Chapter 2
Chapter Summary: "You married for love." But what she really wanted to say was, "Can love put food on the table?"
Every time Xu Tianzhou was mentioned, Ni Zhenzhen's usually gentle face would soften even more. This surprised Qian Lina greatly. She wasn't surprised that married life wasn't as terrible as rumored, but rather that Ni Zhenzhen had gotten married so early.
Before Qian Lina could speak, Rong Xiaodan blurted out, "How old is he? What does he do? Where does he work? How did you two meet? And most importantly... is he handsome?"
When Qian Lina heard that Ni Zhenzhen's husband worked at Huijing Center, she was really shocked.
The Grand View Centre is one of the city’s landmarks. The entire project consists of two supertall buildings and a podium connecting the two supertall buildings.
The first five floors of Huijing Center house a shopping mall and parking lot, while the upper floors are occupied by a hotel and office space. Due to its prime location, advanced facilities, and comprehensive amenities, numerous well-known companies choose to operate here, including investment banks, consulting firms, media companies, law firms, technology companies, and manufacturers—any one of which could be a valuable asset on a resume.
Owning an office in the Huijing Center is a dream for many, so much so that many self-media outlets like to use Huijing Center as a gimmick, with titles such as "It took me ten years to be able to see the view from Huijing Center", "A Guide to Men in Huijing Center", "Have you ever seen Huijing Center at 4 a.m.?" and so on, too numerous to mention.
Qian Lina thought Ni Zhenzhen's husband was like the one described in the article: an Ivy League returnee, wearing a custom-made suit worth 30,000 yuan, using a luxury wallet with a logo, discussing high-end projects in English at meetings, and most importantly, always having a Starbucks coffee in his hand.
To Qian Lina's surprise, Ni Zhenzhen's husband, although working at Huijing Center, wasn't an investment banking elite; he was the manager of a rice noodle shop on the basement floor of the shopping mall. Ni Zhenzhen also mentioned that they were college sweethearts, having known each other since middle school, and after many ups and downs, they finally got together.
Upon hearing this, Rong Xiaodan exclaimed "Wow!" with starry eyes, "How romantic..."
Qian Lina also said, "You married for love."
What she really wanted to say was, "Can love put food on the table?"
Soon, Ni Zhenzhen helped Rong Xiaodan put on her scarf, and the two of them asked her to go to the morning meeting together. Qian Lina agreed, locked the cabinet, and followed them out.
At the same time, Xu Tianzhou had already gotten off the subway.
Unlike those people wearing custom-made suits, holding Starbucks, and constantly talking on the phone, Xu Tianzhou walked towards the shopping center, which was still relatively empty at the time.
After descending the escalator and entering the rice noodle shop, Xu Tianzhou did not linger in the cramped manager's office. Instead, he opened the metal cabinet in the office and stepped out of it.
Outside the metal cabinet, a square entrance hall appeared before him, and not far away, an elevator that required a password to open was waiting for him.
Xu Tianzhou took the elevator straight to the 58th floor and walked to the right with practiced ease.
Although located in the same building, this area is completely different from the bustling basement.
There were no greasy floors, no banners advertising "Set meals for only [amount] yuan", no half-broken neon lights, and no strange smells from years of poor ventilation. Instead, there was only a highly designed interior and the embrace of natural light.
Strangely, although this is the floor where the office area is located, it doesn't look like a typical office. Looking around, there isn't a single desk in the vast space, only a conference table that isn't very big.
The people waiting for the meeting to start saw Xu Tianzhou arrive and hurriedly stood up, respectfully saying, "Good morning, Mr. Xu."
Xu Tianzhou nodded, then looked around and his gaze fell on an unfamiliar face.
Su Wenjin, who was standing next to him, immediately introduced him: "This is the new technical expert who used to work at the Aerospace Research Institute."
Xu Tianzhou extended his hand and said, "Hello, I am Xu Tianzhou."
"You...hello..." Although the technical expert had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he actually met Xu Tianzhou.
After everyone was seated, he continued to secretly observe Xu Tianzhou, realizing that this was the actual controller of Xinda Group.
It's kind of funny, but Su Wenjin personally talked to him about his job change to Cinda Group.
He was just as excited when he first met Su Wenjin as he is today.
As a well-known entrepreneur, Su Wenjin frequently attends meetings, gives speeches, and is interviewed. Even people who never follow financial news will know his name through various channels. He is like a spokesperson for Cinda Group; anyone who knows Cinda Group will definitely know his name.
"I've seen you on TV so often, and today I finally meet you in person." He kept showering Su Wenjin with compliments, sincerely thanking her for her appreciation, and repeatedly expressing his willingness to serve her wholeheartedly.
Su Wenjin humbly replied, "This is actually a misunderstanding."
It turns out that although he is the Chairman and CEO of Cinda Group, he is not the actual controller of Cinda Group. As for who the actual controller of Cinda Group is, only seven people in the world know.
“You will be one of them,” Su Wenjin said solemnly, pointing at him.
Su Wenjin said that the boss attaches great importance to the upcoming project, so he decided to bring him into the top decision-making level of Cinda Group.
"Come to my office at 7:45 in the morning. I will take you upstairs via the stairs inside the office to have a meeting with the boss."
Su Wenjin also specifically instructed him that the boss was also the manager of a rice noodle shop on the basement floor. If he saw him, he shouldn't be too surprised, and he shouldn't go up and talk to him. He should just pretend that he didn't know him.
"Remember this very well."
He would never forget the expression on Su Wenjin's face when she said those words, as if she were talking about something of life and death, as if a single mistake could lead to the destruction of the world.
"I'll remember that." He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed inwardly, wondering what was wrong with these rich people. Why did they have to become the manager of a rice noodle shop when such a big company wasn't enough for them?
Xinda Group usually starts work at nine o'clock, but due to Xu Tianzhou's request, the meeting of the top decision-making level was moved to eight o'clock.
Although Xu Tianzhou was the actual controller of Xinda Group, he was more like an observer during the meeting. He neither sat in the center nor spoke much, only occasionally asking about some details.
Some time ago, Xu Tianzhou decided to enter the aerospace field, establishing a company targeting the commercial aerospace market, mainly engaged in the design, manufacturing, and operation of launch vehicles. This is also why he invited aerospace technical experts to join the group's top decision-making level.
Commercial spaceflight involves large investments and a long cycle. Every step, from financing to execution, is crucial, and the slightest mistake can lead to irreversible consequences.
The meeting continued until noon, when Su Wenjin announced a recess, saying, "Let's have lunch first."
A short while later, Su Wenjin's secretary brought over several boxed meals.
Su Wenjin personally handed the boxed lunch to the technical expert and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I've wronged you."
“It’s alright. Back when I was at the research institute, I often didn’t even have time to eat. Now, being able to have a hot meal is already a blessing.” After saying this, the technical expert carefully opened the lunchbox.
He had long heard that the employee meals at Xinda Group were extraordinary, made with organic ingredients and prepared by renowned chefs, with at least a different meal every month. Seeing it today, he was certain that it lived up to its reputation.
The technical expert was enjoying his meal when he glanced up and noticed that Xu Tianzhou had pulled out a corn cob from somewhere and was munching on it without regard for the other people around.
The technical experts were stunned, wondering to themselves if the ribs weren't fragrant enough, or the shrimp weren't tender enough? And why was the actual controller of the prestigious Cinda Group bringing his own corn?
Seeing this, Su Wenjin smiled knowingly, "Did she prepare this for you?"
"Yes," Xu Tianzhou said helplessly. "She was afraid I would go hungry, so she insisted that I take it." His words seemed to express considerable disdain.
The tech experts were trying to figure out who this "she" was when suddenly, Xu Tianzhou grabbed his phone, his expression changing drastically.
Su Wenjin sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong? Did something happen to her?"
Xu Tianzhou slammed his phone on the table with a "thud," his face grim and his tone displeased, "I knew it..."
On Xu Tianzhou's phone, a small red dot is moving from the suburbs towards the city center.
Ni Zhenzhen ran out of the bank during her lunch break.
She traveled to a subway station, climbed the overpass, and saw an old woman in a dark blue dress in the distance. She let out a long sigh of relief.
Thankfully, she's still alive.
When Ni Zhenzhen passed by this place in the morning, she saw the old lady kneeling on the ground begging. In the subway station, people rushed to work, but few paid any attention to her. Ni Zhenzhen really wanted to go up and give the old lady some money, but she was afraid that Xu Tianzhou would be angry.
Xu Tianzhou once said that all beggars on the street are liars; they may not be worse off than her. She should sympathize with herself instead of others.
What if someone really needs help?
If she hadn't seen it, it wouldn't have mattered, but she did. Ni Zhenzhen couldn't get over it. The thought that the old lady might really be in trouble made her restless, and she rushed over before even getting off work that evening.
Ni Zhenzhen remembered Qian Lina saying that when facing beggars, give money to those who ask for food and food to those who ask for money. She handed the steamed buns and soy milk she had just bought to the old lady and said gently, "Eat up."
The old woman glanced at her, and a glimmer of light appeared in her stagnant gray eyes. She repeatedly kowtowed to Ni Zhenzhen, "Thank you, young lady, thank you, young lady..."
"No, no, please eat slowly. I'll go buy more if you're still hungry."
Watching the old lady wolf down her food, Ni Zhenzhen felt that this trip was definitely worthwhile. She even thought smugly that she must tell Xu Tianzhou about this when she got back, and see if he would still say that all the beggars on the street were liars.
After the old lady had finished eating, Ni Zhenzhen prepared to leave.
Just as she turned around, the old woman suddenly crawled a few steps onto her knees and grabbed Ni Zhenzhen's legs, pleading, "Girl, please give me some money, I beg you, I beg you..."
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