"That's right! Xiao Zhang, escort President Kong and Madam Kong to the car first."
Derek Zhang immediately nodded and glanced at Henry Zhang beside him.
The arrival of Joy Zheng made Derek Zhang and his group inwardly tense, but Derek was even more clear that right now, he had to support Neil Kong and stand unwaveringly on Sharon Chen's side.
Even if Lucy Lu and Joy Zheng were beautiful and attractive, so what?
Honestly, Lucy Lu's situation was a bit better—her husband was a manager at a real estate company. But what about Joy Zheng?
All she had was a tag-along son, and Derek Zhang had always heard that the kid's grades weren't any good.
At that moment, Derek Zhang and his group glanced at Evan Lin standing at the back. Their gazes swept over him, but no one lingered—at first glance, Evan looked shockingly ordinary.
Instead, many people looked repeatedly at Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang. Especially Ryan Chen, who was wearing headphones—when he saw Lynn and Yolanda, his eyes lit up.
Henry Zhang turned his head to look, his gaze landing on Evan Lin, feeling a bit hesitant.
Suddenly, Evan Lin took two steps forward and said to Joy Zheng, "Mom, let's head to the resort first. I'm already getting hungry."
"Mom?"
Hearing that word, Henry Zhang jolted and instantly plastered on a big smile, hurrying forward.
He moved quickly. Over there, Neil Kong was pinched discreetly by Sharon Chen, snapping him back to his senses. His eyes, as he looked at Joy Zheng, immediately filled with dissatisfaction.
Seeing Henry Zhang coming over, Neil Kong immediately pulled out his briefcase and tried to hand it over: "Uh, Xiao Zhang, you..."
Neil Kong handed out his briefcase, thinking Henry Zhang would take it right away, but unexpectedly, Henry briskly strode past Neil Kong!
"Hello, hello, let me help you with your bags. The car is just over there, please follow me." Without waiting for a reply, Henry Zhang grabbed Joy Zheng's and Lucy Lu's backpacks, beaming.
He didn't dare approach Evan Lin directly—last time Evan left him traumatized. But Henry was sure that as long as he kept Evan's mom happy, Evan probably wouldn't give him trouble again.
"And you are?"
Joy Zheng and Lucy Lu both froze for a moment.
"Just call me Xiao Zhang," Henry Zhang said with a wide grin.
He didn't notice at all that just a few steps behind, Neil Kong was left holding his briefcase, his hand stuck in mid-air—no one helped him, leaving him in a truly awkward spot.
Neil Kong's face went pale, then flushed, full of frustration.
He'd really lost face—was he just going to be ignored by someone like Henry Zhang?
"Xiao Zhang, you took the wrong bag!" Derek Zhang's face darkened, a hint of anger in his voice as he called out to Henry Zhang.
"No mistake, President Zhang. Let's go—the car's right over there." Henry Zhang grinned, carrying Lucy Lu's and Joy Zheng's bags like he'd found treasure, and hurried toward the stretch Lincoln.
"So full of himself." Lynn Chen glanced at Neil Kong's still-outstretched hand, curled her lip, and muttered.
"All bark, no bite." Yolanda Fang chimed in seriously, not bothering to lower her voice. Her words landed right in Neil Kong's ears, making his face turn pale again.
"We'll head over first, then." Lucy Lu still didn't really get why this 'Xiao Zhang' was so eager to help, but she wasn't about to overthink it. Seeing Neil Kong's group's ugly faces, she was secretly delighted.
Evan Lin walked at the back, while the rest headed straight for the stretch Lincoln.
Seeing things going badly, Derek Zhang quickly stepped forward, took Neil Kong's briefcase, and apologized with a sheepish smile: "Sorry about that, President Kong. Xiao Zhang must've lost his mind for a second. I'll make sure to teach him a lesson when we get back!"
"Dewang, honestly, someone like that should be fired. No sense of tact at all! It's fine with me, but if that was your client, your business would be toast." Neil Kong snorted.
"Yes, yes, class monitor is right. That guy doesn't even have as much sense as my Wang Liangcai, right, Old Wang?" Stella Cui jumped in, nudging Wang Liangcai beside her.
Wang Liangcai was a math professor at River City University. He wasn't a big shot, but grad students often flattered him. His work was just math research and building models—pretty dull, and he didn't have to deal with people much.
His salary wasn't high, just six thousand before taxes. Life was stable, but Stella Cui always nitpicked, complaining about his low pay. That's why she dragged him here—to try and climb up through Neil Kong.
"Mm-hmm-hmm."
Wang Liangcai just nodded, half-heartedly, at Stella Cui's words.
"People like that shouldn't be kept in any company." Sharon Chen nodded in agreement, then looked at Derek Zhang. "If you don't have anyone suitable, I can transfer someone from my own company for you!"
Those words stung Derek Zhang a bit—wasn't she just saying he couldn't even manage to hire decent staff?
But Derek Zhang didn't dare say anything, so he just kept smiling awkwardly.
"Let's go, let's head over too. By the way, Dewang, I heard you booked Villa No. 4 today?" Neil Kong asked Derek Zhang.
"Yeah, there are only four vacation villas at White Dragon Mountain. Villa No. 1 is always reserved for the Summer Family; Villas 2 through 4 have long booking cycles. Even as an insider, I could only get No. 4. That one's for you and Madam Kong."
"And for everyone else, I've arranged suites in the main resort hotel."
Derek Zhang's words made Neil Kong feel very satisfied.
Over there, Ivy Zhang and Wang Yu's eyes lit up at the mention of the vacation villa.
"I want to go play there too."
Both of them looked at Ryan Chen, who glanced thoughtfully at the stretch Lincoln and nodded. "Later, you can both come play at the villa."
As soon as he said that, Ivy Zhang and Wang Yu both brightened up.
Ryan Chen, meanwhile, was watching Evan Lin walking behind Lynn Chen and Yolanda Fang, frowning slightly and feeling a bit annoyed.
Those two girls hadn't paid him any attention just now; instead, they were chatting and laughing with that plain-looking kid!
"Let's go, let's head over too."
Neil Kong sneered, while Derek Zhang hurriedly led the way toward the stretch Lincoln.