Power and Wealth

Three hours….

Five hours….

Ten hours….

The plane touched down at the airport’s runway.

The plane stopped, and the passengers got off slowly.

“Xiao Dong…. Wake up.” Zhai Lei pushed Dong Xuebing lightly. “We touched down.”

Dong Xuebing opened his eyes and looked out of the windows. It’s dark outside. “Oh, we reached so fast?! Thank you, Brother Zhai.”

“Fast? It was almost 11 hours.”

“Haha…. I was deep asleep.”

“Alright. I got to go. Let’s meet again if we have the chance.”

“Sure. It was nice knowing you. Let’s have dinner in Beijing when we are back.”

“Yes. See you.” Zhai Lei said. They did not exchange numbers, and they should not be meeting again.

Dong Xuebing and Zhai Lei shook hands, and he left to get his luggage. Dong Xuebing did not bring any luggage and got off the plane.

Florida’s night is dark.

Dong Xuebing had slept on the plane but still felt tired. Sleeping on a plane is not as comfortable as sleeping on a bed. He stretched to loosen his joints and walked to the immigration. He got past the security checks and switched on his phone. There were two missed calls.

He did not know one of the numbers and did not call back.

The other missed call was Xie Huilan’s home number, and he got to call back.

f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m

Dong Xuebing entered the restroom and called. “Hello, Mum?”

Han Jing answered. “Xuebing, why did you switch off your phone this afternoon? I thought of asking you to come over for lunch.”

Dong Xuebing replied. “Yes. My phone died yesterday, and I had just found a place to charge it. It’s still low batt, and I cannot chat for too long.”

“Where are you now?”

“I am… I am at a colleague’s place. A former colleague.”

“Ok. Go ahead, then. Let’s stop talking since your phone does not have battery.”

“Ok. I will hang up first. I will visit you and Dad again.”

Dong Xuebing was relieved after hanging up. He remembered he was in a foreign place and did not know anyone. His English is not good, and finding accommodation or ordering food would be difficult. He hesitated and called Sister Xu’s friend.

Ring… ring….

“Hello.” A woman answered.

Dong Xuebing asked. “Are you Zhang Longjuan, Sister Zhang?”

Zhang Longjuan laughed. “It’s me. You must be Xiao Dong. I know.”

Dong Xuebing said. “I have just touched down in Florida. Err…. I am unfamiliar with this place and don’t know where to find lodging. Err….”

Zhang Longjuan replied. “Alright. I am at the airport now.”

Dong Xuebing was surprised. “Huh? You are at the airport now?!”

“Old Xu had told me your flight number and asked me to fetch you from the airport.”

“Ah…. Sorry to trouble you. Err…. How should I look for you?”

“You can see me when you walk out. I am holding a placard.”

“Alright. I am reaching the exit.”

Dong Xuebing did not want Zhang Longjuan to wait for him, and he walked quickly to the exit. He looked at the crowd outside the arrival hall and saw a placard with his name.

This person must be Zhang Longjuan.

Dong Xuebing looked at the person holding up the placard. It was a sexily dressed woman. Her top had a plunging neckline, showing her deep cleavage. She was wearing heels, and her hair had big curls. Her lips were bright red. Although she has an Asian face, her dress and aura are more like a Western.

Dong Xuebing walked over. “Are you Older Sister Zhang?”

Zhang Longjuan looked at Dong Xuebing. “You are Xiao Dong?!”

Dong Xuebing smiled. “Yes. Nice to meet you, Older Sister Zhang.” He extended his hand for a handshake.

Zhang Longjuan threw the placard on the floor and looked at Dong Xuebing for a few seconds before shaking his hand. “I did not expect you to be so young. Haha….”

Dong Xuebing replied. “Sorry to trouble you, Sister Zhang.”

Zhang Longjuan held Dong Xuebing’s hand and said. “Stop calling me Older Sis. You are making me feel old. Take away ‘older’ and call me Sis Zhang.”

“Huh…. Sis Zhang.”

“Haha… good boy.”

Dong Xuebing was speechless. Good boy?! You are treating me like a kid. But Dong Xuebing did not say anything. She is Xu Yan’s classmate and should be in her forties. He is only twenty-five and is a small boy in front of her.

Zhang Longjuan did not let go of Dong Xuebing’s hand.

Dong Xuebing is on a serious mission and does not let his imagination run wild in front of the sexy Zhang Longjuan. He wanted to let go of her hand, but she was still holding on.

“……” How long are you going to shake my hand?

Dong Xuebing said. “Sis Zhang, let’s go.”

Zhang Longjuan was still smiling at him from top to toe. “Alright. Let’s go. I drove here.”

Dong Xuebing felt Sis Zhang tickle his palm when she let go of him.

Damn!

Are you trying to seduce me?

Xu Yan said Zhang Longjuan was her best friend in school, and Dong Xuebing thought she would have the same character as Sister Xu. However, she is different from what he imagined. Her character seemed to be the opposite of Xu Yan. Maybe she lived in the US too long and was more open-minded.

Parking lots.

Zhang Longjuan walked to a BMW convertible and entered the driver seat. “Come in, handsome.”

Dong Xuebing got in and said embarrassedly. “I am not handsome….”

Zhang Longjuan laughed. “I find you quite handsome, and you are my type.”

“Huh?” Dong Xuebing blushed. “Sis Zhang…. Err…. I….”

I am your type?! I am much younger than you. How can you say that?

Dong Xuebing was embarrassed. He remembered he had slept with Sister Xu and this Sis Zhang…. Stop teasing me. My willpower is not strong.

Zhang Longjuan laughed. “Alright. Fasten your seatbelt.”

Dong Xuebing fastened his seatbelt and looked at this BMW. Xu Yan told him that Zhang Longjuan was doing some small businesses in the US. But he knew her business was not small from the car she was driving.

Zhang Longjuan started driving.

She sped out of the parking lots.

Zhang Longjuan brushed her hair. She doesn’t care about the wind messing up her hair. She smiled and said to Dong Xuebing. “Do you like this car?” She noticed he was looking at the car’s interior.

Dong Xuebing replied. “Yes. It’s beautiful.”

Zhang Longjuan smiled. “I just bought it. You can drive it in Florida if you want.”

“No. I cannot do that.”

“I got other cars.”

“I cannot drive it.”

Dong Xuebing is not here for a holiday and remembered what Xu Yan said. He will not implicate Zhang Longjuan; using her car will expose her to danger.

“Never mind.” Zhang Longjuan did not insist. She lit a cigarette. “Just let me know if you need to use a car. I knew Old Xu for many years, and she asked me to take care of you.” She smiled with her cigarette between her lips. “Oh, what did Old Xu say about me? Did she talk bad about me?”

“No. Sister Xu said you are doing business in the US and asked me to look for you. She did not say anything else.”

“Haha…. I got nothing to hide anyway.” Zhang Longjuan laughed. “I should let you know more about me since you are here. You know my name… My family has been doing business in the US for many years, and I took over after graduation. I am not married and am still single.”

Single?

How can she be single at her age?

Dong Xuebing replied with a smile. “Let me introduce myself too. I…. call me Xiao Dong will do. I am twenty-five and…. Err….” He used a fake identity to come to the US and did not want to implicate her. “That’s all.”

Zhang Longjuan did not ask further. “Why did you come to the US?”

Dong Xuebing hesitated and answered. “I am here for a holiday.”

“You have found the right person but picked the wrong place. I love traveling and can bring you around. But Florida is not suitable for a holiday.”

“It’s fine. I want to look around and widen my horizons.”

“Alright. Stay at my place today, and I will bring you around tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to trouble you. I can go around myself.”

“Haha…. You don’t know this place. Where can you go? I also don’t want you to go around by yourself. Old Xu seldom asks me to care for others, and I must do my best.” Zhang Longjuan threw away the cigarette butt and glanced at Dong Xuebing. “What’s wrong? Are you scared of me? I am passionate by nature, especially toward young men. Haha…, I shall not scare you more. Let’s go….”