Chapter 163: Taking the Initiative

The Sunday morning was bright and sunny. The children's playground in South Lake Park was filled with people. Happy, sweet families of three laughed and chatted, making Kang Ning, who sat atop an abandoned slide in a corner of the park, feel an immense wave of envy. How he longed to hold his own wife and child and stroll among them.

Though forty meters away from his loved ones, Kang Ning could clearly see his benevolent parents and the white hair of his foster mother, Mama Zhang. He saw Lu Jing, slightly thin yet profoundly content; Su Fang, whose face was growing increasingly full and mature with a shy, charming smile; Sister-in-law Jiayi, who was completely unaware of all these arrangements; and from afar, his foster brother Zhang Jianhan, who shot him a brief, stern glance.

Mother Kang whispered something softly, and the group walked over to rest under the canopy-like shade of a tree. They gathered together in low conversation, occasionally bursting into happy laughter. The family appeared so harmonious and peaceful.

In two exquisite and sturdy strollers lay his two adorable sons—one sleeping, the other sucking on a pacifier and waving his chubby little hands. The sight made the hand holding Kang Ning's twelve-times magnification binoculars tremble repeatedly.

Although he could not meet with his family to exchange a few words, nor hold his child to experience the joy of fatherhood, nor embrace his beloved to whisper mutual devotions, Kang Ning felt entirely reassured after seeing his parents and children.

Sitting alone in the empty, elevated spot, Kang Ning watched silently. After waiting for his family to leave, he felt a mix of emotion and sorrow as he too walked out of the children's playground. Following the lakeside embankment that connected to the Lake-Heart Bridge, he exited the South Lake Park gates and arrived at the most bustling technology building on the electronics street. He needed to buy a laptop to pass these dull and agonizing days.

Kang Ning purchased the latest ThinkPad laptop released by IBM for twenty-two thousand yuan, leaving the second-floor specialty store amidst the polite and enthusiastic farewells of the sales staff.

Just as Kang Ning approached the escalator with his laptop bag slung over his shoulder, Liu Yiqing and a tall, handsome major beside her were slowly ascending on the escalator. The two of them were smiling and talking in low voices, completely unaware of Kang Ning standing at the upper landing.

In a flurry of panic, Kang Ning turned away from the escalator and stepped into the adjacent Siyuan Software specialty store. Through the glass, he closely observed the lover who made his heart race. Only after the two of them turned into the right-hand corridor of shops did Kang Ning emerge from the software store with a pale face.

Descending to the first floor, Kang Ning casually bought a few books on computer applications and walked alone toward his residence at Lake View Garden with a dull ache in his heart. Back in this temporary home, heavy with worries, he collapsed powerlessly onto the sofa and fell into bitter thought.

At that moment, he suddenly realized how selfish he had been, and how he had failed Liu Yiqing's deep and sincere affection. Yet the poignant scene he had witnessed today left his entangled emotions lingering for a long time, and countless memories of the years they had spent together suddenly surged into his mind.

The taste of rumination was so sour, bitter, and painful. Kang Ning's newly calmed state of mind was shattered by it.

When night fell, Kang Ning finished his shower, picked up his razor, and once again trimmed a small mustache on his upper lip. He dried himself, put on a newly purchased dark blue Li-Ning tracksuit and sneakers, topped it off with a baseball cap of the same brand and color, put on his glasses, and left the apartment.

Located on the Tropic of Cancer, Nanning in early winter still maintained a nighttime temperature of around eighteen degrees Celsius. The climate was pleasant, lacking the dry cold of the north.

Walking down the bustling streets, Kang Ning kept his head down and strolled aimlessly. He knew he could not continue waiting so passively; if he wanted to return to a normal life soon, he had to make an effort at the earliest.

Twenty minutes later, Kang Ning arrived at the Starry Night Nightclub, guided by a beautiful attendant into the spacious second-floor hall.

Kang Ning entered a small private box with a minimum spending requirement of three hundred and eighty-eight yuan. He ordered a few snacks and two dozen canned Qingdao beers, then sat alone, watching television with a sense of vexation.

The local weather forecast on the television screen had just concluded, and the *Focus* segment was about to begin. Kang Ning quickly grabbed the remote control and switched to the sports channel for a live English Premier League broadcast. He truly had no wish to look upon Liu Yiqing's exquisite face or listen to her sweet, crisp voice anymore; an adrenaline-fueled football match was much better suited to soothe his current mood.

A waiter delivered the snacks and beer, arranged them efficiently on the low coffee table, and after a couple of polite remarks, withdrew courteously. A glamorous woman carrying an exquisite stainless-steel ice bucket followed close behind, stepped forward two paces, and cast a seductive smile at Kang Ning. "Are you by yourself, sir?"

"Yes. What can I do for you?" Kang Ning guessed the flamboyant woman's identity, opened an iced Qingdao beer, and asked casually.

The woman put down the ice bucket, sat beside Kang Ning with a radiant smile, and said, "I'm the floor manager here. Would you like a young lady to accompany you for a drink, sir?"

Kang Ning stared into the manager's eyes and smiled. "You're from Hunan, aren't you? How long have you been here?"

The floor manager looked slightly surprised and chuckled, "Sir, you certainly are well-traveled. I wouldn't have thought you could tell where I'm from just by hearing me speak a few words. I'm impressed! My surname is Li, and my given name is Xiangxiang—Xiang as in the Xiang River. I've been here for almost a year now. Hehe... Sir, your Mandarin is so good. I suppose you aren't a local either, right?"

Kang Ning poured her a glass of beer, raised his own cup in a gesture, and replied in a low voice, "I'm from Sichuan. I'm sorry, but I don't want any hostesses tonight."

"No way? Men rarely travel without sneaking a bit of fun on the side. You're so handsome; you must have plenty of girlfriends, right? How about I introduce a local girl to you? She's gorgeous and still studying at the arts academy, though her price is a bit higher. It just depends on whether you're willing to spend."

The floor manager leaned coquettishly against Kang Ning's shoulder, gazing at him with bewitching eyes. "If you don't like the professional hostesses, how about I take you up to the third floor and introduce a local lady to you? They are proper, decent ladies, you know—it's just that, like men, they occasionally like to sneak out for some fun on the side. Hehe..."

A thought flashed through Kang Ning's mind. He gently pushed her away and smiled slightly, "If you're interested in me, how about you share a couple of drinks with me tonight?"

The manager's eyes lit up before she said with a hint of grievance, "I'd really love to have a couple of drinks with you, but I'm much too busy and don't have the time. Why don't I find you a nice newcomer of a sister instead?"

Kang Ning shook his head slightly. "I don't want anyone else; I just want you. Who told me to feel an affinity with you the very moment I laid eyes on you? Haha! How about this: if you agree, let's just be friends. You don't need to call any hostesses or ladies for me. Go ahead and take care of whatever business you have; whenever you have time, just pop in for a drink and a chat. You don't have to hang around blindly like everyone else, alright?"

Pleased, the manager patted Kang Ning's shoulder and stood up. "You really are special! So handsome, yet so polite. It's rare to encounter a guest who respects boundaries as much as you do. Hehe. Alright, I'll listen to you. Once I'm done with my work, I'll definitely come back to share a drink with you. You better not stand me up!"

Watching the manager walk out the door and gently pull it shut behind her, Kang Ning raised his glass and took a slow sip. He intuitively felt that this woman, who had worked as a floor manager here for nearly a year, must know a fair amount of the inside stories about the Starry Night Nightclub. If he could extract some information from this twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old woman, it might facilitate his next steps.

Thus, Kang Ning waited patiently, sipping his pleasant beer and watching the fierce football match while his thoughts drifted off to unknown places.