When the official car of Tongzhou's Party Secretary stopped in the underground parking lot of the Tianhong Hotel, two figures erged.
"Uncle Dong, I'm really sorry! I originally said I would treat you to dinner alone tonight, but who knew..." Among the two figures, a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties scratched his head in embarrassnt as he spoke. It was none other than Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, and the other was naturally Secretary Dong Wencheng.
Originally, the two had planned to have dinner alone, but unfortunately, Slickhead's parents on the other end were overly enthusiastic. They insisted on treating Chen Fei to a al to thank him for the great favor he had done for them today, and he simply couldn't refuse. So, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, had no choice but to bring Secretary Dong Wencheng along.
Of course, he hadn't ntioned Secretary Dong Wencheng's identity over the phone, simply saying that an elder would be joining him. Naturally, Slickhead's parents wouldn't object to this.
"Not at all. It's just dinner, and the more the rrier, right, Mr. Chen?" Dong Wencheng shook his head and smiled as the two of them stepped into the elevator.
A mont later, the elevator carrying them arrived at the eleventh floor of the Tianhong Hotel.
"Little Chen!" As soon as the elevator doors opened, a woman's voice called out from outside.
Chen Fei turned toward the voice and saw an excited Wang Ying, Slickhead's mom, along with another man in a suit who looked to be about fifty, striding quickly toward them. Even before Chen Fei and Dong Wencheng could step out, Aunt Wang could no longer contain her excitent and greeted him warmly. It had, after all, been a while since she last saw Chen Fei.
"Aunt Wang, Uncle Hua, hello." Chen Fei had always been on good terms with Slickhead's mom, so he imdiately greeted them warmly in return.
"Hello, I'm Hua Ming, the father of Chen Fei's friend. You must be the elder Chen Fei ntioned, right? Hello, please, the room we reserved is right inside." Hua Ming was a businessman and naturally had his own way of handling social situations. Seeing that Chen Fei seed to be slightly neglecting his elder, he imdiately extended his hand with a warm smile.
Clearly, he still hadn't recognized who Dong Wencheng was.
From Hua Ming's words, it wasn't hard for Dong Wencheng to deduce that this man had not yet realized his true identity. At this thought, a faint, teasing smile appeared on his lips. He extended his hand to shake Hua Ming's and said, "Nice to et you, Mr. Hua. My surna is Dong. Dong Wencheng."
"Dong Wencheng? Why does that na sound familiar? And you, sir... I feel like I see your face all the ti sowhere." Hua Ming paused, thinking the na sounded familiar. He even felt he'd seen Dong Wencheng's face often, but his mind suddenly went blank, and he couldn't rember where.
"Hahaha! Uncle Hua, think about it. Don't you see Uncle Dong's face on TV all the ti?" Seeing this, Chen Fei couldn't help but laugh out loud, asking teasingly.
"On TV!?"
Hua Ming stared blankly for a good while, scrutinizing Dong Wencheng's face. Suddenly, his expression froze. His eyes bulged, and his tongue felt tied as he stamred, "You, you, you... Dong, Dong... You're Secretary Dong!? You are Secretary Dong Wencheng!?"
Indeed, Dong Wencheng's was a face he frequently saw on the Tongzhou City television channel. But the problem... the problem was, Secretary Dong Wencheng! The top leader of the city's Party Committee! What did that even an? For a small jewelry shop owner like himself, such a figure was impossibly remote. He had never even dread that he would one day be shaking hands with Secretary Dong Wencheng.
"What!? Secretary Dong Wencheng!?" Even Aunt Wang was stunned, her face a mask of disbelief as she stood there, dumbfounded. Clearly, even as a homaker, she fully understood the weight of those words. This was the undisputed number one official in their provincial capital of Tongzhou, a truly high-ranking leader! But now...
"Uncle Dong, it seems they think you're an impostor. Not very convincing, are you? Hahaha!" Seeing their reactions and enjoying the commotion, Chen Fei, Young Master Chen, couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Do I really look that much like an impostor? If I'd known, I would have brought Shen Kai along..." Secretary Dong Wencheng also found it amusing and joked to himself.
"No, no, no... Secretary Dong, please don't get wrong! That's not what I ant. I just... I just never expected to actually et you! You're the number one leader of Tongzhou City, a major figure in the provincial committee! I truly never imagined I would et you here..." Hua Ming stuttered, his expression still one of shock.
It couldn't be helped. Even though he already knew his son's friend, Chen Fei, seed to have so connection to the city's Secretary Dong, he could never have imagined that the "elder" Chen Fei ntioned inviting to dinner would actually be Secretary Dong Wencheng himself. To think he would personally co!
Instantly, Hua Ming's estimation of Chen Fei soared to another terrifying level. To be able to privately invite Secretary Dong for a casual dinner... what did that imply!?
"Boss Hua, it's after work hours now. I'm just Dong Wencheng, not Secretary Dong. Why don't we head inside and sit down?" Secretary Dong Wencheng said with another small smile.
"That's right, Uncle Hua. I went to the trouble of inviting Secretary Dong here, you can't just let him stand in the hallway, can you? Aunt Wang, shall we go in? Where's the room?" Chen Fei added with a smile. With that, they all entered the private room that had been reserved.
Soon after, the dishes began to arrive.
"Little Chen, Secretary Dong, thank you so much for everything today. I'm not good with words, and I don't know how to express my gratitude, so I'll start by toasting you both." After everyone was seated and had chatted for a bit, Hua Ming suddenly stood up, holding a glass of wine. He thanked Chen Fei and Secretary Dong Wencheng with utmost sincerity and then drained the glass in one go.
He had to. If it weren't for Chen Fei and Secretary Dong Wencheng's intervention today, who knew what tragic fate would have befallen Jinnan Jewelry. In any case, with Hua Ming's own abilities and connections in Tongzhou, he was no match for Zheng Zhengbin, the son of the provincial deputy director.
"That's right, Little Chen, Secretary Dong, thank you so much this ti. We really wouldn't have known what to do otherwise. I'll toast you both as well," Aunt Wang said, also standing up and downing a glass of wine to express her gratitude.
"Hey, Uncle Hua, Aunt Wang, what are you doing? We're practically family with Slickhead. It was just a small favor. And Aunt Wang, I thought you didn't drink? Please, there's no need for this," Chen Fei imdiately protested. Had it been anyone else, he might have accepted the gesture, but these were Slickhead's parents, which made it different.
"Indeed. If you think about it, this incident happened because we haven't been doing our jobs properly. Otherwise, how would that punk dare to be so blatantly lawless and bully others with his power? This was sothing we should have done, so no thanks are necessary. We can still drink, though, hahaha..." Secretary Dong Wencheng said with a laugh, raising his glass and finishing it, showing the Hua couple a great deal of respect.
"No matter what, we still have to thank you both. But let's move on. Little Chen, eat, eat! Secretary Dong, let pour you another one!" Seeing that Secretary Dong Wencheng was showing them so much consideration, Hua Ming's face flushed with excitent. He gradually loosened up and began to speak more boisterously.
"You old drunk, drink less. Secretary Dong surely has important matters to attend to tomorrow..." Wang Ying quickly tugged at her husband, afraid he would get carried away and interfere with the Secretary's work.
"It's alright, Aunt Wang. I think Uncle Dong has been under a lot of pressure lately and could use so relaxation. Besides, I'm here. I guarantee I'll have him refreshed and full of energy for work tomorrow. Right, Uncle Dong?" Chen Fei, however, smilingly stopped her, signaling it was fine. He had a feeling Dong Wencheng wanted to drink tonight anyway.
"With your assurance, Mr. Chen, I can relax. Elder Brother Hua, shall we have a few rounds? It's been a long ti since I've been able to unwind like this. I must cherish this opportunity!" Dong Wencheng laughed heartily and raised his glass. Chen Fei was right; he had been under a lot of strain recently and wanted to relax. With Chen Fei's promise, he wasn't worried about being unfit for work tomorrow. He had great faith in Chen Fei's seemingly miraculous dical skills.
"Well, alright then..." Since Secretary Dong himself had said so, Wang Ying didn't object further.
Then, Chen Fei suddenly asked, "Aunt Wang, where is that kid Slickhead? Why haven't I been able to reach him lately? I didn't see him with you today, either." He had noticed so ti ago that Slickhead was unreachable but had been too busy to follow up. Now that he finally had the chance, he naturally wanted to ask.
"You an that boy... ah, it's a long story!" At his question, Aunt Wang suddenly sighed, her tone a mixture of helplessness and frustration.
"A long story!?"
Even Chen Fei was taken aback. His expression turned serious as he asked, "Aunt Wang, did sothing happen to Slickhead?"
"It's not that sothing happened, it's just that the blasted kid... I don't know what's gotten into him. Ever since that incident in Macau, he's been going on and on about wanting to find a master to learn martial arts!" Wang Ying's expression grew even more helpless.
"Learn martial arts!?"
Hearing this, Chen Fei's expression froze for a mont, and a complex look flickered in his eyes.
So that's what it was. It seems he's still unreconciled to what happened.
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