Chapter Seventy: The Upright and Graceful Lu Yingying

Once she received confirmation, Gao Ning quickly packed a few things and headed out the door. She hailed a taxi by the roadside and went straight to the city center shopping mall.

No matter what, she had to tidy herself up a little.

Lu Yingying—Gao Ning’s friend since childhood.

The Lu family and the Gao family had been close since their grandfathers’ generation; their fathers even worked at the same place. Starting from kindergarten, Lu Yingying had always been in the same class as Gao Ning. They changed primary schools and high schools together, and even got into the same university, only choosing different majors.

Calling them childhood sweethearts would not be an exaggeration, though, despite their excellent relationship, nothing romantic ever developed between them.

Lu Yingying was tall, with a slender figure, long hair cascading to her waist, a beautifully shaped nose, and big bright eyes—by any measure, she was the very picture of a Northern beauty. Her looks were top-notch; when silent, she exuded elegance, but the moment she spoke, she revealed the straightforward, hearty nature of a big sister.

Lu Yingying’s personality had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count, and often dragged Gao Ning along with her. After entering college, she began pretending to be a demure lady; at first, she would occasionally slip up, but later, her act became flawless. Upon first meeting her, nine and a half out of ten people would think she was a fairy. Unfortunately, once they got to know her, her true colors would always show. As a result, most of her relationships over the years ended with her boyfriends running scared.

Gao Ning often teased her about this, which always sent Lu Yingying into a rage.

Lu Yingying majored in accounting and even obtained her CPA. After graduating, through some odd stroke of luck, she somehow landed in the investment department of a private bank. Thanks to her good looks and her skill at playing the role of a lady, she was highly valued by her superiors and had become well-versed in industry secrets and gossip.

That was why Gao Ning immediately thought of her.

At the shopping center, Gao Ning headed to the premium brands section, found a professional sales associate, and changed into a new outfit from head to toe, spending a little over thirty thousand. Following the associate’s advice, she bought the latest autumn-winter handbag from the “Donkey” brand’s boutique. In Gao Ning’s eyes, the bag wasn’t worth twenty thousand, but she swiped her card anyway.

After all, when asking someone for help, it was important to show sincerity.

Now that money wasn’t an issue, she made sure to bring an appropriate gift. Back in the day, when a classmate had a birthday, didn’t they at least get a crystal ball? This was just basic etiquette!

After changing, she asked the sales associate to send her old clothes home, then wandered around the city center with her gift bag. Spotting a newly opened hotpot restaurant, she promptly booked a private room.

With less than an hour left, Gao Ning found a car rental agency and got herself a high-end SUV, familiarized herself with the controls, and set off.

She arrived punctually at four-thirty in the bank’s parking lot, just in time to see Lu Yingying, dressed smartly in a fitted suit and high heels, striding out the side door. The bank lobby housed the tellers, while the investment and loan departments were upstairs. Gao Ning had come to pick her up once during a past holiday, so she knew the layout.

Standing on the steps, Lu Yingying was looking around when Gao Ning stepped out of the car, formed a circle with her thumb and index finger, and whistled a rascal’s tune, immediately catching Lu Yingying’s attention.

She waved with a smile. Lu Yingying first widened her eyes in surprise, then hurried over.

“Well, well, Fatty Gao, what’s going on with you?”

“Life is full of ups and downs—I’ve stumbled onto an opportunity and came to seek your advice!”

Lu Yingying raised her chin, revealing her fair, slender neck, and snorted, “I knew you had an ulterior motive!”

“Get in, let’s go—hotpot today!”

The two got in the car, and Gao Ning smoothly merged into traffic.

The bank was already in the city center, and the restaurant wasn’t far. A couple of green lights later, they arrived.

Inside, Gao Ning gave her name to the staff and was led past the crowd straight to a private room on the second floor.

“I didn’t expect this place to be so busy!” Lu Yingying remarked in surprise.

“I picked the most popular spot on purpose—good crowd means good food. See how sincere I am?”

Laughing, Gao Ning handed her the menu. “Order whatever you like—don’t hold back! I have a favor to ask, so let me bribe you first.”

Lu Yingying grinned, “Well, if you say so, I’m going to take full advantage!”

She called the server over and ticked off two whole columns on the menu.

Not only did she order two soup bases, but also plenty of main dishes, leaving the server looking like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

Judging from his expression, he was probably wondering if two people could possibly eat so much. Were they expecting a crowd later?

But of course, he couldn’t ask. If you run a restaurant, how can you refuse someone’s order?

Once the order was mostly done, Lu Yingying asked, “Anything else to add?”

“A good bottle of wine, a pot of quality tea, and we’ll see about the rest later.”

With a wave, Gao Ning dismissed the server.

Lu Yingying took off her jacket, draped it over the chair, loosened her tie, and rolled up her sleeves, ready for a feast.

Gao Ning chuckled and handed her the gift. “Take a look at this.”

“So formal? This must be something big!”

Lu Yingying opened the bag, her eyes lighting up. “I remember you never cared for luxury brands. Every time I asked, you knew nothing. How come you bought me the latest ‘Donkey’ bag this time? What happened—did you win the lottery?”

“Something like that.”

Just then, the server brought in their tea, interrupting Gao Ning.

After he left, Gao Ning took a sip and continued, “By chance, I made a connection with an overseas company. They’re interested in entering the domestic market and have invested some money for me to manage…”

In Gao Ning’s version, all the funds came from the foreign company. She herself only had overseas backing, but would have to start everything from scratch—building a complete company from nothing.

The funds transferred from the Red Alert interface were all foreign investments, not limited to America, but from all over the world.

So, in essence, it was indeed foreign capital.

As long as the money was there, Gao Ning’s story would hold up.

She kept her explanation brief, skimming over most of the details, but even so, Lu Yingying was left gaping, her pink lips rounded in astonishment.

“Fatty Gao, did you step in something lucky?”

Gao Ning feigned exasperation. “What happened to being a lady?”

“Lady, my foot! If I had your kind of money, who cares about being ladylike? Hahaha, hurry up and get that company running—I’m quitting my job to be your chief financial officer! Damn, I knew my CPA would come in handy one day!”