novelslam Chapter 364: He won't take responsibility.
Chapter 364: He won't take responsibility.
The day after the Lunar New Year in southern China, Wu Duo traveled all the way from the United States back to celebrate the New Year.
To Huang Xiaochuan's surprise, he did not return alone; a woman with a low ponytail and black-rimmed glasses accompanied him.
While Wu Duo, Huang Xiaochuan, and the others cheered and embraced, the woman stood aside with a smile on her lips.
After the group exchanged pleasantries, Wu Duo pointed at Huang Xiaochuan and said to the woman, "Sister Sui, this is Huang Xiaochuan, whom you've been longing to meet."
Huang Xiaochuan didn't recognize the woman named Sister Sui, so he looked at Wu Duo with a puzzled expression. Ding Yi and the other two had the same expression; they were very curious about the woman Wu Duo had brought back.
Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, Wu Duo smiled and revealed the answer.
"Zhang Sui, a PhD in Finance from the Sloan School of Management at IT, turned down a $120,000 annual salary offer from a Wall Street investment bank and plans to return to China to develop her career."
"Xiao Chuan, you may not know Sister Sui, but you haven't forgotten the two hundred thousand US dollars you donated back then, have you? Sister Sui is the one you saved from the brink of death with two hundred thousand US dollars."
Zhang Gaolei knew about this, and his mouth dropped open so wide it could swallow a duck egg. Neither he nor Huang Xiaochuan had ever met Zhang Sui in person, because Huang Xiaochuan had asked Mai Guangde to handle the donation. So this was the first time he and Huang Xiaochuan had met Zhang Sui today.
Ding Yi and Chen Zhe were completely bewildered, unaware of the cause and effect.
As soon as Wu Duo finished speaking, Huang Xiaochuan felt a blur before his eyes, and then someone was in his arms—Zhang Sui hugged him tightly. Her eyes were filled with tears: "Thank you! Thank you so much! I've finally seen you!"
Huang Xiaochuan stood there blankly, unsure of what to do with his hands, and quickly said, "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. You're just lucky. I just happened to be there too."
As she spoke, she looked at Wu Duo with pleading eyes.
"Old Wu, you damn well better come help me right now!"
Wu Duo then patted Zhang Sui, who was still quite agitated, and said, "Sister Sui, this isn't the place to talk and reminisce. How about we go to the hotel and sit down to talk slowly?"
Zhang Sui then let Huang Xiaochuan go, took off her glasses, wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I lost my composure. Please forgive me."
Everyone waved their hands and said it was nothing.
The group split into two vans and headed to the hotel. Wu Duo, Zhang Sui, and Zhang Gaolei got into one van, while Huang Xiaochuan, Ding Yi, and Chen Zhe got into another. The two vans drove away from the airport one after the other.
On the way, Huang Xiaochuan told the two about some less important things from his trip to the United States last March, especially mentioning Zhang Sui's situation at the time, which made Ding Yi and Chen Zhe sigh with emotion.
Huang Xiaochuan concluded, "If you two were in this situation, you would definitely lend a hand. If you don't have the ability, that's fine too. But if you can help, then help. That was my thought at the time."
After arriving at the Jing'an Hilton Hotel, Zhang Sui's emotions had calmed down considerably, except for her eyes, which were still a little red. Fortunately, she was wearing glasses, so it wasn't easy to notice unless you looked closely.
After everyone sat down, Huang Xiaochuan asked Zhang Sui, "Old Wu said you turned down a high-paying job on Wall Street. Have you decided which company you'll be joining yet?"
"I submitted my resume to a Hong Kong company while I was in the United States, and I have already received an offer from them. I will start working after the Chinese New Year, and my main work location will be in Shanghai."
Huang Xiaochuan nodded: "That's pretty good. The domestic market will develop better and better in the future. Since you're going to develop your career in Shanghai, feel free to come to me if you need anything."
Zhang Sui smiled and said, "Okay, as long as you don't find me annoying."
Then Huang Xiaochuan asked Wu Duo, "Old Wu, what are your travel plans for this trip back?"
"I made a special detour to come here just to meet up with you guys. I've already bought my plane ticket for tomorrow. I'll meet up with you guys tonight and go home tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll make the arrangements tonight to welcome you and Sister Sui." Huang Xiaochuan immediately called over a waitress from the hotel coffee shop and asked her to tell the hotel receptionist to reserve a large private room there for tonight.
A few minutes later, the private room for the evening was arranged.
The winter night in Shanghai was getting colder, but a private room at the Jing'an Hilton Hotel was warm and cozy, where five close college classmates had gathered.
Several people sat around a round table, which was filled with exquisite Shanghainese dishes.
Huang Xiaochuan was the first to raise his glass, saying sincerely, "Come on, let's all drink to Lao Wu and Sister Sui's return!"
Everyone raised their glasses, clinking them together with a crisp sound. After a few drinks, the atmosphere became even more lively.
Wu Duo clinked his glass against Huang Xiaochuan's and said, "Old Xu, do you still remember Xu Zhongxian and Zhang Xiangguang?"
"You remember them? What happened between them?"
"Drink this and I'll tell you the details," Wu Duo said, gesturing to the wine glass in Huang Xiaochuan's hand.
Huang Xiaochuan downed his drink in one gulp without any hesitation, and Wu Duo also downed his drink in one go. After finishing, he didn't forget to turn his glass upside down for Huang Xiaochuan to see.
"They returned to China no later than April, and they have decided to develop their careers there."
"That's great! Tell them to come see me when they get back to China, and I'll treat them to a welcome-back dinner." Huang Xiaochuan welcomes any overseas student who wants to return to China to work with open arms.
"Hehe!" Wu Duo chuckled upon hearing Huang Xiaochuan's words.
"What are you laughing at?" Huang Xiaochuan was completely bewildered by Wu Duo's laughter.
"They came back to China specifically for you. They plan to start their own business in the future, and they might ask you for investment then."
"Is that all? Tell them to prepare their project proposals. If the project has potential, I'll definitely invest." Huang Xiaochuan was quite interested when he heard that the two wanted to start a business.
"Xiao Chuan, your reputation for being a public-spirited person has spread throughout the East Coast student community. A lot of people want to get to know you. You're really awesome now."
Huang Xiaochuan was both amused and exasperated. All he had done was treat some international students to a few lavish meals. Was he really being so righteous? He wasn't some scoundrel like Song Jiang.
Zhang Gaolei was raising his glass to thank Ding Yi: "Old Ding, if it weren't for you, I guess my parents and I would have had to spend the New Year in a hotel."
While Zhang Gaolei was away picking up his parents, Ding Yi arranged for someone to clean the house and furnish it with all the furniture and appliances. When Zhang Gaolei and his parents arrived in Shanghai, they moved into their new home immediately.
Ding Yi glared at Zhang Gaolei with displeasure: "Why are you being so formal with me? You've been punished with a cup of wine for saying the wrong thing, so drink it now!"
"It was my fault, alright! I'll drink this!" Zhang Gaolei downed the wine in one gulp.
Ding Yi then turned from anger to joy, put his arm around Zhang Gaolei's shoulder, and said, "That's more like it!"
Zhang Sui stood up, holding a glass of hot milk, and said to Huang Xiaochuan, "I don't drink alcohol either, so I'll just offer you this as a toast! I won't say thank you."
Huang Xiaochuan also stood up: "This matter is over. If you had the ability, you would have helped in the same situation."
After drinking the wine, Huang Xiaochuan asked Zhang Sui to sit down.
"Hurry up and sit down and eat more! Do you like this local Shanghai cuisine?"
"It's delicious, I really like it!"
"Eat as much as you like. When you get back to China, eat to your heart's content."
At this moment, Wu Duo interjected, "Sister Sui, don't listen to him. If you get fat, he won't take responsibility."
Zhang Sui laughed upon hearing this.
Apart from Wu Duo, who is returning to Beijing tomorrow for the Spring Festival, Huang Xiaochuan, Ding Yi, Zhang Gaolei, and Chen Zhe are all in Shanghai this year. So the four of them have arranged to visit each other to exchange New Year's greetings, just for the sake of having a good time.
The next morning, Wu Duo and Zhang Sui took different flights back home. At their insistence, Huang Xiaochuan and the others did not go to the airport to see them off, but said goodbye to them at the hotel.