Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Heartbeat (First Update to Celebrate Alliance Leader Yi Ke)

About the internet celebrity matter, there wasn’t much discussion, because before long, the second treatment session was over.

This time around, the Yuan Family fully absorbed the lessons from their previous experience, and they had someone book a table at a nearby recuperation center.

The recuperation center at Peach Blossom Valley was extremely well-known, having hosted leaders and power brokers multiple times. Although the military district had since withdrawn from this sector, the recuperation center remained because the area was being developed into a tourist zone, and even a batch of new buildings had been constructed.

The food here tasted quite good, but that was all, just quite good, with the key point being one word: expensive!

And don’t even start on the price; ordinary folks looking to dine here had to make reservations in advance, otherwise, even if you could see empty seats inside, they might not welcome walk-ins.

The recuperation center wasn’t far from Feng Jun’s villa, a little over a kilometer and not quite two, close enough to walk directly there.

Feng Jun initially had no interest in joining for the meal, but Yuan Huapeng mentioned that within a day or two, he would be heading back. After spending so many days with his son, he needed to return to work. He hoped that during his absence, Master Feng would take good care of Li Ting and Yuan Youwei.

Master Feng’s tolerance was like a spring, sometimes it was big, sometimes small. Originally, he didn’t care much for Yuan Huapeng and Gao Qiang’s attitude, but their actions were just a bit arrogant, not necessarily motivated by any ill intentions.

Besides, having stepped in to help regulate Yuan Youwei’s body, like most people, once they had helped someone, they felt a kinship towards them, becoming slightly more tolerant towards those related to the person they had helped.

Of course, the most crucial factor was the change in Yuan Huapeng and Gao Qiang’s attitude, which made Feng Jun feel that forgiving them once wasn’t a big deal.

The meal went from six thirty to eight o’clock, with Yuan Huapeng, Gao Qiang, and Xu Leigang each outdrinking the other. Even Yuan Youwei, that twelve-year-old brat, drained a cup of liquor with Feng Jun without changing color.

That one cup held at least 125 milliliters. Unexpectedly, the kid was quite the hearty drinker.

By eight o’clock, the four men were a bit tipsy. Yuan Huapeng glanced at Feng Jun, “Master Feng, I want to discuss something with you… can we step out for a smoke?”

The two men left the private room and chose an unoccupied table in the hall. Gao Qiang swiftly followed after, motioning to the waiter to bring over three cups of tea.

This independent hall wasn’t very large, with only about twenty or so tables. At present, only three tables were occupied with diners, all tucked away in corners. The wait staff were accustomed to the ways of these VIPs, and promptly brought over three cups of tea.

Yuan Huapeng had called Feng Jun out to discuss the details of the military goods, such as the quantity and the method of payment.

Yes, for this batch of military goods, Feng Jun was expected to pay. Helping Yuan Youwei with his health had only secured him the right to trade.

Does that seem unfair? Actually, it’s not a big deal.

Body Tempering Pills are great for cultivation, but as a weight-loss method, it’s essentially a luxury—Yuan Youwei’s obesity only posed a potential risk to his health, with no immediate life-threatening defects. Besides, he was a boy, not a girl obsessed with beauty.

Once Yuan Huapeng was ready to negotiate on equal footing, he was terrifyingly candid. He clarified that payment after delivery didn’t follow normal conventions—it had nothing to do with curing Little Wei, as rules are rules.

But Xu Leigang was willing to vouch for Feng Jun, and that resolved any issues. How wealthy the Youngest of the Xu Family was, no one knew for sure, but the Yuan Family was aware that he had brought over forty million to Beijing to help Xu Lei out of a bind.

It’s all about power in this era; without influence, talk is cheap, but with it, one can naturally enjoy a host of privileges.

Anyway, such matters were not suitable to be discussed in the private room. Even though no outsiders were there, apart from perhaps a child, discussing such topics in a room full of people seemed imprudent.

Gao Qiang listened without speaking, which implicitly proved how much trust the Yuan Family had in him.

After the two finished talking, he asked questions about the principles behind the weight-loss pills. He hoped to receive guidance from Feng Jun after completing the transaction for the military goods—spending money didn’t matter to him.

Feng Jun, however, simply smiled without answering, until finally, with no other choice, he implied that even if he explained, Gao Qiang wouldn’t understand.

Gao Qiang responded undeterred, expressing his willingness to ponder over it slowly. He said he wanted to learn to better identify fakes, not to replicate—they had agreed, after all, that others couldn’t learn it.

Eventually, he even expressed a desire to take Feng Jun as his mentor and promised to detail the arrangement on Weibo and the WeChat official account.

As Feng Jun was feeling awkward, three girls passed by on the road and heard “WeChat official account.” One of the girls turned to look over.

Upon seeing Feng Jun, she paused, and then her gaze fell on Gao Qiang. She couldn’t help but let out a surprised “eh,” “Brother Qiang, what are you doing here?”

Feng Jun rolled his eyes, thinking could there be a mistake, these two actually know each other?

The next moment, his heart couldn’t help but pound violently for several beats.

Gao Qiang, seeing the girl, was slightly taken aback as well, pausing before recognizing her, “You are… Xiaoyu? You’ve grown up to be quite the young lady.”

The girl was none other than Xia Xiaoyu, who smiled sweetly at Gao Qiang, “Brother Qiang, you’ve done pretty well with your official account, I read it all the time.”

It seems these two are old acquaintances, with many people in Xia Xiaoyu’s family serving in the military, including her cousin who is even a comrade-in-arms with Gao Qiang.

In their group of comrades, Gao Qiang was particularly outstanding in terms of physical fitness. After being demobilized, he became somewhat of a maverick, not only practicing traditional Chinese medicine but also exposing frauds in the industry, and even running a WeChat public account often associated with cultural elites.

So, Xia Xiaoyu’s attention to him had never waned, though it was merely the attention one would pay to someone they were familiar with. Besides, she also liked to learn about knowledge points unknown to her. There weren’t any other factors involved.

When acquaintances meet, there’s always plenty to talk about, but after a few words, she still shifted the conversation to Feng Jun, “Brother Qiang, how did you get to know Big Boss Feng?”

“You mean Master Feng?” Gao Qiang glanced at Feng Jun and spoke with a smile, “Such a distinguished person, and only you’re allowed to know him? Xiaoyu, you’re still as domineering as when you were a child.”

“Where have I been domineering,” Xia Xiaoyu rolled her eyes and pouted unhappily, “and besides, I really didn’t know he was such a high-caliber person… Is he that impressive?”

“Hmm?” Gao Qiang’s eyes moved around, looking at Xia Xiaoyu, then at Feng Jun, and a guess formed in his mind—could it be that Xiaoyu has fallen for him?

He knew Xia Xiaoyu came from an extremely well-off family and had high standards, but Master Feng wasn’t lacking either. He had capability and wealth, and to top it all off, the guy was quite handsome and exuded a strong masculine charm.

At least in his opinion, the two seemed quite well-matched, even if Feng Jun’s family background seemed a bit inferior.

Why did he think so? Because Xia Xiaoyu wouldn’t likely directly confront Yuan Huapeng, but Feng Jun would dare to.

After thinking it over, Gao Qiang replied with a smile, “Master Feng is indeed very impressive. Do you have any… misunderstanding about him?”

Xia Xiaoyu glanced at Feng Jun, her eyes flickering slightly, but then she smiled naturally, “Hehe, what misunderstanding could there be? Just an old acquaintance.”

Though Gao Qiang was of military background, having engaged in the business of exposing frauds, he naturally learned how to read people.

He suspected that Xia Xiaoyu might be harboring unrequited love, and from Feng Jun’s behavior, it seemed he had no special feelings for her.

Gao Qiang was a straightforward person and also meant to look out for Xiaoyu. Even though he currently needed something from Feng Jun, that wouldn’t stop him from trying to play matchmaker for the two.

However, he knew Master Feng was somewhat of a playboy… If he pushed too hard, he might not only displease Master Feng, but more importantly, he might end up throwing Xiaoyu into the fire.

So all he could do was let nature take its course.

Of course, he still had to provide some gentle guidance. He spoke with a smile, “Master Feng is very capable; my admiration is wholehearted and willing.”

Xia Xiaoyu rolled her eyes helplessly, thinking to herself, what does his capability have to do with me?

But since the other person was her long-unseen Brother Qiang, she didn’t say much, just nodded her head, “Oh, I see.”

Just then, a soft laugh came from behind her, “Hehe, very capable? Perhaps.”

The laugh was full of indifference. Gao Qiang felt uncomfortable and turned his head, intending to make a point—It’s rude to interject when old friends are catching up.

However, when he saw the girl who spoke, his pupils shrank sharply, and he found himself speechless for a moment.

He was at a loss for words!

His eyes met with a beauty that was stunning, a beauty and youthful vitality that were indescribable in words.

Since his demobilization and move to Beijing, Gao Qiang had seen countless beautiful women—the lovers of important figures, second and third-generation daughters, celebrities, and drifters from the north… There were just so many beautiful women.

But he swore he had never seen such a beautiful girl before.

Strictly speaking, perhaps there were a few who could rival her beauty, but their best days were behind them, their youth no longer present.

In Gao Qiang’s mind, inexplicably, a phrase surfaced— “In the prime of life, I met the most beautiful you.”

Of course, he was already well past his prime and definitely wouldn’t entertain any inappropriate thoughts—in fact, even if he were a few years younger, during his prime, he dared not harbour such thoughts.

But he couldn’t help himself; he just had to express his admiration. It was at this moment, he truly understood the saying about a beauty causing trouble.

It was the sudden quickening of Feng Jun’s heartbeat that was caused by seeing her. He knew she was a willful girl and unlikely to have anything to do with him, but he couldn’t help but be amazed by her.

Fortunately, he soon got his emotions under control—you can’t cultivate anyway, and in the end, you’ll become nothing but an old crone.

(First update, congratulations to the Alliance Master, Aizi Jian, an old reader from the Official Immortal days, Wind’s QQ group leader, previously a looker, now an old man.)