Chapter 199: The Promising Young Man

“When Deputy General Manager Xiao comes in later, everyone knows what to do, right?”

“We do!”

The place the Deputy General Manager chose for the meal was ‘The Old Sailor’, a rare high-end restaurant in Satellite City No. 2. The name was Western-influenced, but the decor was distinctly tasteful Chinese style, featuring carved red wooden window lattices, calligraphy scrolls, and even a small pond built right in the dining hall.

Attending the banquet weren’t just Lu Xin and the Director; there were also leaders from several other companies within the group, as well as young people with similarly promising futures like Lu Xin, those preparing for promotions, or those who had already reached positions like supervisor or higher.

This Deputy General Manager was very generous; he had directly booked a smaller hall within The Old Sailor. Four tables were arranged inside, and at the very front, surprisingly, there was a small pink stage.

At the moment, Lu Xin and other young key employees from the other companies were standing together to one side of the hall under the direction of a leader who looked relatively older, being instructed on how they should behave later, how to give Deputy General Manager Xiao an enthusiastic welcome.

Everyone, including Lu Xin, was very enthusiastic about this.

“Today’s banquet is incredibly important, you know…”

Since the young Deputy General Manager hadn’t arrived yet, Lu Xin and the others waited by the entrance chatting.

A woman wearing a black business suit, looking around thirty years old, whose meticulously applied makeup and brand-new black stockings showed she had prepared carefully for this evening, smiled and said, “Our Deputy General Manager Xiao is one of the city’s most prominent young financial talents right now. If we can make a good impression on him today, work will definitely go much smoother in the future.”

She was still somewhat restrained, not outright mentioning soaring success or fortunes.

Listening to them, Lu Xin felt the others seemed to know quite a bit about this leader, while he felt like he’d been dragged along last minute.

Feeling unsure, he hurriedly inquired, “How old is this Deputy General Manager Xiao?”

A guy with a slicked-back ponytail (greased hair) thought for a moment and answered, “I saw him not too long ago. I think… twenty-seven or twenty-eight?”

Lu Xin was surprised. “So young, and already a Deputy General Manager?”

“There’s a reason he made it to Deputy General Manager,” the woman in the refined business suit said. “This Deputy General Manager Xiao, I’ve heard he’s incredibly capable. Young, handsome, well-traveled. By twenty, he was solely responsible for multi-million yuan projects. And this year, he even passed the exams to attend university in the Main City…”

Hearing this, Lu Xin couldn’t help but feel admiration. Someone so outstanding, truly…

“Of course,” the guy with the slicked-back hairstyle added, “His most extraordinary point is that our Big Boss is his dad.”

“? ”

Lu Xin’s admiration abruptly shriveled up.

“Mr. Xiao has arrived…”

Just then, the hall doors opened. Several leaders, including the Director, ushered in a young man of remarkable bearing wearing a casual suit. They smilingly reminded everyone, “Let’s give him a welcome, everyone!”

“Clap clap clap…”

The young key staff gathered near the doors applauded warmly.

In unison, they chanted: “Welcome Deputy General Manager Xiao for guidance! Welcome! Welcome…”

The atmosphere was very lively.

Lu Xin stood among his colleagues, both applauding and chanting just as enthusiastically as everyone else, performing his part perfectly.

In the crowd, only Director Liu, positioned slightly behind and to the right of the young Deputy General Manager, cast an approving look Lu Xin’s way. Director Liu hadn’t originally wanted to invite Lu Xin. But the Deputy General Manager had specifically requested that everyone slated for promotion this time be invited to this gathering so he could meet the young key personnel from the various subsidiary companies. Director Liu had had no choice; he had to let Lu Xin come and be seen.

After all, the Director might fear Lu Xin offending the Deputy General Manager, but he feared even more that Lu Xin would find out he hadn’t been invited and get upset later…

Now, seeing this, Lu Xin was behaving surprisingly well.

He was even welcoming him along with the others…

…

“Thank you, thank you everyone. Please, no formalities like this. Sit, please sit…”

The young Deputy General Manager did indeed look quite young, twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore a well-fitted casual suit, was slightly slender, and definitely had a different air about him compared to an average young guy off the street. His attitude was very friendly, though he did seem a bit… low on energy.

Once everyone took their seats, Lu Xin sat at one table along with the woman in the business suit and the guy with the slicked-back style.

“This Deputy General Manager seems pretty nice, not stuck-up. It’s just that energy level… heh heh…”

“Classic playboy signature dark circles…”

“…”

After settling down, the conversation naturally came back to Deputy General Manager Xiao.

Lu Xin, having been dragged here last minute without doing any research, took the chance to catch up. Listening carefully, he learned that this Deputy General Manager Xiao was the young Deputy General Manager of their parent company, Qingyuan Group, and the eldest son of Senior General Manager Xiao. He’d apparently been working at the company for a few years, recently passed university entrance exams, and was soon heading to the Main City for further study. The Main City universities had very high admission standards; many people from the Satellite Cities would work for a few years like him before trying to get in.

“Clap clap clap clap…”

After everyone was seated, another round of applause erupted. Lu Xin dutifully clapped along.

At the leaders’ table up front, someone urged Deputy General Manager Xiao to say a few words. The young man politely declined for a while, but seeing he couldn’t refuse, he didn’t go to the stage. Instead, he stood up at his seat, gestured slightly with both hands for quiet, and addressed the hall: “I won’t go up there; it’s too formal. Today is just a private gathering. Everyone here is either a company veteran or a promising young key employee. I need to thank you all.”

“After all, I’m still young. I’ll need to ask for your guidance in my future work. Please bear with me. Later, I’ll toast everyone…”

“…”

“That’s quite nice…”

The people at Lu Xin’s table praised, their faces full of yearning expressions.

The professional woman seated opposite Lu Xin discreetly slipped off the ring from her ring finger and pocketed it. Interlacing her fingers, she smiled in Deputy General Manager Xiao’s direction, asking, “Any ideas what he likes?”

“Can’t say for sure what he likes,” retorted the greasy-haired, plump man, smirking as he rolled his tongue. “But with someone as impressive as Deputy General Manager Xiao, plenty of girls must be chasing after him.”

“Haha, Deputy Manager Xiao will come and toast us later. Better save some drinks—can’t keep drinking with you all.”

A slightly bleary-eyed young man with an air of indolence covered his glass, visibly eager.

“Someone like Deputy Manager Xiao who made it into Main City’s university while young and accomplished must have impeccable taste…”

An older man, around thirty, unbuttoned his cuff to reveal a black wristwatch.

Though he rarely attended such gatherings, Lu Xin noticed how seriously everyone had prepared for this dinner party today.

Moreover, those seated here all clearly had outstanding achievements or exceptional skills at their respective companies. They were all ready to leave a good impression on Deputy Manager Xiao. Thinking this, Lu Xin felt a flutter of anxiety—after all, everyone had remarkable special talents…

But what was his own edge?

He gave the question a moment of earnest thought.

His advantage in getting promoted must lie…

…in being honest and hardworking, meticulous and dedicated, consistently friendly and proactive?

……

Dishes arrived, but since no one at the table knew each other well and all were focused on the deputy manager, the conversation drifted aimlessly. Occasionally, someone broke the silence with comments like how Deputy Manager Xiao looked young and promising, or how dignified he seemed.

After about five minutes into the meal, the hall doors opened. A nanny brought in two children—a boy around ten and a girl barely five or six.

The nanny guided them toward Deputy Manager Xiao. His face instantly lit up, radiating smiles as he hugged them close and whispered cheerfully.

“Huh… Deputy Manager Xiao has children already?”

The professional woman was stunned, clearly startled.

“Hah, where did you dig that info from?” The greasy-haired man beside her chuckled, “Those are his younger siblings. His father’s late first wife passed during the previous Cataclysm. The old senior manager remarried, hence the little boy and girl. Though to be fair, Deputy Manager Xiao genuinely loves these half-siblings. Probably why Senior General Manager Xiao feels safe entrusting the business to him—it shows he values family bonds.”

“Oh…”

The woman shot him a glance, smiling as she raised her glass. “Let’s swap contact info later—we may find ways to cooperate.”

Lu Xin had no idea his colleagues had researched their boss so deeply. He suddenly regarded them all with newfound respect.

Glancing across the room, he saw the deputy manager seat the boy to his right and lift the little girl onto his lap. He chatted cheerfully with surrounding executives while teasing her, clearly adoring both.

But maybe it was Lu Xin’s imagination—just as Deputy Manager Xiao reached with his chopsticks for a spare rib, he paused. He stared at the rib, then intensely swept his gaze over the girl on his knee.

He casually pretended to clear his throat as he covered his mouth—and swallowed hard.