Chapter 31: Favoritism

When Dragon City was first established, it covered an area of about 90,000 square kilometers, divided into thirteen administrative districts and hundreds of towns. The initial population was about 3.5 million, mainly consisting of military personnel, military dependents, and overseas Chinese.

In the past five years, the three major Chinese living zones - 7, 8, and 9 of the original Asian Alliance - had completed integration, abolishing the titles of zones 7, 8, and 9 and their independent governments, fully merging into one, collectively known as the Chinese Zone.

Since the unification war, the Chinese Zone had entered a stage of comprehensive recovery in economic, technological, and military fields. Coupled with climate warming and stable times, its rise had become unstoppable. Against this background, more and more people were flowing overseas for business.

Dragon City's political environment was special, and its population was mainly Chinese. For capitalists, ambitious individuals, and those willing to venture out seeking opportunities abroad, this was undoubtedly a place of rising fortunes, and it was also easier to integrate into life here.

Moreover, the first Chinese to settle here all had relatives and friends in their hometowns. After they settled down, it formed a trend of seeking relatives. Many people who were not doing well in their hometowns or wanted to find opportunities elsewhere also came here. So in recent years, Dragon City's registered population had surged to nearly 6 million, not counting unregistered residents.

The increase in population brought a lot of economic potential to Dragon City. So in the past two years, Dragon City had been expanding outward, building new districts and carrying out land reclamation projects. In short, this city seemed full of hope.

......

The Yu family lived in Longkou District, but Yu Jinrong's eldest son, Yu Mingyuan's company was on Maolin Avenue in Zha'nan District.

Maolin Avenue was one of the few presentable business districts in Zha'nan District, because the overall civil construction and economic level here couldn't compare with Longkou. People there were used to calling Zha'nan District the slums or rascal houses.

People's sense of superiority was always inexplicable. They were all from the same city, all the same kind of people, yet they couldn't escape area-based discrimination. The chain of contempt was everywhere.

At around nine in the morning, outside it was a fine day with bright sunshine. Su Tianyu took a taxi to the Tianhong Building on Maolin Avenue, went up to the 13th floor, and found Yu Mingyuan's company office area.

The name of this company was simple and straightforward, just called Mingyuan Trading Co., Ltd.

After Su Tianyu politely explained his purpose to the front desk receptionist, he was led into Yu Mingyuan's office, which was over 40 square meters.

"Oh, you must be little Su?" Yu Mingyuan was about 35 or 36 years old, less than 1.8 meters tall, of average build, not particularly good-looking, with small eyes and a pointed chin, looking a bit like Liang Tian from "I Love My Family". However, once a man has money, people unconsciously add a halo to him, so Yu Mingyuan also looked quite stylish, with very white skin, wearing black-framed glasses, appearing gentle and refined.

"Yes, Su Tianyu, nice to meet you, Director Yu!" Su Tianyu politely extended his hand.

"When you went to my house that day, I happened to be out on business, otherwise I would have liked to chat with your Second Uncle, hehe!" Yu Mingyuan patted Su Tianyu's shoulder and casually invited: "Come, sit wherever you like."

"Alright."

The two walked to the sofa and sat down.

"Here, have some tea," Yu Mingyuan actively poured a cup of tea for Su Tianyu.

"Thank you, Director Yu!" Su Tianyu replied with a smile.

Yu Mingyuan pushed the teacup to Su Tianyu and looked him up and down, asking: "I heard from my father that you graduated from military school."

"Yes, I graduated from the Army Staff College," Su Tianyu's whole demeanor was also very relaxed. "I mentioned last time when we were drinking and chatting that my major might not match your company."

"That's not a problem. If you can master something as complex as deploying troops, doing some business won't be difficult, hehe," Yu Mingyuan casually asked: "My father said you want to take the civil service exam?"

"Yes, that's the plan."

"Little Su, last time when you went to our house for dinner, my father was quite happy. He told me that he had just entered the Management Council, unfamiliar with people and places, and would need the support of these old hands from the subordinate departments of sanitation in the future. He also quite likes your Second Uncle," Yu Mingyuan said conversationally. "With this relationship, you're not an outsider here."

"Yes," Su Tianyu nodded in agreement.

"Work well here, and when the civil service exam opens next year, you take the test yourself. If you pass, I'll help you find connections," Yu Mingyuan got to the point in one sentence. "My company has just started operating, less than three months in total, and there's not much to do now. In the future, you'll just follow me around for business."

Su Tianyu grinned: "Male secretary, huh?"

"Haha, I already have a secretary, a female one. You'll start as an assistant to the general manager for now," Yu Mingyuan said softly. "Get familiar with the company environment first."

"Alright!" Su Tianyu immediately said sensibly: "Would you like some coffee, boss?"

"Haha, you adapt quickly, as expected of a Staff College graduate. But you definitely don't need to do things like serving tea and water. Let's get you started with the onboarding procedures first," Yu Mingyuan looked up and called out: "Linda!"

The door opened, and a beautiful girl over 1.70 meters tall with fair skin walked in, smiling and asking: "What can I do for you, boss?"

"Su Tianyu, the company's assistant to the general manager. Take him through the onboarding process," Yu Mingyuan instructed.

"Certainly. Mr. Su, this way please..." The female secretary immediately made a gesture of invitation.

"Please don't call me Mr. Su, let's be more casual. You can call me Tianyu or Little Su," Su Tianyu stood up and extended his hand to her.

"Alright, this way please," the female secretary said with a smile.

"Then I'll go first, Director Yu."

"Go ahead," Yu Mingyuan nodded.

Su Tianyu was about to leave with the female secretary, but after just two steps, Yu Mingyuan suddenly called out: "Wait a moment, Little Su!"

"What is it, boss?"

"Uh, tonight, come out with me to attend a banquet," Yu Mingyuan said after thinking for a moment.

"Alright," Su Tianyu responded.

......

About an hour and a half later, Su Tianyu had completed the onboarding procedures and was assigned to an independent office to the left of the general manager's.

This office was over 20 square meters, had floor-to-ceiling windows, and a very small private bathroom. In companies of similar scale, this administrative level was second only to the boss.

To be honest, Su Tianyu wasn't a thin-skinned person. He hadn't planned to start from some bottom-level clerk position in this company, because he felt that would be a waste of time. He might as well stay at home and study for next year's civil service exam.

Moreover, Yu Jinrong's intention to recruit the Su family was very obvious, so Su Tianyu had anticipated before coming that they would arrange a comfortable position for him, neither letting him freeload nor making him do too much hard work, just to show some goodwill.

But Su Tianyu never imagined that Yu Mingyuan would arrange for him to be the assistant to the general manager, because in normal companies, this position was the role of the overall manager, considered one of the absolute leaders.

But now Su Tianyu didn't even know what the company's business was, yet they gave him such a position. This was a bit too unusual.

However, what Su Tianyu didn't expect was that Yu Mingyuan's special treatment of him was far from over.

In the following days, Su Tianyu took a high monthly salary of 3,000 yuan and did nothing all day. During the day, he would look at the female clerks' legs, drink tea, and take naps; in the evenings, he would attend various social engagements with Yu Mingyuan, meeting many people from within the system as well as business owners engaged in trade.

Yu Mingyuan's circle of friends was very diverse. He knew people from customs, the police department, the security association, and the military, and seemed to have good relationships with all of them.

......

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and it was October.

Su Tianyu finally couldn't stand it anymore, because Yu Mingyuan was too good to him, too lenient, to the point of being abnormal.

This day at noon, Su Tianyu snatched a sales report from the female secretary's hands and forcibly brought it into Yu Mingyuan's office: "Brother Yuan, take a look at this, it's the customer development report from the sales department."

"Do you need to bring this yourself?" Yu Mingyuan had become quite familiar with Su Tianyu and had even actively let him call him Brother Yuan. "You could have just had Linda bring it in. You should mainly focus on conserving your energy."

"I'm really well-rested, drinking tea and eating sea cucumber and abalone every day. It's making my nose bleed, Brother Yuan!" Su Tianyu said with a smile.

Yu Mingyuan looked up with a smile and replied ambiguously to Su Tianyu: "There's an arrangement for tonight, an apartment party. I have some friends from Zone One coming, and there will be girls who can dance. You come with me, okay?"

"...Dancing every day, my waist can't take it."

"That's why I told you to conserve your energy. Your main job now is to drink well and dance well," Yu Mingyuan himself was quite busy, paying attention to all matters big and small in the company. "Alright, you go back first. I'll call you when it's time to leave."

"Brother Yuan, aside from our work relationship, are we friends?" Su Tianyu asked.

"With your intelligence, how can you ask such a question? Look, who else in the company dares to call me brother?" Yu Mingyuan looked up and replied.

"No, it's just that the way you're doing things makes me very uneasy! You're making me... think for a moment that we might have some blood relation," Su Tianyu said tactfully. "Tell me the truth, are you...?"

"Ring ring!"

Just then, the phone on the desk rang. Yu Mingyuan casually picked it up and started talking on the phone in front of Su Tianyu.

About three or four minutes later, Yu Mingyuan hung up the phone, stood up and said to Su Tianyu: "I have something urgent to attend to, I need to go out for a while. Oh, stop talking nonsense, hurry back to work. I'll pick you up tonight."

Su Tianyu felt somewhat helpless: "Alright then."

"Hehe, you can take a short nap in the afternoon, we'll be out quite late tonight," Yu Mingyuan patted Su Tianyu's shoulder and walked out.

Su Tianyu followed behind, also preparing to return to his office.

"Oh, right!" Yu Mingyuan suddenly turned back at the door: "How far is your place from the company?"

Su Tianyu paused for a moment: "I'm near the suburbs, about ten kilometers away?"

"Then how do you usually get to work?"

"By bus."

"That's too much trouble, our company starts work early," Yu Mingyuan returned to the office, pulled open a drawer and picked out a car key. "Yesterday we got a car back as payment for a debt, an old Ford SUV. You drive it."

With that, Yu Mingyuan put the key in Su Tianyu's hand.

"Ah?" Su Tianyu held the car key in confusion. "You... you even provide a car?"

"Your level is high enough, hehe," Yu Mingyuan turned and left.

Su Tianyu was definitely not a stupid person. On the contrary, he was very smart, so he really felt a bit uneasy. He felt that even the way Yu Mingyuan looked at him was a bit off.

......

In the evening after work.

Su Tianyu sat in the small pavilion at home, his left hand supporting his chin, looking sideways at Big Bai who had come to drink tea, and asked: "What do you think it means when a man is unconditionally good to another man?"

"He wants you to take care of him in his old age and bury him when he dies."

"...Speak human language!"

"Damn it, how is this not human language? Besides your father, who can be unconditionally good to you?!" Big Bai paused at this point: "Actually, that's not right either. It's also possible that he's interested in your asshole."

"If he has that desire, he should just say it! If he doesn't say it, I feel very uneasy," Su Tianyu replied shamelessly, standing up and saying: "Playing this game with me? Watch how I make him expose his dick voluntarily!"