bookbashuk Chapter 324 Reencounter with Li Wenli
Chapter 324 Reencounter with Li Wenli
Ling Yun shook his head. "I don't need a sexual partner. Work gives me more satisfaction."
Dale was taken aback, unsure how to respond. He picked up his glass, took a large gulp, and tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Ling," he said, "I'm not telling you this to pimp you out. I just want you to know that in America, you can have whatever you want."
He paused, then continued, "If you are a U.S. citizen, you will receive even more. Some of these are things that money can't buy. You will have access to all the most advanced resources on the planet."
Ling Yun tapped his finger lightly on the table.
“Once you become a citizen,” Dale said, “you’ll have everything. Your company will grow big enough that you won’t have to worry about being investigated. You can go wherever you want without a visa. You can do whatever you want without anyone stopping you. You’ll be entitled to all the resources you need, as long as they’re available on this planet.”
He leaned forward slightly.
"Ling, I'm doing this for your own good. There are many things you haven't experienced or enjoyed yet, so you feel that work brings you pleasure. But once you become a part of our circle, you'll realize that you've wasted all these years."
Ling Yun picked up his glass and took a sip. The whiskey wasn't as strong anymore; some of the ice had melted, and the flavor was milder. He put down his glass and looked at Dale.
"Dale," he said, "why are you suddenly so interested in this?"
Dell paused for a moment.
"What?"
"About naturalization," Ling Yun said. "The Morgan people mentioned it last time too."
Dell's expression changed slightly, just for a moment, and then quickly returned to normal.
"Did Morgan's people ask that too?" Dale asked.
"Yes. Winston said so."
Dale nodded without saying anything. He picked up his glass, took a sip, and looked away.
Ling Yun looked at him.
"You think about the same things as him?" Ling Yun asked.
Dell was silent for a few seconds.
“Ling,” he said, “I’m really thinking of you. Running a company in the US without US citizenship will cause a lot of trouble. You won’t be able to take on government projects, investors will have concerns when you’re seeking funding, and the taxes will be complicated once you go public. Once you become a citizen, all these problems will be solved.”
"Is there anything else?"
Dell thought about it.
"And another thing," he said, "is that once you become a citizen, you're one of us. It's easier to get things done when you're one of us. There are some circles that foreigners can't get into, but you can."
"What circle?"
"Political circles, business circles, all sorts of circles," Dale said. "America is a place where connections matter. If you have connections, everything is easy. If you don't, you can't get anywhere."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
Dell looked at him and waited a few seconds.
"Ling," he said, "I'm not forcing you. Think it over yourself. Once you've made up your mind, contact me anytime, and I'll help you."
Lingyun raised his wine glass and finished the last bit of wine.
"Thank you, I will consider it carefully," he said.
Dale nodded and finished his drink. He placed the empty glass on the table and waved to the waiter.
The waiter came over.
"Another drink?" Dell asked Lingyun.
"No, thank you." Ling Yun stood up. "I have something to do tomorrow."
Dell stood up too. "Are you really just leaving like this? Are you sure you won't take one back with you?"
"No need, I'm used to being alone." Ling Yun grinned, said nothing more, and they walked out.
As Ling Yun passed the bar, he saw the two girls again. Emma, the blonde, was still sitting there, twirling her half-finished cocktail. Anna, the brown-haired girl, was beside her, looking down at her phone.
Emma saw him and smiled again. This time, the smile was more direct, with a hint of expectation.
Ling Yun ignored her and continued walking forward.
Just then, the door opened.
Two people walked in.
Walking in front was a middle-aged white woman, in her fifties, wearing a dark suit dress, with her hair neatly combed. She had a smile on her face and was talking as she walked.
Following behind her was a Chinese girl.
The Chinese girl wore a black dress with a simple cut, but the material looked very good. The dress reached her knees, revealing her slender calves. Her hair was black, draped over her shoulders, with slightly curled ends. She wore makeup, with a striking bright red lipstick.
She followed behind the white man, her head slightly lowered, but her eyes scanning her surroundings.
As she walked past the bar, she saw Ling Yun, and she paused for a moment.
It happened in a flash, less than a second. Then she continued walking forward, her eyes still fixed on Ling Yun.
Ling Yun also looked at her; he recognized her face.
Li Wenli.
She's a little thinner than she was three years ago, her chin is sharper, and her eyes look bigger. Her makeup is heavier than before; she rarely wore makeup before, maybe just lipstick. Now she has eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick all in. Her dress is also different from her previous style; she used to prefer casual wear, like T-shirts and jeans. This dress is too formal.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with surprise, the kind of surprise that she never expected to meet him here.
She glanced at the white man walking ahead, then at Ling Yun. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
Her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, were now clenched tightly. So tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
The white man walked up to a booth, glanced back at her, and said something. She didn't hear him and kept looking at Ling Yun.
The white man shouted again.
She snapped out of her daze, quickly walked over, and sat down in the booth. She sat opposite the white man, with her back to Ling Yun.
But she didn't turn around completely. She turned slightly to the side, glancing at us out of the corner of her eye.
Dell noticed it too. "You two know each other?" he asked.
Ling Yun paused for a second, then said, "My former classmates."
Dell glanced at the booth, then at the white man, and smiled, as if he had discovered something amusing.
Lingyun continued walking out.
Li Wenli stared blankly at him, across the entire bar, across the people drinking, across the dim lighting, just staring at him.
Ling Yun, however, seemed completely oblivious and walked straight out the door.
Zhao Hu had already driven the car over and parked it at the entrance. Ling Yun walked over, opened the car door, and got in.
The car started and slowly drove away from the red brick building. In the rearview mirror, he saw the building getting farther and farther away.
When Lingyun got home, it was almost ten o'clock.
He recalled something from two years ago when Li Wenli said she was going to America and asked him to come with her. He said no. She then said, "Then let's break up."
His phone suddenly rang. He took it out and glanced at it. It was an unfamiliar number, a local one.
He answered the call.
"Lingyun." Li Wenli's voice trembled slightly.
"I..." Li Wenli's voice lowered a little, "Can we meet?"
"It's unnecessary, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."
"Please, I beg you, I'll just take up a little bit of your time."
Ling Yun was silent for a few seconds. Things didn't seem that simple. How did Li Wenli get her phone number? Dell?
"Okay, tomorrow at 3 pm, there's a coffee shop near Stanford called Blue Bottle," he said.
"Okay, I know where it is. Well... see you tomorrow."
"Okay." Ling Yun hung up the phone.