhang Ran looked at him and said, "Does it matter what my name is? Shouldn't eating be the most important thing right now?"

"That's true. Just now I was a bit embarrassed to come eat by myself; you're quite carefree, buddy," Huang Xunceng said, giving a thumbs up.

Afterward, the three of them just held their food and started eating on their own.

Tian Yaohui also saw Zhang Ran arrive, but he wasn't in a hurry to find him. He wanted to let Zhang Ran see that his current connections were no longer inferior to Zhang Ran's in the past, and were even a level higher.

However, when he saw that Zhang Ran wasn't chatting in the crowd as he had imagined, but had instead gone off to eat by himself, he felt a bit annoyed.

Once Zhang Ran finished eating, Tian Yaohui couldn't hold back anymore and found Zhang Ran.

"Brother Zhang, I didn't expect you to really come. Thank you for coming to attend my daughter's engagement ceremony." Tian Yaohui walked over with a warm smile, greeting others on the side as he walked.

When those people greeted him, they all wore a smile of honor, which Tian Yaohui enjoyed very much.

Tian Yaohui was not originally such a shallow person; he had enjoyed such gazes countless times over the years and had long since stopped taking them to heart.

If it were in the past, he would never have done this.

But in front of Zhang Ran, he still couldn't help but have an urge to show off. This urge came from the envy and jealousy he had felt toward Zhang Ran back then.

Back then, when he followed Zhang Ran, he could only watch from the sidelines as Zhang Ran chatted and laughed with others, and many times he was just a foil, or perhaps a background prop.

Even when Zhang Ran introduced him to others, they would only give a polite smile, the kind where they couldn't even be bothered to pay him any mind.

But now, the situation seemed to have reversed; he, Tian Yaohui, was the center here, and everyone wanted to talk to him and get a word in.

Conversely, Zhang Ran had become the person no one cared about, which gave him an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

Zhang Ran looked at the approaching Tian Yaohui and smiled, saying, "Alright, stop putting on an act for me. I find that smile of yours hard to look at."

Huang Xunceng, who was still by Zhang Ran's side, was startled when he heard Zhang Ran say this. This guy was pretty bold to dare to speak to Tian Yaohui like that.

Huang Xunceng was also a sharp person. Seeing that the atmosphere between the two seemed wrong, although he didn't know who Zhang Ran was, seeing Zhang Ran's unperturbed manner, he figured he wasn't simple either.

So Huang Xunceng slipped away. Although he found Zhang Ran agreeable, it hadn't reached the point where he would offend Tian Yaohui for his sake.

Hearing Zhang Ran say this, a trace of gloom flashed in Tian Yaohui's eyes, especially since Zhang Ran still used that old tone, as if he, Tian Yaohui, were still his subordinate lackey, which made him even more displeased.

"Brother Zhang, the times really are different now. You used to tell us often that one must follow the trend; those who go against the trend are basically eliminated by society. Look, this is the trend now; you have already been eliminated." Tian Yaohui stopped acting too. Although his face still wore his habitual smile, his tone became much flatter.

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "You're actually right about that; one really cannot contend against the trend."

Tian Yaohui was somewhat surprised that Zhang Ran would admit it so readily.

But then he knew he was wrong; Zhang Ran was still that same Zhang Ran. "But is this what you call the trend? Can you represent the trend of the business world?"

As he spoke, Zhang Ran seemed unable to hold back a laugh. "Tian Yaohui, it's really not that I look down on you, but you truly don't have the qualifications. Let's put it this way: even if all of you were added together, you wouldn't have the qualifications to represent the trend of social development.

I did indeed miss the best period, and I was indeed eliminated, but you are actually the same; the era belonging to your industries has already passed."

When Zhang Ran spoke to Tian Yaohui, he appeared very calm, without a shred of angry emotion in it.