Chapter Ninety-Three: Rank and Station Crush a Man into Dust

Especially in front of a peer like Xiao Yao, he had always had every reason to be proud, whether in terms of family background, education, or ability. Now that the tables had suddenly turned, Ji Jun felt miserable beyond words. Now that he knew Bai Yu-zhen and Xiao Yao were both senior executives of the company, and that Xiao Yao was even a director, the level of leadership they represented was one he would never ordinarily have any chance to approach. Since he now knew who they were, it was only basic courtesy to raise a glass and toast the two leaders at the table. He still had enough sense for that; he had simply been too stunned to react at first. Now that his father had prompted him, he absolutely could not omit this drink.

Seeing her son standing there dazed and failing to respond at once, Yang Xue-mei, as his mother, hurriedly smoothed things over. “Our Ji Jun was pretty clever when he was little. After all these years of schooling, he’s gotten a bit foolish instead. Look at him now, like a bookworm who doesn’t know what to do when he sees a leader.”

She patted her son on the arm. “The bigger the leader, the more approachable he is. Look how scared you are. Director Xiao is already one of the major shareholders of Hua Hui Bank at such a young age. You should really learn more from him in the future. If you could learn even a fraction of Director Xiao’s steadiness, your father and I would have nothing to worry about.”

Ji Jun quickly stood and lifted his glass. “President Bai, it’s all because I’m young and ignorant. This bad habit of youthful arrogance just never seems to go away. Ever since I joined Hua Hui Bank, I’ve been feeling rather full of myself. I never expected to make such a fool of myself today, showing off before an expert. Please don’t take offense. I offer you my sincere apologies and my punishment in respect. I’ll finish this glass; please drink as you like.”

After downing the first glass in one gulp, Ji Jun, to show his sincerity, went on, “President Bai, I truly and earnestly apologize. To show my full sincerity, I must drink three glasses today as punishment. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Can you handle your liquor? If not, one glass is enough. I know your sincerity now, and I forgive you. It wasn’t that big a matter to begin with, so you needn’t mind it.” With Bai Yu-zhen’s present status and bearing, she naturally would not quarrel with a child.

“Thank you for your concern, President Bai. My tolerance is passable. I’ll definitely finish these three glasses, or else I won’t learn my lesson.” Ji Jun cheerfully drank three glasses in quick succession.

After finishing three glasses in a row, without taking a single bite of food, Ji Jun turned to Xiao Yao again and said, “Director Xiao, I’ll punish myself with three glasses first. I don’t dare ask for your forgiveness. You can judge me by my future performance.”

Ever since they met, Xiao Yao’s expression had remained very cool and distant. They were all young people, and Ji Jun felt that Xiao Yao could not possibly be as easygoing as President Bai. So he simply got straight to the point and made his attitude clear.

“Since we’ve met here today, that counts as a kind of fate. I’ll just wait and see how you perform.” Xiao Yao’s tone was as indifferent as ever.

After Ji Jun had drunk six glasses in a row, he felt as though his stomach were about to catch fire, and his throat was burning too, aching in waves.

But after he finished the sixth glass, Xiao Yao still looked at him without saying a word, clearly still dissatisfied.

For a moment Ji Jun could not figure out what he had done wrong, and he did not dare sit down. He could only turn to his father for help.

Ji Guang-rong sighed inwardly, thinking that his son was indeed still too young and lacked much in the way of worldly tact. Meeting his son’s pleading gaze, he had no choice but to speak up. “How could a kid like you expect Director Xiao to toast you first? Do you think you can bear that? Hurry up and apologize to Director Xiao. You really don’t understand the first thing about social graces.”

“After you enter the workforce, ability alone isn’t enough. If your emotional intelligence isn’t there, you still won’t do your job well. Even if you do your work well, it’s still hard to earn a leader’s appreciation. When dealing with people in the future, use your head more and don’t be like today, where you don’t even realize where you’ve been rude and still need someone else to point it out.”

Ordinarily, because of the relationship between superior and subordinate, Ji Jun’s behavior would not even have counted as rude. Even if one called it rude, no one would have made an issue of it. But the situation was different now. The Xiao family was only a family of three, and two of them were already senior executives at Hua Hui Bank. In the face of a toast from the head of the Xiao family, Ji Jun’s earlier haughty conduct was obviously out of place.

Ji Jun filled his glass again. “Uncle Xiao, I’m young and ignorant. What I did just now was rude. I’ll punish myself with three glasses. Please forgive me.”

“The young make mistakes, and even God forgives them. Besides, today you’re my guest. As the host, it’s only proper that I toast you. There’s no need for you to feel bad about it.” Having spent so many years in the working world, Xiao Zhen-shan had seen through everything. He was gracious and cultivated, and did not take such a small matter to heart.

“Thank you, Uncle Xiao, for forgiving me. I’ll drink these three glasses.”

After Ji Jun once again emptied three glasses in one breath, he looked toward Xiao Yao.

This time, Xiao Yao was finally satisfied and no longer held it against him. “Not a bad tolerance. Hurry and eat something. From now on, work hard and try to achieve something.”

With that sentence from Xiao Yao, the three members of the Ji family could finally relax.

Although Yang Xue-mei felt sorry for her son drinking so much at once and had no idea whether he could hold it, society was cruel in this way. Status and position could crush a person. Especially when facing one’s direct superior, some grievances simply had to be borne. As his mother, all she could do was give her son a push from behind, not drag him down.

Since the earlier unpleasantness had been put behind them, Ji Guang-rong quickly said, “I truly never expected that in this ordinary family dinner of ours, there would be a hidden tycoon among us. I’ve heard that Hua Hui Bank is now valued at thirty billion, and Director Xiao owns sixteen percent of the shares. By today’s valuation alone, that’s already nearly five billion in wealth. Once Hua Hui Bank is successfully listed, even if it doubles, that’s probably still possible. To think that people like us actually know a billionaire. Being able to brag about that to friends later would be quite a matter of face.”

Ji Guang-rong raised his glass. “I suggest we all toast Director Xiao’s family together with this glass, and borrow some of their wealth and good fortune. What do you all think?”

Naturally, everyone responded enthusiastically to the senior leader’s suggestion.

While laughing and joking, the looks everyone cast toward Xiao Yao inevitably carried a trace of curiosity and shock.

If Ji Guang-rong had not given that exact figure, they would only have known that sixteen percent of Hua Hui Bank’s shares must represent an unimaginably vast fortune. They could never have imagined that it amounted to nearly five billion.

Thanks to Jack for the tip.