Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the University of Finance and Economics' fiftieth-anniversary celebration.
On this day, the university gates were festooned with red banners and decorations, with an endless stream of vehicles and people coming and going.
The anniversary ceremony was scheduled to officially begin at 10:00 AM. Liu Yutong arrived at the university at around 8:50 AM.
As soon as she got out of the car, she saw Lin Lele hurrying over to greet her. Lin Lele wore a bright red sash diagonally across her chest, clearly indicating she was a student cadre selected specifically to receive important alumni and guests.
"Class Monitor, you're here! According to the arrangement, I'll be guiding you to the Jinghua Pavilion VIP lounge. The university leaders and several prominent alumni who arrived early are all over there."
Liu Yutong smiled and said, "It's not like I'm unfamiliar with the university. Are you afraid I'll get lost?"
Lin Lele replied, "Oh, it's just proper etiquette. Whether you know your way or not, I have to lead you. Besides, you are now a VIP guest at Jinghua Pavilion and our university's student representative. It's an honor for me to show you the way."
Liu Yutong said, "What kind of VIP am I? I haven't even graduated from college yet."
Lin Lele affectionately linked arms with her. "Oh, come on, let's go."
Before long, the two arrived in front of Jinghua Pavilion.
Looking at the three familiar large characters above the lintel, Liu Yutong felt deeply moved. A year ago, she was a student cadre responsible for receiving VIPs here; now, she had become the VIP being received.
As soon as Liu Yutong walked inside Jinghua Pavilion, she saw many men and women dressed in suits, exuding an extraordinary aura.
Most of these people were distinguished alumni who had graduated from the university. Today, they held considerable influence in politics, finance, industry, and various other fields.
The moment Liu Yutong made her appearance, someone took the initiative to greet her.
"Director Liu, I didn't expect it to really be you!" a slightly surprised voice called out.
Liu Yutong looked toward the voice and saw a slightly plump middle-aged man walking toward her with a smile. It was President Zhang of Suning, whom she had met briefly once last year.
"President Zhang, long time no see," Liu Yutong smiled faintly, elegantly reaching out to shake his hand.
President Zhang's greeting of "Director Liu" was quite loud, immediately catching the attention of several friends he had just been talking with.
Those individuals were all successful alumni or specially invited figures from the financial and business sectors.
At this moment, they still carried a bit of the natural arrogance of successful people, curiously sizing up the exceptionally young and beautiful girl standing in front of President Zhang.
President Zhang clearly wanted to show off his connections to them. He enthusiastically introduced her to his group of friends, "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is the current star of the university, Liu Yutong, Director Liu! She is a junior alumna to some of you here!"
"Liu Yutong?" A few of them felt the name sounded somewhat familiar.
"Are you the chairwoman of the Wanlonghui Group?"
With that reminder, the others also remembered.
"It's that Wanlonghui Group, I remember now. The largest supermarket chain in Pearl City right now, as well as that highly popular group-buying website Wanhui Youxuan, are both under the Wanlonghui Group, right?"
"Wow, that's impressive! I saw the news; Wanhui Youxuan's Series B valuation reached 2.2 billion. If it goes public in the future, that will be incredible!"
"Yes! Absolutely!"
"..."
Seeing everyone's reactions, President Zhang felt very proud, as if he had discovered Liu Yutong himself. "That's right, she is Director Liu of the Wanlonghui Group! You guys don't know, but when I met Director Liu last year, she was just a college freshman. I wanted to poach her for my company back then, but unfortunately, I was rejected. I never expected that after just one year, she would become the chairwoman of the Wanlonghui Group. It's truly amazing."
As soon as he said this, the eyes of the several executives who didn't know Liu Yutong and had just been looking at her with scrutinizing gazes instantly changed. The arrogance they carried vanished without a trace, replaced by shock and fervent interest.
"What? President Zhang, are you saying that Director Liu started her business in her freshman year?"
"Our junior is also the university's student representative. If I remember correctly, she should only be a sophomore, right?"
"Doesn't that mean in just one year, she built a massive group worth billions and became its chairwoman?"
"A sophomore chairwoman worth billions!"
"Hiss~"
Everyone couldn't help but gasp in shock; this seemed to shatter their understanding of the world.
A sophomore, not even twenty years old, had already reached heights that many could never achieve in their lifetimes, becoming the chairwoman of a corporate group.
What kind of genius was this!
Everyone present, whether investors or entrepreneurs, had only achieved success after years of hard work. And the vast majority of them had only slowly made their mark after graduating from college.
But the girl before them had started her business in her freshman year and became a billionaire in just one year, with her company valued in the billions. It was simply terrifying!
What they didn't know was that they were still vastly underestimating the girl in front of them. In reality, the wealth she controlled had long surpassed ten billion. If they knew that, they would probably jump up in fright and call her an absolute monster!
In an instant, several people gathered around Liu Yutong, eagerly introducing themselves.
"Junior Liu, truly a young hero... no, a young heroine! Hahaha! I'm Li Da from Tianyu Investments. We should definitely keep in touch."
"Director Liu, I'm Liu Ziyu from Ruihua Securities. If you ever need services related to opening security accounts, just let me know."
"Junior Liu, do you remember me? I'm your senior, Wang Meng. We met last year, right here. I'm in the import and export trade. If you have any good projects in the future, please keep your senior in mind."
"Junior Liu..."
"Junior..."
"Director Liu..."
"..."
For a time, the titles "Junior" and "Director Liu" constantly rang in Liu Yutong's ears.
This group of figures, who normally dominated their respective fields, had now lowered their pride, using their status as alumni to build a relationship with Liu Yutong.
After all, in the face of absolute strength, seniority and age no longer mattered. Moreover, this young junior was still so young; her future achievements would undoubtedly be limitless. If they didn't make connections with her now, when would they?
A smile remained on Liu Yutong's face as she calmly exchanged pleasantries and business cards with them.
After the greetings concluded, President Zhang deliberately sought Liu Yutong out for a private chat.
"Director Liu, could you save a spot for me at your Wanlong Plaza? I feel that your location is excellent, and Suning is planning to open a direct-sale store there."
"That is naturally not a problem. I couldn't be more welcoming of Suning moving in."
"Hahaha, then it's settled."
"..."
Liu Yutong then noticed that President Huang, whom she had met last year, didn't seem to be present this year, so she casually asked, "President Zhang, did President Huang not come this year?"
She thought to herself, could it be that this guy had already been thrown into prison?
President Zhang shook his head. "I am really not sure about that. As you can probably tell, he and I have never seen eye to eye."
Liu Yutong nodded, then asked another question half-jokingly, "President Zhang, Suning is growing with such great momentum right now. When do you plan to surpass Guomei and take the top spot in the domestic home appliance retail industry?"
These words hit President Zhang right in his sweet spot, as this had always been his ultimate goal. Of course, he still had to act a little modest on the surface.
"Director Liu, to tell you the truth, everyone at Suning from top to bottom is..."
Before President Zhang could finish his sentence, a rather domineering voice suddenly rang out behind the two of them.
"President Zhang wants to claim the top spot, but have you asked me first?!"
The two turned around to find that the newcomer was none other than the wealthiest man, Huang Yu. His way of speaking was just as overbearing as ever.
"President Zhang, I suggest you think it over and just sell Suning to me. As long as I am around, your Suning will only ever be in second place!"
