Chapter 203 - 127: Young Master Su is So Busy

Chapter 203: Chapter 127: Young Master Su is So Busy

The winding path to the secluded spot was unobstructed, as they had already walked it the day before.

Xie Yiren held Su Ran’s arm, still savoring his words: "The Saintess... I’m claiming her, too." Although it sounded pretty cheesy and had a "domineering CEO" vibe to it, Su Ran had actually spent a long time crafting that line. After all, he had recently read no fewer than five "domineering CEO" type novels, so such phrases came to him naturally. He just hadn’t expected such a cheesy line to be so devastatingly effective on a girl, to the point that whenever he glanced back, he’d catch Xie Yiren secretly grinning.

Su Ran came to a realization: to understand girls and win them over, reading novels for a female audience was the only way.

"I was just kidding."

"How dare you! Stop right there! Don’t you run away if you’ve got the guts!"

Xie Yiren chased after him, her arms swinging as she tried to hit him, their laughter echoing through the deep forest.

The relationship between a man and a woman is often elevated by certain moments. For instance, the line Su Ran had just delivered had completely conquered Xie Yiren.

Of course, Su Ran wasn’t just all talk.

Their relationship had long been built on the solid foundation of their daily lives. Now that he knew her identity, he felt a mix of excitement and curiosity. He also felt that he ought to do something for her.

...

「The Ferry Crossing.」

They boarded the boat.

This time, Su Ran was at the oars. Xie Yiren gave him a few pointers before sitting down to watch him row. He didn’t plan on leaving today. It had been so hard for her to come back, and with two days left of her vacation, she wanted to spend a couple more days in the village.

Under Xie Yiren’s questioning, Su Ran concisely told her what Ah Weng had said.

"...A Saintess? What era is this to still be pulling this kind of stuff? You can’t believe in feudal superstitions. It’s just because your village is too backward, too remote, and too poor. That’s why there’s such an information gap with the outside world, which has resulted in your village being full of stubborn traditionalists. It’s impossible to change their way of thinking overnight. Once the road is built and they have more contact with the outside world, their mindsets will slowly change."

Su Ran had come as an investor and received a warm welcome from the villagers, but he knew that if he crossed their bottom line, they would turn on him without a second thought. And that bottom line was Xie Yiren.

Xie Yiren rested her chin in her hands, looking at Su Ran. "Mm, I believe you."

"Hah. Xie Yiren, are you completely in awe of me right now? Have I won you over?"

"Right now, it’s bursting at the seams. Especially after you said, ’The Saintess... I’m claiming her, too.’ I’ll remember that, Su Ran. You’d better not turn this Saintess into a ’leftover woman.’ We Miao Clan girls are very persistent. If you go back on your word, I’ll really put a curse on you."

Su Ran could see she wasn’t joking. She was saying it in all seriousness. ’As expected,’ he thought, ’a young woman from Miaojiang is fiercely loyal.’

She stood up, stepped carefully across the small boat, and walked over to Su Ran.

"I’ll give you my first kiss."

With that, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Amidst the green mountains and clear waters, aboard a small boat, the totem on Xie Yiren’s neck slowly revealed itself from beneath her collar.

’DING! Study hard and you’ll improve every day. Congratulations, Host, you have learned the Miao language.’

A moment later, they parted. Su Ran looked at Xie Yiren’s flushed face, then glanced around at the jungle on the shore, checking if anyone was there. Xie Yiren understood instantly and slapped him lightly. "No lewd thoughts."

...

「In the car.」

Su Ran was very calm, having grown used to this dynamic among the five of them over a long period. In his subconscious, he considered them all his women, and all four of them considered him their man. It was a relationship that couldn’t be explained to outsiders; it was enough that they themselves understood.

As for the ’sex’ part.

Su Ran had only slept with Liu Jinyu. As for Xie Yiren... Su Ran might speak of it lightly, but she still had her status as the Saintess. She was the faith of everyone in the village. If he slept with Xie Yiren without handling the villagers first... well, some things are impossible to hide. For example, his decision to leave today was because he sensed the villagers were getting suspicious of their relationship. To avoid causing trouble for Xie Yiren, Su Ran chose to leave first. Otherwise, if they really found out what was going on—that they had slept together last night—all hell would break loose. The villagers would probably tie Xie Yiren up and burn her alive. Yes, burn her alive. Ah Weng said there was a precedent: the Saintess in the ’70s was burned to death.

Ah Weng had said, "If you don’t want Yiren to be burned to death by those stubborn and vicious villagers, you’d best think more about what’s good for her."

The meaning of this sentence was obvious: he could sleep with her, but *when* he could do so was the question.

So much for simple, honest folk!

This was the problem Su Ran was most concerned with right now. Matters of love and romance were secondary; the most important thing was to resolve the issue of Xie Yiren’s status. Otherwise, a young woman’s entire life would be ruined.

Well, Su Ran had made one girl after another fall in love with him through his sincerity, completely unintentionally.

...

「Noon.」

「Jiangning.」

Su Ran walked out of the airport. Qi Shan got out of a Mercedes-Maybach, beaming as he approached. "Boss Su is back! Here, here, let me get your bags."

"Why so eager to please?"

"Didn’t you say you had some big business for me? How could I not be eager?"

Just this morning, Qi Shan had lost a chunk of money on a project and was fuming about it. He’d just launched a new development, but sales were poor, so construction was slow. As a result, the homeowners were causing trouble. There was nothing to be done. As a developer, Qi Shan relied on homebuyers’ money to build the houses he would then sell to them. If sales were bad, of course construction would be stop-and-go.

Just as he was feeling miserable, he got a call from Su Ran, asking if he knew anyone who built roads and tunnels.

Hearing this, Qi Shan got excited. Building roads, bridges, and tunnels was even more profitable than building houses. Moreover, it was Young Master Su who wanted to build a road for poverty alleviation. Qi Shan immediately claimed he was a professional at it.

「In the car.」

"Professional, my ass. I’m not joking with you. This kind of project isn’t like your real estate developments. In real estate, you can skimp on a couple of bags of cement, a few steel bars, or make the floor slabs a few centimeters thinner. Building a road is different. I’m going to be very strict. I’d better just contact China Railway."

"I really am a professional! I might not be on the level of those huge corporations, but I have a road and bridge company. We were the contractors for the expressways in Jiangning and Anyang."

"I heard that was subcontracted, then subcontracted again and again down the line?"

"No... Young Master Su, my dear Uncle Su, that kind of project has lifetime accountability. Do you think I’d dare to just carelessly subcontract it out? Don’t worry. How about this, I’ll take you to see my company and a few projects under construction. Ah, come on, let’s not dawdle. Let’s go."

Qi Shan pulled Su Ran along with him. Making money sure wasn’t easy.

He took Su Ran to see a few construction sites. Su Ran saw that it was indeed Qi Shan’s own team handling the construction. The tunnel boring was subcontracted from China Railway, while Qi Shan’s company was responsible for the subsequent paving.

They didn’t have lunch until 1:30 PM. Qi Shan was treating, and he even brought out a bottle of Kweichow Moutai Feitian. Su Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, alright! How about this: you send a team to do a survey and draw up the blueprints. I’ll let you try building one section of the road. If it’s not up to standard, don’t blame me."

"Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."

"Er..." Su Ran paused, then added, "That Miao Village is very feudal. My friend is their Saintess."

"The Saintess? How thrilling!"

Qi Shan looked at him with admiration. ’Damn,’ he thought. ’Young Master Su is really not your average person. He even managed to get his hands on a Saintess. Incredible.’

"...Let me finish. That’s where the problem is. They’re feudal and superstitious. They believe the Saintess must be pure, that she cannot marry, and especially that she cannot lose her virginity."

"Huh? What era is this? People still believe in that?"

"Tell me about it. They’re just that stubborn. When you go, do a bit of promoting the core socialist values, help them get rid of those feudal, superstitious ideas."

"Got it! I’ll handle this for you, no problem."

Qi Shan was even more attentive when it came to Su Ran’s personal affairs. Helping him solve his problems was a great way to build a deeper relationship.

Qi Shan raised his glass. "Come on, let’s keep drinking."

Su Ran waved his hand. "No more for me. I have a flight at 3:30. I still have to get to Hangzhou."

Qi Shan said, "Young Master Su is really busy this New Year’s Day."

"As I should be," Su Ran said, as if it were a matter of course. After all, he had promised each of them he would visit, so naturally, he had to go to them all. The final stop was the Shan Family.

’Guiyang in the morning, Jiangning at noon, Hangzhou in the afternoon... I still miss the carefree days when I was all alone in Linxi Village. On second thought, maybe this is the trouble that comes with being rich.’

’Alright, no time to lose. Let’s go! On to the next family!’

...

「4:30 PM. West Lake Shore, Taohua Village.」

Shan Weizi was staring blankly in her small villa, bored. She’d had zero inspiration for her painting these last few days. ’So annoying~ I don’t even know what’s wrong with me. Have I become mediocre?’