After waiting for a long time in the terminal, until it was dark, the woman named Dai Ting finally came slowly.
She emerged from the first-class passenger exit, dragging a rather large suitcase, wearing a fur coat and amber sunglasses. Her long, slightly wavy hair gathered at the bottom and cascaded down her right shoulder. She certainly wasn't a young girl, but appeared to be in her early thirties, possessing an elegant air that had been refined by time.
Of course, Lu Zhe already knew from Tang Qi that this aunt was actually well over forty. However, the biggest difference between her and her daughter wasn't their demeanor, but their height. She was clearly over 1.6 meters tall and was wearing high heels, creating a stark contrast with Xiao Caitang, who was clearly under 1.6 meters tall but insisted on wearing only flat shoes.
Seeing her mother arrive with a suitcase, Tang Qi introduced them, "Lu Zhe, this is my mother. Mom, this is..."
The mature woman smiled and extended her hand: "I've heard of you, Lu Zhe, right? Hello, my name is Dai Ting, you can just call me Aunt Dai."
Lu Zhe extended his hand and shook hers briefly before releasing it. With a polite smile, he said, "Hello, Aunt Dai. Miss Tang may have already told you about me. Yes, I'm her friend and also work part-time as her assistant."
Dai Ting raised an eyebrow with a smile: "Just friends?"
This question left Lu Zhe speechless. Xiao Caitang hadn't told him how much her mother knew about their relationship.
Dai Ting suddenly said, "Never mind, calling me Aunt Dai is too formal. Although this is the first time we've met, you're very familiar with our Xiao Qi. How about this, you can just call me 'Auntie'."
Lu Zhe hesitated for only a second before decisively saying, "Okay, Auntie."
Dai Ting laughed and said, "You must have been waiting for a long time, right? You must have worked so hard. Come on, let me treat you to something delicious and let you have some fun."
————
Aunt Dai Ting led the two young people to a restaurant located in a high-rise building in the south of the city. This building was much taller than the office building where Ji Chunqiu's company was located, and also taller than the apartment building where Tang Qi's family lived.
The restaurant where the three of them sat down was a private kitchen on the 50th floor of the building.
Because their seats were next to floor-to-ceiling windows facing southeast, they couldn't see the old town to the north, but only the new town under construction to the southeast, as well as many plots of land that hadn't yet been developed.
While waiting for the food to be served, Dai Ting suddenly said, "Your dad told me that he's planning to open a branch here. The government here has strong policies to attract investment, and the labor costs are lower than in Huadu and Shenzhen."
Tang Qi knew nothing about these business matters and had no interest in them; she simply said "Oh" to indicate that she was listening.
As for Lu Zhe, who was sitting next to Miss Tang, he listened much more attentively. However, as an outsider, he not only couldn't get a word in edgewise, but he also felt a little awkward—was it really necessary to discuss such family matters in front of an outsider like himself?
But soon, Dai Ting turned her gaze to him and asked, "Lu Zhe, what about you? What is your main job now?"
Lu Zhe: "Working at a company..."
Dai Ting laughed and said, "Of course you work in a company. I'm just a little curious, what industry are you in, and what do you do?"
Lu Zhe: "I work at an artificial intelligence company, where we make external investments."
Upon hearing this answer, Dai Ting was slightly taken aback: "Artificial intelligence? That's for tech people, isn't it? What do you mean by foreign investment? Are you going to throw money around overseas?"
Lu Zhe: "It can't be said that we're throwing money around, because the company's investment direction is very clear, and the companies we acquire are all technology-related."
Dai Ting picked up her water glass, took a small sip, and said casually, "Your company has a dedicated external investment department, right? That means the company is quite large and has a lot of cash flow."
Lu Zhe: "It's alright, at least for now, we can manage."
Dai Ting: "How are your benefits at the company? Does your department head make things difficult for you?"
Lu Zhe: "I'm the head of the department, no one will make things difficult for me. The boss treats me quite well."
Dai Ting was holding a cup at the time. Upon hearing this, her hand trembled, and she almost spilled the water in the cup.
Her eyes widened: "You're the department head! Wait, how old are you?"
Lu Zhe: "Twenty-five."
Tang Qi, who was standing next to him, added, "He just had his birthday last month, and I celebrated it with him."
Dai Ting waved her hand to signal her daughter to stop causing trouble, then stared at him and asked, "How many people are in your department?"
Lu Zhe: "There are less than ten people at the moment, but we are still recruiting. We should have more than ten by the end of the year."
Dai Ting: "So how much money exactly did you handle?"
Lu Zhe blinked, but did not give an answer immediately.
Dai Ting realized her mistake and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I went a bit too far. This should be a trade secret. But I'm just curious, why does your boss trust you so much?"
Lu Zhe thought for a moment and explained, "Actually, she doesn't completely trust me, because she has already planned which companies to invest in. I'm just responsible for meeting with those merging companies to discuss things in detail; I don't really have any final say."
Dai Ting: "I understand now, your boss must be a very controlling person, right?"
Lu Zhe squinted and recalled for a moment.
Thinking back to what happened the night before, especially the scene where President Xia insisted on being up there... Lu Zhe had to admit that her desire for control was indeed very strong.
Lu Zhe nodded: "Indeed. But for me, this job opportunity is quite valuable, and I can be exposed to a lot of things in the industry and grow a lot."
Dai Ting: So you plan to work in the AI industry in the future? Is your major in school related to this?
Lu Zhe laughed and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter much, since I didn't study computer science. But I think there aren't many people who can find a job based on their undergraduate major. Most people's major and their profession are not the same thing. Besides, I studied philosophy in school, which doesn't have many related professions."
Dai Ting: "Then why did you choose philosophy in the first place?"
Lu Zhe: "It's purely out of interest."
Dai Ting smiled and said, "In that case, what if I told you I have a really good job offer? Would you be interested?"
Hearing her say that, Lu Zhe was slightly taken aback.
He asked cautiously, "I don't quite understand, why would you..."
Dai Ting: "Why did I fall for you?"
Lu Zhe nodded.
Dai Ting smiled and said, "Because you are so handsome..."
Lu Zhe: "?"
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
