Chapter Ninety: An Invitation to Gather

Ling Tian sent Zhang Ding back to the welfare home in the car, then set off on foot for the Brilliant City Group. Every few days he would stop by to check in, and it had already become a habit.

The group headquarters was not far from here, only a dozen minutes on foot.

When he reached the entrance, before he had even gone inside, he heard someone calling from afar. Ling Tian turned and saw a small white sedan rolling slowly toward him, then easing to a stop beside him. A head leaned out of the window.

“Ling Tian, I came first thing this morning. The people inside said you hadn’t come to work yet, so I’ve been waiting here all this time,” Luo Jun said with a smiling face.

Only then did Ling Tian remember that he had run into Luo Jun at the auto show before. At the time, Luo Jun had invited him to a class reunion and even handed him a business card. Unfortunately, the card had been burned to ashes during his earlier tempering of his body. If Luo Jun had not shown up, Ling Tian would probably have forgotten this rather unimportant matter altogether.

Still, this fellow was quite eager, actually coming all the way to Brilliant City Group just to wait for him. It seemed Luo Jun had truly gone to great lengths to show off his achievements over the years.

“Ling Tian, the other classmates have all confirmed already. Tonight at seven, we’re gathering at a five-star hotel under the Nangong Group,” Luo Jun said with a grin. Before organizing the reunion, he had already done his homework: the Nangong family would be dining there tonight.

What was more, Luo Jun had heard in the last few days that the Nangong family’s eldest young lady, Nangong Xueer, had just recovered from a serious illness, so she would also attend tonight’s family banquet. Luo Jun was calculating that tonight he would not only show off in front of the classmates, but might even have a chance to get acquainted with Nangong Xueer.

The exceedingly confident Luo Jun believed that with his talent and ability, he might truly have a chance to become the prized son-in-law of the Nangong family.

At the thought of becoming the Nangong family’s son-in-law, he would soar straight to the clouds and become one of the people above others.

The self-admiring Luo Jun had no idea this was nothing but his own wishful delusion.

“What are you thinking about? You’re grinning so hard your mouth won’t close,” Ling Tian asked curiously, looking at Luo Jun’s wide-open, foolish smile.

He had not the slightest fondness for Luo Jun. Back in school, this guy loved to show off, and his favorite trick was to use his strengths to crush other people’s weaknesses. It looked like today’s reunion would be quite lively.

“I think you shouldn’t work today either. Just take leave and come with me first,” Luo Jun said, already impatient in his fantasy, almost wishing he could head to the hotel this very moment.

Before Ling Tian could even speak, Luo Jun slapped his own forehead and said in a most obnoxious tone, “Look at my memory. I’m a department manager; as long as I arrange the work properly, it doesn’t matter if I don’t go in. But you’re just a regular employee at Brilliant City Group now. Taking a day off must cost you over a hundred yuan, right? Tell you what, I’ll make up for it.”

His implication was simple: you and I are not in the same league.

Ling Tian gave a contemptuous snort at this sort of self-important person.

“I’ll be there on time,” he said. Then, without looking back, he entered Brilliant City Group.

Luo Jun spat after Ling Tian’s retreating back and said with clear disdain, “Just a little employee, and he still dares to act cool in front of me. What the hell is he?”

The moment Ling Tian stepped inside, he found that the way his coworkers looked at him had completely changed from before. Their expressions were complicated: some worshipful, some jealous, some envious, and some dismissive.

“The new guy in Public Relations, Ling Tian, is a pretty boy who latched onto the president...”

“A fresh flower stuck in a pile of cow dung...”

Just as Ling Tian reached the doorway of the Public Relations Department, he heard someone muttering inside. It seemed his relationship with Mu Qingcheng had already spread through the company.

He ignored the gossip outright. It was nothing more than envy, jealousy, and resentment.

“What the hell are you all talking about?” Wang Yong shouted loudly, scaring the few gossiping employees into slinking away. Ever since following Ling Tian on two debt collections, Wang Yong had been utterly won over. He now regarded himself as Ling Tian’s underling, so how could he tolerate anyone speaking ill of his big brother?

Wang Yong bellowed, “If any of you dare badmouth my big brother again, I’ll squeeze the life out of you.”

“Don’t mind those boring people,” Ling Tian said calmly as he pushed the door open and came in.

“Big brother! These people have no manners at all. They don’t work properly and only know how to wag their tongues,” Wang Yong said.

Ling Tian replied, “If a dog bites you, are you going to bite the dog back?”

Wang Yong shook his head. “If I bit back, wouldn’t that just be dog biting dog, and a mouthful of fur?”

“Very teachable,” Ling Tian said coolly. “Remember this: if a dog bites you once, don’t bother with it. Just beat it to death.”

Then he asked, “Wang Yong, while I was out of the company these past few days, nothing happened, did it?”

Wang Yong hurriedly answered, “Everything’s been normal. Right now, Zhang Ming and Xue Kun both speak highly of you. Look, they’re here.”

Learning that Ling Tian had come to work, Zhang Ming and Xue Kun arrived together, both acting extremely deferential. After all, the man standing before them was the president’s husband; this was no joke.

“You’re here?” Zhang Ming said very politely.

Ling Tian waved a hand. “I don’t like that feeling. Remember, I am me, and Brilliant City is Brilliant City. My current identity is simply an employee in the Public Relations Department. I don’t want special treatment.”

Accustomed to striving on his own and fighting for his own glory and dignity, Ling Tian was not used to being cloaked in someone else’s halo.

Zhang Ming gave an awkward smile. “Understood. I’ll remember that.”

“Any tasks that need arranging?” Ling Tian asked.

“Nothing major lately. The company’s full effort is now focused on developing new products,” Zhang Ming replied.

Ling Tian nodded at him. “Has Liu Zhiping not come looking for trouble?”

The moment Liu Zhiping was mentioned, Zhang Ming felt a surge of satisfaction. With animated features he said, “Ling Tian, you handled that matter perfectly. A few days ago, the Fukan Group specifically sent someone to the company to see me and explain that the previous incident had all been Liu Zhiping’s doing behind the board’s back. They’ve already removed him from office and expelled him from the Fukan Group.”

“The Fukan Group’s representative also said they hope to continue cooperating with us in the future and don’t want Liu Zhiping to affect the relationship between our two companies,” Zhang Ming continued. At this point, Zhang Ming did not even know how to describe Ling Tian anymore.

He knew very well who stood behind the Fukan Group.

Originally, Zhang Ming had worried that Ling Tian’s rampage through the Fukan Entertainment City would bring trouble. Yet he had never dreamed the other side would not only fail to cause trouble, but even send someone to personally explain themselves.

Just how much power did this young man before him possess, to accomplish something like that?

One must know that the Azure Dragon Hall was one of the four great factions, not something even the four great families would lightly provoke.