Chapter 49: An Unexpected Encounter
“Xiaobo, how’s that listed company you went to?”
The club they were heading to was quite far away, nearly fifty minutes from Yanjing University. With traffic making the journey even longer, Su Xiaofan chatted with Wu Xiaobo in the car.
“Ah, what listed company? It just sounds impressive when you put it that way.”
Wu Xiaobo began complaining.
“The parent company really is publicly listed, and it’s fairly well-known in China. But the place where I work is just one of its subsidiaries. It’s not even in the city most of the time. We’re based over in Miyun…”
“Xiaobo, what kind of business is it?”
Zhang Ji also joined the conversation. Although all of them had the most contact with Qi Rouyun, they didn’t interact with each other very often, so they weren’t particularly familiar with Wu Xiaobo’s recent situation.
“Outdoor sports. The company I’m with mainly runs outdoor sports programs.”
Wu Xiaobo explained, “We handle everything from outdoor equipment to training. We have more than thirty branches across the country, and we’re considered one of the leading companies in the industry…”
“Xiaobo, what do you do there?”
When Su Xiaofan heard the words “outdoor sports,” he became interested.
If he wanted to become a meteorite hunter, he would probably have to deal with the outdoor sports industry to some extent.
“There’s an outdoor sports association here in Beijing that our company sponsors.”
Wu Xiaobo became more animated when talking about his work.
“Most of the association’s activities are held in Miyun. I’m responsible for some of the coordination work over there. Basically, I’m just a jack-of-all-trades.”
“Xiaobo, does your outdoor sports business include wilderness exploration?”
Su Xiaofan asked, “If someone wanted to go somewhere like a no-man’s-land, could your company provide technical guidance and support?”
“Of course.”
Wu Xiaobo nodded.
“That’s exactly what we do. Besides selling outdoor equipment, training and organizing activities are actually our main sources of profit.
“Most of those wilderness exploration activities organized by outdoor enthusiasts in Beijing are run by companies like ours.”
Wu Xiaobo himself enjoyed outdoor sports. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen this kind of job. Although he was only an intern at the moment, he had already decided to formally join the company after graduation.
“Xiaobo, if I wanted to cross a no-man’s-land by myself, what kind of equipment would I need to order from your company?”
Su Xiaofan asked casually, “And what kind of training would I need? Roughly how much would everything cost?”
“Cross a no-man’s-land?”
Wu Xiaobo was stunned.
“Su Xiaofan, you’re the one thinking about doing that? You’re not joking with me, are you?”
“I’m just asking. Maybe I’ll have the opportunity someday.”
Su Xiaofan smiled.
“Crossing a no-man’s-land is extremely dangerous, especially if you’re going alone. Something could happen at any time.”
Wu Xiaobo became very serious.
“Old classmate, if you really have this idea, I’d advise you to forget it. Every year, people with the same idea die in these wilderness areas. Sometimes their remains can’t even be recovered.”
“We’re just chatting.”
Su Xiaofan laughed.
“Why don’t you tell us what you think is the safest way to survive in the wilderness for an extended period? Broaden our horizons.”
“You really did ask the right person. I just designed a wilderness survival plan for an outdoor mountaineering team recently.”
Once the conversation turned to his area of expertise, Wu Xiaobo became excited.
“Let me start with individual outdoor exploration. If you want to maximize your chances of staying safe, the first thing you need is equipment.
“And by equipment, I don’t mean a set of mountaineering clothes or a trekking pole or something like that.
“I mean a car!
“For places like no-man’s-land, a reliable off-road vehicle is countless times safer than a motorcycle.
“You’ll also need a waterproof backpack, sleeping bag, clothes and rain gear, as well as cooking equipment, food, and water. You absolutely have to make sure you have enough drinking water…
“Besides all that, a compass and positioning equipment, medical equipment and essential medicines are indispensable.
“Before setting out, you also need to plan your route and formulate an exploration plan.
“Old classmate, outdoor exploration isn’t as simple as it looks. Don’t watch a few foreign wilderness survival shows and assume that exploring the wilderness is easy…”
Although they had been classmates for three years and weren’t particularly close, Wu Xiaobo knew that Su Xiaofan had a somewhat adventurous personality and liked doing things his own way. So he was genuinely trying to persuade him.
“That really is quite troublesome. Meteorites aren’t easy to find.”
After listening to Wu Xiaobo, Su Xiaofan scratched his head.
Meteorites were directly related to his Repair Value. Whether he eventually became a meteorite hunter or spent money buying meteorites, he would probably have to deal with them frequently.
“Xiaobo, how much would a full set of this equipment cost from your company?”
After thinking about it, Su Xiaofan asked.
“Over a million yuan.”
Wu Xiaobo gave him a figure.
“That expensive?”
This time, it wasn’t just Su Xiaofan. Zhang Ji and the others in the car also cried out in surprise.
For students who were still living in the sheltered environment of university, that was obviously an astronomical sum.
“It’s not that much. I’m already estimating on the low side.”
Wu Xiaobo shook his head.
“A rugged and durable off-road vehicle alone would cost around 600,000 yuan. If you spend another 400,000 on the other equipment, you’d only be getting something in the upper-middle range.
“If you want top-of-the-line equipment, you’d need at least a million yuan to get started.
“And if you want to cross a no-man’s-land, you also need wilderness survival training. One training course at our company costs more than 30,000 yuan. That has to be included in the budget too.”
Earlier, Wu Xiaobo had only been talking about equipment costs. Now he had added the training fees as well.
According to him, this kind of training was absolutely necessary and could greatly increase one’s chances of surviving in the wilderness.
“Forget it. I’ll wait until the Repair System recovers and make some money first.”
Hearing Wu Xiaobo’s explanation, Su Xiaofan helplessly shook his head.
He had only 20,000 yuan left in his account, and he still owed another 150,000 yuan. Where was he supposed to find the money for wilderness survival training?
As they chatted, the car stopped in front of a large compound inside Beijing’s Second Ring Road.
Looking through the iron gate, they could see almost no lights inside, and there was barely any sound.
In the middle of bustling Beijing, it was an unusually quiet place.
“This is the place? Didn’t this used to belong to some government department?”
Wu Xiaobo got out of the car and looked somewhat uncertain.
“The class monitor and the others are over there. We just need to go in.”
Liu Fei had spotted Zhou Siwei’s car parked near the entrance.
“We already arranged everything. Just go inside. We’ll meet in the main hall.”
Seeing Su Xiaofan and the others getting out of the car, Zhou Siwei waved an OK sign and indicated that they could go straight in.
As expected, the security guard at the entrance didn’t stop them, and Su Xiaofan’s group entered the compound.
“There’s more to this place than meets the eye.”
Once they passed through the iron gate, Su Xiaofan and the others discovered that there was a large parking lot behind it.
On both sides of the parking lot were two rows of two-story buildings. There were hardly any lights on inside, with the exception of the brilliantly illuminated main halls.
“The east side is where you eat. The west side is where you sing.”
Zhou Siwei and the others walked over after parking the car.
“This used to be the compound of a ministry. Later, the ministry moved elsewhere, and someone bought the property and turned it into a private club. It only accepts members. Ordinary people aren’t allowed in.”
“Brother Zhou, you’re seriously impressive. You can even get into a place like this.”
Zhang Ji looked around exaggeratedly.
In reality, apart from Mo Zixuan, none of them had ever experienced this kind of exclusive private club before. It was also Su Xiaofan’s first time in a place like this.
“There used to be quite a lot of clubs like this. Later, many of them were shut down. The ones that remain now are all top-tier establishments, and they have very deep connections.”
Zhou Siwei smiled faintly as he walked.
“I only became a member because my family sometimes needs a place to entertain certain people, so they found a way to get me a membership. Coming once in a while is fine, but I can’t afford to come here regularly.”
In fact, Zhou Siwei had brought Sun Jiajia’s classmates here today largely because of Mo Zixuan.
Otherwise, a few university students wouldn’t have been worth spending money on at a place like this.
After all, the cheapest private room here cost 16,888 yuan just for the minimum spending requirement.
If they ordered expensive alcohol on top of that, spending over 100,000 yuan in a single night was perfectly normal. Zhou Siwei himself had only been here two or three times.
He first led everyone into a main hall that was comparable to a five-star hotel. Zhou Siwei quickly arranged the cheapest private room, which had a minimum spending requirement of 16,888 yuan.
Although the price was outrageous, the room really was worth it.
It was decorated in a magnificent, luxurious style and was more than 100 square meters in size. Various alcoholic drinks and snacks were spread across the coffee table in the middle of a circle of extravagant sofas.
Four servers—two men and two women—stood on either side of the sofas, quietly asking everyone what drinks they wanted. Their service was exceptionally attentive.
“There are more women here, so let’s get a bottle of champagne. Waiter, open a bottle of Armand de Brignac.”
Apart from Zhou Siwei, even Sun Jiajia, who had been here once before, seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
In the end, Zhou Siwei ordered some more drinks and encouraged everyone to start choosing songs.
“When are we going to be able to live like Brother Zhou?”
Zhang Ji clearly knew his way around.
“Brother Zhou, a bottle of Armand de Brignac costs more than 20,000 yuan, right? Shouldn’t we drink something cheaper?”
“It’s fine. I only come here occasionally. A bottle or two won’t bankrupt me.”
Zhou Siwei had initially been a little annoyed that he hadn’t brought along someone who knew how to play the role of a flattering sidekick today.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji was very good at it, making everyone realize just how extravagant today’s spending was.
After hearing Zhang Ji, everyone except Mo Zixuan and Su Xiaofan became even more uncomfortable.
Mo Zixuan had been to top-level private clubs before. The clubs she visited were even more luxurious than this one, and the people she encountered there were far beyond the circles Zhou Siwei could reach. So she didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
As for Su Xiaofan, he had spent several years in society.
Although he had gone from being a multimillionaire to bankrupt in just a few hours that day, his state of mind was completely different from before. He could remain calm even in a place like this.
Still, the extravagance of the club shocked Su Xiaofan somewhat.
In the past, he and Brother Gang had eaten at street food stalls and gone to ordinary KTVs with poor soundproofing. He had genuinely never been to such a high-end place.
The initial awkwardness quickly disappeared after a few drinks.
Especially once the singing began, the atmosphere in the private room became lively.
Although Zhou Siwei came from a good family, he didn’t actually have the spoiled, arrogant temperament of a rich playboy.
Throughout the evening, he took good care of everyone and even helped Su Xiaofan choose a song.
Of course, there was a clear priority when it came to taking care of people.
Mo Zixuan’s song was always placed first in the queue.
Those who weren’t singing started playing a dice game at Sun Jiajia and Zhang Ji’s suggestion.
Almost everyone joined in, and they had a great time.
They were all old classmates, and apart from Su Xiaofan, they were all still students, so nothing like the cliché scenes from novels—where someone shows off and then humiliates his opponents—happened.
After several rounds of drinking following the games, even Su Xiaofan became fully involved.
It was as if they had returned to their high-school days. The awkward distance created by several years apart had disappeared.
Su Xiaofan was actually a very good singer.
When it was his turn, he didn’t get nervous at all. He sang one of “Heavenly King” Jay Chou’s songs so well that everyone applauded.
However, Su Xiaofan knew who the real star of tonight’s gathering was, so afterward he refused to sing again and joined the games instead.
Everyone was in high spirits.
They continued playing until after eleven at night, finally ending the gathering at Mo Zixuan’s suggestion.
“Senior, I’ll drive you girls home. The club has other cars available too, so they can take everyone home.”
As they walked out of the private room, Zhou Siwei asked everyone to wait in the main hall for a moment so he could arrange transportation for them.
“No need. Yun Yun, Su Xiaofan, and I can just take a taxi home. We’re all at Yanjing University anyway. You’ve had a long day too, so go home and get some rest.”
Mo Zixuan smiled and shook her head.
“How can we do that? The cars will have designated drivers anyway.”
Zhou Siwei’s voice was a little loud.
As the host who had paid for the evening, he had been drinking beer, champagne, and red wine, while repeatedly being toasted by everyone. He hadn’t drunk a small amount, and the alcohol was beginning to affect him.
“This is nothing. How could I possibly be drunk? I could drink another round and still be fine…”
Zhou Siwei’s voice became even louder.
“Hey, isn’t that President Tong?”
At that moment, a group of people entered from outside.
As soon as the man at the front stepped through the door, the hostesses on both sides immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle to greet him.
The lobby manager, who had been talking to Zhou Siwei and the others, immediately went over to welcome him.
Zhou Siwei, who had been swaying slightly moments earlier, suddenly became much more sober when he saw the man leading the group.
“That person is the owner here. I heard he also owns a listed company and has a very powerful background.”
Zhou Siwei lowered his voice and told the people beside him.
“The last time I came here with my family for dinner, President Tong came over and toasted my father. My father was extremely pleased at the time. He felt it gave him a lot of face.”
“Tong Dongjie?”
Su Xiaofan also saw the newcomer and couldn’t help being stunned.
He had seen Tong Dongjie earlier that day at Jingxin Hall, but Tong Dongjie hadn’t displayed anything close to this kind of imposing presence then.
“President Tong is here. Jiajia, let go of me.”
Just then, Tong Dongjie noticed the group standing in the lobby and walked directly toward them.
Zhou Siwei quickly told Sun Jiajia to stop supporting him.
“Xiao Su, what a coincidence. Are you here singing with your friends?”
To Zhou Siwei and everyone else’s surprise, when President Tong came over, he seemed not to notice Zhou Siwei’s outstretched hand at all.
Instead, he patted Su Xiaofan on the shoulder.
“President Tong, what a coincidence indeed. I’m here with some classmates.”
Seeing the awkward expression on Zhou Siwei’s face beside him, Su Xiaofan smiled bitterly and greeted Tong Dongjie.
He had never expected to run into Tong Dongjie here.
Su Xiaofan really didn’t want to steal the spotlight tonight.
(End of Chapter)
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