Chapter 113: Princess Pearl (Bonus chapter for ten monthly votes!)

"When the mountain peaks have no edges, when the rivers cease to flow, when time stands still and the days and nights blur, when all things in heaven and earth turn to nothingness, I still cannot part with you. I cannot part with you; your tenderness is the greatest wait of my life..."

A color television had recently appeared at An Qi’s food stall, provided for the patrons to watch. At that moment, the most popular drama of 1998, *My Fair Princess*, was playing. Huang Juan and the others were staring intently at the screen, with Zhang Xinyu even humming along to the theme song.

"Damn it, watching this boring show again? The sports channel is rebroadcasting the World Cup final!" Zhao Shilei snatched the remote, flipped to the sports channel, and began watching the replay of the 1998 World Cup final between France and Brazil.

Even though Zhao Shilei had already watched the live broadcast of the final, he never grew tired of the replay.

"Zidane, my idol, I love you!" Seeing Zidane’s header, Zhao Shilei was nearly frantic. Ever since the World Cup final, he had been wearing the French team jersey constantly.

"Get lost! We want to watch *My Fair Princess*!" Huang Juan was usually quiet, but the other girls, including An Qi, didn't let Zhao Shilei off the hook. They pushed him aside, grabbed the remote, and continued watching the drama.

Seeing this, Yang Tian shook his head with a smile. Before his rebirth, he had been a die-hard Brazil fan. During the 1998 World Cup, he had turned his days and nights upside down just to watch Brazil's matches; the television was his life.

Later, when Brazil lost, he had cried for days, hating Ronaldo’s poor form and cursing Zidane’s head. But looking back now, the hatred was gone; instead, he found it rather amusing. That was just the nature of a fan's passion.

Just then, Yang Tian’s mobile phone rang. It was a Nokia he had bought for two thousand yuan earlier that year. It had a blue screen—a deep, imposing blue.

"Yang Tian, I need you for something urgent. Come to my house quickly!" The voice on the other end was Zhang Xiuxiu’s. To open an investment firm in Binhai City, the Zhang family had purchased a luxury villa in the most upscale area, Zhongguancun. However, Zhang Zhi still lived at the internet cafe and hadn't moved back in with Zhang Xiuxiu.

"If you have a problem, go to the police. Why are you calling me?" Yang Tian asked with a chuckle, noting that Zhang Xiuxiu’s tone didn't sound particularly urgent.

"Just come over! It really is urgent. Please!" Zhang Xiuxiu hung up the phone.

Yang Tian hung up, pondered for a moment, and ultimately decided to go. After all, Zhang Xiuxiu had helped him quite a bit recently.

The Zhang family’s villa was indeed luxurious: a three-story white western-style building surrounded by a courtyard filled with tropical plants. It was clearly designed according to the style popular in Taiwan.

This was Yang Tian’s first time there. He only knew the address but had never been. Led by a Filipino maid, he walked into the villa's living room.

"Please wait a moment; I will go call the young lady!" The portly maid gave Yang Tian a polite smile before swaying her massive frame toward the second floor. A moment later, she poked her head out from upstairs and shouted, "Mr. Yang, my young lady invites you to the second floor!"

Yang Tian nodded with a smile and strode upstairs, wondering what on earth Zhang Xiuxiu was up to and what this "urgent" matter could be.

The maid opened Zhang Xiuxiu’s bedroom door, and Yang Tian walked in slowly. Once inside, he was surprised to find Zhang Xiuxiu curled up on the sofa, watching *My Fair Princess* and giggling incessantly.

Today, she was wearing a cream-colored dress with a low neckline, leaving much of her chest exposed—very alluring. Clearly, this was how she dressed only when at home.

Yang Tian suddenly realized that Zhang Xiuxiu’s feet were quite dainty—or, more accurately, her legs were beautiful, something few women could compare to. As she was curled up on the sofa, half of her thigh was exposed, looking extremely fair and tender.

"You little pervert, have you seen enough?" Seeing Yang Tian eyeing her legs, Zhang Xiuxiu laughed softly and teased him.

"You called me over to watch *My Fair Princess* with you?" Yang Tian huffed, then asked with a smile.

"I’m very angry right now and wanted to find you for some comfort!" Zhang Xiuxiu sighed deeply when asked for the reason she had summoned him.

"Comforting someone? That’s not my specialty. You should find someone else. If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to work," Yang Tian said, turning to leave. He didn't have time to indulge the whims of a wealthy young lady.

"Hey, Yang Tian, do you have to be like this? I’m very sad and very angry right now. Can’t you even comfort me? Are we still friends?" Zhang Xiuxiu began to act spoiled, the arrogance of the wealthy young lady vanishing completely.

"Fine, tell me, miss, who upset you?" Yang Tian asked casually, helping himself to a Fuji apple from the table. It was expensive, so he figured he might as well eat one.

"I’m planning to fire Xia Dong!" Zhang Xiuxiu said, pouting.

"What’s wrong? Can’t he protect you anymore?" Yang Tian asked with a smile. Xia Dong’s martial arts skills were quite good; protecting Zhang Xiuxiu shouldn't be an issue.

What Yang Tian didn't understand was why a wealthy heiress like Zhang Xiuxiu needed a bodyguard in Taiwan—that was understandable—but it seemed a bit overkill after moving to the mainland, especially in Binhai, where the security was fine and there were only petty hoodlums, certainly no assassins.

"No, he actually told me he likes me. It’s so annoying! From today on, I never want to see him again!" Zhang Xiuxiu was so angry that she threw a cushion onto the floor and stomped on it.

"Isn't that better? If he likes you, he’ll be even more diligent in protecting you. I think you should be happy about it!" Yang Tian gave a wicked smile. In truth, he had noticed long ago that Xia Dong liked Zhang Xiuxiu quite a bit. It was no wonder—Zhang Xiuxiu was beautiful and had an elegant aura, exactly the type of person a stoic, brooding bodyguard like Xia Dong would fall for.

"Happy my foot! I don't like wooden blocks like him. He acts cool all day, and even in special moments, he has no romantic flair at all. There’s no fun in being with him!" Zhang Xiuxiu complained, pouting.

"The greatest joy in life comes from memories. Surely you and Xia Dong have many memories together? Those are the foundation of feelings. Perhaps Xia Dong is just bad at expressing himself, which is why he upset you. I believe he truly likes you," Yang Tian said with a fair assessment. He thought that if Xia Dong and Zhang Xiuxiu ended up together, it wouldn't be a bad thing—at the very least, it would be good for Zhang Xiuxiu; otherwise, with her spoiled temper, who would want to marry her?

"Hey, Yang Tian, I called you here to comfort me, not to speak up for him!" Zhang Xiuxiu shouted, looking displeased.

"I told you I’m not good at comforting people. Alright, it’s not his fault he likes you. I really can't help you with this one. Goodbye!" Yang Tian finished the fruit, stood up, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment, that was just a small matter. There’s still the real business!" Zhang Xiuxiu rolled her eyes at Yang Tian, but then suddenly remembered the documents under the table and immediately stood up to stop him.

"What is it now, miss?" Yang Tian asked with his hands on his hips, feeling puzzled. Zhang Xiuxiu and Zhang Zhi were siblings, but Zhang Zhi was much more straightforward than his sister.

"This is the real deal. The preliminary preparations for my investment company are done; I’m just waiting for the official launch. You tell me, what is the fastest and most effective way to promote it?" Zhang Xiuxiu picked up a stack of documents and handed them to Yang Tian.

"It’s simple: build a website! That way, your investment company won't just be known by everyone in Binhai, but by people all over the world!" Yang Tian pondered for a moment before suggesting a bold idea. Although he didn't know how to build a website, he knew that with the dawn of the internet age, websites were the best way to promote anything.

"A website? There aren't that many people online right now, are there?" Zhang Xiuxiu asked, sounding skeptical.

"An investment company’s primary clients are businesses, preferably strong ones. Most of these companies already have their own websites. Do you think they aren't online?" Yang Tian teased.

"That’s true. When you put it that way, building a website really is a good idea!" Zhang Xiuxiu thought for a moment, then beamed with delight.

"Exactly. And I suggest that if you're going to build one, build a large-scale site. The investment section should be the core, but you can add entertainment and news sections. You should start working on it now and aim for a launch by the end of October!" Yang Tian continued his analysis.

"I agree with the first part. Adding entertainment and news sections can increase web traffic, which in turn boosts the site's visibility, which is good for the investment firm. But why must we launch so quickly?" Zhang Xiuxiu asked, looking confused.

"Because a portal site called Sina is launching at the end of the year. By then, many people will go there for news and entertainment. They’ll be more professional than us in that area, so if we don't beat them to it, we won't be able to grab the netizens' attention!" Yang Tian said with confidence.

"Yang Tian, how do you know a site called Sina is going to launch? I’ve noticed that for a high school student, you really seem to know everything!" Zhang Xiuxiu was stunned, then crossed her arms and laughed out loud.

"Haha, besides knowing that, I also know that the underwear you’re wearing today is from the famous French brand Aubade!" After saying this, Yang Tian turned and strode away.

"Hey! You little pervert! It’s one thing to peek, but you even looked at that? Yang Tian, I won't let you get away with this!" Zhang Xiuxiu was incredibly embarrassed and angry, shouting after him.

"Peek? You had your clothes wide open for me to see! Don't blame the victim!" Yang Tian muttered to himself before leaving the Zhang family’s luxury villa.

In the blink of an eye, winter arrived, and heavy snow covered Binhai. Zhang Xiuxiu’s investment company website finally went live, named "Gengyun Net." Meanwhile, the Chinese pines, red pines, locust trees, ginkgoes, and poplars that Yang Tian had planted at the Big Willow Tree were growing quite well, waiting for the completion of the viaduct.

Under Lang Ping’s vigorous supervision, the Zhongshan Road viaduct was being built very quickly. Despite encountering many design and construction issues, Lang Ping had the resolve to push through. The Zhongshan viaduct gradually emerged over Binhai City like a white rainbow bridge.

Lang Ping also increased his demands on Yang Tian, urging him to quickly begin the nostalgic landscaping project on Zhongshan Road so it could become a beautiful scenic spot for Binhai City as soon as possible.