Three people walked out of the inn. Leyao stopped her steps when passing the large square, while Zhaoyang and A Feng looked at her with some confusion.
She turned back to look at the four-story inn and asked me, “Zhaoyang, are you really going to give up taking over this inn?”
“Sis, the transfer fee is thirty million, after all. Although the inn is great, we also need to be realistic, right?”
Leyao insisted, “Didn’t he just say he’d think about it again? There might be a chance for a turnaround.”
“The reason he said he’d think about it is obviously because of you… Did you see the Lamborghini parked over there? That’s his car. People who drive such cars always like to show off their social status by chasing celebrities.”
Looking at me doubtfully, Leyao said, “What kind of rich second generation haven’t I seen in Beijing? There are always reliable ones. Please stop exaggerating and making them all sound so bad, okay?”
I forcibly pulled Leyao along while walking and said, “Anyway, leave this matter to me. I’ll figure it out myself.”
Leyao struggled, “Zhaoyang, be gentle! You’re hurting me!”
I quickly let go of Leyao and saw a noticeable red mark on her wrist.
“I’m sorry, I got too excited!”
Leyao looked at me discontentedly but said nothing…
I also fell into silence, blaming myself for being overly anxious. In fact, Leyao had only just met that coal tycoon briefly. Being in the entertainment industry, she had long been accustomed to people like him. She definitely had her own ways and principles for interacting with them, so I shouldn’t have intervened so much.
…
Back at our own inn, Leyao went straight to her room without lingering. A Feng and I stood on the balcony smoking and discussing the future of the inn.
After chatting for a while, A Feng said to me, “Zhaoyang, I feel you’re being overly protective of Leyao.”
“Really?”
A Feng nodded affirmatively.
I exhaled the smoke heavily and told him, “You don’t know her background… Although she’s in the entertainment industry, she rarely has ulterior motives towards people around her.”
A Feng smiled and said, “I think that’s not necessarily true. To survive in such a mixed entertainment industry until today, she must have her own methods. Maybe she just shows her most genuine self to you, which makes you instinctively think she’s not guarded around others.”
I didn’t argue back because A Feng might be right.
He continued, “I know something about Zhou Zhaokun from Yuanlai Inn (the coal tycoon). He occasionally visits our bar, but I’ve never seen him being overly familiar with any woman. He’s also quite charitable, donating education equipment to local schools almost every year and helping disadvantaged groups.”
“Is that true?”
“Would I lie to you? After all, he’s been in Xitang for many years. If there were any real issues with his character, they would have spread all over this small town by now.”
Still puzzled, I asked, “He must be in his thirties already, with such good personal conditions. Hasn’t he married or even had a girlfriend?”
“Just a case of literary romanticism… There’s actually a story about Zhou Zhaokun.”
“What story?”
“They say he once spent a whole year traveling around the world just to find a woman who would make him fall in love at first sight… At his age, still believing in love at first sight—what else could that be but literary romanticism?”
I laughed and said, “I think it’s just that he’s rich and bored!”
A Feng chuckled with me, “The key point of this story isn’t that he traveled around the world, but that even after traveling around the world, he still couldn’t find a woman to fall in love with at first sight!”
I teased, “Then he might just be an alien left on Earth, since the entire planet couldn’t find a woman suitable for him… He’s practically a man who abandoned the entire Earth!”
“Exaggerating, exaggerating. He just hasn’t found a woman who gives him that feeling.”
I shrugged without saying more, focusing instead on the cigarette I hadn’t finished yet, taking another deep puff.
A Feng nudged me and said, “By the way, are you really going to give up on that inn?”
“I don’t have a choice!”
“Zhou Zhaokun is actually quite reasonable. How about we go talk to him again… He’s afraid of trouble, so let’s come up with a trouble-free plan for him.”
I thought for a while and felt I shouldn’t give up so easily because entrepreneurship requires perseverance to overcome various difficulties.
“It’s settled then, this time it’ll just be the two of us.”
As if understanding my concerns, A Feng patted my shoulder and said, “Just us two. Let Leyao stay at the inn and rest.”
…
After making our decision, A Feng and I returned to Yuanlai Inn, where coincidentally Zhou Zhaokun was just carrying a briefcase heading toward the Lamborghini parked in the square, seemingly preparing to leave.
A Feng and I called out to stop him, and he looked at us with some confusion…
I said to him, “Mr. Zhou, regarding the transfer of the inn, I’d like to talk to you again.”
He smiled and asked, “How would you like to talk about it?”
“Obviously we can’t discuss it here. If it’s not inconvenient for you, can we go inside and talk?”
“Alright… Please come upstairs.”
Zhou Zhaokun walked into the inn ahead of us, with A Feng and me following behind. A Feng whispered to me, “See, he’s very easygoing and doesn’t have that kind of arrogance, right?”
After A Feng’s introduction and observing his current behavior, my impression of him had indeed improved. I nodded at A Feng, indicating that this person was quite decent, at least lacking the arrogance commonly found among the typical rich second generation, unlike that extremely annoying Weiran.
We returned to Zhou Zhaokun’s office again. He sat back in his office chair, while A Feng and I sat on the sofa opposite him. He said to me again, “Tell me your thoughts.”
I nodded and said, “First of all, I have to admit that I definitely can’t afford the thirty million to buy this inn.”
“Hmm… Please continue.”
“So the only option is cooperation… Mr. Zhou, may I ask you a question? Did you make a profit by selling this inn for thirty million?”
“Of course, selling it at this price doesn’t make a profit. A few years ago, I paid 23 million for this land, and then added almost another 30 million for construction, renovation, and greening of the inn.”
“Then why do you want to sell it? Everyone can see that this land will continue to appreciate in value. And in the entire Xitang, how many people can afford thirty million?”
Zhou Zhaokun opened his cup and took a sip of water calmly, seemingly unconcerned about the thirty million. A Feng and I looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to respond.
He finally smiled and said, “The reason for selling it outright is to make myself determined to leave this place, Xitang… As for the thirty million transfer fee, I don’t plan to take it with me. I’m going to donate it all at once to local public institutions to build some social welfare facilities. It can be considered my contribution to this place before leaving Xitang…” He paused slightly and added, “I have deep feelings for this place!”
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