Chapter 43

  "Hoo—hoo—"

  In the cold mountain wind of midnight, it seemed to be mocking Cheng Chou's bravery, constantly swirling and playing around him, so that the sweat on his body had not flowed down before it was blown dry.

  So cold...

  The mountain, not very high, was dotted with numerous lights, and Cheng Zhou raised his collar to resist the October cold wind in the mountains. He used the streetlights on top of his head as a reference, and with the tourist map given by the station uncle, he tried to find the shadow of Shan Le Zhuang among these lights.

  The gathering time was 8:30, but now it's already after 1:00 AM and he still hasn't shown up at the meeting point. I wonder if people from this branch will worry about him? Were the exchange meetings in previous years also held deep in the mountains and forests?

  He thought Edo was a prosperous metropolis, but unexpectedly it had many subordinate cities like provinces in China.

  He thought he would at least stay in a four-star hotel this time, but unexpectedly it was a meeting at a mountain inn.

  Is there anything else he should know but doesn't?

  The director's sharp and capable face, which was said to be handsome by several young girls who had just entered the company, appeared in Cheng Zhou's mind.

  Now thinking about it, the director's attitude towards him was really suspicious at that time, being so kind and caring with a hint of concern.

  When did the director ever smile at him? And still speak to him with such a familiar attitude?

  When will it be his turn for such a wonderful thing as going abroad on a business trip?

  This time he was the only one to go abroad on a business trip, and surprisingly no one from the company came to mock him? Although Wang Kunliang did come, but that extent is probably not enough compared to usual.

  Could it be...

  No! There definitely won't be any conspiracy.

  Cheng Zhou, you've been watching too much TV.

  Think about it, the company bought you a business class plane ticket, how can they say they're intentionally messing with you? And even if they were messing with you, they wouldn't need to send you all the way to Japan, that's just a waste of money.

  He must be too tired and thinking too much. Maybe all the previous communication meetings were like this. Maybe the general manager thought he was doing well in the past and decided to start cultivating him?

  So this time he must perform well at the conference. He must leave a deep impression on colleagues from various branch companies and the host country, so that he can rise to prominence in the company in the future.

  Wait, I wonder if they will have a bad impression of him because of this tardiness?

  If he told them it took him a whole day and he still didn't arrive at his destination, wouldn't they think he was incompetent?

  What if they reflect on the company?

  Will he have already ruined the first part of his business strategy?

  How will he explain to them why he arrived in the middle of the night?

  A gust of cold wind came head-on.

  Chengzhou shivered and took a cold tremble. He raised his head to look at the scenery in front of him, stunned. Then he turned his head back...

  Has he gone too far? Shan Le Zhuang should be on the second fork in the mountain road, turning left.

  Just as Cheng Zhou was hesitating whether the first fork in the road or the second one was the correct path, a sign about 100 meters ahead that seemed to appear and disappear caught his eye as he looked around.

  Maybe he can go take a look, it might be a signpost.

  He put down his suitcase and strode quickly towards the sign.

  "Hmm... From here on, there is no road for cars into the mountains."

  What does this mean? Is it referring to a road with no traffic or is it referring to there being no road further ahead?

  Very soon, Cheng Zhou made a judgment. Because he noticed that on the left side of the signboard there was a narrow path just wide enough for two people to pass through shoulder by shoulder.

  So that's it. This is probably the second fork in the road, and the previous one was definitely the first. And he hadn't noticed any other forks in the road before either.

  That's right, it's like that. If the map marker is correct, turning in from here will take about 20 minutes to reach Shan Le Zhuang.

  Good! Take another deep breath. Think about it, in twenty minutes you can rest well. Thinking of this, Chengzhou no longer hesitated and dragged the trunk onto the small path.

  Uh, he needs to find something to eat before arriving at the mountain villa and sleeping. So hungry! Alas, if only he had known it would be so tiring, perhaps he shouldn't have agreed to attend this meeting with his supervisor.

  But this may be his best chance to enter the eyes of the company's leadership. If he performs well in this communication meeting and leaves a good impression on the representatives of various branches, even if he won't be promoted after returning, the year-end bonus will definitely be increased.

  In a daze, Cheng Zhou didn't notice how long he had been walking, only feeling that his hands were sore and tired, no matter how many times he switched hands, the suitcase was still heavy.

  Alas, why did he bring so many things this time? Isn't that asking for trouble?!

  "Bang!" The trunk knocked over a stone standing upright by the side of the road.

  Who is so cruel to put a stone on the side of the road? Are you sick?!

  Cheng Chuan exerted himself to lift up the trunk, his heart burning with anger, and he kicked that poor stone block which was blocking his trunk with a vicious kick!

  Go where you should go!

  "Crack." A faint, seemingly cracking sound rang out.

  Cheng Chou continued to drag his luggage forward with a creaking sound, having just kicked away some evil fire from the stone, and didn't notice the faint sound from earlier.

  It was like this that he trudged along the mountain path for about five more minutes, when suddenly a scene appeared before his eyes that shocked Cheng Chou.

  Right in front of Cheng Zhou, on what he thought should be a straight path leading to the mountain top, appeared a long, long... stone staircase.

  Normally, Cheng Zhou would have just smiled wryly and climbed up. The stone steps weren't very high, about a hundred or so. But! Now he was both tired and exhausted, still dragging the heavy suitcase that he hated to the point of wanting to throw it down the mountain.

  Chengzhou realized that he must have taken a wrong turn. The map did not indicate that he needed to pass through this stone staircase to reach Shan Le Zhuang.

  Are you going back now? The man lifted his watch and looked at the time. Fortunately, it was fluorescent, so he could see it in the dark.

  12:22

  More than an hour of mountain roads, he seemed to have walked for more than an hour. In other words, if he wanted to reach his destination, wouldn't he have to spend another hour backtracking?

  No! Absolutely not.

  Forget it, let's just find a place to spend the night tonight. Cheng Zhou shrank his neck and thought dejectedly.

  He lifted his head to look around, and it was pitch black. Cheng Chou carefully avoided looking too much at the mountains and forests, fearing that he would see things that he shouldn't see. In the dead of night, the mountains and forests looked like anything could be anything. Plus the sharp whistling wind...

  "Cough!"

  What's there to be afraid of? Can't you see this is just a small hill? Besides, the whole mountain is illuminated with lights everywhere, and even the path has streetlights.

  Lighting... Ah, yes! Earlier he seemed to have seen a light on the stone steps? Cheng Zhou raised his head and indeed, a faint glow was emanating from the top of the stone steps.

  Maybe there's a house up there? Or a temple or an inn? Whatever it is... let's go take a look.

  The man placed his suitcase by the roadside, thinking that it was unlikely there would be any thieves at such a late hour, and besides, he had already locked it with two locks.

  As he climbed the stone steps, Cheng Chou was astonished to find that when he turned around, he could see half of Edo's magnificent night view, the kind of dreamy sea of lights he usually only saw on postcards.

  So close, it seems like I can touch him if I stretch out my hand. Yet he is standing on the stone steps in a mountain, what a strange feeling.

  If it weren't for the cold and hunger now, he would probably sit on the stone steps to watch the sunrise tomorrow.

  Cheng Zhou is a romantic person, at least he thinks so himself.

  If there aren't any houses to borrow at the top of the stone steps, he might as well drag out the blanket and spend the night on the stone steps. The two big bags of snacks in his luggage should be enough for him to have a full stomach tonight. Hehe, this doesn't seem bad either.

  A foreign land on a night, mountain stone steps, elegant wind forest, beautiful starry sky, dreamlike sea of lights... and add a tall, slender, slightly melancholic mature handsome man...

  Perhaps tonight, a beautiful and elegant woman, gentle and kind-hearted, also missed the bus and cable car like him, and she is now sitting on the stone steps, helplessly gazing at the Tokyo night view. Perhaps she, like him, was a representative attending this exchange meeting, perhaps that lady was quietly weeping with sorrow due to the cold and loneliness.

  If he appeared in front of her at this moment, stretched out his hand, smiled slightly and said: Hello.

  ...then they can share that blanket he bought for 300 bucks!

  Then he can snuggle up with her in the blanket, whispering to each other, admiring the scenery around them, occasionally gazing into each other's eyes... until the next morning.

  Wow! Heaven! What a coincidence!

  Chengzhou was excited. He didn't know where he got the strength from, but in less than five minutes, he had climbed to the top of the stone steps.

  A gate beam? It's like a paifang often seen in front of some villages in ancient costume martial arts films.

  Then this is... a temple?

  A small temple with a piece of cloth that is either red or black tied to it, and two stone statues that resemble both dogs and yellow weasels sitting beside the temple. In front of the statues stand two stone lanterns, from which the light emanates.

  A gust of cold wind blew by. Cheng Zhou shivered with a chill.

  Good... cold.

  Seeing such a temple in the middle of the night is really not a good feeling.

  He knew that illusions were always easy to shatter.

  Look at that small temple, I thought his beauty couldn't possibly squeeze her body in there, so Cheng Zhou also dispelled the idea of walking to the front of the temple to take a closer look.

  Spend the night here? Although it looks clean, it seems a bit too cold. And..., Cheng Zhou turned his head to look at those two stone dogs, he always felt that their eyes seemed to be not good intentions.

  Huh? The cloth tied to the temple seems a bit familiar, like... like the stone he just kicked away also had a red or black cloth with a similar knot.

  Is there? Cheng Zhou tried hard to recall.

  Maybe he remembered it wrong?

  It's just a piece of cloth, maybe it's just a local custom or human sentiment, they like to tie cloth strips on stones. Maybe it's used as a road sign.

  That's right, maybe it's used as a road sign. Otherwise, why would you put a stone on the side of the road for no reason? That's correct, it must be that way.

  Forget it, it's too cold up here, he'll just make do with spending the night under the stone steps. Anyway, there are still four or five hours until dawn. When day breaks, he'll first find an inn to put down his things, take a good bath and get some good rest, then after waking up, eat a hearty meal, and then go attend the meeting. Hmm, that's decided!

  While thinking about tomorrow's plan, Cheng Zhou walked down the stairs.

  "Psst."

  "Rustle rustle. Thud thud thud."

  "Psst."

  "Knock knock. Drip drip."

  Sounds that are usually very faint sound surprisingly clear in the quiet mountains.

  "Rustle." The sound of a food bag being torn open.

  "Crunch, crunch, munch, munch." That was the sound of his potato chips, crackers, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and soft candy being vigorously chewed.

  "Gulp gulp gulp." That was the sound of him pouring down his throat the last remaining bottle of mineral water he had bought from a vending machine.

  Under the dim light of the mountain road lamp, Cheng Zhou saw his suitcase lying open on the side of the road.

  A small figure sat curled up in his trunk...

  A little kid? Cheng Zhou rubbed his eyes.

  A little kid wearing his clothes, sitting on the blanket in his luggage case, is diligently and painfully devouring his relief food!

  I'm going to kill him...!

  A fierce glint flashed in Cheng Chou's eyes.

  The man approached step by step with a fierce face, bent down, bared his teeth, and stretched out his hand...

  "Hey, little brother, why are you still out here so late?" Cheng Zhou spoke up first, then patted the child's shoulder, and to avoid scaring him, he also showed his most gentle smile, squatting down to ask.

  The kid raised his head and looked at Cheng Chou with a smile, who had a kind and gentle face, as if to say "I'm not a bad person".

  "Gasp!"

  The child spat out two watermelon seeds at Cheng Chou.

  Isn't his Japanese pronunciation incorrect? Or are all Japanese kids like this... confusing?

  Chengzhou glanced at the little rascal in front of him, who looked like a rebellious little devil who had run away from home and refused to listen.

  Looking at his figure and face, he's at most five or six years old. But the little brat's expression looks like it belongs to a twelve- or thirteen-year-old.

  Wait a minute, he seems to recall someone telling him that Japanese people don't eat melon seeds.

  How is this kid so skilled? Look at these two shell fragments, they're broken so evenly.

  "Gasp!"

  Two pieces of melon seed shells floated onto Cheng Chou's head.

  "Hasn't your family taught you that this is very impolite behavior?" Cheng Zhou frowned.

  The little brat ignored him, pulled out a package of shredded beef, tore it open and poured the whole thing into his mouth.

  "Damn little devil!" This sentence was spoken in Chinese.

  "Knock knock knock."

  "Stinky little devil, eat, eat, eat, eat yourself to death."

  "Little brother, what's your name? Where do you live?"

  "Still eating? Aren't you afraid of bursting to death? Which family's child is so poorly educated, running around naked everywhere?"

  "Where are your clothes? How did you end up in my suitcase?"

  "Get out of here! Do you know that you're sitting on my 500-yuan designer suit? This is what I was going to wear to the meeting." Cheng Zhou maintained a gentle smile and affectionate tone while scolding the child in Mandarin.

  This is really cool!

  The author has something to say:

  It's really painful to check sensitive words, if there was a system that checked sensitive words beforehand, it would be great~~