When Xu Tingsheng had been a teacher in his previous life, he had gone on a fully sponsored trip to Sanya once.

  The sand at Longya Bay had been fine like powder, softer than skin. That day, Xu Tingsheng had wanted to wait for the sunset. Yet, the tour guide had said, “This is Longya Bay. Gather back here in thirty minutes. I’ll be bringing you people to view a crystal factory after this.”


  Therefore, it had been with regrets that Xu Tingsheng had left Sanya then.

  Ever since then, he had always hated following tour groups on tours, always having wanted to return to Longya Bay once without anything tying him down, staying at a hotel right by the bay and giving himself ample time there. He would stay there for a couple of days in an unhurried state.

  Waking up naturally one fine morning, then eating lunch in his pyjamas in his room……

  Afterwards, leisurely strolling to the beach and taking an afternoon nap, basking under the rays of the afternoon sun. Watching the sunset, then listening to waves pattering against the shore in the darkness as the night slowly went by.

  Now that was a holiday.

  After Xiang Ning had entered his life, he had fantasised about her fragrant kiss, her soft lips, her slender legs amidst the comfortableness of the shore in the night, light winds and gentle waves.

  He would sing her a song along with the rhythm of the waves. Two songs were fine as well, so long as she gave him a kiss for it in exchange.

  In his previous life, their dream tour had continually been delayed due to a lack of funds and also because he was still very busy……till finally this had become impossible to fulfil in the end.

  Xu Tingsheng spent three days on the beaches of Nice just like that.

  Relaxing, emptying the mind, trying to remain unmoved by most things. Still, the problems that could not be resolved ultimately still cannot be resolved in the end. Applying principles that you have heard of before to yourself, it might not be so easy to be at peace with it then.

  People are faced with different things, are troubled by different things.

  At least, Xu Tingsheng was most afraid of seeing missed calls from America when turning on his phone over this period of time.

  Luckily, there weren’t any.

  As for that person in Milan, there were still seven months before what they had pictured together was due. Regarding right or wrong in this matter and who was or was not letting down whom……

  The calmer Xu Tingsheng became, the more he didn’t dare to let himself think deeply into such matters at all.

  Sometimes, Xu Tingsheng really wished that he was Old Jin.

  Old Jin was never hesitant or conflicted in dealing with matters as he would resolve them with a great flourish. This included him slapping little Jinshan. Xu Tingsheng had tried to persuade him against this once, saying that it wasn’t good to hit children since they might develop an inferiority complex.

  Old Jin said, “Inferiority complex your head. You people really read too many useless books. Old man hitting son-this has been the case for several thousands of years! Why must all those weird rules come now? You just look at him. That brat’s so healthy, so lively, so extroverted, so daring, so capable!”


  Little Jinshan stood beside him, his backpack stuffed full of presents given to him by foreign big sisters and aunties of all kinds. He had already learnt how to say in English and French: You’re so beautiful, I love you, marry me, thank you.

  He had comprehended the first two phrases on his own. As for the other two, he had looked for Gu Ying and taken the initiative to learn them from her.

  Xu Tingsheng really had to admit that there was actually really nothing wrong with little Jinshan at all. On the contrary, it was already evident at this time that this six-year-old brat would likely be growing up to be a capable person in the future. He would be able to navigate society with no problem at all, at least.

  “Relax, I dote on my son,” Old Jin said, “How my fathers have you seen who’ve brought their sons out without further question just because they want to see some weirdass monster? In raising a son, waste less time on other useless matters, and never block them from gaining experience at all. This is my educational philosophy. If he wants to tour the moon next time, even then I’d immediately go to the tour agency and see if there’re any tour groups for that.”


  Little Jinshan said, “I want to go on a tour of the moon.”


  Old Jin slapped him, “Tour your freaking ass.”


  Little Jinshan turned to Xu Tingsheng, “Uncle Xu, I want to go on a tour of the moon.”


  Xu Tingsheng raised his hand.

  Old Jin said, “Go on, slap him. It’s fine once you get used to it.”


  Xu Tingsheng was tempted to try this for real.

  Little Jinshan looked at him in a pure, innocent manner, “Uncle Xu, I love you……je t’aime.”
……

  Too shameless.

  Just three days after their separation, Xu Tingsheng already rather missed them……

  China. Winds were arising and clouds surging in Yanzhou and the internet.

  The troublemaker in this incident was sunbathing on the beaches of Nice.

  Every day, Xu Tingsheng spent an hour or two receiving information and handling issues.

  Hucheng Education’s training institute in Shenghai had already officially started recruiting students. All was successful and going smoothly as planned.

  Hucheng’s Director Wang Tuo and Tang Yufei, as a representative of Xu Tingsheng and Lu Zhixin, had already left for Xihu City where they were to work on the acquisition of a training institute.

  As it promoted student recruitment on its platform, Hucheng was constantly able to generally grasp the latest financial statuses of training institutes……

  The Black Horse Club saw its first member leaving. He did not hide or obscure anything as he simply cut to the chase and said that he was unable to cope with the immense pressure. Then, he repeatedly assured them that he would never leak their secrets as their friendship should be maintained.

  Actually, all this was already no longer important. Most crucial was how long the core members of the Black Horse Club would be able to hold out.

  At least, it was currently Hucheng that was under the most pressure as it also faced the most trouble. It was still defiantly resisting those blows and remaining silent, however, silent to the point that even their boss had not shown his face and they had not even cried out that it hurt.

  It was rumoured that the bigwigs from the various departments who had gone to ‘conduct checks’ were all very angry. That Principal Tang who went to receive them every time was a breed of ‘pedantic scholar’ who had nearly gone extinct. He never ever rebutted them or rose to challenge them, professing ignorance to everything as he was completely unable to understand those subtle hints they gave him as well.

  “Isn’t Hucheng itself facing a major crisis in the first place? How is it that they still dare to resist to the death in competing for that plot of land? Is this that they’re not revising their faults or are they just stubbornly resisting regardless?”


  “Perhaps they are in the midst of shifting the battlefield, and so have gone all in for that plot of land. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly give in?!”


  Whatever the case, as those in the know regarding the acquisition of land in Yanzhou saw it, Hucheng seemed to have steeled itself for a fight to the death this time as the majority of the Black Horse Club was similarly going all out in defiantly resisting to the utmost.

  The key thing now was that they did not lack money as funds were not a problem. While they could not be considered very powerful in terms of connections and capabilities, the lineup that they had shown was one that everyone had to be wary of as they dared not give a killing blow.

  What was to be done about this?

  With this in mind, the relevant competitors felt despondent yet helpless. Meeting these people who would not bow their heads no matter what, even if they ultimately obtained victory in this contest, the price that they would have paid was much greater than what it would have been otherwise.

  Therefore, ‘offering conditions’ and ‘enticing with benefits’ gradually became the mainstream way of dealing with this, with the offered conditions gradually becoming better and better too.

  Compared to the additional funds that would be required in the actual auction, all this was actually just a small price to pay. After all, the price they had originally been going to pay had come with a sort of ‘tacit understanding’ in mind, still being inexpensive considering their quality.

  When Lu Zhixin reported the conditions the other side had offered Hucheng to Xu Tingsheng, he replied, “Let me have fun for two more days……I mean, I still have some work to do here, and it’ll probably take me around another two more days or so.”


  Currently dabbling in real estate with the help of the Jinxiong Corporation was the Ding Family.

  Ding Sen really regretted it. He clenched his teeth, thinking that he should have gotten Dongzi and the other guy to bear the risk and wait for another two more days, rendering Xu Tingsheng dead a little earlier.

  Now, that ‘troublemaker’ was already nowhere to be found.