Zhou Wang felt a bit puzzled, was this woman serious, could she still be upset about last night?
But when they had dinner with Jiang Mo yesterday, she didn’t seem to show any particular emotion, Zhou Wang thought she had at least calmed down...
Unable to understand, Zhou Wang could only wave his hand, "Get in the car."
The interesting part was that typically, Jiang Qingkui would automatically sit in the back seat with Zhou Wang, but this time, after opening the door for him, she walked straight to the front passenger seat.
Zhou Wang shrugged and said nothing, letting her have her way.
The vehicle started, leaving the Waldorf Hotel parking lot, heading towards the direction of the East Fourth Ring.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, the Huo Family Boxing style is flexible, ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, living life should be complete..."
Without a word, Zhou Wang was just listening to music, watching the scenery outside the window, the Burmester sound system in the Audi A6L had a great surround effect, Zhou Wang hummed an old rap song, looking quite lively.
At some point, Zhou Wang glanced up and noticed Jiang Qingkui was glaring at him from the rearview mirror, eyes wide open, Zhou Wang grinned at her, only to receive a glare in return.
Ringing...
At that moment, Jiang Qingkui’s phone rang, she glanced at it and signaled Zhou Wang to turn down the volume, which he obviously ignored. Frustrated, Jiang Qingkui bit her lip and answered the call directly.
"Hello, Mom..."
As soon as Jiang Qingkui spoke the first word, Zhou Wang quickly gestured for Miao Ying to lower the volume, and he shut his mouth too.
In Zhou Wang’s impression, Jiang Qingkui’s mother, Ms. Li, was not someone easy to deal with. When they were young in the compound, Ms. Li was considered the most fashionable among the group and quite sharp-tongued. Anyway, Zhou Wang was rather afraid of her...
As the car quieted down, Jiang Qingkui snorted softly, winking at Zhou Wang triumphantly like she’d won, then switched to speakerphone.
Ms. Li Xiaolei’s voice, carrying a hint of joy, came from the other end of the line.
"Qingkui, can you talk right now?"
"I can, there’s no one next to me... Mom, do you have something to tell me?"
"You silly child, why didn’t you help us refuse it? How could you let Zhou Wang spend so much? Whatever this big favor is, how are we going to pay it back..."
"Ah?"
Jiang Qingkui was initially stunned, then quickly sat up, "Mom, what are you talking about, Zhou Wang... what did he spend on?"
"Hmm? You don’t know?"
Li Xiaolei seemed puzzled, "Zhou Wang sent his housekeeper, a Ms. Chen, to visit me and your dad in Jing City, bringing loads of stuff, saying it’s because he didn’t give you time off during the Mid-Autumn Festival..."
"The things he sent are just too expensive, your dad and I were both a bit stunned at the time. The Ms. Chen said everything was bought through import channels, couldn’t be returned..."
"I didn’t quite get it, but I checked online just now, and these La Prairie cosmetics seem to cost tens of thousands each, and Zhou Wang bought two complete sets for me..."
"The fishing rod he got for your dad, Uncle Wang says costs over a hundred thousand, and there’s a TV, a massage chair, a mattress..."
"Your dad and I just tallied it all up, and together, it’s over two million..."
"How much?"
Jiang Qingkui listened in a daze until finally asking in shock.
"Two million!"
Li Xiaolei emphasized again, then cleared her throat, "Qingkui, I have to ask you, is there something more between you and Zhou Wang..."
Jiang Qingkui didn’t hear what Li Xiaolei said after that, she responded absentmindedly a couple of times and hung up before Li Xiaolei finished.
The car fell silent, with Jiang Qingkui looking at Zhou Wang with a complicated gaze, wanting to say something but not finding the words, then turning away, only to turn back again to glance at Zhou Wang...
After this happened several times, Zhou Wang, becoming exasperated, waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I know you want to come to the back seat again, but we’re almost there. Just stay put, you can’t possibly crawl over, can you?"
Jiang Qingkui’s pretty face turned crimson, yet she still huffed softly, "Who wants to sit in the back with you..."
But when Jiang Qingkui turned to look out the window, she couldn’t help but slightly curve her mouth into a smile.
...
Douyin Group, formerly known as "ByteDance," was registered in 2012, launching its first flagship product, "Today’s Headlines."
However, what truly propelled the company was the release of the "Douyin Short Video" app in September 2016.
People who lived through the past decade should be well aware of how impressive an app this was.
It was a groundbreaking creation perfectly matching smartphones, 4G networks, and fragmented leisure, directly altering the way entertainment was consumed by the masses.
The industries it spawned, like mobile live streaming and e-commerce, have sustained countless people, creating numerous rags-to-riches tales.
The Douyin Group building located at the North Third Ring in Beidou wasn’t the only one in the city; several other vast structures were scattered in areas like the East Fourth Ring, serving as Douyin’s offices throughout Beidou.
Yet the North Third Ring building was the company’s registered address, so strictly speaking, it was Douyin’s true headquarters.
Under the soft autumn sunlight in the afternoon, the six-story-high outermost Douyin building stood at the junction of two streets, with double-layer glass curtain walls giving it a modern and advanced look.