After leaving the restaurant, it was already late, around five o'clock!

As soon as I got in the car, Pei Shiyu called, "Are you waiting over there?"

"I went to the restaurant. I'm on my way now. What about you?"

"Just got off work. It'll take about half an hour to get there."

"No rush. I'll book a table and greet you at the door later."

Pei Shiyu rarely smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll leave the reception to you."

"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

"Wait until I arrive to order. Wait for a while at the restaurant."

"Okay, drive safely."

I don't know if it was the arrival of the American that put Pei Shiyu in a good mood, or if my experience today was worth comforting, but Pei Shiyu's attitude was like a different person compared to the previous few days. After ending the call, I went straight to the agreed location.

I specially booked a conspicuous seat. The decoration here is very good, and the environment looks very nice. Pei Shiyu called me in advance when she was about to arrive, and I came outside to wait as promised.

They arrived quickly. I only waited for about two minutes and saw the American and his wife, a very beautiful woman, much taller than Pei Shiyu. In my aesthetic opinion, she was too elegant. Beautiful women are worth a few more glances, and I was no exception.

The American gave me a hug when he saw me, and I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Welcome to Hangzhou."

Then I let go of him and looked at his wife, just shaking her hand, because I didn't know if she understood Chinese. Of course, I didn't forget to give Pei Shiyu a hug either. Although I don't understand etiquette in my world, I still have basic respect.

I heard Pei Shiyu ask in my ear, "Is she good-looking?"

I let go of her, looked at her face and replied, "Of course, without a doubt."

"I wasn't talking about me."

I immediately understood and lowered my voice to reply, "Beautiful. The American is blessed."

Pei Shiyu invited them inside in English. I walked behind with the American...

"It's a pity we didn't meet in New York last time," the American said politely.

"It is a bit of a pity, but there will be opportunities in the future, won't there!" I replied with a smile.

"Of course, we are already good friends. You are clear water. I like this metaphor."

The American's words reminded me of the scenery of West Lake, so I laughed and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

His Chinese is very good. He pointed to me in a friendly manner and said, "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"No, I just arrived."

Our conversation made Pei Shiyu look back at me. I patted my chest, indicating that my diplomacy was fine.

After being seated, Pei Shiyu and I sat on one side, facing them. I realized that I was much more confident with the American, letting go of a lot of worldly things. They wouldn't care about my past, nor would they know about it. Once a person hides their shortcomings, they will instinctively improve their image. This is my current experience.

His wife is really beautiful. This kind of somewhat noble beauty is very pleasing to the eye, and her behavior is very polite. Because she doesn't know me, she always smiles at me whenever my name is mentioned, so that I, who don't understand English, know roughly what topic they are talking about.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they began to talk about business cooperation. I didn't understand a lot of the content, but sometimes Pei Shiyu would take my mood into consideration and deliberately mix in some Chinese, so I understood a little bit.

When the meal was coming to an end, I said to the American, "Do you want to redo the project you withdrew from?"

"Shiyu also withdrew."

"Her father is doing it, and I will also join. Do you want to consider it?" I invited him.

The foreigner looked at Pei Shiyu very cautiously and didn't answer directly. I knew what he was worried about and understood that this was not something that could be decided in a few words. For me, I really like dealing with him, but of course this is only one of the reasons. More than that, I want Pei Shiyu's company to have better cooperation projects.

It seems that his wife has the decision-making power in the trade sector, because Pei Shiyu has been communicating with her, and it seems that they are having a good conversation. They have been cooperating all along, and this is also the result that I, as an outsider, look forward to seeing. I hope Pei Shiyu's family company will become stronger and stronger.

Because of the long flight, they proposed to return to the hotel after dinner. I drank a few glasses of red wine and parked the car directly at the restaurant. On the way back, Pei Shiyu deliberately took a relatively long route around the West Lake. I sat in the back with the American, and I joked in the tone of a tour guide, "This is West Lake."

The foreigner smiled and replied, "I have been here before, but I haven't been to this side."

"If you have time, we can take a boat to the center of the lake together."

"Let's talk about work first. If there is more time, the four of us can go together."

Pei Shiyu, who had been listening to us, took advantage of a red light and turned around to say to the foreigner, "We'll talk about work tomorrow, and we can go out to play the day after tomorrow."

The foreigner pointed to his wife and said, "Tell my wife, she has the final say."

After a simple exchange in English with Pei Shiyu, I heard his wife nod very politely.

New York City is more prosperous than Hangzhou, but every city has its iconic attractions. For Hangzhou, West Lake is an unavoidable attraction and the soul of this city.

The place where they were staying was one of the most luxurious hotels in Hangzhou, which Pei Shiyu had booked in advance, the Conrad Hotel located in Qianjiang New City, which is also an iconic building, and looks particularly prosperous from afar.

After saying goodbye to the foreigner, I didn't get in the car immediately, but went inside to look around. To be honest, although I've been messing around all the time, I haven't stayed in this hotel. Hangzhou has developed relatively quickly in recent years, and I just happened to be in prison, so everything here is very unfamiliar to me.

I especially wanted to stay here for one night tonight. Maybe I lingered for a little longer, and I saw Pei Shiyu get out of the car and come in, asking, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"I don't really want to leave. Why don't we stay here for one night?" I asked.

"I've been very busy these past few days. My dad went to Ningbo and hasn't come back yet. I still have documents to deal with when I get back. Do you think it's appropriate?"

After Pei Shiyu explained, I immediately changed my mind and said, "Let's go, we'll come back to stay in a few days."

"Who are you staying with?"

"Don't you like this environment?"

"Liking and staying are different concepts."

"Your thinking is very unique."

"You're even weirder. Let's go, what are you doing acting like Grandma Liu?"

"I was just a commoner in the first place."

Walking out of the hotel, I affectionately put my arm around Pei Shiyu's shoulder. This kind of intimate gesture has been gone for a long time. The atmosphere created today made me instinctively make this move.