President Ran was a man of his word. Once he said he would introduce his daughter to Xie Qian, he would definitely make sure the two young people met.
Xie Qian frowned.
What kind of collaboration could he possibly have with President Ran’s daughter?
He didn’t even compose music!
President Ran seemed worried Xie Qian might refuse, so he quickly added that his daughter was already handling part of the company’s business. The so-called collaboration naturally referred to film and television projects.
“…Send me the address, then.”
Doing business was exactly this troublesome. Dinner meetings and social obligations were unavoidable. After hanging up, Xie Qian glanced at Peng Guoqing beside him and decided to make use of this dead weight once more.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Huh? What for?!”
“To have dinner with President Ran. You’re a shareholder of Jiaxin too. Time to pull your weight.”
Xie Qian warned Peng Guoqing, “At the table, if you don’t know what to say, just keep your head down and eat. Only speak when the topic is something you understand. And whatever you do, do not mention the gaokao.”
President Ran had never known Xie Qian was still a high-school student, and Xie Qian had no intention of letting him find out now.
Peng Guoqing scratched his head.
If he could only speak about things he understood, he suspected he would spend the entire evening as a silent rice-disposal machine.
After all, the only things Peng Guoqing was actually good at were throwing parties and dyeing his hair.
Xie Qian was one year younger, but over the past three years he had matured rapidly. With a little care with his clothing, plus natural poise, made it impossible for strangers to guess his age.
President Ran, for one, had never realised Xie Qian was still in high school; he simply thought the boy had a youthful face.
As for Peng Guoqing, with a bit of effort to look more mature, he should pass without exposing himself.
The two tidied themselves up and headed to the venue President Ran had named.
A waiter led them to the private room. The first thing Peng Guoqing noticed was the long-haired beauty sitting beside President Ran.
President Ran beamed warmly. “This is my daughter, Ran Keqing. Keqing, this is Xie Qian. I’ve mentioned him to you many times.”
A flash of amazement appeared in Ran Keqing’s eyes.
Her father had indeed spoken about Xie Qian several times at home, saying he wanted to introduce them. At the time, Ran Keqing hadn’t been particularly interested.
Because all her father had said was that Xie Qian was capable and had turned Jiaxin around. He had never once mentioned that Xie Qian was this handsome!
If the setting weren’t so formal, Ran Keqing would have loved to shoot her own father a fierce glare: There are plenty of capable young men, Dad. You should have mentioned the most important detail!
“Hello.”
Ran Keqing took the initiative to extend her hand. Out of courtesy, Xie Qian shook it.
When Xie Qian introduced Peng Guoqing as a Jiaxin shareholder, President Ran politely shook Peng Guoqing’s hand as well. President Ran had been introduced to Xie Qian through Mrs Peng, but Mrs Peng herself had never dealt with him directly. In the past, Peng Guoqing had been a notorious rich playboy, and Mr Peng had been too embarrassed to bring his son into business circles, so naturally President Ran had no idea whose son Peng Guoqing was.
Tonight, Peng Guoqing was merely there to make up the numbers. The Ran father and daughter’s attention remained focused on Xie Qian.
Watching Ran Keqing chat enthusiastically with Xie Qian, telling stories from her time studying abroad in Britain, Peng Guoqing suddenly understood: this wasn’t a business dinner at all. It was a matchmaking dinner!
Xie Qian, oh Xie Qian. This afternoon you went to see your girlfriend at the literature academy, and tonight you’re here on a blind date. Does your girlfriend know?
If Wen Ying found out… Peng Guoqing worried Xie Qian wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of this one.
For the first time, Peng Guoqing began to question Xie Qian’s earlier instructions.
Staying silent would prevent their ages from being exposed.
But if they didn’t expose their ages, how were they supposed to politely decline this matchmaking attempt without offending President Ran?
Saying outright “I already have a girlfriend” would put President Ran in an awkward position, wouldn’t it?
As the saying goes, the players can’t see the game. Xie Qian hadn’t realised the true purpose at first. When Miss Ran became unusually warm towards him, he finally sensed something was off.
He hadn’t expected President Ran to be that kind of person!
Xie Qian wanted to talk business; President Ran wanted to talk romance.
At that moment, the top student and the slacker were miraculously on the same wavelength: they should just reveal their ages!
Ran Keqing had returned from studying in Britain and already graduated university.
Girls naturally mature faster than boys of the same age, and a university graduate and a high-school graduate were at completely different stages of life. If Xie Qian simply admitted how old he was, Ran Keqing’s interest would plummet instantly!
Yet before Xie Qian could speak, President Ran took a phone call and turned back with a smile. “I never cheat people. I really did invite you here tonight for business. A friend of mine has just arrived at the door. He has quite a lot of idle capital and has been wanting to invest in film and television lately… Of course, I’m only the middleman. Whether you can persuade him to invest in Jiaxin is entirely up to you, Little Xie!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the waiter showed President Ran’s friend into the room.
When they saw who it was, Peng Guoqing wasn’t the only one stunned; even Xie Qian was surprised.
The newcomer looked up, equally astonished. “Xie Qian, Guoqing, what are you two doing here?”
The Ran father and daughter were both taken aback.
President Ran laughed. “So you already know each other?”
Zhang Zhijun nodded. “Know each other? These are two juniors I watched grow up!”
Exactly. The investor friend President Ran had mentioned was none other than Zhang Zhijun.
Xie Qian politely greeted him as “Uncle Zhijun”, but alarm bells were ringing in his head.
Was this really a coincidence?
He had only just returned to Beijing, and now he “happened” to run into Zhang Zhijun at President Ran’s dinner.
Xie Qian had never worn the watch Zhang Zhijun gave him. He strongly suspected Zhang Zhijun was tracking him by other means!
President Ran recovered quickly and invited everyone to sit. “Well, this is what they call family beating family. Looks like I don’t even need to make introductions.”
Once Zhang Zhijun arrived, the problem that had been troubling Xie Qian and Peng Guoqing solved itself.
They didn’t need to reveal their ages themselves; Zhang Zhijun sold them out completely.
President Ran praised Xie Qian for being so capable: reviving the nearly defunct Jiaxin Film & TV, making money, and sweeping the Magnolia Awards this year, earning an excellent reputation in the industry. Jiaxin would keep making money in the future!
Zhang Zhijun beamed with pride. “If you praise someone else I might argue, but when you praise Xie Qian, I only think you’re not praising him enough. Managing Jiaxin while keeping up with his studies; that’s real ability!”
President Ran nodded. “I did guess Little Xie was still a student, but he handles things so maturely I never pried.”
Zhang Zhijun burst out laughing. “You should have pried! Xie Qian only just took the gaokao this year!”
The words struck like thunder.
“Just took the gaokao?”
Ran Keqing’s waist-length hair and relatively conservative style gave her the reserved air of a wealthy young lady.
She had set aside that reserve and shown enthusiasm towards Xie Qian because he deserved it.
People always say “an emperor’s daughter never worries about marriage”, but actually the opposite is true.
It’s easy for a princess to get married, but a princess can’t just marry any random commoner, can she?
Similarly, for a rich heiress like Ran Keqing, finding a boyfriend who matched her in every way wasn’t simple.
Since returning to China, this wasn’t her first “dinner meeting” of this kind.
Either the age was wrong, or the man played around too much, or his looks were simply unacceptable to her. Finally a Xie Qian appeared, someone who stunned her at first sight, and now Zhang Zhijun was saying Xie Qian had only just sat the gaokao this year?!
If he’d only just taken the gaokao, Xie Qian was barely eighteen, what, eighteen?
The person standing there dumbfounded wasn’t just Miss Ran. President Ran was equally stunned.
He had known Xie Qian for longer and had realised the boy was young, but he had never imagined this young!
He had been doing business with a high-school student all along?!
President Ran pointed at Xie Qian, half laughing, half crying. “Little Xie, you really kept me in the dark!”
