Chapter 31: You've Led Me Astray

More than ten seconds later, Di Yutong finally pulled away from Liang Jiyong’s embrace, blushing as she whispered, "This... this was the reward for that competition, don't get any wrong ideas!" Having said that, she ran off. Liang Jiyong touched his lips; they tasted sweet. In the distance, the shouts of security guards could be heard. Realizing the situation was turning sour, Liang Jiyong slipped away immediately.

Back in his dormitory, he took a cold shower to calm his racing heart. Was this considered cheating? No, he reasoned, it definitely wasn't; Di Yutong had been the one to initiate the kiss. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt toward Wanqing. Checking the time, it was just past ten. Liang Jiyong knocked on Su Wanqing's door, and she stepped out. Although she didn't say anything, she felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. Liang Jiyong had been gone for at least an hour and a half to take Di Yutong home, when forty minutes should have been plenty. She knew he wouldn't do anything improper with her, but understanding that in her head was one thing, and knowing Di Yutong liked him while she herself kept pushing them together was another. Was she a fool, or was she just a fool?

"You're back," Su Wanqing said.

"Yeah." Liang Jiyong caught a trace of complexity in her tone. "Come here, I have something for you." He took her hand and led her into his room. Su Wanqing was in low spirits. As she entered and saw him close the door, she assumed he had brought her there to be intimate again. Yet, she felt completely devoid of any such emotion.

Liang Jiyong wrapped an arm around her from behind. Su Wanqing struggled weakly, but couldn't break free. "I suddenly realized something was missing today. Happy birthday!" A bouquet of roses appeared from behind, right before her eyes. Su Wanqing froze instantly. Fresh, vibrant red roses were impossible for any woman to resist. Her distracting thoughts vanished in a heartbeat, and her restless, anxious mood brightened. He had returned late because he had gone to buy flowers—how beautiful! She took the roses and inhaled deeply; they were fragrant. "Thank you, I love them!"

"As long as you like them. There's also a box of chocolates. Chocolate and roses together—that's the taste of love. Do you want to try some?"

"Okay," Su Wanqing nodded. Liang Jiyong pulled a beautifully packaged box of chocolates from the table. It wasn't the Dove brand he remembered, but a brand he had never heard of before. The heart-shaped packaging was quite nice, though. He unwrapped one, and as Su Wanqing reached for it, he said, "That's not how you eat chocolate."

"Oh? Then how do you eat it?" she asked curiously.

Liang Jiyong didn't answer; instead, he bit halfway into the heart-shaped chocolate. Su Wanqing was a smart girl, and she instantly understood his mischievous intent. Still, she leaned in to share the chocolate with him. The chocolate was delicious, but the girl's silky red lips were even more so. Everything seemed to happen naturally, but when Liang Jiyong tried to undo the final restraints on her, Su Wanqing firmly stopped him. "No, not here. Not here!"

Liang Jiyong let out a breath, forcing himself to endure. "Let's go home..." Su Wanqing looked at him without flinching. Liang Jiyong kissed her greedily once more. That night was the most indulgent they had ever been. They fell asleep in each other's arms and didn't wake up until seven the next morning to wash up.

"You bad person, you've corrupted me. We can't keep going on like this!" she said, hugging his waist from the back of his motorcycle. "From now on, only during monthly exams! No more fooling around, or I'll have your exam eligibility revoked!"

Liang Jiyong laughed and agreed, though his mind drifted to the image of Di Yutong holding him the night before. Di Yutong and Su Wanqing each had their own charm, but there was no doubt Di Yutong had the better figure; when she hugged him from behind last night, he had felt his resolve wavering. What a sin, what a sin!

Liang Jiyong recited a Buddhist mantra to clear his mind. After contacting his second sister, he kept only five thousand for himself and transferred the rest to her. Although she couldn't foresee the future of the stock market, she trusted his predictions and saw great potential. She wasn't relying solely on him, however; beyond the Yuyuan Mall shares, she saw promise in several other stocks. Liang Jiyong knew Yuyuan Mall would have the highest gains, but the initial window had passed, and the warrants had changed hands multiple times, multiplying in value. He wouldn't interfere with her trades; after all, buying stocks now was like printing money—you could do it with your eyes closed. In essence, as companies listed to raise capital, people were flooding into the market, and in the early stages, anything would make money. Once people regained their senses, the first major crash would occur, and the smart players would leave with their first pot of gold, leaving the general public to pick up the pieces. Liang Jiyong couldn't change that, nor would he try, as he was one of those looking to fish in these murky waters.

The reforms at the Red Flag Factory seemed to be progressing quietly, with little news leaking out. Liang Jiyong continued his studies, and the National Day holiday arrived with three days off. Su Wanqing stayed home; though she seemed calm, her heart was certainly anything but. Liang Jiyong left with his mobile phone, knowing that as long as Su Wanqing was home, she would be reachable.

Five buses carried over two hundred students away for the Foreign Language Department's autumn excursion. Some brought their boyfriends or girlfriends along. Liang Jiyong, the "boyfriend who wasn't a boyfriend," joined them. He only really knew the group that had come over for the barbecue at Su Wanqing’s place: Zhao Guodong, Fang Zhan, Chen Puer, and Lu Bin. Lu Bin, however, already had a girlfriend—Zhang Li, who had been very interested in him last time. Word was they had already "rolled in the sheets." The news seemed to have come from Zhang Li herself, as if staking a claim; at the very least, in the eyes of most girls, Lu Bin was still a prime catch.

Liang Jiyong didn't care much about the destination; he was just there to accompany Di Yutong for three days before returning. Along the way, besides chatting with her, the biggest gain was the ability to discuss things with Chen Puer. Liang Jiyong was deeply interested in the current economic state of Zhejiang Province. Although he had decades of life experience, he hadn't focused on these details back then, only grasping the general picture. But details determine success or failure, and learning more couldn't hurt. Chen Puer found inspiration in their talks, and Fang Zhan would occasionally chime in. While they didn't go too deep, their insights were thoughtful, unlike Lu Bin’s, which were always taken out of context or based on assumptions.

"Why did you choose a foreign language major?" Liang Jiyong asked. Di Yutong had a natural advantage in languages, excelling in both English and Russian. Fang Zhan glanced at his girlfriend, Wei Min, and said, "Xiao Min likes foreign languages, so I studied it too. I don't think the major matters much; university is a phase for improving overall capability."

"Haha, love me, love my dog—that's great! How about you, Puer?"

"Because my family is in foreign trade, I've been exposed to it since I was a child. But the longer you deal with foreigners, the more you realize that language is just the foundation. Like our Chinese characters—the same word can have many meanings, and different tones change everything. There are also cultural nuances that you can't learn just by memorizing vocabulary. So, I want to understand it more deeply. I'll finish my undergraduate degree first, then head to Europe or America for a few years to see the full picture of the world. With economic globalization and the information age arriving, if you don't go out and see it, you'll be left behind."

For Chen Puer, studying abroad posed no economic or academic pressure. But people operate on different levels with different pursuits. He was looking at deeper research, not just aiming to improve his standard of living or merely survive.

"Economic globalization—take the OEM industry in coastal areas, for example. We're only doing the lowest-end work with no technological value. Sometimes we even provide our own materials, spend massive amounts of labor and resources on primary processing, and then they add the high-tech elements and sell it back to us at several times the price. The future is an information age and a technological age. Given the current international environment, foreigners won't easily share high-tech advancements with us. If we can't develop them ourselves, we might not even be able to do low-end manufacturing. If Southeast Asian regions with similarly cheap labor take over, we'll become mere raw material suppliers, which would be tragic."

"The birth of high-tech requires massive capital investment, and there's no guarantee of results. Small and medium-sized enterprises can't do it. It needs national policy support—long-term support. For private enterprises, that's almost impossible." Liang Jiyong thought for a moment and added, "People always compare state-owned and private enterprises. Some say state-owned is better, others say private is more vibrant. State-owned enterprises have national policy support, while private ones have to rely on themselves and are even pushed aside. That’s a fact, but I think the responsibility for this situation doesn't just lie with policy—the private sector has its own responsibility."

"Oh? What kind of responsibility?" Chen Puer asked curiously.

"Zhejiang is one of the fastest-developing provinces. Many of the first entrepreneurs who got rich should already have a solid economic foundation and social status. Yet, a considerable number of them..."

"I agree with what you're saying," Chen Puer nodded. "That is the reality."

"Is the moon really rounder in foreign countries? I don't see it," Fang Zhan shook his head.

"It's not that the foreign moon is rounder; it's that foreigners have painted a grand picture—writing 'technology,' 'democracy,' and 'civilization' on it. So even their wallets carry a noble air. It's like in *Ah Q*—put on a suit and hold a walking stick, and you think you're a civilized person of the upper class!"

Chen Puer seemed touched. "What is the upper class? Wearing the finest formal attire while doing the dirtiest things—that is the portrait of the vast majority of the 'upper class' today. A lack of culture will come with a heavy price in the future!"

"Puer, you don't have a girlfriend yet? Really?" Liang Jiyong asked.

"To be precise, I'm currently single in China."

"Oh, did your girlfriend go abroad?"

Chen Puer nodded. "Her whole family immigrated to Australia. She finished high school here and hopes I'll go abroad to live with her. But honestly, if it were just studying abroad for three or five years, I could accept it. But to live abroad for a lifetime? Emotionally, I can't accept that."

"So, are you broken up or not?"

"I'm not sure. The feelings are still there, but the distance is great. Even though we talk once a week, it feels like we have fewer and fewer common topics."

"Different environments—that’s understandable. But Yunzhou has been known for beautiful women since ancient times. I believe you'll start a wonderful love story right here!" Liang Jiyong said, glancing at the beautiful woman resting by the window next to Chen Puer. She was indeed stunning, with an elegant temperament. Di Yutong had told him her name was Jiang Lan, a year older than them, and she had met Chen Puer at a freshmen dance. Though Chen Puer seemed mild-mannered, he was intellectually mature, so they had plenty in common. Jiang Lan studied international trade, giving them even more to talk about. This time, she had tagged along on their autumn trip uninvited.

"A woman chasing a man is like crossing a thin veil," especially since she was beautiful, elegant, and talented. Liang Jiyong guessed Chen Puer’s single life in China wouldn't last much longer.

The first day's sightseeing was at a geological park. The mountains weren't high and the scenery was average, but the atmosphere was what mattered—as did the people accompanying you. Once they entered the park, they only agreed on a meeting time, with no requirement to move as one. With over two hundred people, they split into small groups. Since it was National Day, there were plenty of tourists. The social gathering between Chen Puer’s and Di Yutong’s dorms seemed successful. Fang Zhan and Wei Min were already a couple, and Lu Bin and Zhang Li were also dating. Zhao Guodong and a slightly plump girl named Sun Xiaoling shared a love for food and had already checked in at a dozen different snack shops. Whether they were dating wasn't clear, but they were definitely inseparable. Only Chen Puer and Di Yutong had brought outside help, and interestingly, neither of their "aids" were actually their romantic partners yet.

Still, the ten of them stayed together. Although Lu Bin hid it well, Liang Jiyong could see the malice in his eyes. Every time he looked at Di Yutong or Jiang Lan, there was a flash of something lecherous. This guy was no good; he needed a lesson. But Liang Jiyong didn't want to start a fight; it wasn't worth the trouble. As he climbed, he chatted with Chen Puer, while Jiang Lan and Di Yutong followed behind, talking.

"How are things at the Red Flag Factory? Any solutions?" Chen Puer asked. Liang Jiyong thought it was fine to discuss it with him. What the Red Flag Factory was doing was a sort of tacit understanding.

"A buyout? I don't know much about the working class at your factory. With your own economic strength, even if you could get loans against your assets, I'm afraid completing a total technological overhaul would be difficult. If it's just minor improvements, I don't know if you'll remain competitive in the future market."

"There's definitely a capital shortage, and a wide-scale equipment update isn't possible. But as long as there's improvement—after all, it’s a state-owned enterprise with deep roots—we can borrow more from the bank later and change it bit by bit. Wanting to do it all at once is impossible under current conditions."

"I see, that’s steady. But the market changes rapidly. Perhaps by the time you finish your reforms, the market's needs will have already shifted to a new generation of products!"

"The Red Flag Factory mainly produces civilian mechanical parts; they don't update as fast as high-tech products. But if the factory wants to take that step, it's still short of two or three hundred million. That's no small sum!"

"If the reform succeeds, does it have a future? The burden of state-owned enterprises is heavy. Is a share-holding reform really the cure-all for bringing it back to life?"

"It's not just the share-holding reform. The Red Flag Factory has been around for thirty years, and the backbone of its construction were young people in their twenties and thirties—my father’s generation. Now, the youngest of them are already over fifty. Within three to five years, this entire generation will retire."