The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 281 The Beauty of Dreams, the Shamelessness of Reality

Zhao Xiaochui did not directly answer Hua Jie's question.

He carefully tucked the manila envelope into the innermost compartment of his crossbody bag and zipped it up. Only after doing this did he turn around, his voice barely audible:

"I ran into Zhao Wuyou's grandfather last night."

The glimmer of light that had just gathered in Sister Hua's eyes due to rest instantly dimmed.

Zhao Xiaochui also sighed softly, his voice full of weariness and regret: "Sister Hua, if your KTV were still here, if... if there had never been a Zhao Wuyou, how wonderful that would be."

Sister Hua closed her eyes and nodded fiercely, as if she wanted to suppress all her resentment into this action.

Zhao Xiaochui's gaze drifted to the dark blue night sky outside the porthole, but a pure longing, incongruous with the night, appeared on his face.

"We don't actually need to earn thousands or tens of thousands from a single service; a few hundred or a thousand is good enough."

On the other side, Liu Li, who was holding Yangyang, was already fast asleep, but at this moment the snoring in her throat suddenly stopped, leaving only steady breathing.

“Let’s all pay social security together, and if we pay it diligently for five years, we’ll have enough for a down payment. We’ll all live nearby, buy a small house, and then try our luck in getting a license plate for a new energy vehicle…”

Zhao Xiaochui's voice wasn't loud, but he didn't notice that the burly security guard in the front row, who was wearing headphones and listening to music, had taken off one of his headphones at some point.

Even the usually quiet blind technician turned slightly to face the direction of the sound, listening intently.

"The house doesn't need to be fancy, really, as long as... as long as we can all be together." His voice trembled slightly.

"If anyone is in trouble, I'll lend a hand. When we have time, we can go on a trip together, have a meal together... I'd also like to get a dog, or a cat would be nice too..."

His hopeful expression made several pairs of eyes in the darkness quietly light up.

"If...if everyone had kids," Zhao Xiaochui's lips curled up unconsciously, as if he could already see that scene, "they would grow up together, no one could bully anyone else, and they could call each other 'childhood friends' for life. Then, we'd work hard to move to a bigger house. During holidays, everyone would gather together, and it would be so lively..."

His voice echoed in the quiet cabin, painting a vivid picture for everyone:

"The children were running around the house, the cats were jumping and the dogs were leaping, while we just sat at the dining table, drinking and chatting, happily watching it all..."

As the words fell, an eerie silence descended upon the cabin. The snoring, the turning of pages, the coughing—all vanished, leaving only the tireless roar of the engines…

A few seconds later, Zhao Xiaochui slowly withdrew his gaze from the window. He turned his head, his eyes sweeping across the blurry yet focused faces in the darkness.

He extended his right hand, not pointing at any one person, but gently tracing a line through the air.

"As long as we're still here, so what if the shop is gone when we get back?"

His words were like a pebble thrown into a still pond, creating ripples in everyone's heart.

Hua Jie stared at him blankly, her eyes no longer filled with sadness, but with a complex and unfathomable expression.

“It’s just that we’ll only be serving the neighborhood from now on,” Zhao Xiaochui said in a relaxed tone, as if he were talking about something extremely easy. “We’ll earn less, but buying a house and a car in five years won’t be a problem.”

These words acted like a tranquilizer. In the darkness, someone let out a barely audible sigh of relief. The engineering department worker who had been asleep earlier nodded solemnly and slowly in the darkness. This humble yet practical plan instantly gave that distant dream a sense of reality.

Zhao Xiaochui withdrew his hand, placed his hands folded on his knees, and shook his head slightly.

"Looking back now, besides doing my job well, I just did everything on a whim. What else did I do?" Zhao Xiaochui shook his head and said with absolute certainty, "I didn't actually do anything. They all came to me on their own. Whether they were my own people or enemies, they just pushed and pulled me step by step to get to where I am today."

“Since that’s the case,” Zhao Xiaochui suddenly raised his head to meet Hua Jie’s gaze. He slowly spread his hands, a relieved smile appearing on his face. “How can I control it? I can’t. Let them do whatever they want!”

“If they fail,” he said calmly, looking at his palm, “then all the profits the store made before can be considered a dream. Now that the dream is over, it’s fine.”

“But what if they succeed…” Zhao Xiaochui looked up, his eyes shining brighter than the reading light above him, and his smile became radiant.

"Isn't that even better? It means our dream life can be realized faster. It also means that the operating model I've always insisted on is correct."

After expressing his thoughts, Zhao Xiaochui slowly closed his eyes and leaned on Hua Jie's shoulder. He had complete trust in this woman who had gone through countless storms with him.

He didn't fall into a deep sleep; the smile on his lips seemed to suggest that he was living in the midst of a beautiful dream...

…………

A few hours later, the plane landed smoothly on Argentine soil. For most of the team, this was the first time in their lives that they had stepped out of the country, and excitement and novelty were written on everyone's faces.

The rest of the trip took a strangely regular turn. The members didn't think much of it, assuming it was a safety arrangement made by the travel agency.

Only Zhao Xiaochui knew that desensitization treatment for Xiao Ye, Tangtang, Linglan, and four soldiers from a certain bureau had begun the moment they boarded the plane.

Zhao Xiaochui turned that unattainable "dream of wealth and status" into their daily life.

Stay in the most luxurious hotels, fly on the most comfortable chartered planes, and see the most magnificent scenery.

When "wealth and status" are no longer something to be looked up to but become a tangible and perceptible reality, their mystique disappears.

They will find that the so-called ultra-luxury lifestyle is nothing more than that; it can bring comfort and enjoyment, but it can't compare to the joy of sharing happiness together...

They have lost the allure of the so-called dream of wealth and status.

The day after the welcome dinner at the private estate, the entire team drove to the spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier.

As they gazed upon the massive ice wall stretching for kilometers, gleaming with a ghostly blue light, and as huge chunks of ice collapsed with a thunderous roar, crashing into the lake...

Thousands of miles away, the actions of distant capital continue.

It seems that tearing up the contract wasn't enough for the Jinghai textile industry. Under immense pressure, Jin Dayang was forced to issue a public statement, completely distancing itself from the company on the grounds that "Qingsong Manxing's quality control requirements are non-compliant and pose a risk of commercial fraud."

This blow not only completely severed the supply chain, but also dealt a heavy blow to the brand image of "relaxed and slow" pursuit of ultimate quality.

On the third day, the team flew to Ecuador and headed straight for the Galapagos Islands.

Here, they saw adorable giant turtles, "swimming" with fearless sea lions, and various strange creatures that Darwin had observed a century ago.

On that very day, the crackdown in the capital city was fully escalated.

The attacks on the "Easy and Slow" future map were launched simultaneously from all directions, as if by prior arrangement.

The three-story building in Fatou, which was being renovated by Gaoya Company, was shut down by various grassroots departments who took turns visiting the site and strictly ordered it to stop work and rectify the situation in accordance with laws and regulations, bringing the construction site to a complete standstill.

The large-floor staff dormitory in OCT is being harassed by daily complaints from "anonymous neighbors," forcing the renovation team to halt their work.

Even the large dry cleaning shop that hadn't even opened yet was sealed off after a sudden "joint inspection."

All expansion plans were frozen overnight, turning into a bottomless pit of continuous cash burn.

Online, the violence continues, with countless carefully crafted "dirt" appearing out of thin air, portraying Zhao Xiaochui as a "charlatan" who relies on unorthodox methods to attract attention.

These attacks are overwhelming, but some people can still see from various signs that, aside from the commercial attacks, public opinion is only precisely and coldly targeting bosses who are relaxed and slow.

Yuanfang Capital never resorted to the most ruthless and unscrupulous means—opening the box containing thirteen female technicians.

Were they merciful at this time?
No, it's a sliver of arrogance deliberately left open. It silently tells Zhao Xiaochui: the door to compromise is still open, but the crack is rapidly narrowing.

All of this happens between the sun and the night in South America.

Zhao Xiaochui received an invitation from his hometown as the leisurely tour group finished their trip in Ecuador and the chartered plane landed at another airport.

"Seeing the Future, Perceiving the Extraordinary"

Far East Capital is proud to announce the official launch of its grand blueprint for the big health industry.

We have discovered and protected five "masters of perception in the dark." With their extraordinary sense of touch, they are passing on an ancient technique that was almost lost.

Yuanfang Capital cordially invites you to a themed dinner to witness the debut of "Original Perception Therapy" and join industry leaders in ushering in the next golden age of the health industry.

时间： 2020年9月3日晚21:30
Location: Top Floor Ballroom, Park Hyatt Beijing
Yuanfang Capital invites you to embark on an extraordinary journey together.

…………

Five masters of perception?

They're just the five people, including Lao Gu, whom they poached before!

Zhao Xiaochui looked at the tablet, then at the land of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
(End of this chapter)