The night view of Southport was colorful and lively, but unlike Riverdale, where lights shone everywhere, one side of this city met the sea, and the ocean swallowed all the lights from the city.
Cynthia said, "Let's go for a walk."
"Sure."
The sound of the waves was sometimes soft, sometimes roaring, blending into a song from nature.
"To be honest, part of the reason I made up my mind back then was because I was running away."
"You might not like what I'm going to say next, but I still want to say it."
Walking along the beach, William quietly listened to Cynthia's confession.
"In society, we have to wear too many masks to deal with things. You gave me a chance to take off my mask, maybe because you're younger, and I don't feel pressure from you."
William said, "Should I go look up how to show authority in front of a subordinate right now?"
"Haha, you could check."
"Anyway, I just want to say thank you for giving me this chance, and thank you for your trust."
"Thank you. You've trusted me more than I've trusted you."
"Brr, it's a bit cold, let's head back." Cynthia rubbed her arms. What she wore was fine for the day, but not for the evening.
Before sunrise, when the morning light had yet to break through the clouds, William was woken by Cynthia's call.
He went downstairs to find Vince already waiting in the lobby.
"Achoo!"
Cynthia's sneeze came before any greeting.
"Caught a chill last night, sorry." As she said this, she gave William a meaningful glance.
William tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing a smile. "Morning."
Vince's face was full of irritation. He coldly said, "Let's go," then turned and left.
In Southport, having morning tea was an important tradition, especially for the older generation—it was a meal they could never skip.
Silk Road's Teahouse.
It was one of the oldest tea restaurants in the area, located in an old neighborhood. Two stories tall, and even in winter at five or six in the morning, you could see that more than half the seats inside were already taken.
"One pot of tea."
Vince told the waiter at the door the name of the private room.
"Alright, please follow me."
Inside the room, a round table for twelve already had seven or eight people seated, just missing William and the other two.
Sitting in the south-facing seat was an old man in a white undershirt. His arms were lean but strong, and his spirit was lively.
"Hello, hello."
When he stood up, the others followed.
"Let me do some introductions," said a woman seated to the side.
She looked to be in her thirties, with short gray-dyed hair, a turtleneck sweater, and about 1.7 meters tall.
This should be Eileen.
"This is the president of our China Mahjong Association, Tristan."
"This is the vice president of our China Mahjong Association, Douglas."
"…Vice president, Evan."
"…Board member, Fanny."
"Vice president Douglas's son, member of the association's Southeast District Committee, Kingsley."
"Vice president Yang's son, member of the association's West Asia District Committee, Wayne ."
After she finished the round of introductions, Cynthia said, "Then you must be Miss Eileen."
Eileen gave a slight smile. "Manager Cynthia, right? Director Vince has told me a lot about you."
"Don't mention it, I've only worked for about two years, nothing worth talking about."
"Let me introduce you. This is Cynthia, general manager of Earth Games, Miss Cynthia."
"And this person, I'm sure you all know, is the head of WeChat Games under Tencent Group, Mr. Vince."
"Lastly, our most important guest, the founder of Earth Games, William, Mr. William."
After the introductions, Tristan left his seat, walked to the door, and warmly shook William's hand. "Mr. William, you're so young and talented!"
"You flatter me." William smiled politely.
"Miss Cynthia too, you have great vision!"
"Thank you."
"Mr. Vince, we've only met once, but next time we should meet more often."
"Of course, of course."
When Tristan finished, the rest also came over to shake hands one by one. Just the greetings alone took four or five minutes.
Once seated, William and Vince were placed on either side of Tristan, with Cynthia next to William, and Eileen sitting next to her.
"First, I have to say sorry for calling you all up so early. I know young people like to sleep in, but here in Southportg, you just have to have morning tea. Come, try this pot of Longjing tea."
Tristan picked up the teapot on the table and started pouring tea for William.
Vince said, "President Tristan, about this matter…"
Tristan cut him off. "Ah, drink tea first, eat something."
After pouring the tea, Tristan lifted his cup. "Mr. William, here's to you."
William quickly raised his cup in return. "You're too kind!"
After finishing the tea, Tristan picked up his chopsticks. "Come, eat, try the local specialties."
The morning tea lasted more than three hours, and not a single word about cooperation was discussed.
When it was almost time to wrap up, Tristan suggested going to their association to play a few rounds of mahjong. Maybe it was a test, or maybe he just wanted to have some fun.
Either way, William didn't mind joining in.
With William's post yesterday on Weibo, the game "Happy Mahjong" was getting more and more popular. It now had over 800 million total active users. Last night's income had just hit six figures, and it unlocked the fifth milestone, giving William the "Mahjong Pro" skill and 15 reputation points for the sixth stage.
The moment he sat down at the mahjong table, William's whole vibe changed, sharp and focused, as if he was born to be there.
"Is Mr. William really good at mahjong?" Eileen quietly asked Cynthia.
Cynthia was also puzzled—just a few days ago when they played, William didn't look like this at all.
They were playing three-player mahjong. At the table sat Tristan, William, and Vince, while the rest stood by to watch.
Tristan and William seemed fine, but for a beginner like Vince, even in twenty-degree weather, he was already sweating all over.
At a time like this, he wished someone could stand behind him to give him some encouragement.
But the person he wanted most was standing right behind another man, and that instantly made his jealousy flare.
Tristan didn't rush to roll the dice. Instead, he smiled and looked at the other two. "How big do we want to play?"
"Huh?"
Vince froze. The mahjong rules he knew were only from the handbook he got when entering the association, and he hadn't really studied them. He didn't expect the old man to want to play for money.
"I'm fine with anything."
William looked at Vince.
"Th-then I'm fine with whatever too." Vince stammered.
"Alright, then 15 dollar per fan."
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Eileen spoke up.
Tristan waved it off. "Both of you here are top elites, what's this amount to you?"
It was true—William was now worth tens of millions. Even if he lost nonstop, it wouldn't hurt him. He could just treat it as making the old man happy and making future cooperation go more smoothly.
As for the musical notes floating above Vince's head, in his heart, they were probably tears flowing like a river.