Zhou Lan was still chatting idly with Xie Chun about mathematical formulas, while Xu Yanghe looked at Xu Jin’s reply, his expression growing more solemn.
[Xu Jin: The demolition notices were sent to the owners of those buildings before the New Year. The landlords will likely start evicting people within the next few days as work resumes.]
Xu Yanghe frowned; the sound of Zhou Lan and Xie Chun talking became increasingly grating to his ears.
[Xu Yanghe: Why the rush? There’s a timeline for approvals; shouldn’t that time be used to notify tenants to relocate?]
[Xu Jin: Special circumstances, special handling.]
[Xu Jin: You know that because the rent is cheap there, most of the tenants are difficult to deal with. Zhou Yi intentionally timed this around the New Year. The goal is to catch them off guard and give them no time to haggle. Especially since several landlords are relatives of the old spinning mill management; they’ll play the “bad cop” and start throwing tenants’ belongings out the door right after the holidays to ensure a quick clearance.]
Indeed, no one cared where those people would sleep at night.
The news left a bitter taste in Xu Yanghe’s mouth.
[Xu Jin: Why the sudden interest in this?]
[Xu Yanghe: A friend lives there.]
[Xu Jin: Then you’d better advise him to move out quickly.]
Xu Yanghe finished his Oden meatballs and slowly sipped the soup.
Zhou Lan had seemingly decided Xu Yanghe was no threat and was finally ready to leave. After a long-winded farewell to Xie Chun, he gave Xu Yanghe a nod, clutching his cardboard box. “Heading out now.”
Xu Yanghe looked up at him with a meaningful gaze. “Leaving just like that? Nothing else to say?”
“Huh?” Zhou Lan didn’t follow.
Xu Yanghe added, “Nothing left you haven’t told Xie Chun?”
Zhou Lan still didn’t react. He chuckled at Xu Yanghe. “You’re talking in circles. See you later.”
Xu Yanghe looked down; Xu Jin had simply sent him the documents for the old spinning mill demolition and new housing development. Zhou Lan had indeed been involved in a portion of it.
Zhou Lan liked Xie Chun, yet he hadn’t said a word about the demolition.
He wanted to play the hero saving the damsel in distress.
Zhou Lan—Xu Yanghe’s best friend, the brother he’d worry about even if he retired to the middle of the Pacific, the brother who had just done him a huge favor!
Xu Yanghe slowly walked up to Xie Chun.
“Come with me.”
“What?” Xie Chun looked up in surprise.
Xu Yanghe casually grabbed two packs of mints from the counter and tossed them in front of Xie Chun.
Xie Chun scanned the barcodes, waiting for Xu Yanghe to pay and speak.
However, Xu Yanghe stood frozen for a moment. His eyes were pointed toward Xie Chun, but his mind was blanking out.
Xie Chun spoke again: “If you’re not paying, put them back.”
Xu Yanghe scanned the code and asked, “It’s the fifth day of the New Year, why are you still the only one in the shop?”
“The boss said someone in the family is getting married; he won’t be back until the tenth,” Xie Chun explained.
“Meaning you’re the one who decides whether the shop stays open?” The convenience store machine and Xie Chun’s phone chimed almost simultaneously. “Payment received.”
Xie Chun: “!”
Xu Yanghe had transferred another ten thousand yuan with the note: Work Interruption Fee.
Xu Yanghe asked, “Have you ever seen the sea?”
Xie Chun said, “You mean Cheng Port?”
Although Haicheng was named after the sea, its coastline was short, consisting only of a tiny harbor called Cheng Port. It was so small you could see the whole thing just by climbing a grassy slope.
“Cheng Port doesn’t count.” Xu Yanghe smiled. “We’re going to Liangling City.”
“Even if it doesn’t count, I’ve never been.” Xie Chun’s excitement was visible. He checked off a few items on the ledger, signed it, ran to count the stock, pulled down the shutters, and locked the door.
As they stepped out of the convenience store, it began to snow again.
The night snow fell silently, growing heavier. The streets were quiet as Xu Yanghe and Xie Chun walked with their respective umbrellas, their shadows stretching and shrinking under the streetlights.
“Are you really just coming with me?” Xu Yanghe looked back at Xie Chun. “Just one sentence and you’re coming?”
Xie Chun brushed off a snowflake. “It’s ten thousand yuan!”
Xu Yanghe laughed. “Money-grubber.”
Xie Chun hurried a few steps to catch up, his breath visible in the cold air. “Why Liangling?”
Xu Yanghe said, “I just felt like going.”
Xie Chun asked again, “Why bring me?”
Xu Yanghe replied, “I just wanted to take you to see the sea. Why so many questions?”
So easy to fool.
Xu Yanghe went to get the car while Xie Chun waited for him at the entrance of the residential complex.
Taking advantage of the moment, Xu Yanghe made an emergency call to Yu Dashan.
“Dashan, if I need to quickly win someone over within two days…”
Yu Dashan let out a yawn. “The rice is already cooked—make it a done deal.” (A Chinese idiom implying sexual consummation to force a relationship).
“Screw off,” Xu Yanghe said, hanging up and blocking Yu Dashan.
When Xu Yanghe drove out of the complex, he saw Xie Chun still standing there, panting slightly.
“The snow is getting heavy, didn’t you think to take cover?” He helped Xie Chun open the car door.
Xie Chun’s hair was covered in snow, which melted quickly once he was inside. A few strands of wet, icy hair clung to his forehead. “I know how to take cover.”
Xu Yanghe took a small pack of tissues from his pocket, pulled one out, unfolded it, and draped it over Xie Chun’s head.
Xie Chun took it off and wiped his hair bit by bit. “Thanks.”
Xu Yanghe said, “It’s a two-hour drive on the highway. Sleep if you’re tired.”
As it turned out, Xie Chun fell asleep before they even reached the highway.
Xu Yanghe focused on driving, not daring to look sideways.
Seeing the sea was, of course, a side quest; Xu Yanghe’s primary goal for this trip was to meet Qin Zicheng.
They headed north, with almost no other cars on the highway. By the time they reached the checkpoint for Liangling City, the fluttering flakes had turned into heavy snow. The sky was pitch black, but the snow on the ground glowed under the streetlights.
Liangling was a famous coastal city with a highly developed tourism industry.
After exiting the highway, signs of life gradually appeared. Many shops were still lit, and groups of tourists were occasionally seen strolling along the roadside.
“Wow—” Xie Chun leaned against the car window.
Beyond the ornamental trees on that side of the road was the coast. Snow was falling, and the tide pushed foam and ice shards onto the beach. A few tourists were playing by the shore, the lighthouse beam circling around them.
When did he wake up? Xu Yanghe glanced at him.
Xie Chun pointed at a tall dark shadow in the distance, which seemed to be a statue, and said, “I want to go see that.”
“We’ll go tomorrow.” Seeing the sea in a heavy snowstorm at midnight—was he crazy? What could he even see?
“Okay,” Xie Chun agreed with a beaming smile.
They soon entered the resort area. Liangling’s three luxury hotels were all built along the coast.
Xu Yanghe was primarily looking for the one controlled by the Yu family.
Not for any other reason than when the hotel opened, Yu Dashan had told him that he could get a 50% discount by mentioning “Young Master Yu’s” name. At the time, Xu Yanghe hadn’t cared, but now he knew the true value of that name.
He only had two million in his card, and there would be many expenses after the company was established. He would be in a state of spending without earning for the next six months or more, so he had to be frugal.
Xu Yanghe led Xie Chun into the lobby. The girl at the front desk looked over.
Xu Yanghe walked up to her and handed her a business card—Yu Dashan’s.
The young girl picked it up, looked at it, said nothing, put it back down, and pushed it back to its original spot.
They waited for each other for a moment.
Receptionist: “What room type would you like to open?”
Xu Yanghe kept a straight face and pushed the business card forward again.
She didn’t get it and pushed it back without a second thought.
Xie Chun craned his neck from behind, trying to see what they were doing.
She repeated in a clear, standard tone, “May I ask what room type you would like to open?”
Probably a summer intern.
Competence unknown, integrity unshakable.
Xu Yanghe felt he might need to provide some guidance.
He tapped the counter with his index finger and said slowly, “You are the Tianyun chain, right…”
“Yes,” the receptionist repeated the full name of the hotel. “What room type are you opening exactly?”
Xu Yanghe’s finger slowly tapped onto the name “Yu” on the card. “I remember your boss is…”
The receptionist said, “Our president is named Yu Tianhe.”
That was Yu Dashan’s eldest brother.
The “Yu” on the card was almost worn out from the tapping.
Behind him, Xie Chun let out a soft yawn. Xu Yanghe: …
Yu Dashan’s old promise echoed in his mind: “Although Young Master Yu has neither a position nor real power, rest assured, the grassroots employees here will definitely find my name ringing in their ears.”
Xu Yanghe: …
He probably had to be explicit. He pushed the card out again with two fingers. “I am a friend of your President Yu’s… younger brother.”
He really wanted to drag Yu Dashan out of his phone and beat him up. Why couldn’t he do something useful for once? If he were actually a “Young Master Yu,” saying it wouldn’t require such a long, unreliable-sounding string of words.
The receptionist stared at him for two seconds.
“What exactly do you want to open…”
“I want a discount,” Xu Yanghe said, standing tall.
She checked the system for a few minutes. “I’m sorry, sir, there are no more special offer rooms available today.”
Xu Yanghe: …
“Just you wait.” Xu Yanghe’s finger twitched as he pulled Yu Dashan out of his block list and started calling.
Yu Dashan, pick up… pick up!
He didn’t pick up.
Xu Yanghe could imagine how soundly the guy was sleeping.
Xie Chun, behind him, was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, letting out another yawn.
The atmosphere had reached such a point that anything Xu Yanghe said next would look like a meltdown. Not only would it not make things smoother, but it also wouldn’t save any money.
Xu Yanghe snatched back his ID. “We’re not staying for now.”
He pulled Xie Chun toward the exit.
Xie Chun was dragged backward for a few steps before turning around. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing the sea,” Xu Yanghe said.
Xie Chun: “Now? Didn’t you say tomorrow…”
“Now is tomorrow.” Xu Yanghe showed Xie Chun the time. “Hasn’t it passed midnight?”
Xie Chun could only say, “Yes.”
Xu Yanghe added as a justification, “The sea is meant to be seen in the early hours of the morning.”
Xie Chun: “…”
Xie Chun believed him.
On the beach, there were landscape lights along the coast, so it wasn’t impossible to see.
Snow fluttered in the sky and the wind howled. On the beach covered in a thick layer of snow, Xu Yanghe parked the car facing the ocean.
“Look,” Xu Yanghe said loudly.
Xie Chun shouted back, “I can’t see anything!”
Aside from the roaring sound of the waves confirming its existence, the ocean before them had no discernible shape in the void-like darkness. Even the briny smell of the sea seemed frozen by the cold wind.
Xie Chun sat sideways, facing Xu Yanghe, and slowly reached out his hand.
“Let’s get out of the car after all,” Xu Yanghe said suddenly.
“Oh.” Xie Chun had no choice but to shiver-ly unbuckle his seatbelt and follow him out of the car.
There was no one else outside.
Another gust of wind whipped up behind them, howling like a ghost as it passed through the gaps between the shop buildings and the completely bent palm trees.
Xie Chun covered his ears, his head covered in snow. “I don’t want to look anymore!”
Xu Yanghe didn’t hear clearly. “What?”
Xie Chun yelled again, “It’s so cold!”
I’m cold too! Xu Yanghe wailed in his heart.
The two of them walked toward the sea together.
The freezing wind blew their hearts numb. For some reason, Xu Yanghe opened his arms, moved closer, and hugged Xie Chun.
In the freezing world, the hug felt like a spark, a faint warmth passing between them.
The outward-facing parts were frozen hard, a shell braving the wind and snow. But the center had a small patch that was warmed and softened.
What started as a loose embrace grew tighter and more solid, from clothes rubbing against clothes to their bodies pressing against and relying on each other. They were becoming addicted to the hug.
It seemed they hadn’t been that cold to begin with, but once their bodies felt the warmth of the embrace, they perceived the bone-chilling cold even more intensely.
They were even shivering as they hugged.
Suddenly, a beam of intense light hit them.