Miss Guo, dressed in a well-fitting off-white business suit, her hair styled in a high bun, and lightly made up, exuded the elegance of a sophisticated urban professional. Upon seeing Yan Huiming, who greeted her warmly, a hint of confusion crossed her eyes as she asked,
"May I ask who you are...?"
She had absolutely no recollection of this attentive young man.
Yan Huiming's smile remained unchanged, and he even bowed slightly, saying,
"Miss Guo, I am Yan Huiming! My father is Yan Gaoshan of the Gaoshan Auction House. We met at the banquet last night."
Miss Guo's eyes showed a hint of realization, but this was merely out of politeness. With so many people at last night's banquet, she genuinely couldn't remember this Yan Huiming. However, she did vaguely recall the Gaoshan Auction House; Yan Gaoshan seemed to have come to toast her several times yesterday, his words quite courteous.
"Oh... hello!" Miss Guo hesitated for a moment, then extended her right hand. She had noticed Yan Huiming had been talking to Chen Yang, and if they were friends, being too cold would be impolite.
Yan Huiming was overjoyed. He bowed slightly and warmly grasped Miss Guo's hands, shaking them a few times in a very formal manner.
In Yan Huiming's eyes, Miss Guo was undoubtedly someone worth currying favor with. Although her position might not be particularly prestigious, she was a trusted confidante of President Leng. For Gaoshan Auction House to enter the Xiamen market, it was essential to cling to the powerful backer of Qiankun Culture.
Yan Huiming thought excitedly: My father was just worrying about how to cultivate a good relationship with Qiankun Culture, and now I've unexpectedly met the president's secretary from Qiankun Group! This is like a pillow falling from the sky when I'm sleepy. I must seize this opportunity to get closer to Miss Guo! To everyone's surprise, Miss Guo immediately withdrew her hand upon contact. Before Yan Huiming could even try to ingratiate himself, she bypassed him and walked straight towards Chen Yang.
To the astonishment of Yan Huiming and Ma Zhiwen, Miss Guo walked directly to Chen Yang, who was still seated, and respectfully nodded, saying,
"Hello, Mr. Fang!"
Chen Yang slowly stood up and smiled in response,
"Hello, Xiaowen! I really didn't expect to meet you here!"
Miss Guo was Leng Junfei's secretary, Xiaowen. She was well aware of Chen Yang's remarkable performance in Leng Junfei's office. As far as Xiaowen knew, Chen Yang was the first person to make Leng Junfei lose his composure, so she instinctively used polite language when greeting him.
"Our group's subsidiary, Qiankun Cultural Development Co., Ltd., is the main sponsor of this competition. President Leng has been invited to attend this event," Xiaowen explained.
Yan Huiming, standing to the side, gaped, utterly unable to believe his eyes. Miss Guo is the president's secretary at Qiankun Group. She's usually imperious in front of most company executives, yet she's so respectful to Chen Yang. What's going on? Judging from Chen Yang's behavior just now, he's clearly just an uncultured country bumpkin!
Thinking this, Yan Huiming turned his gaze to Chen Yang again. Chen Yang was smiling, completely at ease in front of Xiaowen, and he even exuded the air of a well-bred young master—an air Yan Huiming had sensed only a few times when dining with the sons of provincial leaders.
Yan Huiming rubbed his eyes, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Was this really the same unsophisticated Chen Yang from before?
Chen Yang knew that Leng Junfei, as the president of Qiankun Group, wouldn't easily attend events of this level. Even Qiankun Culture Company might only send a vice president or even a department manager. Leng Junfei's presence here must have another reason, but since Xiaowen hadn't mentioned it, Chen Yang didn't press the matter.
Chen Yang followed Xiaowen's gaze to the VIP seats in the first row. There stood Leng Junfei, dressed in a well-tailored dark blue suit, smiling and nodding at him. Chen Yang quickly smiled and waved back. Chen Yang held this experienced and legendary CEO in high regard, and their time together on Xiamen Island had been quite pleasant.
Xiaowen continued,
"Mr. Fang, Mr. Leng has instructed that you please come with me to the seats reserved for you in the second row. He would like to chat with you, and later he would like to introduce you to some friends from the calligraphy and painting circles."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huiming was utterly astonished. It turned out that Miss Guo was merely relaying Mr. Leng's message; the one truly close to Chen Yang was Mr. Leng himself! A sense of unease rose in Yan Huiming's heart. He had clearly offended Chen Yang before; if he was indeed a person of great influence, things were likely to become troublesome. Putting everything else aside, just the matter of their auction house's attempt to enter the Xiamen market—if Chen Yang just gave Leng Junfei a nudge, the whole thing would probably fall through!
Chen Yang was completely unaware of Yan Huiming's inner turmoil. Hearing Xiaowen's words, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, turning to Su He and saying,
"What day is it today? Someone's trying to get us to switch seats..."
Upon hearing this, Yan Huiming's heart nearly leaped out of his throat. He was terrified that Chen Yang would reveal his earlier arrogant behavior in front of Miss Guo. Xiaowen, completely oblivious, looked at Chen Yang with a puzzled expression.
Chen Yang glanced at Xiaowen and said,
"I'm sorry, Xiaowen, I was just joking. Please tell Mr. Leng I appreciate his kindness. But today is a school event, and it's inconvenient for me to leave my classmates behind. Please tell Mr. Leng I'll visit him after the event!"
Xiaowen nodded, gave Su He beside Chen Yang a deep look, and then politely said,
"Okay, Mr. Fang! I'll go now!"
Chen Yang smiled and nodded, but his heart skipped a beat: Had Leng Junfei and Xiaowen seen Su He being affectionate with him? Leng Junfei definitely knew he was Ning Kuncheng's "prospective son-in-law." If he went back and told Ning Kuncheng, would it ruin Sister Qian's plans?
Although worried, Chen Yang didn't show it on his face. He watched Xiaowen walk down the steps. As soon as Xiaowen left, Yan Huiming rushed over. Chen Yang glanced at him indifferently and asked with a smile:
"President Yan, is there something else? Perhaps you still want to buy my 'Golden Throne'?"
Yan Huiming quickly waved his hand, a little nervously asking:
"No, no! Excuse me, young man, may I ask your name?"
"My name is Chen Yang," Chen Yang replied calmly, then quietly looked at Yan Huiming. Yan Huiming, with a fawning expression, said respectfully:
"Student Fang, I was rash just now, please forgive me! Xiao Ma! Come over and apologize to Student Fang! What kind of attitude was that?"
Ma Zhiwen hurriedly stepped forward, bowed to Chen Yang, and said:
"Brother Fang! I was blind to your greatness, please forgive me!"
He saw clearly that even Young Master Yan had to be careful and smiling at Miss Guo, yet she was so respectful to Chen Yang. Comparing the two, the difference in their power was obvious. Therefore, although Ma Zhiwen's words were crude, they were still sincere. Compared to Yan Huiming's pretentious manner, he seemed more genuine. Before Chen Yang could speak, Yan Huiming added with a forced smile:
"Student Fang, would it be convenient for you to leave your contact information? After today's event, I'd like to invite you to dinner to express our sincere apology."
"No need for an apology. The event is about to start. President Yan, please return to your VIP seats." Chen Yang said calmly.
"Okay, okay! We won't disturb you any longer!" Yan Huiming quickly replied, then politely nodded to Su He before returning to his seats with Ma Zhiwen, who seemed anxious. The calmer Chen Yang appeared, the more mysterious he seemed to Yan Huiming; he believed this was the attitude a great person should have.
Sitting in his seat, Yan Huiming grew increasingly uneasy. He got up and went outside the studio, making a phone call:
"Shen Tu, I want to ask you about someone. It should be someone from your school, surnamed Fang, who seems to be close to Su He..."
Shen Tu Fan was with his uncle, Shen Tu Liang, and hadn't witnessed what had just happened. Upon hearing Yan Huiming's words, the image of Chen Yang, whom he loathed so much, immediately flashed into his mind, and his still-swollen cheek throbbed with pain again. Shen Tu Fan gritted his teeth and said,
"You mean Chen Yang, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! He said his name is Chen Yang! Shen Tu, are you familiar with him? Is this guy someone important?" Yan Huiming asked cautiously.
"What kind of background!" Shen Tu Fan was immediately enraged. "Just a poor kid from a small county in northern Fujian..."
Shen Tu Fan seemed to have opened a floodgate, rambling on about some of Chen Yang's "deeds," mostly about the "frustrations" of Chen Yang's predecessor before his rebirth, while he naturally wouldn't reveal his own embarrassing moments of being humiliated by Chen Yang twice.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Huiming was a little confused. What Shen Tu Fan had just said matched his first impression of Chen Yang very well. However, Yan Huiming had also witnessed Miss Guo from Qiankun Group's attitude towards Chen Yang. Even the unapproachable President Leng was friendly to Chen Yang. Could it be that he only met President Leng by chance? If that was the case, then dealing with him wouldn't be difficult.
Yan Huiming stood at the door for a full three minutes before picking up his phone and making another call:
"Hello, Director Zeng! This is Huiming! Yes, yes, yes! Deputy District Chief Yan's nephew… I have a favor to ask you. I'd like you to help me look into someone named Chen Yang… Yes, he's a student at Rong University. Your office should have his household registration file… Okay, thank you so much! I'll wait for your news, Director Zeng. I'll treat you to dinner another day… Oh! Goodbye!"
While Yan Huiming was busy probing Chen Yang's background, Chen Yang was unaware. He and Su He were chatting quietly, occasionally exchanging amusing smiles. Time ticked by, and finally, it was time for the event to begin. The door leading from the studio to the adjacent dressing room opened, and a group of people filed out.
When Chen Yang saw the two people leading the way, his eyelids twitched involuntarily. What a coincidence! He had unexpectedly run into two people who were extremely close to him in his past life! At this moment, Chen Yang roughly guessed why Leng Junfei had personally come to Rongcheng.