Chapter 4 – Six Lobsters

　　"I found something!" A voice shattered the awkwardness between the two. More precisely, it broke Li Yiming's unease, as only he was able to hear it: it was Eyegla.s.ses.

　　"Highway 208 was contracted by Yunlong Construction Group. Yunlong Construction Group, founded in 1990…" Eyegla.s.ses continued, offering a detailed description. Only a few minutes have elapsed, and somehow he was able to collect such a comprehensive set of information. 'What a competent man!' Li Yiming thought. True to being a man dedicated to his work, Li Yiming forgot about Ji Xiaoqing, who stood in front of him.

　　Ji Xiaoqin could not hear Eyegla.s.ses' voice; she could only see the man in front of her staring at her with eyes devoid of hope. The sight of him looking back at her like that made her heart ache. She did love Li Yiming. The two years they had spent together were not a mere dream. However, life was not simply about roses and chocolates, it was also about braving its vicissitudes, about carrying the burdens of everyday life. Li Yiming could not give her the life she desired. She had to fight for it herself. What could she use to obtain what she wanted? With her dance performances? No, she understood where her advantages lie; she was young and beautiful; she had an elegant disposition. She outshone the girl Guo Xiang pursued with Li Yiming's help by far. If that swarthy, freckled girl was enough for Guo Xiang, why would she not be? A 15 year-old girl may long for her prince charming riding a white horse, but a 25 year-old woman's wish is to marry into affluence.

　　Every person has the right to pursue their dream. During this journey, many things needed to be sacrificed. Love is but one of them.

　　"Yiming." Ji Xiaoqin was about to say something, but Li Yiming interrupted her with a hand gesture: Eyegla.s.ses was getting to something important.

　　"These are more details concerning Yunlong. Do you know who's the chairman?" Complacency was noticeable through Eyegla.s.ses' voice. To be honest, being able to dig out that much information on a corporation of this scale somewhat ent.i.tled him to it.

　　"Guo Tai?" Li Yiming blurted out. Guo Tai was Guo Xiang's father. He once met the man when he went to the latter's place.

　　"You've found it too?" Eyegla.s.ses' zeal was slightly thwarted. He went through quite a bit of trouble to gather everything. Yet, this unimpressive person stole his finale. It seemed that invitations are not just given to anyone who shows up.

　　Contrary to Eyegla.s.ses' feelings of setback, when Li Yiming blurted out Guo Tai's name, Ji Xiaoqin felt as if her heart was p.r.i.c.ked by a needle. The last sliver of wishful thinking was gone. 'He really did see us yesterday… Guo Xiang's father… Is he mockingly pointing out that Guo Xiang used to be the object of my despise?'

　　"Yiming." Ji Xiaoqin's guilt deepened. She had several scripts prepared in her mind, but panic struck her when she stepped onto the stage. She was at a complete loss and did not know how to broach the subject. After all, she was just a college student who barely stepped into the real world.

　　Li Yiming waved his hand and interrupted her once again. Then, he strode toward the campus exit, wholeheartedly focused on his conversation with Eyegla.s.ses.

　　Ji Xiaoqing looked at Li Yiming's back as he left, her heart torn. 'Should I stop him? With what? With 'sorry' ?I've pa.s.sed the point of no return, is there even a point in apologizing?' Tears blurred her sight and dribbled down her cheeks. She clenched the bags containing branded gowns that would have been unknown to her for her entire life otherwise. She silently uttered what she couldn't say out loud: 'I'm sorry.'

　　"Guo Tai is the current chairman of Yunlong Construction group. He resides at 15, Century Garden. His father was a prominent figure in the capital before his retirement, and he's in convalescence in an elderly residence in the capital as of right now. Guo Tai's son, Guo Xiang, studied Chinese literature at Hangzhou Teacher's College. He graduated in July and was known to be a playboy." Li Yiming searched his mind for information related to Guo Xiang as he walked out of the campus gate.

　　This call this time had no holograms. It appears that the video and the voice components could be split up. Li Yiming was unable see the astonishment on his interlocutors' faces. Everyone could more or less accept the fact that Eyegla.s.ses had the ability to collect information quickly. In some sense, Eyegla.s.ses was a top-level hacker, so any information stored online was only a few clicks away. But Li Yiming… could it be that his ability was similar to Eyegla.s.ses?