The renovation of the new company was progressing very smoothly, and it would soon be ready for official occupancy.
At the same time, the old company had almost completed its relocation from the food street.
The food street used to be quite lively, but after the presence and notoriety of the Wanlong Society, it became less bustling.
Although Liu Yutong had always emphasized that the Wanlong Society was a legitimate business and never intentionally disturbed the public, the facts spoke for themselves. This Bright Pearl City food street, once one of the three most popular in the university district, had indeed seen a decline in foot traffic. Many people had grown somewhat fearful of the place, especially the small-time troublemakers who used to frequent the area—they now avoided it altogether.
With the new company's premises fully renovated using eco-friendly materials and aired out for a few days, the Wanlong Society began its relocation in full swing.
Ma Da and the other members of the Wanlong Society stood in front of the Shunchang International Building, gazing up at the towering structure with great satisfaction.
Shunchang International Building.
Shunchang—"prosperity follows compliance."
The building's owner certainly knew how to pick a name.
The Wanlong Society leased floors 40 to 49 of Shunchang International in one go.
Floors 40 to 45 were designated as office spaces for various departments. The 46th floor housed Xue Qian’s studio, the 47th floor was occupied by Tianyi Law Firm, and the 48th floor was reserved for a gym and lounge.
As for the martial arts school, it remained temporarily at the food street for the time being.
The 49th floor was special—it was Liu Yutong’s private office.
When the elevator doors opened, the first thing that greeted visitors was a small indoor garden, with lush bamboo arranged along the floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond the garden lay Liu Yutong’s nearly 200-square-meter office.
The office featured an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a panoramic view of the entire university district.
Moreover, the building’s rooftop had an observation deck, which could later be used for small gatherings or executive dinners.
As soon as Liu Yutong arrived, the property manager of Shunchang International was already waiting, accompanied by a team of staff to welcome her.
In the past, if someone leased ten floors at once, the manager might have simply been pleased to land a big client.
But in recent days, the building had seen an influx of men in black suits. After confirming that the tenant was none other than the infamous Wanlong Society from the university district, the manager’s attitude became as obsequious as a eunuch serving an emperor in ancient times, his face plastered with flattery.
"Welcome, Ms. Liu, to Shunchang International!"
"Welcome, Ms. Liu, to Shunchang International!"
"..."
A crowd lined up to greet her, with a red carpet rolled out and flowers arranged everywhere—a grand spectacle.
Normally, when a company moved into the building, the most they’d get was a congratulatory flower basket on opening day. Such an elaborate welcome ceremony was unprecedented.
But Manager Chen wasn’t foolish—going all out would at least leave a good impression on the Wanlong Society and Liu Yutong.
Liu Yutong smiled and said, "Manager Chen, you’re too kind. We’re just ordinary tenants. Everything should proceed according to the contract—there’s no need for such extravagance."
"Not at all, not at all!" Manager Chen quickly waved his hands. "Having Ms. Liu choose Shunchang International is our good fortune! Please, come in!"
With that, he led the way toward the elevator and pressed the button.
Liu Yutong followed with Yun Cheng and the others behind Manager Chen.
Just as Manager Chen was busy, overtly and covertly, buttering up Liu Yutong and her group—
An unexpected incident occurred.
The elevator doors had just opened, and Manager Chen was stepping aside to let Liu Yutong and the others enter when a young woman suddenly rushed out in a panic, nearly colliding with Liu Yutong at the front.
In an instant, Yun Cheng reacted first, grabbing the girl’s arm and pinning her against the wall.
Ma Da and the others behind Liu Yutong immediately went on high alert, pulling out collapsible batons from their sleeves.
The scene frightened the girl terribly.
Seeing that it was just a young woman, Liu Yutong waved her hand.
Only then did Yun Cheng release her, and the others, noticing that the girl was dressed like a property staff member, lowered their guard.
Manager Chen, however, was furious. For a moment, he had thought the Wanlong Society members were about to take action—it had scared him half to death.
"Are you blind? Do you realize you almost bumped into an important guest?!"
The girl hurriedly apologized, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to..."
"Whether you meant to or not doesn’t matter! You nearly caused trouble for our guest—consider this a lesson: 500 deducted from this month’s salary!" Manager Chen snapped.
The girl tried to explain, "Manager, I—"
But Manager Chen had no interest in hearing it. He turned back to Liu Yutong with an apologetic smile. "My apologies, Ms. Liu. I hope you weren’t startled."
Liu Yutong replied calmly, "It’s fine."
Manager Chen shot the girl another glare. "You’re lucky Ms. Liu is magnanimous and isn’t holding it against you. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be a fine—hurry up and apologize!"
The girl didn’t dare refuse. She bowed to Liu Yutong. "I’m sorry!"
When she straightened up and got a proper look at the exquisitely beautiful face before her, she froze for a moment.
But before she could confirm whether it was really that person, the other party had already stepped into the elevator.
Once the elevator doors closed, Manager Chen’s smile vanished instantly.
"Guo Yani, what the hell is wrong with you today? Weren’t you just showing a client a property upstairs? Why did you suddenly come down? And where’s the client?"
Guo Yani lowered her head. "Manager, he’s still upstairs... I had no choice but to run down..."
Manager Chen cut her off. "No choice? Sounds like you just don’t want this job anymore! Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘The client is our... damn it, our God’?!"
"You stood him up?!"
"And now you’ve offended two major clients in one day—do you even want to keep working here?!"
"Go back upstairs right now and apologize to General Manager Zhao!"
Guo Yani shook her head. "I won’t go! I’d rather die than go back!"
Manager Chen was livid, jabbing a finger at her. "You—what the hell are you trying to pull? A rebellion?"
Guo Yani bit her lip and finally blurted out the truth: "M-Manager... he... he groped me..."
Manager Chen’s words caught in his throat. He opened his mouth but found himself at a loss.
After a pause, he sighed helplessly. "Take the day off. Go home and collect yourself."
Guo Yani hesitated. "But Manager, what about you—"
Manager Chen waved her off impatiently. "Just go. I’ll handle whatever comes."
Only then did Guo Yani comply, heading toward the property office on the fourth floor.
Back at her workstation, she began packing up to leave. Just as she was about to shut down her computer, she noticed the QQ icon flashing incessantly with unread messages.
These days, people were obsessed with leveling up their QQ accounts. Wherever possible, they left the app running, all in hopes of reaching "Sun" status as quickly as possible.
Although many people now have the ability to keep their Big Goose account logged in on their phones, mobile data fees are outrageously expensive these days. Most users only log in occasionally to check messages before going offline, rarely staying connected for long.
When Guo Yani saw the Big Goose icon blinking on her screen, she instinctively clicked to check the notifications.
Aside from a few messages from individual online friends, the most active chat was a group called [Duan Village Fifth Grade Class].
This was their elementary school class group from Duan Village, with a total of 22 members, including Guo Yani. Without exception, they were all childhood friends who had grown up together in the same village since first grade.
In life, people have elementary school classmates, middle school classmates, high school classmates, and university classmates. But often, the only ones who maintain long-term connections are elementary school friends.
That’s because most elementary school classmates are hometown buddies from the same place. Even if they later go their separate ways, they still have chances to reunite during holidays.
Unlike high school or university friends—once separated, opportunities to meet again become rare, and over time, those bonds gradually fade.
