Qian Hongming’s phone call followed Liu Jun’s footsteps home. But this time Liu Jun didn’t answer immediately. Instead, after exiting the elevator, he looked at Yang Li’s door. Since Yang Li got married and moved to her new residence, this place was empty like the Yellow Crane Tower. He thought he should find Yang Li to convey his gratitude. Only after entering his home did he answer Qian Hongming’s call, speaking as if talking to himself: “No need to thank me—otherwise what are friends for?”
“I just learned that Jia Li and Xiao Suihua were quite sick, and troubled you to drive them around again.”
“Yes, last night’s matter. What kind of husband are you being? Uh, you just found out?”
“Yes, I just learned about their condition. I call home every day, so I’m quite shocked—this is too abnormal. Liu Jun, did you notice if Jia Li behaved unusually last night? Xiao Suihua told me today that Daddy is bad, Uncle A Jun is good.”
“Are you worried? Worried about what regarding Jia Li?”
“Does Jia Li have suspicions?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of suspicions? Suspicions about what?”
“I didn’t dare ask, afraid of making it worse by trying to cover it up. I’m not afraid of ruining your good thing—I’m only afraid of hurting Jia Li and Xiao Suihua. But you need to conduct yourself well.”
“Liu Jun, although New Year’s is approaching and I know you’re very busy, please make time to come to Shanghai and help me pick out a car suitable for Jia Li. Also, I’m planning to change cars too…”
“What Jia Li wants isn’t a car. Hongming, aren’t you the one who understands Jia Li best? You can even predict every sentence Jia Li wants to say—ask yourself, is giving her a car useful? You must not personally and actively create a new tragedy.”
Qian Hongming pondered for a long while, then said: “Liu Jun, I beg you never to tell Jia Li about my situation in Shanghai. What I’m doing here is just playing along with circumstances. Jia Li is innocent—she would mistakenly think I’m betraying the family. Today’s social environment is so complex, Jia Li might not be able to understand. Please, please.”
Liu Jun was very disappointed, but he didn’t dare tell Jia Li the truth. A physically frail, introverted woman with a young child, after learning the truth, whatever choice she made wouldn’t be a good one. Better not to know, at least maintaining the original state. At most, she’d just feel a bit unhappy and have some complaints when sick. Only then did Liu Jun understand why wives were always the last to know about their husbands’ affairs—it wasn’t because they were surrounded by fair-weather friends, but because friends couldn’t bear to reveal the truth.
Qian Hongming was even more displeased. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Liu Jun’s words, reminding him of past matters he least wanted to mention. He couldn’t help thinking of his sister’s advice, asking him why he tormented himself like this, always staying close to someone who could constantly remind him of his ugly past. He had originally thought that as long as his willpower was strong enough, it would be fine. He never expected Liu Jun would bring up old accounts, striking swiftly and accurately at the most sensitive part of his heart, making him feel cold. No wonder some people said that those who hurt you most are your good friends.
Qian Hongming rushed home early the next morning, using his sleep-deprived red eyes and dark circles to convince Jia Li most concisely and powerfully. Afterward, he also secretly made arrangements. Using the money originally intended to buy Jia Li a car, he acquired an apartment in another residential complex within a ten-minute walk, and before Spring Festival personally drove to Jia Li’s hometown to bring her parents to live there for their retirement. The property deed bore only Jia Li’s name. This thoughtful arrangement was more powerful than Qian Hongming saying a hundred times that, since his parents were dead, he would focus on being filial to his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
With his newly retired but still vigorous father-in-law and his mother-in-law, who was meticulous in caring for her daughter, Qian Hongming wouldn’t need to trouble Liu Jun to take care of Jia Li anymore. His sister Qian Hongying also breathed a sigh of relief—she had been worried about Jia Li’s excessive reliance on Liu Jun.
Of course, with his father-in-law there, Qian Hongming didn’t need to worry about decorating the new house. He didn’t even need to worry about Jia Li’s loneliness and boredom staying home alone—he could focus more on his career. Qian Hongming was now combining foreign trade with futures trading better and better, advancing on two fronts simultaneously, shuttling between the two lines daily like a spinning top with high-rhythm work, high-rhythm thinking, and high-rhythm emotions, never knowing fatigue. Therefore, he needed intense sex to relieve his tense and excited nerves. Looking around his circle, people living this way were everywhere. This wasn’t something Jia Li could understand or cooperate with. He was rather puzzled where Liu Jun got the patience, a promising young man who had seen the world, yet guarded a small factory without getting bored. He even suspected that if Liu Jun continued to squat there so steadily, his thinking would soon align with township enterprise owners.
Liu Jun was indeed doing what township enterprise owners should do with great relish. The acquisition of the neighboring micro-bearing factory wasn’t going smoothly because Liu Jun had clearly stated he only wanted the land—everything above, including factory buildings and equipment, could be moved away as he wanted none of it. The micro-bearing factory owner had built up the enterprise single-handedly and had a deep emotional attachment to the factory. Even though forced to sell it, he was unwilling to see the factory’s facilities abandoned by the new owner and completely transformed. Therefore, he kept hesitating, unwilling to sell to Liu Jun, struggling to find other buyers. Unfortunately, while other buyers were willing to retain all facilities, their offers weren’t ideal. The micro-bearing factory owner was painfully torn between emotion and reason.
Although Liu Jun was impatient with waiting, if he didn’t have a second choice, he would have to continue waiting. But by a strange coincidence, the home textile factory across the narrow road had been burned to ashes, and its disheartened owner decided to sell the factory and become a rentier. He first visited enterprises throughout the industrial zone to see which would be willing to take over nearby. Liu Jun immediately realized that across a narrow road wasn’t much of a distance, and the home textile factory’s location wasn’t inferior to the micro-bearing factory’s. So the two parties sat down for serious negotiations. The home textile factory being burned to ashes perfectly met Liu Jun’s requirement of wanting nothing but the land, so their negotiation starting point was very correct.
The micro-bearing factory owner became anxious upon hearing this. With year-end approaching and creditors knocking on doors, when pressured, one lacks a leisure mood. So emotion surrendered to reason, and the micro-bearing factory owner surrendered to Liu Jun. Looking at both plots—the micro-bearing factory and the home textile factory—Liu Jun loved them both, but love had to be constrained by his wallet. He was still waiting to pay for that plot in the science and technology park. Year-end was a trial for all business owners. Although Liu Jun’s Tengfei insisted on cash payments, it couldn’t withstand the overall environment. While Tengfei’s year-end didn’t require becoming Yang Bailao, it was still somewhat torturous. Liu Jun, skilled in R&D, calculated his cash on hand, possible loans, and future expenditures like playing with a sandbox for a long time, getting his brain muddled. He simply rolled up his account books and went to Shanghai to find his financial advisor, Cui Bingbing.
To avoid having Cui Bingbing prepare diligently in advance and waste money and manpower, Liu Jun didn’t give prior notice. He calculated the timing to take an express bus into the city, then transferred to Shanghai’s subway, arriving at the bank building just as Cui Bingbing got off work. Only then did he call, saying he was cold and hungry, crouching in the icy corner of the bank building, begging for a cup of hot coffee. Cui Bingbing laughed heartily and indeed came down with a large cup of hot coffee after work, meeting Liu Jun in the warm lobby on the first floor, of course, not outside at the corner. Cui Bingbing wasn’t kind—she forced Liu Jun to finish the entire large cup of coffee before letting him off.
Cui Bingbing openly admired Liu Jun’s Adam’s apple moving up and down as he drank coffee. When Liu Jun was nearly finished, she asked: “Did you call your childhood friend? Have you decided where to have dinner?”
“I didn’t tell Hongming I was coming to Shanghai. Finding you today might take up a lot of your time. Why are you so thin again? Does Shanghai’s subway have such weight-loss effects?”
“Sigh, Shanghai girls are too elegant. After so many days, I still haven’t found a rough friend. You tell me, for a foodie like me, do you get fat eating business meals? Since you’ve walked into the trap yourself, the old rule—eat at three restaurants consecutively until you surrender.”
But Liu Jun knew the hardship of Cui Bingbing re-establishing her foundation and foothold, which was precisely why he came to Shanghai without advance notice. “Find a good steakhouse—I’m dying for authentic steak. Just let me eat three steaks consecutively and I’ll surrender without hesitation.”
“Hey, I was planning to take you to a Sichuan restaurant to fill you with chili water. Look at you—no integrity at all. Call Qian Hongming. That brother has been asking me about some policies lately. I’ve been too busy, but today would be perfect.”
Liu Jun frowned. “Lately, when I see him, I can’t help but discuss life philosophy with him. He avoids me like the plague—he doesn’t even ask me to help buy new cars anymore. My belly full of uplifting life philosophy has become a blocked lake, suffocating me.”
“Better to channel than block—I can play Yu the Great once.” Finally confirming that only the two of them would have dinner tonight, Cui Bingbing couldn’t help thinking of “dining together” and smiled mischievously. “Seriously, I don’t see what you and Qian Hongming could discuss about life philosophy. Although Qian Hongming might dress and behave more elegantly than you, he’s essentially a complete savage. Those methods of his… even farmers-turned-entrepreneurs washing their feet to enter the city are more cultured than his. Does he have a spiritual life? Never mind, lest I annoy you.”
“Bingbing, you’re not truly straightforward.”
Cui Bingbing laughed heartily without defending herself, letting Liu Jun drive her car while she directed him to a steakhouse she approved of. As Liu Jun devoured steak, she looked through the gifts he’d brought her. Liu Jun’s gift-giving attitude was outrageous—not one item seemed meant for a girl, all were food, with no sweets. But these foods were exactly what she missed desperately being away from home, showing Liu Jun’s careful observation of her.