Chapter 164

Pfft—!

Su Huan burst out laughing.

"I was just joking, you don't need to get so tense."

"I… I'm not tense." Qin Yun had faced gun barrels from poachers with a heart as steady as an old dog, but now Su Huan's "I missed you" shattered him instantly.

And hearing Su Huan say it was just a joke, he didn't know whether he felt disappointed or relieved.

"I arrived at Shiquanhe Town today, staying overnight, then flying to Shanghai tomorrow morning from Ali Kunsha."

Su Huan nodded: "There probably isn't a direct flight, right?"

"Yeah, need to transfer." Qin Yun had already checked flight schedules and bought tickets, so he knew perfectly, "From Ali to Lhasa, then Lhasa to Shanghai—should arrive in Shanghai around eight or nine at night. I'll probably stay another night in Shanghai, then drive back to Hangzhou the next day."

"Mm, okay, I'll wait for you."

After hanging up, Qin Yun stared at the rushing Shiquan River, momentarily lost in thought.

Long moments passed; he shook his head, scrubbed his face vigorously with the icy river water, and finally regained composure.

He naturally sensed the ambiguous, half-close, half-distant tension between him and Su Huan. He wasn't a fool—he couldn't fail to notice how their distance kept shrinking.

He just kept hesitating.

It was impossible not to have feelings for Su Huan, but jumping into a new relationship so quickly always made him hesitant.

So he did his best not to think about it, and whenever Su Huan tested him, he played dumb.

But today, Su Huan's "I missed you" made his heart thunder—more intense than when he was dating Song Ya.

"Qin Yun, Qin Yun, you're at the top of the food chain now—how can you let romance distract you from your career? While you're young, travel the world, conquer nature—that's what you should be doing."

…

Along the Shiquan River, at 6:30 p. m., Qin Yun arrived at Shiquanhe Town and checked into the Hanjin Boya Hotel, whose appearance resembled coastal cities from the 2000s—extremely plain.

Whether the building's exterior or the hotel's interior, it was pure 2000s vibes.

Though it seemed backward and facilities weren't great, hygiene was excellent and service was warm. Most importantly, the price was under two hundred yuan—this contrast made the value skyrocket.

After showering and lying on the bed, he noticed two missed calls on his phone.

Both from Xia Xiaoxing.

Qin Yun called back; she answered instantly: "Hey, Boss Qin, when are you coming to Shanghai? I've fully serviced and cleaned your car—it's parked in my garage now."

"Haha." Qin Yun laughed, "Thanks a lot. I'm still in Shiquanhe Town. My flight tomorrow gets to Shanghai around eight p. m. tomorrow."

At that moment, Xia Xiaoxing was lying on her bed, the room's floor heating warm enough that she wore only simple clothes, her legs swinging constantly.

Hearing this, her eyes lit up; she flipped over immediately: "Then I'll pick you up tomorrow? I'll treat you to a big dinner—I've got nothing else to do anyway."

"Has your family still not pressured you to get a job?" He'd heard from the siblings last time—still been lounging at home for a whole week.

"Don't wanna go." Xia Xiaoxing pouted, "Work's boring, just wastes time. I just want to travel, like you—Tiannanhaibei, see the whole world, roam everywhere."

"Heh, you'll never manage that in this lifetime." Qin Yun mocked, "After your incident, didn't your mom finally let you off the hook?"

"Wu wu wu—" Xia Xiaoxing nearly cried, "Mom froze all my cards—I'm broke now."

"Then how are you going to treat me to dinner? Are you going to make me pay?"

"…" Xia Xiaoxing looked embarrassed, "Ugh, don't be mean—don't I have my brother?"

Laughing and chatting, they settled the pickup plan; Qin Yun then called his mother.

His mother knew his situation inside out, utterly calm—no doubt Su Huan had already briefed her.

Before hanging up, Hu Fen advised: "You're about to go abroad for the show, right? Don't wander around during this time—stay in Hangzhou, rest, don't strain yourself too much."

"Mom, don't worry, I know. I'll stay in Hangzhou all week, nowhere else."

"Good. Xiao Su said you've been exhausted these days—less than seven days, you traveled over five hundred kilometers, farther than I've driven in days."

Qin Yun smiled, changing the subject: "Not that exaggerated, but Mom—have you started driving to work yet?"

"Drive? What drive?" Hu Fen complained, "I drove one day, then ran into our manager face-to-face. The look on his face—I still get weird thinking about it. It was just… unbelievable."

"The next day, everyone at the company knew. They even came to take photos by my car. So now I only drive at night—absolutely won't drive to work."

"Hahaha." Qin Yun laughed. The car was indeed luxurious—no need to mention the回头率, "It's just transportation. Let them envy."

"You don't fear gentlemen, but you must fear villains, understand?"

Mother and son chatted a while longer; Hu Fen hung up, opened WeChat, and sent Su Huan a thumbs-up: "Done!"

Su Huan replied with a cute emoji: "Thank you, Auntie."

Qin Yun naturally had no idea his mother had already sold him out completely. After hanging up, he replied to a few WeChat messages and went to bed.

The hotel room was oxygenated; as soon as he fell asleep, Qin Yun plunged fully into bodily recovery, not moving a muscle.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already seven a. m.

He got out of bed, pulled back the curtains, stretched with a long yawn—his entire skeleton crackled and popped, every tendon and bone feeling stretched open, utterly comfortable.

Abundant blood and qi, boundless energy—he felt none of the fatigue typical of a thirty-year-old man waking up.

His second brother didn't retreat until over ten minutes later—clear proof of how monstrous his physical condition had become.

Compared to his state four months ago, the Qin Yun of now was an entirely different person.

One punch, and he could kill the Qin Yun from four months ago.

After eating breakfast at the hotel, amid the staff's warm farewell, Qin Yun got into a taxi bound for Ali Kunsha Airport.

Compared to the airports Qin Yun had visited, Ali Kunsha Airport was small—no comparison to Xiaoshan Airport, let alone Beijing Daxing Airport; their passenger volumes were worlds apart.

Daxing Airport handles over fifty million passengers annually; Ali Kunsha handles only one hundred thousand—a five-hundred-fold difference, utterly incomparable.

This made the airport feel like a county-level bus terminal.

…

At eight p. m., China Eastern Airlines flight MU2336 from Lhasa landed punctually at Hongqiao Airport.

Qin Yun had no checked luggage—just a backpack on his back, heading toward the arrivals exit.

"Big Brother Qin."

Walking to the arrivals gate, a cheerful voice rang out. Qin Yun looked up and saw a girl in a beige down jacket waving at him with a wide grin.

Who else could it be but Xia Xiaoxing.

Beside her was Xia Xia Xiaochuan.

The siblings—one tall, one short—were clearly mismatched in height.

Qin Yun waved back and strode over.

"Waited long?"

Xia Xia Xiaochuan first called out, "Big Brother Qin," then replied, "Not long at all."

"Let's go, let's go—get in the car. I've already booked a restaurant. Today's my treat. Mom gave me a hundred thousand in emergency funds."

Xia Xiaoxing stepped forward and grabbed Qin Yun's arm, pulling him outward.

The familiarity of it made one think they were old friends. In truth, counting this visit, Qin Yun had met Xia Xiaoxing only three times.

The car was a domestic minivan. Xia Xia Xiaochuan drove; Xia Xiaoxing and Qin Yun sat in the back.

"Big Brother Qin, let's go to Young Master Huang's restaurant. Their food is amazing—never gets old—and it's not expensive either. Less than four thousand per person."

Qin Yun leaned back in his seat, thinking: four thousand per person was far beyond what ordinary people could afford. But remembering Xia Xiaoxing's family background, four thousand seemed almost cheap.

"I'll follow your lead—you're paying anyway." He chuckled.

Shanghai's roads were predictable: traffic jammed the moment they left the airport and entered the city, let alone within the city itself.

The three chatted casually, not in any hurry.

"By the way, Big Brother Qin, are you free tomorrow noon? My parents want to invite you over for a home-cooked meal."

"Invite me?" Qin Yun looked startled. "Is that necessary?"

Xia Xiaoxing rubbed her nose, a little embarrassed. "Mom scolded me to pieces after what happened. She heard from Ah Li about how you helped. You know how it is."

Qin Yun felt troubled, even resistant.

"To me, it was just a small thing. I was going to take the Xinjiang-Tibet route anyway. It was nothing—no need to go out of your way to thank me."

"But Mom already had the maid go buy all the groceries today. Everything's probably ready by now."

Qin Yun sighed. "Alright then. That's too much trouble for the maid. I'll come over tomorrow noon."

Even if invited, shouldn't he bring a gift when visiting? The thought made his head ache.

The car turned onto Tianping Road. Just as they entered the parking lot of Young Master Huang's restaurant, Han Wei called.

"Big Brother Qin, you're in Shanghai?"

"Yeah, just arrived. Heading out to dinner with friends."

"You didn't even call me when you got here. I could've picked you up."

"Hahaha, same thing. There'll be next time."

"Alright." Han Wei got to the point. "I never properly thanked you for what you did last time. Since you're in Shanghai now, how about dinner at my place tomorrow night? My family insists on thanking you in person."

Damn it!

Qin Yun turned to look at Xia Xiaoxing. His head throbbed again.

He wanted to refuse, but couldn't bring himself to.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

Luckily, one was at noon, the other at night—no conflict. Otherwise, he'd have had to refuse one.

"Big Brother Qin, are you also busy tomorrow night?" Xia Xiaoxing asked curiously.

Qin Yun nodded. "Yeah. Han Wei's. The one who climbed Yamei Peak with me."

Hearing this, Xia Xia Xiaochuan glanced back. The siblings exchanged a look.

Qin Yun frowned. "What? You know her?"

"Yeah," Xia Xiaoxing said. "Sister Wei lives in the same villa district as us—Shanghai Ziyuan. Just a ten-minute walk away. We know about her family too. We don't interact much, but we bump into each other sometimes."

"What a coincidence."

They got out of the car and entered the restaurant, where a server immediately greeted them.

Aside from the food, the decor was exceptionally private—blending French romance with Chinese elegance, even incorporating cyberpunk and natural mountain elements. The paintings on the walls were clearly valuable art pieces.

"You need to book three days in advance here. Luckily, Dad knows Young Master Huang. Hehe."

"Then I won't be polite."

Meanwhile, in a villa in Shanghai's Shanghai Ziyuan, Han Wei told Fang Yi and Han Shichu about her arrangement with Qin Yun.

Upon hearing this, Fang Yi smiled. "That's perfect. I'll have someone prepare right away. We must thank this young man properly in person."

Han Shichu's stern face also broke into a smile. "Yes, it's only right. If not for him..."

He paused, but Fang Yi showed no discomfort. "If not for him, Xiao Xue's belongings would never have been recovered, and Wei Wei's emotional wound would never have healed. We must thank him properly."

Han Wei smiled. "So, Mom and Dad, just our family, or should we invite Uncle Da and Uncle San too?"

Han Shichu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No need. Just our family. Otherwise, he might feel uncomfortable."