Chapter 34: Swearing Brotherhood with Xu Xiang, A Chance Encounter with the Campus Belle, and Progress on Momo

At the Shanghai Hotel, the manager saw Xu Xiang arriving and trotted over, wearing a beaming smile. "Mr. Xu, you've arrived. The Songhua private room is ready. Please, this way."

Yan Fei followed Xu Xiang toward the private room, failing to notice a breathtakingly beautiful face at a nearby table in the lobby looking at him with curiosity. It was only after his figure disappeared that the beauty withdrew her gaze.

"Ms. Li, do you know that man?" the young man sitting opposite asked, looking at Li Ruxue with curiosity.

Hearing this, Li Ruxue smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was distracted. Mr. Wang, let's continue discussing the partnership."

Wang Feng smiled faintly. "No rush. The man walking in front was Mr. Xu of Ze Xi, and the two behind him are the 'Twin Tigers of Ze Xi.' In Shanghai, Mr. Xu is a prominent figure with deep connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles, a major player worth four or five billion."

As Li Ruxue listened to Wang Feng showing off his knowledge, her curiosity intensified. She couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Wang, who was the man beside Mr. Xu? Do you know him?"

"The one beside Mr. Xu?" Wang Feng frowned, then suddenly realized something. He looked at Li Ruxue in shock and said in a low voice, "Ms. Li, you were looking at that man just now. Could it be that you know him?"

Li Ruxue shook her head with a self-deprecating smile. "He looked like a university classmate of mine. I must have been mistaken. Anyone who can walk alongside Mr. Xu must be a big shot; he couldn't possibly be my classmate."

Wang Feng nodded in agreement. He knew about Li Ruxue's family background and had been struck by her beauty the first time they met, which was why he used business as a pretext to pursue her. Naturally, he didn't believe she could be acquainted with someone capable of walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Xu Xiang.

Sipping red wine, Wang Feng resumed his witty and humorous tone to liven up the atmosphere, but Li Ruxue wasn't as happy as usual, as the image of Yan Fei kept flashing through her mind.

Regarding Wang Feng's pursuit, Li Ruxue had originally planned to give it a try. After all, among all her suitors, Wang Feng was the best in terms of looks, education, and family background, possessing a net worth of several tens of millions—fitting for someone with her 92-point beauty and graceful figure.

At this moment, Li Ruxue looked at Wang Feng with a strained smile, going through the motions. Wang Feng naturally sensed the change in her, but his gentlemanly demeanor kept him composed.

Meanwhile, in the Songhua private room, Yan Fei and Xu Xiang were chatting happily. They exchanged contact information, and at Yan Fei's recommendation, everyone downloaded WeChat, finding it quite impressive to use.

The banquet lasted until 2:30 PM. Yan Fei learned a great deal about quantitative auxiliary systems from Xu Xiang, and the group hit it off so well they were practically ready to become sworn brothers.

After leaving the hotel, Yan Fei declined Xu Xiang's invitation to return to the office for tea, intending to head back to his hotel to rest before catching an evening flight back to Shen'an City. Xu Xiang did not press him further, and the group parted ways.

Feeling a bit tipsy, Yan Fei leaned against a wall to steady himself. Suddenly, a wet wipe was offered to him, and a gentle, soft voice sounded: "Wipe your face; you'll feel much better."

Yan Fei took the wipe, cleaned his face, and turned around with a smile. "Thank you!"

Suddenly, Yan Fei froze. He stared blankly at the stunning beauty in front of him, as if something had clicked. "Are you Li Ruxue? The campus beauty from Huadong?"

Hearing this, a spark lit up in Li Ruxue's eyes. She smiled happily. "You're Yan Fei, right? I almost thought I was mistaken. Did you move to Shanghai for your career?"

"No, I'm developing my career in Shen'an City," Yan Fei said with a smile. "What a coincidence. I'm here on a business trip and never expected to run into the campus beauty. Did you move to Shanghai after graduation?"

"Yes!" Li Ruxue said softly. "There's a cafe over there. Let's go sit for a while."

Yan Fei agreed. Having not seen his former school goddess—the dream girl of countless male students, and one whom he had secretly admired—for many years, he naturally felt an impulse to spend time with her.

Sitting in the cafe, the two chatted about their university days. Back then, Li Ruxue had reigned as the campus beauty, pursued by countless boys and becoming a legendary figure. Yan Fei, meanwhile, was famous for being a top student, frequently praised by professors and winning scholarships with ease. He had even turned down Professor Chen's request for a graduate interview, becoming the most prominent academic star of the time.

After reminiscing, the sense of estrangement vanished. They talked about life after graduation. Hearing Li Ruxue's complaints about her industry, Yan Fei thought of his own work experience from his past life and said with deep resonance, "It really is difficult for women in the finance industry, especially beautiful ones. Haven't you found a boyfriend? Perhaps your situation would be better."

Li Ruxue gave a bitter smile and said, slightly self-deprecatingly, "I have as many suitors now as I did in school, but I've never met the right person. A girl's first time is very precious; you need to find someone you truly like before you can entrust your heart and body to them."

When Yan Fei heard that Li Ruxue had never formally been in a relationship, he felt an inexplicable surge of excitement and joy. However, he maintained a faint smile on his face and said, "The campus beauty has high standards. I wonder which young talent will be lucky enough to catch your eye."

Li Ruxue tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a captivating allure. That natural, intense femininity made Yan Fei's heart race involuntarily, and he quickly pretended to drink his coffee to mask his agitation.

Watching Yan Fei's reaction, Li Ruxue felt very happy. With a serene smile, she leaned in closer and whispered, "What about you? What are you doing on this business trip to Shanghai?"

Yan Fei smiled faintly. "My company is preparing to build a quantitative auxiliary system, so I'm visiting a friend in the industry to learn from him and avoid taking any wrong turns."

Li Ruxue had heard of quantitative auxiliary systems, but they were rarely used in the domestic financial industry, and she knew little about them. She could only listen as Yan Fei chatted about the benefits of such systems, unable to contribute much to the conversation.

As they talked, Li Ruxue realized that Yan Fei's professional knowledge was even deeper than it had been in university. She tentatively asked, "A top student is always a top student. You must be a private equity manager now, right?"

"You could say that!" Yan Fei said with a smile. "Our private equity firm is just starting out, so there's a lot to do. I wear many hats and stay quite busy, but it will get better after a while."

By 4:00 PM, Yan Fei checked the time and stood up. "I need to catch my flight back to Shen'an. Next time I'm in Shanghai, I'll treat you to dinner. Goodbye, old classmate."

Li Ruxue smiled serenely, waved goodbye to Yan Fei, and said, "Then I'll be waiting for that big meal. Let me know the next time you're in Shanghai, and I'll come pick you up at the airport."

Watching Yan Fei's retreating figure, Li Ruxue guessed his identity. She believed Yan Fei held shares in a private equity firm and that his future prospects were limitless—making him a better target than Wang Feng.

Back home, Li Ruxue immediately began searching, asking university classmates about Yan Fei. However, none of the classmates she was in contact with knew his current situation.

Consequently, Li Ruxue posted a message in the class group: "Classmates, does anyone know how Yan Fei is doing lately?"

Her post quickly drew out many classmates. Zhang Zhong was the first to reply: "It's the campus beauty! I heard you're working at a finance company in Shanghai. That's the same field as Yan Fei."

Li Hua followed up: "Yan Fei left the group a few months ago. I heard he left Huaxin Securities; he's probably still looking for a job!"

Other online classmates, seeing that Yan Fei had left Huaxin Securities, were drawn into the conversation, with some even mocking: "So what if he was a top student? He's still unemployed."

As more mocking comments appeared, many couldn't help but sigh at how fickle fate was—the former star student reduced to such a state. This made Li Ruxue begin to waver in her assumptions.

Suddenly, a classmate named Zhou Fu spoke up: "You don't know anything, so stop spouting nonsense. Yan the 'Ace Student' is a major figure in Shen'an now. You know that WeChat everyone uses? It was developed by his company, Guangzhou WeChat Technology. He is the absolute controlling shareholder, and the company is currently valued at over one billion RMB."

"No way!" Zhang Zhong sent a shocked emoji. "The Ace Student is great at finance, but social media doesn't fit. Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"

Zhou Fu didn't reply further; he simply posted a screenshot of the industrial and commercial registration. Everyone in the group saw the name "Yan Fei" appearing as the primary shareholder, marked as the absolute controlling interest and actual controller.

Looking at the screenshot and recalling how Yan Fei had enthusiastically recommended that she download WeChat, Li Ruxue couldn't help but believe it.

A classmate named Pei Xi asked: "Is it possible it's just someone with the same name?"

Hardly anyone believed it, but soon, a classmate named Song Wu posted a photo with the caption: "This is a photo from the WeChat Technology site. The person standing on the table giving the speech is the big boss, Yan Fei."

Li Ruxue looked at the photo of Yan Fei, who looked spirited and radiant, while the employees of WeChat Technology below looked as if they had been injected with adrenaline, their faces filled with excited smiles.

At this point, someone in the class group posted photos of the senior executives of WeChat Technology found online. They were identical to the people in the photo, leaving everyone with no choice but to believe that Yan Fei was indeed the boss of WeChat Technology.

Song Wu watched the group chat scrolling and added: "My cousin works at WeChat Technology, and he took this photo. I only found out by chance that the Ace Student had become a big boss competing with major enterprises. It’s absolutely incredible."

All the classmates in the group were fired up, rushing to heap praise on Yan Fei. Li Ruxue felt a rush of heat and a flushed face; she never expected a "super golden turtle son-in-law" to be right by her side. She secretly vowed to win Yan Fei over.

Returning to Shen'an City, Yan Fei rested for a night. The next day, he arrived at the company, where Zhou Xiaohong and Li Fu greeted him. They went straight to the server room to check the backend data. Yan Fei looked satisfied and said, "Not bad. Momo's registration count has exceeded three million. Everyone has worked hard during this period."

The executives of Momo Technology let out a sigh of relief and followed Yan Fei into the conference room for a strategy meeting. Yan Fei went straight to the point: "Continue to increase promotion efforts. Momo Technology's goal is to become the leading giant in the stranger social networking field and occupy an absolute controlling position in the market. Everyone, feel free to share any good ideas."

A young man immediately raised his hand: "Boss, I'm Du Zao, the Product Department head. I suggest we learn from WeChat Technology and create a function similar to 'Moments'."

Yan Fei frowned. "Tell me about it."

Du Zao replied immediately: "We can create a 'Sharing Plaza' focused on sharing a beautiful life, allowing local Momo users to see posts from people in their own city. We can also rank these posts nationally and create a 'Hot List'."

Listening to Du Zao's suggestion, Yan Fei thought of Weibo. Weibo was just starting out, and Yan Fei had considered investing, but Weibo was backed by Sina and didn't lack funds, so he had abandoned that idea.

After a moment of thought, Yan Fei said firmly, "This is a great idea. Combined with our location-based functions, this will become a new growth point for Momo. Du Zao, you are now the Product Manager, and the previous manager will be demoted to deputy."

After the swift order was issued, the former manager's face turned ashen, and others felt a chill, realizing the awe they should hold for this boss who was rarely present.

Ignoring their reactions, Yan Fei continued, "Who else has good ideas? Speak up."

With Du Zao setting the pace, everyone brainstormed with enthusiasm. Yan Fei had Li Fu record all the good suggestions, rewarded those who made them, and ordered the technical department to implement them immediately while the product department ramped up promotion.

After handling these matters, Yan Fei looked at Zhou Xiaohong. "How much money is left in the company's account?"

Zhou Xiaohong replied immediately, "Boss, there is over 98 million left."

Yan Fei frowned, slammed the table, and roared, "Manager Li, Manager Zhou, how are you managing this company? Why is there so much money left? You've only spent 20 million!"

The two, feeling the heat of his anger, lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Scanning the room, Yan Fei said coldly, "I'll emphasize this one more time: Momo Technology wants user registrations. Spend the money in the account—spend it to rapidly increase our registered users. Do you understand? Don't be afraid to spend, but don't waste it. Manager Zhou, keep a close eye on this. If you have trouble approving payments, WeChat me, understand?"

Zhou Xiaohong nodded earnestly, and Li Fu followed suit. Seeing that they understood, Yan Fei continued, "By the end of the year, Momo's registrations must reach ten million. You have two months. If you hit the target, the company will provide a ten-million-dollar bonus, distributed among all employees according to different proportions."