Chapter 124: A New Gain, the Temptation of a Major Industry

A little past three in the afternoon, Zhang Yang was sitting idly in the company lounge.

One reason was to wait for Bei Wei to finish work, and the other was that he wanted to personally witness the moment of leveling up again.

Around 3:30 p.m., people gradually began entering the company’s meeting room-franchisees and company staff. Finally, Bei Wei and Bei Jiajia walked in with the contracts.

“Looks like it’s about to be done.” Zhang Yang looked from afar, a smile appearing on his lips.

More than half an hour later, while he was waiting bored, a pleasant system notification suddenly sounded in his mind-the long-awaited sound.

He had been holding a paper cup and drinking water. The moment he heard it, he crushed the cup in his hand, splashing water everywhere.

“Damn, the good news came so suddenly?” Zhang Yang was overjoyed.

Ding!

Congratulations to the host for upgrading to level six.

You have an upgrade gift package waiting to be claimed.

Better late than never.

What was meant to come would eventually arrive.

Feeling this long-awaited good news, Zhang Yang felt a wave of pleasure through his entire body, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

After waiting so long, he had finally reached level six.

Level six meant the daily cashback had finally reached 150,000-a solid annual return of more than fifty million.

As for the next level, level seven.

The required 150 experience points were becoming increasingly intimidating. With every level increase, the experience required for upgrades grew larger and larger-but of course, the rewards also became more impressive.

The next level would raise daily cashback to 200,000, which would be another huge leap.

“Let’s check the upgrade gift package first.” Zhang Yang came back to his senses and focused on the new reward.

The daily cashback of 150,000 had already been known in advance, but the upgrade gift package was always like opening a mystery box, full of anticipation.

“System, claim the upgrade gift package,” Zhang Yang said silently without hesitation.

A moment later:

Congratulations to the host. You have received a 10% industry exchange coupon, which can be used to acquire an industry with a total value not exceeding 1.5 billion.

After receiving the reward, Zhang Yang didn’t react for quite a while.

It was an industry asset-but also something that looked impressive yet was hard to obtain.

“An industry worth 1.5 billion… which means I’d theoretically need 150 million,” Zhang Yang suddenly felt a bit distressed.

He opened the window, leaned back in his chair, smoked a cigarette, and sighed.

Outside the door, a small assistant was about to bring in another cup of tea.

As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw Zhang Yang standing by the window smoking with a troubled expression. She was startled and thought something serious had happened.

“Brother Zhang, are you alright?” she asked cautiously.

She knew that this Brother Zhang had a close relationship with the boss’s family and was also very wealthy.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Zhang Yang came back to his senses and put out the cigarette.

He had already thought it through just now. The issue of money wasn’t really that big.

If he didn’t have enough money, he could simply take out a mortgage loan.

If there was a suitable industry worth acquiring, he could even mortgage the apartment at COFCO Haijing No. 1 if necessary. As for the money, he could repay it slowly. After all, his income was stable and increasing rapidly, so there was no pressure when it came to loan repayment.

He could keep living in the apartment, slowly pay off the loan, and still gain a major industry worth over a billion.

And it would be an industry located in Shanghai.

Thinking about it this way, his mood became lively again and he felt much more relaxed.

“By the way, have they finished signing the contracts over there?” Zhang Yang casually asked the assistant.

Whether they had finished or not, he already knew perfectly well-the system reward had already arrived.

“Brother Zhang, they just finished signing. Sister Bei Wei and the others are organizing the contracts now,” the assistant quickly reported.

“Alright, go ahead with your work. I’ll go take a look,” Zhang Yang said casually as he walked out of the lounge.

Coincidentally, just as he stepped out, Bei Wei and Bei Jiajia were walking out of the meeting room together, chatting and laughing, each holding stacks of folders-clearly a successful outcome.

“All done?” Zhang Yang stepped forward with a smile.

“Of course.” When Bei Wei saw Zhang Yang, she immediately handed everything in her hands to Bei Jiajia and walked straight toward him.

“Husband, I want a reward.”

She slowly pronounced the last three words one by one.

“Alright, I’ll give you a reward.” Zhang Yang patted the sweet girl’s hair and looked into her clear eyes, feeling slightly guilty. “By the way, where’s Bei Jiajia? Let’s have dinner together tonight to celebrate.”

“Sorry, I already have plans tonight.” Bei Jiajia smiled as she stood to the side. “I won’t interrupt your romantic evening, brother-in-law.”

With a soft laugh, she carried the stack of documents nearly as tall as her face and pushed open the office door with her back before going inside.

“She has plans? Is she dating someone?” Zhang Yang asked curiously.

“Not yet. Someone introduced them to each other. They’re just getting to know each other first. His conditions are pretty good,” Bei Wei explained, then hugged Zhang Yang’s arm with a slightly coquettish tone. “Husband, I missed you.”

“Then… should we skip dinner first?” Zhang Yang suddenly suggested.

Bei Wei immediately blushed.

“If you think it’s fine not to eat now, then we can eat later. It’s not urgent.”

Once those words were spoken, there was no reason to wait.

Without another word, Zhang Yang left the company with Bei Wei and drove the sweet girl straight back to COFCO Haijing No. 1.

Inside COFCO Haijing No. 1:

From the moment they entered the door, to the living room, and then to the bedroom.

The sweet girl’s tenderness almost melted him.

Because they had returned early, when everything finally calmed down it was only around six in the evening.

Around six o’clock, no lights were on inside the room. The lights of the Bund had just begun to glow, shining into the bedroom with a hazy beauty.

Bei Wei curled up like a lazy kitten in Zhang Yang’s arms, her shoulder glowing snow-white under the light.

“Oh right, when do you plan to move into the apartment at Cuihu Tiandi?” Zhang Yang suddenly asked.

“Up to you.” Bei Wei rubbed against him gently. “You bought the apartment for me, so you decide.”

“Alright, then we’ll pick a good day and move in.” Zhang Yang smiled.

Moving into a new home was always an important event, no matter when it happened. A bit of ceremony was necessary.

Holding Bei Wei in his arms, the two chatted softly for a long time.

Until both of them began to feel hungry.

“Where should we eat?” Zhang Yang gently pinched Bei Wei’s fair nose.

“I want… I want that small restaurant you took me to before. The one near our old company,” Bei Wei said while thinking, then suddenly smiled.

“Which one?” Zhang Yang tried to recall and saw the anticipation shining in Bei Wei’s eyes.

“Oh, I know. That one, right?”

He mentioned the name.

“That’s great-you still remember.” Bei Wei laughed happily, flipping over and leaning above him, her long black hair falling across Zhang Yang’s face, tickling him.

In the evening, the two of them left the house unhurriedly.

Zhang Yang drove the Cullinan with Bei Wei beside him as they returned to a small restaurant near their former company.

The little restaurant was affordable and delicious, and many office workers nearby often gathered there for meals.

The Cullinan parked outside.

When Zhang Yang and Bei Wei walked in together, the owner didn’t recognize Zhang Yang, but he clearly remembered Bei Wei.

“Oh? Miss, it feels like you haven’t been here for a long time. Is this… your boyfriend?”

The owner curiously looked at Zhang Yang.

The handsome, tall young man was someone he had never seen before, though he looked vaguely familiar.

But he was certain he had never met him.

If he had truly seen such a handsome man before, he would definitely remember.

Zhang Yang and Bei Wei looked at each other and both saw the amusement in each other’s eyes.

“Boss, we’ll have these dishes.” Zhang Yang didn’t even look at the menu and casually listed several dishes they used to order often.

The owner wrote them down with a pen while glancing curiously at Zhang Yang.

“Handsome guy, have you been here before? You seem very familiar with our menu.”

“I’ve heard about it. Your signature dishes are pretty famous,” Zhang Yang said casually.

The owner froze for a moment, then his face turned slightly red with excitement as he hurried proudly toward the kitchen to prepare the food.

“Husband, you’re too mischievous. You teased the boss so much,” Bei Wei said while covering her mouth and laughing.

Zhang Yang only smiled and poured some tea for Bei Wei.

Around them, it was dinner time. People were constantly coming and going-office workers from nearby buildings.

After finishing a busy day of work, everyone had relaxed. Some were drinking, some were eating, and their faces showed a rare sense of ease and happiness.

“Hey, look over there. Doesn’t that look like Xiang Youde?” Bei Wei suddenly pointed toward the distance and said curiously.

Zhang Yang followed her gaze and immediately laughed.

“What do you mean looks like? That’s Xiang Youde. What a coincidence.”

Xiang Youde had indeed become much thinner and looked very different from before. The change was quite significant.

He waved his hand, and Xiang Youde immediately noticed him. His expression instantly became excited as he jogged over.

“Zhang Yang? And Bei Wei? What a coincidence!”

“Hello, Brother Xiang. Long time no see.” Bei Wei smiled and waved lightly in greeting.

“Come on, Old Xiang, sit down. Let’s have a drink tonight.” Zhang Yang warmly invited Xiang Youde to sit and chat for a while.

“No, no. Our company is having a dinner gathering tonight. We’re in a small private room inside. Why don’t you two just come eat with us in our room?” Xiang Youde said with a smile. “Everyone would be really happy to see you.”

“We’ve already ordered our food, so we won’t go over and join the crowd.” Zhang Yang smiled and declined politely.

The former company was still the former company. As someone who had already left, he had no intention of going over to join in.

“There aren’t any outsiders-just our old colleagues,” Xiang Youde emphasized. “It’s not a company-funded dinner, we’re splitting the bill ourselves.”

“I see. Then we’ll talk about it later.” Zhang Yang replied casually. “By the way, why are you so thin now? Your changes are getting bigger and bigger. Even your clothes and style look completely different from before.”

Zhang Yang truly admired Old Xiang’s transformation.

After all, Zhang Yang’s own transformation was like turning the world upside down, but that was entirely due to the system. As for Xiang Youde, he had relied on his own effort to gradually change this much, which wasn’t easy.

“Ah, don’t even mention it. No matter how much I change, if someone wants to break up with me, they’ll still break up.” Xiang Youde scratched his head, his expression bitter.

“You were dating someone?” Zhang Yang looked surprised.

Bei Wei, sitting nearby, also became curious and listened carefully.

“I met someone. It was short-lived though… sigh, it’s hard to explain.” Xiang Youde shook his head, looking dejected.

“Don’t be like that. Maybe someone better is waiting for you later.” Zhang Yang patted Xiang Youde on the shoulder to comfort him.

“That’s true, but you know me-I’m the kind of person who takes relationships very seriously. I’m not someone who can just discard them casually. I feel that every relationship deserves my full effort, otherwise I wouldn’t be true to myself.” Xiang Youde clenched his fist.

“Hmm… I understand. But once it’s over, it’s over. As long as you don’t keep trying to transfer one yuan every day just to see if she’s blocked you.” Zhang Yang said casually.

Xiang Youde froze, and sweat appeared on his forehead.

“Feeling nervous now, Old Xiang? I knew it.” Zhang Yang laughed.

“Husband, don’t do that.” Bei Wei gently tugged at Zhang Yang’s sleeve.

“You Zhang Yang, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Xiang Youde noticed Zhang Yang’s expression and suddenly realized, laughing as he scolded him. It felt like they had returned to the old days when they worked together and joked with each other.

Angry? Not at all.

Zhang Yang only joked like that because he understood Xiang Youde well.

After the teasing, Xiang Youde deleted the girl’s contact in front of Zhang Yang to show his determination.

“I should go back now. You two must come to our private room later. It’s the one ahead-the one we always used for gatherings before,” Xiang Youde reminded them repeatedly. “By the way, Zhang Yang, I think I just heard Bei Wei call you husband?”

“I don’t think you heard wrong.” Zhang Yang smiled and looked at Bei Wei.

“Husband, stop teasing Brother Xiang,” Bei Wei said with a light scolding tone.

This time, Xiang Youde heard it clearly. His expression instantly turned extremely sour as he stood up. “I’m leaving. If I stay any longer, I’ll die from all this sweetness.”

After Xiang Youde left, the dishes were served shortly afterward.

The two of them ate for a while. Zhang Yang waved his hand and asked someone to bring a bottle of drinks.

“Come on, since we ran into them, let’s go say hello.” Zhang Yang smiled and poured some into each cup.

He reached out, held Bei Wei’s hand, and walked toward the private room they used to visit often.

Inside the private room, laughter and lively conversation could be heard.

“You’re saying Zhang Yang and Bei Wei are really here? Then should we invite them to join us?” That was Sister Wang’s voice.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help smiling. He exchanged a glance with Bei Wei and pushed open the door.

The lively atmosphere inside the room greeted them immediately.

Zhang Yang looked around and, sure enough, saw many familiar faces. Of course, there were also a few unfamiliar ones-probably new employees who had joined after they left the company.

“Long time no see.” Zhang Yang held Bei Wei’s hand and greeted everyone.

The room fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Oh my, Zhang Yang, it really is you-and Bei Wei!” Sister Wang stood up immediately when she saw the handsome man and beautiful woman before her, smiling so widely she couldn’t close her mouth.

At the table, several newcomers blinked in confusion, not yet understanding what was happening.