Round-the-World Trip

Zhang Yang had heard this kind of talk many times, so he was naturally used to it.

But Le Man was different. Upon hearing this, she immediately smiled and felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

"Zhang Yang, this is my best friend An Lan, and this is An Lan's boyfriend, Wen Sihao."

"Hello, handsome Zhang." Wen Sihao, who was standing next to him, quickly stepped forward with a smile and took the initiative to extend his hand first.

"Hello." Zhang Yang reached out and shook hands with him, then extended her hand to An Lan, Le Man's best friend, who was standing next to him. "I always hear Le Man mention you. She says you're her best friend."

"Wow, I never imagined I held such a high place in Manman's heart?" An Lan smiled as she looked at Zhang Yang, her eyes filled with undisguised amazement. "Seeing is believing. I've finally met the little brother Manman has been talking about. No wonder Manman has been keeping him like a treasure."

Upon hearing this, Le Man to the side, immediately gave a light scolding.

The two best friends hadn't seen each other in a long time and had so much to talk about that they soon huddled together and whispered amongst themselves.

"Handsome Zhang, let's exchange business cards." Wen Sihao caught up with Zhang Yang and handed him his business card.

"Sure." Zhang Yang nodded casually and handed over his metal business card. As for his title, it was simply the chairman of Cloud Sea Capital.

After exchanging business cards, Zhang Yang didn't look at them closely and simply put them away.

Wen Sihao lagged behind, holding the unusually textured metal business card in his hand, and glanced at it briefly.

"Chairman of Cloud Sea Capital?"

Although he didn't know the company, the address looked familiar; it was the headquarters of one of his major clients, located in a Grade A office building in Pudong.

The companies in that building are all very powerful.

"No wonder he has such a boss-like presence," Wen Sihao exclaimed, and quickly followed.

Inside the coffee shop, the group casually found a table, ordered a few coffees, and sat down to chat while drinking their coffee.

Le Man and her best friend hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the two seemed to have endless things to talk about.

"An Lan, I'm going to start looking for a job. I feel like I can't just stay at home all the time," Le Man said softly, stirring her coffee.

"Manman, with such a good younger brother, why bother working?" An Lan teased softly, her gaze occasionally drifting to Zhang Yang beside her. "If it were me, I'd already be thinking about how to enjoy life."

Upon closer inspection, she realized that this handsome man was truly flawless from every angle.

Even if you stare at it, you can't see any flaws.

"Two different things. I just feel that I have to do something, after all, life is long," Le Man said softly. "Like my career, or..."

"Career? So you just go to work? I think you're just trying to kill time." An Lan was speechless. "If you want to kill time, perfect timing! I booked a Royal Caribbean cruise next month and I'm planning to go on a trip. Do you want to come along?"

As she spoke, she showed the boat ticket.

"I only bought a ticket for the Asian leg of the cruise, um... an inside cabin, over ten thousand US dollars, really expensive, it was thanks to Wen Sihao sponsored me."

Le Man blinked, seemingly interested, but didn't give a clear answer.

"Go have some fun," Zhang Yang said with a smile, sitting down beside him. "Consider it a gap year before you go back to work. While you're having fun, think things through carefully. If you really decide to come back and work, or do something else, I'll support you if you need funds."

"I graduated years ago, what right do I have to take a gap year?" Le Man laughed.

"Oh dear, ordinary people don't have the right to take a gap year, but you definitely do, didn't Zhang Shuai already say so?" An Lan smiled and winked.

"But... this..." Le Man held the coffee cup gently in her slender hands, still not nodding.

Zhang Yang glanced at Le Man's expression, then reached for An Lan's phone, saying, "Let me see which ship you specifically booked."

"Here, here!" An Lan quickly cooperated upon seeing this.

"Huh? A world cruise route." Zhang Yang noticed An Lan showing him the ship schedules for Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Melody of the Seas, a 275-day round-the-world cruise?

"Yes, this ship is on a round-the-world route, but I'm poor. I have the time but not the money to travel around the world." An Lan said, glancing at Wen Sihao beside her.

Wen Sihao sipped his coffee, lowered his eyes, and gave a helpless, dry laugh.

Are you kidding me? A round-the-world trip?

Tens of thousands of US dollars, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of yuan, and other expenses would be even more. Where would he get the money to pay that?

"Let's go, how about a round-the-world trip?" Zhang Yang looked at Le Man and suggested with a smile.

"A round-the-world trip?" Le Man was speechless.

"I'll sponsor you the whole time, what are you worried about?" Zhang Yang said with a smile. "Would you like a sea view room, or even a suite?"

An Lan, standing to the side, couldn't help but feel a deep shock.

A round-the-world cruise starts at over 300,000 yuan, and if it's an ocean view or a suite, the price is even higher. Add in other expenses on board, and it can easily cost several hundred thousand yuan.

Her boyfriend didn't even blink, and he already took it all?

"Go on, let's go together." An Lan thought to herself as she couldn't help but hold Le Man's hand and keep urging her on.

Le Man, who was already somewhat tempted, finally nodded.

"Go back and prepare well. Oh, and I'll transfer some money to you to sponsor your round-the-world trip." Zhang Yang didn't even think about it before preparing to transfer the money.

He is about to earn 200,000 yuan a day, and also has income from many other businesses, with a huge amount of cash on him.

Throwing away a mere few hundred thousand yuan wouldn't even cause a ripple in my heart.

"No need, I have my own money." Le Man quickly reached out and gently grasped Zhang Yang's hand. "You can help me when I'm in dire need of money in the future."

"We're at our wits' end, it can't be that bad, can it?" Zhang Yang chuckled. "Alright, stop refusing. I said I'd sponsor it, so it's no big deal for me to keep pushing and shoving."

"Are you being too formal?" Le Man's cheeks flushed inexplicably upon hearing this, and she gently released her hand.

Zhang Yang casually transferred money to Le Man.

An Lan, somewhat curious, peeked over and then exclaimed in surprise.

"One million! It really is one million."

She grabbed Le Man, her voice almost trembling.

The shock of her casually spending a million was absolutely revolutionary.

In her eyes, one million was a huge sum of money, enough to buy a house in some cities. And yet, she just handed it over without even blinking?

What kind of wealth is this?!

Le Man was also a little stunned.

"Zhang Yang, isn't this too much?"

"It's not much. The rides on the ship are free, and you don't have to pay for local sightseeing either. I still think it's not enough," Zhang Yang said. "Just use it for now, and let me know if you need more."

He spoke of it so casually, as if a million dollars were as insignificant as a hundred dollars.

Wen Sihao, who was standing to the side, had fallen silent at some point.

How can you compare them?

He could never match that kind of generosity, spending a million in one go.

Unfortunately, An Lan, who was standing to the side, didn't care about her boyfriend's feelings at all. She was only focused on following Le Man and looking on with envy.

While feeling envious, An Lan was also overjoyed at the thought that she might also benefit from it.

"Manman, do you need a maid? Hehe, I still don't know what a sea-view room is like. Let me see it when the time comes."

"Huh? You want to use my room?"

"This isn't called freeloading; it's called sharing your joy."

The two best friends immediately started chatting enthusiastically.

Around three or four in the afternoon, the two best friends waved goodbye, knowing they would meet again on the cruise ship soon, so the meeting was rather brief.

Le Man suddenly felt like she had a lot to do.

Busy planning her trip, busy preparing her visa, busy packing her luggage... Thinking about all this, Le Man suddenly felt like she had become a very busy person.

Since Le Man was so busy, Zhang Yang decided to send her back early.

Downstairs at Le Man's house, Le Man and Zhang Yang stood outside the car, somewhat reluctant to part.

"A 275-day round-the-world trip. When I come back, you won't forget me, will you?" Le Man gently wrapped her arms around Zhang Yang's neck, her eyes showing a hint of unease.

These days, new people replace the old.

Moreover, Zhang Yang must have many more and better girls around him right now.

By the time she returned, she would have been ranked far ahead of everyone else.

"You have so little confidence in yourself?" Zhang Yang put his arm around Le Man's slender waist and said with a smile, "Don't worry, if I forget you, you can just have another chance encounter with me, and we can pretend it's our first meeting. Wouldn't that be better?"

"You're so annoying," Le Man said softly, tiptoeing to deliver a passionate kiss.

After saying goodbye to Le Man, Zhang Yang checked the time; it was four or five o'clock.

The sun was setting, and it was almost time to leave work.

He thought for a moment, got into the Cullinan, and prepared to go straight COFCO Seaview No. 1.

On the way, he unintentionally passed by Anjia Real Estate Pudong Branch, and couldn't help but slow down and stop on the side of the road.

"It's been a while since I've contacted my old classmate. I wonder how he's doing?"

He looked at the store from afar, thought for a moment, and decided not to go in for the time being.

The store manager always had a pleading look in his eyes whenever he went there, probably hoping he would bring in orders every time he came back.

No, you're overthinking it. Who buys a house every few days?

So, Zhang Yang casually made a phone call to Pei Xiaoru.

"You're such a busy person, what made you think of calling me?" Pei Xiaoru's voice was beaming on the phone.

"Are you at the store?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile.

"No, I took leave and went back to my hometown. Thanks to Zhang Ban, I can finally buy a house there. I went back to take care of the house this time," Pei Xiaoru said with a smile.

"What, you miss me? You want to come back and see me right now? Hmm... maybe you can sleep in... no, see me tonight."

"Did you accidentally blurt out your own thoughts?" Zhang Yang said. "Never mind, you go ahead and do your thing. I'm not so desperate that I need you to travel a thousand miles overnight to deliver me... I can certainly find a girl by my side."

"Hmph, what a jerk! Saying that to my face without even trying to hide it," Pei Xiaoru muttered on the phone. "Give me a kiss, and I'll hang up."

"How can you kiss over the phone?" Zhang Yang was speechless.

"Just kiss the phone, make a 'muma' sound so I can hear it, it's very simple," Pei Xiaoru said.

"Huh? That's weird, I think I'll pass." Zhang Yang decisively refused.

"Please, Zhang Yang, just give me a kiss, okay? I admit it, I actually missed you. You know, my heart was pounding when you called me just now," Pei Xiaoru pleaded through the phone.

"Stop, just for a second." Zhang Yang was at his wit's end, but then he thought that Pei Xiaoru was at least a loyal and affectionate person.

He shouldn't refuse such a simple request.

So···

Zhang Yang slammed his phone down with lightning speed, then hung up immediately, his face flushed red.

The phone call ended, but Pei Xiaoru sent WeChat message.

I love you to death.

Zhang Yang glanced at it but didn't reply.

That evening, Zhang Yang returned to COFCO Seaview No. 1 alone and prepared a feast for himself using the ingredients he had bought with Zhou Xiaoyi at the supermarket a couple of days earlier.

"By the way, sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone."

Zhang Yang casually sent a message to Bei Wei.

"Would you like to come over for dinner?"

He casually snapped a photo of the busy activity in the kitchen.

A message came back shortly after.

"Soon... Oh right, Bei Jiajia is coming too," Bei Wei said.

"Come on, come on," Zhang Yang readily agreed.

After hanging up the phone, he suddenly recalled the incident a couple of days ago when he was strolling the Bund with his secretary and was photographed by Bei Jiajia.

"Let's test this girl today."

That evening, Zhang Yang, wanting to show off his culinary skills, put a lot of effort into preparing a table full of dishes.

Although it is said that a wise man keeps away from the kitchen.

However, cooking occasionally on a whim, purely for the purpose of pleasing the mind and body, can actually be a truly enjoyable experience.

"Take a picture."

Zhang Yang casually posted a message on his WeChat Moments without setting any visibility settings.

He had just sent it when he vaguely felt something was wrong and was about to delete it.

Then··

In just a short while, a row of likes and a bunch of comments appeared.

Some were familiar to him, and some were not.

[Zhou Xiaoyi: My old classmate's cooking skills are as good as ever. He really is a god with all his buffs stacked up.]

[Pei Xiaoru: It can't be visible only to me, can it? Humph, seeing it but not being able to have it, how infuriating!]

[Bai Xiaomi: Chairman Zhang is awesome! I really want to eat it!]

As for the other less familiar IDs, accompanied by various hints and explicit statements, Zhang Yang could only ignore them all.

I had just put my phone down when the doorbell rang.

Zhang Yang went over and opened the door.

Outside the door, sisters Bei Wei and Bei Jiajia stood smiling.

"Husband." Bei Wei stepped forward and gently hugged him.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, look what we brought! We brought a ton of food, and oh yeah, the cakes and desserts we just bought this afternoon." Bei Jiajia proudly showed off the things she was carrying.

"Come in quickly," Zhang Yang said, holding Bei Wei in his arms and inviting Bei Jiajia in.

A moment later, inside the large, single-level apartment, Bei Jiajia was shouting and yelling.

"My goodness, brother-in-law, did you cook all of this? I never imagined you were such a good cook!"

As she spoke, she couldn't resist taking a bite with her chopsticks.

"The meat in this boiled pork slices is so tender, it doesn't taste like pork tenderloin at all."

"Kagoshima black pork tenderloin, of course it's tenderloin." Zhang Yang smiled and patted Bei Wei's slender waist in his arms. "Let's eat first, try my cooking."