He turned and asked,
“Is there a celebrity opening a restaurant nearby?”
One of the staff, who had already heard the gossip, replied,
“Boss Hou, it’s the crew from Seasons of the Wealthy. They’re filming nearby. Apparently, the guests are opening restaurants and competing based on revenue—there’s even a bidding segment. Seems like they want to showcase the business skills of rich heirs.”
Boss Hou’s curiosity was piqued, though only slightly.
He figured shows like that were usually just for fun.
He took a few steps and casually asked,
“Who are the guests?”
“There’s Ruan Nian—she was once the spokesperson for one of our brand lines. You might remember her. Then Chu Yanze, Su Yubai, Liang Zhiwei. And as for the rich heirs, there’s Li Xunxi, Li Xunwen—siblings—and Gu Zhaoping.”
Suddenly, Boss Hou stopped in his tracks.
“Gu Zhaoping?”
His staff didn’t understand why he asked that so suddenly.
But if someone who’d been at the scene back then were present, they’d recognize Boss Hou as the very investor who stormed out of Yuanqi Technology.
He was the president of Aurora Green Energy Group, a leading company in the new energy sector.
He was very familiar with the name Gu Zhaoping—she was the one who had stood up at Yuanqi’s financial summary meeting and directly exposed their severe financial issues.
No wonder Boss Hou had reacted so strongly at the time.
Years ago, his own company had suffered a similar crisis—an executive had committed financial fraud, creating a massive debt hole and nearly freezing all their assets.
Boss Hou had fought through that crisis and rebuilt the company to its current standing.
So he had zero tolerance for those kinds of problems.
But he’d been impressed by Gu Zhaoping.
He had only previously dealt with Gu Zhaoye, and knew that all of the Gu family’s younger generation had their own businesses and were doing fairly well.
But he’d never heard of Gu Zhaoping’s area of expertise.
He wasn’t normally interested in their gossip, but after seeing her at that meeting, he had a high opinion of her—clearly an outstanding young woman from the Gu family.
Judging by her age, maybe she had just finished her studies, which was why she hadn’t made waves before.
Now that he heard she was part of this program, Boss Hou became quite intrigued.
He said,
“Let’s go take a look. I happen to be free right now.”
His staff was a bit stunned.
They had no idea why their boss suddenly became interested.
Boss Hou was already over fifty.
In terms of net worth, he was on par with the Gu family.
To him, both Gu Zhaoping and Gu Zhaoye were just juniors.
No one expected that a business magnate like him would take interest in a celebrity cooking competition—or go eat a low-calorie hot pot.
A group of them arrived at the restaurant’s entrance.
Boss Hou looked around with interest.
At that moment, a server came up and asked if they wanted to dine in.
Boss Hou didn’t refuse.
He said,
“I’ll give it a try.”
He waved his subordinates off and found a seat on his own.
The place was bustling.
At first, he thought it was just the celebrity factor.
But after sitting for a while, he realized—it wasn’t just that.
He overheard people’s conversations while eating.
As a dish arrived and he took a bite, he exclaimed,
“Huh?”
It was much better than he expected.
He wasn’t someone who cared much about food, but this dish was unique and genuinely delicious—something that could definitely stand out among the eateries on this street.
Boss Hou became more and more interested.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance, talking to someone about ingredients.
In a moment of movement in the crowd, she turned her head—and her gaze landed right on him.
He had assumed she wouldn’t remember him—they had only met once, and he had a pretty average face.
But Gu Zhaoping quickly wrapped up her conversation and walked toward him with long strides.
She sat down across from him and said: “Mr. Hou, I remember that Aurora Green Energy is nearby. I didn’t expect you’d come to give us a try.”
Boss Hou was surprised.
“Miss Gu, you remember me?”
“Very clearly. A CEO who is so decisive and quick to identify and stop financial issues—you’re worth remembering.”
She remembered anyone who could be of help to her career.
Gu Zhaoping smiled politely and handed over the menu, pointing to two of their signature dishes.
“You should try our new recipes—healthy, low-calorie, suitable even for fitness diets.”
Boss Hou laughed.
She really was passionate about everything she did.
At the finance conference, she was a sharp and capable financial advisor and top student.
Now running a restaurant, she looked every bit the dedicated and meticulous owner.
As he waited for his food, he complimented her while sharing his observations on the way over…
“Miss Gu, you’ve done an excellent job. In just a single day, you’ve managed to draw in a crowd here. From a market positioning perspective, your grasp of the target customer group’s needs is spot-on. You quickly identified your consumer base and found a local market gap. Your differentiation strategy has been remarkably effective. Your market insight and decision-making are impressive.”
He didn’t even need to ask to know who had made all these decisions.
Gu Zhaoping smiled slightly and said,
“Thank you for the compliment. It was part of the game in the show—and I’m glad it caught your attention.”
“Even the smallest game is a simulation of business warfare. Everything starts small, and it’s from the subtle details that real skill emerges,”
Mr. Hou said with a smile.
“Miss Gu, the fact that you treat even a game so seriously—that’s an attitude we all ought to learn from.”
“Please, just call me Zhaoping. There’s a Zen saying—’one time, one meeting.’ Since we’ve had the fortune of meeting twice in such a short time, it must be fate. I’d be honored if you’d try the new dishes we’re launching, just a small token of appreciation for your praise. I hope it’s not too modest?”
Mr. Hou laughed heartily,
“It must be fate, yes indeed! Oh, by the way, Zhaoping, are you going to the new energy industry summit in Los Angeles in a while with your elder?”
Gu Zhaoping looked a bit surprised.
“Now that’s really a coincidence. My grandfather asked me to accompany him—but it’s still under wraps for now.”
Mr. Hou immediately guessed it had something to do with internal family rivalries and didn’t pry further.
He simply said,
“Well, that is a coincidence. Since you’re going with Old Master Gu, please pass along my regards. See you over there then.”
Since Mr. Hou didn’t know much about Gu Zhaoping’s past, he wasn’t surprised at all that she’d attend the summit—he found it perfectly natural.
With such sharp perception, calm execution, and potential, who else would they bring?
That Gu Zhaoye, whom even he had misjudged?
Just then, the restaurant finally quieted down a bit, and Liang Zhiwei personally brought the dishes Miss Zhaoping ordered to the table.
She politely greeted the group, knowing they were acquaintances of her sister Zhaoping and didn’t ask further.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Hou looked up at her in surprise, pointed, and asked,
“Oh, are you…that Nian something?”
Liang Zhiwei paused, caught off guard, both amused and exasperated.
From some angles, she did resemble Ruan Nian a bit.
“I’m Liang Zhiwei. A lot of people say I look like Ruan Nian.”
Only then did Mr. Hou realize and said, “Oh,” quickly adding,
“Sorry about that.”
He had just been thinking she must be the spokesperson they had previously hired for a product line—elegant temperament, great cooking skills.
But it turned out she wasn’t, and while he was surprised, he felt a little disappointed too.
At that moment, a car passed by outside the restaurant.
Gu Zhaoye rubbed his temples, following the location pin Ruan Nian had sent him.
Just then, he looked up—and suddenly froze.
Inside the restaurant, he spotted a familiar person smiling at a middle-aged man.
The man wore a typical businessman’s polo shirt and had neatly styled hair.
The two of them looked happy, chatting and laughing.
Gu Zhaoye’s face instantly darkened.
“Stop the car!”
Inside the restaurant, Gu Zhaoping had just answered a phone call and turned to discuss some ingredient restocking.
Mr. Hou was still talking earnestly,
“What a coincidence—our group is about to launch a new line of energy-efficient stoves. With your cooking skills, you’d be a great fit for our brand image. If you’re interested, we could talk about a collaboration sometime…”
He was always polite and down-to-earth, and since this was someone Gu Zhaoping knew, he was even more courteous.
He took out a business card from his bag and handed it to Liang Zhiwei, who was quite flattered and took it with both hands, repeatedly thanking him: “Thank you, Mr. Hou…”
Suddenly, her hand was yanked away by a forceful grip.
“Liang Zhiwei, what are you doing?”
Gu Zhaoye had walked straight in and grabbed her hand.
Liang Zhiwei froze in place.
The few remaining guests in the restaurant turned in shock at the scene.
None of them knew what was happening!
Gu Zhaoye saw nothing and no one else—only Liang Zhiwei chatting and smiling with some older man.
Rage surged through him instantly.
“So you’ve already latched onto someone new? Liang Zhiwei, I really underestimated you!”
Mr. Hou’s hand froze mid-air, pupils shrinking at this dramatic turn of events—he was completely at a loss for words.
Nearby, Gu Zhaoping paused mid-phone call, turned her head slightly, her eyes calm and expression unreadable.
“Liang Zhiwei, who are you with!”
Gu Zhaoye roared in anger, demanding an answer.
But before he could even finish his sentence, Liang Zhiwei’s shocked face suddenly turned away.
A familiar and powerful force yanked his wrist back sharply!
Gu Zhaoye had no time to react—he felt his whole body suddenly lurch as if weightless.
His brows shot up, nearly crying out.
His wrist had been forcefully twisted back and yanked away from Liang Zhiwei—almost dislocated!
And now, the face in front of him had changed—to the one he hated day and night, the one he wished he’d never have to see again.
Gu Zhaoping.
She casually gripped his wrist, ignoring his grimace, showing no intention of letting go.
She simply said, in a calm voice: “She’s with me. So what?”
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