The students around them pointed and whispered. Some held up their phones, snapping pictures as fragments of conversation drifted through the air.
“Is there something wrong with Zhou Nian’s brain? Song Ze has made it perfectly clear that he’s protecting Tang Tang. Why doesn’t she just dump that scumbag? Is she planning to keep him around until the New Year?”
“She’s still so young. Why waste her time obsessing over romance? With grades as good as Zhou Nian’s, she should be focusing on her studies instead of getting tangled up with them.”
“Tang Tang is the real actress here. Her eyes turn red twice and she acts like she’s suffered some enormous injustice. The term ‘fake innocent’ must have been invented for her.”
“Song Ze is nothing but a scumbag. He changed his mind way too quickly. Just recently, he and Zhou Nian were inseparable, and now he’s turned on her faster than you can flip a page.”
“Exactly. They were together, after all. Protecting the other woman while leaving his actual girlfriend out in the cold—what an ugly way to handle things.”
Zhang Yanyan glanced over twice and found the whole scene rather pointless. She told Uncle Chen to drive into the school.
The car had barely turned the corner when Lin Yue and Zhou Yutong’s voices reached them. The two girls were squeezed in among the crowd, stomping their feet in anger, their voices even louder than those of the students watching.
“Song Ze is such an unbelievable scumbag! What a piece of trash! Zhou Nian must have been blind to fall for him!”
“Zhou Nian is hopelessly love-struck and completely obsessed. Everyone’s told her how many times already, but she’s the only one who still can’t see reason!”
“And Tang Tang’s fake innocence is absolutely incredible. She puts on that pitiful act as if the whole world owes her something. Just looking at her makes me sick!”
Zhang Yanyan didn’t stop. She had Uncle Chen drive straight back to the villa, thinking about the farce involving the three of them. It would probably continue for quite some time.
Sure enough, over the next several days, news of Zhou Nian, Song Ze, and Tang Tang could be heard all over campus. In the cafeteria, the library, the academic buildings—wherever anyone went, people were talking about them.
Zhou Nian seemed to have lost her mind. Every day, she cornered Tang Tang and demanded an explanation, while Song Ze rushed out to defend Tang Tang every single time.
Tang Tang, meanwhile, played both sides with astonishing skill. In front of Song Ze, she put on a tearful, wronged expression; behind his back, she secretly sent Zhou Nian provocative messages, deliberately pushing her buttons until she was furious.
On Friday afternoon, Zhang Yanyan had no classes. She had just left the academic building and was preparing to head to the headquarters of the Zhang Group when she reached the school gate and saw that the driver was already waiting for her.
She had completed most of the credits required for her undergraduate degree ahead of schedule, so her classes were no longer much of a burden. She decided to spend some time learning about the Zhang Group’s business from her father and gaining some practical experience.
Zhang Yanyan’s father was very supportive when he heard about her plans. He contacted his cousin, Zhang Cheng, and asked him to look after Zhang Yanyan. He even specifically selected Qinglan Resort on the outskirts of the city and placed it under her management.
Zhang Cheng was Zhang Yanyan’s paternal uncle. He currently served as the company’s vice president and had a close relationship with Zhang Yanyan’s father. Her father had decided that Zhang Cheng would mentor her and help her become familiar with the company’s physical operations.
When she arrived at the group headquarters, Zhang Yanyan went straight to Zhang Cheng’s vice president’s office without wasting any time. After the secretary knocked and announced her arrival, she pushed open the door and walked in.
When Zhang Cheng saw her, he smiled and gestured toward the sofa opposite him. “Yanyan’s here. Have a seat.”
“Uncle Cheng, I’ll be troubling you this time.”
“Troubling me? Not at all. Your father told me everything. He wants you to start with Qinglan Resort on the outskirts of the city. You’ll be in charge of it as a way to gain some experience.
“Besides, the resort has been operating for years. It’s always followed a high-end membership model, and its security and services are top-notch. As long as it’s maintained properly, there shouldn’t be any problems.
“The people who come here are all well-connected figures from the business and political worlds. This is a good opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with the process of running a physical business while getting to know some of them.”
He paused before adding, “By the way, there’s also an unused plot of Zhang Group land next to the resort. It’s been sitting empty without any plans for development. If you have any ideas, you can think about developing it yourself. The group will provide you with all the manpower and resources you need.”
Zhang Yanyan nodded and sat down on the sofa, her mind already working rapidly.
She had visited the resort several times and knew its environment and operating model well. The foundation of its high-end membership system was already firmly established, so making drastic changes would clearly be unwise. It would be better to optimize the details first—avoiding unnecessary disruption, retaining existing customers, and gradually attracting new ones.
As for the vacant plot next door, developing another high-end project would require a huge investment and create competition with the resort. It would be better to do the opposite and take a more accessible approach. That way, the two businesses could complement each other.
After thinking for a moment, she looked up at Zhang Cheng and got straight to the point. “Uncle, I’ve come up with a preliminary idea. Let me run it by you.”
“Go ahead.” Zhang Cheng lifted his teacup, signaling for her to continue.
“The resort’s high-end membership system definitely needs to be preserved. After all, it has years of connections and a strong reputation behind it. I’m thinking of focusing on detailed improvements instead.
“For example, we could upgrade the maintenance equipment at the equestrian center and bring in a few professional instructors for the archery range. That would help us retain our existing members while gradually attracting new high-end clients.”
Zhang Yanyan spoke calmly, but her reasoning was clear and organized. “As for the vacant plot next door, I’d like to build a rural leisure park aimed at ordinary customers, focusing on farm-style food, parent-child fruit picking, outdoor barbecues, and similar activities. We can keep the development lightweight and avoid investing too much money.”
She paused to organize her thoughts before continuing. “This way, the high-end resort and the rural leisure park can complement each other by targeting different markets. Resort guests who want a more down-to-earth recreational experience won’t have to travel far—they can simply visit the park next door.
“At the same time, local residents who come to the rural leisure park will get a glimpse of our Zhang Group’s high-end resort, which would serve as indirect brand promotion.
“Besides, the rural leisure park would have low development costs and could recover its investment quickly. It would also put that unused resource to work. For the resort’s improvements, I plan to keep the expenses within ten percent of the annual operating budget, without adding any extra costs for the group.
“As for the rural leisure park, we’d only need to prepare the site and build the basic facilities. I estimate the cost would be under one million yuan, and we should be able to recover the investment within two months of opening. It could also divert some of the resort’s excess weekend traffic. The two businesses wouldn’t interfere with each other—instead, they could drive one another’s growth.”
Zhang Cheng listened, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. He set down his teacup, an approving look appearing on his face.
“Your idea is quite feasible. It creates a complementary relationship between the high-end and affordable markets while putting the unused land to good use. It’s much better than simply maintaining the resort as it is. You’ve thought this through carefully.”
“If you think there are no problems, Uncle, I’ll go back and put together a detailed proposal,” Zhang Yanyan said. “I’ll include the cost estimates, operating plans, staffing arrangements, and everything else. I’ll make it as thorough as possible.”
“Very well. Prepare the proposal and send it to me first. If everything looks good, we can put it into action.”
Zhang Cheng agreed at once, his tone full of support. “You can directly draw on the group’s manpower and resources. If there’s anything you can’t resolve, come straight to me and I’ll help coordinate it.”
“Okay.” Zhang Yanyan agreed, then spoke with her uncle for a while longer about the resort’s basic operations. She carefully learned about the composition of the core team, the daily operating procedures, and the annual budget, filling an entire page with notes before finally getting up and leaving the group headquarters.
After returning, Zhang Yanyan spent two days refining the details of the resort and drawing up a specific plan for developing the farmstay. From cost breakdowns to operating procedures, from staffing arrangements to member management, every item was laid out in meticulous detail. She also attached a site-planning map and a projected revenue table.
Not long after she sent the plan to Zhang Cheng, she received his reply. Her uncle made only a few minor adjustments to the proposal before telling her to carry it out as written and take full responsibility for managing every aspect of the resort.
In the days that followed, Zhang Yanyan was so busy that she barely had time to catch her breath. Whenever she had no classes, she drove out to the resort beyond the city. She began by speaking with the longtime employees one by one, familiarizing herself with their duties and areas of expertise while gradually working the team into a cohesive unit.
She then moved forward step by step with the improvements to the equestrian and archery facilities, personally overseeing equipment upgrades and the recruitment of coaches.
At the same time, she was coordinating with the construction crews to advance the farmstay’s initial development. From selecting fruit tree saplings for the picking orchard, to hiring chefs for the farmhouse restaurant, to planning the layout of the barbecue area, she handled every detail herself and kept everything running in perfect order.
