Chapter 16: 016: Lin Yue's husband is next door.
In another private room, a song and dance revelry was currently in full swing.
Liu Jin, as one of the leading characters, had indeed enjoyed much limelight over the past few years.
After the Beijing elders' maneuvers, his father was transferred to work in Jiangcheng City, serving as one of the top three officials of the city.
Once a marginal figure in the Jingbei Supercar Club, he instantly became a focus of attention for core members like Ye Wei and others.
In order to gain further acceptance in their clique, Liu Jin, with a grand gesture, invited Ye Wei and others to develop their business in Jiangcheng.
There they were, Ye Wei and Nie Yun representing a group of young masters and their capital from Beijing to make some business investments.
When they were free, they would all gather at the Night Assembly to enjoy each other's company.
Those with girlfriends would bring them along, and those without, well, there were always ways within the circle to call over some internet celebrities who needed to flaunt and elevate their status to join the drinking sessions.
After all, it was a high-end gathering, and unless you were a top internet celebrity or the beauty queen of an arts school, you wouldn't have that kind of access.
Drinks kept coming and going, with each order easily running up a bill of over a hundred thousand.
For the top-tier Night Assembly in Jiangcheng, this was nothing out of the ordinary.
Ye Wei and Nie Yun were holding microphones and singing. Before long, the door of the private room was pushed open by a princess, leading in Zhao Xinming and Lin Yu.
The two men were also holding glasses brimming with wine.
In the other private room, Lin Yu and Zhao Xinming might have been the mainstays, but once inside this room, they were very humble and restrained, not even daring to glance around carelessly.
Nobody knew what was being played here, and any unwarranted interruption could spoil the mood.
As Liu Jin, who was enjoying Ye Wei and Nie Yun's singing and waving his arms, recognized Zhao Xinming, he stood up with a smile and said, "Zhao Xinming?"
"Mr. Liu, we were drinking next door and heard you were here, so we came to offer a toast," Zhao Xinming said with a smile.
"Good, good, good," Liu Jin replied with a smile, turning around to pick up a glass from the table and toasted with the two men.
At that moment, Ye Wei and Nie Yun finished their duet.
Liu Jin, and the group of men and women seated behind him on the sofas, all began clapping their hands.
"Great, Mr. Ye, Mr. Nie, you both sang wonderfully."
Looking at the scene, it was clear that the two singers had taken center stage in this private room, even Liu Jin proactively led the applause.
Although Zhao Xinming and Lin Yu did not know them, it didn't stop them from putting down their glasses and clapping and shouting loudly along with the rest.
After all, the place needed to have an atmosphere, to be lively.
Their eagerness to please immediately caught the attention of Ye Wei and Nie Yun.
Liu Jin quickly seized the opportunity to introduce, "This is Zhao Xinming, the son of the second in command of the Pudong District."
"Pleased to meet you, my name is Ye Wei."
"I'm Nie Yun."
Zhao Xinming, slightly excited, shook hands and said, "Good to meet you, Mr. Ye, Mr. Nie."
Ye Wei and Nie Yun, while representing just an investment company from Beijing, had backgrounds Zhao Xinming knew linked to the powerful third generation circles of Beijing!
Liu Jin was also a member of that circle!
Ye Wei quickly waved his hand, "Don't call us that, just use our names, what era are we in? You make it sound like we're young masters living off family wealth."
Nie Yun also laughed and wrapped an arm around Liu Jin, "We have Mr. Liu here; we need to rely on him after all. No need for a dragon to overwhelm a local snake."
This remark elevated Liu Jin, who laughed and modestly said, "You flatter me too much, gentlemen."
What he said was true; his father was enjoying a brief spotlight in Jiangcheng, but there would come a time when he would step down.
But Nie Yun and Ye Wei were from the courtyard conglomerate, a group that included one of the three big decision-makers who determined who would work where!
Lin Yu stood smiling beside them, but with a tinge of embarrassment.
Liu Jin did not recognize him, fortunately, Zhao Xinming introduced him, "This is the son of the third-in-command of the Chongming District, Lin Yu."
The reason Lin Yu lacked the confidence that Zhao Xinming had, was because his father's Chongming District ranked near the bottom in terms of overall economic development among all the districts in Jiangcheng.
By contrast, Zhao Xinming's father's district ranked first, which was why Liu Jin gave him face.
According to the system, Zhao Xinming's father was most likely to be the first to be promoted into the city administration!
Ye Wei and Nie Yun shook hands with Lin Yu, smiling, "I've been to the Chongming District, it's not bad."
Lin Yu hurriedly responded, "Next time you gentlemen visit, call me, and I'll take you to eat authentic local specialties."
Ye Wei joked, "Forget the specialties, but I might consider experiencing the features."
"Hahahaha."
Afterward, Lin Yu and Zhao Xinming filled their cups and went around toasting everyone present, effectively introducing themselves to this social circle.
Gu Feng saw Lin Yu returning, looking like he had drunk quite a bit.
Clearly, the toasting had been too frequent, and he had drunk no small amount.
But he seemed very happy, and again raised his glass to Zhao Xinming, thanking him for bringing him along to meet Liu Jin and the others in this circle.
In other words, not only was Lin Yu not going to blame Zhao Xinming for rejecting Xu Dong's request, but he was also grateful for the introduction to Mr. Liu!
One could say that the winner of the night was Zhao Xinming.
Not only did he refuse you, Lin Yu, in person, sparing no face for your brother-in-law, but he also left you smiling while toasting after just a short trip next door.
In the eyes of the outsiders in the private room, Zhao Xinming of the district tycoons clearly had more finesse and class than his peer, Lin Yu!
All about competing with fathers, it could only be said that Lin Yu was soundly outdone.
But in Gu Feng's view, Lin Yu's ability to gracefully endure it all was quite admirable.
"Brother-in-law, aren't you going to sing a song? How about one?" Lin Yu also remembered to look after Gu Feng's feelings and didn't want to leave anyone out.
He had already gone to comfort Xu Dong, his brother-in-law, with a toast.
Gu Feng, who was smoking, just laughed and shook his head.
Not to mention that he was tone-deaf and only knew military songs, which were completely out of sync with the popular music these young people enjoyed.
Most importantly, he disliked singing.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Liu Jin, also enjoying his drink, reciprocated the courteous exchanges by going to Lin Yu's private room with his cup to toast everyone.
This left Zhao Xinming feeling flattered and as if the halo above his head had just gained several more layers.
Liu Jin sat in the private room for a while, getting acquainted with many of the people there.
Including Gu Feng, who sat quietly in a corner, drinking and smoking without speaking.
"President Lin's husband?"
Learning that he was the husband of Lin Yue, the number one US dollar heiress of Jiangcheng, Liu Jin immediately showed respect and did not forget to clink glasses with Gu Feng.
When he returned to his own private room, he gossiped, "Guess who I saw in Zhao Xinming's private room? It was Lin Yue's husband from Thunder Group; he was there too."
A group of boys and girls playing dice suddenly stopped.