After the university’s anniversary celebration was the luncheon arranged by the school, which took place at the Red Star Hotel next to the Jiangcheng University of Finance and Economics.
Although this hotel wasn’t luxurious, with only a four-star rating, it was close to the Finance and Economics University, which was convenient for guests to move between venues.
At the banquet, Yang Hao naturally became the center of attention, completely overshadowing the school leaders. Within the school, the leaders obviously wielded influence, but within the broader social context, their clout couldn’t hold a candle to that of a billionaire entrepreneur like Yang Hao.
If it were officials from prestigious universities, it might be different, as they would have access to extensive high-level resources. However, the leaders of a second-tier undergraduate institution like Jiangcheng University of Finance and Economics didn’t have nearly as much clout.
Many alumni were approaching Yang Hao with their glasses raised, eager to establish connections. After all, here was a magnate who had donated two hundred million with one gesture, an amount richer than the net worth of many of them. They were not on the same level.
“Senior, a toast to you.”
“I am Su Xiaoxi from the 2017 batch.”
Yang Hao had just said goodbye to a balding senior when he was approached by a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties.
She was wearing a white dress that accentuated her curves, her skirt fluttered gracefully, and white high heels added to her tall stature.
In terms of appearance and physique, Su Xiaoxi was no less impressive than Ranran, and perhaps even more so due to her age advantage.
In fact, Yang Hao had noticed this striking beauty in the crowd as soon as he entered the banquet hall, though she seemed quite busy herself, surrounded by a group of people.
“Hello.”
Yang Hao lightly clinked glasses with her, then took a sip of the champagne in his glass.
Given the number of people coming over to toast, the fact that Yang Hao even took a sip was already quite gracious.
Su Xiaoxi didn’t say a word; instead, she downed most of her champagne in one go and then showed her empty glass to Yang Hao.
Yang Hao smiled and finished the remaining champagne in his glass.
“Senior, can I add you on WeChat?”
Su Xiaoxi shook her phone in her hand.
“Sure.”
Yang Hao wouldn’t refuse to add a beautiful woman on WeChat, as they were all potential NPCs or buffs to be kept in the fishpond for future possibilities.
“Mr. Yang, our family is in the business of commercial real estate. I wonder if you’d be interested in this area?”
After adding each other on WeChat, Su Xiaoxi asked with a cheerful smile.
“At the moment, I’m dealing with entertainment media, which is quite different from the real estate industry,”
Yang Hao gently shook his head.
The golden age of the real estate industry was over. It was now winter for real estate, with formerly behemoth developers suffering financial crises and house prices falling back to levels from five or six years ago.
Entering the real estate industry now would be no different from joining the national army in ’49.
“Our family deals with commercial real estate, with projects like Starlight City, Moonlight City and so on…”
Su Xiaoxi briefly introduced her family’s business scope.
Yang Hao nodded slightly. In the current environment, commercial real estate indeed seemed to be faring better than traditional real estate.
People might not buy houses, but they still needed to shop, have entertainment, and leisure; during holidays, malls still swarmed with crowds. The Starlight City and Moonlight City mentioned by Su Xiaoxi were similar to Wanda Plaza, albeit in fewer numbers.
Jiangcheng currently had two Starlight Cities and one Moonlight City; the former aimed to compete with Wanda Plaza while the latter sought after a high-end market, akin to Henglong.
Judging by the customer traffic, Starlight City was performing well, but Moonlight City was far quieter, likely operating at a loss.
“Realistically speaking, the real estate industry is having a tough time now, but I believe the winter will eventually pass!”
“So, I still warmly welcome Mr. Yang to visit our group for a potential investment!”
Su Xiaoxi continued with a beaming smile.
“Of course, I’ll definitely visit when I get the chance,”
Yang Hao politely nodded.
After the luncheon was the evening celebration for the anniversary. However, most guests left after lunch since a school-level celebration wasn’t very enticing.
Yang Hao, on the other hand, didn’t leave, as he had previously promised Little White Flower, Chen Ruohan, that he would stay at the school to support her.
“Mr. Yang, are you staying to watch the anniversary celebration tonight?”
Upon leaving the hotel and seeing Yang Hao showing no signs of leaving immediately, Su Xiaoxi asked out of curiosity.
“Yes, I’m here to show support for my juniors!”
“What a coincidence, I was thinking the same,”
Su Xiaoxi replied cheerfully.
However, it was clear to anyone that this was merely a polite remark; her driver was already waiting at the hotel entrance, and she obviously hadn’t planned on staying for the show, but had changed her mind on the spot.
Yang Hao did not point this out, simply smiling and nodding, albeit curious about what this woman was up to.
What surprised Yang Hao was that until the end of the anniversary celebration, Su Xiaoxi did not talk about anything beyond the show, only occasionally commenting on the performances of the juniors on stage.
Little White Flower, Chen Ruohan’s act, was originally proposed to be turned into a choir, but with her signing with a major entertainment company like Tianmei Media with the potential to become a future star, she was scheduled as the final act.
After all, Jiangcheng University of Finance and Economics didn’t offer arts programs, and it had never produced an entertainment star in its many years.
“This junior has great potential. Mr. Yang, aren’t you considering signing her to your company?”
While Chen Ruohan was performing, Su Xiaoxi leaned towards Yang Hao and whispered.