The Boss’s Invitation

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Six o’clock in the evening, just as darkness fell.

In the parking lot at the entrance of Jing Tang Hui, Chen Jue and Jiang Zhe ran into each other.

“Fourth, not bad!”

“You finally bought a car?”

Jiang Zhe circled around Chen Jue’s vehicle as if he’d discovered a new world, examining it with fresh curiosity. He touched the steering wheel and interior of the Haoyue, explored its features, and clicked his tongue twice.

In Jiang Zhe’s impression, Chen Jue was always a laid-back homebody with little interest in cars or houses, someone of low desires. Who would have guessed that, without a word, he’d suddenly turn up with a new car? Evidently, his college roommate had truly changed of late.

“It’s nothing special, what’s so remarkable about it!” Chen Jue rolled his eyes and waited at the entrance with Jiang Zhe.

After about ten minutes, the main guest arrived.

A black BMW X5, bearing a Hangzhou plate. Chen Jue recognized that it must be an older model, from before 2013—at least a decade old now.

People who drive such cars fall into two categories: either they truly have means and bought it early on, or they’re putting on airs, having bought an old luxury car secondhand. If someone is truly wealthy, wouldn’t they upgrade to the latest model every year? Who would willingly drive what others have discarded?

Out stepped a man in his forties, hair slicked back, dressed in a casual suit, wearing a tasteful watch and glasses. He waved at the two men as soon as he got out.

“Mr. Wang!”

“This is the old classmate I mentioned to you.” Jiang Zhe went up to exchange greetings, and Chen Jue respectfully addressed him as well.

During their wait, Jiang Zhe had already filled Chen Jue in on the man’s background. His name was Wang Xing, vice president of Hengtong Financial in Hangzhou—a company with significant clout. The parent company has foreign investment, their business spans new cars, used cars, vehicle pawning, and more. In terms of scale and capital, it’s at least fifty times larger than Taisheng Financial.

Among the many auto finance companies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it ranks in the top three, having grown into a conglomerate years ago. Jiang Zhe managed to arrange this meeting only because he’d recently taken charge of Wang Xing’s new home renovation design. The house, a riverside flat over 200 square meters in Binjiang, was worth at least 25 million, with a renovation budget of three million—clearly substantial.

“Jiang, for your old classmate’s sake, you really need to pay extra attention to my house!” Wang Xing eyed Chen Jue with a hint of disdain.

If it weren’t for Jiang Zhe being his exclusive designer, this vice president of Hengtong probably wouldn’t have come to meet them at all. For high-ranking executives like Wang Xing, daily affairs are busy, and their private social circle consists of peers at the same level. Rarely would they lower themselves to dine or get massages with a mere employee—it’s a waste of time.

Chen Jue sensed Wang Xing’s aloofness and felt uncomfortable, but seeing his roommate Jiang Zhe fawning over the man and vouching for him, he endured for the time being.

...

Inside Jing Tang Hui, the three dined at a buffet.

At the table, Wang Xing spent most of the time talking about his new home, only briefly mentioning Chen Jue’s job, as if it were utterly trivial.

“Chen, I reviewed your resume.”

“Your degree is a real obstacle!”

“In our group, especially for risk control technical positions, a degree from a top university is the minimum—we won’t accept correspondence diplomas.” Wang Xing maintained his airs, critiquing Chen Jue’s resume.

“Mr. Wang, rest assured, my classmate’s work ability is even stronger than my design skills!”

“And besides, with your recommendation, surely he’ll succeed.”

“You command hundreds of employees at Hengtong, this is surely within your power.”

“To your health—I’ll drink this whole glass, you drink as you like!” Jiang Zhe chimed in, raising his glass, and Chen Jue followed suit.

“Alright! Jiang, since you’ve come to me, I’ll help.” Wang Xing took a sip and laid things out plainly. “But let’s be clear: my responsibility is pre-loan business, risk control is handled by another executive, Luo. I’ll send Chen’s resume through internal referral, but whether Luo will hire him, I can’t guarantee!”

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In conglomerates like Hengtong, the internal personnel network is complex—it’s not as easy to place someone as people imagine.

But since Wang Xing was willing to help, Chen Jue’s prospects had a glimmer of hope.

...

After dinner, the three went for a spa session to foster familiarity.

During this, Chen Jue mentioned his previous employer, and Wang Xing seemed to have heard about it.

“Chen, you left Taisheng?”

“I heard Old Man Zhang Chi’an went abroad and lost several hundred million gambling, mortgaged all his assets to loan sharks for short-term loans, and fled overnight to Southeast Asia. No one knows if he’s alive or dead.” Wang Xing smiled, as if recounting industry gossip.

In finance, nothing delights insiders more than news of spectacular bankruptcies and runaways.

“Chairman Zhang fled to Southeast Asia?” This was the first Chen Jue had heard of it, and he was stunned.

Wang Xing, as an industry heavyweight, obviously had access to better information, knowing far more than the employees like Chen Jue, who were kept in the dark.

But Southeast Asia is chaotic. People who abscond with money to those places often end up having their kidneys sold, let alone recovering stolen funds.

Thinking of this, Chen Jue felt sorry for shareholder Zhou Yong and the others.

Twelve million in investment, all down the drain.

So much money—one could eat, drink, and play around the world and still have plenty left over.

...

After the spa, the three wandered through the entertainment hall.

Jiang Zhe led Wang Xing to play arcade games. Chen Jue intended to join, but seeing they were playing King of Fighters—a two-player game—he went on his own to the dart section.

Thud.

Thud.

He threw two needle darts with his left hand.

His touch was steady; both darts hit dead center.

Seeing the +5, +5 score on the board, Chen Jue found this leisure sport far more enjoyable.

He’d always been socially anxious, not good at mingling.

Tonight’s outing with Jiang Zhe was purely for financial reasons—to ask favors.

If he had eighty or a hundred thousand in savings, he’d never lower himself, no matter who he met.

A quiet, free life—wasn’t that more appealing?

Just as Chen Jue focused, engrossed in dart throwing, two well-fed, middle-aged men emerged arm-in-arm from a private dining room nearby.

“Hey?”

“Isn’t that the young man from last time?”

Zhu Hongbin spotted Chen Jue playing darts from afar and drew closer, recognizing him.

But after checking Chen Jue’s score, Zhu Hongbin’s expression turned to surprise: “His dart skills have improved so much! It’s barely been a week!”

“Almost at amateur level!”

Curious, Zhu Hongbin dragged Mr. Tang over to greet him.

“President Zhu!”

“What a coincidence, we meet again.”

Chen Jue relaxed his stance and exchanged greetings.

He noticed Zhu Hongbin carried a whiff of alcohol—clearly just finished dining.

Perhaps it was the drink; Zhu was much more enthusiastic than during their previous chance encounter.

“Chen, I think you have real talent with darts!”

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“You’ve been practicing less than a week, and your left hand is already this good. Competing professionally shouldn’t be difficult in the future.” Zhu Hongbin’s eyes sparkled, as if he’d discovered an uncut gem, and he eagerly promoted his own darts club to Chen Jue.

“Professional tournaments?”

“Are the prizes high?”

Chen Jue, worried about his empty pockets and having to humble himself for a job, wondered if there might be another way to make money.

Running into this international darts expert again, he couldn’t help but probe further.

“Domestic tournaments don’t offer much, at most a hundred thousand yuan.”

“But international competitions are a different story!”

“With major sponsors, the champions earn at least a million pounds a year!” Zhu Hongbin, seeing Chen Jue’s casual approach, briefly outlined the scale of international darts tournaments.

“A million pounds?” Chen Jue’s hand trembled, nearly dropping his dart, never expecting such a niche competition to offer such hefty prizes.

Converted, that’s over ten million yuan!

Higher than some Olympic events!

Just then, Jiang Zhe and Wang Xing, finished with King of Fighters, noticed the commotion and hurried over, thinking something had happened.

But upon seeing the two middle-aged men beside Chen Jue, Wang Xing’s expression changed dramatically. He put on a smile and greeted them: “Mr. Tang! Are you President Tang of Tang Group?”

“I’m Wang Xing, head of business at Hengtong Group. We met at the last investors’ conference!”

Apparently, Wang Xing recognized Mr. Tang, Zhu Hongbin’s companion, and addressed him with respect, lowering his posture much as Chen Jue and Jiang Zhe did before him.

“Hengtong? Rings a bell!” The middle-aged Mr. Tang glanced at Wang Xing, then feigned earnest recollection—clearly not putting him in mind.

But Mr. Tang’s emotional intelligence was high; he didn’t show impatience, instead patting Wang Xing’s shoulder and politely thanking him for supporting Jing Tang Hui.

Chen Jue listened to this high-level conversation, dumbfounded!

So the well-fed middle-aged man with Zhu Hongbin was actually the boss behind Jing Tang Hui!

No wonder Wang Xing, as Hengtong’s vice president, was so deferential.

This man possessed assets worth billions, a tycoon who ranked among Hangzhou’s elite—a world apart from ordinary people.

And Zhu Hongbin, able to walk arm-in-arm with such a magnate, must be formidable himself.

A former international darts pro, friends with a billionaire—his own abilities must be considerable.

...

The group chatted at the dart area, throwing a few darts together.

As they weren’t part of the same social tier, they soon parted ways.

But before leaving, Zhu Hongbin made sure Chen Jue added him on WeChat, inviting him repeatedly to visit his club.

With the invitation so sincere, Chen Jue agreed.

There was nothing to lose in visiting, and it might well be a life-changing opportunity.

After all, Chen Jue’s [Darts] skill was close to Lv4, needing only a few hundred more proficiency points to level up again.

He was already at amateur level with Lv3—Lv4 would make him comparable to a pro.

Thinking of the million-pound prize for winning an international darts tournament, Chen Jue’s heart blazed.

With his social anxiety, he’d never be an influencer, but becoming an athlete seemed promising.

If he achieved results in competition, with bonus money aplenty, it’d be far better than remaining a wage slave.

But what surprised Chen Jue most was that, after seeing Zhu Hongbin and Mr. Tang off, Wang Xing’s attitude completely shifted.

He suddenly became brotherly with Chen Jue and Jiang Zhe, and before leaving Jing Tang Hui, he patted his chest and insisted Chen Jue come to Hengtong Group for a personnel interview the next day.

With his personal involvement, the internal referral was almost certain.

This dramatic change left Chen Jue and Jiang Zhe utterly stunned.