Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Sister Yun! I Have a Friend

Yun Zijin was still unaware of what had transpired in Villa No. 1 of Xingyu Mansion; she was on her way to Dijing University.

Sheng Yang’s bar was located near Dijing University and was currently under renovation. When he heard Yun Zijin was coming to the university today, he gave her a call.

His daily routine was now set in stone: he would go inspect the bar, eagerly waiting for the renovations to finish so he could pick an auspicious date for the grand opening.

As the bar’s only other investor, Sheng Yang reminded Yun Zijin daily that she absolutely had to attend the grand opening’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Having opened the bar without relying on his family, Sheng Yang had made sure that practically everyone knew about its impending grand opening.

It was all to spite Sheng Hao, who had tried to stop his bar venture. He wanted to show him that he could find his own investors and build a business, even without his help.

When Sheng Yang had bragged to Yun Zijin about it, she could just imagine Sheng Hao’s expression. ’This younger brother of his is truly a handful,’ she thought.

"Sister Yun! What a coincidence, you’re coming to Dijing University, too! A friend of mine is having a birthday party at his villa near campus today. Do you want to come?"

Sheng Yang now genuinely treated Yun Zijin as an older sister, wanting to include her in everything; he was slowly developing a bit of a sister complex.

"A friend? Are you sure it’s not a trap?"

Last time, there was Huang Yourui and that whole gang of freeloaders. You said they were your friends, too, but what a sorry bunch they turned out to be.

Now that another "friend" had popped up, Yun Zijin was on the verge of getting PTSD.

"This time is really different! Wu Zicheng is a friend I’ve known since we were kids. He’s nothing like Huang Yourui!"

Hearing the suspicion in Yun Zijin’s voice, Sheng Yang felt quite exasperated.

He admitted he’d shown poor judgment with Huang Yourui. From now on, he would definitely be more careful when making friends.

But Wu Zicheng was a close buddy, the kind he’d even brought back to his family’s ancestral home. There was absolutely no way he could be a problem.

If even he turned out to be a problem, Sheng Yang felt he might actually become a total recluse.

"Fine, I’ll trust you on this one. But it’s your friend’s birthday party. Wouldn’t it be a little inappropriate for me to show up uninvited?"

Yun Zijin’s name had begun to circulate in Dijing’s social circles, the main topic of gossip being how she had snatched the West Suburb Land right out from under several ’Crown Princes’.

But the Lu Family’s resort project was still proceeding in an orderly fashion, leading many to speculate that the Lu Family had secretly acquired Yun Zijin’s plot of land.

Those in the know kept quiet, while outsiders speculated wildly, coming up with all sorts of theories.

"What’s the big deal? I’ll just let Old Wu know. He actually asked me to set up an introduction with you last time.

Unfortunately, he was out of town and couldn’t meet you. If he knows I’m bringing you to his birthday party, he’ll definitely be thrilled."

’This was the woman who had managed to snatch land from several ’Crown Princes.’ We don’t expect to be able to do the same, but we can at least try to get some of that good luck to rub off on us!

Maybe we could even snag a chance to cooperate with one of the four great families.’

"Alright. I’ll head to Dijing University first. I’ll call you when I’m done."

Today was Saturday, and Yun Zijin had no spending task, so she wasn’t worried about running out of time to spend money and fail her mission. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

This time, Yun Zijin wasn’t stopped by the gate guards when she entered Dijing University. Her car soon arrived near He Jingwen’s laboratory.

Yun Zijin took out her phone to call He Jingwen, and soon after, she saw him walk out holding a file.

"Senior!"

Yun Zijin got out of the car and jogged over to He Jingwen.

"Here’s the test report you asked for. Since I did this for you as a personal favor, it only has my signature on it, not the lab’s official seal or a professor’s signature. Its official credibility might be a bit lacking.

If you plan to produce and sell this, I’d suggest you get the proper certifications and have a more authoritative agency run another set of tests and issue a report."

He Jingwen didn’t know Yun Zijin’s reasons for creating the Rose Essential Oil, but he offered the advice anyway.

Yun Zijin nodded. "I know. I don’t have any plans to commercialize it at the moment, but if I do in the future, I’ll definitely keep these things in mind. Thank you for the heads-up, Senior."

Yun Zijin took the test report, replying with a smile.

Seeing that she had taken his words to heart, He Jingwen didn’t press the matter. "I have some experiment data I need to finish recording," he said. "I’ll treat you to a meal next time I’m free."

With that, He Jingwen turned and walked back into the lab before Yun Zijin even had a chance to respond.

Still, seeing He Jingwen work so hard for his own academic pursuits made Yun Zijin quite happy.

’Everyone is working so hard for their future. Maybe I shouldn’t keep being such a slacker?’

Yun Zijin was lost in thought.

* * *

Wu Zicheng’s birthday party was in the Shengshi of Jiangnan District. They said it was close to Dijing University, but it was still a twenty-minute drive—not even as close as her place at Jade Lake.

Yun Zijin was just complaining to herself, not actually trying to say that the Shengshi of Jiangnan District was a bad place.

Yun Zijin and Sheng Yang had arranged to meet at Jade Lake.

Because the party had a masquerade theme, Sheng Yang had proudly taken charge, hiring a professional team and insisting on bringing them over to handle their styling.

Yun Zijin wasn’t too concerned about such things; if someone else was going to arrange a styling team for her, she was more than happy to have the free time.

Quite a few of the residences at Jade Lake had already been rented out. As Yun Zijin entered the complex, she could see a fair number of people milling about.

The appearance of a Rolls-Royce Phantom caused many people to stop and look, but it didn’t draw a crowd.

After all, these were people who could afford to rent at Jade Lake. The smallest unit cost 150,000 a month, and with the "pay three, deposit three" policy, the initial payment was nine hundred thousand. This was far beyond what an ordinary family could afford.

Before long, Sheng Yang arrived with the professional team he had hired.

Yun Zijin told Sheng Yang to go directly to Unit 1; once she authorized the elevator from her apartment, they would be able to come straight up.

Hearing Yun Zijin’s instructions, a suspicion began to form in Sheng Yang’s mind—one that seemed both logical and completely outrageous at the same time.

When they reached the top floor of Unit 1 and Yun Zijin opened the door to let them in, Sheng Yang could no longer contain himself:

"Sister Yun, are you renting a place at Jade Lake, or did you buy it?"

As far as he knew, all the properties at Jade Lake had been bought in one lump sum payment by a mysterious tycoon.

The developer hadn’t even been allowed to keep a unit or two for themselves—the buyer had insisted on purchasing the entire property.

"Do I look like someone who pays rent?"

Yun Zijin hadn’t answered directly, but Sheng Yang already knew the truth.

When Sheng Yang realized Yun Zijin owned her place at Jade Lake, his eyes went wide.

"Sister Yun, you are my one and only Big Sis!"

’How unnecessary,’ Yun Zijin thought.

"Isn’t tonight’s party a masquerade ball? It’s going to take a while to get ready, so we should have them start."

Yun Zijin didn’t want to elaborate on the housing situation, lest she be accused of flaunting her wealth.