Chapter 6: Do Your Best, Stay Calm

Chapter 6: Do Your Best, Stay Calm

He arrived early, the client had not yet arrived, and the scheduled dealer took the key and led him into the card room.

This time, the client was from Shenzhen. Chen Wan had heard that the client liked to gamble, so he hosted a dinner at the Portuguese Hotel and reserved a private room.

The dealer was a tall young Ukrainian woman, fluent in English, Chinese, and Cantonese. She took Chen Wan upstairs using the side elevator.

Chen Wan asked if there was anything special happening at the hotel tonight, as he had always taken the main elevator before, and the sightseeing elevator gave a stunning view of the hotel garden’s water city.

The dealer smiled and said that a VIP was indeed visiting tonight, but she didn’t elaborate.

Chen Wan didn’t press further, instead giving her some tips on the guest’s preferences.

The dealer was very professional, and that night, Chen Wan’s guest enjoyed himself. During the break, Chen Wan had his stored wine opened, and he drank heavily with the client. Luckily, the project moved forward more smoothly than expected.

After a few rounds, the client kept gambling heavily, and Chen Wan’s stomach started to bother him, so he headed to the restroom to splash some water on his face.

“The person wasn’t sent up… left…”

Chen Wan’s hand under the faucet froze.

“…didn’t come… not sure… didn’t see clearly…”

Turns out, the person who booked the third floor tonight was from Minglong.

“Weird… Zhao… in the car… clearly…”

“Wine cellar… remote monitoring… next time…”

“I don’t believe…”

Chen Wan looked up at his expressionless face in the mirror. He dried his hands and walked over to the cubicle where the voice was coming from, used a mop to jam the latch from the outside, and dumped a bucket of mop water over the top.

“Fuck!!!”

“Who! Who the hell did that!?”

“Who’s outside! Open the door! Open the damn door!”

“Don’t let me find you! Damn you!”

Chen Wan set the bucket down, leaned against the door, and lit a cigarette, listening impassively to the swearing. When he’d had enough, he flicked the cigarette butt into the cubicle, and the person inside must have been scorched, letting out a weird scream.

Chen Wan went back to wash his hands amidst the deafening banging on the door, squeezed out some soap, rubbed each finger carefully, rinsed, and finally dried them, then walked out of the restroom unhurriedly, leaving the roaring curses behind.

Before entering the private room, he lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling warmly at the client, appearing as a gentle gentleman, showing no trace of the fatigue and malice seen in the restroom mirror.

Typhoon No. 8 left as scheduled, and the city finally saw a long-awaited good weather.

The bored young masters began to stir, and Chen Wan was always on call, ready to indulge in food, drink, and revelry.

He told Zhuo Zhixuan that he really didn’t want to do anything, but he also really wanted to see that person.

If a feeling can be completely regulated and not overflow, it can only prove that it doesn’t carry much weight.

The lingering demons of the heart clawed wildly, and reason struggled to bind them, barely maintaining a semblance of normalcy.

Meeting from afar without disturbing the other party was Chen Wan’s tug-of-war with himself, and the only outlet he could give himself.

However, the situation was somewhat different from what Chen Wan had imagined. Even if Chen Wan was on call 24/7 and stayed by Tan Youming and his associates' side, he might not really get to see Zhao Shengge more than a few times.

Seeing him once in ten attempts was considered a lucky day.

They used to say that meeting Zhao Shengge was as tough as scaling the heavens, and even members of the Zhao family had to go through multiple layers of assistants to see him. It was thought to be just an exaggerated rumor, but now it seems there was some truth to it.

However, Chen Wan was most adept at patience and waiting. He would seize any opportunity that came his way, no matter the cost, and if there was none, he would make the most of his own time.

But it would be better if there was no hope at all, for even the slightest possibility would be grasped by him at any cost.

Chen Wan wasn’t a privileged young master and had little freedom.

Hearing that Zhao Shengge might attend the rowing event, Chen Wan pulled an all-nighter to finish his work and clear his schedule for the day, although Zhao Shengge ultimately did not appear.

Zhuo Zhixuan said that Shen Zongnian had invited Zhao Shengge to watch the horse racing. Chen Wan, on a business trip in Aoyu, paused for a moment in silence and then took the earliest flight the next day. After landing, he drove alone for four hours to reach the estate, only to hear that Zhao Shengge had left halfway through.

The Royal Canoe Team's global exhibition match was held in Xiangjie. Chen Wan was in the midst of negotiating a critical contract and went straight from the negotiation table without changing his suit.

Unfortunately, he just missed Zhao Shengge’s car as it drove away. The black Maybach kicked up a cloud of dust, leaving him covered in grime as he got out of the car.

Exhausted and with his nerves frayed to the breaking point, Chen Wan leaned on the railing, watching the horses leap over the hurdles like lightning, feeling that perhaps he was truly out of luck.

But he was not too disappointed in his heart.

He had done his best and maintained a normal mindset.

After all, he lived in a world without Zhao Shengge. Having him was an extra reward, but he had to understand that not having him was the norm.

Zhao Shengge actually disliked going out and socializing. His appearances at certain occasions were merely to readjust to the local social norms.

He wasn’t particularly interested in much else. While other young men enjoyed golf, swimming, or hitting the gym after work, he preferred to catch up on sleep because his nerves had been tightly wound since his student days.

Zhao Shengge was swamped, too busy to bother with trivial people or matters.

At the airport, due to a last-minute change in his schedule, he didn’t have time to arrange for a private jet route or access the VIP lounge, so he had to rest and doze off in the regular waiting area, only to be awakened by a child from the neighboring luxury store.

The curly-haired boy was in tears, pleading with his mother to buy him a pricey toy gun.

Zhao Shengge listened to the white mother and son bickering for about ten minutes. The child’s wailing was too much. Bleary-eyed, he watched for a moment, then got up, walked over, and bought the last toy gun in the store.

Zhao Shengge walked away with the shopping bag in hand, leaving the boy dumbfounded.

He even offered a polite, apologetic smile.

Finally, peace and quiet.

In June, a business association meeting was held in Haishi.

Trade in the Bay Area had been booming in recent years, and several newly promoted mainland officials had come to exchange ideas, so the meeting was more grand than in previous years.

Chen Wan heard from Zhuo Zhixuan—who had heard it from Tan Youming—that Zhao Shengge would likely attend.

He had just returned to the country and would make an appearance. The meeting would broadly discuss Haishi’s economic outlook and development plans for the coming years, as well as trade policies with the mainland, all of which were tied to Minglong—or, more precisely, to Zhao Shengge.