A group of people walked into the reception hall of the ecological park, chatting and laughing.
One of them directly instructed the waiter to prepare a large private room for them.
Everyone followed the waiter towards the private room.
On the way, Gong Chengbin briefly introduced the group to Du Fei.
The most influential among them was Peng Ying, whose father was Peng Fukai, one of the top ten richest men in Rongcheng. Peng Ying was his only son and was doted on.
As for the others, although they were also rich second-generation individuals with considerable assets, they were far inferior to Peng Ying.
Upon entering the private room, Peng Ying naturally took the seat in the center.
Although Gong Chengbin's father was also one of the top ten richest men, everyone present was familiar with each other and knew that Gong Chengbin's elder brother would definitely inherit the family business in the future. Therefore, there was a natural gap between him and Peng Ying.
"Young Master Peng, last night's street racing competition at East Bay was truly spectacular. If I had half your skill, I could brag about it for a year."
"Go away. With your amateur driving skills, how can you compare to Young Master Peng? I can drive better than you with my feet."
"Young Master Peng, you were the center of attention last night. Several girls next to me were asking about your name."
As soon as they sat down, everyone started chatting.
One sentence after another, Peng Ying couldn't stop smiling.
However, while everyone was engrossed in conversation, Gong Chengbin was quietly talking with Du Fei in a corner.
"Young Master Gong."
"Young Master Gong!"
When Peng Ying saw Gong Chengbin not even looking up, engrossed in talking with the unfamiliar young man, his brow furrowed slightly.
Wang Xiang, who was sitting closest to Peng Ying, immediately called out twice.
"What is it?"
Gong Chengbin looked up.
At this moment, the chatting group also turned their attention to him.
"By the way, Young Master Gong, you used to enjoy cars too. Everyone is discussing last night's street racing competition at East Bay. You missed it, Young Master Peng's driving skills were incredibly cool."
Wang Xiang spoke animatedly, as if it were his own experience.
After listening, Gong Chengbin just grunted an "oh" and said nothing else.
Everyone was somewhat surprised by Gong Chengbin's reaction.
After all, Gong Chengbin was also a street racing enthusiast, and had participated in numerous street racing events of varying scales.
Among the well-known rich second-generation individuals in Rongcheng, he and Peng Ying were the two most passionate, constantly competing with each other in secret, neither willing to admit defeat.
Today, everyone was praising Peng Ying effusively. In the past, Gong Chengbin would have found it unbearable to listen, but why was he completely unfazed now?
"Chengbin, you've been here for a while, why haven't you introduced your friend to us? What's his background?"
Peng Ying spoke up.
Ever since he entered, Gong Chengbin had only been talking to this man, completely ignoring everyone else, including himself.
Peng Ying was curious about this man's background, that could make Gong Chengbin value him so highly.
"Just a friend, no particular background."
Gong Chengbin knew that Du Fei would not like Peng Ying's group, so he gave a perfunctory response.
Although Peng Ying was dissatisfied with Gong Chengbin's answer, he didn't press the matter further. At this moment, Wang Xiang feigned closeness and tried to ingratiate himself with Du Fei.
"This friend looks quite unfamiliar. I haven't seen you here before."
Du Fei glanced at him. "This is my first time here."
"First time here?"
When everyone heard Du Fei say it was his first time, and saw his ordinary attire, they began to have different thoughts.
No wonder Gong Chengbin's introduction was so perfunctory; it turned out he wasn't on their level.
"Since he's Chengbin's friend, he's also my friend, Peng Ying's friend. Whatever you want to do later, feel free to spend, and put it on my tab."
Peng Ying said this with feigned generosity.
Gong Chengbin, however, gave him a look. "Peng Ying, what do you mean? Do I need you to treat my friends when I bring them? My friend and I have something to do, you guys enjoy yourselves."
With that, Gong Chengbin and Du Fei stood up and left the private room.
This?
Although Gong Chengbin and Peng Ying had a somewhat strained relationship before, it wasn't to this extent.
Now, he got angry and left just because of a single sentence from Peng Ying?
This was too much of a snub.
However, these thoughts were only in their minds; they didn't show any outward reaction.
"Damn it, is Gong Chengbin on fire today?"
Feeling disrespected by Gong Chengbin, Peng Ying slammed his hand on the table.
Seeing Peng Ying angry, Wang Xiang immediately chimed in, "Exactly. Young Master Peng was kindly offering to host his friend, and Gong Chengbin didn't appreciate it. It's truly excessive."
The rest of them gave Wang Xiang disdainful glances.
This guy was Peng Ying's lackey, always following Peng Ying's lead.
He only dared to speak so boldly now that Gong Chengbin was gone. If Gong Chengbin had been present, he wouldn't have dared to utter a single word.
Peng Ying and Gong Chengbin were on the same level of rich second-generation, whereas Wang Xiang was merely a sycophant who rode on Peng Ying's coattails, acting arrogantly by association.
...
"Du Fei, since we're here, why don't we find something to do?"
"See what interests you, and I'll accompany you for some fun."
After leaving the private room, Gong Chengbin picked up a brochure from the reception desk.
Those who frequented the place would naturally be familiar with the projects in the ecological park.
However, for newcomers, a brochure was necessary to fully understand the facilities.
Gong Chengbin handed the brochure to Du Fei, signaling him to choose anything he liked.
"This one."
Du Fei casually flipped through it and finally made a selection.
When Gong Chengbin saw that Du Fei had chosen horseback riding, he immediately burst into laughter. "Great! I'm an expert at horseback riding. I can be your coach later."
Du Fei smiled at Gong Chengbin's words but said nothing.
Then, Gong Chengbin drove a golf cart towards the ecological park's equestrian center.
The equestrian center was vast, with dozens of horses to choose from, including Kaba horses and Arabian horses.
Most of the horses were docile and suitable for ordinary riders, as the majority of visitors were beginners or had never ridden a horse before.
For them, the purity of the breed was not important; safety and ease of handling were paramount.
As for the purebred horses, although they could run faster and looked more stylish, they required considerable skill and understanding of horses. Otherwise, one could easily be thrown off, which would be dangerous.
"See that? That's the top purebred horse in the stable. It's said that the owner of the ecological park spent a fortune buying it from abroad. However, its temperament is violent. Anyone who dares to approach it will be met with a flying kick. The stable has had horses injured by it before."
Upon arriving at the equestrian center, Gong Chengbin pointed to a horse in the corral. It was tall, magnificent, with golden-yellow fur, appearing very strong and imposing.