Chapter 387 - 231: Gathered Together

Chapter 387: Chapter 231: Gathered Together

Zhao Xiangjun shot her a strange look.

’She was just blocking my path,’ she thought, ’so I instinctively asked. Who cares who her boyfriend is?’

But the young woman was thoroughly intimidated. Seeing Zhao Xiangjun get out of Chen Xiao’s car, she lost all courage to try and hit on him.

She took a few steps back, thinking, ’Next time, I’ll get some money from Peng and go to Korea for some work. After seeing a beauty like that, I realize I still have a lot of room for improvement!’

Chen Xiao, still in the car, had naturally seen the whole thing. The woman’s reaction was completely normal; Zhao Xiangjun’s beauty was the kind that could make you lose all self-confidence just by being near her.

’Coincidentally, the woman even announced who she was with. Her boyfriend is Peng Yu?’

’He must be a certain *kind* of "boyfriend,"’ Chen Xiao thought, ’otherwise she wouldn’t be trying to get with me.’

No wonder he’d felt she had a certain cheapness about her, like she worked at some exclusive club.

Peng Yu had been deeply frustrated lately.

At the Wansheng Group’s annual meeting, he could feel that he was out of favor with the big boss, President Wang.

He couldn’t understand why President Wang was blaming him, Peng Yu, for a disaster of his own making. Later, he learned some details privately through President Wang Jun.

It turned out that President Wang was quite superstitious about feng shui. Regarding the failure in Hanjiang Province, President Wang didn’t think there was anything wrong with his decision to sell off properties.

On the one hand, it would recover capital; on the other, it wouldn’t stop Wansheng Square from continuing to operate the project with its outstanding commercial management capabilities.

So why was the Hanjiang project a mess? When it came down to it, the reason must lie with Peng Yu.

Even if there was no problem with his abilities, it must be because he was unlucky. Otherwise, could it possibly be President Wang’s fault?

Once he understood this line of thinking, he naturally understood why everyone in the group, from top to bottom, was denouncing him.

They were even treating him like the company’s scapegoat for losing an entire region in just a few months.

Even the Regional President Lu Tao, someone Peng Yu hadn’t paid much mind to before, had privately summoned him, his words filled with contempt.

Peng Yu seethed inwardly, ’All of you are so smug. I wonder if your so-called "strategies" and "composure" could handle the kind of saturation attack Junxiao Business Management throws at you, just drowning you in money!’

Wansheng Group now considered Junxiao Business Management a definite threat. They were starting to suppress Junxiao Business Management on a regional basis, and the group headquarters would also invest resources to support the effort.

Next week, Lu Tao would come to the Wansheng Hanjiang Region to inspect the sites and then formulate a battle plan. Peng Yu would be required to accompany him the entire time.

Lu Tao had already arrived in Jiangzhou this morning and checked into the Hilton Hotel.

Normally, someone of his rank would be put up in the best hotel in Jiangzhou. But now, the best hotel was the Junxiao Lake Hotel, so after some thought, Lu Tao chose the Hilton instead.

The weather was clear and pleasant this weekend, so Peng Yu asked his mistress out for a walk.

He had no idea that his mistress had nearly sprouted wings and flown away.

While still in the car, Chen Xiao dialed Liu Bo’s number again. He was getting addicted to his wicked games today, earning a reproachful glance from Zhao Xiangjun.

Liu Bo answered the phone, his tone stiff. "Hello, Chen Xiao!"

"Liu Bo, about that thing I mentioned this morning, how did the discussion with your family go?"

Liu Bo thought for a moment and said, "No good. My family doesn’t agree."

Chen Xiao chuckled dryly. ’Sigh, my old classmate.’

Liu Bo continued, "I can give you an idea, though. Our high school classmate, Ma Jian. He’s not married, so he can make his own decisions. You could ask him."

Chen Xiao had already completely written him off. ’You won’t lend me the money, fine. But you’re going to give me an "idea"? Should I thank your ancestors for eight generations?’

’Back in school, you were always eating my food, drinking my drinks, and borrowing my money! Now your old classmate is in "trouble," and this is your attitude?’

’And you still expect me to treat you to good food and drinks when you come to Jiangzhou? I’d feed a dog before I ever treated you again!’

At that moment, Liu Bo had no idea what kind of opportunity he had just lost.

Chen Xiao hung up and looked at Zhao Xiangjun.

"You just have to go looking for trouble, don’t you!" she said.

Chen Xiao said helplessly, "I was too naive. I actually thought there was still some genuine kindness in the world."

"Could it be that what you thought was just... what *you* thought?"

’No, I have to try again!’

Ma Jian was another of Chen Xiao’s high school classmates. Unlike Liu Bo and the others, Ma Jian was a good student and hadn’t hung out with Chen Xiao much back then.

He had never asked Chen Xiao for money or mooched food and drinks off him.

On the contrary, sometimes when Chen Xiao stayed out all night playing games and couldn’t get up the next morning, Ma Jian would even bring him breakfast.

Similarly, they had rarely been in contact since graduating from high school.

Because of Liu Bo’s "idea," Chen Xiao started recalling many people and events from his high school days.

He sent a message to Ma Jian: "Bro, I’m in a tough spot and urgently need some money to get by. I can pay interest!"

He wasn’t sincere about borrowing the money at all; the message he sent was extremely perfunctory.

But unexpectedly, Ma Jian replied a moment later: "How much do you need? My salary isn’t high, only a little over 4,000 a month. I’ve got 35,000 yuan saved up. You can have it first. Give it back when you have money, and if you don’t, just use it for now. No need for interest!"

Immediately after, Ma Jian sent a transfer for 35,000 yuan.

This was a complete surprise to Chen Xiao. ’Should I accept the money or not?’

’Accept it? But this was just a prank. When would I ever need 35,000 yuan? I literally block the notifications for my daily basic stipend of 4 million as spam!’

’In the time it takes me to tap ’accept’, I earn more than this!’

’But if I don’t accept it, Ma Jian will know it was a prank, and that doesn’t seem right either.’

After some thought, he accepted it and replied, "I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. Also, I’ll be back in our hometown before the Spring Festival. Let’s get together!"