CH 61

With a look of despair, Zhou Jianguo got on the bus. There weren’t many people on board at this point, so he sat in the back row and thought to himself, well, as long as he doesn’t recover his memory and can’t prove that he’s a single dog, then he’s got what he wanted. There’s basically no chance of surpassing good friends and business partners with Luo Bei… profit sharing, business and all that won’t be affected. According to reason, he should be able to breathe a sigh of relief. After all, this is the result he desperately wanted at the beginning. But why does he feel so anxious inside?

So, can it be understood that deep down in his heart, he actually wants to be with Luo Bei?

It’s just that he doesn’t want to change the status quo, or perhaps he doesn’t want something he can’t control to happen, so he uses business as an excuse?

In the end, he doesn’t not want to be in a relationship with Luo Bei, but he’s afraid to be with her.

He’s very confident in other areas, but in the realm of emotions, he hasn’t learned how to control his feelings freely.

But then again, who in this world has that kind of ability?

Zhou Jianguo sighed deeply, feeling melancholic.

The only good thing for now is that he doesn’t have to agonize over it. Yes, there’s no point in being indecisive. Even if he implemented earth-shattering pursuit tactics on her, before proving that he’s a single dog, she wouldn’t take that step lightly.

He didn’t feel happy at all, but rather wanted to curse.

Jiang Sihan arrived at Grandma Luo’s hospital room just as Luo Bei was getting ready to wash up. She looked surprised to see him.

He held some bird’s nest and other supplements in his hand, and handed them to Luo Bei in a gentle and cautious manner, so as not to disturb the patients in the ward. “This bird’s nest was given to me by someone else, and I can’t drink it…but this sea cucumber and fish maw are bought by me.”

Luo Bei accepted these things and locked them in the cabinet. Then she signaled Jiang Sihan to leave the room together. After closing the door, she said, “This is your kindness, I won’t refuse it. Why do you have time to come here now? I saw on Weibo that you’re very popular now, everyone is talking about the web drama you acted in.”

Jiang Sihan finally entered the public eye, and Luo Bei didn’t know if someone was pushing marketing behind the scenes, but it couldn’t be denied that Jiang Sihan was the biggest beneficiary of the web drama.

“You should have told me earlier. If it wasn’t for Xiao Zhan telling me, I wouldn’t have known until Grandma Luo was discharged from the hospital.” Jiang Sihan sighed, “I didn’t do anything this time, and I didn’t help you. I heard that Xiao Zhou comes to take care of Grandma Luo every day, so I’m relieved. Otherwise, you would have been the only one taking care of her, and it would have been hard on you.”

Luo Bei smiled and took Jiang Sihan to a quieter and safer passage. “I’m really grateful to him this time. But how are you doing now? Are you very busy?”

“En.” Jiang Sihan nodded, “Brother Liu is negotiating an endorsement for me, and I’ll be filming next month. I haven’t had time to go back to the urban village in these few months.”

“I don’t think being busy is a good thing. Do you still need to keep your room here? I don’t think you’ll come back to live there anymore, especially now that you’re somewhat famous. Your agent won’t allow you to live in a densely populated area like this. The security here isn’t good enough, and if reporters find out you’re living here, it will be a big problem.”

From a friend’s perspective, Luo Bei didn’t think that Jiang Sihan would continue to live in the urban village. She hoped he would terminate the lease and find a better apartment with good privacy protection.

In fact, Brother Liu also mentioned this issue to Jiang Sihan, and said the company would help him find a bachelor apartment, but he politely declined.

He loved this place too much. Even though he knew he had little chance of returning here in the future, he still didn’t want to move out. Perhaps subconsciously, he knew that once he left, he would grow apart from his friends.

He hated this feeling very much, but he was powerless.

“I’ll keep it,” Jiang Sihan chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Who knows what will happen in the entertainment industry? Maybe I won’t have any projects to work on next year, and I’ll have to start from scratch again. I need to leave myself a place to stay.”

Luo Bei shook her head subconsciously. “That won’t happen.”

“Forget it, here, take these,” Jiang Sihan took out a few cards from his coat pocket and handed them to her. “These are gift cards that someone else gave me. I can’t use them.”

These cards are all shopping vouchers from large shopping malls. When Luo Bei took them and saw that they added up to several thousand yuan, she felt embarrassed and quickly pushed them back.

“You keep them for yourself. You already brought such valuable things this time, and you’re giving this to me… Xiaojiang, you keep them. I have enough money on me.”

This was not just Luo Bei trying to comfort him. When Grandma was hospitalized this time, she didn’t spend much money at all. Uncle Cheng paid the hospitalization fees directly without telling her, and Zhao Pianpian gave her 10,000 yuan. The old ladies from the village also often came to bring them soup.

Uncle Cheng told her that Grandma was like his own mother. How could he sit idly by when his mother was hospitalized? Luo Bei knew how much Uncle Cheng cared for Grandma, so she couldn’t really stop him.

Jiang Sihan insisted on giving her the vouchers, “Beibei, if you say that, we’ll grow distant. I can’t use these anyway. Should I just let them expire? Pianpian gave you money, and you can take her money, but not mine? Also, Xiao Zhou took a leave to take care of Grandma. You accepted his kindness, so why are you being so polite to me?”

Luo Bei had no choice but to take them. She knew Xiao Jiang well and knew that he would be unhappy if she refused any further.

Jiang Sihan felt much more relieved when she accepted them. He was about to chat with her some more when his phone rang. He glanced at it and hung up, sighed, and said to Luo Bei, “Beibei, I have to go. My driver is waiting for me outside. I’ll come to see Grandma in a few days. Take care of yourself and don’t carry any difficult burdens alone. Tell me if there’s anything I can help you with.”

“Okay, take care of yourself too and don’t tire yourself out.” Luo Bei escorted him to the elevator.

Until the elevator doors closed, Luo Bei sighed in her heart as she walked back to the ward.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, perhaps because they didn’t spend much time together, they talked less now. She was busy, and he was busy too. Maybe, in a year or two, they would truly become people from different worlds.

Early the next morning, Uncle Cheng came over again carrying a pot of soup. Seeing that Luo Bei had put on light makeup, he asked, “Do you have something to do later?”

He had originally planned to talk to Luo Bei about Zhou Jianguo’s situation.

What made Uncle Cheng very angry was that Zhou Jianguo actually refused to be his assistant…

If he wasn’t worried about Luo Bei’s future life, would he care about this person’s life or death? He wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at him.

“Yeah, I’m going to check on the storefront later.”

Uncle Cheng knew that Luo Bei was in a partnership with someone in the city village for the unmanned store business. The profits were good, of course, there would also be risks such as theft, but luckily Uncle Cheng was looking out for her and there haven’t been any problems so far. However, Uncle Cheng didn’t know that the person Luo Bei was partnered with was Zhou Jianguo.

Grandma Luo casually said, “I told you before that Beibei is doing the unmanned store business with Xiao Zhou. Now she has taken on other businesses, and the monthly profits are also good.”

Uncle Cheng suddenly realized, “She’s doing business with that Xiao Zhou?”

“Yes, we also took on the supply of disposable products for a few hotels. Oh, by the way, we want to open a car beauty shop this time. Xiao Zhou worked in a car beauty shop for a while and is somewhat familiar with the industry.” Luo Bei didn’t keep anything from Uncle Cheng and just blurted out everything.

Uncle Cheng finally understood why Zhou Jianguo had refused to be his assistant.

“Storefront?” Uncle Cheng thought for a moment, “No need to look for it. I have a storefront under my name. The contract has just expired, the location is good, the area is not small, there’s also an attic and a small warehouse. You can use it.”

Luo Bei hadn’t even spoken yet when she heard Grandma Luo say, “How can that be? Their business is their own affair. You can’t rely on elders. The rent for this storefront is not cheap for a year, and there are too many expenses in your family. We can’t do this.”

Uncle Cheng sat on the side and poured a glass of water for Grandma Luo, “Why can’t we? I have a lot of shops under my name. What’s wrong with giving one to Beibei to use? Mom Luo, I have already thought it through. When Beibei gets married, besides giving her a dowry, I also want to give her a storefront. Let her use it now. What’s the problem?” After saying this, he turned to Luo Bei again, “Beibei, if you were doing business alone, I would give you this storefront without hesitation. But now that you’re doing business with someone else, I have to think more for you. Here’s what I propose: I won’t charge you rent for the first year. Starting from the second year, I will charge you below-market rent. Of course, the rent I collect will be deposited into a separate account for you as a dowry for the future.”

However, Grandma Luo persisted, “You are considering Beibei, but the rent still needs to be charged. Even if it’s a little less, it’s still acceptable. That’s the decision. This storefront is your hard-earned money, and no one’s money is blown here by the wind.”

Uncle Cheng was helpless, “Mom Luo, I’m doing this for Beibei’s own good, you know?”

“If you really want what’s best for Beibei, you can’t do it like this. She’s grown up now, and running a business comes with both profits and losses. Rent is definitely a cost, and if you want to care for her, you can charge less than market price, but not so low that it’s ridiculous.” Grandma Luo looked at Beibei and nodded, “If you want to run a business, you have to bear the losses. Elders can only help you so much. Having rent pressure will make you and Xiao Zhou work harder.”

Luo Bei nodded, “Grandma, I understand.”

She said again, “Uncle Cheng, as you said, this is not just me running the business. There are other people involved. If you don’t charge me rent, it’s not fair to Xiao Zhou.”

Uncle Cheng thought for a moment and said, “You’re right. We can’t let Xiao Zhou think it’s a given. Beibei, I’m a man, and I understand men the best. You can’t invest all your heart and soul into this. This money still needs to be in your own hands. What’s in your own hands is yours. Don’t trust men too much.”

Luo Bei : “……”