Chapter 1 Inside the Sea View Hotel

An Qiqi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She slowly sat up, staring blankly at the room, her heart inexplicably low.

This negative emotion wasn't entirely due to the end of her first love and her breakup with Liu Zi. It was more that An Qiqi was, for the first time, seriously examining her life and feeling lost about the future.

Lately, she had been questioning her choices. She used to want to measure the world with her own two feet, to become an outstanding geologist, like a firefly flying towards the sky, trying to embrace the stars and the sea. Her ideals were lofty and洒脱.

But for some reason, this ideal and vision gradually became less firm in An Qiqi's heart. She began to reflect on her past. If she had listened to her parents and joined the army through family connections, applied to the Army University, and become a politician, wouldn't she be less anxious and conflicted now?

Regarding her family, An Qiqi had previously only enjoyed their support without taking responsibility. She always felt that her life should be her own, that she wasn't an extension of her parents' will, and that she didn't need to continue the family business. She should live her life according to her own heart.

But recently, this idea in An Qiqi's heart had gradually faded. Perhaps a broken heart was just the catalyst for a change in thinking.

She watched her father, past fifty years old, fighting in the political arena, facing constant danger, and she couldn't help at all, only feeling anxious and彷徨.

She watched her mother, exhausted, navigating various social occasions, trying to improve her father's situation, while she was using the wealth her family gave her on a heartbroken trip.

She also couldn't bear to lose the relationship between herself and Gou Liu Zi, but in the end, due to various political reasons, they had to say goodbye at a desolate crossroads...

An Qiqi always emphasized that she should be in charge of her own life, but in the end, she realized that her so-called freedom was based on her family and parents. Everything she had wasn't because she was in charge.

She felt as weak as a baby, wanting everything but unable to keep anything.

迷茫! (Mímáng!) (Lost!)

These two words were An Qiqi's true state of mind recently.

...

Sitting on the soft bed for a while, An Qiqi reached for her phone and accidentally saw a short message from her mother.

"When are you coming back? I want you to keep me company."

An Qiqi looked at the message, put on her slippers, walked to the window, and after a long silence, dialed her mother's number.

"Beep beep!"

The busy signal rang. An Qiqi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the night view below, and suddenly noticed a man whose face she couldn't see picking up Wang Ying in a car.

"Hello, honey!" Her mother's voice rang out. "How is it? Are you having fun?"

"Mom, I'm having a lot of fun." An Qiqi turned her gaze away from Wang Ying, held the phone, and said, "How have you been lately?"

...

Downstairs.

Wang Ying got into a business car and said softly, "Don't go too far. I can't be out for too long, or they'll be suspicious..."

"Hehe!" The young man smiled and drove in the direction not far away.

In the car, Wang Ying pursed her lips, turned her head to look at the scenery outside the window, and didn't take the initiative to speak.

The young man stretched out a palm and smiled as he rubbed Wang Ying's fair thigh, "Didn't miss me?"

"Let's talk business," Wang Ying said indifferently.

"Shouldn't you be the one saying that?" The young man replied while driving, "Did they agree to invest?"

"No." Wang Ying frowned and said, "I laid the groundwork for a long time, crying and making a fuss... but it was useless. An Qiqi is very sensitive and cautious in this regard. She explicitly rejected my investment invitation."

The young man's face darkened when he heard this.

"But Qiuqiu agreed."

"What's the use of her agreeing? We're not trying to get her involved." The young man said with an unpleasant expression, "You said before that your friendship with An Qiqi was extraordinary, that you were childhood sweethearts, and that you could definitely make this happen. Now there's no effect at all, so it's difficult for me...!"

"Yes, I did promise," Wang Ying immediately argued, "But... but we haven't seen each other for a while, and I didn't expect her to be able to consider so much now. This may be related to her father's situation, or her mother's instructions. After all, her family isn't doing well now..."

"Saying these things is useless," the young man replied indifferently, "If you have no value, there's no return on investment."

Wang Ying bit her lip and took the initiative to grab the young man's arm, "Xue Nan! I really tried my best. I accompanied them here for more than a week before proposing the investment, but I didn't expect her to still refuse. It's not that I didn't try... it's just really impossible."

The young man named Xue Nan didn't reply.

"Help me! I'm really fed up with this kind of life. I don't want to look at the faces of those stupid idiots above anymore," Wang Ying pleaded, "Just help me get the money over! I said, if the project succeeds, you'll also have shares!"

"The purpose of finding you was to get An Qiqi involved. She's the key breakthrough to opening up the An family," Xue Nan said indifferently, "But you haven't made any progress at all. How can you help me? Why would the people above approve funding for you?"

"That's not how it should be said, I also..."

"Stop! Saying these objective factors is useless. The people above me only look at results." Xue Nan paused for a moment, "Since there's no way to get her to invest, then let's change the approach."

"What approach?" Wang Ying asked.

"How about this, I'll start arranging a get-together tomorrow, and you bring An Qiqi over." Xue Nan turned to look at Wang Ying and said, "Just say that your new project is about to start, and invite them to come and have fun together, attend a few wine parties. Sigh, business banquets, beautiful women on the sidelines, there's nothing surprising about that."

...

斯兰卡 (Sīlánkǎ) Town.

Su Tianyu walked into Jiangzhou's room with a case of iced beer, "Hello, big brother!"

Jiangzhou glanced at Su Tianyu, "You call me big brother every day, sounding so affectionate, but in reality, you don't show it at all! I'm here in your territory, and you just bring me beer in the middle of the night every day?"

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, "Then what do you mean?"

"Is just drinking beer at night enough?" Jiangzhou asked.

Su Tianyu blinked, "Monkey, go, go call the auntie helping in the kitchen in to drink with my big brother... get a black one, get some exotic flavor...!"