Chapter 324: Selling Pleasure
When Liu Yishou heard this, he gave Cheng Yu a strange look. “Why would you think that?”
Cheng Yu scratched the back of his head and said, “I just want to help. If I can be of assistance to Miss Xu, maybe she’ll be willing to lend me a hand in the future.”
Hearing this, Liu Yishou reluctantly dismissed his suspicions. Thinking about Cheng Yu’s family difficulties, he softened and said, “Miss Xu isn’t looking for her relatives. Though she’s an orphan, she knows her background. Her relationship with her parents isn’t good, but they are prominent figures.”
Cheng Yu couldn’t help feeling curious.
Liu Yishou added, “Don’t ask too much. Things are complicated. If you talk too much in front of her, you might end up offending her.”
Cheng Yu had no choice but to probe further, “If she’s not looking for relatives, then why come to Hualien? Maybe she’s here to invest in some big project?”
Liu Yishou had spent the whole day following Xu Youyou around and still couldn’t figure out her intentions. He could only reply helplessly, “She has her own reasons.”
Cheng Yu, hearing this, felt that Liu Yishou was just being evasive and not telling him the truth.
Unaware of Cheng Yu’s growing resentment, Liu Yishou instead said, “You probably won’t find any opportunities with Miss Xu. It’d be better to take a trip to Port City. Doesn’t your family have some ties with the Fang family there? Maybe if you ask, they’ll be willing to help.”
Cheng Yu immediately shook his head. “With the kind of ties we have, not only won’t they help, they’ll probably use the chance to swallow up what’s left of our family. I’m not going to them!”
Seeing him so determined, Liu Yishou couldn’t do much else.
Cheng Yu, thick-skinned, suggested, “I’m very familiar with Hualien. How about I accompany you guys tomorrow? I could keep you company.”
Liu Yishou immediately became wary. The task of hosting Xu Youyou wasn’t just his personal responsibility—his parents had stressed over and over how important it was. If they weren’t worried about overwhelming her with a big crowd, the entire Liu family would probably be accompanying her right now.
Hearing Cheng Yu’s offer felt like a coworker trying to steal a client. Liu Yishou quickly declined, “I appreciate the thought, but Miss Xu doesn’t like crowds. Better not.”
Seeing Liu Yishou’s attitude, Cheng Yu instantly lumped him in with those so-called “friends” who abandoned him in hard times, secretly vowing that once he rose again, he’d make Liu Yishou pay.
Liu Yishou, unaware that his well-meaning advice had bred resentment, only felt a huge sense of relief after sending Cheng Yu off.
The next morning, as Liu Yishou accompanied Xu Youyou out of the hotel, he got a message from his assistant saying that Cheng Yu’s car had left Hualien. He thought Cheng Yu had finally given up—not knowing that Cheng Yu was still following them from a distance.
Cheng Yu wanted to make a good impression on the Red Dragon King, but unfortunately, Xu Youyou didn’t seem to know what she was looking for either. She just wandered aimlessly through the streets of Hualien’s city center—for five whole days.
Hualien was close to the sea, and the air carried a salty, damp scent. If it weren’t for the mission hanging over her head, Xu Youyou would have found the place quite livable.
“Boss really seems to like this little city,” Liu Xiangyi said to Xu Fang.
Xu Fang gently tapped Liu Xiangyi’s arm and whispered, “Don’t gossip about the boss behind her back.”
Liu Xiangyi blinked and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Xu Youyou found the scene funny. Just as she was about to tell Xu Fang not to be so nervous—she wasn’t the petty type—a sudden thought struck her, and she stopped walking.
“Xiangyi, what were you about to say? Just say it,” Xu Youyou said.
Liu Xiangyi hesitated for a moment but, encouraged by Xu Youyou’s look, finally said, “Boss, wandering around the city like this every day feels like you’re measuring it with your feet. Usually, people only do that when they absolutely love a place.”
Xu Youyou didn’t get angry like everyone expected. Instead, she asked, “After running around for five days, have I measured the whole city?”
Everyone else wasn’t familiar with Hualien, so they all looked questioningly at Liu Yishou.
Liu Yishou thought for a moment and said, “If you like Hualien that much, you could even buy a house here and come for vacations. As for measuring the city—you’ve visited almost every part of it… except for a few places.”
Xu Youyou, who had run around for five whole days and even felt like she’d revisited some places multiple times, was surprised there were still areas she hadn’t been to.
Realizing that aimless wandering wouldn’t get her anywhere, she made up her mind and said, “Where haven’t I been? Take me there!”
Hearing this, Liu Yishou’s face grew complicated. He shook his head. “You really don’t want to go there.”
Xu Youyou insisted, “How do you know I won’t like it if I haven’t even been there?”
Liu Yishou gave an awkward smile. “Trust me. You definitely won’t like it.”
Xu Youyou found this strange. Despite Liu Yishou’s reluctance, he didn’t dare disobey her and eventually led her through an old residential area. After winding through alleyways for nearly half an hour, they arrived at an old street market.
Although Xu Youyou hadn’t been there before, she realized it was quite close. Her memory wasn’t bad. “I didn’t expect there to be a street hidden behind the market. What do they sell here?”
Hearing this, Liu Yishou racked his brain and finally gave a barely decent answer: “They sell… pleasure.”
One of Xu Youyou’s people misheard and asked, “They sell honey?”
Liu Yishou let out a heavy sigh. “I know the mainland cracks down on this stuff strictly, but here, the police often turn a blind eye…”
Before he could explain further, Xu Youyou spotted women standing by the roadside in fishnet stockings, heavy makeup, and revealing outfits—and immediately understood.
Looking down the street, none of the shops looked very proper either.
Xu Youyou gave Liu Yishou a meaningful look. “No wonder this place is so hidden.”
Liu Yishou couldn’t help covering his face. “Every place has its dark side. It’s better in the mainland where they crack down hard on this kind of thing.”
Xu Youyou said nothing. Whether or not the mainland was completely clean in this regard, she couldn’t guarantee.
Liu Yishou thought she’d take a quick look and leave—after all, any normal woman would be disgusted.
But to his surprise, Xu Youyou calmly walked from one end of the street to the other, and after making a full round, stepped into one of the shops.
