Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 480: The Vertical City of Capital and Desire
The weather today is not very good. Although it is not raining, the sky is covered by large clouds and the sun is hardly visible.

Walking on the Bund Square by the Huangpu River, Jiang Qingkui tightened his windbreaker and suddenly felt the urge to smoke.

In fact, she rarely has sentimental emotions. After all, she has been living a busy life since she was a child.

During her student days, she was busy studying, taking exams, and participating in competitions. Even as a top student, she felt that she had endless certificates to obtain and endless books to read.

After returning from studying abroad in the United States, she was busy building a career and paying for her dreams. Whether before or after meeting Zhou Wang, she seemed to have always had a clear goal...

But what is the point of living like this?

At this time, Jiang Qingkui stopped to think and felt a little confused.

It seemed as if it was just the "attention of everyone" since childhood, the eyes of others, that kept pushing her forward.

Applause and flowers made her proud, but they also became a kind of shackle for her, preventing her from being content to be a salted fish like some ordinary people.

Her rationality as an intellectual often helps her make long-term decisions, but at this moment it also puts her in a paradox of thinking, from which she finds it difficult to extricate herself.

Jingle Bell!
The sudden ringing of the cell phone interrupted Jiang Qingkui's gradually wandering thoughts.

She pressed the answer button on the headset, and Xu Wenxi's sweet and pleasant voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Sister Qingkui, where are you?"

“I’m taking a walk on the Bund…”

"I heard from your assistant Xiaoyue that you guys checked into a hotel. Why don't you go to Tomson Yipin? Did the boss reserve a room for you?"

"I don't want to go. It will be more comfortable to stay in a hotel."

Hearing Xu Wenxi mention Zhou Wang, Jiang Qingkui became angry again. It was at this moment that she realized that the reason why she was upset just now might be Zhou Wang...

"Uh...that's okay."

Xu Wenxi sensed something from Jiang Qingkui's suddenly cold tone, but she did not ask further questions, but just said carefully:
"Well, Sister Qingkui, I may have to trouble you to go over and preside over the preparations for the dinner. I have other things to do here and cannot get away for the time being."

"Other things?"

Jiang Qingkui asked in confusion, "Isn't the dinner the most important thing today? Why are you..."

Halfway through the conversation, Jiang Qingkui seemed to realize something. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Xixi, you are not going to help Mr. Zhou settle those two women from Beidu, are you?"

Xu Wenxi hesitated for a moment, which undoubtedly confirmed Jiang Qingkui's guess. She immediately said angrily:
"How could you agree to help him do this, Sissi? You... don't you feel uncomfortable when you see those two women?"

"Alright, okay."

Xu Wenxi said in a low voice, "But I feel sorry for the boss. Since he asked me to come forward, it means he must be in a difficult situation. I am his assistant, so of course I have to help him share his worries..."

Jiang Qingkui was speechless for a moment. She wanted to curse Xu Wenxi a few more times, but in the end, she said nothing. She also knew that Xu Wenxi was the kind of person who would just accept everything that happened, so she sighed softly.

"Okay, I'll go over first... By the way, which hotel is it?"

When Jiang Qingkui asked this question, she was surprised to find it a bit strange, because Xu Wenxi would definitely inform her of such an important matter. Just now, when she was angry, Jiang Qingkui realized that she actually didn't know the location of the dinner.

"Sister Qingkui, this is not a hotel. I'll send the address to your phone, but you don't have to rush over. From what the boss said, you should arrive after six o'clock..."

"After six?"

Jiang Qingkui couldn't help but frown. The dinner started at seven o'clock, so why did Zhou Wang ask her to go there at six o'clock? Besides, if this kind of dinner was not held in a hotel, where else could it be held?
Jiang Qingkui couldn't figure it out, so he asked directly, "Why not in the hotel? Is this the place you are looking for?"

"Sister Qingkui, I don't really understand. The address was sent to me by my boss. It looks like an office building in Lujiazui..."

"Office building?"

Jiang Qingkui was even more confused.

At this time, Xu Wenxi said again: "Sister Qingkui, I don't know what the boss is thinking. I set the date and I also found the third-party company to help with the preparations. But the only thing about the venue of the dinner was that the boss contacted it himself, and the coordination with the venue was always done by the boss under the direction of Sister Ran. I almost never participated..."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Qingkui frowned slightly.

She had also met Lin Ran, the assistant Zhou Wang hired later, in Beidu, but their personalities were not very compatible and they had almost no contact with each other.

There is another strange thing. Given Zhou Wang's personality, he would never move when he could sit back and do nothing. He would never interfere with anything that Jiang Qingkui and Xu Wenxi could handle. But this time he was so actively involved. It must be the sun that has risen from the west...

No matter what Zhou Wang's reason was, since the location had been decided, Jiang Qingkui no longer worried about it.

After hanging up the phone, she took a look at the address Xu Wenxi sent on WeChat and was somewhat surprised.

【56F, Office Building, Phase II, Shanghai International Finance Center】

How to describe the "Magic City IFC"?

For ordinary people, it is one of the famous landmark buildings in Shanghai. Together with Shanghai World Financial Center, Jinmao Tower and Shanghai Center Building, it constitutes the Lujiazui skyline. The companies settled there include multinational financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, UBS and Blackstone. It is equipped with ifc shopping mall and Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and can be called a corner of the "Wall Street of the East".

It is also the most expensive office building in Shanghai, and can be called the ultimate office mecca for all workers, because once you step into there, it feels like you have truly established yourself in Shanghai.

For a top student like Jiang Qingkui, she would probably describe the twin towers of the IFC like this:

"Lujiazui's cold light temple, a vertical city of capital and desire."

All in all, Zhou Wang actually chose this place as the venue for the dinner, and judging from the floor, it wasn't the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which really surprised Jiang Qingkui.

But it seems that there is nothing inappropriate.

After all, the charity dinner is more business-oriented, and holding it in the top office building in Shanghai is both respectable and grand. After being disturbed by Xu Wenxi's call, Jiang Qingkui no longer had so much sentimentality. She looked around and walked towards the ferry.

……

After spending two yuan on a ferry to the other side of the Huangpu River and walking for a while, Jiang Qingkui arrived near the IFC.

At this time, the setting sun happened to shine through the gaps in the clouds. Bathed in the golden light, the IFC Twin Towers and the ifc shopping mall below also emitted a dazzling glow. The golden exterior wall of LV was particularly eye-catching, as if reflecting the extravagant desires unique to a bustling city.

Jiang Qingkui was a little stunned, because the IFC in front of her was, in a sense, a revisit to her old place.

Her first stop after graduating from Harvard and returning to China was Shanghai.

The reason is naturally because the Magic City is the undisputed economic and financial center of China. Jiang Qingkui, who was determined to make a career for himself at the time, chose to come here first, attempting to start his own entrepreneurial journey in the Magic City.

And the IFC was her first stop after arriving in Shanghai...

Not only are there famous multinational financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and UBS, but many extremely powerful domestic capitals are also gathered here. If Jiang Qingkui wants to get his first pot of gold, there is no way he can avoid this place.

Jiang Qingkui was also very confident at the time. After all, her resume was too brilliant. At the beginning, things went exactly as she expected. After she handed in her resume, almost all the companies stationed here expressed their attention. The person who was responsible for receiving her was at least a department manager...

However, after hearing that Jiang Qingkui's real intention was not to find a job but to raise funds, these companies, without exception, had a subtle change in their attitudes.

In fact, it's pretty much the same.

You are welcome to join the company at any time. Jiang Qingkui can set any salary, and even provide accommodation and a car. But as for financing... emmm, let us think about it first.

Jiang Qingkui stayed in Shanghai for more than ten days without receiving any return calls. After confirming that everything was just her wishful thinking, she set off for Beijing. Later, she continued to run into obstacles everywhere in Beijing, and finally returned to Yunnan Province, until she met Zhou Wang.

Standing downstairs of the IFC Building again at this time, Jiang Qingkui felt somewhat sad.

Is it better than before?
There seems to be nothing to deny. She now wears a Patek Philippe watch worth 200,000 yuan, wears high-end clothes worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, has a ruby ​​ring worth 6 million yuan on her finger, drives a Pamela worth more than 1 million yuan, has an assistant and a driver, and is still managing projects worth hundreds of millions...

How is this not considered a success?

Even though it was not quite the same as what she had expected, at this moment, Jiang Qingkui still felt grateful towards Zhou Wang in her heart, and as a result, she was not so angry with him anymore.

Looking at the time, it was not yet five o'clock. Although he didn't know why Zhou Wang insisted that he arrive at the venue at six o'clock, Jiang Qingkui would not disobey his orders. After thinking about it, Jiang Qingkui wandered downstairs for a while. When he got tired, he found a coffee shop and sat on the side of the road.

Halfway through, Jiang Qingkui couldn't help but be curious and bought a nicotine-free e-cigarette.

She didn't really want to learn how to smoke, she just wanted to smoke for fun to kill time.

"Hey, Qingkui?"

While Jiang Qingkui was drinking coffee and studying why the e-cigarette in his hand had a grape flavor, a slightly surprised female voice suddenly came from the side.

Jiang Qingkui was startled, then raised his head and saw four or five young men and women standing at the door of the coffee shop, chatting and laughing. They were holding coffee in their hands, wearing high-end professional suits and branded bags. Just by standing there, coupled with the scene of office buildings standing around them, the temperament of the urban elite was revealed.

Hearing their companion's greeting, the three young men who were traveling with them immediately locked their eyes on Jiang Qingkui, and their eyes revealed surprise at the same time.

One of the men had actually noticed Jiang Qingkui before. After all, even in the Magic City where there were so many beautiful women, Jiang Qingkui's appearance and figure were extremely outstanding. It was only because she had kept her head down just now, otherwise she would have attracted more people's attention.

"Du Mengqi?"

Jiang Qingkui looked up and saw the woman who greeted him. He frowned slightly, but soon relaxed again. Then he stood up with a smile, "What a coincidence!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect that we would meet again in the Magic City. What a coincidence..."

The girl named Du Mengqi walked over with a happy smile and shook hands with Jiang Qingkui, while looking at Jiang Qingkui in front of her inconspicuously, with confusion and envy flashing in her eyes.

"Mengqi, this beautiful lady is...why don't you introduce her to us?"

While the two were greeting each other, the young man who had noticed Jiang Qingkui before spoke with a smile.

With him leading the way, several others also came over. Du Mengqi quickly smiled and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Jiang Qingkui, my classmate from the same school when I was studying in the United States... She is amazing, the genuine top scorer in the Yunnan Province college entrance examination!"

"That's incredible. I wasn't even in the top 100 in the province, and the top scorer in the college entrance examination crushed me!"

"Hey, Zihao, you are being too modest. You took the college entrance examination in Shandong Province, so how can it be the same..."

After hearing Du Mengqi's introduction, several people laughed and flattered her, but their eyes were obviously more focused on Jiang Qingkui's beauty.

After all, they were able to have a decent job in the core area of ​​Shanghai, and they were all top students back then. A top scorer in the college entrance examination could not shock them.

Jiang Qingkui was helpless.

She actually didn't like this kind of occasion, nor did she think there was any point in laughing and joking with these pretentious people. But it was not easy for her to turn around and leave immediately. After all, the last time she came to Shanghai, Du Mengqi had actually helped her on the surface.

After introducing themselves to each other, the group of people pulled up chairs and sat down. Only then did Du Mengqi ask:
"Qingkui, why did you come to the Magic City this time? Is it about financing? How is it? Do you need my help?"

"Financing?"

Before Jiang Qingkui could say anything, one of the young men named Liu Heng's eyes lit up and he said with a hint of reserve, "If Miss Jiang wants to raise funds, I should be able to give you some professional advice."

"Oh, Qingkui, I forgot to tell you that Brother Heng works at UBS, and he's now the deputy manager of the domestic investment department!"

Du Mengqi laughed immediately.

What disappointed Du Mengqi was that Jiang Qingkui did not show the expression she expected. He just raised his eyebrows and said:
“That’s really impressive.”

Perhaps because he heard the indifference in Jiang Qingkui's tone, Liu Heng, feeling uncomfortable, smiled falsely and said:

"I wonder what Miss Jiang does for a living?"

(End of this chapter)