The banquet was scheduled for the evening. Everyone in the Zhou household was busy from top to bottom that day. As the guest of honor, Wang Cheng was cornered by Mother Zheng early in the morning and lectured for so long his ears almost grew calluses. In the end, it was his grandfather who rescued him.
“Grandpa.” Wang Cheng watched his maternal grandfather, already past seventy, walk over. Years of comfortable living had left Zhou Shichang in much better health than many elderly people. He did not even need a cane. Once he sat down, he looked at his grandson fondly. “Do you know the banquet schedule?”
“I do. Mom explained it all in great detail. I’ll be careful. I definitely won’t embarrass you or Mom,” Wang Cheng said with a smile.
Seeing how calm he was, without a trace of nervousness about attending his first banquet of this kind, Zhou Shichang became even more pleased with him. A man in his position had met countless people. Although he had not spent much time with Wang Cheng, he could already tell that his grandson had good character.
That was only one reason. The other was that Zhou Shichang had investigated Wang Cheng’s background. He learned that Wang Cheng had studied and trained under an elderly monk at a temple for more than a decade, and that the monk was over a hundred years old. On the surface, the monk had no reputation, but a deeper investigation still revealed hints that he was no ordinary person. Having studied with a master like that, Wang Cheng’s temperament was probably quite sound.
Wang Cheng thought his grandfather regarded him favorably only because of Mother Zheng. In fact, that was not the case.
Zhou Group was enormous. It was no longer the small company it had been decades ago. The forces inside the group were tangled together, and if it collapsed, the consequences would be impossible to estimate. Zhou Shichang therefore could not afford to be careless about choosing a successor.
For now, Wang Cheng seemed better suited to the role than Zhao Chenlin or his parents, and he was Mother Zheng’s son. Zhou Shichang liked him, but he would not announce him as his successor recklessly for those reasons alone.
The person in charge at Paul’s studio called to say the formalwear was finished. Mother Zheng wanted to accompany Wang Cheng to try it on, but she still had matters to handle at the Zheng residence. Wang Cheng told her not to worry about him. He was only trying on an outfit. It wasn’t as though he could somehow disappear in the process.
Mother Zheng gave up on going with him but reminded him to be careful and not damage the outfit. Then she took a Zhou family car back to the Zheng residence.
Without Mother Zheng watching his every movement, Wang Cheng felt much more relaxed. Ignoring the looks Zhou Lin and her son directed at him, he drove away from the Zhou estate.
There was not much time left before the banquet. Wang Cheng went to Paul’s studio first. The outfit had been completed through overnight work. It was predominantly black and made entirely to his measurements, more striking than the three suits they had bought earlier, with even more attention paid to the details.
Silver cufflinks flashed at his wrists, shining like bright points of light against darkness whenever the lighting changed. The soft fabric fit him closely and emphasized his height. He looked considerably more mature all at once, as though every movement gave off a compelling charm.
Wang Cheng raised one corner of his mouth at his reflection. A camera clicked behind him, capturing the moment. Paul stood there holding the camera. He was not content with just one shot and asked Wang Cheng to turn slightly to the side, treating him almost like a model. Since Paul had made the outfit for him, Wang Cheng decided to cooperate for a bit.
Paul stared at the photographs on his camera and kept exclaiming in admiration. Then his eyes lit up as he turned to Wang Cheng. “Young man, how about making a deal?”
Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll give you this outfit as a welcome gift, free of charge. In exchange, let me take a few sets of photographs according to my directions. Would that be all right?” Paul looked at him pleadingly.
The corner of Wang Cheng’s mouth twitched. “Why?”
Paul sighed. “This suit was made specifically for you. No model could wear it and promote it better than you. I imagine you can see that it’s different from ordinary formalwear. There are no extravagant decorations. It can be worn at any formal occasion. I want it to be one of the main designs of this season. But don’t worry. There will only ever be one actual suit like the one you’re wearing in the entire world, so it won’t be too troublesome. Just an hour… no, half an hour. That’s all, okay?”
He had only come to collect his outfit, yet somehow he had ended up being asked to model for the designer. Wang Cheng had not expected things to develop this way. The three suits they had bought last time had each cost well over a hundred thousand yuan. The one he was wearing now could only be more expensive. Half an hour in exchange for that seemed like a pretty good bargain.
“All right. Half an hour.”
“Thank you so much!” Paul eagerly shook his hand and immediately told his assistant to arrange the shoot.
The studio had its own dedicated photography space, complete with equipment and props. As for a photographer, Paul himself was highly talented at photography, particularly when shooting the clothes he designed. He was accustomed to personally photographing the pieces he cared most about.
Everything was ready five minutes later.
An assistant showed Wang Cheng into the photography room. He had imagined the space would be small, but it looked to be more than a hundred square meters. The sets and backdrops were already prepared, so as long as there were no major problems, they should be able to finish within half an hour.
Wang Cheng had such a good natural foundation that the makeup artist initially intended to make a few simple adjustments to his face, then realized there was no need at all.
Paul was extraordinarily demanding during shoots. The assistant and the person in charge worried that he might anger their guest, who was hardly an ordinary customer. The results surprised them, however. Wang Cheng showed far more patience and endurance than they had anticipated.
For example, Paul’s requirements for a person’s movement or posture were so strict that even the tiniest deviation could displease him. He could become dissatisfied if a model moved at all. Many professional male models had lost their temper with him because of his excessive pickiness.
This time, nothing they feared happened. The guest’s self-control was far stronger than they had imagined. Paul told him to maintain one pose without moving, then circled halfway around him taking more than twenty photographs. Wang Cheng truly did not move a muscle, holding the same position for dozens of seconds.
Half an hour later, Paul reluctantly brought the shoot to an end.
“No other problems, right?” Wang Cheng rolled his neck. He suddenly realized being a model was a miserable profession. Half an hour of photographs and he already felt exhausted.
Paul looked at him with a complicated expression and opened his mouth to say something, but the assistant and person in charge immediately interrupted.
“Mr. Wang, thank you very much for your cooperation. We feel terribly sorry for taking up half an hour of your time. On behalf of Red Leaf Studio, thank you.” The person in charge cheerfully shook Wang Cheng’s hand.
Paul glared at them. He loved his work, but he was not so oblivious that he could not distinguish between a client and a model. He knew perfectly well Wang Cheng was a guest. He was simply heartsick that after finally meeting someone so perfectly suited to his requirements, the man was only a customer. What could be more depressing?
Indignantly pushing the person in charge aside, he smiled broadly at Wang Cheng. “Mr. Wang, thank you very much for cooperating. If you ever need anything in the future, please come to me at any time. It would be my honor to serve you.”
“Thank you. I will.” Wang Cheng smiled and shook his hand.
The assistant and person in charge stood there dumbstruck.
The famously arrogant Master Paul had actually said something like that?
The sun must have risen in the west.
Wang Cheng changed back into his own clothes, put the formalwear packed in a large gift box on the back seat, and drove to the Zhou estate. The banquet would begin in only a few hours, and everyone in the household was even busier than the day before. There was a great deal to prepare. They needed fruit, pastries, and wine, all of the finest quality, as well as a huge birthday cake.
Only a few minutes after Wang Cheng returned, the cake arrived too. It was an enormous twelve-tier cake, so large that four or five people had to support it together. It had been decorated beautifully.
Wang Cheng figured everyone would be busy socializing at the banquet and hardly anyone would bother eating cake, so there was really no need for one this big. Zhao Chenlin, who saw the cake as well, felt nothing but jealousy.
On Zhao Chenlin’s birthdays, Grandpa had never ordered a cake for him, let alone held a birthday banquet at the Zhou estate. His grandfather had never paid such attention to anything involving him. He could not understand it. They were both grandsons, so why was Grandpa making such a fuss over Wang Cheng, who had only just been found? Was he really planning to hand Zhou Group over to him?
The more Zhao Chenlin thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he became anxious. “Mom, are we really going to stand by and watch Wang Cheng become part of the Zhou family and take everything that should belong to us?”
“The banquet is already settled. Getting worked up now won’t change it. But you don’t need to worry too much. Your grandfather won’t decide on Zhou Group’s future successor right now,” Zhou Lin said. At first she had been unable to keep calm either, but the situation no longer allowed her to act recklessly. Impulsiveness would solve nothing.
“How do you know, Mom?” Zhao Chenlin asked.
“Never mind how I know. Just wait and see tonight. If you’re unwilling to accept this, then you need to start taking the threat seriously. Make a good impression on your grandfather. Don’t walk around looking jealous of Wang Cheng. Act like a proper, affectionate younger cousin toward him, even if you hate him in your heart. Understand?”
“I understand, Mom.” Zhao Chenlin agreed reluctantly.
As the evening lights came on, the sleeping city gradually awakened. The banquet the Zhou family had spent days preparing was finally about to begin. Everyone who had received an invitation arrived in formal dress. The men wore smart suits, while the women wore floor-length gowns. Even in the bitter winter cold, glimpses of long bare legs could be seen beneath skirts. For the sake of appearances, apparently warmth could be sacrificed.
Huang Tong’an and Tong Yangyang arrived together. Before they even reached the Zhou residence, they saw one luxury car after another parked outside the gates. Even the least expensive seemed to cost three or four million yuan. Then they looked at the car they were driving, a Cayenne worth about one million, and suddenly felt it was embarrassing to show up in it.
Tong Yangyang lost his nerve. When Wang Cheng invited him, he had never imagined he was coming to an event this grand. Huang Tong’an had only explained the situation after he arrived. Now that he had witnessed it with his own eyes, his legs were going weak.
The Zhou family servants did not look down on them because their car was below the usual standard of the banquet. On the contrary, they smiled warmly and showed them the way.
Looking around at faces he had only ever seen on television or in newspapers, Tong Yangyang was shamefully tempted to retreat. With trembling hands, he tugged on Huang Tong’an, who was only slightly calmer than he was, and stammered, “Do you think it’s too late for me to leave now?”
Huang Tong’an’s mouth twitched. He had seen a little of the world before and often accompanied his father to banquets, but this was also his first event of such high standing. Remembering his father’s instructions before he left home, he knew retreat was no longer an option.
“Just pretend you’re having a dream.”
Tong Yangyang fell silent, then lowered his gaze to his own suit. If this really were a dream, that would be better. He could dream himself into a suit of a higher class. Everyone around them was glamorous and beautifully dressed. He felt that if he walked among them, he would be an ugly duckling straying into a flock of swans.
In the end, the two supported each other and went inside. Since they had already come this far, they might as well hide in a corner.
Behind them, another group arrived, all prominent officials and wealthy magnates they would ordinarily have no hope of meeting. Here, however, such people seemed to be everywhere, chatting and greeting acquaintances. Among them was the chairman of Shenghui Pharmaceuticals, who was having an animated conversation with a political figure. His son and daughter followed behind. Yu Jing did not look particularly happy.
Yu Jing had originally wanted to come to the banquet with Wang Ning’an. Chairman Yu had not opposed it. The fact that Wang Ning’an had obtained a Zhou family invitation already spoke to his capabilities, and he would not prevent his daughter from getting closer to him. But Yu Jing did not get her wish because Wang Ning’an turned her down.
“Sis, Wang Ning’an is a schemer. He must have refused you on purpose. Otherwise, he’s probably latched onto some other rich young lady and has lost interest in you,” Yu Hongzhi said, still trying to blacken Wang Ning’an’s name in front of her.
Yu Jing glared at him. “Shut up.”
Yu Hongzhi shrugged. “I’ve given you fair warning. If you refuse to believe me and he swindles your shares away someday, we won’t help you.”
Yu Jing ignored him.