Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Forty minutes later, Han Shasha indeed walked onto the path leading out of the residential area. An Xiaohai immediately took Zhou Xun out of the house, and the two followed Han Shasha from a distance until they reached the outside of the residential area.

Xingfuyuan Community can be considered an affluent area. There are three convenience stores outside the community: two ordinary ones and one that specializes in imported goods. The items inside are very expensive, and Han Shasha went into the most expensive one.

The convenience store was brightly lit, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see Han Shasha carefully selecting items.

An Xiaohai found a corner, lit a cigarette, and started smoking.

"Mr. Chen, why are we standing here? Didn't we say we were going to bump into each other?" Zhou Xun asked, puzzled, his gaze fixed on Han Shasha.

An Xiaohai smiled slightly: "You like this type?"

"I like... Ah no! That's not what I meant! I meant..." Zhou Xun's face quickly turned bright red.

"If you like someone, just like them. What's there to be embarrassed about? If you like someone, just go for it."

"I...I do like this type, but it's fine to just look at it, I won't pursue it."

"The translation is that you're afraid you won't be able to win her over, and even if you do, you're afraid you won't be able to keep her. It's a bit of an inferiority complex, right?"

"Uh, can you please not be so direct?!"

"Haha! Actually, you can give it a try. You're handsome and young, and your family background and job are pretty good. You're more than a match for her. In fact, a great beauty like her isn't necessarily hard to pursue."

"I'd rather not," Zhou Xun shook her head. "I prefer a more ordinary girl, someone I can settle down and live a stable life with."

An Xiaohai smiled but didn't say anything.

"Don't change the subject. You still haven't answered me why we're standing here."

"Of course, we'll wait for an opportunity."

"What opportunity are we waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for an opportunity for her to ask me for a favor. I have a feeling she might have forgotten to bring money today."

"Wow, you wouldn't be that bad, would you? You had someone steal her money?"

An Xiaohai rolled his eyes at Zhou Xun. This guy was good in every way, except he was a bit stubborn: "How could I do such a thing? Kunji isn't around, who am I supposed to ask to steal her money?"

Besides, is it really necessary? I had a feeling she'd forget her money today.

"If I do the math... what if she brought money with her today?"

"Then I forgot to bring money."

"..."

"Alright, stop overthinking. She's almost done. We should go over there. Don't go in. Just stand at the door and wait for my signal."

"OK."

Han Shasha had finished choosing her items and was walking towards the cashier at the door when An Xiaohai lifted the curtain and entered the convenience store, bumping right into her.

An Xiaohai was slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded at Han Shasha: "Boss, do you have any cosmetics that can cover up scars?"

An Xiaohai pointed to his face and asked the proprietress by the cashier.

"Oh! This... your wound is too big; it's impossible to completely cover it up. At most, we can only make it less noticeable. How did you get this wound? It's so heartbreaking!"

The proprietress said with great regret.

"Hehe, there was a little accident at sea, it's okay, as long as we can cover ourselves up, it'll be fine. I have an event to attend tomorrow, and I'm afraid that going like this will scare people."

"It's not scary, it's just a pity. I wish I hadn't gotten hurt... Go check out the shelves inside. The concealers on the second shelf are pretty good. You can buy some and try them out."

"Okay, thank you, boss!" An Xiaohai nodded to Han Shasha again and went straight to the shelf the proprietress indicated. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Han Shasha's gaze following him in the reflection in the corner mirror.

An Xiaohai found the shelf and, without thinking, grabbed one of every kind of concealer on it. He then turned and walked back to the cashier, just as the proprietress had finished calculating the price for Han Shasha.

"President Chen..." Han Shasha called out to An Xiaohai softly as he approached.

"Hmm? Is there anything I can help you with?" An Xiaohai tilted his head and asked, feigning surprise.

"I... forgot to bring any money. Could you pay for it for me first? I'll pay you back as soon as I get back."

"Oh, okay!" An Xiaohai waved to Zhou Xun, who was standing at the door, and Zhou Xun immediately came over.

"Please pay the bill for Miss Han."

"Okay," Zhou Xun immediately took out her wallet to pay. She looked very calm, but her heart was in turmoil.

"You know me?" Han Shasha asked An Xiaohai with a look of surprise.

"Of course I know you. You're the most beautiful host on Deep Sea TV. How could I not know you? But you know my surname is Chen, which is a great honor."

"It was Sister Meifang who told me."

"Oh, so you know President Su too."

"Yes, I met her when I bought the house. Actually, quite a few apartments in our building belonged to Sister Meifang, but she sold quite a few of them later."

"I see. But I don't live there anymore. I've moved to the top floor of Building 6. It's a bit bigger there. The old apartment was given to the staff."

"Mr. Chen is truly young and promising!"

"I wouldn't call myself young and accomplished; I've just been lucky. By the way, you're a host, so you must know a lot about cosmetics. Which of these concealers do you think works best?"

"I think... these brands are all pretty good!" Han Shasha helped An Xiaohai pick out a few bottles of concealer.

"Thank you so much. Let's try these first. Chen Xun, please pay for these bottles."

"Okay!" Zhou Xun started paying again.

"Mr. Chen, what happened to your face? How did it get like this?"

"There was a small mishap. I'm in the energy business, and I encountered pirates while escorting a ship back from the Middle East a while ago."

"Ah! Pirates!" Han Shasha's eyes widened. "There really are pirates? Can you tell me about them?"

Are you also interested in pirates?

"Yes, yes, I've only ever seen pirates in movies, I never imagined there were actually pirates out there!" Han Shasha nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, I'll tell you. How about we talk as we walk? Let's not block the boss from doing business here."

"Okay, let's talk as we walk!" Han Shasha nodded vigorously.

An Xiaohai gave Zhou Xun a wink, then gestured for her to leave. Han Shasha walked out of the convenience store naturally, and An Xiaohai followed her, walking alongside her.

Zhou Xun rolled her eyes and picked up the things the two of them had bought.

Given An Xiaohai's background, it would be a piece of cake for him to fabricate a pirate story to fool Han Shasha. Even though he was trying his best to restrain himself, Han Shasha still gasped in surprise.

Before they knew it, the two had walked two large laps around the neighborhood.

"I didn't realize the sea was so dangerous. I'd better avoid sea travel in the future and try to fly instead."

"I want to too, but most of the time I still have to go with the ship."

I've been thinking about switching industries, but as you know, the circle in my line of work is very small, I don't know many people, and it's difficult to connect with resources if I want to switch.

"Don't you know the second young master of the Xu family? I saw him visit your house last time."

"You mean Zhijie? I'm not actually that close to him. The person I'm really close to is his brother."

But his brother is hopeless; he knows nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun, so he's completely unreliable. If people found out about this relationship, they'd be avoiding me like the plague.

"Ha, this is the first time I've heard anyone dare to talk about the eldest young master of the Xu family like that."

"What's wrong? Is it something I can't talk about?"

"I heard that the eldest son of the Xu family is very fierce and knows a lot of people in the underworld. He's not someone to mess with."

"I don't know about that. I get along with him quite well, but I don't want to take advantage of that relationship."

How should I put it? Regardless of what other people think of them, I have a very good feeling about the two brothers, and they are also very nice to me. I genuinely want to be friends with them.

I don't have many friends, so I don't want to involve any financial interests in this for the time being. Once interests are involved, friendship becomes less pure.

So let's forget about it for now. I'll think of other options. The line of work I'm in now is indeed a bit dangerous. After this ordeal, I'm really planning to switch to another industry.

Han Shasha nodded gently: "I understand. It's rare to see President Chen being so sentimental."

Actually, I know quite a few business friends. I came here at the invitation of a small gathering. There will be many business friends from Haixi Province and many wealthy businessmen from Honggang.

If Mr. Chen is interested, I can invite you to attend.

"Really? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. These kinds of events are just for friends to get together, endorse each other, and share resources. Everyone can bring their friends to participate. I've never brought a friend to participate before."

"I see. Then I think I'd better not go."

"Why?" Han Shasha was greatly surprised.

"You've never brought any friends before, and now you're suddenly bringing me along? Am I going to become the target of everyone's ire? Forget it, I'm afraid of getting beaten up!"

"Haha..." Han Shasha covered her mouth and laughed so hard she almost fell over: "Don't worry, they're all big bosses, they won't be so petty."

Honestly, I've participated in quite a few events like this, but I've always just been treated as a decorative figure. Being able to introduce Mr. Chen to them this time means I've played a role to some extent.

After laughing, Han Shasha sighed softly and said...

"So, in that case, I'm going to help Miss Han make an appearance?"

"Of course, you have to help me keep things going in this situation."

"Okay, I definitely have to go! When?"

"It'll be the afternoon after tomorrow."

"I happen to be free the day after tomorrow. What time? Why don't you ride over in my car?"

"You can go there around 3 pm. After you arrive, everyone will have some tea and chat. Then there will be a dinner party. After the dinner party, you can make your own arrangements."

My friend is supposed to pick me up the day after tomorrow, but never mind, I told him not to come. I'll ride in your car instead.

"Okay, it's settled then. It's getting late, and you must be tired after just arriving today. Let me take you home to rest."

An Xiaohai took Han Shasha's shopping bag from Zhou Xun and said.

"No need, I can carry just these few things, it's no trouble at all, it's just going upstairs anyway."

"Okay, then see you the day after tomorrow."

An Xiaohai handed Han Shasha her shopping bag. Han Shasha took the bag, waved to An Xiaohai and Zhou Xun, and walked towards the elevator alone.

"Hey, everyone's gone! Are you still spacing out?" An Xiaohai nudged Zhou Xun, who was still in a daze, with his shoulder.

"I was wondering, how did you know she would forget to bring her money today?...

"It's simple, because high-level hunters often appear in the form of prey."

"This hunter... are you referring to yourself or her?"

"Whoever you think it is, that's who it is," An Xiaohai smiled slightly, and walked home with Zhou Xun.

"Something's not right! It seems she hasn't paid us back!"

"Are these things quite expensive?"

"It's quite expensive! Just a few cosmetics, and it cost five or six hundred yuan, which is equivalent to half a month's salary for me!"

"Oh, that's a bit expensive. Is your salary that low?"

"It's not cheap, okay?! It's just that her things are expensive! The things you bought aren't cheap either, they cost over 200 yuan, honestly!"

"Don't worry, they won't even look at something that costs five or six hundred yuan."

Think about it, if she paid us back now, where would we get another chance to talk? Besides, she's taking us to a high-society gathering—something you can't buy for five or six hundred yuan.

"Is that so? Then we actually got a good deal? But from what you're saying, she's coming to return the money tomorrow?"

"Yes, they'll also chat with us while they're at it."

"I wanted to have a chat with you!" Zhou Xun rolled her eyes at An Xiaohai.

"You seem...aren't you jealous? Actually, you can come and chat with us. Didn't you hear how amazing I was describing you? You're still my cousin. She won't object if you come and chat with us."

"I think I'd better forget it. I'm not good with words, and you people are all too complicated!"

"There's nothing we can do. A beauty like her would have been devoured long ago if she didn't have some scheming. By the way, when you get back, talk to Director Xu and see if he can think of a way to conduct background checks on the attendees of the gathering the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, but why are we going to this party? Can you tell me?"

"Go see if there are any resources we can connect with, and then as quickly as possible, create a company with a good chance of going public. That way, we can legitimately approach Xingchen International Investment Co., Ltd. If things go well, they might even come to us on their own."

"A company with the potential to go public... is it really that simple?"

Is it difficult?

"...

"Fine, I'll see how you managed to pull this off!"

"Then you'll have to pay tuition."

"How much tuition do you pay?"

"It's not much, you can pay for the bill earlier."

"I suddenly feel unwell, and I'm likely to develop a high fever the day after tomorrow, so I won't be able to go anywhere!"

"..."