Noticing her unease, Lin Ze subtly pushed the napkin towards her.

After Zhang Sumu sat down, Shi Jing quickly asked, "Brother Zhang, does our company have business dealings with this person?"

It's no wonder Shi Jing asked directly; her impression of this person wasn't good at all. Although she didn't like interfering in the company's business dealings, it was best to avoid cooperating with someone like this.

When faced with Shi Jing's question, Zhang Sumu did not hide anything, but replied with a smile: "It's not that we have any cooperation, it's just that we're in the same circle and have met a few times."

Then Zhang Sumu explained, "This Mr. Jin started out in the cinema industry and has quite a reputation in the industry. They work in the film and television industry and have some artists they collaborate with, so they are involved in many charity galas and similar events."

I see. Shi Jing realized that it wasn't a collaboration with his own company and felt relieved.

After dinner, a light drizzle began to fall. The nighttime temperature was a bit low, and Shi Jing pulled her coat tighter around her, feeling quite cold.

She didn't go back to her newly bought apartment this time. She hadn't done anything to it since she got it, and since she only planned to stay for two days, she didn't hire anyone to clean it and simply stayed at a nearby hotel again.

She lived nearby and didn't need Zhang Sumu to take her. Lin Ze, on the other hand, hadn't had time to go back from the airport and came straight to the company, so he naturally didn't have a car. Since it wasn't appropriate for him to take a taxi home, Zhang Sumu simply drove him back.

The rain was intermittent on Friday night, and it almost never stopped.

The rain stopped the next day, but the sky remained overcast, and the temperature dropped, not even as high as the previous night.

Shi Jing had only brought light clothing and a jacket this time, but the weather was surprisingly chilly. After lunch, Shi Jing quickly went to the mall and bought a thicker jacket.

Shi Jing went to the charity gala that evening with Zhang Sumu. Along the way, she met many people, some familiar faces and some new ones.

To her surprise, she also ran into Qi Yan's brother, Qi Jing.

The Qi family's company has a special scholarship program. She even used Qi Jing's connections to help Rongyu secure sponsorships, so she was quite familiar with it.

"Brother Jing." Upon seeing him, Shi Jing greeted him obediently.

Qi Jing is several years older than Qi Yan. He has been working in the company for several years and is now much more mature and less impulsive.

However, Qi Jing was still very happy to see his younger sister's good friend: "Xiao Shuang, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to come to this banquet as well."

"I just got back and had some things to take care of, and since I had some free time, I thought I'd come and join in the fun," Shi Jing explained.

"Yeah, this is fun. But you're still in school, so drink less." Qi Jing only gave this reminder because he considered Shi Jing one of his own.

Shi Jing obediently agreed.

At the banquet, glasses clinked and guests chatted and laughed.

After getting to know a bunch of people through Zhang Sumu, Shi Jing's schedule for the evening was finally over. She found a corner to sit down and rest, picking out some snacks to eat casually.

This was a time when everyone was chatting enthusiastically, and this corner was quiet and undisturbed. Shi Jing found a seat and took out his phone to check messages.

After not checking the group messages for a while, Shi Jing noticed that there were many more messages in the chat group. She clicked on them and saw that they were all just casual chatter and nothing of importance.

After glancing at it briefly, Shi Jing closed the dormitory group chat window, and then saw the message Rong Yu had sent him.

He wasn't busy lately, just going about his studies and lab routine, which helped Shi Jing a lot.

Ever since he learned that Shi Jing intended to sponsor some research projects, he had introduced Shi Jing to many projects from his senior classmates. He had carefully vetted these projects, and most of them were quite reliable and practical materials-related projects. Two of the smaller projects even generated revenue in a short period of time, adding to Shi Jing's account.

This time, he was offered another small project, but unlike before, it was in the medical field. Rong Yu explained in the message that the project leader this time wasn't a senior from their department, but rather a senior from a neighboring research institute's project group.

Come to think of it, this person came to us of his own accord.

This man, Sun Xiangnan, is a highly talented individual with considerable expertise in hematological disease research. However, there are many research institutes specializing in hematological diseases these days, and he isn't a particularly senior researcher. He applied for research funding multiple times but was unsuccessful. External sponsorship has also been delayed.

He wanted to do research but couldn't get funding, so after careful consideration he decided to conduct the project in stages.

Because Rongyu had recently secured sponsorships for many of her senior classmates, she had garnered considerable attention within a small circle. Sun Xiangnan had also heard about this, so he offered his services and went to Rongyu seeking help.

Rong Yu had been at the research institute for quite some time and knew that this person was indeed capable. However, this project was not within Rong Yu's research scope. Although he recommended it to Shi Jing, he didn't rule it out; he just mentioned it to Shi Jing.

Shi Jing's eyes lit up when she saw the project plan; she had never invested in the medical field before.

In life, everyone needs to see a doctor and get medical treatment. If we can really develop a medicine that is beneficial to people, even if it is just a slight improvement, it would be a good thing for the country and the people.

Shi Jing glanced at the project and realized that due to the project's segmentation, the initial investment wasn't high. However, even if the investment were higher, Shi Jing was willing to invest as long as there was hope.

Without hesitation, she readily agreed.

After replying to Rong Yu's message, Shi Jing looked at the remaining messages. None of them were important. Shi Jing glanced through them briefly and replied to some messages.

Suddenly, Shi Jing heard voices nearby. The place was secluded, and Shi Jing hadn't expected anyone to come.

This is a public place. Shi Jing rubbed his ears, mourning the possible loss of peace and quiet.

The two women who arrived appeared to be wealthy ladies, each dressed in elegant and luxurious attire. However, their vulgar outbursts completely ruined their refined demeanor.

"Who sent you the photos? Are the things in the photos true?" the short-haired woman asked.

"No man is immune to infidelity, bah! I was wondering why that bastard kept coming to the capital; turns out he's been cheating on me!" The woman with her hair in a bun frowned.

Shi Jing was caught off guard and overheard something. She was just looking for some peace and quiet, but she didn't expect to hear such gossip.

Whether it was Shi Jing's surprised gaze that drew attention, the two people opposite him looked over. The woman with her hair up glared at Shi Jing, it was unclear whether she minded or not.