I am not just a tycoon

Actually, even if the Alphard had seven seats, Shen Yuan would have had Ji Ya drive instead of Old Xiang.

Because for an adult, sitting in the third row of an MPV is quite stifling.

The group of four set out at 8:30 AM, driving from Kuncheng to Licheng, a distance of about 350 kilometers, and it took over four hours.

Shen Yuan leisurely sat in the passenger seat, connected to Bluetooth, and switched to Liang Bo's "The Sunset Path."

"Always dreaming of flying over the meridian above the clouds, unable to tell night from day, with overflowing anticipation...."

Liang Bo's song had a strong sense of imagery, and the inclusion of a bagpipe solo in the middle, when played through the Alphard's customized Harman Kardon sound system, was even more soul-stirring.

Nana had already booked the hotel on the other end, and as the local guide, Ji Ya took care of the itinerary; Shen Yuan didn't need to worry at all, so he enjoyed the music and the scenery outside the window, feeling completely at ease.

He turned his head to look at Ji Ya, who was driving.

Today, Ji Ya was not only dressed in sportswear but also had her neat short hair complemented with a pair of sunglasses.

Compared with the two sisters from the Chen family in the back, Ji Ya didn't have Nana's long legs and pert rear, or Xinyu's lush attributes, but she had the advantage of a mature face.

Although she was wearing sunglasses, Shen Yuan could faintly sense her slight discomfort as she tilted her head slightly, deliberately avoiding Shen Yuan's gaze.

"Caretaker Ji, if you're tired, I can take over driving," Shen Yuan said.

Ji Ya paused, then replied, "Uh... Mr. Shen, it's okay, it's just over four hours, I can handle it."

"Okay, don't overdo it."

"Uh...."

Although Miss Chen already knew about her relationship with Mr. Shen, she still couldn't get used to the atmosphere.

The two ladies in the back had close connections with Mr. Shen, and she... Ji Ya sometimes felt like a mistress.

Not really, she should be the fourth.

The key issue was that she, as the fourth, was still serving Mr. Shen and his woman; this was indeed a failed mistress.

Chen Na sat in the second-row airline seat, resting with her eyes closed, while Chen Xinyu was probably the one who knew the least about the situation.

She still couldn't understand why Uncle Xiang, the driver, had suddenly been replaced by Caretaker Ji.

But she felt that Uncle Xiang drove better.

At 1 PM, the Alphard arrived at Shuanglang Ancient Town in Licheng.

Once inside the ancient town, Ji Ya slowed down, and Shen Yuan admired the quaint and unique village through the car window.

The Chinese-style buildings were closely arranged on both sides, with their wall bricks and thresholds showing their solidity.

Beyond the distinctive architecture, there were also many lightly-dressed female tourists, mostly students like in Kuncheng, some in shorts, others in skirts, either taking photos or chatting in small groups, arm in arm.

"Miss Chen, we've reached Shuanglang. Would you like to go to the hotel first or have a meal?" Ji Ya asked.

"Let's head to Xihe Hotel first, I will send you the location."

Chen Na replied and then sent the location.

"Xihe?"

Ji Ya couldn't help but pause.

As a hotel steward in the tourism industry and a local from Southern Yunnan, she had been to Licheng as a guide and had visited the area on her own.

Xihe, as the most expensive hotel in Lake Erhai and even in Licheng, was not unknown to her.

But she had never been there... the only reason being that it was too expensive.

Their signature villas in Kuncheng were already the pinnacle of tourist hotels, and the private villa Miss Chen booked was their most premium offering, costing 5000 a night this season.

But Xihe was even more expensive; this season, if you booked the best suite, it would cost at least 8000.

While Ji Ya had never stayed there, she had seen pictures online; the view from Xihe's priciest suite was incredibly beautiful.

Shen Yuan noticed Ji Ya seemed a bit surprised and asked, "Is there something special about this hotel?"

This was within Ji Ya's area of expertise, and after organizing her thoughts, she replied, "This is the most expensive hotel at Lake Erhai. Besides being luxurious, the key is the unobstructed sea view; you can see the boundless Lake Erhai and Cang Mountain from the room."

"If the weather is good tomorrow, we might even see the sunrise over Cang Mountain."

"That sounds quite nice."

Shen Yuan nodded, seemingly understanding.

Ji Ya was faintly looking forward to it, feeling a mixture of excitement and thrill. Although she worked in the industry, she had never experienced a high-end hotel as a tourist.

Just with her monthly salary of 10,000, staying in an 8000 per night hotel was unimaginable.

Ji Ya was increasingly understanding her friends' point of view; why not open your legs and moan a few times at night to enjoy a life most people could never afford? Even though it sounded crude, there was some truth to it.

Of course, Ji Ya never considered lying low.

Just looking at Miss Chen beside Mr. Shen, she knew that if she really wanted to be with Mr. Shen, there was a lot she needed to learn.

With everyone carrying hopeful expectations, they arrived at the Xihe Hotel. After completing the check-in at the front desk, they entered the luxurious full sea-view suite.

The room's design was naturally stylish, with black wooden floors and cotton-linen sofas; this simple wooden feel was much to Shen Yuan's taste.

Today's sun wasn't too harsh, but some light diffused through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the room, where one could even hear the sound of the sea breeze.

Shen Yuan walked up to the floor-to-ceiling window, and the view before him left him utterly amazed.

This is beautiful... In that moment, Shen Yuan, who had been educated for over a decade, suddenly found himself at a loss for words; he didn't know how to describe the scene before his eyes.
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The floor-to-ceiling window revealed Lake Erhai and Cang Mountain, the glimmering water surface, the boundless Cang Mountain, and the sky so close at hand... It was simply too beautiful.

Shen Yuan felt the sound of the nearby waves crashing and the seagulls' screeching as he took a deep breath of the air.

Seeing the view before him, Shen Yuan believed that this trip to Southern Yunnan was truly worthwhile.

"Sis, it's so beautiful here,"

Chen Xinyu exclaimed sincerely as she approached the French window.

She had thought the single-detached villa was already impressive, but the view she was experiencing right now told her that the villa they stayed at yesterday was just a mere child.

"Yes, it is,"

Chen Na, too, was captivated by the scenery before her, even though she had seen the photographs online, being there in person was a completely different experience.

Chen Na walked up to Shen Yuan, linked her arm with his, gently tilted her head, and rested it on his shoulder while contentedly gazing at the view.

Ji Ya instinctively took out her mobile phone to capture the beautiful scene; although it would look even more spectacular during the golden hour, she couldn't help herself right now.

When she saw Miss Chen and Mr. Shen nestling together, Ji Ya hesitated for a moment, then aimed her camera at them and pressed the shutter.

The four of them enjoyed the splendid nature for a long time until Shen Yuan finally snapped back to reality, smiling and said, "Let's eat first, I'm actually quite hungry."

"Yeah, sure,"

Chen Na raised her head and asked Ji Ya, "Caretaker Ji, do you have any good recommendations?"

"I know a place nearby that serves distinctive Yunnan cuisine; why don't we give it a try?" suggested Ji Ya.

"Sounds good,"

The three of them had no objections; Ji Ya was a local and had been to Licheng several times, which definitely made her a better choice than them trying to pick a place online through Kangaroo or Public Review.

Shen Yuan had learned from bloody, tear-filled lessons in the past; he used to love scouting high-rated restaurants on Kangaroo and Public Review.

Whenever he saw those restaurants rated 4.8 or 4.9, Shen Yuan always wanted to try them out.

But once there, he would find that they weren't all they were made out to be—most were average in taste and overpriced.

Later on, Shen Yuan learned that those high ratings were all manipulated.

Tourist spot restaurants are even worse, definitely dominated by paid promoters.

...

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Shen Yuan briefly looked at the menu then handed it to Ji Ya, who took the lead and ordered cured pork ribs, small fried beef, Yiliang roast duck, claypot fish, and some mushrooms whose names Shen Yuan couldn't recall.

In Star City, Shen Yuan often ate small fried beef, but this was his first time trying the other kind of beef.

However, regarding the texture, the other beef was tougher and required more chewing, while the beef he was accustomed to was softer and more tender; each had its own distinct characteristics.

After lunch, Shen Yuan accompanied the three women as they strolled around the ancient town.

Women, regardless of age, all enjoy shopping, especially now that these three women were together, making a scene as they walked. The only one suffering silently was Shen Yuan, uninterested in shopping, his eyes sweeping over the cool-looking girls on the ancient streets from time to time through his sunglasses.

Nevertheless, this trio of women and one man walking down the street was quite an eye-catcher.

While tourist spots always had beautiful women, seeing three uniquely attractive women together was still uncommon, especially with a dashing man in their midst.

Having beautiful women around wasn't odd, but having three beautiful women could easily draw envy.

And it wasn't hard to guess the identity of the man at the center—obviously, he was wealthy.

Shen Yuan faced these gazes head-on. If it was a pretty girl, he took a few extra glances; if not, he simply overlooked them.

Chen Na and Ji Ya were often the center of attention and didn't mind the frequent sideways glances.

On the other hand, Chen Xinyu, being naive and unworldly, wasn't used to the attention and shyly hung her head low.

The four didn't stroll for long, as they wanted to return to the hotel to watch the sunset, so they were back at Xihe Hotel by around 5 pm.

Ji Ya mentioned there was a good barbecue place nearby, which offered delivery.

Hearing about kebabs and barbecue, Shen Yuan got excited and asked Ji Ya to also arrange some ice-cold beer.

"Nana definitely shouldn't drink, and Xinyu can't either, so it'll just be us two drinking. No need to buy too much; three bottles each should do it," Shen Yuan told Ji Ya.

Ji Ya nodded and was about to call the hotel's caretaker when Chen Xinyu stretched out her hand and then withdrew it, looking hesitant.

Shen Yuan was very attentive to his sister-in-law, so he asked, "What's wrong, Xinyu?"

Chen Xinyu blushed and lifted her head. "Brother-in-law, can I have some too?"

Shen Yuan gave her a look. "Can you handle it?"

Chen Xinyu replied softly, "I've never tried it, but I want to."

Chen Na looked at her sister thoughtfully, her lips twitching, but in the end, she said nothing.

"Alright then,"

Shen Yuan then told Ji Ya, "Get nine bottles then."

"Okay,"

Soon, the barbecue they had ordered and the beer brought by the hotel's caretaker arrived.

Considering that Nana was pregnant, in addition to the barbecue, Shen Yuan also ordered some staple foods and porridge for her.

However, when he saw that the caretaker had brought craft beer, he was a bit puzzled. Although craft beer was still beer, it had a slightly higher alcohol content, around 7-8%.

He wasn't concerned for himself, and Ji Ya could probably handle it, but he wasn't sure about his inexperienced sister-in-law.

"Never mind, just make sure she drinks less," thought Shen Yuan.

With that, he went to the balcony to help Ji Ya unpack the takeout.

As they began to eat, the remnants of the sunset cast a golden glow over the four of them; they enjoyed skewers while admiring the distant sea and the golden sun, basking in sheer contentment.