I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"What's the contact information for that Miss Liu from today?"

Young Master Xu was taken aback: "What's wrong? Didn't she just leave your place?"

"I'm asking you what her contact information is."

Sister Hua's voice grew even louder, and Young Master Xu panicked. He immediately gave her Liu Ruying's phone number, then cautiously said:

"Sister Hua, why do you need her contact information?"

"Apologize," Sister Hua said decisively. "I'm going to apologize to her and admit my mistake."

Young Master Xu was shocked.

"Didn't President Pei come?" he asked in a trembling voice.

“He’s here,” Sister Hua said. “He took me to his house to apologize.”

Young Master Xu almost fell off his chair.

"And another thing," came Sister Hua's voice from the phone, "don't let me see you again, or I'll beat you up every time I see you."

"beep--"

The phone line was constantly busy.

Young Master Xu put down his phone, his expression pale.

"Our school beauty, Liu, seems to have quite a background." His tone was equally pale.

Immediately afterwards, he regretted it.

If he had known earlier that Liu, the school beauty, had a complicated background, he should have remained devoted to her.

Why were you running before?!

"Snapped!"

Young Master Xu slapped himself hard across the face.

"Just who is Liu Ruying's background?"

Young Master Xu's voice echoed in the Eagle's Nest.

The sorcerer, who had overheard everything, rested his chin on his hand, his face deep in thought.

Clearly, he had just made a careful judgment and arrived at the truth.

“I understand. Liu Ruying’s father was the previous Eagle King.”

……

……

When Chen Ya got home, he realized that he didn't have a key to the house.

Whether Chen Sheng forgot to give it or did it on purpose, he didn't have it. He rang the doorbell, but after a long while, no one came to answer the door.

Just as he was considering whether or not to call Lu Qianzi, the door suddenly opened, and Lu Qianzi herself appeared in front of the door.

"Oh, you're actually back." Lu Qianzi was a little surprised. Her white teeth were quite cute, and there was still a little cream on her cheek. "We thought you had run away from home."

Chen Ya shrugged: "Am I that rebellious?"

"You seem quite rebellious."

Lu Qianzi let him into the house, got him a new pair of slippers, and said:

"I have two pieces of news to tell you, one is good news, and the other is also good news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Is there a difference?

"The first piece of good news is that Chen Hai is back, and everyone is celebrating for him."

Chen Ya remained unmoved after hearing this. For him, it wasn't exactly good news.

Chen Ya asked, "What are we celebrating?"

Lu Qianzi said, "This is the second piece of good news—his company successfully passed Beichen's review and became a designated partner!"

Chapter 218 Chen Hai is back

"His company successfully passed Beichen's review and became a designated partner!"

Chen Ya nodded: "Congratulations."

"Tsk, your expression doesn't look like you're congratulating me at all."

Lu Qianzi rolled her eyes at his insincere congratulations for a moment, but immediately put on a smile again:

"Come in, come in quickly, let's eat cake together."

Chen Ya now knew where that bit of cream on her face came from.

Despite learning the "truth" about Chen Ya's identity from Eagle's Nest, Lu Qianzi's attitude towards Chen Ya did not change.

After all, this half-brother was just a new family member she had just met. He must have had a complicated past before he came, and she was mentally prepared for that.

Although he was a "pretty boy," which was somewhat... no, completely beyond Lu Qianzi's expectations, she wouldn't hold a prejudice against Chen Ya and label him with a negative expression.

After all, no matter what, he was Lu Qianzi's half-brother, and there was no choice in that regard.

Therefore, Lu Qianzi decided to forget about this incident and treat her brother the same way she treated him before.

She took Chen Ya's hand and pulled him into the house, calling out to the dining room as she did so:

Guess who's back?

Lu Ruixiang leaned over and asked, "Chen Ya is back?"

Neither the father nor the younger brother spoke.

Chen Ya walked to the dining table and immediately saw his younger brother, Chen Hai. He was looking Chen Ya up and down.

This was the first time Chen Ya had seen his younger brother Chen Hai since he arrived in the capital.

Chen Hai bears a striking resemblance to his older brother Chen Ya. When the two brothers were young, they looked even more alike, and the neighbors in the village often said that they looked like twins. Perhaps it was because one of them went to the capital and lived a life of luxury as they grew up, while the other took a different path in life, that their appearances and temperaments gradually became different.

Now, the younger brother Chen Hai looks much more fashionable. Whether it's his sophisticated suit, his meticulously dyed and permed hair, or the faint scent of Darjeeling men's cologne, he stands out from the plainly dressed Chen Ya.

Chen Ya's last memory of her younger brother was him chasing after their father, crying as he ran, falling down and getting up to keep running, smearing his face with his dirty, dusty hands.

"Dad, please take me away! I don't want to stay here..."

The sounds of childhood still echoed in Chen Ya's mind. He wondered if his younger brother felt the same way.

After sizing up Chen Ya, Chen Hai turned to Chen Sheng and said:

"So, given the current situation, OEM manufacturing is definitely out of the question. We no longer have advantages in terms of personnel or land. We can still benefit from the poverty alleviation trend for a while..."

Chen Sheng had a glass of baijiu (Chinese liquor) next to him, and a bottle of Tianzhilan (a type of baijiu). It seemed that the father and son were drinking and chatting happily.

The old man was very pleased to hear this. Although he couldn't understand it, he was still very happy.

He waved to Chen Ya and said with a smile, "Chen Ya, sit down and listen to your brother's business empire. He's very good at it."

Chen Hai raised his glass, Chen Sheng clinked glasses with him, and said:

"We'll stop here with the more complex stuff; outsiders wouldn't understand anyway."

Chen Sheng rubbed his hands and said, "If you don't understand, you'll understand after listening more. In the future, let Chen Ya work for you. He'll have to learn a lot of things."

Chen Hai, holding a glass and feeding himself, paused slightly upon hearing this, clearly not expecting such an arrangement. His tone softened as he said:

"That depends on his own interests..."

Chen Ya pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "I have no intention of working in Beijing."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hai was immediately relieved and said, "Actually, I don't mind. If you want to go to work, I can arrange a cushy job for you."

Lu Qianzi glanced at Chen Ya furtively, feeling a little embarrassed, and tried to smooth things over:

“Brother Chen Ya has his own ideas. He’s not the kind of person who has to listen to others’ arrangements. Can’t he find a job at Hongtu on his own?”

Chen Sheng frowned, seemingly wanting to say something to Chen Ya, when Lu Ruixiang slapped her husband and glared at him. Chen Sheng didn't know what he had done wrong, and his momentum immediately deflated.

"We should just enjoy the meal at the family dinner. Can't we discuss these things later? The children all have their own thoughts on this."

Chen Sheng nodded quickly and poured himself a drink: "Yes, yes, we'll talk about it later, let's take our time."

"Eat your food, eat your food." Lu Qianzi picked up a lamb chop with her chopsticks.

A table full of steaming dishes, including lamb chops, duck feet, spring rolls, and stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers. Chen Sheng's culinary skills are disproportionate to his status in the family. He cooked in the rural Jiangcheng for more than ten years, and even after moving to Beijing, he didn't abandon his skills. These dishes still have the flavors of his hometown.

Chen Sheng poured himself a drink and looked up at Chen Ya, asking, "Want some?"

Chen Ya shook his head: "No. I don't drink."

"You don't drink, do you smoke? No, you don't smoke, you don't drink..." Chen Sheng said.

Lu Ruixiang glared at Chen Sheng: "Not smoking or drinking is a good thing."

Chen Sheng pointed with his finger and said, "It's a good thing. However, a man can not drink, but he can't be unable to drink. There will always be times when drinking is necessary in the business world."

Chen Ya shook his head: "Drinking is bad for your brain."

Chen Sheng smiled and said, "Today's family dinner is different from drinking outside, so we can have a little to drink. Look, Lu Qianzi has already had a little."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ya said, "Okay, then I'll do as the locals do and have a drink with them too."

He doesn't usually compromise his principles easily.

So for him, this was already a huge sacrifice.

After pouring Chen Ya a full glass, Chen Sheng raised his glass and said:

"Come on, let's all have a drink together and wish Chen Hai success in passing the Beichen review and becoming a member of the Beichen Group!"

Lu Ruixiang interjected, "We also want to congratulate Chen Ya on returning to the family; our family has gained a new member."

“Yes, yes, yes,” Chen Sheng said with a beaming smile, “double happiness.”

"Double happiness." Chen Hai raised his glass in a calm tone.

"Dry."

"Dry."

Chen Ya took a sip, and everyone else put down their cups.

Chen Sheng said to Chen Ya, "You should learn more from your younger brother. He can now openly call himself a member of the Beichen faction. Doesn't that make him look good?"

"I can't really be considered part of the Beichen Group; I can only say I'm somewhat close to it," Chen Hai said modestly.

“Even skirting the edge counts as part of the Beichen Group. Countless people want to skirt the edge but can’t even get the chance.” Chen Sheng glared and said, “Look at that Lu Pinyuan. He’s always bragging that he’s from the Beichen Group. In reality, saying that he’s just a errand boy for the Beichen Group is an understatement.”

Chen Haiyou raised his glass: "Among the Lu family of this generation, there are really not many that I can respect."

Lu Qianzi cupped her face in her hands and said:

"Brother Chen Hai is really amazing. Wow, the Beichen Group was something we never dared to dream of before. It was a legend. But today we suddenly discovered that the legend is right next to us. It's so exciting!"

“Exactly.” Chen Sheng nodded, then turned back and nodded at Chen Ya. “Look, your fates are different now because of the different platforms you’ve been on. Shouldn’t you learn from this?”

Chen Ya nodded: "That makes sense."

Chen Sheng said, "In the Records of the Grand Historian, there is a biography of Li Si. Have you read it? It says that when Li Si was young, he went to the toilet and saw rats that were so thin that they were just skeletons. Later, when he went to check the granary, he found that all the rats in the granary were as fat as cats, with shiny and smooth fur. Guess what he said?"

"How so?" Lu Qianzi asked, turning her head.

He lamented that a person's success depends on their environment. Even among rats, one is in a warehouse and the other in a latrine, yet the difference is like night and day. This shows how important the platform is.

After saying that, he added:

"Look, what a huge platform the capital is! It's incomparable to Jiangcheng. It's not that you can earn more money in the capital, but that being in the capital means seeing and hearing something completely different. When you stand higher, you naturally see further, and over time, you become completely different from those who come from small places. Don't you agree?"

Chen Hai nodded slightly, deeply understanding the sentiment. Chen Ya, however, remained unmoved and took a sip of his drink.

After talking for so long, Chen Sheng was just trying to hint that Chen Ya should toast Chen Hai and say something nice. That way, it would be much easier to talk about letting Chen Ya work for him and having the younger brother mentor the older brother.

But this kid just wouldn't get it.

Who sits there and drinks by themselves?

From this, Chen Sheng realized that Chen Ya wasn't lying when he said he didn't drink; he genuinely didn't drink. Not only did he not drink, but he also didn't use drinking to build relationships with others.

Lu Ruixiang kept watching Chen Sheng with a dark expression, but Chen Sheng didn't notice.