Chapter Ninety-Seven: Who's Following Whom?
Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng bought some snacks at a convenience store and returned to the hotel. They saw an elevator door about to close, so they quickly ran over and pressed the button to open it.
However, when they stepped into the elevator and saw the two girls inside, both of them were stunned.
Inside the elevator were Zhang Qian and Yang Jie, the two they had chatted with at the bar earlier but hadn't exchanged contact information with.
Only when the elevator doors slowly closed automatically did Xiang Kun break the silence inside. "What a coincidence? You're staying at this hotel too?"
Zhang Qian's gaze lingered on the two faces for a moment with some suspicion before she nodded and said, "Yes, you two too?" She remembered that Liu Chuang had mentioned during their chat at the bar that he had just arrived in the city today, stopping by specifically to see a friend, and was leaving tomorrow. Could it be that he was also staying at this hotel?
After the elevator doors closed, Zi Cheng was about to press his floor button when he discovered that the light for the floor he wanted to go to was already on and the button had been pressed. So, those two girls lived on the same floor as him?
Silence fell in the elevator again. Soon they arrived at their 16th floor. After the elevator doors opened, Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng "gentlemanly" let the two girls go out first. They only got out of the elevator after the girls disappeared around the corner.
However, the two girls' room was only four rooms away from Zicheng's room, and their room door had just closed when Xiang Kun and the others walked over.
"Were these two guys secretly following us?" After closing the door, Yang Jie peered through the peephole at the fat man and the bald man passing by.
However, she then said somewhat uncertainly, "Logically, this shouldn't be the case. They left before us, and we didn't see their car on the road. It should just be a coincidence, right? Or did they know which hotel you were staying at beforehand and make arrangements in advance?"
Zhang Qian thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "They saw us in the elevator just now, and they seemed quite surprised. It didn't seem like they were acting. Besides... what's the point of staying in the same hotel? They can't just come knocking on our door in the middle of the night, can they?"
On the other side, after opening his room door, Zicheng couldn't help but turn back to Xiang Kun and mutter, "What's going on? Did they follow us here?" He didn't feel any excitement at the chance encounter with beautiful women; instead, he was quite uneasy, even a little creeped out.
Xiang Kun frowned and said, "It shouldn't be. Didn't Zhang Qian say that she only returned from England a few days ago? It's normal for her to stay in a hotel. Maybe she's already been staying in this hotel for several days. Judging from their expressions just now, they probably suspect that we two are stalkers." In fact, when he passed by Zhang Qian's room, Xiang Kun deliberately listened to what they were saying in the room, and he could basically confirm that this was a coincidence within a coincidence.
Zi Cheng didn't discuss the matter any further. The two of them each took a bottle of mineral water and sat down by the floor-to-ceiling window in the room to chat.
"Huh? It seems like you've been drinking mostly water since dinner tonight, either mineral water or soda water. I remember back in college, you loved iced tea and sports drinks," Zicheng asked curiously.
Xiang Kun shook his head. "I basically stopped drinking it after I started working. It's too high in sugar. I switched to black coffee and tea, and occasionally Red Bull to stay awake."
Zicheng remarked, "Everyone has changed a lot."
Xiang Kun talked about his work experience over the past few years, while Zi Cheng also talked about his studies and entrepreneurial life in the United States.
During the previous meal, Zicheng only briefly mentioned starting a business without going into detail. When chatting with girls at the bar, he only exaggerated the interesting stories about his entrepreneurial journey without providing much detail, and he didn't mention why he sold the company and returned to China.
Now that it was just him and Xiang Kun, they seemed to suddenly open up and started talking about their lives abroad.
"I used to hear people say that the longer you stay abroad, the more patriotic you become, and I didn't believe it. But a few years ago, when I was watching the Olympics live with a group of international students, a dozen or so of us grown men sang the national anthem along with the TV and cried. Can you believe it?"
"Before going abroad, I always thought America was great, a paradise for technology; Silicon Valley was great, a cradle of high-tech companies; and angel investors were truly angels..."
"Sigh, I was too naive and foolish. Damn it, if only I could time travel again, I would be completely different!"
"A Tu... you must be careful of those who play with capital; they're terrifying..."
It wasn't until four in the morning that Zi Chengcai slumped onto the sofa and began to snore. Xiang Kun had previously thought that although this chubby boy had been abroad for so many years, studying and starting his own business, he hadn't changed much; he was still an optimist and always had a smile on his face.
But after listening to him pour out so much bitterness, I realized that he had suffered a lot of grievances and hardships over the years. He started his business in the United States without using a single penny of his family's money. He did everything himself, from building his team to securing investment, and he certainly grew a lot. Although he ultimately couldn't persevere for various reasons and had to return to China to accept his family's arrangements, he spoke quite nonchalantly during the meal, but it was clear that he still harbored a lot of resentment.
Xiang Kun took a blanket and covered Zi Cheng with it, then stood in front of the French windows, looking at the darkest scene before dawn, and sighed softly.
Life isn't easy for anyone...
Xiang Kun naturally didn't need to sleep, so he just used his phone to look through some PDF books he had downloaded earlier. Around 8 o'clock, Chang Bin came to find them.
I woke Zicheng up, who was still half asleep, and we went to have breakfast together. Then I took him to the airport.
When I left the hotel, I didn't run into Zhang Qian and Yang Jie again.
"I'll probably be traveling a lot in the future, but I'll come see you again when I have the chance! If you have time, you can also call me and come visit me! Not to mention, the hot springs in my area are absolutely amazing!" Zicheng said to the two people who saw him off before entering the waiting hall.
"Don't worry, now that you're back in China, we won't miss the chance to take advantage of you!" Chang Bin said with a smile.
On the way back from the airport, Chang Bin looked ahead and slowly said, "Last night at dinner you mentioned wanting to go back to your hometown. I thought about it afterward, and given your personality, you must have made this decision after careful consideration, so there's no point in trying to persuade you further. I just feel it's a bit of a waste for you to go back like this; all these years of hard work are wasted. Technology is developing so fast, and in a few years, it's hard to say whether your technical skills will still be up to par with the front lines. Anyway, you can think about it yourself. In any case, don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
"Don't worry, I won't stand on ceremony with you." Xiang Kun nodded with a smile.
Back in his apartment complex, after exiting the elevator, Xiang Kun noticed a large cardboard box at the door and a plastic bag hanging on the doorknob.
Somewhat puzzled, he picked up the plastic bag and found a box of lollipops and a letter inside. The letter contained a drawing made with colored pencils, depicting two people: a tall, bald man and a rather short little girl. The lines were simple and rough, but the features were still quite distinct, making it easy to recognize that the drawing was of him and the Little Chubby Girl, Liu Shiling.
The painting and the lollipop were clearly left to him by Liu Shiling.
Xiang Kun opened the cardboard box again and found that it was a rice cooker that was about 80% new. He recognized it at a glance as belonging to Liu Shiling.
With a sudden thought, Xiang Kun immediately sensed the "Coin 1" and discovered that it was no longer in the city. Judging from the distance he sensed, it was probably already outside the province.
He glanced back at the closed door of 706 and sighed softly. It seemed that what had happened before had spread throughout the neighborhood. Shiling's Mother was probably worried about affecting Liu Shiling, so she moved out. The house would probably be sold.
Anyone with a name and surname is definitely not just a random extra passing by.