This was Beidou’s East Third Ring, the most bustling CBD area, with the 53,000-square-meter lake of the Agricultural Exhibition Hall right next to it.
It was almost seven in the evening, the sky was not yet dark with the city lights illuminating six glass crystal palace buildings that shimmered against the lake view, forming one of the top ten high-end communities in Beidou...
融创·Beidou No.1 Courtyard.
The community was surrounded by eight major commercial hubs such as Yansha, Sanlitun, and International Trade, featuring Beidou’s most densely packed, high-end international facilities. Looking southward, one could see Huaxia’s most expensive skyscraper, towering at 528 meters, also known as the "Huaxia Zun," the Beidou Citic Tower.
As an employee of Colliers International’s property management company in Beidou, the 25-year-old Huang Duming stood at the window of the property office with a cup of coffee, gazing at the city night scene, his eyes full of ambition.
... Someday, among the dazzling lights of this city, there should be one that belongs to him.
Of course, he dared not think of the lights in the "Beidou No.1 Courtyard" community that they served at Colliers International.
By working hard, the light belonging to him might shine beyond the Fifth Ring, with luck, beyond the Sixth Ring, but in any case, Huang Duming, who had graduated just two or three years ago, had not yet lost his dreams.
As a graduate from a prestigious school in broadcasting and hosting, he originally could have returned home to smoothly secure a civil service job and spend the rest of his life leisurely, but he ultimately chose to stay in Beidou to challenge his limits.
Huang Duming was just a microcosm of countless young people drifting in Beidou. Though he ended up in a property management company by a stroke of chance, to his surprise, his professional skills matched well. His articulate nature and deft handling of several tricky customer disputes earned him his superiors’ appreciation, allowing him to quickly stand out among grassroots employees and become a team leader.
Winning the property tenders for Beidou No.1 Courtyard, Colliers International was, of course, no small company but an international property firm with offices in 66 countries and regions around the world, which is why Huang Duming believed his future was bright.
However, he still wasn’t used to the Beidou diet, having come from Xiang Province.
Tearing open the spicy dried fish in his hand, he took a few bites and was ready to work overtime until the early morning.
Normally, he could get off work at six today, especially since he had worked a night shift just yesterday, but tonight was different...
One resident had already noted they would host a party today, so their property company naturally had to cooperate fully, and he volunteered to stay behind.
One reason was performance, and another was the hundred some residents currently living in this community were all either rich or noble; who knows what opportunities might be hidden among them?
Thinking about it, still not quite assured, Huang Duming stood up and left the office to start patrolling around.
"Little Liu, have you sent the access codes to the residents? Are you sure they received it? Best to call and confirm, mind your words..."
"Huahua, tell the agents that house viewings are not allowed tonight. Those bringing clients for rental should come tomorrow instead to prevent any mess."
"Little Zhou, your tie color isn’t quite right, you’re going over to the lobby area for your shift soon, right? Here, go to my desk drawer, there’s a black tie, you can use it for now."
After making a round, Huang Duming arrived at the entrance of the community.
Under the ginkgo tree, whose edges were beginning to turn yellow, stood a security guard wearing an olive-green uniform and white gloves. Seeing his earnest demeanor, Huang Duming nodded in satisfaction and walked over to greet him with a smile.
"Brother Wang, thank you for your hard work, I left a pack of cigarettes in your duty room. It’s a special batch from another resident, supposed to be good, you should try it later..."
"Leader Huang, you’re always so considerate, we feel a bit embarrassed..."
The security guard quickly responded with a smile.
"We’re all colleagues, it’s nothing... Any issues?"
Huang Duming was just asking casually, given Beidou No.1 Courtyard’s location and being in a city like Beidou, it was unlikely anything troublesome would happen. Yet, the security guard pointed with his chin towards the distance.
"Nothing much, just that woman over there has been lingering at the gate for quite a while. I noticed her watching passing residents, not sure what she’s planning, and since she’s standing quite far, it’s hard for me to approach her..."
"Oh?"
That made Huang Duming understand why Brother Wang seemed so serious earlier. He turned his head in surprise, and indeed saw a woman in a long windbreaker at the street corner, holding a phone, occasionally looking up and around, appearing somewhat suspicious.
"I’ll go see what’s going on."
Waving his hand, Huang Duming strode over, and upon reaching close, saw a girl fiddling with a phone, a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes.
Her shoulder-length hair was slightly dyed chestnut, skin fair, nose high and straight, and features well-groomed. Coupled with naturally pretty facial features, even just her side profile left Huang Duming momentarily dazed.
After just staring for two seconds, he suddenly found her familiar, and as she sensed something and lifted her head, Huang Duming finally recognized her.
"Are you... Xu Lingyue?"
"Brother Huang?"
Xu Lingyue was also surprised, "What are you doing here?"