Although my hometown isn't Guangling, after returning to Guangling, I somehow felt a lot more relaxed.
Now that my house is in Guangling, and my shop is also in Guangling, I guess I'm half a Guangling person.
After resting at home for two days, I went to see Wu Tingxiu.
While I was away, this woman's business grew bigger and bigger. She opened two more hotels and was even looking to expand into other provinces.
When I arrived at her office, she was still signing some contract with her secretary. Seeing me, she put down her work and asked her secretary to pour me a cup of coffee.
"Manager Wu, I heard you have new hotels opening up? Are you trying to monopolize the hotel business in Guangling?" I joked.
She smiled and said, "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have the capability. Guangling is full of hidden talents, and as a woman, I'm just trying to make a living."
"You call this making a living? Then I might as well go beg," I said. "By the way, have you found Song Bing?"
She nodded. "I have, but his condition isn't very good. I've already arranged for him to recuperate in his hometown."
"What happened?"
"After you called me, I immediately sent people to contact the rescue team in Pamir. They followed the location you described and found him after two days. Song Bing was barely hanging on to life; if they had been any later, he would have been gone."
Hearing her say that, I could imagine the situation. I sighed and said, "It was mainly because the situation was too special at the time, and I didn't have any opportunity to look for him..."
"I've been waiting for you to come back and tell me what happened. I've already spoken with Song Bing, and he doesn't know much. As for Guan Zhenwan, the news I received is that you went to an underground ancient city?"
"It's a long story, and it's not something that can be explained in a short time..." I glanced at my watch. "Are you free this afternoon?"
"I was supposed to be busy, but since you're here, I naturally have time," she said with a smile.
"How about this, I'll treat you to afternoon tea?"
"Alright."
As I left Wu Tingxiu's company, preparing to find a quiet place for tea, a figure suddenly rushed out.
"Xiang Fei!"
Bai Hanyan rushed in front of me, looking at me with displeasure.
"Why are you here?" I asked, confused.
"I went to Anyuantang. Hong Yunpeng said you were here, so I came," she said, glancing at Wu Tingxiu beside me. She said to me, a bit sourly, "You came back and immediately went to see Manager Wu. You seem quite concerned about her."
I knew that this girl Bai Hanyan had feelings for me, and I had maintained an appropriate distance from her before.
It's not that I didn't like her, but I was simply not in the mood for romance before.
Before I could say anything, Wu Tingxiu walked over directly and hooked her arm through mine.
I was a bit taken aback when she asked, "Is there a problem with him coming to see me?"
Suddenly, I noticed a cold glint in Bai Hanyan's eyes as she stared intently at my arm. I was afraid she would come and dislocate my arm on the spot.
I coughed awkwardly, glanced at Wu Tingxiu, signaling her to stop, but this woman just held my arm tighter.
"Um... shall we go for tea first..."
As soon as I finished speaking, Bai Hanyan, for some unknown reason, walked over, hooked her arm through my other arm, and squeezed out through her teeth, "Sure, tea sounds good. I really like tea!"
And so, I, a respectable man of seven feet, was caught between two women!
"Ladies... should we perhaps restrain ourselves in public?" I asked with an awkward smile.
Neither of them paid me any attention, and instead, they glared at each other.
Soon, a Mercedes-Benz pulled up in front of us. It was Wu Tingxiu's car. The driver got out, and seeing the three of us, he froze for a moment before quickly opening the car door.
I was squeezed into the back seat. The atmosphere was very quiet during the ride. I was afraid that if I spoke, the two women would erupt.
When we finally arrived at a tea house, they let me go.
We found a relatively quiet private room and ordered a Tieguanyin. I volunteered to sit at the tea brewing station, asking them to sit opposite me.
"So... can we have some tea properly?" I asked, pouring a cup for each of them.
"Manager Wu, as the beautiful entrepreneur of Guangling, you must have many suitors, right?" Bai Hanyan said with a smile. "I saw you having dinner with a man last time. You were eating so happily, so I didn't disturb you."
Wu Tingxiu smiled and said, "The person you're talking about is a business partner of mine. He does have feelings for me, but unfortunately, I'm not interested. What? Miss Bai, are you interested in him? Shall I introduce you?"
"I don't need Manager Wu to worry about me. I just hope you won't pester Xiang Fei anymore."
"Am I pestering him? He's the one who came to find me, isn't he?"
Seeing these two women bickering back and forth, if this continued, they might actually start fighting.
I never expected that one day I would become a sought-after commodity. It's truly a rare sight, like a horse pulling a car.
"Ladies, can we drink our tea first? It's getting cold..."
"You shut up!"
"You shut up!"
They both yelled at me in unison. I was startled, feeling both amused and annoyed.
After they exchanged sour remarks and glared at each other, Bai Hanyan was rendered speechless by Wu Tingxiu, and they finally quieted down for the moment.
It was expected that Bai Hanyan, a young girl, couldn't match Wu Tingxiu, a strong businesswoman.
"Shall I tell you about my trip to the Pamir Plateau?" I asked with a smile, refilling their tea.
I recounted the story of going to the Pamir ancient city in detail. At the critical moments, I even mimicked the storytelling style, creating suspense and surprise.
"At that moment, as fast as lightning! After the monster cornered us, I thought I was going to perish, but who knew things would take a turn. Fatty touched the self-destruct device..."
They listened with great interest. After I finished the account, Bai Hanyan couldn't help but ask, "Did you come out from the underground river in the end?"
"Indeed. At that time, I thought I was saying goodbye to this world. But when I woke up, Fatty was about to give me artificial respiration. If I had woken up two minutes later, my first kiss would have been gone..."
"Oh, you have a first kiss?" Wu Tingxiu chuckled.
"Why wouldn't I have a first kiss?" I retorted somewhat irritably.
She smiled and asked, "So, someone took the Su Hou Pearl before you guys?"
I nodded. "Yes."