“Mr. Lin, I’ve made an appointment with Mayor Tang for tonight at eight, at the Yuelong Hotel,” Peng Tao said over the phone.
“Yuelong Hotel? Okay, I’ll be there on time.” Lin Hai hung up the phone.
After what happened with Hou Xianpin before, Lin Hai and Mayor Tang had already gotten off to a pretty good start. Even if Tang Sen was hard to get along with, he’d still have to give Lin Hai a little face, right?
At seven in the evening, Lin Hai arrived at the Yuelong Hotel. Since he was treating the mayor to dinner, arriving a little early was only polite.
Lin Hai parked his car and stood at the entrance of the Yuelong Hotel, playing with his phone to pass the time while he waited.
“Hmm?” A white Audi A4 pulled up.
Lin Hai took a look—wasn’t that Liu Liang’s car?
Sure enough, Liu Liang got out of the car, followed by a man in his fifties.
“Dad, it doesn’t start until eight. Do we really have to get here this early?” Liu Liang started complaining to Liu Hongju as soon as he stepped out.
“What do you know? Arriving early shows respect and the right attitude. If you’re treating someone to a meal, what if they show up and you’re still not there? What would that look like?” Liu Hongju scolded.
“Still, we don’t have to come this early. I could’ve played a couple more rounds of games,” Liu Liang said, his head drooping, looking totally unhappy.
“Can’t you be a little more ambitious? All you think about is playing games. You’re about to start your senior year, and as soon as you graduate next year, you’ll have to take over the family business. What do you even know how to do?”
“I’ll learn when the time comes,” Liu Liang said, completely unfazed.
“Sigh.” Liu Hongju really had no idea what to do with his son.
“Listen to me, Xiaoliang. When you meet Vice Dean Gong later, you have to be polite and leave a good impression, got it? We’re in business, and building good relationships with people in official circles is a huge advantage. In the future, you—”
“Haizi?” Before Liu Hongju could finish, Liu Liang walked over toward Lin Hai.
Liu Hongju was so annoyed he wanted to kick Liu Liang. This good-for-nothing son of his—he was just trying to pass on some wisdom, and the kid just ran off.
“Liangzi, what a coincidence!” Lin Hai greeted Liu Liang with a smile.
“Ugh, I was having a great time hanging out with that fatso Wang Peng, and then my dad dragged me here to have dinner with some guest. So annoying,” Liu Liang said, gesturing with his chin toward the back.
“What’s so annoying? Vice Dean Gong is the second-in-command at the court. You think just anyone gets to have dinner with him? Plenty of people would kill for this opportunity,” Liu Hongju said, a hint of superiority slipping into his voice involuntarily when he mentioned Vice Dean Gong.
“Come on, stop lecturing me. My classmate’s right here. Can you at least save me some face?” Liu Liang said, clearly displeased.
“Hello, Uncle. I’m Lin Hai, Liu Liang’s classmate,” Lin Hai said, quickly and politely greeting Liu Hongju since he and Liu Liang were pretty good friends.
“Oh, hello.” Liu Hongju gave Lin Hai a once-over. Noticing that Lin Hai was dressed plainly, a flicker of contempt crossed his eyes, and he responded somewhat dismissively.
“Haizi, what are you doing here? If you’re free, why don’t you join us for dinner?” Liu Liang said warmly.
Liu Hongju frowned. Why was this kid so clueless?
“Xiao Lin, normally, since you and Liu Liang are classmates, it wouldn’t be a big deal to have a meal together. But today, we’re hosting an important guest. How about next time—”
“Uncle, no need. I’m actually waiting for someone too,” Lin Hai said, not wanting to be rude.
“Alright then, Xiao Lin. Come over to our place to hang out sometime. We’re heading in now,” Liu Hongju said, clearly not wanting to waste any more time. He waved at Lin Hai and led Liu Liang inside.
“Come on, what’s the rush? Let me chat with Haizi for a bit—”
“What’s there to chat about? Just come with me and check if the private room is ready. Vice Dean Gong is not just anyone…”
Watching the two of them jostle their way into the restaurant, Lin Hai just shook his head.
“Xiaoliang, let me tell you—if you want to make it in this world, connections are everything. I heard that the sons of the Ye Group and the Zhao Group are both at your school. You should spend more time getting close to people like that—it’ll do you good. Don’t keep hanging around with kids who clearly come from the countryside, like that one at the door. What’s the point of that?”
“What are you saying, Dad? We’re best friends.”
“Best friends? Can you eat best friends for dinner? Let me tell you—” Liu Hongju sat down in the private room and launched into another round of lecturing Liu Liang.
“Mr. Lin, here early?” Around 7:30, Peng Tao arrived.
“I had nothing else to do, so I came early. Director Peng, thank you for this,” Lin Hai said with a slight smile.
“Don’t mention it. Mayor Tang is very grateful to you because of what happened with Secretary Hou. Otherwise, just on my account, I might not have been able to get Mayor Tang to come,” Peng Tao quickly said, waving his hand.
The two chatted idly, and the time passed quickly.
“Xiaoliang, it’s about time. Come with me to wait by the door,” Liu Hongju said, checking his watch—it was already 7:50. He quickly called out to Liu Liang to head outside.
“Listen to me, Xiaoliang. People in leadership positions usually show up right on time or even a few minutes late—it makes them look important. But we have to be waiting at the door ahead of time, otherwise—”
As Liu Hongju walked out, still talking, his phone suddenly rang.
He looked down at the caller ID, and his back immediately hunched in a respectful bow.
“Oh, Dean Gong…” Liu Hongju bowed and scraped.
“What! Something came up at home, and you can’t make it?” Liu Hongju’s face fell.
“Oh, no problem, no problem. Dean Gong, you’re too kind. Yes, yes, next time then—” Before Liu Hongju could finish, the other end hung up.
Liu Hongju instantly deflated.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
“Vice Dean Gong had something come up. He can’t make it,” Liu Hongju said, visibly disappointed.
“What? He can’t make it? Damn, why didn’t he say so earlier? We already ordered the food. Isn’t this just standing us up?” Liu Liang got really annoyed.
“Alright, enough. It’s already more than we could expect that he even bothered to call and let us know,” Liu Hongju said, frowning.
“So, what do we do with all this food?”
“What else can we do? Damn it, we’ll eat it ourselves! And take home whatever we can’t finish!” Liu Hongju said, fuming.
“Eat it ourselves? We’d have to stuff ourselves to death and still wouldn’t finish it,” Liu Liang muttered, pulling a long face.
“Hmm? Wait a minute!” Liu Hongju’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly pulled Liu Liang closer.
“Xiaoliang, isn’t that person over there your classmate from earlier?” Liu Hongju pointed toward Lin Hai.
Liu Liang looked in the direction his father was pointing and rolled his eyes.
“Dad, what kind of memory do you have? That’s Haizi. We just said hello to him, and you’ve already forgotten?”
“I’m just confirming with you!” Liu Hongju suddenly got excited.
“Hey, Xiaoliang, how close are you and this classmate of yours?” Liu Hongju asked, suddenly animated.
“Pretty close. We’re best buds!” Liu Liang raised an eyebrow.
“Really? That’s great. Let’s go over!” Liu Hongju pulled Liu Liang along.
“Come on, Dad, what are you doing? Let go. I can walk myself,” Liu Liang said, shaking off Liu Hongju’s arm.
“Uncle Liu, Liangzi,” Lin Hai said, looking a bit confused as he saw Liu Liang and his father come back.
“Xiao Lin, I ordered a table of food. If you’re free, why don’t you join us? You and Xiaoliang are best friends—this would be a great chance to catch up.”
“Uncle, no thanks. I’m still waiting for someone,” Lin Hai said, shaking his head, unsure of what Liu Hongju was getting at.
Wasn’t he hosting someone? Why was he suddenly inviting him to dinner instead, and being so enthusiastic about it?
“Oh, isn’t this Director Peng?” Liu Hongju said, pretending he had just noticed Peng Tao, looking very excited.
Lin Hai immediately understood. Well, damn. So they were really after Peng Tao.
“Hello, you are…” Peng Tao clearly didn’t know Liu Hongju.
“I am—”
Before Liu Hongju could finish, Peng Tao suddenly pointed toward the roadside.
“He’s here.”
“Who’s here?” Liu Hongju asked instinctively.
“My guest,” Lin Hai said, walking toward the black Audi that had just pulled up.
Liu Hongju took one look at the Audi’s license plate, and his heart gave a violent jolt.
“Mayor Tang’s car!”
