Chapter 281 - Extravagant hope (1/2)

Society would always show you how practical it was. No matter how friendly or passionate you were, you would only be marginalized and struggle on the outskirts of society unless you had your own actual abilities.

No matter what industry you were in, there would always be a society for it. No matter if you competed or worked together with others, you would still become a part of that society. If you insisted on being independent without trying to join this society, then either you would have to be powerful enough to completely suppress this society, or the society would crush you. That was just how societies worked in China.

No matter what laws there might be, China was still a country where society relied on connections. Chinese adults shouldn’t have dreams about how warm or nice this world was. They would only be able to fight for their own path. It would be better to try and fail than regret not even having tried.

“Doctor Zhang, I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognize you. Sigh, what an embarrassment in my age!” Vice President Chen said as he shook hands with Zhang Fan.

“Vice President Chen, you’re being too polite. I can understand. Anyone in such a situation would be like this. No need for you to worry over it.”

“Haha! Nice and direct. I love interacting with people like you. Please get in the car!” Vice President Chen personally held open the Mercedes Benz’ car door for Zhang Fan. Vice President Chen’s driver was really surprised by what he saw!

“Vice President Chen, you should get on first! Sigh, no need to be so polite with me. You should get in first.”

“Phew, I came here today to apologize to you. Age doesn’t matter here. Only friendship does. You should be first, you should be first.” The two of them politely got in the car together.

Although Zhang Fan had always been driving nice cars ever since he learned how to drive, his cars still couldn’t compare to a luxury car like Mercedes Benz. The Mercedes Benz was quite spacious and comfortable inside. It was also quiet to the point where the engine’s sound couldn’t be heard.

“Doctor Zhang, you’re really quite talented for your age. It’s truly astonishing. Thank you so much for helping with Yaya’s surgery this time. I didn’t think that you wouldn’t mind how I treated you. How rare!” Vice President Chen was still a bit afraid of what might have happened without Zhang Fan.

“Haha, it’s nothing much. Yaya has such a nice uncle.” Zhang Fan was no match at all for someone with far more social experience than him. He didn’t even know how to respond to Vice President Chen’s praise.

“Sigh! My younger sister’s personality isn’t very good. Although she’s doing quite well financially, she’s having problems getting along with her husband. Who else would care if not for me!” Vice President Chen sighed as his family had their own difficulties just like many other families.

Yaya’s parents had both originally been employees of a nationally owned corporation. They later resigned and started their own raw materials supply company with assistance from Vice President Chen, who was Yaya’s mother’s older brother.

Yaya’s parents became rather wealthy themselves several years after starting their own company. However, Yaya’s mother had a poor temper, which caused her marriage to break down. Yaya’s father was unable to take her temper, so he went far away to inland China, although the two hadn’t gotten divorced. Yaya also started to go down a wild path in life due to her family circumstances.

Sometimes, having just the right amount of money would be better. Too much wealth all of a sudden wouldn’t always be a good thing.

J Hotel was the best hotel in all of Chasu City. The atmosphere at the dinner was quite nice. Everyone was having fun. Vice President Chen was excellent at setting the atmosphere. He was quite skilled at cracking jokes.

Zhang Fan didn’t drink any alcohol, but Vice President Chen didn’t mind at all. He drank three glasses of white wine in toast to Zhang Fan while the latter drank only soda. Vice President Chen was really talented at making others feel comfortable!

Zhang Fan’s cell phone rang during the meal. “Hello? Oh, you were able to buy them? Thank you. I’m in the middle of a meal right now. I’ll give you the money when I meet up with you. Sorry to have troubled you!”

“Bro, you’re looking down on me if you think I need any money from you for this. Where are you right now? I’ll come bring the tickets to you!”

“I’m currently eating a meal at J Hotel! Have you eaten dinner yet? How about joining us?” Zhang Fan said rather awkwardly.

“No need, Bro. I’ve already eaten dinner. I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Just wait for me in front of the hotel.” The person speaking on the cell phone with Zhang Fan was the patient who had been hospitalized for a fight and tried to exaggerate the degree of his injuries in order to scam more money out of the other party’s parents.

It had been impossible for Zhang Fan to find a ticket scalper, since Chasu City was a relatively small city in China. Zhang Fan had no idea how to find tickets, so he tried to ask this former patient of his. Although this youngster had tried to exaggerate his injuries, he really liked Zhang Fan, and had asked for Zhang Fan’s contact information before being discharged from the hospital.

Although the two had never called each other before, they would always exchange holiday greetings by text message with each other. Zhang Fan figured that this youngster might be better acquainted with the locals here, which was why he decided to ask the youngster about getting some tickets to Daolang’s concert.

“What’s going on? You have a friend who’s coming over? Let’s have the servers add another chair.” Vice President Chen was sitting next to Zhang Fan. General surgery Director Zhao was sitting at the seat of honor. Although this was a round table, Vice President Chen didn’t give Zhang Fan the seat of honor, as he knew that would be rather inappropriate considering the latter’s young age. Zhang Fan was sitting at the end as he was the youngest, while Vice President Chen sat next to him.

“No need for such trouble, Vice President Chen. My friend has already eaten dinner. I asked him to buy two concert tickets for me,” Zhang Fan explained.

“Oh!” Vice President Chen didn’t delve more into this matter. Sometime later, Zhang Fan’s cell phone rang again. Zhang Fan glanced at the caller ID, then excused himself from the room, and went to the hotel’s entrance.

The youngster still seemed to behave like a casual hoodlum. He was smoking while roaming around everywhere. His eyes lit up when he saw Zhang Fan. The youngster hurriedly came over while saying, “Bro! Here’s two tickets. The position’s quite good as it’s in the middle. You should have told me earlier. I could have gotten front row tickets for you then, but it’s a bit too late for that now.”