Chapter 360 - Alone But Not Lonely

It took a few days to complete the handover of the house in Guiyang City and to furnish it with the essentials. During those few days, Halia and Jackson stayed with Father Feng temporarily.

Halia enjoyed those few days. All three meals were prepared for them every day and it was always one of their favorite foods. On top of that, their laundry was done for them, their room was cleaned daily, and they had a driver to take them wherever they wanted.

Father Feng was afraid of Coco, so he didn't want to stay at home during the day if he didn't have to. Besides, he wanted to show his daughter and son-in-law around the city; it had been a long time since Halia had explored the city properly and a lot had changed.

"You see that building over there? It is called the Lieben International Building and it has one of the largest artificial waterfalls in the world. Also, it is the tallest waterfall that's been incorporated into a building! Isn't that amazing?"

"And look at that area over there, it's been completely redeveloped! Do you remember how it used to look like?"

Father Feng ran around excitedly pointing to different buildings like a tour guide. Clearly, he didn't get visitors often so this was a rare opportunity for him to show off the city. 

Much like many large cities in China, the government had implemented massive redevelopment plans in Guiyang City to drive economic and social development. Thus, just in the last decade, the entire city had been gradually transformed into a modern, futuristic city.

Of course, the natural beauty of the area was maintained and old historic buildings were restored, so the city still had its unique charm.

For example, the famous Qianling Mountain Park was the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. On one of the days that Halia and Jackson stayed with Father Feng, they ended up joining him and his hiking group for a hike through the mountain. Although Father Feng was old, he was relatively healthy because of some of the activities he partook in. 

As a famous businessman in the area, there was a lot of networking to do. For younger people, they would go to bars, gyms, fancy cafes, etc, but for the older generation, they preferred to do taichi, play chess, and go hiking. As a result, Father Feng joined a hiking group with a few other businessmen roughly 10 years ago and they had been hiking together since.

Of course, deep down, Halia wished her father had spent this time looking for another wife to keep him company and take care of him instead. It was something she had always worried about. After all, he was getting old and it broke her heart to see him lonely. But, she couldn't force him either.

That day, they met with Father Feng's hiking group at the foot of the mountain. Father Feng explained beforehand that his group consisted of 5 men including himself that had all lost their wives or were single. They had met many years ago due to business but as they slowly found themselves on their own, they provided emotional support for each other and their friendship grew. Eventually, they formed this hiking group. Halia felt relieved that her father managed to find friends that could sympathize with him and it lifted a slight load off her shoulders.

As the day progressed and she got to know the men better, she learned that they had helped her father through some business difficulties and that her father had helped them back. She was surprised that her father never mentioned it to her, but she was glad that he had friends to support him and watch out for him even though his wife and daughter couldn't be by his side.

However, the thing that surprised her the most was when she watched them interact with each other she noticed a spark in her father that she had never seen before. Amongst these men, Father Feng was the youngest, so when he jumped and joked around, there was suddenly a youthful vibe to him, like he was young again.

She always thought her father was secretly sad and lonely. But, from what she saw today, it seemed he was alone, but he wasn't actually as lonely as she thought.

Perhaps...she had been wrong about wanting him to find another wife.

Perhaps...her father was happy the way that he was.

Perhaps...she had been too narrow-minded to believe that a person couldn't be happy on their own.

With this thought, her worries for her father slowly faded and she found the motivation to focus on running the company while her father enjoyed his life...

But, even though she thought this at the time...two days into her role at the office, she lay down on her desk and struggled to keep her eyes open. She wanted to blame her tiredness on the fact that she was pregnant, but when she saw Natalie walking energetically around the office, she knew she had no excuse.

"How does it feel to be finally helping your father out?" Natalie asked. "Isn't it exciting?"

Halia looked around at the open office. People were typing on their computers, doc.u.ments were being printed from the printer, the receptionist was talking on the phone. There was nothing exciting about this place. If anything, she much preferred the brewery side of things, but she was not in the position to do manual labor.

Not wanting to lie, Halia held her head and replied, "This place is driving me crazy! It's so boring..."

Natalie looked at her best friend in surprise. She didn't find it boring at all. She loved the challenge of finding the next big client and drawing up plans to help the company grow and expand. It was the best job she had ever had in her life!

But, she forgot that Halia was used to hiding undercover, pursuing criminals, and solving mysteries. These two jobs could not be compared.

Natalie shook her head in disbelief and walked out of the office. "Let me find you something exciting to do. I'll be right back," she said with determination. She was determined to make her friend like this job.

However, just as she stepped out, Halia suddenly received a call on her phone. She looked at the caller ID and furrowed her brows as adrenalin started pumping through her veins. This was the most excitement she had felt in days. 

It was a call from Trisha.

She didn't know why she was receiving this call, but she knew it had to be something important...

"Hi, Trisha, what's up?" she asked with a serious look on her face.

Without hesitation, Trisha replied straightforwardly, "Dr. Li and Dr. Ren have been kidnapped..."