Luo Bei and Zhou Jianguo embarked on their journey home again. Since it was only the 4th, the highway was not as congested as on the 1st. It took them ten hours to get there, but it should only take seven or eight hours to return if they didn’t encounter any accidents.
After two days of cooling down, Zhou Jianguo had lost his initial excitement when he thought about the dream.
However, he still occasionally looked at Luo Bei, and he probably looked at her more often than usual. Zhou Jianguo comforted himself that since he was sitting next to a beautiful woman, any normal man would take a few more glances, so there was no need to be too alarmed.
Luo Bei also sensed that Zhou Jianguo had been acting strange these past few days, but he was a strange person to begin with. She had asked him a few times, but since he didn’t say anything, she didn’t bother asking anymore.
They had lunch at a service area, but instead of eating fast food, they bought two buckets of instant noodles and paired them with ham sausage and pickled vegetables. Instant noodles were okay to eat once in a while, but they couldn’t eat them too often.
Zhou Jianguo thought of a good way to distract himself, and he chatted with Luo Bei non-stop along the way. Of course, they avoided talking about their relationship this time and mainly discussed business, such as buying a house and a car.
“I told my boss that I want to quit my job, but he asked me to stay for another week. I agreed because I can still earn a lot of money in a week. After I quit, I’ll go to the car beauty shop to learn the ropes and also do some market research.” This method seemed to work, and Zhou Jianguo no longer had the eyes of a man looking at a woman, “Since we have a car now, you can go around nearby and see what the prices and services are like for getting a membership and doing car beauty treatments.”
Luo Bei had no objections. The profits of unmanned stores were increasing month by month, especially in the month of Qixi1… the profits were simply breaking through the roof.
Before long, it will be Singles’ Day2 and Christmas again, and the new year will start with Valentine’s Day. Selling adult products along with lingerie can bring in considerable profits.
Zhou Jianguo had always wanted to change his conditions, and Luo Bei had known this all along. He didn’t want to keep working on construction sites and didn’t need to be at an unmanned store every day. So he wanted to open another store as his main business, and Luo Bei naturally understood and supported him. After all, Zhou Jianguo was a restless person.
“If this store really opens, we’ll probably need someone experienced in this field,” Zhou Jianguo sighed. “It’s not like an unmanned store. We can accumulate experience by exploring, and we don’t need technical personnel. Luo Bei, I have confidence in this, but I don’t know if you’re willing to take a gamble with me and try our best together.”
“Isn’t doing business all about taking risks? Is there really such a thing as a completely risk-free business in this world?”
Luo Bei had already made up her mind. She had nothing to lose since she had started her business with lottery winnings. Even if things went wrong, she would only go back to square one. She was still young, and she could afford to take risks.
After working with Zhou Jianguo, she became different. This is what her Grandma said, but she could also feel it herself.
Although she had goals and ambitions before, she had always lived a life of conformity. Now she was truly taking action.
Luo Bei looked into Zhou Jianguo’s eyes and said earnestly, “Honestly, I’m very grateful to you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know that I could do something like this. I’ve always thought that I should find a stable job, work hard, and pay off my debts before saving money to buy an apartment. To be honest, I’m still satisfied with this kind of life trajectory. But you made me realize that I could live differently and do things differently.”
She has never been a person who takes risks.
If it were before, Zhou Jianguo would definitely talk to her about it, but now being stared at by her and hearing such words, he felt a different kind of feeling in his heart.
Before, when he saw her wholeheartedly believing in him like a fool, he felt a heavy responsibility.
But now, hearing her say this, he suddenly had a feeling of not knowing how to act.
His change was too fast, faster than a woman changing her mind. He couldn’t even handle it himself. Luckily, they were at a service area. He quickly got off the car and couldn’t help but wonder if he had been cursed during this trip.
In the end, it was still related to that dream.
However, Zhou Jianguo also understood that he was a rational adult man. Even children wouldn’t be so deeply affected by dreams, right?
Hey, if he really couldn’t control his feelings for Luo Bei, what would happen to their business? When it came to making money and splitting it, would they still be able to calculate it down to the last penny?
Now the shop is under her name, and the money earned is deposited into her account. It’s no surprise that the car beauty shop will also be under her name in the future… If they become a couple, is he just working for his girlfriend by being so busy? Just the thought of it makes Zhou Jianguo feel sour.
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Jianguo decided that he absolutely would not have any romantic involvement with Luo Bei.
Yes, that’s it.
Of course, Luo Bei, one of the parties involved, didn’t expect Zhou Jianguo to have so much inner drama and imagination, and even considered the small details such as how to split the money and continue the business after a conflict if they were to date. She only felt that Zhou Jianguo seemed a little off.
“What’s wrong with you these days?” Luo Bei voiced her concerns. “You always seem strange, it’s making me nervous.”
Zhou Jianguo : “……”
Taking a sip of water calmly, Zhou Jianguo told Luo Bei frankly, “It’s nothing. I just figured out a problem and made the most favorable decision. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Oh, I see,” Luo Bei replied.
This kind of self-suggestion is really useful. Every time Zhou Jianguo wants to look at Luo Bei, he immediately thinks about the business and how to split the money, and he instantly becomes calm and clear-headed.
The two of them still behaved as they used to, occasionally going to the unmanned shops and hotels to restock, and they would also go out to purchase goods. When they both had free time, they would ride on the electric tricycle to sell fruits. Everything seemed the same as before, with no difference.
They would occasionally go for supper together, discuss ways to make money while having meals.
However, Zhou Jianguo knew that his mindset could not return to what it used to be.
For example, when they were selling fruits, a male customer looked at Luo Bei for a few extra seconds and even asked for her WeChat. Although Zhou Jianguo appeared calm on the surface, he had cursed the man’s entire family in his heart.
He was caught in a vicious cycle.
On one hand, he felt that he could not have any relationship with Luo Bei that went beyond friendship, but on the other hand, he was paying more attention to her than before.
Zhou Jianguo didn’t know if he had ever been in a relationship before his memory loss, and he didn’t even know how his feelings for Luo Bei had changed. However, what he was certain of was that he had an unusually strong attachment to her, which quickly turned into possessiveness and then into an overwhelming feeling of love.
He was too familiar with this pattern, and it was precisely because he understood it so well that he was so anxious.
Now Zhou Jianguo regrets following Luo Bei to Fang Jingzhou’s house more than ever. If he hadn’t gone, maybe he wouldn’t have had that dream. If he hadn’t had that dream, maybe he wouldn’t have started paying attention to Luo Bei so early.
If it had been later, if Luo Bei had a boyfriend, if Xiao Jiang had come to his senses and started dating Luo Bei, he could have self-digested his attention more easily.
He questioned his soul, analyzed his morality, and finally concluded that his attention to Luo Bei was only that and had not escalated to love yet. This made him feel relieved but also desperate.
He knew too well and understood his own personality too well. What did attention mean?
As long as Luo Bei wasn’t acting like a complete jerk that everyone avoided, turning this attention into feelings was only a matter of time.
Ah, if only he were a bit more foolish. Why was he so smart and able to see through everything?
Zhou Jianguo started to envy Jiang Sihan.
If only he were like this guy, liking someone without realizing it, how good would that be?
Singles’ Day is approaching.
Luo Bei and Zhou Jianguo have also become busy. Although it is called “Singles’ Day”, it is actually a disguised shopping festival and Valentine’s Day. This holiday has little to do with being single. Many people are posting about gifts and money transfers on their social media, or just indulging in shopping. In previous years, Luo Bei would stay up until midnight to clear her shopping cart.
This year’s Singles’ Day falls on a Saturday. A few days ago, Luo Bei and Zhou Jianguo went to a unmanned store to restock on goods and added some new fresh products that they didn’t have before. They also took a stroll around several partner hotels. Luo Bei believes that they can make more profit during this holiday.
Luo Bei didn’t expect the unmanned store to be so profitable, as their investment costs were not really high. In just a short period of time, they have almost recouped their costs. Once the capital is recovered, the profit will be even higher than her salary.
As they left the hotel, Luo Bei saw that Zhou Jianguo seemed lost in thought and reminded him to be careful on the steps and not to fall.
It was only when they got back in the car that Zhou Jianguo suddenly spoke up, “Luo Bei, how many hotels do we have partnerships with now?”
Luo Bei was taken aback and replied, “Four, and we are about to negotiate with the fifth. Why do you ask?”
“We may not be able to open hotels, but we can certainly do well in the hotel business,” said Zhou Jianguo, looking at Luo Bei. “We need to contact the managers of these hotels as soon as possible over the next few days. I want to secure the contract to supply disposable products for these hotels.”
“Okay,” Luo Bei snapped back into focus and nodded. Her mind could keep up with his steps now. “And, last time, my boss gave me a few hot spring tickets. Why don’t we give them to the managers as a gift?”
Now that the weather was getting cooler, soaking in hot springs was the perfect way to relax.
Zhou Jianguo looked admiringly at Luo Bei. In fact, he was quite pleased that no matter what he said, she always believed him unconditionally.
Although this trust was sometimes a burden, he could still handle it.
- Qixi is like a Valentine’s Day in China based on a local folklore. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which usually falls someday in August ↩︎
- as its name said, it’s a day for singles…. It falls on November 11th ↩︎