Qin Shu: “…”


  Who wanted his sympathy?!

  Qin Feng repeated himself, “My circumstances aren’t too different from yours. Both my parents are dead. Although I have relatives, I’ve lost touch with them.”


  … They really were in the same boat, it seemed.

  A sort of mutual understanding exists between two people of similar circumstances. Being the kind of woman she was, Qin Shu did not offer Qin Feng any words of sympathy – not because she did not have any to give; rather, she understood how pointless such a show of sympathy was for people like them.

  “I’ll raise my initial offer by another 30 million. Won’t you reconsider selling the Scenic Area to me?”


  Qin Shu calmly shook her head.

  Qin Feng: “…”


  He found it quite hard to swallow that the young man before him was unmoved by his new offer.

  It was the first time he, Qin Feng, had had so much trouble obtaining something he desired.

  In the end, the deal didn’t go through.

  After Qin Shu left the coffee lounge, she went straight to the dining area to have dinner.

  Qin Feng sat there and pondered for a while, then followed her to the dining area.

  Qin Shu picked out several of her favourite dishes from the buffet spread and chose a quiet spot to have her dinner. Picking up her chopsticks, she savoured her dinner in peaceable delight.

  No sooner had she begun eating than a man rudely occupied the seat opposite hers and sat down.

  Qin Feng smiled by way of greeting, the deep scar lashing across his brow revealing itself. It may not have been as eye-catching as it was before, but now, it stood in stark relief against his upturned brow.

  Modern medicine was not what it once was; it had improved by leaps and bounds. Getting rid of a scar, like the one Qin Feng sported, was no trouble at all.

  Yet, he chose to keep it.

  Qin Shu’s mouth twitched, but she continued eating. She could not be bothered to chastise the thick-skinned man in front of her. It would have done as much good as trying to teach a cow the intricacies of music.

  Qin Feng tightened his grip on his chopsticks. After eating a few mouthfuls of rice, he looked up again and said, “I think we can work together.”


  Qin Shu put down her chopsticks and listened with interest. “How do you propose we work together?”


  “I’ll give you half of whatever I earn through monies generated by the Scenic Area. What do you think?” Qin Feng posited.

  With her interest piqued, Qin Shu asked, “Why do you value the Scenic Area so highly?”


  Qin Feng paused. Should he come clean?

  Qin Shu smiled. “Is it something you can’t tell me?”


  Qin Feng pursed his lip as he eyed Qin Mian.

  Seeing the famous Master Feng reveal such a speechless expression, Qin Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to; I know what makes the Scenic Area so special.”


  “Huh?” Qin Feng nearly gave himself whiplash from shock.

  Qin Shu mouthed two words in response: gold mine.

  Qin Feng stared wide-eyed, utterly speechless.

  Qin Shu smiled and continued eating.

  It took Qin Feng a long while to recover from his shock. “How did you find out?”


  Even he had just only learnt of the Scenic Area’s value recently. Had it not been for the results obtained by the professor, he would not have spent so much time and effort on a mere tourist attraction.

  “That’s a secret.” Qin Shu returned to her meal having said her piece.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense…”


  Humans are curious creatures at heart. The more Qin Mian refused to divulge his source of information, the more curious Qin Feng became. It was as if he was staring at a puzzle, a puzzle that yielded none of its secrets. It gave Qin Mian an air of mystery.

  After dinner…


  Qin Shu poured herself a cup of warm water and did the same for Qin Feng.

  “Thank you.” Qin Feng accepted the cup of water and took a sip. From his posture alone, Qin Shu could tell that Qin Feng was not as eager as was earlier. No one would willingly hand over the profits mined from a gold mine without an exorbitant price.

  “Since you know the reason for my interest in the Scenic Area, are you still willing to cooperate with me?”


  Qin Shu took a sip of water. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”


  Since things had already come to this point, there was no need for Qin Feng to hide his true objective any longer. Although Qin Mian was young, Qin Feng felt the youth was not as simple as his appearance would suggest. No ordinary college student could possess the bearing of the young man before him.

  The two of them exchanged ideas rapidly.

  Qin Feng was pleasantly surprised by Qin Mian’s insight, and he was not stingy with his praise. “Your thoughts are not bad.”


  Now lay the crux of the matter. Qin Feng asked, “How much are you asking for in return?”


  Qin Shu sipped at her glass of water and said, “I can sell the Scenic Area to you, but I’ll take 40% of the profits generated by the site. In addition, I want a 30% share of the gold mine.”


  Hearing this, Qin Feng could not help but laugh. “You’re demanding a princely sum. You’re taking advantage of the situation to earn yourself a tidy profit!”


  Qin Shu did not deny it. Otherwise, she would not have bothered to take the initiative, there and then, to sell the Scenic Area. “My profits can hardly compare to yours. You’ll earn much more in the long run.”


  “Fine, fine. We’ll go with it in the way you’ve proposed.” Qin Feng nodded, albeit somewhat unhappily.

  If he disagreed, he would not get a single cent.

  Qin Feng was a seasoned businessman. Although he was only in his late thirties, he had made quite a name for himself such that not even veterans, dozens of years his senior, had ever taken advantage of him.

  It was the first time being placed in a disadvantageous position – moreover by a man so many years his junior.

  He felt his dignity, as the Iron Rooster of the business world, had been trampled underfoot by a young upstart.

  Qin Feng could only bow his head in defeat with his iron wings clipped, drawing up the agreement and appending his signature on the document. All that was left was to have it notarized.

  Qin Feng would be responsible for hammering out the details with Shen Chuzhong. On the other hand, Qin Shu did not need to do anything else except await the profits rolling in.

  Two reasons influenced her decision.

  First and foremost, Qin Feng was Fu Tingyu’s senior brother, so the less they interacted, the better. Qin Shu did not want others to discover her whereabouts.

  As for the second reason, it boiled down to being pregnant. Qin Shu did not want to overwork herself on account of her unborn child.

  Re-developing the Scenic Area and excavating the gold deposits would require an immense amount of time and energy, neither of which she could afford at the present juncture.

  While she could not afford to expend such precious resources, the same did not hold for Qin Feng.

  Their constant interaction helped familiarise one with the other.

  Qin Feng was very efficient. After purchasing the Scenic Area, he began work on the site immediately. He temporarily closed the Scenic Area and restructured the business in short order.

  While that was being done, he proceeded with the mining of the gold mine.

  He left all the grunt work to his trusted subordinates.

  –


  Meanwhile, in a certain guest room of the hotel…


  Qin Shu hugged President Ba, stroking his soft, luxurious fur. “Has everything been settled?”


  “Yes, everything is going as planned. Don’t worry; leave the rest to my subordinates.” Qin Feng regarded the cat snuggled in Qin Shu’s arms curiously. “I didn’t know that you liked cats. You even brought one with you.”


  “I’m used to having him accompany me.” Qin Shu eyed President Ba fondly. Though President Ba was often a glutton and had a mean streak a mile wide, he had always been loyal to her.

  Thinking the cat had been well domesticated, Qin Feng reached out, wiggling his fingers playfully. President Ba was not one to be teased, and he unsheathed his claws with a sharp hiss. The pointed daggers aimed at him caused Qin Feng to pause. Chuckling, he said, “This cat of yours may look sweet and docile, but it is very protective of its master.”


  “Of course.” Qin Shu’s voice was faint, but her pride was apparent in her tone of voice.

  “Meow!” President Ba glared at Qin Feng, daring him to lay his crummy hands on him or his mistress.

  “What are your plans now? Will you continue staying in North Lake?” Qin Feng asked.

  Qin Shu shook her head, “No, I’m going somewhere else.”


  “Are you going abroad?”


  “Going abroad?” Qin Shu paused.

  She had not considered the possibility before.

  Qin Feng continued, “I’ll be going abroad in two days. I have a few things I would like to sell. If you’re interested, we can make a trip out of the country together. After all, your parents are both dead, so there’s nothing to worry about.”


  What was he trying to say? What did having dead parents have anything to do with fewer worries? Qin Shu could not understand the correlation.

  The image of Fu Tingyu’s face suddenly appeared in her mind’s eye. They were two pools of light glimmering with the depth of his affection for her.

  Then, she thought of the two wooden tablets pressed against each together.

  She felt a thousand needles piercing her heart.

  Qin Feng noticed the young man’s hesitance, so he said, “There’s no rush. You need not answer at present. It’ll be fine if you give me an answer either tomorrow or the day after.”


  Qin Shu nodded. “Alright.”


  Once Qin Feng bade farewell, Qin Shu hugged President Ba, pinched his tiny paws, scratched his fluffy ears, and rubbed his skinny tummy.

  President Ba stiffened in response, not daring to move.

  “President Ba, you seem to have lost weight.” Qin Shu exclaimed.

  President Ba: “…”


  “Have I been giving you too little to eat?”


  Then again, she had been feeding him three to four pieces of fish a day!

  Unbeknownst to her, Ye Luo had been feeding President Ba dried fish whenever he had nothing to do. President Ba had been eating so much under Ye Luo’s tender care that it would have been stranger still if he did not put on weight.

  Now that it had lost weight, President Ba felt a lot less bloated and much more comfortable moving around.

  Sniffling in sorrow, Qin Shu murmured, “I’ve been such an incompetent master. President Ba, please forgive your mistress’s oversight!”


  “Meow,” President Ba called out as if he was comforting her.

  Qin Shu dried her tears and pulled out a storybook from her bag. Making herself comfortable, she began reading the story to her unborn child.

  Education should start from an early age. Qin Shu was not about to neglect her child despite the many things occupying her attention.

  –


  Jiangcheng, in the study room of Bright Garden…


  Fu Tingyu was sitting in front of his desk with the cigarette between his fingers half-lit.