Chapter 182: Chapter 44 Classmate: Jiang Ziyan, your boyfriend is way too rich!_2
Or whispering quietly to each other. Occasionally, someone would get up to sing a song.
Time crept on until midnight. It was time to leave.
When they stepped outside, the rain was pouring down. From the puddles collecting on the street, it was clear it had been raining for a while. The KTV was in a rather remote location, and the streets were deserted. There wasn’t a single taxi in sight.
"Let’s book a ride on the app." Xiao Yue, the Youth League secretary, was the kind of take-charge person who could organize anything for everyone.
But this time, she had miscalculated. It was late, pouring rain, and their location was remote. She tried hailing a car for a long time, but no ride-sharing drivers were willing to accept the trip.
The two female classmates with Xiao Yue started to get anxious.
"What do we do now? Can we not get back tonight?"
"In this weather? I doubt it."
"That won’t work, I have work tomorrow."
Just then, Bai Feng, who had been mostly quiet, spoke up. "I told you we should have gone to a bar. There’s always more foot traffic there. No matter how late it is, even if it were raining knives, you could still get a cab."
His sarcastic tone annoyed Xiao Yue. "Bars are expensive, Bai Feng," she retorted logically. "Not all of us earn a high salary like you. We need to save our money."
"Is a monthly salary of thirty thousand high?" he feigned surprise, his eyes darting toward the class belle, Jiang Ziyan. "Everyone around me makes fifty thousand a month. I’m actually one of the low earners in my circle."
To his disappointment, however, his talk of monthly salaries of thirty or fifty thousand didn’t cause the slightest change in her expression.
Xiao Yue, fed up with his unsubtle boasting, snapped, "Enough, Bai Feng. We know you’re so impressive with your thirty-thousand-a-month salary. Can you just stop talking for a minute and help us figure out how to get home?"
Bai Feng stopped talking about his salary and instead smacked his forehead as if he’d just remembered something. "If my friend hadn’t borrowed my BMW, I could’ve driven all of you home tonight."
He glanced at the class belle again. Unfortunately, she seemed not to have heard him at all, still laughing and talking with her boyfriend.
His BMW might not have caught Jiang Ziyan’s attention, but it certainly caught the attention of the other two girls.
"Wow! Bai Feng, you have a BMW now?" one of them exclaimed.
"Bai Feng, besides Zi Yan, you’re probably the most successful person in our class, right?" the other remarked.
While his eyes remained fixed on the class belle, he replied humbly, "Not at all."
"I’m so envious of you two," one of the girls sighed. "You’re both good-looking and have better jobs than us. It makes me wonder if God ever closed a window for you."
Seeing that the class belle was still ignoring him, Bai Feng’s eyes darted around before he suggested, "How about we find a hotel nearby?"
But his suggestion received little support. The chain hotels in this remote area were not even three-star, and their sanitary conditions were notoriously poor.
"Forget it," Xiao Yue disagreed.
"This won’t work, that won’t work... so what do you suggest?" Bai Feng shot back angrily.
"Don’t worry. Brother Sun has already arranged for cars to come. Let’s just wait a bit longer," Jiang Ziyan finally said.
At her words, the other girls’ faces brightened. Bai Feng’s expression, however, turned sour.
A moment later, it grew even more displeased.
Two luxury cars pulled up. The first was a dazzling Bentley, followed by a large Mercedes-Benz van. The driver of the Bentley, a tall and burly man, got out and walked straight over to Sun Dasheng. In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he announced, "President Sun, as you instructed, I’ve brought two cars."
From his tone, it was obvious that he had far more than just these two vehicles at his disposal.
Sun Dasheng was very courteous to his dedicated driver and part-time bodyguard. "Alright, the roads are slippery tonight. Drive steady, and tell the driver of the Mercedes-Benz the same." He was especially polite since he had summoned the man from home in the middle of the night.
"Yes, sir!" the burly man replied and turned back to the cars.
As the burly man returned to the car, the onlookers retracted their gazes, their faces filled with shock, especially the two girls standing next to Xiao Yue. They immediately switched their allegiance from Bai Feng.
"Zi Yan, is your boyfriend a big boss? He’s so influential!"
"Yeah, Zi Yan, you kept him so well hidden! You never said a single word. If it hadn’t rained, would you have kept us in the dark forever?"
"My boyfriend is just used to keeping a low profile. He didn’t mean to hide it from you," Jiang Ziyan said with a smile. "Everyone, let’s get in the cars."
The two girls were the most enthusiastic, scrambling into the Mercedes-Benz van. They were self-aware enough to know the Bentley up front was not for them. Soon after, Xiao Yue chuckled, teased Jiang Ziyan, and then climbed into the van as well.
Bai Feng stood there, wrestling with his pride, unsure whether to stay or go. Xiao Yue poked her head out of the van and pulled him in. They were all classmates, after all. Even if he was hard to stomach, they couldn’t just leave him behind.
Three people remained outside the vehicles. Lu Qingyun gently lifted the hem of her dress, preparing to board the Mercedes-Benz van as well.
Jiang Ziyan caught her by the sleeve. "That van is getting full. Qingyun, why don’t you ride with us up front?"
The back seat of the Bentley was spacious enough for three. Jiang Ziyan sat in the middle, separating Sun Dasheng and Lu Qingyun.
Halfway through the drive, Jiang Ziyan received a text. Her classmates wanted to see her home. She relayed the request to Sun Dasheng, who didn’t object. He simply said, "Just let your Sister Yiren know."
"Yes, but it’s so late. I feel bad for troubling Sister Yiren again," Jiang Ziyan said, looking apologetic.
Sun Dasheng just smiled without a word. Beside her, Lu Qingyun looked on with curiosity. Why couldn’t she quite understand their conversation? Was there someone else living at their house?
「A large villa.」
It was a dark silhouette, revealing little from the outside. But once everyone stepped inside, they were met with a scene of dazzling splendor. Gasps of amazement filled the air.
"Wow! It’s just like the mansions in those overbearing CEO dramas!"
"Is this how rich people live? I’m so jealous!"
"Zi Yan, you’re so lucky to have found your Prince Charming!"
The foyer alone was larger than some of their living rooms. On both sides were neat rows of glass shoe cabinets filled with designer and luxury shoes.
Soon, a woman emerged from the living room. To their surprise, this woman was just as beautiful as their class belle, Jiang Ziyan.
She smiled as she brought out slippers for everyone. "These are all new. Welcome to our home."
Huh? Something didn’t feel right. This woman also seemed like a mistress of the house. Their gazes shifted back to Jiang Ziyan. What was her role, then?
Jiang Ziyan just smiled without saying a word, leading her classmates to the large sofa in the living room. Then she headed to the kitchen to help Sister Yiren. Sun Dasheng went to his room to change.
In the kitchen, Xiang Yiren was busy making tea for everyone. Jiang Ziyan walked up and hugged her slender waist from behind. "Sister Yiren, I’m sorry to trouble you tonight."
Xiang Yiren brushed her hands away. "Stop being so dramatic with me. Hurry up and help bring this tea to your classmates."
On the living room sofa, the classmates were whispering amongst themselves. The two girls huddled together, Xiao Yue and Lu Qingyun formed another pair, and Bai Feng was left to glance around the room with envy.
"Qingyun, who would’ve thought that out of all our classmates, Zi Yan would be the one who’s doing the best," Xiao Yue began. "To be honest, I was always quite jealous of her in college. The guys never stopped talking about her, like she was the center of the universe. I figured that once we graduated and entered the real world, everyone would succeed based on their own merits. I never expected that even after all this time, she’d still be so far beyond my reach."
Lu Qingyun was surprised. Was that a drunken slip of the tongue? In her eyes, the former Youth League secretary had always been the epitome of composure and seriousness. She never thought Xiao Yue had this side to her.
"Qingyun, do you think I’m saying all this just because I’ve had too much to drink?" Xiao Yue asked, seeming to read her mind.
Lu Qingyun nodded.
"I’m just feeling a bit sentimental," Xiao Yue continued. "No matter how capable we women are, we still end up being judged by our looks. Qingyun, you’re so beautiful, you must have a deeper understanding of this than I do, right?"
Xiao Yue studied her up close. She was truly beautiful, with a face that could rival Jiang Ziyan’s.
Recalling various incidents from her past three years at work, Lu Qingyun nodded, acknowledging the truth in Xiao Yue’s words. "In the workplace, the glass ceiling for women is very low," Lu Qingyun said, "unless you’re young, beautiful, and willing to trade your body for opportunities."
Xiao Yue leaned close to Lu Qingyun’s ear and whispered, "Right now, you have a golden opportunity right in front of you. It’s just a question of whether you’re willing to take it."