Chapter 56

As the year-end approached, Xia Shamo had to return to her hometown in Sichuan Province with her mother, so the performance of Guilty Crown in the Forest of Lights came to an end. In just a short ten days, Cheng Xiaoyu, Xia Shamo, and Chen Haoran each earned over 20,000 yuan. Of course, Cheng Xiaoyu asked Chen Jinglong to give Xia Shamo a bit more, so she ended up with over 30,000 yuan.

Chen Jinglong was also happy to give the money. On the day Cheng Xiaoyu and Du Xingduo had their piano duel, the bar's revenue doubled compared to the highest record of previous years. Chen Jinglong, who had made a fortune, naturally couldn't stop smiling and even gave a large red envelope to Cheng Xiaoyu and Xia Shamo.

Xu Qinling's family of over a dozen people went to Hawaii for the New Year. Before leaving, she even extorted a hot pot dinner from Cheng Xiaoyu. Su Yuxi also went, but she was a person naturally immune to desires. For her, even the desire for food was a form of desire, but she was happy to see Cheng Xiaoyu and Xu Qinling enjoy the hot pot.

Fu Xiyue had sent a text message to Cheng Xiaoyu, saying that Liu Huaming wanted to invite him for dinner. Although Cheng Xiaoyu didn't know what Liu Huaming's intentions were, he had no good feelings towards this woman at all, so he made an excuse and told Fu Xiyue to talk about it after the New Year.

Time moved forward in an orderly manner, and Cheng Xiaoyu lived his life in a routine.

On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, Cheng Xiaoyu's family was going to the capital city. The Su family's roots were in the capital, and Cheng Xiaoyu's grandparents were still alive. His grandfather, Su Dongshan, had once held a ministerial-level position, and his elder uncle and third uncle were now working in the ministries in the capital.

Elder Uncle Su Changqing had the best career path, currently serving as the deputy minister of Huaxuan, overseeing news and publishing. However, at over sixty years old, he had reached the end of his career and would retire in a couple of years.

Third Uncle Su Changwei was the deputy director of the Library Department of the Ministry of Culture, a position with little real power.

As for the third generation of the Su family, which included Cheng Xiaoyu, only Su Changqing's eldest son, 35-year-old Su Buyun, had entered politics, serving as the deputy director of the Publicity Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. The others mostly worked at the Beijing branch of Shanghe Records.

During the Spring Festival travel rush, it was hard to get business class tickets, and the family's flights were even separated. Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi only managed to get economy class tickets, while Su Changhe and Zhou Peipei were on a flight that left half an hour later, in business class (domestic flights generally do not have first class).

Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi, with their boarding passes in hand, walked to the boarding gate one after the other. Su Yuxi was wearing a deep blue Burberry college-style horn-button coat, a light gray embroidered hoodie, and a frilly blouse. Her blue Scottish tartan skirt was mostly covered by the coat, revealing only her long, slender legs in black tights. Fortunately, Su Yuxi never wore high heels; otherwise, she might have looked taller than Cheng Xiaoyu.

Su Yuxi's dark blue hair was casually draped over her back, and she was dragging a small silver RIMOWA carry-on suitcase with her right hand.

Cheng Xiaoyu silently followed behind, counting how many people deliberately walked past Su Yuxi to look back. By the time he counted to the thirty-somethingth person, they had finally reached their boarding area.

Su Yuxi found a row of seats with few people and sat down. Cheng Xiaoyu went to the nearby bookstore to buy a book to read. He didn't plan to buy a novel, as he wouldn't be able to focus on the plane, so he picked two magazines with more models, "Men's Style" and "Gentleman." Although it was winter in China, the glossy pages featuring sexy and alluring stars in revealing outfits made Cheng Xiaoyu lick his lips.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't recognize many Chinese celebrities, but he saw a cover of "Men's Style" featuring a woman in a black bikini, her large, white breasts barely visible through a light veil, with a finger on her pink lips. The caption read "Sun Jingyao in The Wizard of Oz." This photo immediately made Cheng Xiaoyu remember this girl. Her figure was naturally excellent, and her face was uniquely beautiful, a blessing for those with face blindness.

Cheng Xiaoyu paid for the magazines, tucked them under his arm, and as he left the bookstore, he saw a well-dressed, successful man trying to chat with Su Yuxi. Cheng Xiaoyu didn't bother to go over, to avoid being criticized by Su Yuxi for watching the show, so he found a seat a bit further away and started flipping through the magazines. He was surprised by the尺度 (尺度 means尺度, but in this context, it refers to the level of explicit content) of the content, which was comparable to "Playboy," and thought about subscribing for the whole year.

When they boarded the plane, Cheng Xiaoyu followed Su Yuxi. The flight attendants in China were generally of high quality, and the one at the cabin door, in Cheng Xiaoyu's critical eyes, could be rated 90 out of 100. As they passed through the business class, the man who had tried to chat with Su Yuxi earlier was sitting by the aisle, nodding and smiling at the expressionless Su Yuxi.

They found their seats, with Cheng Xiaoyu by the aisle, Su Yuxi in the middle, and an older woman by the window.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't care how Su Yuxi looked at him and continued to flip through the "Men's Style" magazine, which was as explicit as "Playboy."

When the plane took off and was flying smoothly, Cheng Xiaoyu felt someone tap his shoulder. He looked up to see the business class man.

Before Cheng Xiaoyu could speak, the man smiled and said, "Sir, I'm sorry, but I know the young lady next to you. Could you switch seats with me? I'm in business class."

Cheng Xiaoyu silently gave a thumbs up to this thick-skinned gentleman, thinking he was a high-level player, but he didn't think this well-dressed, 20-something, handsome man would get anywhere with Su Yuxi. Considering the spacious seats and beautiful flight attendants in business class, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Sure."

Before he could stand up, Su Yuxi, who had been resting with her eyes closed, said in German, "Du wagst (You dare)."

Cheng Xiaoyu could only smile bitterly and sit back down, telling the man, "Sir, I'm sorry, but I also want to sit next to a beautiful lady."

The man clearly didn't understand German and, since Su Yuxi didn't turn her head, he didn't realize Cheng Xiaoyu and Su Yuxi knew each other. Undeterred, he started negotiating with the older woman by the window.

The woman, hearing about the business class seat and the better meals, quickly stood up and switched places with the man.

The man, carrying his briefcase, smiled as he sat down, opened the window shade, and began chatting with Su Yuxi. "Beauty, it takes a hundred years to share a boat, and we are on the same plane and sitting next to each other. This must be a fate of several hundred years."

Su Yuxi closed her eyes, showing no interest in talking.

The man, undeterred, continued, "Beauty, I'm not a bad person. I'm a senior executive at the largest college forum, Miaopu. We recently popularized the major campus beauties and fairy sisters, who have now signed with good entertainment companies and are said to be releasing albums. Are you interested in a career in the entertainment industry? I know several top executives at major record companies and can introduce you."

Su Yuxi didn't even lift an eyelid and continued to pretend to sleep.

The man, seeing that his opponent was ruthless, decided to take a different approach and started chatting with Cheng Xiaoyu. "Sir, are you going to the capital?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, though reading the magazine, heard the man's voice clearly. He turned to the persistent man and said, "Do you think I can jump off the plane mid-flight?"

The man didn't mind Cheng Xiaoyu's teasing and, seeing someone engaging him, immediately perked up. "Student? Going home for the New Year?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, bored, put down the magazine and started chatting with the man. "Yes, I'm a first-year student at SH Sports University. I worked during the winter break to earn my ticket money and am now heading back to the capital."

"Wow, that's impressive. Do you throw the discus or shot put? To be able to earn your ticket money as a first-year student is quite an achievement. I graduated from Renmin University and was the student council president for four years. I was too busy to experience working part-time, which I now regret," the man said, sighing.

Cheng Xiaoyu, playing along, said, "I practice judo. My coach says I can make the national team and hopes to win a gold medal for the country at the 2012 London Olympics."

The man noticed Su Yuxi's lips twitching, thinking she was finally interested, and took out a fancy business card holder from his pocket, pulling out a card and passing it to Cheng Xiaoyu over Su Yuxi. "For athletes like you, our website should give more coverage. Liu Yunfei, the current Sanda King, is a good friend of mine. We should organize a martial arts competition and live stream it online. It should attract a lot of attention."

Cheng Xiaoyu took the card, made of thin wood with a hollowed-out plum blossom pattern, and said, "How about an open-weight class? We could call it 'The Final Battle at the Forbidden City' or 'The Swordsmen of Huashan.'"

The man's attention was no longer on the program. Seeing Cheng Xiaoyu casually put the card in his pocket, he said, "Take a closer look. This card has a story."

Cheng Xiaoyu took the card and examined it, but saw nothing special. He read the text aloud, "Vice President of the China Internet Federation, Administrative Director of Miaopu, Vice President of the China College Internet Alliance, Honorary Chairman of the Renmin University Alumni Association, Wang Dongliang."

The man, looking like a teacher, stopped Cheng Xiaoyu. "Why read the titles? I mean, did you notice that this card is a work of calligraphy by the famous artist Xu Beihong?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, scratching his head, laughed. "Sorry, I'm a sports student, and my cultural knowledge is poor. I didn't notice."

At this, a tall man in the row in front turned around and said to Cheng Xiaoyu, "There are many scammers nowadays, often conning people on planes. Be careful." Although he was speaking to Cheng Xiaoyu, his eyes glanced at Su Yuxi.

Cheng Xiaoyu, being a sharp person, knew the tall man was trying to join the fray. He smiled and said, "I don't think Brother Wang is a scammer. The watch he's wearing was just featured in the magazine. It costs tens of thousands of yuan!"

Wang Dongliang, feeling a thousand praises for Cheng Xiaoyu, thought the young man looked silly but had good judgment. He lifted his wrist, showing off his mechanical Longines watch, and said proudly, "This watch is just for fun. After the New Year, I'll get a gold Rolex."

The tall man sneered, "A Rolex? That's too tasteless. My father wears a Piaget, and my watch, an Omega, is more expensive than yours." He took off his watch and handed it to Cheng Xiaoyu to examine.

Cheng Xiaoyu quickly pulled down his sleeve to hide his Chopard and took the tall man's Omega, studying it. "This one isn't featured in the magazine. It's not necessarily better than Brother Wang's."

The tall man, hearing this, turned red with anger. "Don't talk if you don't understand. What can a porn magazine teach you about good watches?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, not embarrassed, laughed and handed the watch back to the tall man. "Sorry, I really don't know much. You're all rich, so it's fine, right?"

Wang Dongliang, hearing Cheng Xiaoyu's words, felt as comfortable as if he had eaten a ginseng fruit, and said to Cheng Xiaoyu, "Don't take him seriously. He can't even get a business class seat. What's he pretending to be?" In fact, his business class seat was reserved by a classmate working at a travel agency, who had a spare ticket. Because it was expensive and he couldn't get a ticket back to the capital, he had to buy it, but the company could reimburse half. Now he felt the ticket was worth it.

The tall man was too angry to speak.

Cheng Xiaoyu steered the conversation to the internet, and Wang Dongliang, eager to show off, shared everything he knew, giving Cheng Xiaoyu a good understanding of the cutting-edge technology in China's internet companies, which was very beneficial.

Although Wang Dongliang was a bit talkative, he had real talent. The two hours passed quickly as they chatted. The tall man in the front row told them to be quiet, but they ignored him. Su Yuxi continued to rest with her eyes closed. Finally, in the sweet voice of the flight attendant, Cheng Xiaoyu looked out the window and saw the magnificent outline of the capital city.