Rebirth: The Ascent of a Socialite-Chapter 676 - 276: A Secret Encounter in South Africa
Su Ziceng’s seemingly pleasant travel still had its discordant interludes, the most vexing being whether to bring a cell phone, and if brought, whether to turn it on.
It’s a ubiquitous conundrum that has troubled all earthlings since the invention of the mobile phone. Take it with you, and can you still call it traveling? Leave it behind, but what if there’s an emergency at home or you encounter one yourself? You’d need some way to send a message.
It was precisely this slight psychological dilemma that always gave some people the opportunity to mix business with pleasure. Take Jim, for example, who, upon learning that Su Ziceng was rushing to South Africa next week, contacted her right away, "Remember when you talked about expanding internationally? Espr now has locations across five continents, and the African market is significant."
With the conversation reaching this point, Su Ziceng couldn’t pretend to misunderstand. This wasn’t the first time Jim had pulled such a tactic. Over the past six months, with Jim and Lin Ying combining forces and Sister Mu’s occasional friendly sponsorships, Su Ziceng’s "travel research" facilitated Espr’s smooth expansion.
Two months ago, when Su Ziceng was passing through South America, Jim timely phoned, hinting whether she’d be interested in a detour to Brazil for sightseeing and local market research. After experiencing Brazil’s coffee beans and fiery samba, Su Ziceng turned in a thorough market survey, and subsequently, Espr smoothly entered the Brazilian market.
Now, it was South Africa’s turn. In Su Ziceng’s travel plans, she wasn’t supposed to arrive in Africa until June or July. For some reason, she felt that Africa held a special meaning for her, as if going too early might trigger some unintended events.
But after Jim’s relentless bombing with dozens of calls, even the staunchest bunker would surrender, and Su Ziceng had to book a flight to Cape Town in South Africa ahead of schedule. As for hotels, Su Ziceng, accustomed to traveling freely, was used to choosing hotels on the spot based on the surroundings.
Right after disembarking the flight, she was intercepted by a driver who, after a rapid exchange in English, ushered Su Ziceng into an exceedingly luxurious motorhome. Su Ziceng was still pondering phrases like "hotel," "transport," and "complimentary" she caught from the driver, figuring Jim might have had a change of heart and covered the costs of this business trip for her.
In this historically rich port city, draped with cerulean skies dotted with cottony clouds, Su Ziceng saw countless residents with different skin colors and faces as the car traveled on the tarmac. Due to its proximity to the Cape of Good Hope and its past as a colony of Holland and Britain, South Africa is a nation of ethnic diversity and has attracted global scrutiny for its history of racial discrimination. It is abundant in all kinds of precious diamonds and thus can be called the only developed country in Africa.
The streets of Cape Town, built along the sea, undulated continuously. As they turned through the main and back streets, houses painted in various colors, symbolizing different ethnic communities, passed by.
The sea breeze entered through the car window. Su Ziceng leaned against it, captivated by the scenery so different from other places.
The driver kept talking, but Su Ziceng wasn’t listening. The car stopped near a seaside cliff, a hundred meters tall, where Su Ziceng’s accommodation lay.
Jim had surprisingly spent a good deal of money to let her stay in such a luxurious hotel, leaving Su Ziceng somewhat taken aback. The gray villa hotel perched on the cliff stood out starkly against the sky.
While the driver busied with the bellhops carrying the luggage, Su Ziceng wandered down the cliff. Below the blue sky and fluffy clouds, she stepped on the neatly trimmed lawn and walked down closer to the waters of the Indian Ocean. The transparent waters revealed the seabed’s silt, and unidentified small creatures crawled along the shore.
"Madam," the driver called from the cliff with a warm face, and Su Ziceng turned around, beaming a splendid smile.
At the topmost level of the gray villa hotel, next to the room where Su Ziceng was staying, the curtains also parted. Pello stood aloft, watching the woman who had taken off her shoes and was treading upon the sandy beach. It had been more than half a year since they last met; like in the photos, his Su Ziceng was living well.
