After getting off the bus with Shu Lulu, Chu Ge listened to her talk about a few amusing things from school, and then they parted ways at an intersection.

Since it was still early, he went home to stay for a while, did some simple exercises, took a shower, and seeing it was about time, he changed clothes and left the house.

The clothes weren't expensive, costing no more than two hundred yuan in total. When it comes to dressing, unless it's a special occasion, Chu Ge always prioritizes casualness and comfort. He doesn't care at all about what others think.

After walking a few steps, Chu Ge flagged down a taxi and gave the address of Shangpin Barbecue.

Just as the taxi Chu Ge was in left the neighborhood, another taxi quietly followed behind.

At 6:45, the taxi stopped at the entrance of Shangpin Barbecue.

Shangpin Barbecue has four floors and is one of the top-ranked specialty barbecue restaurants in the city. The interior and exterior are decorated luxuriously. Although it may not match the five-star hotels like Papas in terms of grade, it certainly lives up to the words "splendid and magnificent."

On both sides of the entrance, there are two greeters wearing golden cheongsams. Although not top-class beauties, they could score around seven or eight out of ten. They are about 1.7 meters tall, with sweet smiles on their faces. As soon as Chu Ge entered the door, they bowed and said sweetly, "Welcome."

Looking further inside, all the waiters and waitresses are handsome men and beautiful women around the age of twenty. Although the hall was already crowded, these staff members showed no signs of frantic disarray. They were very composed and orderly as they served the guests.

Not to mention the obviously costly decor, just by looking at the image and quality of these waiters and waitresses, it's enough to prove the exceptional nature of Shangpin Barbecue indirectly.

After all, it's getting increasingly difficult to recruit waiters and waitresses these days. The job is tiring and thankless. It's not easy to make so many attractive people willing to work here. The salaries must be substantial enough.

Under the guidance of a waiter, Chu Ge went up to the top floor and entered the private room that Ji Songtao had reserved in the afternoon.

"Hello, Vice Minister Chu!"

"Vice Minister Chu is here!"

As soon as he entered the room, there was a burst of enthusiastic greetings. Some girls even stood up from the table.

This scene left the waiter who led Chu Ge into the room quite stunned. He was secretly puzzled as to how this guy, dressed as ordinary as can be and not drawing any attention, could be a vice minister?

"Haha, everyone arrived so early."

Chu Ge smiled as he looked around. The Operation Management Department was already fully present around the spacious long table.

Whether it was Lu Gang or the few girls, they all changed into very flashy outfits and dressed up deliberately. This group of female colleagues, who were already quite attractive, looked even more radiant now.

Even Mo Xiaoran had put on some light eyeshadow and changed into a white long dress that went past her knees.

Besides the Operation Management Department, there were a few unfamiliar faces. It was clear they were invited over by colleagues from other departments. However, what surprised him was that Ji Songtao was not sitting at the head seat, and the dishes hadn't been served yet, obviously, everyone was deliberately waiting for him.

"Well, of course, we wouldn't dare to not come early to Vice Minister Chu's celebration banquet. If we neglect Vice Minister Chu, wouldn't you make us suffer later?"

Feifei, standing by the table, said with a smile, but everyone could tell it was a joke. The whole Operation Management Department chuckled.

But not everyone was smiling. Chu Ge noticed a man in his twenties with a rather long face pouted and muttered something, showing a look of faint dissatisfaction and disdain.

Although he noticed this, Chu Ge didn't say much and turned his gaze to Ji Songtao, who was smiling beside the head seat, and said, "Minister Ji, why are you sitting there?"

Ji Songtao waved his hand and smiled, "Today is your celebration banquet, so you must sit at the head seat. Come on, sit down quickly."

Chu Ge modestly refused a few times, and seeing that Ji Songtao insisted, he smiled helplessly and said, "So Minister Ji, should I take the lead just for today? Tomorrow you won't make things difficult for me, right?"

"Hahaha..."

With Chu Ge's words, the atmosphere in the private room instantly became even better. The girls from the Operation Management Department burst into laughter.

"Attending Vice Minister Chu's celebration banquet today is truly an eye-opener. It's the first time I've seen someone talk to their superior like this. The Operation Management Department really is a unique department."

As Chu Ge sat at the head seat and Ji Songtao was about to instruct the waiter to order dishes, an envious voice suddenly interrupted.

"Well, it has to be! We are probably the only department in the entire Tianjiao Group that can get along so well up and down. How about it, jealous?"

Hearing that somewhat barbed voice, Feifei chuckled and responded with a soft but sharp retort.

"Dude, which department are you from? If you talk to your leader like this, aren't you packing up and heading home soon?"

With Feifei leading the charge, Lu Gang also followed with a sarcastic remark. Although the other girls in the Operation Management Department didn't say anything, they cast some disapproving glances, especially the girl who had brought him over, feeling unspeakably embarrassed inside.

Pan Changqing never expected that after just one comment, which wasn't even that harsh, someone would immediately stand up for Chu Ge, without Chu needing to say anything, even causing the entire Operation Management Department to unite against him with unfriendly looks.

Damn it, what exactly is so great about this Chu Ge? Isn't it just that he got lucky and bought the medicine before I did? How is he so popular?

Grumbling in his heart, Pan Changqing forced a dry laugh, "Jealous, truly jealous. I'm from the Marketing Department, let me introduce myself, I'm Pan Changqing."

Seeing Feifei seemed to want to say something else, Chu Ge didn't want Pan Changqing to affect everyone's mood, so he called out to the waiter at the door, "Waiter, let's order."

At this point, Chu Ge was clearly trying to change the subject, obviously not wanting to engage with Pan Changqing. While the Operation Management Department could ignore Pan Changqing, they couldn't ignore Chu Ge. Feifei glanced at Pan Changqing and then returned her attention to the menu.

Seeing the girls shift their gaze away from him, Pan Changqing felt even more out of place, not realizing Chu Ge was helping him out of a jam, but instead thinking Chu Ge was deliberately snubbing him, making him feel embarrassed, increasing his irritation.

The girls first asked for Chu Ge and Ji Songtao's opinions, seeing as their response was typically "anything is fine," they didn't hesitate and chattered away, ordering a pile of dishes.

After ordering, the waiter heated up the grills on the table, clearly recognizing that Chu Ge was the central figure at this table, giving him a slight bow before leaving the private room.

While waiting for the food, the girls centered their chatter around Chu Ge, and as dish after dish arrived, they didn't just focus on their own meals but placed slices of various grilled meats onto Chu Ge's plate.

As for Pan Changqing, due to his earlier comment, nobody paid him any attention, leaving him completely sidelined.

Feeling even more aggrieved, Pan Changqing thought he had never been so uncomfortable having a meal in his entire life.

Why did Chu Ge get all the limelight?

When Hong Zude had an episode today, it was clearly he who was first called by the chairman to buy medicine. If not for this Chu Ge who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he should have been the center of attention today!

When off to buy the medicine, he indeed felt panic, worrying he might be late and that Hong Zude might die in the company. But upon returning with the medicine, he suddenly found there was nothing left for him to do, as Hong Zude had already left, leaving only a sense of loss and frustration.

Watching Chu Ge, surrounded by a group of beauties, talk confidently and cheerfully, Pan Changqing felt more and more irritated, itching to slam the table, kick open the door, and leave.

Yet, he was unwilling to let it end like that, feeling it would be even more humiliating to leave.

So he could only vent his frustration on the food, eating furiously as if consuming Chu Ge's flesh.

However, just as he was about to grab a piece of grilled meat, Feifei beat him to it, placing it onto Chu Ge's plate. This finally set him off.

Pan Changqing slammed his chopsticks down with a "bang." The previously lively private room suddenly fell silent due to this sound, and everyone turned to look at him, frowning slightly.

Pan Changqing held a beer and stood up, plastering a fake smile on his face, he walked to Chu Ge's side.

"Vice Minister Chu, today is your big promotion day, let me toast you."

Chu Ge smiled a bit, saying "Thank you," and casually picked up his glass.

However, just as Pan Changqing was about to clink glasses with Chu Ge, he "accidentally" stumbled, and the beer from his glass splashed out.

Pan Changqing felt a surge of satisfaction inside. Didn't you steal my spotlight? Aren't you riding high? I'll drench you with a glass of cold beer, let's see how long you can keep that up!

Though inwardly pleased, Pan Changqing wore an expression of apology and panic, as if the spill was truly an accident.

But as the sound of the beer splash filled the air, his underlying smugness vanished in an instant, no need to pretend, genuine panic showed in his eyes.

The glass of beer, how did Chu Ge inexplicably dodge it?

And instead... it landed all over Ji Songtao?

Damn! Isn't this backfiring on me?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.