It was said that the Cloud Mountain Society had been established for only about a year, yet the capital under its control had grown from zero to over sixty billion yuan.
Some claimed that the Cloud Mountain Society might become a second Tai Shan Society, but one even younger and more promising, a gathering of second-generation elites like themselves that would outshine their predecessors.
As this talk spread, the reputation of the Cloud Mountain Society grew louder.
For second-generation heirs like Lin Shen, from prominent families, the most scarce resource was high-quality investment opportunities, especially those with clean backgrounds and legitimate origins.
Thus, after the Cloud Mountain Society's astonishing track record became known, its allure for them was immense.
If those second-generation scions from the central and southern regions could make such waves, couldn't he, by joining them, also get a piece of the pie? Or even use resource synergy to catapult himself to the top?
But the entry threshold for the Cloud Mountain Society was also terrifyingly high.
To join, one not only needed a strong family background endorsement but also at least one billion yuan in liquid cash assets as entry capital — and by "cash," they meant exactly that; many so-called billionaires might not even have that much liquid cash.
And that wasn't all. One had to be personally recommended by an existing member, pass a vote by all members, and then undergo a one-year probationary period.
At first, they thought this threshold would be enough to scare people off, but unexpectedly, it made more people flock to it.
In their eyes, the higher the threshold, the more valuable the circle, and the greater its influence.
The Lin family's current wealth could barely scrape together one billion in cash if they squeezed.
As for younger members like Lin Shen and Lin Yue, they couldn't even touch the edges, let alone find a Cloud Mountain Society member to recommend them. The people in the Beijing circles who were truly qualified to join were completely out of their reach socially.
Lin Shen was unwilling to accept this, and Lin Yue was even more so.
She had known for a long time that the Lin family was no longer what it used to be.
When she was a child, attending others' birthday parties, she was a guest of honor; now, when she went, people wouldn't even give her a second glance.
This contrast was harder to bear than poverty.
If only her big brother Lin Shen could join the Cloud Mountain Society, she could escape this awkward situation, break into the truly top-tier second-generation circles in the country, and never have to watch others' expressions again.
It wasn't really surprising that they were so obsessed with the Cloud Mountain Society. Every age group craves a stage to voice their own opinions, and the second-generation heirs were no exception.
They, too, longed to find a platform where they could showcase their own value, and clearly, the Cloud Mountain Society had that quality.
Later, through various channels, Lin Yue learned that the head of the Cloud Mountain Society was Zhu Silin, the daughter of a high-ranking local official, with close ties to the Zhu family in Beijing. She was also the CEO of Cloud Mountain Capital, young, beautiful, and highly capable.
But Lin Yue had also vaguely heard that behind Zhu Silin there was a true mastermind, a mysterious figure who was the real controller of both the Cloud Mountain Society and Cloud Mountain Capital, while Zhu Silin only handled the daily affairs.
As for who that mysterious mastermind was, she didn't yet know his identity, only that he was very low-key.
In short, Lin Yue was well aware that with their current strength, they had no chance of directly contacting the Cloud Mountain Society, let alone joining it.
Just when they were at a loss, Lin Yue thought of Zhou Heng, the young master of the Zhou family.
Zhou Heng, the most favored youngest son of the current Zhou generation, was said to know one of the Cloud Mountain Society's members. She had also heard from Zhou Heng that they were currently raising funds to join, and the money was almost fully collected.
If she could introduce Liu Yutong to him now and make him happy, maybe she could even buy into it and become a peripheral member.
She thought that Liu Yutong, shamelessly following Gao Min to reconnect with the family, was just trying to suck up to the Lin family, wasn't she? So introducing her to a sugar daddy would be even better.
The key point was that this Zhou Heng was also a playboy and a scumbag.
If something happened to Liu Yutong at his hands, it would be her own fault. Who told her to be so arrogant in the Lin family? She deserved it!
Just as Lin Yue was blocking Gao Min and the others from leaving,
a lazy male voice came from the doorway.
"Oh, so lively? Lin Yue, are you setting up a Hongmen Banquet for me?"
The newcomer was about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing a dark gray shirt, with features that could be considered handsome. But his peach-blossom eyes and frivolous mouth immediately marked him as no good.
Zhou Heng, the notorious playboy of the Beijing circle.
Of course, Liu Yutong had never seen this Zhou Heng before, but when she saw the two friends behind him, she froze.
Those two young men were dressed flashily, clearly from the entertainment industry.
The one on the left had silver-gray hair and regular features, but his eyes were shifty, exuding a sense of frivolity.
The one on the right wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and looked refined, but the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed fake no matter how you looked at it.
Liu Yutong recognized them.
Good heavens, weren't these those two jerks from her previous life?
In her past life, while scrolling through the news, she had seen reports about them. They were rising stars heavily promoted by a video platform. One was called Chen Xinhuai, and the other, Sun Mo. At the time, they were incredibly popular, with endless endorsements and countless fans.
Then, they were turned in by the mysterious "Chaoyang citizens."
They were involved in selecting girls, group orgies, and drug use — the whole package.
The news had caused a huge uproar, and the boss of the video platform that was promoting them even ended up going to jail along with them.
That platform, in this life, happened to be one of Dragonview's rivals, K-Video.
For some reason, Liu Yutong had a strange feeling again. Could it be that certain events from her past life were about to happen early?
But none of that mattered now.
She turned sideways, leaned close to Gao Min, and whispered, "Sis, look at those two on the left. The one with the gray hair is Chen Xinhuai, and the one with the glasses is Sun Mo."
Gao Min was startled, not understanding why her younger sister was suddenly mentioning this.
Liu Yutong continued, "Those two have problems, big problems. Later, you can check where they're staying. This is a gift-wrapped opportunity for you."
Gao Min's eyes lit up slightly.
She was in the police, and the word "opportunity" was the most sensitive to her.
If her sister said so, then those two definitely had problems, and big ones at that.
She nodded subtly, letting her gaze linger on the two men a moment longer, memorizing their faces firmly.
Lin Yue smiled as she stepped forward to greet them: "Brother Heng, you finally made it. Please, have a seat, have a seat!"
Zhou Heng swaggered over and plopped himself into the seat of honor. His eyes swept around the private room and finally landed on Gao Min and Liu Yutong.
Then, his eyes lit up.
"Lin Yue, who are these two?"
Lin Yue quickly leaned in and murmured a few words.
After hearing what she said, Zhou Heng's gaze paused on Gao Min for a moment, then skipped over her. Her aura was too righteous; she wasn't his type.
Then he stared directly at Liu Yutong.
This girl might be dressed plainly, but her face and temperament were absolutely stunning.
She was even more pure and captivating than the models and entertainers waiting at their community for them to start a party. This contrast kindled his male desire to conquer.
"Miss Liu, I presume? My name is Zhou Heng, from the Zhou family in the imperial capital. Lin Yue told me you're from out of town, first time in the capital?"
Liu Yutong ignored him.
Zhou Heng wasn't bothered; instead, he laughed. "Quite a personality. I like it."
Then he sat directly down in the chair next to Liu Yutong—the one that had originally been Gao Min's.
Gao Min, by now, had also started chatting up the two celebrities, trying to fish for information about them.
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo, upon hearing Gao Min mention her connection to the Lin family, let their guard down and chatted casually with her. They even took the initiative to invite her to the party that evening.
Gao Min happily agreed.
Chen Xinhuai and Sun Mo were also thrilled and excited. They hadn't expected that tagging along with Young Master Zhou to meet a friend on a whim would lead them to inviting a short-haired beauty to the party.
Tonight was going to be a wild ride!
..........
