novelraw Chapter 578: The Mindset of the Strong
Chapter 578: The Mindset of the Strong
After settling his suitcase properly, Google seaʀᴄh novel{f}ire.net
Tang Song sat down in the window seat, opened his phone, and took a picture of the front of the carriage, sharing it with Liu Qingning.
He left a message: "Boarded safely, no need to worry."
After sending it, he placed his phone face down on the small table, slightly turned to the side, leaning against the seat to observe his surroundings.
The carriage layout was no different from the usual business class seats, arranged 2+1, with wide seats and light gray leather exuding a sense of luxury.
Because it was a Saturday morning peak time, passengers gradually boarded the business carriage, and within a short time, it was about eighty to ninety percent full.
At that moment,
a middle-aged man wearing a gray suit walked over and sat in the seat next to him.
He was about forty years old, with a fit build, gold-rimmed glasses, and meticulously groomed hair, giving off a capable and restrained vibe.
Noticing Tang Song’s gaze, he smiled and initiated conversation, "Are you from Shencheng?" Tang Song shook his head, "No, I’m here on a business trip."
He did not explain further, speaking in a calm tone.
The middle-aged man hesitated briefly, seeming used to dealing with this kind of "cold" social interaction.
He took a tablet computer with a keyboard from his briefcase, displaying an unfinished PowerPoint presentation.
He neatly placed the briefcase in the storage area in front of his legs.
The middle-aged man joked, "Young man, judging by your aura, you’re probably an undiscovered star or entertainer, right?"
"Heh, no."
"Then you’re in finance?"
"Something like that."
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. He took a business card from his suit pocket and handed it over. "I’m Jiang Zheng. Our company works in medical AI and has recently started engaging with the capital market."
Tang Song politely accepted the card, lightly smiling and nodding, "Tang Song."
He didn’t say much else and didn’t offer his own card in return.
In fact, his business cards were all kept by Lin Muxue;
he usually didn’t carry them himself.
On business class high-speed trains, especially from Shencheng to the financial center Hong Kong, such casual conversations were quite common.
A chance dialogue might lead to an opportunity.
Tang Song was currently undertaking the "Capital Hunter" task, so he didn’t mind this kind of encounter.
Sensing Tang Song’s somewhat "aloof" aura, Jiang Zheng slightly furrowed his brows.
Yet he kept a light and self-deprecating tone: "Our company is based in Shencheng. We just finished a round of business development and were returning when last night there was big news in Hong Kong. I had to scramble for a ticket and rush back."
"A financial earthquake?" Tang Song casually responded, his eyes flashing with realization.
"Yes, when Rongliu Capital dropped that huge investment, the entire Hong Kong fund circle exploded. I heard a US dollar fund overnight adjusted its priority allocation list."
"Good luck to you," Tang Song replied politely without delving deeper, his gaze lowering to glance at the business card in his hand.
[General Manager of Huiyi Cloud Technology Co., Ltd., Jiang Zheng]
He then looked at the tablet computer in front of him.
Turning to ask, "Your company focuses on medical artificial intelligence?"
"Yes, we build on a data middle platform, moving toward large-scale models," Jiang Zheng immediately perked up. "We’re integrating with Qingning Technology’s Lime3.0 medical large model and just released the first clinical collaboration prototype."
Mentioning "Qingning Technology," Tang Song showed some interest. "Qingning Technology’s Lime3.0 is indeed impressive."
After all, he had just parted from Liu Qingning, and besides romance, most of their conversations were about Qingning Technology’s large models.
At that moment,
a passenger arrived at seat F to Jiang Zheng’s right.
A young man in his early thirties, dressed sharply in a suit, neatly placed his laptop and phone before sitting down.
Jiang Zheng glanced at him, seemingly recalling something, then cautiously asked, "Excuse me, are you President Li of Tongchuang Weiye?"
The young man paused, looked up at him, and nodded with a smile, "Yes, that’s me."
Jiang Zheng’s expression brightened, and he quickly handed over his card, speaking faster, "Hello, President Li, I’m Jiang Zheng from Huiyi Cloud. We have a deep collaboration with Qingning Technology, currently implementing an Mson intelligent diagnostic system. The project is at the evaluation stage, and I’d really appreciate your advice..."
Compared to his cautious and probing tone with Tang Song, Jiang Zheng was now clearly more passionate and detailed, almost in a "test-taking mode."
In fact, the reason he took business class on this trip was to seize such opportunities.
On the high-speed train from Shencheng to Hong Kong, it was common to encounter elites from the financial sector.
For example, Li Moran, the VP of Tongchuang Weiye, was quite well-known in Shencheng’s venture capital scene and focused on tech AI.
Jiang Zheng naturally wanted to grab this rare chance.
Li Moran listened quietly, occasionally smiling and nodding but maintaining a gentle and reserved tone.
Tang Song paused his conversation and casually placed Jiang Zheng’s business card back on the corner of the small table.
The high-speed train emitted a faint vibration as it slowly departed Shencheng North Station, merging into the rain.
Jiang Zheng talked about the project for a while, but seeing Li Moran’s consistently indifferent reaction, he wisely slowed his speech.
After a few seconds, he quietly asked, "President Li, are you going to Hong Kong this time because of the hundred-billion mother fund from Rongliu Capital?"
"Yes."
"I heard three or four funds already received insider news and overnight submitted their materials... It seems Hong Kong will undergo a complete reshuffle."
Li Moran said calmly, "Yeah, a few old projects might restart, depending on the situation."
Jiang Zheng was about to dive deeper into the topic when he noticed Li Moran putting on noise-canceling headphones and dialing a phone number, speaking softly.
Jiang Zheng had no choice but to retreat to his seat, his mood noticeably downcast.
Turning his head, he saw Tang Song holding his phone, adjusting the exposure and angle while aiming at the front of the carriage.
Soon, a highly popular Cantonese and Mandarin bilingual announcement sounded throughout the carriage: "Next stop, Hong Kong West Kowloon Station."
After finishing filming, Tang Song put away his phone and previewed the footage, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Are you shooting a short video?" Jiang Zheng asked casually with a smile.
"Yeah, content creation," Tang Song nodded, speaking calmly.
"A vlog kind of thing?"
"Something like that." Tang Song said, putting on headphones and quickly editing the footage.
This trip to Hong Kong was not only to handle Rongliu Capital’s major changes but also to film a collaboration video with Muxue, boosting his account’s followers.
This famous route from Shencheng to Hong Kong made for a perfect video opening.
In the past three days in Shencheng, he had watched many videos by the big influencer Luna, especially her two in Hong Kong, which were extremely popular, each with over 100,000 likes.
Hearing this, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of disappointment flickered in Jiang Zheng’s eyes.
Tang Song’s aura was outstanding.
Calm, composed, with a quiet nobility that made him seem anything but ordinary.
At first, Jiang Zheng thought he might be a core figure in some investment bank or a second-generation family office heir, sparking a desire to connect.
But then he realized Tang Song seemed unfamiliar with Hong Kong and was making short videos.
Although many young investors now create content, this was still unexpected.
So he did not continue his project pitch.
Instead, he focused his attention on Li Moran beside him.
He vaguely heard keywords like "institution list," "Rongliu Capital," and "managed accounts" during Li Moran’s phone call.
Each word carried weight.
Jiang Zheng leaned forward slightly, adopting a listening posture while quickly organizing his thoughts on how to approach the conversation later.
...
On the high-speed train from Shencheng North to Yangcheng,
the rapid tapping sound of nails on a keyboard kept ringing.
After a while, Lulu sighed, rubbing her brow, "Forget it, the company we just talked about only offers 5K starting salary and openly says they want someone willing to work unpaid overtime... Are jobs really this brutal now? I’m seriously considering changing careers."
Zhang Yan was silent for a moment, then softly said, "You could try civil service exams or institutional positions."
"Ugh..." Lulu shrugged, "Landing those jobs is so hard now, like a million horses crossing a single-log bridge. Plus, I want to buy a house, so I can’t break my housing fund contributions and don’t dare fully commit to studying. I don’t have the confidence."
"Yeah," Zhang Yan nodded, lowering her eyes with a somewhat dim expression.
In her heart, she always felt Lulu was much more "successful" than herself.
Lulu interned at a new media company right after elementary school graduation, catching the first wave of the official account’s boom, writing several viral hits with over 100,000 views, smoothly got a permanent position, and saved up her first nest egg.
In contrast, Zhang Yan wasn’t even 26 yet but had only saved 11,000 and was facing unemployment.
In recent years, she had been moving from place to place, living as if without roots.
She still sent money home during holidays.
Money was naturally tight.
If she really wanted to take the institutional exams, she’d have to leave Yangcheng, rent a cheap place, and study seriously.
Where would she take the exam?
A name popped into her mind—Yancheng.
Her eyes lit up slightly as she began calculating silently with her fingers.
Renting an old family housing estate in Yancheng would cost about 600 yuan for a one-bedroom, which would be 7,200 for a year of studying.
Cooking at home, controlling monthly expenses within 500;
plus daily necessities, utilities, transportation...
All in all, 17,000 yuan might just be enough.
But the premise was... not getting sick.
Her thoughts slowly dimmed, and her gaze darkened accordingly.
Of course, all this was just "thinking."
She sighed softly, shifting her eyes from her phone back to the comic book on her lap.
Volume 32 of Dragon Ball.
This was the 2009 edition, each volume carefully selected, looking new without any damage or stains, very high quality.
Her chest rose and fell lightly as images flashed through her mind.
After twelve years, she still remembered losing volume 16—"Goku Awakens! The Legend of the Super Saiyan."
That volume told the story of Frieza killing Krillin, Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan in rage, and the final battle destroying Planet Namek.
She clearly remembered that playful deskmate, who one day suddenly held this comic at the classroom door and solemnly declared, "I will avenge Krillin!"
Then "transformed," making classmates laugh heartily.
He returned to his seat, animatedly explaining the plot to her, patiently flipping through every page, even pulling her secretly to read during class.
In the end, he lent her the beloved comic to finish reading over the weekend at her "home," or rather her aunt’s place where she boarded.
She read it very seriously.
But when she returned to school on Monday, the comic was gone.
She searched her backpack, desk, drawers, bedding... but it was nowhere to be found.
She cried in distress, helpless.
Later she learned her aunt’s cousin had taken the comic unnoticed to "share" at school, tearing pages for circulation.
When returned, only a scattered dozen pages remained.
Living at her aunt’s, she had to be cautious even about eating and naturally dared not cause trouble.
She once wanted to borrow money to buy a new copy to repay him, but at that time, she didn’t even have five yuan.
And when she finally had the means to buy one, Tang Song no longer needed it.
He had long replaced it with a new volume and was even reading the sequel.
Outside the window, scenery rushed by.
Zhang Yan silently lowered her head, fingers tracing the comic’s cover.
The train of time moves faster than any high-speed train.
In the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed.
"You probably don’t remember me anymore, right?"
...
The train slowly entered Hong Kong West Kowloon Station.
The carriage came to a stop, and the doors opened. Passengers in business class stood up one by one.
Tang Song leisurely pulled his suitcase and walked toward the front of the carriage.
Not far ahead,
Jiang Zheng was briskly following Li Moran’s pace, leaning slightly forward.
"President Li, sorry to bother you. I didn’t finish earlier, actually, we also collaborated with Guangren Data and planned to have them as financial advisor this round, but..."
Li Moran turned back with a slight smile, "President Jiang, I roughly understand your company’s direction. I’ll have my assistant add you on WeChat. We’ll contact you when there’s a suitable opportunity."
"Alright, thank you, President Li."
After the exchange, Jiang Zheng slowed his pace and sighed with some disappointment.
Tang Song quietly observed the scene and continued forward following the signs and crowd.
Hong Kong West Kowloon Station was enormous.
It had four floors;
B2 was the arrival hall, also handling immigration, customs declaration counters, and taxi and pick-up vehicle lanes.
Walking through, the flowing crowd mostly wore refined attire with sharp aura, exuding a strong "international transit city" vibe.
Tang Song followed the crowd toward the customs checkpoint.
The screens nearby played promotional clips for the Financial Management Authority, the Securities Regulatory Commission, and the International Financial Summit.
While waiting in line,
a light tap came on Tang Song’s shoulder.
He turned around.
Jiang Zheng smiled, "We meet again, Tang Song. You don’t come to Hong Kong often, do you?"
He had just noticed Tang Song’s curious gaze around, obviously a first-time visitor.
"Yeah." Tang Song politely nodded in response.
In his current memory, it was indeed his first time here.
But according to known information, he must have come more than once before and even lived here, like at 21 Bolao Dao.
"Are you taking a taxi or is someone picking you up?"
"Someone’s coming for me."
"Then you need to go to the B2 arrival hall. I’m headed there too. Let’s go together;
I know this place well."
Saying that, Jiang Zheng took out his ID from the briefcase and stood beside Tang Song.
Since it was the weekend, the queue was a bit long.
Immigration and customs took over ten minutes.
Taking the escalator down to B2, the spacious arrival hall opened brightly.
The floor was polished marble reflecting the bright glass dome overhead.
Duty-free shops, convenience stores, currency exchange counters...
The crowd surged, the sounds of rolling suitcases, Cantonese conversations, and occasional flight information announcements interwove.
Tang Song’s eyes scanned the surroundings brightly, feeling the unique atmosphere of Hong Kong.
Jiang Zheng slightly turned and pointed in a direction, "The 'Drop-off and Pick-up Area' is over there. Usually, people picking you up will wait by that passage."
"No need, my person is right here in the hall." Tang Song smiled and stepped out of the passageway.
Jiang Zheng nodded with a smile and followed.
Soon, a figure appeared ahead of them.
It was a very beautiful woman standing beside the electronic welcome screen on the left side of the arrival hall.
She wore a neatly tailored white shirt and high-waisted black trousers, her waist cinched perfectly, outlining a flawless body proportion.
Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, with a well-maintained light honey brown that shone softly under the lights.
Her posture was upright, radiating a cold and refined "professional elite" aura.
Even amidst the bustling crowd, she stood out remarkably.
A trace of admiration flashed in Jiang Zheng’s eyes as he unconsciously looked twice.
Under his gaze,
the woman turned toward them, a bright smile appearing on her face as she quickly approached.
The tapping of her high heels on the marble floor produced a light and brisk rhythm.
"President Tang, you’ve arrived!"
Jiang Zheng was momentarily stunned, standing in place, slightly unable to react.
The woman naturally reached out to take the suitcase from Tang Song’s hand, her gaze gentle and voice clear, "Did you get through customs smoothly? The B2 hall was a bit crowded, but I just informed the driver. He’s waiting at the drop-off area, timing is perfect."
"Quite smooth." Tang Song’s tone was calm as he smiled at Muxue in front of him.
He knew Lin Muxue very well.
This time meeting her, he suddenly noticed a big change.
She had shed the restlessness and affectation, adding a calm and capable aura, more like a truly qualified personal assistant.
Feeling his gaze, Lin Muxue pressed her red lips together and slightly turned around, "I’ll take you there."
Tang Song responded with a "Hmm," then nodded toward Jiang Zheng beside him, "Goodbye."
With that, he followed Lin Muxue forward.
Jiang Zheng exhaled softly, a faint look of unhidden astonishment in his eyes.
This woman clearly was no ordinary character;
both her appearance and aura were outstanding.
He originally thought she was Tang Song’s girlfriend, but now it seemed more like his assistant or secretary.
But this "assistant" was obviously completely different from the assistants he knew.
Curiosity stirred complexly within him;
he slowed his pace and then instinctively quickened a few steps to catch up.
Lin Muxue walked ahead steadily, occasionally softly introducing the structure of West Kowloon Station and the culture of Hong Kong, speaking smoothly.
Clearly, she had done detailed preparation in advance.
They walked in a line, each posture outstanding, forming a subtle scenery line among the crowded flow.
They attracted many glances, with heads turning everywhere.
Jiang Zheng followed behind, maintaining a polite distance.
Exiting the arrival hall, a wave of heat hit them.
Vehicles shuttled through the pick-up and drop-off area, horns blared continuously, and crowds flowed endlessly.
Tang Song and Lin Muxue passed through the crowd, heading to the right side.
After about ten meters, their steps slowed.
Jiang Zheng’s heart jumped, his eyelids twitching violently.
At their side-front, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked steadily, the silver double-R emblem gleaming under the lights.
Beside the front side of the car stood an elegant and sexy woman.
She wore a fitted dark slim professional suit;
black stockings and slender high heels accentuated her long legs, her posture straight and upright.
She held a thick stack of documents in her arms.
Her entire demeanor radiated calm, confidence, and composure.
Behind her by the Rolls-Royce stood three burly bodyguards in black suits.
Just as Jiang Zheng’s expression changed, the woman quickly approached.
She stood before Tang Song, slightly bowing, her voice clear yet intimate, "Good noon, President Tang, welcome to Hong Kong."
Tang Song smiled lightly and nodded, "Good noon, Shirley."
Shen Yuyan softly said, "I have already prepared the initial draft of the company’s internal project summary according to your request, and collected the relevant supplementary materials."
"Thanks for your hard work." Tang Song took the documents and casually glanced through them.
At this moment, Lin Muxue stepped forward, skillfully opening the car door, her voice gentle, "President Tang, please get in."
Tang Song bowed slightly and turned to walk toward the back seat.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded behind him.
Shen Yuyan and Lin Muxue instinctively stepped forward, trying to block.
But one of the black-suited bodyguards was quicker, directly embracing the newcomer and isolating him.
Many nearby people’s gazes immediately turned over.
Sweat appeared on Jiang Zheng’s forehead as he urgently said, "Tang Song... Mr. Tang, regarding the Huiyi Cloud financing project, I didn’t get to fully introduce it earlier. I hope you can give me another chance!"
Tang Song’s steps paused. He turned to look at him, his expression calm and indifferent, "We’ll talk when there’s a chance. It’s not convenient now."
He raised the documents in his hand as he spoke.
Jiang Zheng gritted his teeth and bent forward forcefully, "Huiyi Cloud is a very promising company, our—"
Before he finished,
a warm and clear female voice interrupted, "Hello, I’m President Tang’s assistant. Regarding investment project matters, you can send materials to our FA email or contact me directly. I will conduct the preliminary evaluation and decide whether to forward it to President Tang."
Shen Yuyan’s voice was extremely clear, neither cold nor warm, professional and decisive.
Lin Muxue stood aside, her eye corner twitching imperceptibly, realizing she was a step too late.
She felt deeply frustrated, sensing she lost a point in this competition.
Tang Song said no more and nodded slightly at Jiang Zheng before bending down to sit in the car.
The car door closed steadily with a "thud."
Jiang Zheng stood still, took a deep breath, and hurriedly took a business card from his pocket, handing it over with both hands, "Hello, I’m Jiang Zheng, General Manager of Huiyi Cloud."
Shen Yuyan nodded slightly, reaching into her cardholder to take out a matte platinum-finished business card and gave it to him.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang, let’s keep in touch."
"Okay, okay, thank you."
Jiang Zheng accepted it with both hands, his expression respectful but tinged with awkwardness and regret.
Footsteps and door closing sounds followed.
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly drove away from the drop-off area.
Jiang Zheng stood in place, staring at the departing car tail, unable to recover for a long time.
After a while, he took a deep breath.
A wave of frustration and unwillingness surged in his heart.
On the high-speed train, he could clearly feel that Tang Song was interested in his project.
But because he was fixated on Li Moran, he missed the best communication opportunity.
If only then...
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs."
He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the business card in his hand.
Shen Yuyan Shirley Shen
Special Assistant to the Chairman | Director, Office of the Chairman
Confluent Capital (Hong Kong) Limited
His eyes suddenly widened, his breath caught, his face full of disbelief.
"Confluent Capital? Rongliu Capital? Shen Yuyan... Assistant to the Chairman?!"
"Damn, damn, damn!"
He looked up again at the black Rolls-Royce Phantom that had already driven away, his gaze trembling, his throat tightening, almost unable to speak.
That Tang Song just now... was actually the chairman of Rongliu Capital?!