Chapter 98: Little Brother, Thank You So Much

Zhou Xuan had to move fast. Charles Zhang had already agreed that Zhou Xuan’s side would invest 2 million RMB, supplemented by the complete set of domain names and key promotional support from the hao123 navigation website, in exchange for a 10% stake in Sohu. Moreover, in order to integrate Sohu's content and accelerate the portal's transformation as soon as possible, he needed to head to the Imperial Capital to sign the contract without delay.

As for how Charles Zhang would persuade the other shareholders to accept this proposal, that was not something Zhou Xuan needed to worry about. After booking his plane ticket, Zhou Xuan made a phone call to Jiang Yun to inform him that he was heading to Beijing to sign the contract and hoped he could help find a decent lawyer.

After all, this was a formal signing involving contract reviews, large financial transactions, and equity restructuring—areas Zhou Xuan was not entirely familiar with. Therefore, having a lawyer present was essential to avoid getting cheated.

In the end, Jiang Yun gave Zhou Xuan the phone number of a friend, mentioning that he had already spoken to him and that Zhou Xuan's matter would be completely hassle-free. That friend was named Mai Zhuo, and he would pick Zhou Xuan up at the airport. As for the lawyer, Mai Zhuo would arrange one for the day of the signing.

However, Jiang Yun had one small grievance with Zhou Xuan: why choose to visit the Imperial Capital precisely when he was away? Had Zhou Xuan gone a few days earlier, Jiang Yun could have properly hosted him in the city. After all, Jiang Yun’s mother had mentioned several times that if Zhou Xuan ever came to the Imperial Capital, he must visit their home.

At nine o'clock on the morning of July 21st, Zhou Xuan boarded a flight bound for the Imperial Capital. This was Zhou Xuan's first time flying since his rebirth, though it felt pretty much the same as boarding a plane after the year 2000.

Zhou Xuan’s seat was not by the window, but rather on the aisle side. After stowing his small bag, he sat down and wondered what kind of person would occupy the window seat next to him.

"I hope it's a beauty," Zhou Xuan thought with anticipation.

He figured that even though he already had a girlfriend and couldn't do anything even if he met a beauty, it was at least much better than sitting next to a man.

As expected, perhaps the heavens were in an exceptionally good mood today, for a genuine beauty did indeed take the seat beside him.

"Little friend, could you let me through, please?"

Suddenly, a voice as meltingly soft as Lin Chi-ling's drifted into Zhou Xuan's ears.

Zhou Xuan looked up, and what greeted his eyes was a captivating, flawless face adorned with bright eyes and pearly teeth. Through the off-white collar of her blouse, her unblemished, snow-white skin was faintly visible, sparking endless imagination.

Looking further down, a form-fitting hip-hugging dress accentuated her tall and well-proportioned figure, while the red high heels on her feet rendered her straight legs utterly perfect.

"Gulp... Damn it, what an absolute stunner. Oh right, a quintessential charismatic queen." A wave of breathtaking shock washed over Zhou Xuan, making him feel that this flight was already well worth it.

Back in 1998, such a perfect figure and such supreme attire were truly a rare sight indeed.

Zhou Xuan hurriedly responded, stood up, and let the deeply queen-esque beauty enter first. He caught a glimpse of her perfect curves from behind as she passed—he certainly wasn't missing out on the view.

After sitting down and stretching her limbs slightly, she looked at Zhou Xuan and smiled, "Thank you, little friend."

The corner of Zhou Xuan's eye twitched as he smiled back, "Big sister, I am no little friend."

"Hahaha..." The glamorous woman covered her mouth and laughed, taking a moment to calm down. Then, looking at Zhou Xuan with her red lips parted slightly, she asked, "Then are you a little brother, then?"

At the mention of the word "little brother," ten thousand metaphorical wild horses stampeded through Zhou Xuan's mind. Indignant, he rejected the title once again, "I am not a little brother either."

Suddenly, Zhou Xuan felt a tap on his shoulder, accompanied by a rough voice in his ear.

"Kid, how about we swap seats?"

Turning his head, he saw a burly uncle in his forties glaring at him with a fierce expression. The muscles on the right arm resting on Zhou Xuan's shoulder bulged, and the vivid, three-dimensional tattoos upon them conveyed the sheer hardness of the muscles underneath.

Recalling the glamorous woman beside him, Zhou Xuan thought to himself that indeed, beauties were a source of disaster—the ancients never lied.

At that moment, surrounding passengers were watching the scene unfold, especially the male passengers with curious gazes. Seeing this muscular man target Zhou Xuan, they all cast sympathetic looks his way.

At the same time, they inwardly despised the muscular man for moving in so quickly to coerce Zhou Xuan into swapping seats. After all, the moment they caught sight of the ultimate stunner, every single one of them had harbored fantasies of sitting next to her.

However, Zhou Xuan's reaction left them disappointed as he slowly replied, "Not good at all!"

The muscular man had not expected Zhou Xuan to reject his proposal outright, leaving him momentarily embarrassed and angered, unsure of how to respond. Based on his usual habits, if he were outside, he would have slapped Zhou Xuan flying long ago.

Yet on an airplane, he dared not act too wild; causing a scene would surely get him kicked off the flight.

His right hand rested on Zhou Xuan's shoulder once more, applying slight pressure as he smiled malevolently, "Kid, I advise you to agree. Otherwise, if you suffer, don't blame me."

"Heh, you mean this?" Zhou Xuan sneered coldly, his right hand instantly clamping down on the man's wrist.

Seeing Zhou Xuan's action, the muscular man thought Zhou Xuan was utterly overestimating his own capabilities, attempting to brush his hand away with those puny limbs of his.

Yet as Zhou Xuan applied pressure, the smile on the muscular man's face turned bitter within seconds, then morphed into agony, before panic suddenly overwhelmed his entire being.

"Ah... Kid, let go!" The muscular man watched as his hand was trapped in a grip as tight as a pair of pliers, on the verge of losing all sensation.

Zhou Xuan sneered, "Still calling me kid!"

"Hey, no, big brother... Big brother... Please let go." Noticing a flight attendant looking in their direction, Zhou Xuan casually released the muscular man's hand.

"Hmph, get lost!" Zhou Xuan uttered a cold snort, breaking the muscular man out in a cold sweat.

Meanwhile, the glamorous woman beside him wore an expression of sheer disbelief, watching Zhou Xuan display his dominance with her own eyes. Suddenly, as if she had discovered something immensely entertaining, a flash of inexplicable excitement danced in her eyes.

She leaned in close to Zhou Xuan, her breath sweet like orchid as she whispered right by his ear, "My, who would have thought little brother was so formidable? Thank you just now, little brother. If not for you, I would have been bullied by that fellow."

Zhou Xuan did not believe for a second that this queen-like woman was someone easily bullied. Judging by her attire, every single item she wore was an international luxury brand. She was either the daughter of a high-ranking official, a wealthy heiress, or simply a woman of extraordinary background—and Zhou Xuan knew his judgment wouldn't fail him on this.

Realizing this, Zhou Xuan decided it was best to steer clear of such people.

Women meant trouble, especially beautiful ones.

"Big sister, since you put it that way, I suppose I saved you just now. Do me a favor and stop disturbing my rest, alright?" With that, Zhou Xuan pulled down his eye mask and feigned sleep.

Hearing herself addressed as "big sister," the woman cursed Zhou Xuan as a little brat in her heart. How dare he call her big sister—was she really that old?

As for the muscular man across the aisle, after the plane took off, he massaged his wrist while harboring a bitter resentment, plotting to make Zhou Xuan pay dearly once they disembarked—along with that gorgeous babe.