They randomly entered a Western restaurant, and Yang Shiyun ordered a few dishes for Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang said, "I still suggest we go eat Chinese food."
Yang Shiyun said, "There are no Chinese restaurants on this street, so just bear with it. I'll treat you to somewhere else to eat after we're done."
The restaurant had a rather elegant ambiance, but Zhao Qiang just couldn't get used to it. Moreover, the taste and way of eating Western food were unfamiliar to him. The sight of the knives and forks made him dizzy. After a while, the steak arrived, with bright red bloodstains on it. Zhao Qiang felt a bit nauseous. It seemed that he really needed time to adapt. This was America, not the environment he was used to.
Yang Shiyun said calmly, "Eat up, don't worry about what others think, just eat your fill."
Zhao Qiang said, "Do you think a piece of bloody steak can fill my stomach?"
Yang Shiyun said, "You can order more after you finish eating. Don't you think it's ridiculous to order a whole table full of steaks?"
Zhao Qiang sighed. If Yang Shiqi were sitting here, she would definitely want a table full of steaks. Yang Shiyun said she didn't care what others thought, but in reality, she still cared a lot about this.
Yang Shiyun was carefully drinking her soup with a spoon, but Zhao Qiang picked up the soup bowl and gulped it all down, leaving Yang Shiyun stunned. She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before she felt relieved. Women just love to save face.
Zhao Qiang tried to cut the steak with a knife, but the plate wasn't a cutting board, so it wasn't very convenient. Zhao Qiang decided to use a fork to put the steak directly into his mouth and chew it slowly. He figured he might as well eat it anyway, so why bother? Some Chinese people like to show off, but foreigners are no different. Putting aside everything else, the process of eating Western food is quite pretentious.
With a slight creak, the door opened, and two men in suits entered the restaurant. They glanced around the room; it was lunchtime, and the restaurant was quite crowded. The two men frowned slightly, but their brows relaxed when their gaze fell on Zhao Qiang's table. The man in the lead quickly walked over.
“My God, Sarah, is this you? I thought I would have to go to China to see you again.”
Yang Shiyun was also pleasantly surprised, her face showing the excitement of reuniting with an old friend. "Benny, what brings you here?"
Benny pointed outside the restaurant: "I work at the company across the street. I came here for lunch. Tell me how you ended up in America without even telling us. You'll have to accept our punishment."
Yang Shiyun said, "I came to America to find Ma Kexin. Do you have her number? The one I used to have is no longer in service."
Benny said, "Marxine, finding her is easy. Let's not talk about her for now. We need to have a good talk. You have no idea how much I've missed you these past few days."
Zhao Qiang coughed to remind Yang Shiyun of his presence. Although he wasn't Yang Shiyun's boyfriend, being ignored wasn't a pleasant feeling. Besides, Zhao Qiang considered himself her brother-in-law, and Yang Shiyun was, after all, a girl. He had to protect her, otherwise Yang Shiqi would definitely cause him trouble.
Yang Shiyun, of course, received Zhao Qiang's signal. Her expression stabilized, realizing that she had overlooked Zhao Qiang when meeting her old classmate. "Benny, let me introduce you. This is my friend Zhao Qiang."
Zhao Qiang reached out and shook hands with Benny: "Benny, right? Hello."
Benny asked, "Hi Sarah, is he your boyfriend?"
Yang Shiyun quickly denied it: "No, no, he is my sister's boyfriend."
Benny laughed and said, "Oh, I see. I was worried for nothing. Let me introduce you. This is my colleague, Baker."
Another man in a suit stepped forward to hug Yang Shiyun, but she gently avoided it. Benny laughed even louder: "Baker, greet her the Chinese way." So Baker awkwardly reached out and shook hands with Yang Shiyun.
"Sit down, I'll treat everyone to lunch today." Benny waved his hand generously. In the US, splitting the bill is normal, but Benny decided to splurge this time because he had reunited with Yang Shiyun. He knew a little about Chinese culture, and if he wanted to win a girl's favor, treating her to a meal was a must.
Yang Shiyun did not refuse, and everyone sat down again. Western food is not complicated, so there was no need to wait too long for the food to be served. The food that Benny and Baker ordered was served. Benny gestured to Zhao Qiang: "Please eat according to your Chinese customs and don't be too reserved."
Zhao Qiang said, "Thank you." He then forked the steak and put it in his mouth, chewing it heartily. Benny and Baker stared at Zhao Qiang's bulging mouth, somewhat dumbfounded. Zhao Qiang gestured to Benny, "Eat up, don't be shy. We Chinese men are used to eating meat like this."
Benny laughed, "Chinese people are indeed humorous." He then began to eat his steak, showing no prejudice against Zhao Qiang. However, Baker seemed somewhat disgusted with Zhao Qiang and shifted slightly to the side. Zhao Qiang didn't mind, since he had no connection with either of them, and besides, Baker and Yang Shiyun were meeting for the first time, so Zhao Qiang didn't need to consider his feelings.
"Where exactly is Markoshin? Tell me right now!" Yang Shiyun couldn't help but remind Benny.
Benny smiled mysteriously: "Sarah, don't be in such a hurry. How about this, I'll take you to see her after I get off work this evening."
Yang Shiyun said, "Can't we go now? Or you can give me her phone number."
Benny shook his finger: "Of course not, we have to go to her in person, because I don't know her number either."
Volume 2 [660] Here's some money, stay away from her.
If you get money, stay away from her.
Zhao Qiang suspected that Benny was using this opportunity to spend time with Yang Shiyun. However, Yang Shiyun wasn't his girlfriend, so Zhao Qiang couldn't really say anything about it. Unless Yang Shiyun expressed her unwillingness to be with Benny, Zhao Qiang could help get rid of him. But Benny was an important clue to finding Ma Kexin. If they bypassed Benny, they would have to find Ma Kexin's boyfriend, but Yang Shiyun wasn't sure if she could find Ma Kexin's boyfriend immediately, so Benny was very important.
After dinner, Benny and Baker went back to work, while Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun returned to the hotel to continue resting. Benny would take Yang Shiyun to see Makshan after work in the evening. Zhao Qiang could take this opportunity to replenish his nutrition and also check and improve his equipment. America is foreign territory, so Zhao Qiang needed to keep a low profile while protecting himself. He believed that Americans would come knocking on his door soon; the FBI wasn't just sitting around doing nothing.
"That Benny has a thing for you," Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun. He was Yang Shiyun's brother-in-law, so it was only right for him to show concern for his sister-in-law.
Yang Shiyun explained, "Americans are just so warm and welcoming. You're overthinking it. You need to gradually adapt to the culture and customs of this country."
Zhao Qiang said, "Really? But I think you should find a boyfriend too."
Yang Shiyun said with dissatisfaction, "What, are you planning to play the role of my parents? That would make me hate you."
Zhao Qiang knew that Yang Shiyun hadn't been home lately because of her family's pressure to get married. "Of course not. Your sister asked me to take good care of you, so I wanted to check on you."
Yang Shiyun said, "I can take care of myself."
Knock, knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door. Yang Shiyun went to the door and opened it, but she didn't recognize them. They were two men.
"What is it?" Yang Shiyun asked in English, even though the other person had an Asian face.
"Sister Yang, we're here to see Mr. Zhao," the man said politely.
"Are you from the Ministry of State Security?" Yang Shiyun asked.
The other party nodded. There was no need to hide anything at this point, especially since Yang Shiyun came from a prominent family. What harm would it do if she knew some secrets?
Yang Shiyun snorted: "So you're planning to keep at it?"
The other party said, "We are acting on orders from above, please understand, Sister Yang."
Zhao Qiang said from inside the room, "We're going to rest. Would you two like to come in?"
Yang Shiyun, together with Zhao Qiang, slammed the door shut. The two men, having been turned away, hesitated briefly at the door before leaving. After all, this was no longer China, and even if they had special privileges, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble openly on American territory.
Yang Shiyun said, "It seems that it will be inconvenient for us to do things if they keep an eye on us."
Zhao Qiang said, "You have invisibility, and I have a teleportation device. Are we afraid we can't shake them off?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Make me an easy container too. Invisibility isn't always convenient, especially in crowded places. You have to carefully avoid pedestrians, which is really troublesome."
What Zhao Qiang called the "disguise device" was actually just a visual illusion. It was a projection device installed on the waist. This device projected pre-designed images onto the person wearing it, creating a visual illusion to achieve the purpose of disguise. Zhao Qiang used it to evade the special operations team's inspection.
Zhao Qiang said, "It consumes too much energy. You can just use invisibility. It's much more powerful than disguise."
Yang Shiyun said, "Then we'll build it for me when we get back to China."
Zhao Qiang couldn't refuse her, so he could only agree: "Okay, actually I can teach you how to make it. The procedure isn't complicated."
Yang Shiyun agreed: "Okay, it would be best if you could teach me how to make other things as well."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. You should take it one step at a time."
After Zhao Qiang taught Yang Shiyun how to make a container, it was already evening. Yang Shiyun looked at her watch and said, "Let's go. Don't keep Benny waiting for us."
Zhao Qiang said, "Help me find a bank; I want to withdraw some pocket money." Zhao Qiang didn't have much money left, and he didn't want to spend Yang Shiyun's money.
Yang Shiyun said, "There's one not far from the hotel. I'll take you there."
Zhao Qiang is fluent in English, so there was no language barrier during the withdrawal process. The teller politely handed Zhao Qiang his card, and Zhao Qiang said, "What? This card was accepted worldwide when I got it. Are you planning to refuse payment?"
The teller said, "No, no, sir, you misunderstand. Your card has been frozen in China, so we cannot complete the transaction. I'm sorry, you need to apply to the government to enable international services for this bank card before we can help you withdraw the money."
Yang Shiyun said in a low voice, "Freeze? How is that possible? Is it just because you went abroad without permission?"
Zhao Qiang gritted his teeth and said, "How is it impossible? Those people in the government can come up with any method. Forget it, I'm not spending any money anyway, let's not talk about it."
Yang Shiyun said, "I still have some money here, enough for us to last for a while."
The two left the bank looking dejected. Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun, "Let's not talk about this. Let's go find your classmate."
Yang Shiyun nodded, and the two hailed a car and headed straight to Benny's company. After waiting outside for a short while, Benny came out with the flow of people leaving get off work. Yang Shiyun waved, and Benny, who was looking around, immediately ran over when he saw her.
"Sarah, so you've arrived early. Sorry, working at the company isn't very flexible."
Yang Shiyun said, "It's alright, we just arrived. Let's go find Ma Kexin."
Benny drove out of his car with Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun in tow. He said, "It's a bit early. Let's find somewhere to eat first."
Yang Shiyun said, "Okay, you treated me to lunch, so let me show my appreciation this time. How about we go out for Chinese food?"
Benny said, "Of course, but I don't know much about Chinese food. Where do you suggest we go?"
Yang Shiyun was an acquaintance in New York after all. She pointed out to Benny, and they quickly drove to a Chinese restaurant. Zhao Qiang was very happy this time and ordered a lot of his favorite meat dishes first. Benny whispered to Yang Shiyun, "Sarah, why did your sister's boyfriend come to America with you?"
Yang Shiyun said, "He helped me with something."
Benny said, "Actually, as an old classmate, I can do anything for you. Why don't you let him go back to his country?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Isn't that a good idea? Since we're here, it would be better to have him help me finish my business so we can go back to China together."
Benny said, "Since you insist, I won't say anything more."
Zhao Qiang wasn't one for formalities. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Benny, he started eating right away, wolfing down his food so much that Benny stared at him with wide eyes. Yang Shiyun smiled awkwardly at Benny and said, "He's just like that, so unceremonious. Let's eat. We still need to find Ma Kexin later. It's already this late, you should at least tell us where she is."
Benny was still being mysterious, saying, "You'll find out soon enough. Eat, eat, and try some Chinese food."
After dinner, the three of them ordered another pot of tea. Finally, around 9 p.m., Benny stood up and said, "It's time to go find Makshan."
The car turned from the wide road into the alley and finally stopped in front of a bar with a rather unassuming storefront. Benny got out of the car and said, "This is it. Maybe Marcus hasn't started work yet. Let's go in and wait for a while."
Yang Shiyun said, "Benny, you're not trying to tell me that Marcus works here, are you?"
Benny said, "What, you don't believe me?"
Yang Shiyun said, "She is a top student in our college, how can she work here?"
Benny said, "That's a Chinese concept. In America, there's no distinction between noble and lowly professions."
Zhao Qiang was sweating profusely, and Yang Shiyun also lowered her head. The two followed Benny into the bar. It was an extremely dimly lit place, which might have originally been a large warehouse, now converted into a bar. Even before entering, they could hear deafening music. There were probably fifty or sixty people inside swaying to the music, making many suggestive moves casually. This opened Zhao Qiang's eyes. Americans were indeed open-minded. Actually, bars in China also had such hot dances, but Zhao Qiang didn't go to those places often.
Benny led Yang Shiyun to a corner of the bar, and the three of them casually ordered a beer and drank it. Benny said, "The show is about to start, Sarah, you don't want to miss it."
Yang Shiyun was about to ask what the show was when the music changed and the lights suddenly focused on the stage on one side of the bar. A scantily clad bikini-clad woman walked out from backstage, and Yang Shiyun exclaimed in surprise at first glance, "Ma Kexin?"
Benny laughed and said, "That's right, it's her. See? I told you we could find her."
Yang Shiyun stared at Ma Kexin, hardly believing her eyes. At that moment, Benny whispered to Zhao Qiang, "Hey buddy, you've already won over Sarah's sister, how about I have her?"
Zhao Qiang said in English, "Nobody's stopping you, is it? Whether you succeed or not is your business."
Benny said, "But you're getting in our way. I'll give you a thousand dollars to buy a plane ticket home."
Zhao Qiang said, "Don't you think this suggestion is ridiculous?"
Benny said, "Come on, buddy, I could tell at dinner that you don't even have enough money to pay for tonight's bar bill. I don't know what Sarah's sister saw in you. You're going back to your country right now with two thousand dollars. I'm not giving you a penny more."
Zhao Qiang pretended to hesitate and said, "The problem is, even if you gave me two thousand US dollars, I wouldn't dare to leave. I have to follow my girlfriend's sister's orders."
Benny thought about it and agreed. It would be inappropriate for Yang Shiyun to leave without permission, and she might suspect him, which would be difficult to handle. So Benny changed his suggestion: "I'll give you a thousand dollars. From now on, try not to leave my sight and create opportunities for Sarah and me to be alone."
Zhao Qiang stretched out his hand and said, "Okay."