Chapter 218 His Identity is Not Simple

Shang Wu was restless at home, worried about Lu You and also missing Cheng Zhou, who had left in a daze.

Just as she was hesitating whether to call Lu You again, her phone rang first.

The caller ID shows Cheng Zhou.

She answered immediately: "Cheng Zhou? Are you alright? Have you found Sister You? How is she?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Cheng Zhou's voice came through. It was no longer his usual sunny and cheerful voice, but rather a deep, hoarse tone with an unprecedented hint of suppressed calm.

"Yes, I found it."

Shang Wu's heart skipped a beat: "And then? How did your talks go?"

She could almost guess that the outcome might not be good.

Cheng Zhou seemed to give a bitter laugh on the other end of the phone, his voice filled with self-deprecation and a do-or-die determination: "Nothing much. She made it very clear to me that we are not on the same path. She insists on marrying someone of equal social standing and told me to forget that kiss and stop wasting time."

Although it was expected, Shang Wu still felt a pang of regret for him and Lu You when she heard it with her own ears.

"Cheng Zhou, don't be too sad. Sister You might... might have her own reasons..."

Cheng Zhou interrupted her, "Awu, I know she might have difficulties, but her reason for asking me is that we should be well-matched in terms of social status? If that's all she's insisting on, if that's the only way to get her to consider me..."

He paused, his voice suddenly becoming unusually firm, with an almost obsessive stubbornness: "Then I'll grant her wish. Doesn't she want a marriage between equals? Then I'll show her what true 'marriage between equals' really means! I want to see if, by then, she'll still use this ridiculous reason to push me away! I want to see if she'll still consider me!"

Shang Wu, holding her phone, was completely stunned.

The amount of information and the resolute attitude in Cheng Zhou's words completely exceeded her expectations.

This doesn't sound like something an ordinary chef or restaurant owner would say.

The confidence and determination hidden behind his words made her keenly aware that Cheng Zhou's identity was probably far more complex than she knew!

"Cheng Zhou, what do you mean by that?" Shang Wu asked tentatively, "You..."

"What I mean is, I won't give up." Cheng Zhou didn't directly answer her question. His tone returned to somewhat of its usual form, but it became even more profound. "Awu, thank you. I know what to do. I'll hang up now."

Before Shang Wu could ask any more questions, Cheng Zhou had already ended the call.

Shang Wu stood there, holding her throbbing phone, her heart churning with turmoil. Cheng Zhou's last few words echoed repeatedly in her mind.

"A true match between equals."

A bold guess formed in her mind.

She turned and hurried upstairs. In the study, Lu Rang was processing some legal documents.

"Lu Rang." Shang Wu pushed open the study door, her tone urgent.

Lu Rang looked up from his documents and saw her serious expression. He put down his pen and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Could you... could you find a way to investigate Cheng Zhou?" Shang Wu walked to his desk. "I mean, investigate his family background, his true origins."

Lu Rang raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Investigate him? Why suddenly investigate this? Because of my sister's matter?"

He thought Shang Wu was just worried about Cheng Zhou and Lu You's relationship.

“It’s not just because of Sister You.” Shang Wu shook her head and told Lu Rang the contents of her conversation with Cheng Zhou, especially Cheng Zhou’s words, “Then I’ll show her what true social standing is.”

“Don’t you find it strange?” Shang Wu analyzed. “These words of his don’t sound like something someone without connections would say. There must be something behind him that we don’t know about.”

As Lu Rang listened to Shang Wu's analysis, his expression gradually became serious. He had indeed always felt that Cheng Zhou was a bit too naive, seemingly without any worries. He had previously attributed this to his personality or his privileged background.

But now it seems that it may not be that simple.

"Okay, I'll have someone investigate right away." Lu Rang picked up his phone, dialed a number, and whispered a few instructions.

With Lu Rang's connections and methods, it wouldn't be difficult to investigate someone's background, especially since Cheng Zhou didn't seem to be deliberately hiding anything.

Within ten minutes, the other party sent over the investigation results.

Lu Rang looked at the information sent to his phone, a hint of surprise on his face.

"How did it go? What did you find?" Shang Wu asked nervously.

Lu Rang turned his phone screen towards Shang Wu, his tone somewhat incredulous: "See for yourself."

Shang Wu took the phone and quickly browsed the information on it.

The more she looked, the wider her eyes widened.

Cheng Zhou is the only son of Cheng Jianming, chairman of the Yecheng Cheng Group.

Cheng's Group is a well-known diversified large-scale enterprise in Yecheng, involved in real estate, hotels, retail and other fields. It is a powerful family. Although it cannot compare with the Yu family at its peak, it is definitely a well-known and powerful family.

According to reports, Cheng Zhou left home three years ago after a fierce conflict with his family. The reason seems to be that he was unwilling to take over the group as arranged by his family and was obsessed with cooking.

The Cheng family once cut off his source of income, but he relied on his experience and prize money accumulated from working in restaurants and competing abroad to start from scratch after returning to China and gradually opened the highly-rated day and night restaurant he is today, and he has never revealed his true family background to the outside world.

After reading it, Shang Wu gasped.

"Cheng Zhou is actually the heir of the Cheng Group! He's kept it a secret for so long!"

After the initial shock, a feeling of genuine admiration arose spontaneously.

"So it's not that he can't get close to Sister You, it's that he simply disdains using that status."

Shang Wu exclaimed with admiration, her eyes sparkling, "He gave up his vast fortune to make a living with his own skills and ran the restaurant so well! Cheng Zhou is so courageous and capable! I admire him a little."

She was genuinely proud of her friend, and her tone was full of admiration.

However, Lu Rang interpreted these heartfelt compliments as something completely different.

Does he have backbone? Is he capable? And I admire him?

Seeing Shang Wu's undisguised admiration and even a hint of worship, Lu Rang stood up and pulled her into his arms.

Shang Wu was startled and before she could react, Lu Rang pressed her against the bookshelf behind her.

Lu Rang braced his arms on either side of her body, trapping her firmly, his deep eyes narrowing dangerously.

He lowered his head and approached her, his voice low and deep, tinged with bitterness and dissatisfaction:

"Have backbone? Have you got the ability? Praising another man like that in front of me, have you forgotten who your fiancé is?"

As he spoke, he lowered his head and kissed her lips without a word, thus erasing all the praise she had given him about another man and re-imprinting his own mark upon her.

Shang Wu was momentarily stunned by his sudden jealousy and kiss, but then she understood.

She obediently closed her eyes, responding to his kiss, and gently wrapped her arms around his neck.

When the kiss ended, both of them were a little out of breath.

Shang Wu, panting, couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at Lu Rang's still somewhat displeased expression. She tapped his chest with her fingertip and said, "Attorney Lu, your jealousy is really unreasonable! I praised Cheng Zhou because he's a friend, and he really is great. Why are you jealous about that?"

"Of course I'm jealous." Lu Rang said matter-of-factly, then lowered his head and pecked her lips again, his tone domineering. "You can only praise me."

Shang Wu laughed so hard she fell into his arms, her heart melting into a puddle of water.

"Okay, okay, you're the best in the whole world, you're the greatest, alright?" she coaxed him with a smile, and offered him a sweet kiss.

The atmosphere in the study instantly became ambiguous and warm.

Shang Wu's body went limp from Lu Rang's kisses, and she could only plead softly, "Okay, okay, I was wrong. I'll only praise you from now on."

Hearing a satisfactory answer, Lu Rang loosened his grip on her slightly, but still held her in his arms, his tone still carrying a hint of lingering jealousy: "That's more like it."

After a brief moment of tenderness, Lu Rang returned to the main topic, his tone becoming more rational: "However, if Cheng Zhou's identity is true, this might not necessarily be a bad thing for you, sister."

“What my father values ​​most is family background and business value. If Cheng Zhou is willing to return to the Cheng family, given the strength of the Cheng Group, my father should have no reason to oppose them being together.”

Upon hearing this, Shang Wu frowned slightly and lifted her head from his embrace.

“If Cheng Zhou goes back to inherit the family business, can he still happily make his desserts and run his favorite restaurant like he does now? He ran away in the first place because he didn’t want to be tied down. Is it really okay to make him give up his beloved career for Sister You’s sake? It’s not fair to him.”

Lu Rang fell silent.

He understood what Shang Wu meant.

The heir to a business empire and a pastry chef pursuing his dreams – these are two completely different life trajectories.

Given Cheng Zhou's personality, the former might bring him a sense of "worthiness" in a worldly sense, but it might not bring him true happiness.

“It is indeed a dilemma.” Lu Rang sighed. “But this may be the only way to break the deadlock at present. Ultimately, the choice depends on Cheng Zhou himself and whether he thinks my sister is worth such a sacrifice.”

Shang Wu also fell into deep thought, her beautiful brows furrowed, worrying about the troubled couple.

Is there a way to have the best of both worlds?

Just then, Shang Wu's phone rang again, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the study.

The caller ID showed Mark.

Shang Wu and Lu Rang exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled.

Why would Mark call at this time?

Shang Wu answered the phone, but before she could even speak, Mark's anxious voice came through, even carrying a hint of panic.

"Shangwu! Something terrible has happened! You need to check the news! It's all over social media!"

Shang Wu's heart sank: "What happened? Mark, tell me slowly."

"It's hard to say! You'll see when you look! It's about that part of your interview! Someone accused you of plagiarism! The internet is in an uproar!" Mark spoke very quickly. "I'll go deal with it first, you take a look right away!"

The call was abruptly ended.

Plagiarism? What plagiarism?

Shang Wu quickly picked up his tablet and opened news and social media platforms.

There's no need to search specifically; several glaring topics are already prominently displayed on the trending topics list.

#Shangwu Interview Plagiarism#

#Shangwu VS Chen Runsen's remarks are highly similar#

#Where is the bottom line for designers' borrowing ideas?#

When Shang Wu clicked on it, her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

It turns out that in yesterday's interview, she mentioned the design concept of "the next jewelry collection will be related to lovers and tell love stories" and some of her interpretations of emotions.

These remarks were dug up by some "enthusiastic" netizens and found to be highly similar to comments made by Chen Runsen, an emerging menswear designer from abroad, in a recent interview.