Chapter 293: Chapter 293

After hanging up the phone, Shi Yang didn’t rush back to his room. He leaned against the balcony, gazing at the unique scenery outside with blue skies, white clouds, and lush green trees, pondering how to get Qian Jinqiu on board.

Shi Yang considered thoroughly; in this city, Qian Jinqiu is the best choice for recruiting franchisees. For one, she has Qian Yonggui as a strong supporter, saving Shi Yang a lot of trouble. On the other hand, although Shi Yang plans to move the business to the provincial capital, once recruiting franchisees in the city, it’s hard to guarantee that Qian Yonggui won’t play dirty out of jealousy.

The best way to deal with such local tyrants is to bring them onto your own ship and work together.

Shi Yang made up his mind, once he returns this time, he’ll invite Qian Jinqiu out for a good talk. As long as he manages Qian Jinqiu well, there won’t be much trouble with Qian Yonggui.

After clearing his thoughts, Shi Yang made a call to Liu Xiue, mainly to talk about Liu Cheng.

When Liu Xiue received the call, she was delighted and hurriedly asked, "How has your trip been these days? Where are you now?"

Shi Yang lightly recounted his travel experiences, making Liu Xiue laugh repeatedly: "Oh, is that so! Are there many mosquitoes there? Be careful not to get bitten and have an allergic reaction!"

Shi Yang enjoyed talking to Liu Xiue, especially fond of her caring tone.

Shi Yang said, "Not too bad. I bought mosquito repellent spray from a local pharmacy."

Liu Xiue said reassuringly, "That’s good. How about Meimei?"

Shi Yang squinted and said, "She’s still not up yet."

Liu Xiue was surprised, "What time is it now, and she’s still in bed?"

Shi Yang said, "Last night was too exhausting; I couldn’t bear to wake her up."

Liu Xiue was silent for about two seconds.

Shi Yang deliberately said, "Auntie, do you want to talk to her? Should I wake her up now?"

Liu Xiue hurriedly said, "No, no need, let her sleep!"

Feeling the moment was right, Shi Yang took the initiative to change the subject, saying, "Um, Auntie, I called you because I wanted to ask you something."

Liu Xiue paused before saying, "Hm? What is it?"

Shi Yang repeated what he said earlier.

Liu Xiue forced herself to focus: "Ah, go ahead, what is it?"

Shi Yang told her about Liu Cheng possibly visiting the Naughty Castle in the coming days and coached Liu Xiue on how to handle the situation before hanging up the phone.

Liu Xiue held the phone, squatting under the cashier’s counter, lost in thought.

"Hey! What are you doing there? Treasure hunting?" In the morning, Zhao Dazhuang went to the company and ordered two servings of cold noodles with the young team, specially bringing them over to share with Liu Xiue.

Zhao Dazhuang leaned over the cashier desk and saw Liu Xiue squatting underneath in a daze.

Hearing the sound, Liu Xiue looked up and saw Zhao Dazhuang, giving him a glare: "You’re the one treasure hunting!" She stood up and asked, "Why did you come over?"

Zhao Dazhuang showed her the cold noodles: "You like the cold noodles from this place, right? Get someone to watch the cashier, let’s eat first!"

Liu Xiue arranged and followed Zhao Dazhuang to the other side’s food court, borrowing a table for their meal. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⁂fire.net

Liu Xiue ate absentmindedly, Zhao Dazhuang noticed and asked, "What’s wrong? Doesn’t taste good?"

Liu Xiue shook her head, hesitantly saying, "Hey, her father, I need to tell you something."

Zhao Dazhuang wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned to Liu Xiue.

Liu Xiue said, "Just now, Yangyang called."

Zhao Dazhuang laughed, "Oh, did he? Where are they now?"

Liu Xiue picked at the noodles with her chopsticks: "Xiamen, said they went swimming at the beach yesterday."

Zhao Dazhuang was delighted, "Really? My daughter is better than her father. Her father hasn’t seen the ocean his whole life."

Liu Xiue said softly, "Yangyang said on the phone that Meimei hasn’t woken up yet, too exhausted last night."

Zhao Dazhuang didn’t catch the implication, still smiling, "Didn’t you ask them to take more photos? Pick some nice ones to print out and keep."

Liu Xiue glared at him, "What’s there to photograph, are you stupid or something?"

Zhao Dazhuang was confused by the sudden scolding and asked, "What happened?"

Liu Xiue said, "On this trip, Yangyang and Meimei are likely sleeping in the same room."

Zhao Dazhuang still didn’t understand and asked, "So what?"

Liu Xiue frowned, "Meimei is already eighteen! Two people sleeping in one room, you tell me what that means!"

Zhao Dazhuang finally realized, his eyes widening.

Liu Xiue pursed her lips and said, "Hey, you think...could they already have...?"

Zhao Dazhuang instinctively wanted to refute, but hesitated as he spoke.

Liu Xiue added, "I was twenty-one when I had Meimei..."

Zhao Dazhuang fell silent, his body initially tense, then slowly relaxing.

Liu Xiue asked, "What do you think we should do about this?"

Zhao Dazhuang thought for a bit before saying, "Maybe when Meimei returns, you could talk to her?"

Liu Xiue glared at him, "Why don’t you talk to her?"

Zhao Dazhuang said, "Daughters usually prefer to chat about such things with their moms."

Liu Xiue was unsure, asking, "Hey, her father, if this is true, what do we do?"

Zhao Dazhuang scratched his head, "What can we do? If it’s true, Yangyang must marry my daughter!"

Liu Xiue worried, "What if Yangyang doesn’t agree?"

Zhao Dazhuang immediately puffed up, "He wouldn’t dare! If he refuses, I’ll break his legs!"

Liu Xiue couldn’t help but laugh, comforting herself, "Probably not true, maybe we’re overthinking it."

After hanging up Liu Xiue’s call, Shi Yang pondered and sent his mom several travel photos, including seven or eight solo and duo shots, with a sneaky photo from Tianjin, taken when Zhao Meimei was sleeping.

The photo showed a wide double bed with Zhao Meimei sleeping sweetly on her side, covered with a thin towel blanket, revealing a bit of smooth shoulder. Two pillows were placed side by side, and the messy sheets indicated that two people had probably been sleeping there.

Shi Yang reviewed the photos meticulously, then sent them all. Once the photos were sent, he was satisfied and left the balcony.

In the following two days, Shi Yang took Zhao Meimei to Gulangyu, spending a day shopping and playing around. Not fully enjoying, they found a nearby hotel to stay overnight and went to Sunlight Rock the next day.

After a few days of fun, Zhao Meimei’s skin had turned from wheat color to deep brown, and she grinned, showing particularly white teeth. Shi Yang hadn’t tanned much, but some parts of his arms were peeling from sunburn, so he bought specialized ointment from the pharmacy for treating sunburn.