Memory inheritor

Chapter 115 Keeping the Appointment

At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Wei Hongsi came out of his dormitory and waited by the roadside for a short while before a ride-hailing car stopped beside him.

"Mr. Wei, get in the car," Yuan Zhenhui said, leaning out from the passenger seat.

Wei Hongsi nodded, opened the car door, and sat in the back seat. Starting yesterday, Yuan Zhenhui changed his address for him from "Little Wei" to "Engineer Wei," whether they met in person or online.

They walked in silence. About twenty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

The two got out of the car, and Yuan Zhenhui led Wei Hongsi into a roadside coffee shop.

"Mr. Wei, what would you like to drink?" Yuan Zhenhui asked.

"I don't drink caffeinated beverages, water is fine with me," Wei Hongsi said.

Yuan Zhenhui paused slightly, then nodded and said, "Okay, please have a seat."

Wei Hongsi casually found an empty table and sat down, looking around.

The space wasn't very large, and there weren't many people. The music playing from the speakers was at a low volume, which to him could basically be considered white noise. Although the environment was passable, it didn't seem suitable as a place for a group of people to sit and chat.

A moment later, Yuan Zhenhui brought over a glass of water with a slice of lemon in it and placed it in front of Wei Hongsi.

Wei Hongsi thanked him and asked, "The sharing session shouldn't be held here, right?"

Yuan Zhenhui nodded: "It's a party venue upstairs. Let's sit here for a while."

Wei Hongsi couldn't help but be a little surprised. If that was the case, why not just go up directly? If they thought it was too early, they could have come a little later.

Yuan Zhenhui smiled sheepishly and said, "I was supposed to give the keynote speech at the last sharing session, but I didn't show up, so the host moved it to this session. I was thinking I should explain this to everyone?"

"Yes, we should mention it," Wei Hongsi nodded.

Although Yuan Zhenhui didn't really know the people at the sharing session, it was still not good to miss the appointment. Even though they don't usually keep in touch, it's still necessary to let each other know when they meet, since it's a relatively fixed group, almost like a working group.

"Then how do you think I should put it?" Yuan Zhenhui asked again.

Wei Hongsi immediately understood that Yuan Zhenhui had specifically asked him to come a little early to ask for his advice. This guy was really something else.

He suggested, "Just tell the truth: you had to work overtime, so you were absent. That should resonate with everyone, and then you can smoothly transition into your topic."

"Yes, yes!" Yuan Zhenhui nodded repeatedly, took out a roll of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and looked thoughtful as he read it.

Wei Hongsi glanced at it and saw that it was printed with a lot of small print, which should be the copy written by Yuan Zhenhui for the sharing session. The edges of the printed paper were worn rough, and it was unknown how many times he had read it or how long he had kept it in his pocket.

At this moment, the waiter brought over a glass of iced black coffee, which Yuan Zhenhui picked up and took a big gulp.

It's clear that Yuan Zhenhui is a little nervous, and perhaps even a bit excited. Actually, coffee isn't suitable for him in his condition, as it would exacerbate his sympathetic nervous system response, potentially leading to irritability and difficulty concentrating.

However, it wasn't a formal briefing, and it had nothing to do with personal development or future prospects, so let it be.

Wei Hongsi silently drank a few sips of water, letting Yuan Zhenhui immerse himself in thinking about the wording of the organization.

A dozen minutes later, Yuan Zhenhui's phone, which was on the table, vibrated.

He glanced at it, swiped his finger to turn off the alarm: "It's time, we should go upstairs." He then picked up his coffee and drank it all in one gulp, rolled up the few pages of printed paper, stood up and put them in his pocket.

Wei Hongsi followed Yuan Zhenhui out of the coffee shop, through the first-floor store, and took the elevator to the sixth floor.

Yuan Zhenhui seemed quite familiar with the place and led Wei Hongsi directly to the private room in the party venue.

There were already three people inside. They nodded slightly to Yuan Zhenhui as a greeting. Their gazes lingered on Wei Hongsi's face for a moment before shifting away, some lost in thought, others looking elsewhere.

Wei Hongsi didn't greet anyone and quietly sat down.

This private room is themed around "postmodern industrial style," with black as the main color. The walls are rough concrete, with dark blue bricks deliberately exposed in a few places; angle iron and I-beams are interwoven on the ceiling, with more than a dozen gears of different sizes welded to the steel frame; the table in the middle is even more simple and crude, just an irregularly shaped thick wooden board directly nailed to four round wooden legs.

Fortunately, the chair was relatively normal. Although it was made of wood, at least it wouldn't hurt my butt, and the backrest was smooth. Otherwise, sitting for an hour or two would have been very uncomfortable.

Seeing the environment, Wei Hongsi couldn't help but feel suspicious. It would be difficult for a group of people with social anxiety to relax in such a place. He wondered if the organizers were too "amateurish" or if they had other motives.

The people attending the gathering were all quite punctual; they were all seated five minutes before 2:00.

Including Wei Hongsi himself, there were ten people in total this time. He observed each person discreetly, paying particular attention to the "round-faced girl".

It must be said that Yuan Zhenhui's ability to summarize is quite strong. Just by hearing him address the attendees, Wei Hongsi could basically match them up. As for the one or two he couldn't quite place, he could easily figure them out by comparing them with others.

After they sat down, they were all quiet. Apart from a brief greeting when they first entered, no one spoke.

The "round-faced girl" didn't show anything particularly unusual, except that she was sitting at the back.

In a large gathering, such a position is advantageous for observing others and for concealing oneself, which is also the reason for Wei Hongsi's choice of seat.

Everyone waited for more than ten minutes. Usually, the host would arrive early, but for some reason, he was late today.

Many people began to frequently look towards the door of the private room, and a few people showed signs of anxiety, but no one suggested contacting the host.

The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and everyone's eyes turned to look. However, it wasn't the host of the event who entered, but several police officers in uniform.

The policeman in the lead was about forty years old, slightly overweight, with an oily face, thinning hair, and a stubble around his mouth.

After entering, he scanned everyone present and then said, "I am Li Xu, a police officer from the Shajie Subdistrict Police Station. You all know Ma Xiaoli, right?"

Seeing some people nod and others look blank, Li Xu said again, "It's Teacher Mary who organized this event."

Almost everyone nodded in agreement, except for Wei Hongsi.

Li Xu said seriously, "You don't need to wait anymore. Ma Xiaoli is a fraud, and we are investigating her!"