After finishing the meal with Shen Jiayi, Zhou Chaosheng raised his wrist to check the time. He figured Jiang Yuanye should be home by now, so he sent a message: “Are you home?”
The reply came instantly: “No, at the office.”
Zhou Chaosheng: “What kind of work is so urgent?”
Jiang Yuanye: “About you.”
Zhou Chaosheng: “About what of mine?”
Jiang Yuanye: “The car accident. My people found some clues. I suspect the person behind this accident is the same one who smeared me back then, but I’m not sure exactly who.”
Seeing this sentence, Zhou Chaosheng’s eyes darkened slightly. He had also arranged for people to investigate the car accident but many clues pointed to two years ago. Back then, he had stirred up too much activity in Hong Kong Island, which had led to resentment and revenge.
But thinking carefully, could such a meticulous accident be traced back to the mastermind so easily? The clues he had found were too targeted, as if someone was deliberately guiding things from behind the scenes.
Zhou Chaosheng: “Tell me your reasoning first.”
After sending this message, Zhou Chaosheng stood up and walked toward the restaurant’s exit. Just as he reached the door, Jiang Yuanye’s call came in.
“I’ll start with the car accident. There were two drivers involved. The truck driver died on the spot. The other car driver survived, so I had my people investigate from him. At first, they couldn’t find anything. Until four days ago, my people suddenly discovered he was driving to an abandoned factory in the suburbs. To avoid alerting anyone, they didn’t follow but waited at the intersection. Half an hour later, he left the factory and went home. Then he took a suitcase from the car…”
Zhou Chaosheng followed up: “The suitcase was full of money.”
Jiang Yuanye responded with a sound of agreement: “It should be. I didn’t have them search it, afraid of alerting the person behind it. Also, this driver has strong anti-surveillance ability. He almost discovered my people several times.”
Zhou Chaosheng asked: “Do you suspect anyone?”
Jiang Yuanye: “I can’t be sure, but this matter is probably related to Shengda Technology.”
Zhou Chaosheng’s eyes turned cold. Shengda Technology and Yuanhang were both old companies and long-time rivals.
“This matter, don’t get involved. I’ll handle it.” Zhou Chaosheng knew Liu Chaotian’s nature well, and worried that if Jiang Yuanye was targeted by the other side, he’d inevitably be harmed in secret.
Jiang Yuanye: “Worried about me?”
Zhou Chaosheng: “Mm.”
Jiang Yuanye laughed a little: “I’m fine. My company is not as fragile as a few years ago.”
Zhou Chaosheng: “I know. I’m just worried about you, the person.”
Jiang Yuanye was silent for about two or three seconds: “But I worry about you too.”
A light breeze passed over the street. In a certain moment, Zhou Chaosheng suddenly realized that emotions were a strange thing. They could make two people who disliked each other come to appreciate each other, and could also make someone timid and cautious, starting to worry the other might suffer some unknown harm where they couldn’t see.
Even knowing the other person could handle everything, he would still subconsciously worry there was a small part the other couldn’t handle. It was contradictory, yet also reasonable.
Zhou Chaosheng stood on the bustling street, watching the flowing traffic ahead, and couldn’t help but wonder could Jiang Yuanye be the same?
Possessing the same feelings as him, the same softness, and even more firmness and courage.
Thinking of this, Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t help but go deeper, and the more he thought, the more he realized he wanted too much.
Not only did he want the other’s unconditional love, he wanted the other to choose him without hesitation, not hesitating, not worrying.
“Hello?”
Zhou Chaosheng came back to his senses and said with a smile: “Got it.”
Jiang Yuanye: “Since you got it, then don’t say things like not letting me get involved again.”
“Okay, I promise you.” Zhou Chaosheng said.
Jiang Yuanye was satisfied and quickly changed the topic, asking in a seemingly casual tone: “You finished dinner with Miss Shen?”
When the other asked this, the bodyguard was opening the car door for him. Zhou Chaosheng paused mid-motion, gave the bodyguard a look, then walked to the tree by the roadside and replied with a smile: “Finished long ago.”
“Oh.”
“…That’s it?”
Zhou Chaosheng slightly raised his eyebrows. He thought the other would say something else. After all, in the version he had imagined, the other’s reaction shouldn’t be this calm. At least it should be more intense. Like strongly condemning him for having a boyfriend yet still meeting a blind date, or making some sarcastic comments about what he ate. Anyway, he should’ve at least shown some jealousy.
Jiang Yuanye paused and said: “That’s it. It’s just a meal. What’s the big deal.”
This time it was Zhou Chaosheng’s turn to be silent. Thinking it over, the other’s calm reaction was actually quite normal. After all, there really wasn’t anything to be jealous about. Besides, he had already told the other the reason for the meal. But people are strange, no matter how reasonable something is, they still hope someone will break the pattern and do something different.
Zhou Chaosheng didn’t even know how to describe this feeling. Maybe it was that, when it came to jealousy, Zhao Xiaohui liked someone who was understanding and considerate, but he preferred someone who would throw a tantrum.
Because through “throwing a tantrum,” he could truly feel the other person’s care and affection.
He thought maybe it was because this relationship had too much uncertainty, so he needed repeated confirmation from the other person. It wasn’t sensitivity, he just wanted Jiang Yuanye to care about him a little more.
After that, the two chatted a few more lines about the weather in Jinzhou and investment directions. When it was about time, they hung up and went on with their own tasks.
Zhou Chaosheng got in the car, took the tablet from Wiesen, propped one leg over the other, and began handling his complex work.
---
On the other side, Jiang Yuanye, who had hung up the phone, stared blankly at the documents and flower petals piled up on the desk.
In the end, he still chose to hide the matter of picking someone up from the airport tomorrow.
Before this, he was still conflicted, tossing a coin dozens of times between telling and not telling, plucking several roses. The probability of both options fluctuated around fifty percent, leaving him not knowing what to do.
But when he decided to tell Zhou Chaosheng about picking up Cheng Yuan from the airport tomorrow, a sense of unease always lingered in his heart, making those words stay on the tip of his tongue, unable to be spoken.
After several attempts to speak but stopping, Jiang Yuanye realized that deep down he was actually afraid. That kind of fear probably came from the fact that even if he had known in advance why Zhou Chaosheng was having dinner with that girl surnamed Shen, he would still feel unhappy and anxious. Plus, not long ago, Zhou Chaosheng had already expressed his concern and dissatisfaction about him liking Cheng Yuan. If he mentioned this, based on Zhou Chaosheng’s personality, it would inevitably lead to suspicion—suspecting whether something was going on between him and Cheng Yuan.
Just like that day.
After much hesitation, Jiang Yuanye chose not to let Zhou Chaosheng know about this.
There were three reasons: first, he didn’t want this matter to affect their relationship; second, he didn’t want Zhou Chaosheng to suspect that he still had feelings for Cheng Yuan; third, he didn’t want Zhou Chaosheng to feel the same displeasure and worry he had felt today.
So, better not to make unnecessary moves. After all, he was just picking someone up.
Jiang Yuanye came back to his senses, refocused on the eight files in front of him. These eight files contained detailed information about Shengda Technology and the Liu family behind it. His main focus was on Shengda’s current head Liu Chaotian, the retired Liu Shaowei, and several blood-related children.
After carefully reading the materials, Jiang Yuanye began organizing them. Possibly because the assistant hadn’t clipped them securely, one piece of paper suddenly fell from the document folder and floated lightly to the floor.
Jiang Yuanye bent down to pick it up. As he picked it up between his fingers, the paper fluttered a few times in the air. Just as he was about to put it back into the folder, his gaze swept over the photo printed in color on the upper right corner of the page.
In Jiang Yuanye’s view, it was a flawlessly elite-looking face, and from an aesthetic perspective, this person was the most outstanding among the generally average-looking Liu family.
Jiang Yuanye still had some impression of this person—the illegitimate child that the Liu family acknowledged five years ago. The news had widely circulated in the upper circle. Not long after, the person was sent abroad by Liu Qiangdong to study. It was said that he earned dual degrees in under two years, and within one year, he founded a now-thriving internet company, and was hailed domestically as one of the top ten outstanding young entrepreneurs of the year.
Recently, the person had just returned to the country.
And the return happened to coincide with the time after Zhou Chaosheng’s car accident. Whether it was a coincidence or not was unclear.
Jiang Yuanye looked at the person’s résumé for a few seconds, then stuffed it back into the folder.
It should be a coincidence.
After all, this person had no connection with Zhou Chaosheng at all.
---
In Kyoto, at a certain estate halfway up the mountain.
Inside the grand hall, glasses clinked and laughter filled the air. The luxurious decor and dazzling lights rendered the entire banquet in an atmosphere of debauchery unique to high society.
Zhou Chaosheng was already used to such scenes, handling each elder and industry figure who came up to greet him with ease.
"President Zhou, Liu Shaowei is here."
Wiesen, who stood beside him, leaned in and reminded him in a low voice.
Zhou Chaosheng looked up, his gaze casually sweeping across the crowd and landing on the middle-aged man in a wheelchair not far away—Liu Shaowei.
This banquet was specially held by Liu Shaowei for his daughter who had just turned nineteen. To put it nicely, it was out of deep paternal affection; to put it bluntly, it was selling his daughter for honor. She wasn’t even of legal marriage age yet, and he already couldn’t wait to find a stable business partner for his own company.
Liu Shaodong was pushed in front of Zhou Chaosheng by a bodyguard.
"Isn’t this Xiao Zhou." Liu Shaowei seemed very surprised to see him. "I just heard from Chaotian upstairs that you were here. I didn’t believe it at first, but now that I came down and saw, it really is you."
That wasn’t surprising, after all, Zhou Chaosheng rarely attended such banquets, let alone one hosted by Shengda, a rival of Yuanhang.
Zhou Chaosheng maintained the surface politeness and said warmly, "I’ve long heard of your daughter’s talent and beauty. I came uninvited today, hoping to make her acquaintance."
Hearing this, Liu Shaowei burst out laughing, a look of pride and smugness unconsciously appearing on his face, as if the person Zhou Chaosheng wanted to meet was him.
"So that’s how it is... To be honest, if I had known earlier that Xiao Zhou had this thought, I wouldn’t have needed to hold any banquet. I could’ve just introduced the two of you directly..."
After speaking, Liu Shaowei turned and scolded the bodyguard behind him,
"What are you standing there for? Hurry and call Xiaoxiao over."
Zhou Chaosheng kept his polite smile, but secretly cursed the old fox.
Two minutes later, a girl in a white dress lifted her skirt hem and trotted through the crowd toward them.
Zhou Chaosheng looked up and saw the girl with a bright and surprised smile on her face, stepping in high heels running lightly to stop in front of him.
The girl took a small breath, then suddenly looked up. Her big eyes were filled with admiration and affection for him, then she said excitedly,
"Brother Zhou... h-hi! I’m Liu Xiaoxiao. You can call me Xiaoxiao."
Zhou Chaosheng wasn’t surprised that she knew him. He nodded and politely replied,
"Hello, Xiaoxiao."
Liu Shaowei seemed very satisfied. He smiled and said to Zhou Chaosheng,
"Xiao Zhou, you might not know how much my daughter likes you..."
"Dad! Stop talking..." Liu Xiaoxiao turned her head and interrupted Liu Shaowei with a hint of coquettishness.
Liu Shaowei was not angry but laughed instead, seeming like a very doting father, his tone indulgent:
"Alright, alright, I won’t say more. You two talk, you two talk..."
After Liu Shaowei left, the girl appeared even more nervous and shy in front of him, lowering her head and not daring to look into his eyes. She asked softly,
"Brother Zhou... can I add you on WeChat?"
Zhou Chaosheng was just about to say yes, but for some reason felt a bit of discomfort. Following that discomfort, he looked around. When his gaze swept over a corner, it suddenly stopped.
Leaning against the corner wall stood a young man holding a wine glass. He was wearing a tailored gray suit. Upon noticing his gaze, the man didn’t dodge. The long, deep-set eyes behind his thin glasses met his eyes directly.
Across the crowd, the man seemed to curve his lips slightly at him.
After clearly seeing the person, Zhou Chaosheng frowned slightly.
Many scenes from the time he had amnesia and stayed in the hospital suddenly flashed in his mind. In every one of those scenes, the other party appeared—his smile, his care, his attentiveness...
That meticulous companionship and care, placed on the now fully recovered Zhou Chaosheng, had all turned into indescribable absurdity.
This person...
Had actually pretended to be his good friend during his amnesia.
Liu Xiaoxiao waited a while without hearing a reply. Just as she was about to speak again, she noticed Zhou Chaosheng had zoned out. She followed his gaze to the young man not far away, and an instinctive flash of disgust and a bit of fear passed through her eyes.
"Shameless thing..."
Zhou Chaosheng heard the muttering, turned his head, and happened to catch the emotion in Liu Xiaoxiao’s eyes.
"Xiaoxiao, who is that?"
A nineteen-year-old girl couldn’t hide anything. Hearing the question from her crush, she blurted out all of the Liu family's dirt without thinking:
"Him? My dad brought him back from outside five years ago. An illegitimate child... Brother Zhou, let me tell you, he’s really annoying. He’s always going against my brother, using all kinds of despicable and dirty tricks. My third brother had to be sent abroad because of him and still hasn’t been able to return..."
Liu Xiaoxiao’s third brother, Liu Fuqian. Zhou Chaosheng had heard gossip about him from Zhao Xiaohui. Reportedly, he had done drugs in the early days and someone died because of him. News of this suddenly leaked online, and after public opinion exploded and affected Shengda’s stock, Liu Shaodong spent a fortune to suppress the story and sent Liu Fuqian abroad to lay low. Only after the public completely forgot would he be quietly brought back.
Zhou Chaosheng lifted his eyes in thought. The other person was no longer looking over here, instead holding a wine glass and chatting with others.
When he had amnesia, why did that person deliberately pretend to be his friend to get close to him?
And before that, he didn’t know this person at all.
Originally he thought the man was just a stranger trying to cling to him while he had amnesia. But if this man also held the identity of the Liu family’s illegitimate child, then the matter became strange.
Because it didn’t make sense.
What benefit did he have in doing this?