The private room was not only beautifully decorated and served with Dongling Hotel’s signature dishes, but also featured an oversized cake. The birthday banquet was extraordinarily extravagant, although the number of attendees was small.
"Wow! It’s beautiful! The cake is huge too. Xiaoxiao, your brother is really nice to you."
"I envy you, I wish I had a brother to spoil me ."
The students all expressed surprise, and Su Xiaoxiao felt very fortunate.
"Feel free to sit and eat, you’re all Xiaoxiao’s best friends. Please continue to look after her at school."
Su Chengyu greeted everyone, but everyone was a bit reserved, especially in front of Su Chengyu. They were clearly feeling tense and awkward.
"Don’t just stand there, my brother is really nice and easygoing," said Su Xiaoxiao.
"Thanks, Brother Su."
Everyone finally sat down and President Xu brought over the wine himself.
"Elder Xu, isn’t this wine part of your collection? Are you willing to share it?" joked Su Chengyu.
"Mr. Su, I’m embarrassed by your comment. You’ve done a great favor to me. Not only did you save my son, but you also saved my life. What does a little wine count for? My life is yours," said Xu Lingshan, showing profound gratitude and respect.
"Sit down and eat with us if you’d like, there are no outsiders here," said Su Chengyu.
Xu Lingshan sat down. "Xiaoxiao, what exactly does your brother do? I’ve never heard you mention him before. Even President Xu treats him with such respect," whispered Zhang Xiaomo.
"Well, he’s sort of a doctor," replied Su Xiaoxiao.
"A doctor? He doesn’t quite look like one," said Zhang Xiaomo.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the private room. "That should be Elder Zhou," said Xu Lingshan.
Xu Lingshan opened the door and, indeed, Zhou Chaoming and Zhou Jinping walked in bearing gifts.
"Mr. Su, my apologies for imposing. My son and I heard that you were throwing a birthday party for your sister tonight and couldn’t resist coming to join in. We hope you don’t mind," said Zhou Chaoming.
Su Chengyu stood up, hugged Zhou Jinping and said, "Sit down, let’s drink a few more glasses tonight."
"Xiaoxiao, who is this? He seems quite influential," asked Zhang Xiaomo curiously again.
"According to my brother, he’s the president of Linjiang Commercial Bank," replied Su Xiaoxiao.
The classmates were once again shocked. If Xu Lingshan was already very influential to them, Zhou Chaoming was an absolute big shot; the president of Linjiang Commercial Bank, the God of Wealth in Linjiang!
"Your brother’s influence is incredible, even the bank president comes to have drinks."
The shocks Su Xiaoxiao’s friends experienced today were overwhelming. They could hardly imagine that Su Chengyu, at such a young age, had such high status.
"Xiaoxiao, is your family a hidden wealthy clan? You kept it so secret!" exclaimed Zou Ming.
"No way! It’s just my brother left in our family now, everyone here is because of his connection, not mine," explained Su Xiaoxiao.
However, clearly nobody quite believed her. Zhou Chaoming and Zhou Jinping took the time to introduce themselves.
"We are honored to be here to attend Miss Su’s birthday banquet and to meet the brilliant young talents of Linjiang University," said Zhou Chaoming.
Like dream walkers, the students hastily stood up and began to greet Zhou Chaoming.
"President Zhou, they’re all majoring in finance. After they graduate, would you mind helping them find employment opportunities?" Su Chengyu spoke.
"No problem at all! Since Mr. Su has spoken, I’ll make sure to handle it," Zhou Chaoming promised immediately.
The students were overjoyed again. Linjiang University isn’t a top university, and its graduates generally have to find jobs and struggle on their owns. But with a single word from Su Chengyu, all their worries had been taken care of. Their gratitude knew no bounds, and they hastily rose again.
"Thank you, Brother Su! And thank you, President Zhou!"
Since they were Su Xiaoxiao’s few friends, it was the least Su Chengyu could do to return the favor.
"Alright, there’s no need to be so formal. Let’s have a feast and order whatever you like."
Su Chengyu invited everyone to eat. They raised their glasses to toast Su Xiaoxiao’s birthday. Though there were few of them, the atmosphere slowly warmed up.
Su Xiaoxiao’s classmates felt a mix of respect and gratitude towards Su Chengyu, and they took turns offering him a toast.
"Mr. Su, tomorrow is the day of your duel with Hou Congsheng. I wish you victory in advance. At that time, I will hold a banquet to celebrate for you," Xu Lingshan stood up with his glass in hand.
Su Chengyu drained his glass and casually said, "It’s just a fight, it’s not a big deal. There’s nothing to celebrate."
"Xiaoxiao, did I hear that right? Did President Xu just say that Brother Su is going to duel with Hou Congsheng tomorrow?!" exclaimed Zou Ming in shock.
"Yes, you heard right. I forgot to tell you guys, my brother is Su Chengyu," Su Xiaoxiao said with a laugh, looking a little mischievous.
"Brother Su is Su Chengyu?! My goodness, this... this is simply unbelievable," Zou Ming exclaimed in surprise, jumping up from his seat.
The other classmates were also excited. They thought Zhou Chaoming’s arrival was the final surprise, but it turned out that this was the biggest shock of the day!
"You guys already knew about the duel?" Su Chengyu asked helplessy.
"How could we not know?! Probably there isn’t a person in all of Linjiang who doesn’t know by now. But the vast majority of them don’t know that you, Brother Su, are Su Chengyu."
"We were just discussing who will win earlier today! Now there’s no need for discussion, Brother Su is sure to win!"
"Brother Su, you’re my idol! Can I have your autograph and a photo with you?"
These classmates were quite adorable, as they all crowded around Su Chengyu. Today’s events were enough to boost their popularity in their friend circles for a good while.
"Sure, no problem," Su Chengyu said with a smile.
"Xiaoxiao, I finally understand why President Zhou and President Xu respect your brother so much. Your brother is too amazing! I’m so jealous I can’t stand it, I wish I had a brother like yours. Can’t you share your brother with me?" Zhang Xiaomo asked, holding Su Xiaoxiao’s hand without any pretense of hiding her envy.
"Absolutely not! My brother is mine alone, I won’t share him with anyone."
Su Xiaoxiao was generous with her friends, but when it came to Su Chengyu, she immediately became the most possessive, stingiest person in the world.
Everyone was delighted with the meal. The classmates kept posting updates in their friend circles. It wasn’t that they were vain. If fans met their favorite stars and had dinner, chatted, and took pictures with them, wouldn’t that be worth showing off?
They worship Su Chengyu now more fervently than they did their idols!
This birthday banquet turned into a large-scale fan event.