Chapter 6

A business trip to the UAE, while far from home, was, after all, a land of great wealth and prosperity. How could it possibly be the "arduous and arduous" experience the older generation described? Zheng Juyong had his own assessment. This trip was simply to recycle a batch of goods from a competitor. The sale price, at a 20% discount, was only eight million yuan, a considerable bargain. Given Xicheng Steel's years of cultivation and accumulation in the UAE, it was likely to be easily sold, requiring only a few days' effort. So, he traveled light, carrying only a small 20-inch suitcase.

Even when he arrived at Dubai Airport, he was still unaware of his own mistakes. He was as calm and composed as Tony Leung Chiu-wai feeding pigeons in Paris.

Among the businessmen who arrived on the same flight, his "refreshing" temperament was so different that Jiawei, who came to pick him up, recognized him at first sight: "Hey! Juyongguan? Here, here!"

Jiawei jumped up with joy, holding high a pick-up sign in her hand with three big words written on it: Guan Jutang.

I never expected that Guan Ying would even tell such a private matter to an outsider! Zheng Juyong glanced at her awkwardly, then lowered his head and walked along the wall, trying to convince himself: They were good friends since college, so I was probably the outsider. Besides, I was young, so even if I met Guan Ying's best friend, I would have to call her "sister." Never mind, just treat it as a codeword specially prepared for their first meeting.

"Nice to meet you. Hello! Guan Guan showed me your childhood photos. I didn't expect that you look even more beautiful now that you have grown up! You should have heard of me too, just like Guan Guan. Just call me Jiawei." Jiawei came to greet them at the exit, as enthusiastic as a host. In fact, she was only brought in by Guan Ying to help out more than half a month ago.

Zheng Juyong smiled politely: "Haha, hello, Sister Jiawei."

After standing for a moment, Zheng Juyong noticed that behind Jiawei was a tall, mature man clutching the same airport pick-up sign. His arms were pale but veined, clearly someone who spent a lot of time in the office but also exercised regularly. His casually rolled-up shirt cuffs were adorned with a pair of unique, eye-catching gold cufflinks. Although they were of similar height, his plain, simple attire made him seem shorter. Furthermore, the expressionless way he looked at him made him uneasy. From their first meeting, he knew they would never become friends.

"Oh, don't call me sister~ But you can call him Brother Yan. I said I would definitely recognize you, but Brother Yan was worried and insisted on accompanying me." When Jiawei introduced him, she did not deliberately mention that Xiao Weiyan was Guan Ying's boyfriend.

But the subtle scrutiny between the men was enough to make Zheng Juyong think of the other party's background. He came uninvited, not because he was worried about Sister Jiawei, but because he was coming for himself.

Zheng Juyong was reluctant to call him a brother. Although he offered his hand, his expression was expressionless: "Xiao Lu, right? I've heard of your name for a long time."

Xiao Weiyan blinked and shook hands vigorously. "Juyong, welcome." He spoke politely and without airs. After greeting him, he took the suitcase and said, "This is your first time traveling so far. You must be tired, right?"

Because Jiawei was also there to help enthusiastically, Zheng Juyong lost his hold on his suitcase, which was snatched away by the two of them: "I can handle this suitcase by myself."

"It's okay, the car is outside. We'll take you back to the dormitory first." Xiao Weiyan was already dragging his suitcase and walking in front to lead the way. Jiawei obediently hurried a few steps and naturally followed him closely, leaving Ju Yong behind.

Seeing that these two people were as close as a family, Zheng Juyong always felt that something was wrong. He chased after them, squeezed in between them, and started to talk: "Haha, is Xiao Lu driving Guan Ying's car?" From this moment on, he felt that he needed to call Guan Ying by her full name. Protecting Xiao Lu on behalf of Guan Ying was to protect him and Qiao Qi.

As expected, he was a young man who only cared about the car when he arrived here. Xiao Weiyan smiled and said, "Guan Guan said that her car will be left for you to drive. I'm driving another one today."

Jiawei was squeezed to the side of the luggage compartment, walking alone, and said proudly: "Brother Yan borrowed a sports car to meet you."

Xiao Weiyan's face turned bad for a moment: "Actually, sports cars are very cheap here, but I may not be stationed in the Middle East permanently in the future, so I didn't buy a car."

Zheng Juyong never dared to say something like "sports cars are cheap." Even if he heard others say it, he would find it unpleasant to hear.

Only Sister Jiawei enthusiastically supported her: "Yes, Brother Yan, you fly around the world, it's not too late to buy a car after you settle down."

The distance from Dubai Airport to the dormitory in Abu Dhabi was over a hundred kilometers, and at sports car speeds, it should have taken an hour or so. However, Xiao Weiyan drove a blue convertible Ferrari very cautiously, not exceeding 30 mph in the city and only around 80 mph even on the spacious coastal highway. This took a full two hours.

It was someone else's car, and a very expensive one at that, so he had to drive very carefully.

Zheng Juyong was initially very interested in the exotic scenery and looked left and right from time to time, but he soon got tired of it and complained that the sunset here was so hot that it made him sleepy, so he fell asleep in the back seat.

"Juyongguan, get off the bus!" Jiawei shook him gently. "There's not much of a time difference between here and China. It's not good for you to sleep too much."

I thought it was a place like a downtown hotel, but it turned out to be just a few rows of off-white apartment buildings. Apart from being right next to the highway, there was nothing else nearby. There was only a large open space in the distance, and I could even see the edge of the desert. Zheng Juyong was a little dazed. "Are we there yet... Uh, where is this place?"

Jiawei: "The dormitory."

Zheng Juyong thought it was a joke: "Here?"

Xiao Weiyan had already dragged his suitcase upstairs. The floor here was not high, so there was not even an elevator. Zheng Juyong almost suspected that there might not be electricity here!

Jiawei leaned against the car door. "Ha, I had the same expression as you when I first got here. I thought I was being sold! But don't be fooled by the desolate outside. Our supervisor has made the dormitory very cozy. Oh, and the supervisor asked me to tell you that the Ferrari Theme Park is a 20-minute drive in that direction. If you're bored, you can go there."

"Oh, I'm not here to play." Zheng Juyong didn't look in the direction of her finger. He stared blankly at the apartment building in front of him. The building was open and there was no enclosed property. He said nervously, "It's not safe to live in a place like this, right?"

Jiawei burst into laughter. "Haha, it's okay! Guanguan and I are girls and we're not afraid, so how could you, a man, be afraid? Hahaha~ Guanguan said this place is right in the center of the trading market, customers, and the port, so it's convenient for getting in and out. Oh, and that white pickup truck parked downstairs is hers. The keys are hanging on the clothes rack at the dormitory door."

Such a simple "construction site vehicle", indeed one shouldn't expect too much. Zheng Juyong scratched his forehead and looked back at her awkwardly: "Sister Jiawei, aren't you going up?"

Jiawei waved her hand: "You and I can't live together. Brother Yan has already found a new place for me to live."

Xiao Weiyan had already sent his luggage into the room. When he came up, he, like the male owner of the room, personally told him the door password, and then drove Jiawei away.

The apartment had one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. It wasn't large, and the decor was simple, but it had everything you could need. The bedroom had two bunk beds, accommodating four people. However, due to the recent decline in Xicheng Steel's foreign trade business, Guan Ying was the only one visiting on business. As a result, only one set of neatly made beds remained, and there were two pillows. I guess she and Jiawei had been sleeping together at night.

Zheng Juyong felt a little regretful. He should have stuffed a four-piece bedding set into his suitcase before leaving!

There was only a small electric cooker in the kitchen, with oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and seven or eight packets of noodles placed next to it. There were some rotten fruits and vegetables left in the refrigerator. It seemed that Sister Jiawei had not entered the kitchen since Guan Ying returned to China.

The evening highway outside the window was quiet. Two clear dog barks were heard downstairs, but he didn't know if they were stray dogs. Alas, how could stray dogs survive in this barren environment... If it weren't for the old documents filling the coffee table in the living room, proving that the people who lived here were indeed from Xicheng Steel, he would have even doubted for a moment: Could this be Guan Ying's prank on him?

Zheng Juyong leaned against the window blankly, his face slanted by the last rays of sunset, and muttered to himself, "Has Xicheng Steel reached this point?"

......

Guan Ying, who was "detained" in Xicheng and had to "take a vacation", also suspected that she had been played a prank.

A high-end club in the city.

Qiao Qi took off his sunglasses and called the boss over like a regular customer: "Just take the bottle I left here."

Guan Ying sat opposite him, knowing that the visitor had bad intentions today, so she decided not to drink. "Sorry, I'm driving and can't drink. If you have something to say, just talk about it. I'm quite busy."

The boss nodded and went out.

Qiao Qi had a few fashionable red braids in her hair and a pair of unique bell pendants hanging from her ears, which matched the bronze precious metal necklace around her neck. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of, but when she smiled, the bells jingled, reminding Guan Ying of the date palm trees with bunches of orange-red fruits hanging on the road beside Khalifa Port.

Standing next to the date palm tree, the taste of the fruit is indeed sweet and tempting, but the thought of taking the date palm tree home makes me feel uneasy.

"Sister Guanguan." Qiao Qi's voice was as sweet as a date coated in hot sauce.

However, hearing a rapper address her as "jie", Guan Ying felt that something was not "real" enough, so she quickly stopped him: "No! I call you Qiao Qi, and you call me Guan Ying. Let's not call each other sister or sister."

Qiao Qi took the initiative to push the snacks in front of her. "You don't want to call me sister, but I have to call you sister. Whatever Ju Yong calls me, I should do the same. Besides, I am indeed young... Oh, Sister Guan Guan, don't blame me. I am a person who talks faster than my brain. I don't even know when I offended someone."

Guan Ying raised her eyebrows and said, "Hey, this plate of snacks is really spicy!"

The boss then entered, bearing a full set of Kung Fu tea. Guan Ying had never imagined such a secret club could be a place for tea. Could a rapper possibly drink such elaborate tea? Tea was tea, so why did the company even use a bottle? Guan Ying had seen something new today.

She soon understood that the boss's occasional display of skill between the two of them was just to fill the awkward gaps when they had nothing to say. What could have been discussed in a few words would now take a long time to complete. This was not just "tea"; it was all "kung fu".

After two cups of tea, Guan Ying had no time to chat and became impatient: "It's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't help! I blame your Zheng Juyong for betraying me. I still don't know how to meet Aunt Zheng, and you want me to bring you to her house? Then I will be the culprit! Let's go home."

The club owner came forward to refill the tea.

Guan Ying covered her teacup and smiled at the boss: "Please take a break. I am a rough man and cannot drink fine tea, haha."

"Let's withdraw and put the blame on him." Qiao Qi said, and the boss packed up and left.

Guan Ying suddenly realized that this was probably where Zheng Juyong and Qiao Qi were dating! Wasn't this like pulling up Zheng Juyong's bed? Oh, what bad luck! If Qiao Qi's celebrity nanny car hadn't suddenly stopped at her door, attracting a circle of curious passersby, she wouldn't have followed him today.

Qiao Qi grabbed Guan Ying's arm as she left the table. "Sister Guan, don't you want me to marry Ju Yong? Actually, you like him too, right?!"