“You, come and catch me, Youge.” Wang Fangfang plunged into the sea without looking back.
Zhou You had underestimated the caliber of a professional athlete.
His own half-baked skills just weren’t cutting it.
He waved his hand, and the yacht idling nearby slowly pulled up. Zhou You climbed aboard.
“Let’s go, catch up to Fangfang.” With a grand sweep of his arm, Zhou You sent the yacht slicing through the waves.
Hearing the noise behind her, Wang Fangfang stopped and turned to see Zhou You standing at the bow of the yacht, facing the sea breeze, wearing only a pair of beach swim trunks and tinted glasses.
He looked every bit the spirited young man.
Yes, in Wang Fangfang’s eyes, Zhou You was young, handsome, and impressively strong.
“Now it’s your turn to chase me,” he said, driven by that damn competitive streak.
Wang Fangfang felt like swallowing back every compliment she’d just given. Men never grow up, do they?
She floated in the water, unwilling to move.
Zhou You wasn’t a kid anymore; he pulled Wang Fangfang out of the water. “Come on, let’s head back for dinner.”
The group had been in Bali for three days, but neither of them showed any sign of wanting to leave. The scenery here was simply too beautiful.
The water was stunning, the people were lovely—they couldn’t get enough of it. The only complaint was the food, but with enough money, even that was acceptable. After all, this was a world-famous tourist destination, and the cuisine had long gone global.
When they first arrived, they spent a day taking photos. After that, the rest of the time was all about having fun.
Surfing, snorkeling, paragliding.
But Zhou You had a fear of heights and decided he’d never try those kinds of activities again. It was pure self-torture.
Paragliding was okay, relatively smooth, but the roller coaster was pure agony.
The sudden stops in midair and the feeling of weightlessness were unbearable—completely out of his control.
Still, the water here was incredibly pleasant: fine sand, warm sea, crystal clear and a deep, vivid blue, as if he were in a painting.
“Any thoughts on the rest of the itinerary?” Zhou You asked.
“Haven’t decided yet. I’m not tired of this place.”
“Alright, we can stay longer if you want. I’d love to hang around for another half month, but I’ve noticed the scenery is beautiful while the culture leaves much to be desired. There was even an anti-Chinese incident here before,” Zhou You explained.
“Oh, are we in danger?” Wang Fangfang genuinely didn’t know about that; she didn’t usually pay attention to such things.
Zhou You chuckled. “No worries, we’ve got numbers on our side.”
For this trip, Zhou You had expanded his entourage. Xiao Si’s entire security team came along, along with Li Houliang’s original crew.
Add in the camera crew and makeup artists, and they were practically a self-contained group.
Handling minor issues was no problem.
There were nearly ten security personnel, including two women specially assigned, just in case.
“If not, we’ll head to Thailand—security’s even tighter there,” Zhou You joked.
He’d only mentioned it offhand, but Wang Fangfang took it seriously. “Sounds good. After this, we’ll go to Thailand for a few days, and that’ll be enough.”
“What? No other places?”
“Not going to Europe?”
“I don’t want to. I’ve realized I’m not cut out for long trips abroad. Nothing feels as good as home,” Wang Fangfang said, leaning against Zhou You.
“Alright, whatever you say,” Zhou You replied.
He’d noticed that Wang Fangfang was the type to travel in a laid-back way. Once she reached a place, she didn’t want to move, just wanted to stay put. She wasn’t all that interested in rushing to see sights or trying exotic foods.
As long as there was food to eat and things to see, she was fine. She definitely wouldn’t get up early or trek across mountains just for a specific dish.
Zhou You was the same way—he didn’t like rushing around or being pushed.
Joining a tour group felt like clocking in for work: hurry to a spot, take photos, shoot videos, grab some snacks, buy a few souvenirs, then rush to the next destination.
No fun at all. If he wanted to see beautiful scenery, he’d rather watch a documentary at home.
Or use VR for an immersive experience.
Zhou You preferred immersive travel: staying in one place for a while, diving deep into the local culture, scenery, and food.
Not just skimming the surface and pretending to understand or have been there.
Unfortunately, that was hard to achieve.
Only a few regular spots worked.
Tan Feng had initially braced himself for hardship. Working for a big boss, if he didn’t serve well, losing his job was a real possibility.
But once he arrived, there was hardly any work. Just a few wedding photos, all smooth sailing, plus some video shoots. After a short while, Zhou You called it off.
“Shoot occasionally, no need to keep at it. It’s just for memories. Use your judgment and capture the everyday and beautiful moments.”
Tan Feng had thought it would be a tough gig, but it turned out to be a vacation.
His daily work hours didn’t exceed two, including post-production. It felt a bit strange at first.
But this was life.
Tan Feng, wearing a sun hat and beach shorts, holding a coconut with a straw in his mouth, lay on a beach chair, enjoying the sea breeze. This was living.
If he got the chance, he’d definitely bring his wife and kids to experience this too.
Life was so beautiful, yet people spent it chasing after a few measly coins. How pointless.
Through these days, he’d gained a new perspective on Zhou You as a boss. Outsiders said the new boss was a womanizer—that was definitely true.
But there was another saying: he got things done.
Anyone who’d dealt with him almost always got great opportunities. The resources were given; whether you could seize them was up to you.
So his reputation was solid.
Especially those hired from Hengdian—they were fierce, never letting go of an opportunity, and fiercely loyal to the company and Zhou You.
One guy, Song Zifeng, was practically a fellow townsman of the boss, always defending him.
Tan Feng hadn’t understood before, but now he got it.
Meeting such a good leader and boss—anyone who’d been through the school of hard knocks knew to cherish it.
Only fresh graduates, new to society and unscathed, didn’t know its value.
In fact, he’d made a mistake a couple of days ago. Zhou You had been having a great time playing, and later wanted to see the video, but it hadn’t been recorded. Tan Feng thought he was in trouble—surely he’d get scolded or punished. But Zhou You just said, “No problem, the other shots were good. Just film as you see fit and edit it for me later.”
Life doesn’t always go as planned. Hiring someone to film was just an extra idea.
Besides, recording too much made Zhou You wonder if he’d ever watch those videos. It was all up in the air.
Better to just enjoy the moment now. Who knew what greater joys lay ahead?
Haha.
Tan Feng had lived through the best business trip of his life.
The makeup artist felt the same—a paid vacation, nothing less.
They stayed a full half month before heading to Thailand.
Honestly, if Wang Fangfang hadn’t reminded him, Zhou You might have forgotten about Thailand entirely.
These past few years were peak tourist season, also the height of travel. He Mei’s travel company was growing steadily. When they were last in Hong Kong, she’d planned to expand further, but Zhou You stopped her.
From expansion to profit took at least a year or two. By the time profits rolled in, if something unexpected happened, it wouldn’t be worth it.
In other words, after all that effort, you’d just break even or make a tiny profit.
Instead, Zhou You advised her to shift resources: handle the off-season herself and farm out the peak season to other agencies, making money with no risk.
He Mei didn’t fully understand but followed his advice. In her view, expanding to gobble up more of the market made sense.
But she hadn’t considered whether she could handle that much cake. Zhou You could only protect a portion; anything bigger was out of his reach.
Still, it was enough for her and her brother’s expenses and for Zhou You to buy land.
The early land was under He Mei’s name, but later plots were transferred through international law firms, with control in Zhou You’s hands.
Of course, the quantity wasn’t huge, as too much would pose big risks.
Now, all that land was planted with rice, which Zhou You ate daily. But it only sufficed for his close friends and family—nowhere near enough for market circulation.
Not that Zhou You planned to go public.
He Mei learned in advance that Zhou You was coming to Thailand. Since Wang Fangfang’s last visit, they’d exchanged contacts and chatted on WeChat often. After so long, they’d meet again.
It came down to different values in different places. In Thailand, as long as you had money to support a family, anything was acceptable.
Zhou You fit that standard perfectly, so He Mei was genuinely happy. As for other thoughts, she had none now. Life was too good to want more.
“Youge, Fang Jie, welcome to Chiang Mai.” He Mei stepped forward and hugged them both.
She’d brought a large security team to the airport, concerned about Zhou You’s safety.
But seeing his entourage, she relaxed.
“Youge, the drones you provided last time are so convenient. We’ve equipped many, and they’ve been a huge help in daily tourism security,” He Mei said cheerfully.
“More importantly, the filming projects we offer are very popular with tourists.”
Zhou You nodded, thinking this was just the beginning.
“Good, glad they’re useful. This time, we’re here to play. Fangfang’s in charge, so just follow her lead.”
Wang Fangfang stepped forward and took He Mei’s arm. “Nothing major, just wanted to see you. Youge and I are on a wedding trip. We spent half a month in Bali and thought we’d stop by on the way back.”
It was both a declaration of sovereignty and a gesture of outreach.
She’d met Sun Li before and was deeply impressed. Compared to her, He Mei seemed a bit less striking.
Though Wang Fangfang didn’t know military strategy or history, she understood a bit about “befriending the distant and attacking the near”—it was an instinctive reaction.
Who knew how many others Zhou You had out there? She just wanted to maintain the relationships she knew about, without causing trouble for him or herself.
He Mei’s face darkened briefly, then returned to normal. “Congratulations, Youge. Congratulations, Fang Jie.”
“What’s there to congratulate? I’ve got another reason for coming. I didn’t discuss it with Youge beforehand. I can’t decide everything, but I know most women dream of wearing a wedding dress someday.”
“So I’m here to ask if you’d like to take wedding photos with Youge and hang them where you live. That way, you’ll have something to remember.”
Zhou You was stunned. He never expected Wang Fangfang to make such a request. Honestly, his feelings for He Mei weren’t deep, but they weren’t nonexistent either.
He Mei was at a loss, looking down at her toes, occasionally glancing at Fangfang and Zhou You.
“I’ll do whatever Youge says,” He Mei said, then fell silent.
The pressure shifted to Zhou You.
He looked at Wang Fangfang, then at He Mei. He was backed into a corner.
If he refused, both women were right there, and it’d be awkward.
If he agreed, he felt a bit embarrassed. He’d planned to handle things separately, but Wang Fangfang had turned it into a group affair.
After a few seconds of thought, he nodded. “Alright, let’s do what Fangfang says. We’ll take a few simple sets, styled according to your local customs.”
But Wang Fangfang had oversimplified things. There was much more to come. Wedding photos were just between two people; the family matters afterward were where the real trouble began.
Whether Wang Fangfang had thought it through or was deliberately ignoring it was unclear.
“He Mei, I remember you mentioning your father had two wives, right?” Zhou You asked.
“Yes, my brother and I are from my mom, and there are others from the other wife,” He Mei said, looking up with a smile.
Zhou You continued, “Do your parents know about us?”
“They’ve heard a bit, but not the details. My brother might have said something. They don’t have any objections,” He Mei clarified.
Zhou You felt relieved. He didn’t want too much contact with her family. “Let’s start with the wedding photos. We’ll figure out the rest slowly.”
He Mei nodded quickly. Once you had a start, the end would follow, right?
Like their partnership now—even if they parted ways, there’d be some sunk costs.
Step by step. Everything was moving in a positive direction.
Next came the private chat between He Mei and Wang Fangfang.
At the hotel, they were still whispering away.
Zhou You didn’t mind. He was satisfied with Wang Fangfang’s behavior. As long as she stayed steady, everything else would fall into place.
After dinner, Wang Fangfang said to Zhou You, “Youge, give me a break tonight. I’ll sleep next door.”
After two straight weeks, Wang Fangfang was feeling the pressure—immense pressure.
Even her athletic physique couldn’t save her. That’s why she’d come up with this idea. Who didn’t want to live a few more years?
Her words left Zhou You awkward, like he was some bullying tyrant.
How was this his fault? It took two to tango. His body was just that good—what could he do? Others would kill for it!