Chapter 57: When We Talk About Loyalty

Xia An poked Lin Jiajia's backside with a playful jab.

Lin Jiajia gave him a fierce kick, motioning for him to walk ahead.

When they reached the second floor and Xia An unlocked the door, she kicked his shin once more.

After letting out a dainty, coquettish huff, she instantly changed her expression, walking in first with a bright smile to greet Xia Kangning and his wife.

"I ran into little Xia An seeing off Zuo You at the train station, so I dragged him back with me."

She was here to deliver the one-hundred-thousand-yuan investment capital to Xia Kangning.

Since she was already here, how could she leave without having a meal?

That afternoon, Xia An had talked with Zuo You about his family's plan to go into business with Zuo Dashu.

Zuo You had already heard about it and had no objections.

Apart from her own parents, Xia An's family of three were the people she trusted most in this world.

Knowing that Uncle Xia and Aunt Wei would be helping her father manage the restaurant, she was more than happy.

Zuo You had also teased Xia An, telling him that before he woke up from his afternoon nap, Zuo Dashu had called to say he would be returning a few days early.

"Aren't you worried my dad will come to Binhai to find you and spank you?"

Xia An had scoffed, "What have I even done?"

Zuo You had furrowed her brow at the time, pretending to be angry: "You haven't done anything?"

Xia An had also laid the groundwork with Zuo You regarding Lin Jiajia's intention to invest and become a shareholder.

Little Youzi already knew this "Aunt Lin" and had smiled, remarking that many hands make light work.

While Lin Jiajia was helping Wei Xiaofang heat up dishes in the kitchen and Xia Kangning was bent over the coffee table writing out a receipt, Xia An slipped into the bedroom to check the betting market.

All six bets had won today.

The over six hundred thousand yuan Zuo You had taken away was instantly recouped.

He decided to go to a local bank in Binhai tomorrow to open an account, and cash everything out together after the final match on the fourth.

He didn't need to spend any money these next few days anyway.

During dinner, Lin Jiajia and Xia Kangning's couple chatted idly.

Xia An overheard her mention that Zhao Zhijing's daughter seemed to have been hospitalized, though she didn't know why.

Lin Jiajia also mentioned that she would drive Xia An's family of three to the train station tomorrow morning.

Under the table, Xia An mischievously brushed against her foot.

Lin Jiajia pinned it down with her own foot and ground down fiercely.

Because Xia An had returned late today, this farewell dinner was naturally served quite late.

At the same time, Zhang Tiancheng and Liu Youwei, the two brothers, were also eating skewers by the roadside.

Over the past few days, the two vice presidents who each held a 0.5% stake in "Fruit Basket Technology," while also pulling double duty as programmers, decoration supervisors, and ringleaders of online influencers, had been thoroughly exhausted.

Knowing that their Boss Xia was starting university tomorrow, the pair had originally planned to organize a farewell dinner tonight, but had changed their minds at the last second.

What kind of family background did he have? They certainly valued these milestones more.

The smart vice presidents chose not to intrude, sending only a text message wishing Xia An a safe journey and success in his studies, among other pleasantries.

They solemnly promised: the mission would never slacken, and work efficiency was guaranteed.

After downing two bottles of iced beer, Liu Youwei stood up to order four more large lamb kidneys.

With their pockets now bulging, the two brothers were far more generous when ordering than they had been in the past, no longer showing their former embarrassment.

Liu Youwei knew Zhang Tiancheng had recently been helping Xia An stir up mud and spread dirt on others.

However, because he spent his days with the renovation crew and his nights taking over Zhang Tiancheng's task of optimizing the micro-blog and video website, he hadn't asked too many questions.

Having rare leisure time today, he asked Zhang Tiancheng, "What did the boss mean by telling you to pause for a few days? Has it already been settled?"

Starting this afternoon, the Tang Group's public relations team had mobilized en masse, issuing formal letters to various provincial forums and media companies.

They claimed they were prepared to report online "slander" to the police and take legal action.

Any website or newspaper publishing or reposting the content would be included in the lawsuits.

Upon receiving the news, Xia An had instructed Zhang Tiancheng to let the "teams" rest for a few days.

He wanted public opinion to ferment, letting the firewood across the province burn thoroughly before taking the next step.

Zhang Tiancheng clinked his beer bottle against Liu Youwei's and shook his head, saying, "A tactical suspension of this phase."

Liu Youwei: "???"

Before he could press further, Zhang Tiancheng took a sip of his beer and spoke first: "Do you know what Boss Xia is actually up to?"

Unsure why he was asking like that, Liu Youwei nodded and said, "Isn't it to throw mud at the Tang Group?"

Zhang Tiancheng asked again, "Why throw mud at them?"

Liu Youwei chuckled, saying that across all of Donghai Province, how many people didn't find Tang Tianxing annoying?

Zhang Tiancheng stripped an entire skewer of meat off its bamboo stick.

His mouth was covered in oil; he gave it a casual wipe and tapped his finger on the tabletop, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "Your understanding is far too superficial," as he lowered his voice to tell Liu Youwei:

"Based on the information I've collected recently, the knife the boss drove into the supply chain of Shengtang Trade was both ruthless and precise.

"Yet, it doesn't look like a play designed to topple Tang Tianxing all at once."

Liu Youwei asked, "How do you mean?"

Zhang Tiancheng said, "Remember that guy you saw in the office the day you helped me carry three-ply plywood a while ago?"

Liu Youwei nodded.

Zhang Tiancheng continued, "The guy driving the Crown and directing people to stack lightboxes in the backyard—I saw his photo online. He's Zhang Chunmin, the boss of Jintang Real Estate."

With that, Zhang Tiancheng smacked his lips.

Liu Youwei drew a sharp breath. Though he still didn't quite understand, the realization hit him: the boss of a real estate company coming over to run errands for their own young boss?

With his mouth wide open, Liu Youwei asked in a hushed voice, "What are they trying to do?"

Zhang Tiancheng straightened his back and said proudly in a tiny voice, "From where I stand, the boss intends to carve a chunk of meat right out of the Tang Group before they go public, and make a massive fortune."

As he spoke, he punctuated his words with a clenching fist.

Liu Youwei was even more shocked. He had heard rumors among the common folk that once the Tang Group became the province's first main-board listed company, its market value might rapidly break ten billion yuan.

Carve out a chunk of meat? Just how fat would that be?

"The boss is so young, yet he has this kind of wrist and ambition..." Liu Youwei muttered in a daze.

Zhang Tiancheng chimed in from the side, "You can say that again, Old Liu. I’ve made up my mind: from now on, I'm fiercely loyal to Little Boss Xia. Buying a car, building a house back in my hometown, and marrying a wife—I'm counting on him for all of it!"

Amused by his words, Liu Youwei snapped out of his daze and offered a dismissive smile.

"Is that all your ambition amounts to? I plan on following Boss Xia all the way to the stock exchange bell-ringing ceremony!"

...

The chimes on the television rang out, signaling the ten-thirty night news.

Having finished washing the dishes for Wei Xiaofang, Lin佳佳 (Lin Jiajia) picked up her bag and said her goodbyes.

Xia An walked her out to her car.

Before parting, Lin Jiajia looked at him deeply, remaining silent.

Xia An smiled and said, "After I leave for Binhai, you must come often to keep them company."

Lin Jiajia asked, "What do you mean?"

Xia An: "What do you think I mean?"

Lin Jiajia brushed back her hair, shook her head helplessly, and started the car engine.

"Xia An, have you contacted Tang Wan in the past two days?"

She asked through the car window, and Xia An nodded at her.

Aside from today, yesterday, and the day before, they had been in contact practically every day.

It was just that it never exceeded five text messages at a time.

Beyond just keeping in touch, Xia An had also found the phone number of that flower shop on the Binhai University BBS.

He had wired three hundred yuan to the owner, instructing the proprietress to send three sunflowers to Tang Wan every three days.

The flowers cost 7.5 yuan, the delivery fee was 5 yuan each time, and it would be renewed once the funds ran out.

Little Tang Wan had been quite happy about it.

Lin Jiajia said, "Tang Wan went to the hospital yesterday, did you know?"

While Xia An was momentarily stunned, Lin Jiajia laughed heartily, dropped that parting remark, stepped on the accelerator, and drove away.

"Xia An, you'll never manage to be an emperor."

Staring at the taillights of the Corolla, Xia An frowned and dialed Tang Wan's number.

After inquiring, he learned that Tang Wan had been on an IV drip for two days.

It wasn't a fever or a cold, nor was it a serious illness; it was a severe case of... cat hair allergy.

A heavy rainstorm had struck Binhai half a month ago.

That night, Little Tang Wan, who had been writing her report past midnight, was starved to death.

She had braved the rain to go out and buy food.

On her way back, she ran into a drowned cat in the apartment building hallway.

Tiny and terribly thin, it was huddled in a corner, mewing miserably.

To that cat, Tang Wan was a glowing saint, a merciful and compassionate bodhisattva.

She had left behind two ham sausages and a small piece of bread for the cat.

For three consecutive days, the cat waited at the entrance of the building for Tang Wan to appear.

Courtesy demanded reciprocity.

It brought Tang Wan pretty pieces of glass, exquisite plastic bags, and delicious dead mice.

Tang Wan wasn't particularly fond of these gifts and didn't accept them.

Ever since childhood, she had formed the habit of carrying snacks in her pockets, and every time, Tang Wan would feed the cat a few treats.

From that day onward, the cat stopped bringing gifts to Tang Wan.

It seemed to have noticed that this woman kept her lights on until dawn every single night.

It guessed that she was afraid of the dark.

So it climbed up the old building's drainpipe to the outside of Tang Wan's bedroom window, guarding her every night and leaving only when dawn broke.

While Tang Wan sat at her desk writing academic reports, it would tuck its paws in and lie flat outside against the glass, sleeping.

Three days ago, Tang Wan opened the screen window and invited it inside.

She gave it a bath, fed it, took it for vaccinations, and bought a cat litter box along the way.

Having a resident in the house made Tang Wan extremely happy, and she was so excited that night she couldn't sleep at all.

Her whole body began to itch, turn red, and break out in rashes.

Upon examination, cat hair turned out to be her severe allergen.

When Tang Wan returned home that day, she wore gloves and a mask to feed the cat and clean out its litter box.

After just doing this twice, the cat seemed to understand something.

Yesterday morning, taking advantage of Tang Wan opening the door to leave for school, it bolted out in a flash, refusing to stop no matter how much Tang Wan chased it.

It ran downstairs, and Tang Wan watched helplessly as it climbed back up the drainpipe and flattened itself outside her bedroom window once more.

When Tang Wan went upstairs and opened the window, no matter how she called to it, it refused to come inside again.

Xia An asked her over the phone, "And now?"

Tang Wan sighed, "It's still right here. I'll take a multimedia message photo and send it to you in a bit."

Xia An said, "Such a loyal little guy, standing guard over you."

Tang Wan paused for a moment and asked, "And you?"

Xia An replied, "I'm standing guard over you, too. See you tomorrow."

At some thought, Tang Wan let out a soft, giggling laugh.

"Xia An, if you see me tomorrow, don't be scared."

—

August 24, 2006, 7:00 AM.

Lin Jiajia drove Xia Kangning's family of three to the Dongshan Railway Station in the provincial capital.

At 7:40, the three of them accompanied Xia An onto the train platform.

Wei Xiaofang wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't come out; Lin Jiajia pulled her aside as she choked back sobs.

Xia Kangning helped his son load three large duffel bags and a large suitcase onto the train.

He patted his son's shoulder and straightened the non-existent buttons on his crew-neck T-shirt.

"Don't worry about things at home. Once you get over there, study hard and get along well with your classmates."

"From the moment this train pulls out just now, you are an adult."

"Your mom and I don't have any great abilities in this life, and we don't expect you to achieve anything astonishing."

"Xia An, you must always remember three things."

"Be a good person, do good deeds, perform acts of kindness, and remain true to your own conscience."

Chug-chug-chug, the train began to move.

Xia An waved to Lin Jiajia, and waved to Xia Kangning standing rigidly at attention.

He waved to his mother, who wept uncontrollably.

As the scenery outside the window shifted from towering skyscrapers to endless paddy fields, Xia An suddenly understood his father's words from moments ago.

Young men and women are loyal to romance.

Laborers are loyal to money and beauty.

Cats are loyal to repaying kindness.

In truth, everyone is merely loyal to their own desires.

Binhai was right before his eyes.

A brand-new four-year chapter was beginning.

University, brimming with all the desires that could represent the style of youth.

Boiling, passionate, brilliant.

And fleeting.

Four chapters, 9,900 characters. Aside from the second chapter dragging a bit, I consider my conscience clear.