After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The private room in the brocade hall fell silent instantly.

The lively atmosphere vanished the moment Deputy Director Li and his group burst in. All eyes shifted back and forth between the panting leaders at the door and the calm-looking man in the far corner of the private room.

Zhang Kai's face turned pale instantly. He stood there blankly, his hand holding the wine glass trembling slightly, his mind filled with only the echo of Deputy Director Li's broken voice calling out "Commander Chen."

The group of officials, led by Deputy Director Li, didn't even look at the others. They ignored the bewildered squad leader Li Wei, and didn't even glance at Zhang Kai, who had let them answer the phone.

Deputy Director Li took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He hastily straightened his crooked tie and strode through the crowd. His goal was clear: that most inconspicuous corner. Behind him, several leaders from the Municipal Finance Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, and Environmental Protection Bureau followed closely, their expressions tense.

Under the stunned gaze of the entire class, Deputy Director Li strode to Chen Pingfang's desk and bowed deeply to Chen Pingfang, who was still sitting calmly.

This 90-degree bend made all the students' hearts jump into their throats.

"Commander Chen... Commander Chen." Deputy Director Li's voice trembled with nervousness, carrying a hint of obsequiousness. "I... I really didn't know you were here. I was blind to your greatness and was very rude on the phone just now. I'll punish myself with three drinks to apologize."

As soon as he finished speaking, he straightened up, grabbed the Moutai bottle on the table, filled his small wine glass, and tilted his head back to drink.

Behind him, Director Wang of the Finance Bureau, Director Sun of the Development and Reform Commission, and others stepped forward one after another, their faces full of humble yet fearful smiles, vying to speak.

"Commander Chen, you've worked hard. The Jinshuiwan project is a blessing for Yunzhou."

"Yes, yes, it's an honor to meet you here."

These people, who only appear in the news, are now surrounding Chen Pingfang, adopting a very humble posture.

The entire class was completely dumbfounded.

They never imagined that the "construction site manager" they had mocked all night and who had been used as a backdrop to humiliate Zhang Kai was actually the legendary head of the Jinshuiwan project, who had even embarrassed Secretary Zhou and received high praise from the vice governor during his personal inspection.

"Clang!"

A soft sound broke the silence.

Zhang Kai dropped his wine glass, which shattered on the carpet, splashing the Moutai inside onto his trousers and shoes.

He shuddered violently, the effects of the alcohol vanishing instantly, leaving him feeling only a chill. He finally realized that the person he had been so smugly humiliating was someone he didn't even have the right to look up to.

My limited network of connections is nothing but a joke in their eyes.

Faced with the toasts from the bureau chiefs and the gesture of Deputy Bureau Chief Li wanting to drink, Chen Ping calmly stood up.

He didn't help Deputy Director Li up, nor did he say any polite words. He simply reached out and gently pressed down on Deputy Director Li's wrist, which was holding the wine glass.

His movements were subtle, yet they rendered Deputy Director Li's raised wine glass immobile.

"Director Li, you flatter me." Chen Pingfang's tone was indifferent. "Today is my university reunion, a private occasion, so please feel free to make yourselves at home."

His calm demeanor contrasted sharply with the officials' obvious panic, and the aura he exuded was more intimidating than any reprimand.

Chen Ping's casual remark, "Do as you please," made the officials even more hesitant to act casually.

Just kidding, making the commander-in-chief watch them drink and apologize would only cause him trouble.

Deputy Director Li quickly put down his wine glass, his posture becoming even more respectful: "Yes, yes, Commander Chen is right. But we... we are sincerely here to toast you, to thank you for your tremendous contributions to the development of Yunzhou."

Others echoed his sentiments.

Chen Ping glanced at them, then at the half-finished cup of tea in front of him, and decided not to refuse any longer. He picked up his ordinary ceramic teacup and raised it to the crowd.

"I drove, so I won't be drinking." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the private room. "I'll toast everyone with tea instead of alcohol. We've all worked hard for the development of Yunzhou, and we hope you'll all continue to work hard in the future."

And so, under the watchful eyes of the entire class, a strange and shocking scene unfolded.

A group of influential officials in Yunzhou, each holding a glass filled with Moutai, carefully touched the ordinary ceramic teacup in Chen Ping's hand.

The crisp sound of the collision seemed to strike everyone's heart.

This scene was even more impactful than Zhang Kai making a hundred calls to "Mayor Xiao".

After a brief social interaction, Chen Ping felt it was pointless. There was no need to stay any longer at this class reunion.

He nodded to the bureau chiefs as a greeting, then turned around to leave early.

As soon as he moved, everyone in the private room instinctively made way for him, creating a wide passage from the corner table straight to the door of the private room.

The classmates who had once pushed him into a corner and ignored him were now all bowing their heads, not even daring to look him in the eye, afraid that their former classmate would remember how they had acted just moments before.

"Lie it flat, no, Director Chen."

As soon as Chen Ping stepped out of the private room, he heard urgent shouts behind him.

Squad leader Li Wei and pale-faced Zhang Kai practically ran after him and stopped him in the corridor.

With a muffled thud, to everyone's astonishment, Zhang Kai's legs went weak, and he was actually about to kneel down.

"Director Chen, I was wrong, I was really wrong. I was drunk just now and talked nonsense. You...you are so magnanimous, please don't take it to heart. I'm just a fart, please just let me go." Zhang Kai's voice was filled with sobs.

Chen Ping stopped, turned his head, and glanced at him indifferently. There was no anger or mockery in his eyes, only calmness.

It was this calm that made Zhang Kai feel even more afraid.

"Friendship between classmates is best kept pure."

Chen Ping left only this sentence, then stopped looking at him, strode away, and walked towards the elevator without looking back.

Behind him, Zhang Kai and Li Wei stood frozen in place, one slumped to the ground, the other filled with shame and regret.

Chen Ping got into the inconspicuous black Passat among the luxury cars and started the engine. Instead of going home immediately, he rolled down the window a little to let the evening breeze dispel the smell of alcohol that had lingered in the private room.

As soon as the car smoothly drove out of the parking lot of the Genting Grand Hotel, his personal cell phone, which was in the storage compartment, began to vibrate violently.

He picked it up and saw it was Guo Xiaojun.

As soon as the call connected, Guo Xiaojun's anxious and serious voice came through the receiver.

"Lie it flat, something's happened."

"We just received news from the province that Zhou Wenyuan is lobbying to take over the operation rights of the Jinshuiwan project after its completion and hand them over to a provincial state-owned enterprise."