The Wealthy Tycoon's Game of Life

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"After all, he's been through so much!"

Talking about the once popular figure in their class, another girl felt some emotion too. "It's only sophomore year, while we're all busy preparing for the CET-4 and CET-6 exams, he's already started his own business. It shows he knew early on what society values..."

"Hey, Miao Xiaoling, didn't you have a crush on Zhou Wang back then?"

Yu Peipei teased with a mischievous smile, "I remember you even wrote him a love letter, but just never sent it..."

"Peipei, don't make stuff up."

Fang Lu righteously corrected Yu Peipei, "Miao Xiaoling didn't just like him back then, she's still into him now!"

"Ah, I'm going to show you all!"

Miao Xiaoling, her cheeks flushed red, pounced forward, and the girls immediately turned into a playful mess.

Li Cheng, standing nearby, shook his head. He wasn't surprised by the sudden gossip; when Zhou Wang wasn't struggling yet, plenty of girls were fond of him.

Unfortunately, Brother Dog was too eager to prove himself, or was it because he wanted to be worthy of Ding Yi back then?

Feeling his logic sound, Li Cheng couldn't help but think Zhou Wang wasn't being wise. So many girls were waiting for him in freshman and sophomore years, yet he decided to hang himself on a single tree.

Now look, he didn't reach the Western Paradise, nor could he return to the Eastern Earth Great Tang.

Thinking about this, Li Cheng surprisingly felt a bit sorry for Zhou Wang and almost wanted to send him a comforting message!

"Hey, everyone, long time no see!"

At this moment, Ding Yi, finally free from her friends' photoshoot, approached.

"Little Ding, happy birthday!"

"Girl, you're absolutely stunning today..."

Seeing Ding Yi come over, everyone stopped the horseplay, and the girls gathered around enthusiastically, leaving Li Cheng and another guy alone at their seats.

They themselves weren't close to Ding Yi but their girlfriends were good friends with her. They were merely there as companions, feeling some shared sympathy in their situation.

Just then, after greeting the group of girls warmly, Ding Yi suddenly remembered something, tapping her smooth forehead. "Oh right, Lulu, Peipei, and Xiaoyuan, aren't you all planning to apply for our grad school? I can introduce someone to help you with that."

"I'm afraid I can't offer you much advice myself, you know, since I got in with a recommendation, hehe..."

Watching Ding Yi's smug demeanor, the girls burst into laughter again. Then they watched as Ding Yi left for the interior lounge and soon returned with another girl.

She was clearly an older student, but what truly caught all the girls' eyes was that not only was this older student extremely beautiful, but her cool and enigmatic aura was an exhilarating hit for them.

"Ah, kill me now!"

Especially for someone like Fang Lu, a hardcore fan, who was screaming endlessly in her mind.

Seeing Jiang Mo come over, Li Cheng and the others, who had been sitting in the main hall, were somewhat surprised. Wasn't this the same older student they saw earlier?

"This is Senior Jiang Mo, also Professor Wang Hongying's disciple. She graduated two years ahead of us and got into graduate school by her own efforts. You can ask her anything you want to know!"

Ding Yi introduced her to everyone, then let Jiang Mo take a seat. Meanwhile, she curiously raised her head.

Most of the group was here, and soon they planned to start serving the dishes, but where had Lu Jin disappeared for so long?

...

At the kitchen entrance of the Chinese restaurant, Lu Jin stood there in astonishment. In front of him was Liu Zhiming, the assistant manager of the hotel's F&B department, who arranged the private room for him today.

His family was in the lighting engineering business, frequently hosting dining events. Since they often entertained guests at this hotel's restaurant, Lu Jin was quite familiar with Manager Liu.

It was because Lu Jin heard from Manager Liu that their department's key figure, Executive Chef Luo Wenle, happened to be on shift these days that he decided on this place.

Through his parents' introduction, Lu Jin had known Ding Yi for quite some time.

Given the difference in family status, his parents always supported him in pursuing Ding Yi. Even leaving aside that, Ding Yi's stunning looks were enough to captivate Lu Jin.

Unfortunately, despite being usually successful in wooing girls, Lu Jin couldn't seem to get close to Ding Yi.

Though he felt they were quite familiar with each other, Lu Jin could see Ding Yi only had superficial friendliness towards him. After half a year, he hadn't even gotten a single date with her.

Young Master Lu was anxious!

All his usual tricks—humor, willingness to spend money, organizing gatherings, and being a dice king—were useless in front of someone like Ding Yi.

Fortunately, he knew Ding Yi well enough to know she was a standard foodie.

So he played the Luo Wenle card and successfully convinced Ding Yi, helping her book a restaurant for her birthday banquet. To Lu Jin, this felt like a significant breakthrough.

If I can arrange your birthday, surely I rank above regular friends, right?

But now...

"Chef Luo doesn't have time?"

After waiting quite a while, Lu Jin only heard this disappointing news, which he found unacceptable.

"Well, I'm sorry, Young Master Lu... I had already consulted with Chef Luo in advance, and he was more than willing to help, but something urgent came up last minute..."

Liu Zhiming appeared awkward on the surface but was calm inside, even with a hint of disdain.

He knew exactly what happened.

Originally, for a somewhat important client like Lu Jin, Chef Luo would be willing to cook personally to maintain relations, but who could have guessed that the prestigious guest staying in the presidential suite happened to be dining today too.

In comparison, Lu Jin's priority had to take a back seat.

Although Lu Jin's family company spends about two hundred thousand a year at the restaurant, that guest's half-month stay alone cost nearly four hundred thousand.

Mind you, that's just for accommodation.

The choice was obvious.

But if Liu Zhiming genuinely cared, there was still a way to accommodate things. He could have pre-booked Chef Luo's time, ensuring Chef Luo would serve Lu Jin first for the hotel's reputation. The issue was—

Liu Zhiming basically didn't care, for a simple reason.

Despite being familiar with each other, and Lu Jin's family's frequent gatherings at the restaurant, Young Master Lu took hefty cuts from his commissions!

Wealth and stinginess aren't mutually exclusive.

On a personal level, Liu Zhiming hadn't gained much from Lu Jin.

Thus, while Liu Zhiming feigned regret outwardly, he felt no turmoil inside and merely offered a gentle excuse to placate Lu Jin.

"Don't worry, Young Master Lu, I'll arrange for another top-ranking head chef to personally prepare the meal, ensuring you all have a great dining experience!"

Seeing Lu Jin's unhappy expression, Liu Zhiming quickly patted his chest with a reassuring smile.

"Well... all right then."

Given the situation, even Lu Jin couldn't forcibly drag Chef Luo over. With his esteemed status, the chef didn't owe him any favors. Though Lu Jin felt like he'd swallowed a fly, he could only nod reluctantly.

On his way back to the room, Lu Jin frowned, pondering how to explain this to Ding Yi. Distracted, he walked right into someone coming his way.

"Can't you watch where you're going?"

In a foul mood, Lu Jin didn't think to apologize, instead looking up irritably, meeting the gaze of someone frowning back at him.

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