Chapter 179: Poor Student from the Countryside

“We’ll be heading out first. Oh, leave a Phone number.”

Yuan Gang took out his Phone to exchange numbers with Xu Shaochen. Li Yong, a bit impatient, urged, “Hurry up! Don’t keep Young Master Ye waiting.”

“Right, right. Oh, aren’t you going to leave a number?” Yuan Gang asked Li Yong while entering his Phone number.

Li Yong casually replied, “No need. Just save it yourself.”

What use would he have for Xu Shaochen’s number?

Who knows, Xu Shaochen might ask for his help often in the future. That’s why Li Yong didn’t want to get too involved to avoid trouble.

“We’re off. Keep in touch.”

After exchanging numbers, Yuan Gang greeted Xu Shaochen and then left with Li Yong to enter the elevator.

“That tall skinny guy is so annoying, so high and mighty. What’s so great about being a general manager? There are plenty of general managers in my dad’s company.”

Du Ruyan pouted unhappily. She clearly noticed how Li Yong looked down on Xu Shaochen.

“It takes all sorts to make a world. If he doesn’t want to interact with me, then I can enjoy the peace.”

Xu Shaochen smiled nonchalantly, then took Du Ruyan to book a private room.

Since Li Yong looked down on him, Xu Shaochen saw no need to ingratiate himself. After all, he wasn’t some sycophant.

However, Yuan Gang was someone worth continuing the friendship with. In today’s world, people like him are rare. Such pure camaraderie was worth maintaining.

The two of them ordered five dishes and a bottle of red wine.

Throughout the meal, Xu Shaochen remained well-behaved. But Du Ruyan, possibly emboldened by their time in the cinema earlier, kept teasing Xu Shaochen consciously or unconsciously.

She would, for instance, touch Xu Shaochen with her foot from time to time or sidle up against him.

“Aren’t you bored? If you keep this up, I won’t bring you out next time.”

Xu Shaochen warned as he looked at Du Ruyan. This little vixen really left him helpless.

Her face turned red, and she immediately straightened up. She was only imitating some flirting from movies.

But it seemed that the movies were misleading.

After dinner, Xu Shaochen and Du Ruyan left together.

“Young Master Ye, I still need to trouble you with my situation.”

Just as they exited the private room, they bumped into Yuan Gang, Li Yong, and others coming out from the adjacent room.

“Shaochen, what a coincidence! You were right next door.”

Li Yong originally intended to ignore them, but Yuan Gang greeted them first.

“Indeed, a coincidence.” Xu Shaochen nodded, his gaze landing on the so-called Young Master Ye in Li Yong’s words. With a faint smile, he said, “It looks like your injuries have healed.”

He hadn’t expected Li Yong to work for Pengfei Group. The ‘Young Master Ye’ in question was actually Ye Pengfei, whom he had disciplined at the Imperial Club.

“How dare you speak to Young Master Ye like that!” Li Yong’s face darkened as he angrily rebuked Xu Shaochen.

Then, urgently, he turned to Ye Pengfei, bowing and scraping as he said, “Young Master Ye, please don’t misunderstand. This is just some poor kid from the countryside. I barely know him.”

He had gone through so much trouble to get Ye Pengfei to agree to recommend him for the position of general manager.

But now, Xu Shaochen dared to speak to Ye Pengfei like that. To avoid being implicated, Li Yong immediately distanced himself from Xu Shaochen.

Xu Shaochen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was initially going to say a few good words on Li Yong’s behalf, but now, he found it amusing how he had been too sentimental.

“Li Yong, how could you say such a thing!” Yuan Gang furrowed his brow, displeased as he looked at Li Yong.

However, Li Yong fearlessly replied, “What’s wrong with what I said? I’m just stating the truth. Isn’t he just a poor student from the countryside?”

“Slap!”

As soon as Li Yong’s words fell, Ye Pengfei backhanded him with a slap across the face, yelling angrily, “Shut up! You ignorant fool!”

“Ye… Young Master Ye.” Li Yong was taken aback, his face stinging with pain.

Ye Pengfei, without bothering to acknowledge him further, turned to Xu Shaochen with an ingratiating expression. “Mr. Xu, my deepest apologies. My family’s dog has been out of line, and this fool dared to speak rudely to you. How do you think we should handle this?”

Since the last time he suffered at Xu Shaochen’s hands—and after repeated warnings from his father—Ye Pengfei now sought to curry favor with Xu Shaochen, not offend him.

But that fool Li Yong had foolishly intervened. If Xu Shaochen took offense because of this, Ye Pengfei would kill Li Yong himself.

Seeing this, Li Yong and Yuan Gang were both wide-eyed, filled with disbelief.

What did they just witness? Their young master was so respectful towards Xu Shaochen—and even called him Mr. Xu.

Wasn’t Xu Shaochen just a university student? How did he become this ‘Mr. Xu’? But one thing was clear—Xu Shaochen was incredibly powerful now, beyond imagination.

Yuan Gang felt genuinely happy for Xu Shaochen.

However, Li Yong was filled with regret. Had he known Xu Shaochen was so formidable, he would have been more enthusiastic when they met at the hotel entrance.

Now, instead, he had offended Xu Shaochen, losing a great potential ally.

“Let it go.” Xu Shaochen shook his head, not wanting to stoop to Li Yong’s level.

Hearing this, Li Yong immediately breathed a sigh of relief, quickly apologizing, “Shaochen, I’m really sorry about earlier. I had a bit too much to drink. Let me treat you to a meal some other day.”

“No need. Your meal isn’t something I can afford.” Xu Shaochen responded indifferently.

Li Yong’s face stiffened, flushing with embarrassment as he stood there, at a loss for what to do.

Xu Shaochen then turned to Ye Pengfei, pointing at Yuan Gang, “This is a friend of mine. I’d appreciate it if Young Master Ye could take care of him.”

“Mr. Xu, you’re too kind. It’s no trouble at all.” Ye Pengfei nodded repeatedly.

“I’ll be leaving now. Let’s stay in touch.”

Xu Shaochen patted Yuan Gang on the shoulder and then left with Du Ruyan.

It wasn’t until Xu Shaochen entered the elevator that Ye Pengfei let out a long sigh of relief. He then looked at Yuan Gang and said, “From now on, you’re the manager.”

“Huh? Ye Shao, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to do a good job.”

Yuan Gang was so overwhelmed by the sudden joy that it took him a while to react. He naturally knew this was all thanks to Xu Shaochen and felt immense gratitude.

“Ye Shao, what about… what about me?” Li Yong asked cautiously.

“Slap!”

Ye Pengfei slapped him again and snarled through gritted teeth, “You? Get lost! From today, you’re fired. Poor student? The ‘poor student’ you’re talking about, just by sneezing, could shake all of Jiangzhou, you idiot!”

After saying this, Ye Pengfei left without looking back.

Li Yong stood there in a daze, filled with deep regret.

If only he had treated Xu Shaochen just like Yuan Gang had when they met at the hotel’s entrance, things might have turned out differently.

Today, he was competing for the manager position, seeking Ye Pengfei’s help, only to end up jobless because of Xu Shaochen’s words, while Yuan Gang leaped to success.

At this moment, his heart was full of envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Yuan Gang.