“Yang Hao??”
Yu Ranran had not expected to run into her first love here. Her alluring, peach-blossom eyes opened wide in surprise.
The two had started dating in their sophomore year, and by their senior year, due to differing ambitions and plans for the future, they had parted ways.
After graduating, Yu Ranran pursued postgraduate studies and eventually stayed on as faculty, while Yang Hao entered society, starting as a simple worker and eventually becoming a small business entrepreneur.
Latter on, Yang Hao met Li Manshu and they got married and had a daughter, and since graduating from college, the two had never seen each other again.
She had heard from classmates that this former girlfriend of his had remained single, but that was years ago, and now her current status was unknown.
“Ranran, long time no see.”
Yang Hao smiled and nodded at her. At the moment, Yu Ranran wasn’t alone; beside her was a woman who looked about 30, presumably also a teacher at Jiangcheng Finance and Economics College.
“Mrs. Yu, Yang, do you know each other??”
Chen Ruohan looked at them both with a puzzled face, her keen senses telling her that their relationship seemed to be more than just acquaintances.
“Hmm, old classmates.”
Yang Hao smiled and nodded. Their breakup had been amicable, without any messy complications.
Meeting again after so much time had passed, Yang Hao felt nothing in particular beyond a sense of the passage of time.
But Yu Ranran, who was only a year younger than he was, still looked quite young. She didn’t have the air of a married woman, which probably meant she wasn’t married yet.
“Long time no see.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Yu Ranran replied softly and then turned to Chen Ruohan, “Hanhan, it looks like your solo performance at the school anniversary might have to be changed to a duet.”
“Oh.”
If this had been before, Chen Ruohan would certainly have cared a lot. A solo would have been a perfect showcase for herself, while a duet meant sharing the spotlight with others.
But now, as an artist signed with Tianmei Media, Chen Ruohan no longer cared whether it was solo or duet; it was just a school anniversary. Besides, if the school didn’t let her perform solo, it was their loss.
Just then, Yang Hao’s phone suddenly rang—it was a call from Wang Xueru.
“I’ll take a call, you two chat.”
He then stepped aside to answer the phone, the purpose of Wang Xueru’s call naturally concerning eating arrangements later.
The two had an appointment with Wang Jingru at 6:00, and it was already 5:30.
“I have a dinner obligation, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Hanhan, send my Weixun contact to Mrs. Yu.”
Yang Hao greeted the two women and then left the cat café.
Watching the suave departure of the handsome and dashing boss, Chen Ruohan felt a tinge of loss. They had just touched on the main topic when they were suddenly interrupted.
But of course, the task given by the boss was taken very seriously by the “little green tea,” who immediately sent Yang Hao’s Weixun contact to Yu Ranran.
Actually, Yang Hao had been a bit cunning about it; he asked for his Weixun contact to be sent to Yu Ranran, not the other way around. This way, the choice was left to Yu Ranran.
“Mrs. Yu, you and Yang were college classmates?”
“So Yang is also a graduate from our Finance and Economics College?”
After sending Yang Hao’s business card, Chen Ruohan asked curiously.
Yu Ranran nodded: “Indeed, he is a graduate of the Finance and Economics College.”
“Ah?”
Chen Ruohan exclaimed in surprise, “Our Finance and Economics College has such an impressive alumnus? Then shouldn’t he be attending the anniversary celebration?”
“Hanhan, was that guy really that impressive?”
Just then, the woman who had walked into the cat café with Yu Ranran spoke up. She was a teacher from the youth committee named Han Hui.
The most pressing task for the Youth Committee was the 60th-anniversary celebration of the Finance and Economics College. The school had invited many distinguished alumni to the event, but the recently departed man wasn’t on that list.
“Miss Han, you didn’t invite Yang, did you?”
“He is the president of Tianmei Media, with a personal fortune of several billion!!”
Chen Ruohan felt somewhat indignant on behalf of her boss.
“What??”
Yu Ranran, still somewhat in a daze, was utterly stunned. Although she hadn’t seen Yang Hao since their breakup, she had been silently keeping track of her ex-boyfriend’s situation.
She knew that his business had been doing quite well, having opened five hotpot restaurants, and that he had married a young and beautiful wife. However, not long ago, due to issues related to face masks, his hotpot restaurants had closed down, and it was said that he had also divorced his wife.
The downfall of her ex-boyfriend in some ways validated her decision; so, when she learned this news, her feelings were quite mixed. There was no schadenfreude, but she certainly felt vindicated in making the right choice back then.
She had sought stability, while Yang Hao had been intent on entrepreneurship.
However, Chen Ruohan had just informed her that her ex-boyfriend had become the president of a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate.
She was, of course, incredibly shocked!
“Hanhan, you’re not joking, are you?”
“He’s really the president of Tianmei Media?”
Inviting distinguished alumni had been Han Hui’s responsibility, and she had made every phone call herself. Among the alumni she could contact, the wealthiest one was worth around a billion or so.
But if Yang Hao was truly the president of Tianmei Media, then he was worth several billion—a major figure that the Finance and Economics College didn’t even know about. That was absurd!
“Miss Han, this kind of thing can’t be faked. I’ve just signed a contract with Tianmei Media, and I am now officially an artist under their label.”
As Chen Ruohan spoke, she also showed off the contract she had just received.
“Ah?”
“You’ve signed with Tianmei Media??”
Han Hui was shocked again. Jiangcheng Finance and Economics College did not have art students, and over the years, no graduates had made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry, let alone signing with a leading entertainment company like Tianmei Media.
Yet Chen Ruohan, a current student, had achieved such a feat.
“Ruohan, is Yang Hao really the president of Tianmei Media?” Yu Ranran asked with incredulous eyes.
“Mrs. Yu, Teacher Han, you can go online and check it out!”
Chen Ruohan shrugged her shoulders lightly, already slipping into her role, with an expression that said ‘our boss is the best.’
Han Hui quietly turned on her phone and typed in Yang Hao’s name.
It was unclear whether it was Jiangcheng Newspaper Group or Tianmei Media’s doing, but someone had already prepared a Wikipedia page for Yang Hao.
Yang Hao, male, 35 years old, President of Tianmei Media, President of Jiangcheng Newspaper Group…
“It’s true, oh my God! Our Jiangcheng Finance and Economics College actually produced such a remarkable person!”
“I must report this to Secretary Zhang immediately!”
“Wait, who made this Wikipedia page? Why isn’t his alma mater listed? He graduated from our Jiangcheng Finance and Economics College!”
Han Hui prattled on as she took a screenshot of the information she found online and sent it to Zhang Wanjun, the head of the Youth League Committee.
Yu Ranran, however, was feeling very complicated as she also looked up Yang Hao’s information online, then stared at the details, lost in thought.
Her ex-boyfriend had made it big, becoming the president of a multi-billion dollar group, a mixture of feelings could only begin to describe what she felt inside.
Jiangting Private Restaurant.
It was a high-end restaurant located by the riverside, very classy, and Yang Hao arrived on time at the private room reserved by Wang Xueru.
But at the moment, only Wang Xueru was in the private room, the beautiful mature aunt, her future office director, hadn’t arrived yet.
“Big brother Yang…”
Wang Xueru called out sweetly, then threw herself into Yang Hao’s arms.
Yang Hao thought it was just a normal hug since they hadn’t had much in-depth interaction in the last few days, and it seemed natural for the beautiful married woman to want to be affectionate with him.
But soon he sensed something was off, as the beautiful married woman’s hand started to wander, and then she whispered in his ear, “Big brother Yang, it’s been a long time since the range hood was fixed.”
“Huh?”
Yang Hao looked at the time; it was already six o’clock, and there was simply no time.
“My sister is stuck in traffic, she’ll be at least half an hour.”
Guessing what Yang Hao was still worried about, Wang Xueru quietly said another sentence.
In fact, she knew long before that her sister would be delayed by traffic, but she still insisted on Yang Hao arriving on time, clearly harboring ulterior motives.
“Big brother Yang, I’ve also brought popping candy…”
Wang Xueru whispered into Yang Hao’s ear while biting it.
Okay, she came prepared!
It’s just that for Yang Hao, half an hour was quite a stretch.
But the atmosphere reached this point, and the beautiful married woman had mentioned she brought popping candy.
Well, he had to use it!
…
Half an hour later.
Wang Jingru and her friend Zheng Qianqian entered the restaurant by the river.
“Nice atmosphere, it seems that Mr. Yang takes this very seriously,” Zheng Qianqian remarked, accustomed to taking notes, she was filming the interior of the restaurant with her phone, thinking about making a video.
“Miss, our restaurant is one of the top private restaurants in Jiangcheng,” said the slender greeter with a smile.
Wang Jingru wasn’t really in the mood to look at the restaurant’s surroundings; she just wanted to finalize the work details with her brother-in-law after their meeting, taking the first step towards her new life.
“This is the room,” informed the greeter.
The room’s door was the double type, looking very luxurious. Currently, there was an attendant standing by the door.
However, the attendant seemed to have a meaningful expression on his face.
As per procedure, the greeter and the attendant were supposed to open both doors of the private room together for a grand entrance.
But just before doing so, the attendant seemed to want to say something, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing before helping open the doors.
Then, everyone saw that Yang Hao was the only one in the spacious room.
“Huh, hasn’t Xueru arrived yet?” Wang Jingru asked, looking around in confusion.
“Uh, she’s under the table.” There was no way to make up a story for this; Yang Hao could only tell the truth.
“Ah? What is Xueru doing under the table?” Wang Jingru was puzzled.
“Her phone dropped under there.”
“Did she find it?”
As she spoke, Yang Hao even pretended to look under the table.
“Mmm, just about.” Came Wang Xueru’s muffled reply from beneath the table.
Wang Jingru hadn’t thought much of it, but her sister’s strange voice from under the table made her realize something as an experienced person.
Zheng Qianqian was still filming with her phone, but now she, too, realized something was amiss and looked confused.
It looked like her friend’s new boss wasn’t exactly respectable!
And just as the atmosphere turned somewhat awkward, Wang Xueru finally stood up. She had been doing some tidying up; she couldn’t let her man be sticky and uncomfortable during the meal, could she?