She suppressed her disgust and replied calmly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Qi, I have no connection with the Zhou family for a long time and I am not very clear about their business situation."

Qi Yan seemed oblivious to her aloofness and continued speaking to herself, "That's true, the Zhou family later... sigh, life is truly unpredictable. I heard that Zhou Yanci had an uncle who went overseas in his early years? I wonder what happened to him in the end. And his mother's side, it seems that some of her relatives are still doing business."

He spoke as if it were casual conversation, but every question he asked precisely revolved around the Zhou family's connections and whereabouts.

Shang Wu's vigilance has been raised to the highest level.

She was absolutely certain that Qi Yan had not come here simply to design jewelry.

His target was the Zhou family, or rather, something related to the Zhou family.

She suppressed the urge to immediately see him out, and her tone became even colder and more official: "Mr. Qi, these are other people's private matters, which I am not aware of and it is inappropriate for me to discuss. Let's focus on your brooch design, shall we? If you are more interested in these private matters, I'm afraid I cannot offer any assistance."

Shang Wu's attitude hardened, directly interrupting Qi Yan's probing.

Qi Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly unsurprised by Shang Wu's wariness and resistance.

He knew when to stop, and put on an apologetic smile again: "I'm sorry, I was too abrupt. I've been too sentimental lately and tend to reminisce about the past and bring up old people and things. Designer Shang, please don't mind. Let's continue talking about design."

As expected, Qi Yan stopped mentioning anything related to the Zhou family and focused entirely on the discussion of the brooch design.

But Shang Wu's heart was no longer at peace.

After finally seeing Qi Yan off, she stood by the window, watching the black luxury car drive away downstairs, her brows furrowed.

Aying came in to clear away the coffee cups. Seeing Shang Wu's serious expression, she asked worriedly, "President Shang, are you alright? That Mr. Qi from earlier... seemed a bit strange?"

Shang Wu turned around, her face serious: "You felt it too?"

Aying nodded: "He seems to be... always asking about the Zhou family? I think he's pretending to be casual, but he's asking too many detailed questions."

Bringing up this topic on its own is rather odd.

Shang Wu walked to her desk and sat down, her fingers tapping the surface unconsciously as her mind raced: "That's right, he wasn't after my design at all, or at least not entirely. He was after the Zhou family, but the Zhou family has long since collapsed. What is he still inquiring about? Could it be that there's something about the Zhou family that he's keeping an eye on?"

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

A person of Qi Yan's stature would never waste his time by searching aimlessly.

Why did he go through such a roundabout way to inquire about the Zhou family through her?

“Aying,” Shang Wu said in a deep voice, “keep an eye out for any suspicious people near the studio these next few days. Also, try to quietly investigate the Zhou family’s past news and old files to see if you can find any clues.”

“Yes, Mr. Shang.” Aying realized that things were not simple and immediately agreed solemnly.

The atmosphere in the studio became somewhat heavy.

Looking at the exquisite brooch design on the table, Shang Wu felt as if it had become bait, with an unknown vortex hidden behind it.

Downstairs, inside the departing black sedan.

Qi Yan leaned back in the comfortable back seat, gently rubbing his temples.

The assistant in the front row asked in a low voice, "Boss, how did it go? Did you get any useful information out of her?"

Qi Yan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and calm, a far cry from the gentle demeanor he had displayed in the studio just moments before.

"Shang Wu is much more vigilant and intelligent than I imagined. She avoids the Zhou family's affairs like the plague and keeps her mouth shut."

The assistant asked anxiously, "What should we do? The Zhou family's underground wine cellar..."

"What's the rush?" Qi Yan interrupted him, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

"The fox's tail will always be revealed. The Zhou family fell too quickly, and many secrets were not dealt with in time. The person most likely to know the location and key of that underground wine cellar is Zhou Yanci's closest person. Shang Wu must know something, or the thing is in her hands. I can't let her realize that I came here for this."

He paused, recalling Lu Rang's wary and scrutinizing gaze earlier, and added, "Moreover, her fiancé, Lu Rang, is a formidable character. He seems to have become suspicious. Notify our people to keep a close eye on Shang Wu and also keep an eye on Lu Rang's movements. But be extra careful; we absolutely cannot alert him."

"Yes, boss."

Qi Yan turned his head back to look at the street scene rushing past the window, his gaze deep.

He had been searching for that underground wine cellar filled with priceless vintage wines for far too long, and now that the clues had finally pointed to Shang Wu, he would never give up easily.