Chapter 269 - 200: Trip to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand (Part 2)

They even bought data SIM cards online and naturally got one for Li Xiang too. It was a "10-day unlimited" plan that worked in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The carrier seemed to be a company from Singapore. They heard the connection was smooth with good speeds, and the 10-day plan was a steal at just over thirty RMB. They could enable roaming right after landing, and if there were any issues, the airport had free Wi-Fi so they could contact customer service anytime.

As for the language barrier, it wasn’t a big issue. Since Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have large Chinese populations, Chinese characters were visible everywhere in the cities, many of them even in Simplified Chinese.

If all else failed, there were translation apps. Plus, everyone, including Li Xiang, had been cramming some spoken English lately and could manage a few simple phrases.

This was especially true for Li Xiang. He had the highest level of education and had scouted around Southeast Asia before, even picking up some simple Burmese, Thai, and Vietnamese. It was just that places like Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia were a bit further, and he hadn’t had the chance to venture there yet.

This time, Li Xiang planned to explore all those places thoroughly.

Lei Xiaohui drove everyone to the airport in the seven-seater van. They planned to park it in the airport’s underground garage, which wouldn’t cost much and would be very convenient for their return. Otherwise, it would be a hassle to lug all their bags back and forth.

Although Li Xiang had his system’s inventory, the three girls didn’t know about it, so he couldn’t use it in front of them.

The girls hadn’t packed much. Each had a large suitcase and a backpack, neither of which was full. They left plenty of empty space for a shopping spree to buy local specialties.

Besides, it was currently summer, and Southeast Asia was hot, so the clothes they brought were light and didn’t take up much space. They also packed a lot of disposable underwear and socks, which they could throw away after each use to reduce their luggage volume.

Other items included travel adapters, power banks, water bottles, money pouches, UnionPay debit cards, chip-enabled credit cards, sun-protective clothing, sunscreen, swimsuits, and sunglasses.

Li Xiang still had the least luggage. For one, he had his system’s inventory, so he didn’t really need to bring much. For another, he was a guy and wasn’t as fussy.

Still, Li Xiang symbolically brought along a large suitcase.

The suitcase was brand new. The one he’d brought back from the big city was a cheap model to begin with, and after collecting dust for so long, it looked a bit old. Taking it on a proper trip abroad would have seemed a little tacky. When the three girls were buying their suitcases, they picked one out for Li Xiang as well.

He had to admit, the girls had much better taste than him. The suitcases they chose were all quite beautiful.

It was also the girls’ first time traveling abroad, and they were incredibly excited. While waiting at the gate, Li Xiang was "forced to work," holding up his ticket and passport to "co-create" a hand-dance video with them. They each held out a hand, striking different poses together for the camera, performing a rhythmic dance to an upbeat rap and background music: "With excited hearts and trembling hands, we’ve got the tickets in our hands! You have one, I have one, let’s go drink in a new land!" This was followed by the girls’ silvery, bell-like laughter.

It had to be said, the video had a great rhythm.

Li Xiang thought, ’I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist working. That’s the good thing about running a social media business—the streamers under you are always willing to work overtime for free by shooting videos, and there’s nothing I can do about that.’

After the video was posted, it received many likes and comments from fans.

"Brother Xiang is really moving up in the world, even traveling abroad now. Looks like he’s really made it big."

"He has over thirty million fans! They say you can earn about as much money in a year as you have fans. And for someone like Li Xiang with strong sales performance, he probably earns even more."

"He’s not just selling tea and red wine now, he’s started selling jadeite too. Didn’t you guys see his exhibition of top-tier jadeite? It was worth over two billion! Even if his cost was half of that, he still made a billion."

"Jadeite is a crazy high-profit business, no way the cost is half. I heard he got it through luck, by winning at stone gambling. The cost was probably no more than two million."

"There are other operating and processing costs, though. But even so, his net worth is easily over a billion."

"Oh my god, is it really that profitable? We’ll see how much tax he pays at the end of the year."

Then, there were also some unsavory comments, the lewd kind: "Brother Xiang’s got it good, taking three girls on an international trip. And to a place where they’ll be in swimsuits all day. Hope he doesn’t wear himself out."

"How many hotel rooms did you guys book? Don’t tell me it’s just one for a big group sleepover, right?"

Li Xiang couldn’t help but frown when he saw comments like these. ’What are they even saying?’ he thought. ’It makes it sound like we’re going there to... do whatever.’ He was starting to regret not bringing a few guys along. The problem was, he had no male core employees. If he’d really had to, he could have asked Lei Jiaming to come along just to even out the numbers.

Then, Luo Feifei also joined the conversation: "Tsk~, taking three girls on a trip and you didn’t even bring me!"

Her comment got the most likes, racking up several hundred thousand in just an hour, and many people replied below it.

"Is the Little Celestial Immortal getting jealous?"

"Are they really dating?"

"No way, that can’t be possible, right?"

...

Only Luo Feifei knew that Li Xiang wasn’t that kind of person. ’A big group sleepover? Please.’ She and Li Xiang had spent so many nights talking until dawn, and nothing had ever happened. She didn’t believe for a second that Li Xiang would get involved with the three of them—Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui. ’After all, when it comes to looks and charisma, I’m in a whole different league, okay?’