Chapter 54: Young Master

In the Jinxiu Hall, only Gu Mingzhu and her brother were left.

Gu Mingfu sat there, his face gloomy. Yu Guanghui, the governor of Nanjiang Province, had reached his age limit and would be stepping down in two months. Anyone with the potential to become governor was now actively networking and building relationships. However, Gu Mingfu could only watch from the sidelines.

Gu Mingfu had originally been in business, transforming a small factory with an annual output of just over a million into a large state-owned enterprise with annual profits and taxes of ten billion. Due to his remarkable achievements, he was promoted to the position of vice governor in charge of industry in Nanjiang Province. In recent years, his performance in his field had been widely recognized, and he certainly had the capability to compete for the governor's position.

However, because his father, Gu Zheng, had once been the Party Secretary of Nanjiang Province, it was impossible for him to advance further in Nanjiang. The concepts of eternal rule and hereditary succession were something many people were wary of.

"Next month, I will go to the capital to visit Mrs. Ren. You should come with me!" Gu Mingzhu said.

Mrs. Ren was the wife of Vice Premier Ren, and she had some connection with Gu Mingzhu, as they were alumni.

Gu Mingfu nodded. His main purpose for coming today was to discuss his political future with his sister. Staying in Nanjiang would mean no chance of advancement. He needed to find a way to transfer to another place. However, at his level, every position was highly contested, and moving was no easy task.

Zeng Yi was downstairs saying goodbye to Gu Xiankun, preparing to hail a taxi to go home, when he saw Ye Qinghan and her senior standing by the roadside. He smiled and walked over, "Are you going home?"

Ye Qinghan looked at Zeng Yi and said, "I didn't expect to see you everywhere. You can be found at street stalls and in high-end restaurants."

"Can't help it, it's my job!" Zeng Yi smiled.

"Feasting on public funds, what's there to be proud of!" Ye Qinghan glared at him. She was not part of the system, and the last time she saw a group of police officers standing up for Zeng Yi, and this time seeing Gu Mingzhu dining with him, she assumed he must be a powerful official, not knowing that there were no such young powerful officials in the world.

Zeng Yi did not argue, and smiled, "The food here is exquisite, but it doesn't fill you up much. You two haven't had any late-night snacks yet, right? How about we go together?"

Ye Qinghan hesitated, but the other girl nodded eagerly, "Sure, sure! We've been singing all night and are a bit thirsty. Let's go have some beer." She then poked Ye Qinghan's waist.

"I'll treat you!" Ye Qinghan stared into Zeng Yi's eyes, confirming.

"Alright." Zeng Yi raised his hands in surrender, "You treat, you treat!" He found Ye Qinghan's personality quite endearing, something rare in today's materialistic society.

The three of them hailed a taxi and went to the nearest night market. They ordered draft beer, some grilled meat, and Zeng Yi also ordered a plate of fried noodles. Dining with such important figures was not about the food, but about enduring the ordeal. Every move was constrained, you couldn't laugh or turn the table to get food, and you had to be constantly attentive to the other party's words to avoid missing a response.

"The manager of the Qingjiang Hotel knows we are acquainted with you and said he won't charge us for the membership fee anymore," said Ye Qinghan's senior, Sun Rui. She was very happy, as not paying the membership fee would increase their nightly income by two to three times.

"Why don't you try a professional music agency? You might even get to release a record!" Zeng Yi asked.

"I don't want to go that route. Once I graduate and find a job, I won't have to sing at night anymore," Ye Qinghan said, resting her chin in her hand and sighing, "Every time I finish singing, seeing others wave their money around with that superior look, I feel inferior and uncomfortable!"

Sun Rui also said, "The music industry is so boring, full of dirty and corrupt things! My ideal is to find a good husband and become a full-time housewife!"

Zeng Yi felt a bit sorry for them. Ye Qinghan's voice was exceptionally good, and he said, "Don't you find it tiring to go to class during the day and sing at night? Is it because of financial need or to experience life?"

"Brother, if it weren't for the pressure of life, who would want to sing! Singing a dozen songs a night, my throat feels like it's on fire!" Sun Rui pointed to herself, "My parents are both laid off and go out to set up stalls at night to earn some pocket money, and they even get extorted by the city management. I don't want them to work so hard, so it's best to be self-reliant. As for Qinghan, her situation is similar. Her father died in a work accident early on, and she lives with her mother, who has recently been..."

"Stop talking about unhappy things!" Ye Qinghan interrupted Sun Rui, "I think things are fine now!"

Zeng Yi didn't expect so much behind the innocent smiles of these two girls and said, "I admire you both. Here, I'll toast to you!"

Putting down the glass, Zeng Yi continued, "If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, don't be stubborn. If you consider me a friend, feel free to ask for help."

"From your big talk, I can tell you're a rich young master!" Sun Rui's eyes sparkled as she looked at Zeng Yi, "But you're not bad, different from other young masters. If you have more like you around, remember to introduce them to me. Then my dream of being a full-time housewife might come true."

Zeng Yi smiled, "I'm not a young master!"

"You're a corrupt official!" Ye Qinghan added.

Zeng Yi chuckled, not bothering to argue about these misunderstandings. He believed in the saying, "Distance reveals the strength of a horse, and time reveals the heart of a person." Many things and people in this world need time to be understood. Last time at the night market, he didn't have much of a good impression of Ye Qinghan, but today, seeing her use the money given by Gu Xiankun to pay for the drinks, he found her quite admirable. This decision was made despite her own dire need for money.

As for Zeng Yi himself, although he didn't have a lot of money, he had an advantage over most people: he never worried about where to get money. If he wanted to make money, he could do it with a flick of his fingers, and there would always be people willing to give him whatever he wanted. Therefore, he always had a detached attitude, even more so than a young master.

The three of them drank for a while at the night market. Seeing that it was getting late, Zeng Yi hailed a taxi to send Ye Qinghan and the other girl home. He then hailed another taxi to return to his clinic.

The clinic was dark. Zeng Yi took out his keys to open the door, but when he pushed, he found it was already open.

"Was it robbed?" Zeng Yi was shocked and quickly went inside, reaching for the light switch.

At that moment, a gust of wind rushed towards his face. Zeng Yi's senses were very sharp, and he dodged to the side, then punched the black figure in the chest. The figure grunted and fled through the door.

Zeng Yi didn't chase after him, but quickly turned on the lights and checked the room. Nothing was missing, which puzzled him. This didn't seem like a robbery, and the attacker was clearly trained, as his punch didn't knock him down.

After some thought, Zeng Yi still couldn't figure out who it was. It couldn't be that Dong Hongfeng had set his sights on his box and really sent people to steal it, right? That was unlikely, as there were many people present in the afternoon, and if his box was stolen, everyone would be under suspicion.

With no leads, Zeng Yi called Chen Long.

Chen Long was scared out of his wits and immediately brought people over. After a technical inspection, he said, "The attacker was an expert, leaving no traces. The door lock wasn't tampered with."

Zeng Yi had no choice but to let it go, "Alright, thank you all for your trouble."

Chen Long was still shaken, "I'll send someone over tomorrow to replace your lock with a better one!"

"No need!" Zeng Yi waved his hand. His punch just now was not a simple one. He believed that whoever it was would definitely come back to find him in a few days.