Zheng Tan hadn"t prepared anything for Youzi"s birthday. If he had known earlier he would have prepared something, but now there wasn"t enough time, and he had standards.
He decided to wait until he found something nice and give her a late present.
Mama Jiao had called her sister, who was a very irresponsible mother. She sent some money when Mama Jiao mentioned Youzi"s birthday party. The Jiaos didn"t expect much from her so they weren"t disappointed.
Papa Jiao had planned to make a reservation at a restaurant near Chuhua University. However, Fang Shaokang heard about the party and called to invite them to hold it at his hotel. He would save them a private room in the restaurant.
Papa Jiao wanted to refuse but Fang somehow won him over.
Zheng Tan felt Fang was a very good man. This move would show their relatives and friends that Youzi was important to the Jiaos. They shouldn"t look down on her just because her parents weren"t here. Also, people would see them as people worth knowing if they could hold a party at Shaoguang hotel. They might need help from these people when Papa Jiao went abroad.
In this money-wors.h.i.+ping society, these little moves were necessary. Fang might have mentioned this to Papa Jiao in their phone conversation.
After setting the location for the party, Papa Jiao started working on the invitations. He gave some to Youzi for her to give to her friends. This was a good chance to bring her closer to her cla.s.smates. With the help of Yue Lisha and Xie Xin, Papa Jiao was sure she could invite some people from school.
Of course, there were people who didn"t approve of their actions. Some distant relatives called Papa Jiao after hearing the location of the party. They berated him for spending so much money on a niece.
Zheng Tan did not like these people and planned to ignore them when they visited. He might even throw some dead c.o.c.kroaches into their bags. He found the c.o.c.kroaches near the garbage bags in front of Qu Xiangyang"s house.
People who couldn"t make it to the party, like Zhao Le, Yuan Zhiyi and some friends in the quarters, sent gifts.
Yuan Zhiyi was very busy, but he lent them a company bus to help transport all the kids from the Jiao"s house to the hotel.
Papa Jiao had gotten the results of the grad school entrance exam. Zeng Jing would pa.s.s the acceptance score for Chuhua University for sure and was now working alongside Papa Jiao"s other grad students.
Zheng Tan had met Zeng Jing when he came to visit with Yi Xin and Su Qu. She was quite good looking and very out-going. She had made varsity when she was in university and was tall and toned. This could be why Papa Jiao accepted her. He needed someone who was healthy to help out Mama Jiao.
Papa Jiao liked students who were talented and who made good nannies. Zeng Jing didn"t know this. Yi Xin and Su Qu decided not to tell her.
Tong Qing was sent over to look after Zheng Tan on the day of the party. The Jiaos were too busy dealing with guests. However, everyone knew Zheng Tan was surely not staying at home.
The party was on a Sat.u.r.day. Youzi"s cla.s.smates dropped her off at the eastern quarters. They planned to gather here and go together to the hotel in the bus provided by Yuan.
The parents were satisfied with the bus. It was normally used to pick up employees.
Youzi was slightly shy in front of so many guests. However, she had prepared herself for today and Yue Lisha and Xie Xin were there to help her, so she was soon at ease. Tong Qing was there to look after Zheng Tan, so she could focus on her cla.s.smates.
Zheng Tan got to ride in Tong Qing"s car. He didn"t have to share a ride with anyone which made Wei Ling jealous.
Tong Qing followed behind the bus. Zheng Tan was thinking about something in the back. There was a duffel bag beside him. Fang didn"t tell them to hide the cat but Papa and Mama Jiao didn"t want to cause him any trouble. They were worried people wouldn"t like seeing a cat inside the hotel. Most people were against pets in restaurants, so Zheng Tan would have to go inside in a bag.
One side of the duffel bag was made from mesh so Zheng Tan could breathe and see everything going on outside. Without looking closely, no one could see him through the mesh.
Wei Ling didn"t have to work today and showed up at the party. He was playing cards but was quickly growing bored. The kids had gone to the amus.e.m.e.nt park after lunch and most of the adults wanted to enjoy the facilities in the hotel. Wei Ling wanted to take Zheng Tan to the Night Tower. He wanted to karaoke and maybe challenge Tong Qing to a martial arts fight. He could tell Tong Qing had spent time in the military as well.
Zheng Tan left with them inside the bag. As they were waiting for the elevator, a group of people came their way. Zheng Tan didn"t notice them until he heard a familiar name.
"Lai Er, fancy seeing you here," a person coming out of the elevator said to the man in the center of the group.
Zheng Tan knew the person talking. He had seen him at Fang"s party but had forgotten his name.
This didn"t stop him from noticing the keywords in his sentence.
Lai Er? Zheng Tan was immediately interested. He wanted to see what Lai Er looked like.
He could see clearly enough through the mesh and was slightly disappointed. Lai Er was very average looking. If he hadn"t heard stories about him from Ye Hao, he would have thought this person was your average successful middle-aged man. However, Zheng Tan didn"t notice the ruthless look in his eyes.
Besides the woman who looked like a secretary standing by Lai Er"s side, the rest of their group was made up of unsmiling men who were most likely bodyguards.
Tong Qing didn"t know Lai Er. He wouldn"t do anything even if he did. He went straight to his car after getting off the elevator. Zheng Tan was disappointed that he couldn"t take one more look at the man who was willing to betray everyone to get ahead.
Zheng Tan couldn"t see Lai Er anymore, but he could still hear him and the other man talking sarcastically to each other.
Lai Er mentioned the man"s recent business failure while the man laughed at Lai Er for being a coward and using so many bodyguards.
Zheng Tan could tell from the man"s words that a lot of people knew what was happening to Lai Er. If Ye Hao knew already, it made sense other people knew as well.
Before Tong Qing made it to the car, Wei Ling told them there was a change of plans. He asked Tong Qing to accompany Zheng Tan, then went back into the hotel.
Zheng Tan could guess why he went back inside. He was curious why Lai Er had come here as well. Was he here to meet someone or just to talk business? However, this would remain a mystery to him for now.
He took a stroll around the hotel and then napped in the car. Tong Qing listened to the traffic radio the whole time.
Wei Ling reappeared during dinner. He said something to Papa Jiao, then left again. Zheng Tan knew he must have learned something.