281: Chapter 281 The Cocktail Party Incident (5)

As he approached, Zhang Hongtian, his Face beaming with smiles, proactively extended his hand toward Qin Yi and greeted him with a laugh, "Hello, Mr. Qin."

Although Qin Yi had already conducted multiple transactions with Hongtian Group, this was his first meeting with Zhang Hongtian. Seeing the other party being so polite, Qin Yi also hurriedly extended his hand, shook it, and responded politely, "Hello, Chairman Zhang. I've heard much about you."

"Mr. Qin is too kind. In fact, I have always wanted to visit you and express my gratitude in person. Unfortunately, the group encountered some issues recently, and I truly couldn't get away. I hope Mr. Qin won't take offense."

"Chairman Zhang must be joking. You are a Senior; if we're talking about visiting, it should be a Junior like me visiting you instead."

"Mr. Qin, saying that is overpraising me. Speaking of which, if it weren't for Mr. Qin purchasing an entire building in the Shenjiangwan Community in one go back then, allowing Hongtian Group to catch its breath, the group's capital chain might have truly been at risk of breaking. It can be said that without Mr. Qin, there would be no future for Hongtian Group. Mr. Qin, you are practically a benefactor to Hongtian Group."

"Oh, Chairman Zhang, you're overstating things. There's no need to talk about benefactors; we were just both getting what we needed."

The building purchase had been entirely handled by the System. If they continued talking about it, Qin Yi worried he might slip up. Thus, he changed the subject, looked at Zhang Gang standing beside Zhang Hongtian, and asked with a smile, "This must be your Young Master, Chairman Zhang?"

"Yes, my son Zhang Gang. He just returned from studying in Australia, so I brought him along to see the world."

As Zhang Hongtian spoke, he also looked at Zhang Gang and reminded him in a deep voice, "What are you dazing for? Hurry up and greet Mr. Qin!"

Hearing this, Zhang Gang's Face was immediately covered in smiles. He proactively extended his hand, grasped Qin Yi's, and said gratefully, "Hello, Mr. Qin. I've heard my father talk about how you stepped up to save Hongtian Group. I, Zhang Gang, will certainly keep your kindness in mind. Rest assured, from now on, Mr. Qin's business is my business. I can't speak for other places, but in Shanghai, I, Zhang Gang, still have some Face."

Hearing this, Zhang Hongtian raised his hand and lightly slapped the back of Zhang Gang's head, scolding him with feigned displeasure, "You brat, after all these years abroad, you still haven't fixed your habit of talking nonsense! What kind of status does Mr. Qin have that he would need you to step up for him?!" Saying this, Zhang Hongtian looked back at Qin Yi and gave an embarrassed smile, saying apologetically, "I've made a fool of myself in front of Mr. Qin. This kid of mine has been spoiled by me; he has no filter."

"Dad, there are so many people here. At least give your son some Face~" Zhang Gang said, raising his hand to rub the back of his head before looking at Qin Yi with a sheepish grin.

Qin Yi's impression of Zhang Gang was actually quite good; at least his personality was quite to his liking. Thus, Qin Yi chimed in, "Young Master Zhang is straightforward and quite an interesting fellow. We're all young people, so let's not bother with 'Mr.' this and 'Mr.' that. You should be a bit older than me, so I'll call you Brother Gang."

"Haha, sounds good. However, calling you Brother Qin would be somewhat disrespectful, so I'll call you Young Master Qin~"

"Sure, either way works," Qin Yi replied, then turned to Xing Zhenkun and introduced him to the two, "Let me introduce you. This is my good friend, Xing Zhenkun."

Xing Zhenkun quickly smiled and shook hands with Zhang Hongtian and Zhang Gang.

"Hello, Chairman Zhang. I've often heard my father mention you before, and today I finally have the honor of meeting you," Xing Zhenkun said with a polite smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Hongtian was a bit curious. Xing Zhenkun? That surname was somewhat unfamiliar; none of the people he knew seemed to be named Xing. So, Zhang Hongtian asked curiously, "Oh? And who might your father be?"

"My father is Xing Guoqiang~" Xing Zhenkun responded with a smile.

Hearing this name, Zhang Hongtian immediately remembered and confirmed, "Could it be the Chairman of Xishan's Qiangsheng Group, Xing Guoqiang?"

Xing Zhenkun nodded and continued, "That's right, that's my father. Before I came to Shanghai to start my business, my father told me I must visit you, Chairman Zhang. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance until now. It's truly shameful."

"Oh, so you're Old Xing's son! I was wondering why you looked so familiar," Zhang Hongtian said, proactively taking Xing Zhenkun's hand and patting his arm. His eyes were full of reminiscence as he continued, "Your father and I are old acquaintances. When I was sent to the countryside back then, it was in your hometown's village. Decades have passed in a flash. How is your father? Is his health still good?"

"Thank you for your concern. My father is doing very well."

"That's good. By the way, why did you think of coming to Shanghai to start a business? Why didn't you go back to Xishan to take over your father's business?"

"Heh, I'm not very interested in the coal industry. After returning from studying abroad, I spent a few years in the capital before coming to Shanghai to open a car dealership and start a supercar club."

Hearing about supercars, Zhang Gang, who was standing nearby, immediately became interested and interjected, "Brother Kun's car dealership wouldn't happen to be Wanhao Car Dealership, would it?"

"Haha, Young Master Zhang has heard of it too?"

"Holy crap, of course! Who doesn't know Wanhao Car Dealership? Its reputation in Shanghai's luxury car circle is one of the best. I heard about it right when I returned to the country. A while back, some rich Young Master spent 3.7 billion at Wanhao Car Dealership to buy over a dozen supercars in one go. Brother Kun, is that rumor true?"

Xing Zhenkun gave a light cough and, after exchanging a look with Qin Yi, responded with a smile, "That's definitely true. The one who spent 3.7 billion was Young Master Qin."

Hearing this, Zhang Gang's pupils dilated in shock. With a look of disbelief, he exclaimed, "Whoa, Young Master Qin is truly generous. Spending 3.7 billion on cars... I'm really envious. Forget 3.7 billion, my dad wouldn't even support me with 37 million. May I ask what business Young Master Qin's family is in? To be so wealthy."

"You brat, don't be rude!" Although Zhang Hongtian was also curious about Qin Yi's family background, he couldn't ask so bluntly, so he immediately scolded his son with feigned displeasure.

Qin Yi, however, waved his hand with a smile and said, "It's fine. There's nothing to hide. My family used to be in the steel business, but later some problems arose, so we didn't continue. Afterward, I also had some good luck and made a small fortune in the stock market."

"Young Master Qin is being modest. You are a rare financial genius," Xing Zhenkun complimented. His gaze swept around as he asked in confusion, "Eh, where is Young Master Ye? On this point, Young Master Ye has the most say."

Naturally, Zhang Hongtian wouldn't easily believe Qin Yi's response, but seeing that Qin Yi was unwilling to speak clearly, Zhang Hongtian had no intention of pressing further. Instead, he looked at Chu Muxue, who had remained silent the whole time, and extended his hand toward her with a gentle expression, saying politely, "If I'm not mistaken, this lady must be Miss Chu Muxue, right?"

Chu Muxue was also aware of the relationship between Hongtian Group and her own family's company, but since Zhang Hongtian had proactively offered to shake hands, she couldn't very well refuse.

Chu Muxue could only give a faint smile, briefly shook his hand before letting go, and responded, "Chairman Zhang, a pleasure to meet you."

"Did your father not come along?" Zhang Hongtian asked, knowing the answer already.

"My father has arrangements this evening and couldn't make the time, so he arranged for me to come instead."

"Oh~ I see. Your father is still as dedicated to his work as ever."

"Haha, yes, my father just can't seem to stay idle."

"Well, one must also balance work and rest." After a few brief pleasantries, Zhang Hongtian looked back at Qin Yi, "Mr. Qin, when you have time later, we must definitely sit down together privately." As he spoke, he lightly tapped Zhang Gang and instructed, "Xiao Gang, consult with Mr. Qin more and learn from him. Alright, I, this old man, won't disturb you young people anymore."

Subsequently, Zhang Hongtian took his champagne and went to socialize with others.

Not far away, Qian Feng waited until Zhang Hongtian had left before quickly walking over. He clapped a hand on Zhang Gang's shoulder and smiled, "Brother Gang, long time no see."

Zhang Gang turned around and, seeing it was Qian Feng, immediately laughed, "Holy sh*t, you gave me a start. It's you, kid. When the hell did you get back?"

"Haha, I just got back yesterday. Since you weren't in Australia, Brother Gang, how could I have the heart to stay there?" As Qian Feng spoke, his gaze swept over Qin Yi and the others, and he asked with a smile, "Brother Gang, these are all your friends? Introduce us?"

Even though they had just met, Zhang Gang introduced them to Qian Feng very familiarly, "Of course. This is Young Master Qin, and this is Young Master Xing."

"Hello, Young Master Qin. Hello, Young Master Xing~" Qian Feng shook hands with each of them before introducing himself, "I'm Qian Feng. The boss of Qians Investment, Qian Jin, is my father~"

Qin Yi and Xing Zhenkun exchanged a look. Seeing that Xing Zhenkun had the same blank expression as himself, he understood that this Qians Investment likely wasn't a respectable company; at the very least, compared to Hongtian Group, it definitely wasn't on the same Rank.

Seeing that the two had no reaction, Qian Feng felt somewhat displeased, but he didn't show it. After all, Zhang Hongtian had been very polite to Qin Yi and the others just now. Although Qian Feng was a bit arrogant, he wasn't stupid; if Zhang Hongtian could lower himself, then these people were likely not ones to be trifled with.

However, Qian Feng hadn't forgotten his purpose. After getting to know Qin Yi and the other, his gaze immediately turned to Chu Muxue, and he proactively extended his hand to her, "Hello, Miss Chu."

Unexpectedly, Chu Muxue didn't have the slightest intention of shaking hands with him. She didn't even bother with pleasantries and said to the nearby Chu Muyun, "Sister Yun, accompany me to the restroom."

"Alright, I was just thinking of going to touch up my makeup," Chu Muyun said, looking at Xing Zhenkun. "You guys chat; please excuse us for a moment."

With that, Chu Muyun and Chu Muxue left, leaving behind Qian Feng with his hand extended and a Face full of embarrassment.

At the same time, Zhang Min had just come out of the restroom when she ran into Zhang Yu, who was in disguise.

Zhang Yu was dressed as a waiter. With his head lowered, he walked past Zhang Min and, while no one was paying attention, quickly stuffed a note into Zhang Min's hand.