Chapter 101: 80 Days Around the World
At six o’clock in the morning, the city hadn’t yet woken up, but the airport was already bustling with people.
Early morning flights had deep discounts, so most of the bookings were for tour groups. From domestic to international, there was a tour guide holding a small flag leading a team at almost every gate.
Large-scale ones had dozens or even a hundred people, and there were also small teams of about ten.
However, a small team didn’t necessarily mean it was easier to lead. Large groups were often corporate bookings with their own mentors or administrative specialists to count heads and organize the gathering; the tour guide was only responsible for leading the way and arranging transportation.
Small groups, on the other hand, were all individual travelers. The smaller the team, the higher the fees, and the tourists were more demanding, with everyone requiring the guide’s service to be top-notch.
Even more difficult were the mini middle-aged and elderly groups. Elderly people who could afford these fees were either retired high-level intellectuals or retired high-level officials; not only did they have many requirements and questions, but they were also particularly difficult to fool.
The twenty-degree room temperature was enough to make the young tour guide break into a sweat. “Uncle, Uncle, don’t worry, there’s time. Just wait a bit longer for everyone to be here before we go.”
“Look at how old we are! We’re slow. You insist on making us wait until the last few minutes, then we’ll have to jog through the gate… you think we can run?
Besides, Little Shou has just recovered from a major illness, and his health isn’t great, right?
If someone trips and gets hurt, will you be responsible? How much is your monthly salary? Is it enough to pay for it?”
The white-haired old gentleman spoke with conviction and authority; every word was hard to refute.
The middle-aged tour guide wiped his forehead and bowed. “Elder Wang, don’t worry, I definitely won’t make you jog to board. They’ll be here any second.”
The gentleman named Wang nudged the young man beside him with his elbow. “Little Shou, you say something too.”
Shou Jiaxun looked up slowly. “How about… let’s wait five more minutes. If they still don’t come, I’ll take Brother Wang and the others through the gate first. We walk slowly; maybe by the time we reach the boarding gate, you’ll have caught up.”
Elder Wang and his wife immediately nodded in agreement.
The young tour guide gave a helpless, bitter smile and picked up his phone to urge the late members again. “Mr. Tong, where are you? …You’re with the two Mr. Miaos, right?
Good, good. Please hurry as much as possible. Yes, yes, we’re almost out of time for boarding.”
Their small team had a total of eight people: an elderly couple, an elderly same-sex couple, a “solo-flying” small boss, and three self-media influencers.
The itinerary totaled eighty days, landing in twenty-seven countries and checking in at sixty world-famous attractions, costing eighty to ninety thousand USD per person.
The guide put down the phone and couldn’t help but complain in his heart, “Fortunately, I’m only responsible for getting them on the plane. Sigh!“
Shou Jiaxun was also secretly complaining at the moment, “Why did Uncle Guo have to sign me up for this kind of tour? I’d rather just wander around on my own. Sigh!“
As he was thinking of Uncle Guo, he received a text from him the next second: [Are you boarding?]
[No, waiting for teammates.]
Uncle Guo immediately asked: [Teammates like pigs?]
[Mhm, maybe they have short legs and walk slowly.]
Just as Shou Jiaxun sent the text, his three “pig teammates” came walking over with large strides, laughing and playing.
Every one of them had longer legs than his.
Seeing them finally appear, the guide didn’t relax but instead let out a cry of alarm. “Ah! You haven’t checked your luggage yet? Then… then one of you go check the luggage, and the other two stay behind. We have to assign rooms immediately.”
One of the three influencers, a male Omega with long, straight hair, raised his brows with a light smile. “What’s the rush for rooms? We aren’t at the hotel yet; let’s talk about it after we land.”
“Oh, no, that won’t do.” The guide, who was slightly older than them, waved his hands repeatedly. “The rooms must be assigned here, and this combination must be maintained for the entire itinerary. Any private changes will require paying for the extra accommodation costs yourself.”
Shou Jiaxun curled his lip in a bitter smile, thinking to himself that in this group, wasn’t he the only one who needed a temporary roommate?
Sure enough, the middle-aged guide immediately introduced the three young people, saying the two elderly couples didn’t need room pairings.
So, the Omega among the three of them, Mr. Miao Jing, was assigned to stay in the same room as Mr. Shou Jiaxun.
The long-haired Omega reached out to take the Alpha beside him by the arm. “Sorry, Mr. Tong and I are a couple. Are you saying we have to stay separated for the next three months?”
The middle-aged guide’s expression faltered, and he turned to ask Shou Jiaxun, “Do you mind sharing a room with an Alpha?”
Then, before Shou Jiaxun could speak, he turned back to look directly at the three young influencers. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shou minds very much.
Room sharing is written into the contract. If you don’t accept the group arrangement, you have to pay the extra housing fee according to the contract.”
The Alpha beside the long-haired Omega frowned. “How much extra?”
The guide tapped a few times on his phone and held it up for the other to see. “About twenty thousand… USD.”
The young couple fell silent simultaneously.
The youngest of the three high-beauty influencers suddenly spoke up, his gaze directed straight at Shou Jiaxun. “I say, Uncle… what is there for you to mind? At your age, what could I possibly do to you? It’s just sharing a room.”
Shou Jiaxun frowned and looked up. “Mhm, I didn’t say I minded. Let’s leave it at that.”
The youth was momentarily stunned, his eyebrows unconsciously jumping high.
He had previously seen that Shou Jiaxun’s clothes and style were exactly the same as the four sixty-year-olds beside him, and there were even a few white hairs with a “spiritual” quality floating at the crown of his head.
He figured this person had to be forty or fifty; calling him “Uncle” was already a youthful way of addressing him.
Who knew that when the man looked up, he would have a face in his early twenties? His cheeks were thin and his eye sockets slightly sunken, but his gaze was clear and his features delicate. Most importantly, although he was thin, two dimples could be faintly seen at the sides of his mouth, which were quite alluring.
Shou Jiaxun responded and lowered his head again, fiddling with his phone. “Uncle, I’m boarding. I’ll contact you after I land.”
The guide hurriedly took advantage of the situation. “Alright, then it’s settled.”
Then he quickly entered the next phase, reminding the team members of the travel requirements—only the most important parts, of course.
For instance: never help each other carry luggage through security, don’t even hold a glass of water for someone else; don’t leave the group at will, as leaving the group signifies the termination of the travel contract; don’t act alone abroad, as for any danger caused by solo travel, the local guide only helps call the police, and accidents or deaths are entirely one’s own responsibility.
Ultimately, because the three young people had to check their luggage, Shou Jiaxun and the two elderly couples went through security and boarded first.
Only when the cabin door was about to close did the three young influencers manage to board the plane.
Their first stop on the world tour was the capital of a neighboring country, Hanseong. It was less than three hours’ flight from the capital. Shou Jiaxun couldn’t be bothered to ask for a blanket, but within two minutes of sitting down, he felt his lower back lacked support, feeling empty and very uncomfortable.
So he raised his hand and pressed the call button, intending to ask the flight attendant for a pillow to pad his back.
As it turned out, before the flight attendant arrived, the young influencer who had called him “Uncle” in the waiting hall came over.
The young man pointed at Shou Jiaxun and said to the passenger in the seat next to him, “Hello, I’m with him. Could I switch seats with you? My seat is in the front, by the window.”
The flight they were on was a large airliner, and the economy cabin had three rows of vertical seats, with the middle row being a four-seat unit, which was quite crowded.
The passenger next to Shou Jiaxun heard he could switch to a window seat and was naturally more than happy to do so, immediately standing up to find the youth’s ticketed seat.
The youth squeezed into the seat on Shou Jiaxun’s inner side without another word, complaining with a smile, “It’s so tight here.”
Shou Jiaxun pretended not to understand the other’s flirtatious crude joke and gave a soft snort of laughter with a nod. “Yes, it’s quite uncomfortable.”
Only then did the summoned flight attendant walk over, asking Shou Jiaxun, “Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’d like to upgrade my seat, please,” Shou Jiaxun said.
The flight attendant immediately put on a professional smile. “Certainly, sir. But business class is full; would first class be alright?”
Shou Jiaxun nodded readily. “No problem.”
The youth who had switched seats turned his body to look at President Shou, asking directly, “You aren’t doing this to avoid me, are you? We’ll still have to stay in the same room later, you know.”
Shou Jiaxun looked at him with a serious expression, but didn’t rush to speak.
Under his gaze for ten or twenty seconds, the youth suddenly felt intimidated, coughing awkwardly into his hand and sitting up straight without another word.
The flight attendant returned quickly, slightly bowing at Shou Jiaxun’s seat. “Sir, a gentleman in first class has already handled the upgrade for you. Please come with me.”
Shou Jiaxun nodded and stood up. Only after standing did he belatedly react, asking the attendant in a low voice, “Who did you say handled the upgrade for me?”
The flight attendant responded with a smile, “The gentleman said he is your friend. You should go over and take a look; if there is a misunderstanding, you can ask him to cancel it and we will process it for you again.”
The plane was massive. Shou Jiaxun followed the attendant forward for dozens of meters, passing through two cabin doors before entering the spacious first-class area.
There weren’t many passengers here; only four people were scattered across the dozen or so seats.
The “friend” who had upgraded Shou Jiaxun turned back to look at him at the right moment, and the two shared a tacit smile.
Shou Jiaxun took a few quick steps forward. The other man stood up to greet him, and then they shook hands naturally. One said, “What a coincidence, President Shou. I saw you when I was boarding, but you didn’t hear me when I called.”
The other said, “Mr. Xiao, what a coincidence. On a business trip?”
Shou Jiaxun sat down in the seat next to Xiao Zhiheng. “I’ve made you spend money again.”
“Wealth is easy to find, but a kindred spirit is hard to come by. At my age, most of the time I can’t even find someone with whom I can have a meaningful conversation even if I wanted to spend money.”
Shou Jiaxun shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh, teasing in a low voice, “Without a net worth of a few hundred million, who would have the face to have a meaningful conversation with you?
I’ll have to work hard to escape poverty soon; otherwise, the next time we meet, I won’t dare to chat with you.”
His last sentence was a casual joke, but saying it couldn’t help but make him feel a bit stifled.
If “Guoran Trading” had successfully gone public, wouldn’t his net worth be at least a few hundred million right now?
Xiao Zhiheng looked at the young businessman beside him. When they last met, Shou Jiaxun’s complexion hadn’t been very healthy, a sallow yellow of exhaustion showing through the porcelain-white, delicate skin.
He had thought then that Shou Jiaxun was dieting; young people were always dieting.
Now that he thought about it, it was likely due to a poor appetite during pregnancy, leading to a sickly look.
Now, not only was Shou Jiaxun thin and pale, but there were even a few white stubbles visible in his neatly trimmed sideburns.
Xiao Zhiheng maintained a polite smile on his face, but his eyes were unknowingly filled with pity. “How have you been lately?”
“Alright.” Shou Jiaxun gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Winning and losing are part of the game. Compared to five years ago, my new starting point is already very high.”
Xiao Zhiheng nodded. “What are your plans for the future?”
Shou Jiaxun curled his lip. “I don’t have a very specific plan yet. Since I’ve met you here and you aren’t stingy with your wisdom, how about giving me some advice?”
Xiao Zhiheng pondered for a moment. “The equity you guys have in ‘Guo-ai’ isn’t small. Although it’s not the majority share, as long as you continue to work toward an IPO, you might be able to get the company back.”
A shallow smile flickered at the corner of Shou Jiaxun’s mouth, and his gaze gradually dimmed as he gave an ambiguous response, “We’ll see.”
Xiao Zhiheng let out a soft sigh. “Actually, I want to tell you that life is only so long. We should do as many things that make us happy as possible.
If going back to that small corner and fighting for a moment of victory or loss won’t make you happy… why not open up a new battlefield and let yourself truly play to your heart’s content?”
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