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The annual college entrance examination had concluded. Jiang Chen had taken a leave of absence and did not participate, while Lin Jingzhu and Qin Huansha both sat for the exam and performed well.
Half a month later, news arrived that Lin Jingzhu had been accepted into a university in the capital. She decided to treat everyone to a celebration. Despite their breakup, Lin Jingzhu still invited Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen remembered that in his previous life, this gathering had been their last meeting. During that final dinner, he had been mercilessly ridiculed by Lin Jingzhu's close friends and their homeroom teacher. Afterward, Lin Jingzhu stopped contacting him in college, which left him heartbroken. Coupled with his financial struggles, he soon succumbed to despair and passed away.
Lin Jingzhu chose the Chamber of Commerce Grand Hotel for the celebration. It wasn’t because she was now wealthy; rather, it was Jiang Chen's suggestion since she had celebrated there in her previous life. In this lifetime, however, Lin Jingzhu's circumstances had changed, and she wouldn’t have chosen such an upscale venue on her own. After Jiang Chen promised to cover the bill, she readily agreed.
Jiang Chen thought about how Lin Jingzhu's father, Lin Shihui, had already faced consequences for his actions, and since he had ended their relationship, he decided to extend her one last courtesy.
He deliberately arrived a bit late. When he entered the private room 306, Lin Jingzhu and the others were already seated. The only empty seat was the worst one by the door, clearly saved for him.
Lin Jingzhu sat at the head of the table with two men flanking her. To her right was their homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhu, whom Jiang Chen recognized. To her left was a young and handsome guy whom Jiang Chen didn’t know; he assumed this must be Lin Jingzhu’s new boyfriend! The other four were girls whom Jiang Chen vaguely remembered as being close friends of Lin Jingzhu.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen enter, Lin Jingzhu awkwardly smiled and said, “Jiang Chen, you’re late; you’ll have to sit in that spot by the door. I don’t need to introduce you to Teacher Zhu and my classmates here. But this is my boyfriend on my left—his name is Zhao Xiaolong.”
“Xiaolong, this is my classmate from next door, Jiang Chen!”
“Nice to meet you!” Jiang Chen exchanged a brief handshake with Zhao Xiaolong.
After greeting Teacher Zhu and the other girls, Jiang Chen calmly took his seat.
Zhao Xiaolong assumed Jiang Chen was just another classmate of Lin Jingzhu’s and didn’t pay him much mind. After all, being recognized by Lin Jingzhu meant he must have some merit himself. It was not surprising for someone like him to feel somewhat superior in front of these "students."
Teacher Zhu and the other four girls didn’t know much about Jiang Chen; they only knew he had worked as a dishwasher at school—his only notable trait that left an impression on them. Later on, when they learned he had become a chairman of a company, they assumed it was merely taking over his father's position. Upon hearing that the company was heavily in debt, they thought Jiang Chen must be quite poor now.
As a result, they looked down on him somewhat and left him with the least favorable seat. In contrast, they eagerly praised Zhao Xiaolong. For them, as Lin Jingzhu’s new boyfriend, he must be superior to Jiang Chen since they believed Lin Jingzhu had broken up with Jiang Chen due to dissatisfaction with him. Now that she had found Zhao Xiaolong, he should be better off than Jiang Chen!
Only Jiang Chen understood that Zhao Xiaolong would soon be discarded by Lin Jingzhu. This girl had a tendency to seek out foreign partners in college; it had happened in his previous life and would likely repeat itself this time.
Given that Lin Jingzhu only came to the Chamber of Commerce Grand Hotel because of Jiang Chen’s promise to pay for everything indicated that Zhao Xiaolong’s family was either not very wealthy or simply not generous enough.
Since he arrived late, everyone naturally decided to toast him as punishment. Jiang Chen didn’t refuse; starting with Teacher Zhu, he went around taking drinks from everyone.
Lin Jingzhu was somewhat surprised—when did Jiang Chen become such a heavy drinker? How had she not noticed before?
After finishing his rounds of toasts, no one paid him any further attention or returned his gestures. It felt as if he were an unnecessary addition to the table.
The others didn’t know much about Jiang Chen’s background and looked down on him somewhat. As for Lin Jingzhu, it seemed intentional—perhaps a way to retaliate against him for rejecting her advances in the past!
Jiang Chen didn't care much and quickly dug into the food, seemingly as if he hadn't had a good meal in years. This only drew more disdain from others.
Zhao Xiaolong felt even more pleased with himself! As the only male guest invited by Lin Jingzhu, he couldn't help but speculate about their relationship. What if Jiang Chen was a rival? Discovering that Jiang Chen was just a foodie, clearly someone who had never been in high-end situations, put Zhao Xiaolong at ease.
"Xiao Jiang, I raise a toast to you!" Zhao Xiaolong suddenly toasted Jiang Chen for reasons he couldn't quite understand. Being a few years older than Jiang Chen, he followed Teacher Zhu's lead and addressed him as "Xiao Jiang."
"Thank you!" Jiang Chen responded, welcoming the drink and clinking glasses with Zhao Xiaolong.
"Xiao Jiang, how did you do on the college entrance exam?" Zhao Xiaolong originally intended to probe into Jiang Chen's background but suddenly wondered if Jiang Chen would end up at the same university as Lin Jingzhu. It was strange that Lin Jingzhu hadn't introduced him properly! After all, neighboring classmates were also taking the exam.
"Oh, I took a leave of absence early, so I didn't participate in the exam!" Jiang Chen replied while eating.
Zhao Xiaolong felt a secret joy upon hearing this.
"Oh, what was the reason? Did something happen at home? If so, my pharmacy is actually looking for an assistant; you could come work with us. The pay is quite good!"
Hearing this from Zhao Xiaolong, Lin Jingzhu quickly shot him a look. Unfortunately, it was a bit late; Zhao Xiaolong wasn't that perceptive.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen didn't seem to mind Zhao Xiaolong and promptly asked, "What pharmacy do you work at? I'm planning to find a good one."
Jiang Chen spoke sincerely. However, he wasn't looking for a job; he needed a pharmacy to procure spiritual herbs for refining pills in preparation for his upcoming cultivation.
"Jishi Pharmacy! So, are you interested?" Zhao Xiaolong proudly announced the name of his pharmacy.
Jishi Pharmacy? Teacher Zhu and several female classmates were taken aback! That was the most famous pharmacy in Nangang! Especially since the pharmacy's owner, Zhao Xianyi, was the highest-level Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Nangang; almost no difficult cases could stump him. Zhao Xianyi not only ran the pharmacy but also operated a clinic that was connected to it.
Not only was Zhao Xianyi skilled in medicine and knowledgeable about pharmacology, but he was also well-respected. He often waived medical fees for patients who truly faced financial difficulties.
Thus, Jishi Pharmacy and its clinic were well-known throughout Nangang.
"So Mr. Zhao Xianyi is your father?" Teacher Zhu looked at Zhao Xiaolong.
"That's right!" Zhao Xiaolong answered proudly. Lin Jingzhu also showed visible delight, clearly feeling proud as well. The other four female classmates looked on with envy and jealousy.
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