Chapter 43
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: Tata
On a Saturday night, Lu Chuiqing realised belatedly that Xiao Zhan was taking them elsewhere instead of driving home.
Lu Chuiqing asked, "Where are we going?"
Xiao Zhan responded, "My friend asked me out to a private club to discuss something."
"A private club?" Lu Chuiqing was clearly surprised. He looked down at the clothes he was wearing at the moment. With the light blue-coloured tee and black trousers, and a satchel sling bag, which appeared to be a cheap , random brand from an online store, "Am I... wearing this?"
Lu Chuiqing was under the impression that private clubs were where all the upper class spent most of their time and had fun. He even had a nagging suspicion that private clubs were where activities such as prostitution and gambling took place during the most private time and that the majority of people who frequented these places were mostly wealthy and irresponsible financiers.
However, his view of rich people had improved ever since he got together with Xiao Zhan. He would no longer judge them by their stereotypes and preconceived impressions.
Xiao Zhan said, "I brought a change of clothes for you in the back seat. You can change into them if you want, but you don't have to if you don't want to."
After giving it some thought, he decided to get changed as he felt he should try to leave a good first impression on Xiao Zhan's friend. He brought the paper bag from the back seat over and saw a finely-crafted smoky grey shirt, a pair of trousers that felt like it was made from expensive materials just from touching it, and a pair of dark brown, openwork oxford shoes.
The private club was located near the observation deck of green city and was surrounded by wealthy properties. Also, there were not many cars passing by at this time. And since Xiao Zhan's car was also equipped with opaque glass in its windows, Lu Chuiqing decided to get change in the car directly.
Lu Chuiqing buttoned up and tidied his shirt and neck collar. The silver-white neck collar against the smoky grey shirt emphasised the slender and attractive curve of his neck, showing off his fair and delicate skin.
As the car drove slowly into the club's car park, Lu Chuiqing looked out of the window curiously. They were at a Chinese-styled club with an entrance decorated by an arched gate typically seen in the gardens and was surrounded by a bamboo forest. It did appear to be out of the ordinary.
It seemed like Xiao Zhan had everything sorted as a staff member of the car park came over to assist him in parking his car. Additionally, another attendant came forward to them and welcomed the two with a slight bow. He stretched out his arm to gesture for them to follow and greeted them respectfully, "CEO Xiao, Madam Xiao. This way, please."
Lu Chuiqing was flustered by the way he was addressed. He was not in a proper position to speak much as he was not the host... He wanted to sweep it off with a smile, but instead heard Xiao Zhan speak beside him, "You can call him Mr Lu."
The attendant from this high-class clubhouse had clearly dealt with all sorts of situations as he corrected himself graciously without any signs of panic. The staff responded, "I understand. I apologise, Mr Lu. This way, please."
Xiao Zhan held Lu Chuiqing's hand, and the two walked into the clubhouse together.
The interior of the clubhouse was gorgeously decorated. The garden was divided into various areas: a tea area, a sauna room, a chess room, and a Chinese restaurant. There were also different recreational rooms, such as a fitness area and a spa by the small pond. According to the attendant's introduction, there was even a ball court at the back.
The welcome attendant led the two to a separate, standalone courtyard outside where the clubhouse's tea room resided. It was calm and quiet, and an artisan wearing a cheongsam was making tea as the tea's light and elegant fragrance lingered in the courtyard.
A man in a suit, around 37 to 38 years old, approached them and shook hands with Xiao Zhan enthusiastically, "Good evening, CEO Xiao! I apologise for the delay."
Xiao Zhan responded, "Good evening, CEO Tian."
CEO Tian looked towards Lu Chuiqing and greeted, "You must be Mr Lu. It is my honour to meet you. Here, this way, please."
As they walked through a cobblestone path, CEO Tian suddenly whispered apologetically to Xiao Zhan, "CEO Xiao, Director Deng came over suddenly this afternoon and brought a group of newbies from the film studio here to have some fun. He heard that we were here and wanted to join us..."
With Director Deng’s name being brought up by CEO Tian, Xiao Zhan's face went a little colder. The alpha nodded and said, "It's okay, let him be."
Realising Xiao Zhan's expression, Lu Chuiqing inquired quietly, "What's wrong? Who's that?"
"An investor in the film industry. He knows many directors within the industry." Xiao Zhan inclined his head slightly as he answered, "He brings new actors around with him quite often."
Xiao Zhan was very roundabout with his words, but Lu Chuiqing understood the implicit meaning of his words. Investors like Director Deng would often introduce little lovers to big bosses in the circle. Lu Chuiqing probed, "He introduced Qiu Nai to you, didn't he?"
Xiao Zhan responded, "Yeah."
Lu Chuiqing fell silent for a moment before he let out a light cough reaching out to grab Xiao Zhan's arm.
Xiao Zhan glanced at him wordlessly, a hint of a smile visible on his lips.
When they arrived at the spacious tea room, there were already around four to five people sitting around the tea table. On the balcony, there was also a small sofa where three or four young people, who appeared to be actors, were seated.
Director Deng was about 45 years old, plus-minus. After seeing Xiao Zhan, he stood up quicker than anyone else and greeted him as if he were the host rather than a guest, "Oh, CEO Xiao! It’ss been a long time since we've seen each other. I brought a couple of youngsters here to play golf. Then I heard that CEO Tian would have tea with you, so I invited myself over. I hope you don't mind."
Director Deng saw Lu Chuiqing holding Xiao Zhan's arm on the side and laughed, "I see CEO Xiao brought someone with him today. That's not a problem! These youngsters I have with me are pretty good too, they just graduated not long ago. Do you want to have a look? Qiu Nai, that kid is too ignorant. Please allow me to apologise in his stead. Haha, he is too young to know what is allowed and what isn't."
Hearing this, CEO Tian quickly walked forward and secretly pulled Director Deng, hinting for him to be more sensitive. Director Deng needed to take a closer look at whether the person beside Xiao Zhan was the type of person he thought he was, and he should never bring it up in front of Xiao Zhan.
As expected, the expressions on both Xiao Zhan and Lu Chuiqing fell the moment they heard Director Deng's words.
Unfortunately, Director Deng did not get the hint and merely felt somewhat baffled. Big bosses like them were used to playing around like that. He never thought he would step directly on the minefield this time.
CEO Tian still needed assistance from Xiao Zhan with something and had spent time preparing for this before inviting Xiao Zhan out, and yet, they bumped into this Director Deng, who screwed up all his plans. Worried that Xiao Zhan was displeased by Director Deng, CEO Tian could only curse at him in his heart. Also with Director Deng's status, he could not ask him to leave either.
CEO Tian quickly tried to redeem the situation, "Come on, Director Deng. CEO Xiao has travelled quite a while to get here. Let him have a seat and tea first."
"Haha, you're right. Here, please have some tea."
Director Deng glanced at Lu Chuiqing and felt that having a lover here when they were going to have a serious discussion was not appropriate, so he said, "Hey, young man. Why don't you go have a seat on the balcony? My group of young actors have pretty good personalities. You can have a chat with them."
Before Lu Chuiqing had a chance to speak, Xiao Zhan reached out, put an arm around his shoulders, and pulled Lu Chuiqing to sit next to him. "There's no need." He responded, expressionless.
With his efforts going unappreciated, Director Deng did not say anything in the end, thinking about how this omega must be really good at the arts of seduction for Xiao Zhan to favour him to this extent.
When everyone was seated, Lu Chuiqing looked around the table secretly, observing the people at the table. CEO Tian needed some help from Xiao Zhan regarding funding for his business, while Director Deng was there just for the sake of it and to see if he could make some connections between the young actors under his care with the big bosses.
Xiao Zhan's attitude remained relatively agreeable after briefly discussing the matter. CEO Deng let out a sigh of relief; the atmosphere at the table was finally less tense.
After engaging in casual conversation with the rest of the people at the table, Director Deng seemed to recall something as he slapped his thigh while he laughed, "Oh, right! I even ran into Young Master Xia a few days ago at the squash court in this clubhouse. I heard he was CEO Xiao's ex-classmate, wasn't he? What a coincidence!"
CEO Tian nearly fainted upon hearing that. He almost could not resist the urge to rush over to Director Deng and cover his mouth. Anyone within the social circle could see that CEO Xiao and Young Master Xia did not have a good relationship at all. It took work for him to convince CEO Xiao to accept his request, and there Director Deng was, ruining his plan again. Exactly, what was he thinking?!
Director Deng refilled Xiao Zhan's cup of tea and continued, "CEO Xiao, why not tell us about the recent stock market? The company that the Xia's family owned violated an agreement last week, and their stock prices dropped quite a bit. What do you think will happen after this? Do you think we can enter the market and get the price lower?"
Xiao Zhan smiled lightly, "Director Deng, why don't you ask my personal consultant?"
Director Deng was surprised, "Personal consultant?"
Xiao Zhan grabbed Lu Chuiqing's waist, leaned in and spoke near his ears, "Why don't you tell Director Deng?"
Lu Chuiqing was surprised when Xiao Zhan abruptly shifted the conversation to his side; the sudden low voice beside his ear made his ears go red.
The others at the table were stunned, and their eyes landed on Lu Chuiqing. Most of them had the same idea as Director Deng. Even CEO Tian, who knew Lu Chuiqing's identity, did not expect Lu Chuiqing to be Xiao Zhan's personal consultant as well.
Director Deng stared at Lu Chuiqing incredulously, completely dumbfounded.
Naturally, Lu Chuiqing understood Xiao Zhan's intention. He did not want people like Director Deng to bring people with ulterior motives to Xiao Zhan anymore, so he would not let this opportunity go to waste. He smiled politely and answered, "Since you asked, Director Deng, I will offer my humble opinion. To be honest with you, my academic research lies in the area of stock index and funds, and I do have a little insight into this industry. It just happens that I have quite a bit of an understanding of Bo Da Materials' stock prices. The possibility of a further rise is relatively high, so you can definitely consider it."
Xiao Zhan smiled quietly, the hand on Lu Chuiqing's waist squeezing gently.
Only then did Director Deng realise that the omega in front of him was nothing like Qiu Nai and the others he introduced to Xiao Zhan in the past. The omega in front of him was the "real thing".
He tried to remember the insensitive words he had uttered without thinking. The mere thought of him was enough to make him break out in cold sweat.
Director Deng's face was filled with awkwardness and fear as he stumbled on his words, "I… see. Sorry to trouble you…"
Xiao Zhan's cold gaze felt like needles in Director Deng's back. Even CEO Tian's gaze grew impatient with him. Director Deng sat for a little longer then made an excuse about having an appointment with a film director and left hurriedly with the group of young actors and actresses.
CEO Tian let out a sigh of relief after Director Deng's departure. He said sincerely, "My deepest apologies, Director Xiao, Mr Lu. Director Deng did not tell me about him joining us beforehand either. I am sure it was not his intention to offend when he said those things… I hope you don't take it to heart. As for the project I was talking about earlier, CEO Xiao, what do you-"
Xiao Zhan cut him off, "Don't worry. I'll give you a reply as soon as possible."
Although Xiao Zhan did not agree to the project immediately, it was much better than an instant rejection. CEO Tian felt the weight was lifted off his shoulders and profusely expressed his gratitude and understanding.
CEO Tian sent Xiao Zhan and Lu Chuiqing off after they were done with the discussion, bidding farewell.
Lu Chuiqing let out a huge sigh once they were back in their car and said dissatisfied, "It must be tiring to deal with such people every day."
"Are you not going to consider what I said just now?" Xiao Zhan responded.
"About what?"
"Becoming my personal consultant."
"Forget it. I can still bluff the others, but definitely not you…"
Xiao Zhan loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt. The gentle lift of the corner of his lips and softened expression exposed Xiao Zhan's current good mood. He turned around to look at Lu Chuiqing, leaned down and planted a light kiss on the side of Lu Chuiqing's neck.
Lu Chuiqing blushed and covered his neck with his hand, "What are you doing so suddenly…"
Xiao Zhan's phone rang at that moment, giving him the perfect opportunity to avoid Lu Chuiqing's question by answering the phone. The call only lasted for a short half minute before a meaningful expression spread across Xiao Zhan's face.
Xiao Zhan started the car after the call and said, "Bo Da's individual board members are beginning to question the credibility of the company's savings in the bank. They will make a statement together next week; all we have to do is to wait and see."
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Translator's note:
Special thanks to Tata, our new PR for the series! My apologies for the slow update but I'm still alive!
Thank you for updating! Love the story and appreciate all the hard work. Please don't this novel. Jiayou!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your support!! I've been really busy irl, so I'll be slow in my translations, but I'll not drop the series!!
DeleteThank you for updating! Jiayou~
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