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Chapter 889: Chapter 774: The Cui Family (Subscribe Please!)
Two hours later.
As evening approached.
Zeng Rou and Lin Jiaxue made a glamorous appearance at tonight’s celebration banquet site.
It was a private club.
Located in a bustling area.
Professionally hosting various large banquets, Tang Qing had initially wanted to hold it at a big hotel, but Chai Ren felt the style wasn’t quite right, so he had Shen Yi find a more impressive venue.
He did not disappoint.
Shen Yi, a member of the Rich Second Generation, found this place with just a few phone calls.
The owner was a second-generation scion of a major real estate business group in the Shanghai Stock Market, with a simple purpose: to network with influential people from various backgrounds. Just like the manor where Chai Ren had his wedding in Beijing, you couldn’t rent it unless you had a certain status, no matter how much money you had.
The rental fee for one night was 500,000 RMB, which was not cheap, and that didn’t even include drinks but only the venue and high-quality services like waiters, pastries, bands, security, and other services.
Actually, it wasn’t overly expensive when added up.
The services involved almost a hundred people.
Plus various investments and most of the time the space was empty.
Averaging it out,
a banquet, the pure income for that Rich Second Generation wouldn’t exceed 50,000 RMB. By the end of the year, counting the bonuses and routine maintenance, it merely sustained operations, fortunately, he wasn’t planning on making money from this.
The car pulled up in front of the main gate of the club.
Lin Jiaxue immediately spotted Tang Qing standing at the doorway.
Many formally dressed men and women greeted Tang Qing as they entered.
"Jiaxue, Tang Qing is over there," Zeng Rou also noticed Tang Qing and cheerfully called out.
The car stopped in front of Tang Qing.
Tang Qing stepped forward to open the door.
Watching Lin Jiaxue in her snow-white evening gown, Tang Qing looked her up and down appreciatively, remembering this was a design Sheng Tang Group had sent after the New Year, knowing Lin Jiaxue liked white, the Sheng Tang Group’s design leaned towards such colors.
But it couldn’t be too monotone.
There were evening gowns of other colors as well.
For instance, the one Zeng Rou was wearing.
Red and white intertwined.
Very striking.
Both of their evening gown styles were youthful, yet not childish, perfectly fitting their status.
"Beautiful, really beautiful."
Tang Qing held Lin Jiaxue’s hand in admiration.
Having just finished saying that,
"If it’s beautiful, that’s great, but you shouldn’t block the car door and not let me out, right? There’s another person alive here as well," Zeng Rou’s complaining voice came from behind Lin Jiaxue.
Lin Jiaxue quickly moved aside, and Tang Qing smiled, saying, "Welcome, Sister Zeng."
Zeng Rou twisted her way out of the car.
Looking around, she complimented, "Not bad, you have a good taste in picking places."
"It was a friend who chose it, pretty good, huh? Please come in, ladies," Tang Qing said with a smile, making a welcoming gesture, as it seemed Lin Jiaxue had already told Zeng Rou quite a bit, so there was no need for him to explain.
Zeng Rou followed Tang Qing into the club.
She had by now come to terms with being addressed as ’Director’ all the way.
On the way,
to teach Lin Jiaxue social skills,
she felt she’d ’least wisely’ asked who was hosting it.
And then,
She felt dejected.
She had not expected Tang Qing to have kept such a profound secret, buried as deep as thousands of meters under the sea. Sheng Tang Group was merely one of Tang Qing’s enterprises, and not even the largest, with Comet Film and Television, highly revered by the outside world.
Although she didn’t often pay attention to these matters, she had watched "Civilization: Soul of the Stars" three times and had become its loyal fan, eagerly anticipating the next release.
Recalling the revenue from just one movie of this company was six times the total market value of her own company, and that box office proceeds would continue to trickle in, Zeng Rou felt profoundly disheartened, always feeling her own family was damn poor.
She walked into the vast banquet hall.
Quite a few people had already arrived.
Gathered in small groups here and there, the celebration banquet was not just for the movie department of Comet Film and Television but other subsidiaries had also sent people, as it was also a gathering to celebrate the founding of the Group.
Thus.
The attendees exceeded six hundred.
Luckily, the venue was large; otherwise, it would really feel a bit cramped.
From a distance, Tang Qing saw Chai Ren chatting with a rather beautiful woman, and they seemed to be enjoying their conversation immensely. Had Zheng Lin not been there beaming beside them, Tang Qing might have thought Chai Ren had some ’entertainment’ planned for the evening.
Seeing Tang Qing’s arrival.
Chai Ren immediately pulled him over and introduced with a flourish, "Miss Xin, this is our Director Tang, this is his fiancee Lin Jiaxue, and this lady here is her university classmate Zeng Rou."
Chai Ren had met Zeng Rou during the last New Year’s Day rehearsal and remembered her name.
In Tang Qing’s confusion.
"Little Tang, this is Zhan Xi’s best friend, Cui Xin, who comes from the same neighborhood. You might not know this, but Cui Xin is Dou Jiao’s cousin. Haha, she’s the bassist in our banquet’s band today. We really are quite fated, haha."
Chai Ren was introducing the pretty girl cheerfully.
Tang Qing was also a bit surprised.
Dou Jiao’s cousin.
Surname Cui.
That must make her part of the Cui family.
She’s pretty influential.
"Hello, Sister Xin, sorry to trouble you this time." Tang Qing felt like crying. Damn it, all these people were seven or eight years, even over a decade older than him, came from influential backgrounds, and he had no choice but to call them ’sister’. He felt quite helpless.
Cui Xin sized up Tang Qing.
Her eyes lit up.
Men like to look at beautiful women, and women like to look at handsome, stylish men.
She was no exception. Unfortunately, he already had a fiancee, and she had heard from Dou Jiao about having an adopted brother and sister-in-law. Stealing someone’s man was something she couldn’t do.
"I’ve heard about you from Jiaojiao. I hear you’re her boss, making her work overtime every day." Cui Xin giggled as she mentioned this. She and Dou Jiao kept in touch frequently; over the past year, their phone call topics had shifted from clothes to being swamped with work and utterly exhausted.
However, Cui Xin knew that Dou Jiao really enjoyed her job.
"Uh, this... Can we change the subject?" Tang Qing felt awkward. Cui Xin’s statement left him no room to retaliate. He couldn’t just say he hadn’t told her to work overtime every day, that it was her own choice. That kind of insensitive remark would just make him sound dumb.
Cui Xin was just joking.
"Of course, we can change the subject. This must be Miss Jiaxue; you’re really pretty, even prettier than my sister. Jiaojiao has mentioned you too. Come, let’s go chat aside. I won’t keep you with them." Saying this, Cui Xin walked off with Lin Jiaxue and Zeng Rou toward their band’s spot.
"The Cui family, quite a nice girl, has been into music and musical instruments since she was little, always tinkering, but with limited talent. Luckily, she can handle ordinary performances. Unmarried, her family had already arranged someone for her, though I’m not sure about her current situation," Chai Ren whispered, revealing quite thoroughly the background of Cui Xin.
Tang Qing nodded.
Yet another person without freedom in marriage.
Behind a seemingly optimistic demeanor.
There might be a profound sense of resignation.
Luckily.
He was not from such a family.
His love was not from such a family either.
