Chapter 11

Li Jingming, Bai Jieqian, and Song Shizai, a group of three, were standing on the terminal of Los Angeles International Airport, looking down.

"Isn't that your family's plane?" Bai Jieqian pointed to a blue-topped, white-bottomed plane below with his chin. The tail of the plane was marked with a red and blue yin-yang symbol. This A330-200 (Korean Air had not yet purchased the A380-800 in 2007) belonged to Korean Air. "Pepsi isn't Korean, right?"

Bai Jieqian's teasing was not exactly friendly. The various claims by Koreans that "everything is Korean" made Li Jingming blush, but even though he blushed, it was still annoying to hear it from someone else.

"That's not my family's, it's my grandmother's." Li Jingming, unable to refute, replied nonchalantly.

"Ah, even if it's your grandmother's, you can't just say that. What is this?" Bai Jieqian waved the business class ticket in his hand. "Business class, I didn't check it carefully a few days ago. Now I realize you're so stingy. Is this how rich people get rich?"

Li Jingming smiled awkwardly, "Hehe."

"Hehe, let me tell you, this is the first time I've ever been in business class. What should I do?" Bai Jieqian was annoyed by Li Jingming's carefree attitude.

Li Jingming shrugged, "You don't have to treat me to a meal. It's my first time, so I'll dedicate it to my brothers."

Song Shizai suddenly interjected, "Don't business class flights have romantic encounters?"

Li Jingming and Bai Jieqian turned to look at this low-key guy. Was every low-key person a fallen angel in their past life, making them so introverted in this life?

Song Shizai's words immediately woke Bai Jieqian up, "Damn, I thought until I was twelve that only old men flew on planes. This is all because of first class. My mom even lied to me, saying I was always on Santa's special plane. Every plane I've been on was a shy red-nosed reindeer (Rudolph) in its past life. Give me back my romantic encounters, give me back my pretty girls."

It's not that there are no women in first class, but there are fewer in comparison. The seats in first class are widely spaced, and there are partitions between the middle seats. The good things, like a beautiful woman leaning over and developing a secret affection, don't happen in first class.

The three of them chatted and laughed, and time passed quickly. When it was time to board, Li Jingming and the others walked through the jet bridge and into the plane. After entering and sitting down, Bai Jieqian, who had been excited, was dumbfounded. He had been dreaming of his first romantic encounter on a plane, but now he was thoroughly disappointed. This was a middle three-seat row (A330-200 has four seats in the middle row at the front and three seats in the middle row at the back), and Bai Jieqian was in the middle seat. He looked at the seat in front of him, occupied by an elderly black woman, and the seat behind him, occupied by an elderly white man, who even smiled at him, making him shudder. Li Jingming wasn't intentionally messing with Bai Jieqian, nor was he trying to save money by not buying a first-class ticket. He just believed that the back seats were safer, and after hearing this rumor many times, it had become a quirk.

They had been busy these past few days, signing with Kobe, getting shooting permits, and so on. However, the flight from Seoul to Los Angeles takes eleven hours, and from Los Angeles to Seoul takes thirteen and a half hours, giving them plenty of time to rest on the way. (Is this scientific? The Earth rotates, and there are time differences, but I can't figure it out. This is what others say.)

In movies and novels, it's common for the male and female protagonists to meet on a plane, which can be explained by the psychology of love. The pressure and noise during takeoff can make people dazed, and women, when dazed, give men an opportunity. The same goes for elevators, where the sensation of weightlessness and weightiness when the elevator stops at a floor can interfere with the balance system, making people feel especially beautiful or handsome when someone enters the elevator. In movies, white-collar workers often fall in love at first sight when they brush past each other in the elevator.

For single men and women, if you're still worried about your lifelong happiness, take a few flights if you have money, or stand by the elevator if you don't.

In June, it was the peak of the Hollywood summer promotion, and there were indeed many big stars on the planes. However, on the route to Korea, it was a different story. This wasn't because Hollywood looked down on Koreans, but because the strong local protectionism and extreme democracy in Korea made it difficult for Hollywood to promote effectively. Most of the passengers on Li Jingming's flight were tourists, and the summer was not only the peak season for movies but also for tourism. With families traveling together, there was no place for romantic encounters, so Bai Jieqian was already drooling in his sleep, while Song Shizai was reading a magazine.

Li Jingming stared into space for a while and gradually fell asleep.

When the plane landed, there was no scene of luxury cars coming to pick up Li Jingming. The three of them just dragged their luggage to the entrance and hailed a taxi. Li Jingming had planned to rent a car, but the frequent delays of international flights made it difficult to predict the time, so he gave up. As the most beloved grandson of his grandmother and the actual controller of Korean Air, if the Chao family knew Li Jingming was coming back, they would at least arrange a pick-up, even if they didn't make a big fuss. However, Li Jingming didn't want his family to know about his return for now.

In the car, Bai Jieqian, who was breathing heavily, looked out the window. This was his and Song Shizai's first trip to Korea, which could also be considered a return home. The distance from Incheon to Seoul was not short, and the scenery along the way was not much different from other cities in the world, except that all the signs were in Korean. Song Shizai knew some Korean, as his parents, being second-generation Korean Americans, had taught him some Korean. Bai Jieqian only knew a little spoken Korean, as his father, though Korean, was from a powerful family, and he had learned Chinese from a young age. His limited Korean was learned from the Bai family, his former family.

Li Jingming was the most emotional. He had lived in China for four years and in the United States for five years. Although he returned home for the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival, he had already developed a sense of estrangement from this land. His memories of this place were more from his previous life. He thought a lot. His life was still a one-way street, and although he had taken a big turn back to the starting point, he still had no right to turn back.

After some time, the car slowly stopped by the roadside.

"Isn't this a hotel?" Bai Jieqian couldn't read Korean, and he hadn't understood the place name Li Jingming had given when they got in the car. He looked at the store in front of him, which was clearly a coffee shop.

Song Shizai understood but had never been to Korea and didn't know what Cheongdam-dong was. Yes, it was Cheongdam-dong, in the Gangnam district of Seoul.

Many people have their own definitions of a wealthy area. In Li Jingming and Bai Jieqian's minds, wealthy areas were places like San Diego Bay, Palm Beach, and Jingyiyuan. For Song Shizai, wealthy areas were Beverly Hills and Miami's artificial islands. For most Koreans, Cheongdam-dong, Apgujeong-dong, and Yeonje-dong were wealthy areas.

When they saw the sign, Bai Jieqian and Song Shizai realized it was another of Li Jingming's stores. The large sign read "LifeKindled," abbreviated as LK.

On the glass door, there was a line of cursive English text above the handle, ensuring that everyone entering would see it first.

"For the life of your journey, we hope kindled light, rich, we add our soul wisdom."

"Thank you for lighting our lives with the light of hope, enriching our souls, and teaching us wisdom." (My English is also poor, this is a random translation.)

This was not thanking a teacher but thanking books. The store was not just a coffee shop. The store's area was not small in Cheongdam-dong, with each floor covering over 100 square meters and two floors in total. The front half of the first floor was a coffee shop, and the back half was a small bookstore. There were also some tables and chairs on the first floor, but the main rest area was on the second floor. The store's decor was mainly beige, like yellowed pages of a book. The entrance was adorned with fresh flowers and various cute trinkets. In the middle was a bookshelf with some novels, in Korean, Chinese, and English, as well as some old CDs from various countries, sometimes even rare items. The bookshelf at the entrance was the "Store Manager's Recommendation," and inside the store was a wall of books that spanned both floors, with a movable ladder for accessing the books, which was inconvenient but very stylish, giving the impression of being in the library of Trinity College. There were also scattered bookshelves and CD racks throughout the store, creating a very atmospheric environment.

The store's style was extremely pretentious, as pretentious as it could be, but Koreans loved it. This style of pretentiousness and minimalism was first invented by the Japanese and later spread worldwide, giving the term "literary" a new definition, especially popular among Asian women. This style was particularly favored by young female white-collar workers, and female college and high school students also loved it. The desserts here were more expensive than in other stores but much tastier, attracting a loyal customer base. The main product was coffee, all handcrafted, and with a few handsome men serving, women were willing to pay.

The three of them, dragging their rolling suitcases, looked very strange entering the store, as if they were planning to live there. Bai Jieqian, with his thick skin, wasn't embarrassed and even started observing the women. Song Shizai, however, was a shy introvert, and with almost all the customers being women, he couldn't remain calm, blushing.

It was hard to imagine an American, who had lived in a country with such an open culture for over twenty years, being so shy. Sometimes Li Jingming even maliciously speculated that the guy had suffered some psychological trauma in his childhood.

Li Jingming ignored them and took out a key to open a sealed door and went up to the third floor.

The store was on a street corner, part of a four-story old building. The bottom two floors were the store, and the top two floors were Li Jingming's cozy nest. No matter how many times he was reborn, he still retained many characteristics of a forty-year-old. Living with his parents was always awkward. After starting his own business, he moved out and bought this four-story building on the corner when he was sixteen, opening the LK. Now, LK had nine branches nationwide, four in Seoul, and one each in Incheon, Busan, Jeju Island, Daegu, and Ulsan, each with its own style. This was the first one he opened, marked with a No. 1.

"You're such a bourgeois," Bai Jieqian looked at the decor and started teasing, taking clothes out of his suitcase as he spoke.

Li Jingming quickly stopped him, "You don't think you're going to live with me, do you? I've rented you a place elsewhere."

"Are you going to monopolize such good resources and see beautiful women every day without feeling guilty? I'll switch with you?" Bai Jieqian wasn't concerned about the house but about the beautiful women coming and going downstairs. If he, Bai Jieqian, wanted women, he could have them, but this was just playful talk among friends.