The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

When Meng Jiangyu returned to the attic, Zhou Yanqiu immediately crowded around him, winking and asking, "Cousin, you saw him? How was it?"

Meng Jiangyu glanced at him, a very faint smile curving his lips so quickly it seemed like an illusion: "Watching the show."

These two words made Zhou Yanqiu and Lu Linchuan in the distance understand that this Miss Shen had truly captured Meng Jiangyu's heart.

Manager Zhou walked in with a gentle smile on his face: "Shen, thank you for your hard work. The wine was very popular today. This is an extra bonus for you."

He handed over a thick envelope.

Shen Qingyao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly waved her hand: "No need, Manager Zhou, the agreed-upon compensation is already more than enough."

"Here you go," Manager Zhou said, shoving the envelope into her hand. "This is the customer's message. He said your cocktails are well-made and you deserve it."

Shen Qingyao held the heavy envelope, feeling somewhat uneasy, but she couldn't refuse any longer and could only thank her.

"The snow outside hasn't stopped yet. Your esteemed guest instructed me to have someone take you home."

"Thank you." Shen Qingyao couldn't refuse again.

The wind and snow continued, and outside the vermilion gates of Fenghua Palace, a black sedan slowly drove away, heading into the vast night.

Inside the gate, the big shot stood under the eaves, gazing in the direction the car had disappeared, the wind and snow in his eyes turning into gentle tenderness.

Shen Qingyao sat in the warm car, watching the vermilion gate outside the window slowly close, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Everything here felt so distant from her—the elegantly dressed guests, the priceless decorations…it all felt like an unreal dream.

Unbeknownst to her, after she left, Meng Jiangyu in the ancient pavilion stood up and stared at the direction the car had driven away for a long time.

"Cousin, why don't you stay for a few drinks?" Zhou Yanqiu asked.

"No, thank you." Meng Jiangyu turned around. "Go back."

Lu Linchuan also stood up and said with a smile, "I should go too, I still have things to do at the company."

Zhou Yanqiu watched the two figures leave, then stroked his chin. It seemed that the snow in the capital was about to change because of a girl named Shen Qingyao.

As the car drove away from Fenghua Palace, Meng Jiangyu leaned back in the back seat and closed his eyes.

What keeps replaying in my mind is her focused expression while mixing drinks...

He knew he was completely finished.

When Shen Qingyao pushed open the dormitory door, the warmth mixed with a faint fragrance of skincare products wafted towards her.

Xiang Yu was sitting cross-legged on the bed watching a TV series, Xu Huihui was trying on a new lipstick in front of the mirror, and Lu Ying was leaning back in her chair flipping through a financial magazine. They all looked up when they heard the noise.

"You're back, Qingyao!" Xiang Yu greeted her first, looking up from the screen. "This part-time job sounds glamorous, how was it? Tired?"

Shen Qingyao took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair, and was untying her scarf when she heard this. She casually said, "It's alright, it's just that I stood for a while. It was at a place called Fenghua Palace, supposedly a private cocktail party."

"Fenghua Palace?!" Lu Ying slammed the magazine shut, jumped up from her chair, her eyes wide with undisguised shock. "You said you went to Fenghua Palace?"

"Yes, it says so on the plaque!"

Her reaction was so exaggerated that Xiang Yu and Xu Huihui were drawn to her and crowded around: "Is that place famous? It sounds like a tourist attraction."

"It's more than just famous!" Lu Ying walked quickly to Shen Qingyao, her tone incredulous. "That's the most exclusive private club in Beijing. People in the industry call it the 'Gold-Swallowing Cave'! It cost billions just to build, and the carvings on a single pillar inside are worth as much as an ordinary person's house."

She paused, looking at Shen Qingyao's bewildered expression, and added, "Ordinary wealthy businessmen can't get in. Only the most elite scions of prominent families and powerful figures in Beijing's elite circles can step inside. Ordinary people can't even figure out which way the door faces! Qingyao, are you sure those are the three characters written on the plaque above the door?"

Shen Qingyao was a little stunned by her series of words. She recalled the gold-embossed characters on the vermilion gate and nodded hesitantly, "Hmm... I remember it was these three characters. I shouldn't be mistaken."

"My God!" Xiang Yu gasped, clicking her tongue in astonishment. "So you met a lot of legendary big shots today? Like those in TV dramas, the kind who can throw around hundreds of millions?"

Shen Qingyao then belatedly realized just how unusual the place she was in today was.

Those exquisitely detailed decorations and the waiters' meticulous manners revealed a profound significance.

The fact that the man could be there meant that his identity was far beyond her imagination.

She walked to her chair and sat down, her hand unconsciously reaching into her bag to clutch the envelope containing the payment. It was a thick stack of envelopes, yet at that moment it felt as heavy as a ton.

My mind is a mess, like a ball of yarn stuffed inside, I can't make sense of it.

Seeing that she looked strange, Lu Ying, Xiang Yu, and Xu Huihui all put down what they were doing and gathered around her.

Xiang Yu even turned off the TV, Xu Huihui put away her lipstick, and Lu Ying even moved a chair to sit opposite her. All three of them had curiosity in their eyes.

"My little darling Yao Yao," Xiang Yu patted her shoulder with a smile, "Don't just stand there, tell me quickly, what happened today? Did you see any handsome guys?"

"It's just... just mixing drinks." Shen Qingyao was a little embarrassed by their stares and stammered, "It's in a separate side room, just mixing drinks. Once it's done, a staff member takes it away, but I haven't seen anyone drinking it."

"Oh? Is that so?" Xu Huihui said with a hint of disappointment. "That's such a pity."

"However," Shen Qingyao added, as if suddenly remembering something, "when I finished mixing the drinks and was about to clean up, someone came in."

"He looks... has a strong presence, wears a dark suit, doesn't talk much, but just standing there makes people afraid to speak loudly."

She paused, looking at her roommates' focused eyes, and added, "By the way, he came to our school on the first day of school. He was with Principal Zhang and others, walking on the main road, and there were a lot of people surrounding him."

"Oh—" Xiang Yu drawled, her eyes lighting up. She immediately pulled out her phone, opened the school forum, and swiped rapidly. "Is this it?"

She handed the phone to Shen Qingyao; the screen displayed a photo that had been trending on social media.

In the photo, a group of school leaders are escorting a man walking along a ginkgo-lined path. The man is wearing a white shirt, has a tall and straight posture, and his profile is cold and hard. Even through the blurry pixels, you can feel his imposing aura.

Shen Qingyao glanced at him and nodded: "Yes, it's him."

Lu Ying leaned closer to look at the photo, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her expression instantly became serious, even somewhat incredulous: "The person you saw is Meng Jiangyu."

"Meng Jiangyu?" Shen Qingyao frowned, looking puzzled. "Is he that capable?"

"Amazing?" Lu Ying seemed to have heard something unbelievable.

She took a deep breath and said slowly, "He is the head of the Meng family, Meng Jiangyu. The Meng family is a century-old family in the Beijing circle with unfathomable roots. When he took over the family eight years ago, he was only in his early twenties. He used thunderous methods to suppress the opposition in the family and brought the Meng family, which was originally in decline, to a new peak."

"Rumor has it that he is ruthless and has a tough hand. He has never lost in the business world. Over the years, he has swallowed up many competitors. The capital he holds can stir up the international market. He is a true capital tycoon at the top of the pyramid."

Lu Ying's voice lowered, tinged with awe: "To be able to establish a foothold in a deeply entrenched, centuries-old family, and to manage such a massive capital group so well, it's no exaggeration to say that he could control everything and be as wealthy as a country."

The dormitory fell silent instantly, with only the faint sound of the wind coming from outside the window.

Shen Qingyao sat there blankly, her mind buzzing.

Meng Jiangyu...

So that's his name.

So that's what kind of person he is.

She remembered him standing at the bar, and his words, "You mix drinks very well."

Thinking of the black card he handed me... my heart felt like it was being squeezed by something, both sore and swollen.

The distance between them was far greater than she had imagined.

Like dust on the ground, gazing up at the stars in the sky.

She looked down at the envelope in her hand and suddenly felt that the money she had earned today was so hot that she could hardly hold it.