Chapter 136: Tiancheng Company

Today, the Elegant Garden branch of Zhongtong Realty had received four clients in total. Zhang Wei’s team had handled only one of them, while Su Ning’s team had received the other three. Zhang Wei saw it all and grew increasingly anxious.

Although he was worried, Zhang Wei had no good solution. All he could do was hope to fill out his team as soon as possible. Yet by three in the afternoon, not a single new applicant had shown up.

The sweltering afternoon was the easiest time to feel drowsy. Zhang Wei lay sprawled across his desk, narrowing his eyes as he considered how he might take over the office after Xu Ming left. Once that happened, whenever he felt tired, he could simply sleep on the sofa. It would certainly be much more comfortable than sleeping with his head on the hard desk.

“Ring, ring…”

A loud ringtone suddenly sounded. Zhang Wei jolted awake, straightened up, and let out a yawn. He took out his phone and glanced at the screen. The number belonged to Fatty Zhou.

“Hello, Brother Zhou.” Zhang Wei walked out of the branch, pressed the answer button, and spoke.

“Mm. Zhang Wei, are you free right now?” Fatty Zhou asked over the phone.

“I am! I’m so bored I could scream.” Zhang Wei joked.

“Then come over to my place. Tomorrow is the day we officially negotiate with that real estate company. I’ll brief you on the company’s situation later,” Fatty Zhou said.

“All right. I’ll be there right away.” Zhang Wei agreed readily. He had been worrying about how to occupy himself, and Fatty Zhou’s call had come at exactly the right time.

“Sister Lin, I need to step out for a while. If anything urgent comes up at the branch, just call me. If someone comes in to apply for a job, you can interview them for me, or ask them to come back another day.”

After hanging up, Zhang Wei returned to the branch and gave Li Lin a few instructions.

“Go ahead. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of things here.” Li Lin nodded.

Zhang Wei’s willingness to entrust the branch to Li Lin while he was away was a sign of his trust in her. Naturally, Li Lin had no reason to refuse. If she turned him down, she would only appear ungrateful.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After giving Li Lin his instructions, Zhang Wei left the Elegant Garden branch and walked toward Fragrant River Villas.

The residential compound was heavily landscaped. Tall trees grew along both sides of its roads, all of them transplanted from forests, each with decades of growth behind it.

Dense foliage blocked out the scorching sunlight, and the roads were covered in cool, dappled shade. The air felt far more pleasant than outside, prompting Zhang Wei to sigh. High-end residential communities really did offer a more comfortable environment.

Zhang Wei was extremely excited as he made his way to Fragrant River Villas. It was not because Fatty Zhou had promised him a generous bonus if the deal succeeded, but because he was looking forward to gaining firsthand exposure to the primary real estate market.

Zhang Wei’s career was still at a relatively low level. He did not yet have the qualifications or ability to enter real estate development, which was why he was taking the land negotiations so seriously. He hoped to use this opportunity to learn more about the procedures and knowledge involved in property development.

When Zhang Wei arrived at Fatty Zhou’s home, the housekeeper opened the door and led him into the living room on the first floor. This was not Zhang Wei’s first visit, but the luxurious interior still stirred his envy.

Besides Fatty Zhou and his wife, a man and a woman were seated on the sofa. They both appeared to be around thirty. The man was of average build, with refined features. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and black trousers. Sitting upright with his back straight, he looked somewhat restrained.

The woman sat beside him. Her face was heavily made up, and she had a plump figure. She wore a cool camisole top and an extremely short white skirt, leaving her fleshy thighs bare and lending her a distinctly alluring air.

“Brother Zhou, Sister Wu.” Zhang Wei greeted them with a smile.

“Brother, come over and sit down.” Fatty Zhou hurriedly rose to welcome him. Then he said to the housekeeper nearby, “Sister Wang, bring over some iced sour-plum soup so my brother can cool down.”

“Zhang Wei, you got here quickly. Isn’t work busy these days? Are there many people buying houses?” Wu Qian asked with concern.

“There are quite a few buyers, but I’m the branch manager now, so I don’t have to personally follow every client. I have much more free time than before.” Zhang Wei smiled.

“You rose through the ranks pretty quickly. Why didn’t you mention it last time?” Fatty Zhou asked in surprise.

“It’s only a branch manager’s position. Nothing worth making a fuss over, so I didn’t bring it up.”

Fatty Zhou was a billionaire. In front of him, being the manager of a real estate agency branch was hardly worth mentioning. Zhang Wei would never go around boasting about such a minor achievement. He might even be laughed at for having such limited horizons.

“Brother Zhou, what are the names of these two friends?” Zhang Wei extended his right hand toward the man and woman across from him.

“Oh, look at my memory. I forgot to introduce you.” Fatty Zhou slapped his thigh and pointed at the man. “This is my brother-in-law, Zhang Mingyi. You share the same surname, so you two should get to know each other. Stay in touch from now on.”

“Hello, I’m Zhang Wei.” Zhang Wei rose and extended his hand.

“Hello, my name is Zhang Mingyi. I hope we can look out for each other in the future.” Zhang Mingyi quickly stood and shook his hand.

“This is my sister-in-law, Wu Yue. She’s our family’s famous little firecracker. Her temper can be quite fierce.” Fatty Zhou pointed at the woman across from them and teased her.

“Brother-in-law, what are you saying? Is that any way to introduce someone?” Wu Yue rolled her large eyes and glared at him, clearly displeased.

“Hello, Miss Wu Yue.” Zhang Wei nodded politely.

“So you’re Zhang Wei? You look pretty ordinary. My brother-in-law made you sound like some incredible person, so I really thought you had three heads and six arms.” Wu Yue studied him with an appraising gaze and smiled.

“I’m not Nezha, the Third Prince of the Investiture of the Gods.”

Wu Yue’s remark left Zhang Wei both amused and speechless. He had no idea how Fatty Zhou had described him, but in any case, there was no reason to associate him with someone who had three heads and six arms.

“My brother-in-law said you know how to read microexpressions and can tell whether someone is lying. Is that really true?” Wu Yue leaned forward, pressing her ample breasts together into a deep cleavage, and asked with wide eyes.

“When I was at university, my coursework was relatively light, so I spent my free time studying microexpression analysis. I’ve achieved a certain level of proficiency.”

In Europe and the United States, microexpression analysis had already become an independent field of study. Hundreds of people researched it, though no one knew how many had truly mastered the discipline. For Zhang Wei, however, it was the perfect way to conceal his mind-reading ability.

“Really? Then demonstrate it for us. Ask me a question. I’ll answer, and you can tell whether I’m being sincere.” Wu Yue made the suggestion with great interest.

Zhang Wei’s brows drew together slightly. He was not some street fortune-teller. Why should he deliberately prove his abilities just to make people believe in them?

Moreover, Zhang Wei had discovered that using his mind-reading ability placed a certain strain on his body and consumed a great deal of energy. Using it occasionally would not cause any serious problems, but if he used it too frequently, it could leave behind aftereffects such as insomnia, fatigue, and dizziness. Unless there was something to be gained, he would not use the ability recklessly.

“Mr. Zhang, here is your iced sour-plum soup.” Just as Zhang Wei was considering how to refuse, the housekeeper, Sister Wang, walked over and placed a glass container filled with sour-plum soup in front of him.

“Thank you, Sister Wang.” Zhang Wei smiled, then lifted the container and took a sip, intending to brush off Wu Yue’s question.

“Zhang Wei, did you hear what I said?” Wu Yue pouted and pressed him relentlessly. “If you don’t agree, I’ll assume you’re a fraud.”

“That’s enough. You’re always the one talking. Why do you have so many ridiculous questions?” Seeing the trace of impatience on Zhang Wei’s face, Fatty Zhou scolded her.

“Brother Zhou, which company are we negotiating with tomorrow? Tell me the basic details.” To prevent Wu Yue from continuing to pester him, Zhang Wei quickly changed the subject.

“All right. These are the documents on the real estate company selling the land, along with information about the property and copies of the relevant paperwork.” Fatty Zhou took a thick stack of documents from a leather briefcase and handed them to Zhang Wei.

“All right. I’ll take a look.” Zhang Wei accepted the documents with both hands. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. The chance to become involved in real estate development filled him with inexplicable excitement.

“Please. It’s just microexpression analysis. You act as though you’re some kind of expert. What’s so impressive about that?” Wu Yue muttered as she watched Zhang Wei read through the documents.

Although Zhang Wei heard her complaint, he ignored her completely and had no intention of responding. Fatty Zhou had mentioned Zhang Mingyi and Wu Yue before, so Zhang Wei already knew a little about them.

Zhang Mingyi worked in real estate marketing. His specialty was property planning, positioning, and promotion. In other words, he was the professional involved in this negotiation. Wu Yue was probably targeting Zhang Wei because she was afraid he would steal her husband’s limelight.

Zhang Wei had no interest in playing such petty games with her. He simply opened the file and continued reading. But when he glanced at the name of the company selling the land, he was so surprised that he murmured, “Tiancheng Real Estate Development Company? What are the odds?”

“What is it? Do you know this company?” Fatty Zhou, who was sitting nearby, had heard him and asked.

“Uh, a classmate of mine works there.” A bitter smile appeared on Zhang Wei’s face. The person was not merely his university classmate—she was also his former girlfriend.