Chapter 346: 347
"By the way, the people who came in just now all seemed to follow the lead of the one who was speaking. Who was that person?" someone noticed the issue and asked Song Xiaodong.
At that moment, Song Xiaodong had to say, "He is the Director of the Municipal Government Office."
Everyone was stunned, especially Wang Yuming and Cui Sijiao, both of whom were civil servants and thus quite sensitive to the ranks of their leadership. Although the Director of the Municipal Government Office wasnât exceptionally high-ranking, it was still slightly higher than a district bureau chief.
However, he often stayed with the cityâs leaders, which meant his influence was much stronger than that of a district bureau chief. This was also why their own bureau chief deferred to Zhao Yongbo.
Since a character like Zhao Yongbo showed great respect to Song Xiaodong, it implied that Song Xiaodong had significant influence in official circles.
"Ding-dong-dong." The sound of knocking came again.
Everyone first glanced at the private roomâs door, then all turned to look at Song Xiaodong.
Song Xiaodong could only say, "Come in."
The door opened, and Chen Jun walked in, coming directly to Song Xiaodongâs side. He whispered awkwardly, "Mr. Song, the lady just called me, and I accidentally mentioned you were here. She insisted on coming over, and sheâs now outside. However, she wants to ask first if she can come in?"
Song Xiaodong glanced at Chen Jun and said, "Sheâs already here, can I have her wait outside? Let her in."
Chen Jun chuckled and said, "Then Iâll get the lady to come in."
Chen Junâs words to Song Xiaodong were unheard by everyone else, but when they heard this last bit, they were all quite puzzled. The lady? Was Song Xiaodong bringing a girl? What was going on?
After Chen Jun left, a stunningly beautiful woman walked in. She wore a simple yet elegant white dress and had a face so sublime it seemed angelic.
"Brother Dongzi!" Xiao Yingying called out crisply, then walked straight to Song Xiaodongâs side.
Su Yao immediately moved aside to offer a seat, saying, "Please, have a seat."
Xiao Yingying smiled sweetly at Su Yao and said, "Thank you, sister. Wow, youâre really pretty too. Youâre not Brother Dongziâs lover, are you?"
Su Yao instantly felt awkward and rushed to clarify, "No, no, Iâm just his classmate and also his secretary."
"Oh, I see. Iâm Brother Dongziâs lover. Nice to meet you all." As Xiao Yingying spoke, she sat down next to Song Xiaodong and hugged his arm, pouting her lips and saying, "Brother Dongzi, Iâve missed you so much. You havenât visited me in days."
The men in the room nearly popped their eyes out. Such a beautiful girl claimed to be Song Xiaodongâs lover, and he hadnât visited her in days. If it were them, theyâd probably be revolving around this beauty daily.
Wang Yuming, who now especially wanted to mend his relationship with Song Xiaodong, quickly said with a smile, "Dongzi, you havenât introduced your beautiful little lover to us yet."
Song Xiaodong cleared his throat and said, "This is Xiao Yingying, my friend."
Xiao Yingying pouted and said, "Brother Dongzi, you already promised to be my lover, and thereâs no girlfriend of yours here. You still wonât admit it, you bad boy."
Wang Yuming said hastily, "Dongzi, youâre really lucky, having a beautiful girl like Xiao Yingying taking the initiative to be your loverâit really makes us envious."
"Exactly, weâre totally envious." A group of boys readily agreed.
Zhou Peng, no longer daring to act big in front of Song Xiaodong, cautiously asked, "I heard that gentleman refer to her as Miss just now. May I ask what does this beautiful ladyâs family do?"
Xiao Yingying, with a smiling face, said, "My dad is Xiao Haiqing, heâs probably in business. What exactly he does, Iâm not sure."
"Xiao Haiqing... what? Xiao Haiqing!" Zhou Peng muttered to himself, then suddenly exclaimed aloud, staring wide-eyed at Xiao Yingying and Song Xiaodong.
"Whatâs wrong? You wouldnât happen to have a grudge against my dad, would you?" Xiao Yingying, covering her chest in surprise, looked at Zhou Peng.
Song Xiaodong took Xiao Yingyingâs hand, guarding her heart. Luckily, she had been recovering well lately; otherwise, Zhou Pengâs shout might have made her sick.
"Zhou Peng, who exactly is Xiao Haiqing?" Everyone looked at Zhou Peng, puzzled.
Zhou Peng grinned bitterly and said, "Heâs the chairman of Xiao Corporation, a well-known big company in Tiannan City."
"What? The chairman of Xiao Corporation? Doesnât that mean Xiao Yingyingâs family is also worth over a billion?"
"My God, and she wants to be Dongziâs lover? That must be madness!"
The crowd was shocked once again, then looked at Song Xiaodong and Xiao Yingying as if they were seeing monsters.
Xiao Yingying smiled sweetly, leaned her head on Song Xiaodongâs shoulder, and said, "I donât care. I just like Brother Dongzi, and I want to be his lover."
Everyone felt their brains couldnât quite handle it. What was going on?
If Chen Zixu and Zhao Yongbo and their group coming to toast Song Xiaodong wasnât shocking enough, Xiao Yingyingâs appearance was an absolute bombshell.
Being well-connected might imply that Song Xiaodongâs background was not simple. For example, he had a girlfriend like Miao Qingqing, but even a wealthy young lady like Xiao Yingying was willingly being his loverâthis was a testament to Song Xiaodongâs charm and strength.
Zhou Peng now realized why Su Yao said he couldnât compare to Song Xiaodong. His own standing was nothing in comparison to Song Xiaodong; with the resources that Song Xiaodong held, achieving them was something he could never manage in his lifetime.
As for Su Yao, he now dared not entertain any thoughts. She was already Song Xiaodongâs secretary, and being a secretary meant a lotâbeing busy with secretarial work, and possibly already one of Song Xiaodongâs lovers.
"Dongzi, let me toast you. I was really blind to mock you before. I hope you can forgive my petty faults and not stoop down to my level," Zhou Peng said as he proactively raised his glass.
Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "Fellow classmates, I, Song Xiaodong, havenât been to college, and my memories of elementary and middle school are not vivid; only my high school friends are the best friends of my life. So, I hope everyone can overlook social statuses, and we can just be classmates. Hang out and chat over drinksâthatâs what I really hope to see."
Everyone echoed in agreement, secretly delighted. Song Xiaodongâs words meant he was letting bygones be bygones, and with this connection as classmates, they might be able to gain some benefits from him.
Iâll post thrice a day for the next few days, then save up some material for New Yearâs visits, as I wonât be able to write during those. After my birthday, which is on the eighth day of the new year, I plan to burst into action!