Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 346 - 347

Chapter 346: 347

"By the way, the people who came in just now all seemed to follow the lead of the one who was speaking. Who was that person?" someone noticed the issue and asked Song Xiaodong.

At that moment, Song Xiaodong had to say, "He is the Director of the Municipal Government Office."

Everyone was stunned, especially Wang Yuming and Cui Sijiao, both of whom were civil servants and thus quite sensitive to the ranks of their leadership. Although the Director of the Municipal Government Office wasn’t exceptionally high-ranking, it was still slightly higher than a district bureau chief.

However, he often stayed with the city’s leaders, which meant his influence was much stronger than that of a district bureau chief. This was also why their own bureau chief deferred to Zhao Yongbo.

Since a character like Zhao Yongbo showed great respect to Song Xiaodong, it implied that Song Xiaodong had significant influence in official circles.

"Ding-dong-dong." The sound of knocking came again.

Everyone first glanced at the private room’s door, then all turned to look at Song Xiaodong.

Song Xiaodong could only say, "Come in."

The door opened, and Chen Jun walked in, coming directly to Song Xiaodong’s side. He whispered awkwardly, "Mr. Song, the lady just called me, and I accidentally mentioned you were here. She insisted on coming over, and she’s now outside. However, she wants to ask first if she can come in?"

Song Xiaodong glanced at Chen Jun and said, "She’s already here, can I have her wait outside? Let her in."

Chen Jun chuckled and said, "Then I’ll get the lady to come in."

Chen Jun’s words to Song Xiaodong were unheard by everyone else, but when they heard this last bit, they were all quite puzzled. The lady? Was Song Xiaodong bringing a girl? What was going on?

After Chen Jun left, a stunningly beautiful woman walked in. She wore a simple yet elegant white dress and had a face so sublime it seemed angelic.

"Brother Dongzi!" Xiao Yingying called out crisply, then walked straight to Song Xiaodong’s side.

Su Yao immediately moved aside to offer a seat, saying, "Please, have a seat."

Xiao Yingying smiled sweetly at Su Yao and said, "Thank you, sister. Wow, you’re really pretty too. You’re not Brother Dongzi’s lover, are you?"

Su Yao instantly felt awkward and rushed to clarify, "No, no, I’m just his classmate and also his secretary."

"Oh, I see. I’m Brother Dongzi’s lover. Nice to meet you all." As Xiao Yingying spoke, she sat down next to Song Xiaodong and hugged his arm, pouting her lips and saying, "Brother Dongzi, I’ve missed you so much. You haven’t visited me in days."

The men in the room nearly popped their eyes out. Such a beautiful girl claimed to be Song Xiaodong’s lover, and he hadn’t visited her in days. If it were them, they’d probably be revolving around this beauty daily.

Wang Yuming, who now especially wanted to mend his relationship with Song Xiaodong, quickly said with a smile, "Dongzi, you haven’t introduced your beautiful little lover to us yet."

Song Xiaodong cleared his throat and said, "This is Xiao Yingying, my friend."

Xiao Yingying pouted and said, "Brother Dongzi, you already promised to be my lover, and there’s no girlfriend of yours here. You still won’t admit it, you bad boy."

Wang Yuming said hastily, "Dongzi, you’re really lucky, having a beautiful girl like Xiao Yingying taking the initiative to be your lover—it really makes us envious."

"Exactly, we’re totally envious." A group of boys readily agreed.

Zhou Peng, no longer daring to act big in front of Song Xiaodong, cautiously asked, "I heard that gentleman refer to her as Miss just now. May I ask what does this beautiful lady’s family do?"

Xiao Yingying, with a smiling face, said, "My dad is Xiao Haiqing, he’s probably in business. What exactly he does, I’m not sure."

"Xiao Haiqing... what? Xiao Haiqing!" Zhou Peng muttered to himself, then suddenly exclaimed aloud, staring wide-eyed at Xiao Yingying and Song Xiaodong.

"What’s wrong? You wouldn’t happen to have a grudge against my dad, would you?" Xiao Yingying, covering her chest in surprise, looked at Zhou Peng.

Song Xiaodong took Xiao Yingying’s hand, guarding her heart. Luckily, she had been recovering well lately; otherwise, Zhou Peng’s shout might have made her sick.

"Zhou Peng, who exactly is Xiao Haiqing?" Everyone looked at Zhou Peng, puzzled.

Zhou Peng grinned bitterly and said, "He’s the chairman of Xiao Corporation, a well-known big company in Tiannan City."

"What? The chairman of Xiao Corporation? Doesn’t that mean Xiao Yingying’s family is also worth over a billion?"

"My God, and she wants to be Dongzi’s lover? That must be madness!"

The crowd was shocked once again, then looked at Song Xiaodong and Xiao Yingying as if they were seeing monsters.

Xiao Yingying smiled sweetly, leaned her head on Song Xiaodong’s shoulder, and said, "I don’t care. I just like Brother Dongzi, and I want to be his lover."

Everyone felt their brains couldn’t quite handle it. What was going on?

If Chen Zixu and Zhao Yongbo and their group coming to toast Song Xiaodong wasn’t shocking enough, Xiao Yingying’s appearance was an absolute bombshell.

Being well-connected might imply that Song Xiaodong’s background was not simple. For example, he had a girlfriend like Miao Qingqing, but even a wealthy young lady like Xiao Yingying was willingly being his lover—this was a testament to Song Xiaodong’s charm and strength.

Zhou Peng now realized why Su Yao said he couldn’t compare to Song Xiaodong. His own standing was nothing in comparison to Song Xiaodong; with the resources that Song Xiaodong held, achieving them was something he could never manage in his lifetime.

As for Su Yao, he now dared not entertain any thoughts. She was already Song Xiaodong’s secretary, and being a secretary meant a lot—being busy with secretarial work, and possibly already one of Song Xiaodong’s lovers.

"Dongzi, let me toast you. I was really blind to mock you before. I hope you can forgive my petty faults and not stoop down to my level," Zhou Peng said as he proactively raised his glass.

Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and said, "Fellow classmates, I, Song Xiaodong, haven’t been to college, and my memories of elementary and middle school are not vivid; only my high school friends are the best friends of my life. So, I hope everyone can overlook social statuses, and we can just be classmates. Hang out and chat over drinks—that’s what I really hope to see."

Everyone echoed in agreement, secretly delighted. Song Xiaodong’s words meant he was letting bygones be bygones, and with this connection as classmates, they might be able to gain some benefits from him.

I’ll post thrice a day for the next few days, then save up some material for New Year’s visits, as I won’t be able to write during those. After my birthday, which is on the eighth day of the new year, I plan to burst into action!