The jeering was childish, but undeniably effective.
As they sang to each other, a trace of ambiguity seemed to linger in the air. Once the song ended, another round of enthusiastic applause erupted, followed by incessant chants of, "Get together! Get together!"
Sun Dasheng shot his younger brother a look. Sun Dacheng received the signal and quickly put an end to the farce. Everyone followed his lead, and the private room returned to its previous lively atmosphere—people went back to drinking, singing, and dancing.
Before long, the door to the room was pushed open, revealing an uninvited guest. The man walked in holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other, greeting everyone and offering toasts as he went around. Most of the people in the room knew him, but only through their elders. In response to his toasts, they all took a polite sip.
"Senior, you can’t refuse my toast. That would be really embarrassing for me," Chen Shicheng said, finally making his way to Sun Dasheng’s side. His eyes, however, were glued to Si Ruoqi and refused to move. "Hey, old classmate, you’re here too!"
To his annoyance, despite holding his glass aloft for what felt like an eternity, the man he was addressing showed no intention of drinking with him. Just as he was about to lose his temper, another man from the party pulled him outside. Get full chapters from NoveIꜰire.net
"Nie Yuan, what are you pulling me out for?" Chen Shicheng demanded, clearly displeased. He had been on the verge of erupting, and the interruption left his anger with nowhere to go.
But the man he faced, Nie Yuan, was not someone to be trifled with either. His family also held influence in the county. For instance, Nie Yuan’s uncle was a bureau chief of the same rank as Chen Shicheng, but with far more seniority. Most people in this room were connected to the county leadership in one way or another. Indeed, without such connections, it would have been difficult for them to make a name for themselves in the big city. This was also why Chen Shicheng had come over to offer toasts.
He just never expected to run into the one person he wanted to see least of all. And to make matters worse, his goddess was sitting right next to him.
How could he bear it?
He had been about to go over and give the guy a little warning to stay away from his goddess.
Otherwise, there would be hell to pay. Even if you’re out of town and rarely come home, you still have friends and family back here, don’t you? As a bureau chief, making trouble for them would be child’s play.
"You’re so clueless, Chen Shicheng," Nie Yuan said, looking at him with utter exasperation.
Huh? How am I clueless? Nie Yuan’s words genuinely confused him.
"What’s wrong?" Chen Shicheng asked.
Nie Yuan glanced back into the private room. Seeing that everything was normal, he turned to Chen Shicheng and said, "Didn’t you see that all of us are trying to butter him up? Are you blind?"
"Really? I didn’t notice," Chen Shicheng said, feeling a little aggrieved. Ever since he had walked in, his attention had been entirely focused on his goddess.
"Well, you at least saw that he’s sitting in the most central seat, right?" Nie Yuan pressed, his patience wearing thin. If their two families weren’t on good terms, and if his own uncle didn’t need allies in the county, he wouldn’t have bothered getting involved in this mess. What a disgrace for a bureau chief to be so preoccupied with a woman. He’ll never amount to anything.
"I saw that, so what?" Chen Shicheng asked. His infatuation with a woman seemed to have lowered his IQ. Normally, he would never have asked such a foolish question.
"Sigh, I think you’re a lost cause," Nie Yuan sighed. "That seat is always reserved for the most important person. Have you never had dinner with the county head or the party secretary? Who always sits in the seat of honor?"
At this, it finally dawned on Chen Shicheng. While he had attended many dinners with the leadership, his KTV outings with them were few and far between, so he hadn’t made the connection immediately. But the principle was the same.
"But on what grounds?" Chen Shicheng couldn’t wrap his head around it. The families of the people in that room were powerful. In their small county, they held significant sway.
"On what grounds? On the grounds that he’s a billionaire tycoon," Nie Yuan said with a sneer.
"What’s so special about a billionaire these days? It’s not like our county doesn’t have wealthy people, and they still treat us like honored guests," Chen Shicheng retorted, still not understanding. He would believe it if this were twenty years ago, when a billionaire could make the whole county tremble with a single stomp. But it was 2024 now, and who knew how much money had devalued. A billionaire? That was just the price of a few apartments in a big city. It wasn’t that extraordinary. Even in a small county, it wasn’t unheard of. "Besides, he says he’s a billionaire and a big boss, and you just believe him? I could say I’m Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Would you believe me?"
Nie Yuan stared at him as if he were an idiot. "Do you think we’re all mindless fools? We verified his information a long time ago."
"Here." He took out his phone, typed in Sun Dasheng’s name, and pulled up an encyclopedia page with detailed personal information.
The more Chen Shicheng read, the more stunned he became. To think this small county was hiding such a sleeping dragon. How could a golden phoenix emerge from a chicken coop?
Chairman of the China division of a foreign company—and not just any company, but an investment firm with a registered capital of over one hundred million. Judging from the recent, frequent acquisitions disclosed on the page, this investment company was anything but simple.
And could Sun Dasheng, the man in charge of such a firm, be a simple person?
He scrolled to the company’s homepage, where there were photos of various heavyweight figures visiting for inspections.
He was completely numb.
Any single person in those photos held a position higher than their county’s party secretary.
Rich and well-connected. No wonder these second and third-generation kids from the county’s prominent families were all trying to curry favor with him. And I actually wanted to cause trouble for him? Am I tired of living?
He quickly slapped himself across the face, trying to clear his head. Then, he gripped Nie Yuan’s hand, his voice filled with gratitude.