Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Fang Shimian also saw Zhu Ze, he looked at...

Fang Shimian also saw Zhu Ze. He looked at Zhu Ze walking towards him, suppressing the uncontrollable moisture in his eyes and trying to make his voice louder, "I'm sorry, I..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Huo, my brother is timid. He might come out to look for me when he wakes up and sees that there is no one around." Zhu Ze didn't seem to be affected at all, his face was normal, and although his voice sounded a little helpless, his expression was one of indulgence and doting.

Zhu Ze holds an extraordinary position within the Hengshi Group. He has been following Huo Zhongshan since he took over the group's affairs. It is also said that he grew up with President Huo, and can be described as a 'close minister to the emperor'. Most of the stubborn and conservative older generation in the group have now been purged out by Huo Zhongshan with an iron-blooded approach, and with the malpractices eradicated, Hengshi has become increasingly powerful, and has grown rapidly in recent years to its current size.

It wasn't a big deal for Zhu Ze to bring his relatives to the company, but the word "brother" was a bit intriguing. Zhu Ze's cousin He Yaocai was kicked out by Mr. Huo because he angered him, and now he has brought a well-behaved and beautiful brother without stopping...

A few smart people began to carefully observe Mr. Huo's attitude on the other side.

Some of the older leaders were seeing this side of Zhu Ze for the first time, but they didn't doubt him at all and even praised him casually for a commercial purpose.

Huo Zhongshan, who was surrounded by the crowd, did not show any change in expression. He calmly withdrew his gaze from Fang Shimian, handed the things in his hand to another assistant, and left with a few people.

As soon as Huo Zhongshan left, the people who had stopped just now dispersed in twos and threes.

The corridor was well-lit and the room was also well-lit, which was too bright for Fang Shimian, exposing his weakness and shame.

"I'm sorry, Brother Zhu, I've caused you trouble again." Fang Shimian felt very sorry, his eyes were a little moist, and he raised his hand to wipe them.

Zhu Ze didn't care much. He took Fang Shimian to the middle of the corridor to press the elevator button and joked, "Compared to these little things, it makes me more sad that you call me President Zhu."

Fang Shimian nodded, his attitude very sincere, "I won't do that again in the future."

Zhu Ze's expression was complicated for a moment. He smiled, "You are still the same as when you were a kid." Then he felt something was wrong. He remembered that Fang Shimian probably didn't want to talk about his childhood again, so he asked again, "Did you want to come up to me just now?"

Fang Shimian answered truthfully, "I wanted to go to the bathroom, but I didn't see anyone."

Zhu Ze understood and brought Fang Shimian back to his office. A female assistant was standing inside, holding a folded blanket, looking at a loss. She was relieved when she saw the two men coming back.

She went to make some tea and when she came back she didn't see anyone there. She was scared to death.

Zhu Ze took Fang Shimian into the lounge in his office, which was like a large suite in a hotel and was fully equipped with all daily necessities. Fang Shimian knew that this was Zhu Ze's private space, so he went straight to the bathroom without looking around.

Zhu Ze saw Fang Shimian go in, then he came out and looked at the assistant. His voice was not as gentle as usual but not harsh either, "Next time just take him to sleep inside."

He was notified of a meeting as soon as he returned to the company, so he asked his assistant to arrange for Fang Shimian to sleep. Unexpectedly, the assistant took him to sleep on the sofa. He also knew that he did not explain clearly and could not blame the assistant, but he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Okay, Mr. Zhu." The assistant had never encountered such a situation before and was very nervous. Fortunately, Zhu Ze didn't say much and let her leave.

Fang Shimian came out of the lounge and saw Zhu Ze sitting at his desk talking on the phone. It was already dark. Fang Shimian took out his cell phone and saw several missed calls.

When I opened WeChat, Xu Long’s message was pinned to the top, with twelve red message prompts.

Before Fang Shimian could reply one by one, Xu Long called him on WeChat. Fang Shimian didn't dare to walk out randomly anymore, so he walked to the place in the office that was farthest from Zhu Ze in a straight line, trying not to make any noise, and answered Xu Long's call.

"Your phone is not on!" Xu Long's voice came, "Are you coming back today? Let me tell you first, if you dare to say you won't come back, you'll be in trouble."

Fang Shi Mian laughed lightly and took the opportunity to ask, "If you want to come back, can we go eat rice noodles tonight?"

Xu Long snorted heavily and said impatiently, "I'm about to vomit from eating that rice noodle. Change it."

"Okay, I'll go by myself then."

Xu Long cursed, "Ah, eat, eat, eat! You are such an annoying kid."

Fang Shimian unconsciously put on a smile on his face. Just as he was about to continue talking, he felt someone approaching from behind. He turned around and met Zhu Ze's gentle gaze.

It's not quite accurate to say that he was gentle. For a moment, Fang Shimian returned to his childhood which was always filled with pain. When he was most helpless and regarded Zhu Ze's arms as his life-saving straw, Zhu Ze had the same expression, gentle and compassionate, but with many complexities that he could not understand.

Fang Shimian hung up the phone and forced himself to pull himself away from those confusing memories.

Zhu Ze reached out and rubbed Fang Shimian's head, looking a little lonely, "Does Xiaomian have a date tonight?"

Fang Shimian nodded awkwardly, looking very embarrassed, "I'm sorry to bother you this time, Brother Zhu, I'll treat you to a meal next time I have a chance."

"Really?" Zhu Ze looked a little surprised. He took out his phone and tapped it twice before handing it to Fang Shimian. "Give me the contact information you're using now. The previous number has been in use for the past few months."

Fang Shimian entered the number and returned the phone to Zhu Ze. He took two steps to pick up the medicine on the sofa. Just as he was about to organize his words to say goodbye to Zhu Ze, he saw him staring at him expressionlessly.

The heating in the room was sufficient, much warmer than the air-conditioning in the monitoring room, but at that moment, Fang Shimian could actually feel a chill that made his scalp tingle. Even though he was slow to react, he could sense that something was wrong.

"Brother Zhu," Fang Shimian didn't know when he began to fear Zhu Ze. He asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

The air was almost still for a moment, and Fang Shimian even paused for a few seconds to breathe.

Zhu Ze picked up the phone screen and waved it in front of Fang Shimian. He chuckled helplessly again, speaking slowly, "Why can't I dial the number that Xiaomian gave me?"

Fang Shimian almost immediately took out his cell phone from his coat pocket. There was an unfamiliar missed call on it. He quickly handed the phone to Zhu Ze and explained, "I'm sorry, Brother Zhu, my phone was on silent just now. I didn't... I didn't give you the wrong number."

The tense feeling disappeared instantly, as if the sense of imminent crisis just now was just an illusion.

Zhu Ze smiled, "I see. How could Xiao Mian lie to his brother? Is the phone number WeChat? Forget it, just scan mine. It's more convenient this way."

Fang Shimian added Zhu Ze's WeChat, but Zhu Ze put his phone in his pocket and did not accept the call directly. He looked at Fang Shimian, as if to confirm, "Can't I go to dinner with my brother today?"

Fang Shimian shook his head, his smile a little forced, "Maybe next time, Brother Zhu, I've already made an appointment, I can't break it at the last minute."

"Really? All right."

Zhu Ze seemed to accept it very calmly, and then he took Fang Shimian out of the office and took the elevator to the basement floor.

During this time, Fang Shimian said seriously that he could take a taxi or take the subway or bus home, but Zhu Ze had no intention of responding to his question.

After getting in the car, Zhu Ze asked Fang Shimian for the address. Fang Shimian said Yunjin No. 1, the community where he worked, but did not mention where he rented a house. Zhu Ze was not surprised and seemed to have no intention of asking in detail, which made Fang Shimian feel relieved.

The journey was not far, but halfway through, Zhu Ze suddenly asked, "Whose date are you meeting tonight, Xiao Mian?"

Fang Shimian smiled and just said that they were colleagues.

Zhu Ze never spoke again after that.

The car stopped at the main entrance of the community. After Fang Shimian thanked the driver, he pushed the door open for him without waiting for him to get out.

Not until the silver-white vehicle, whose name Fang Shimian couldn't tell, completely drove out of his sight did he slowly relax and feel the solid ground beneath his feet.

Fang Shimian did not enter the community, but found a flower bed to sit down. He silently looked at the main entrance of the community, which was exquisitely and luxuriously decorated. The light-colored marble was combined with translucent sandstone, and the carvings on the Roman columns on both sides were gold-plated, which looked particularly luxurious and solemn.

This community can actually be considered an old one. It was built twenty or thirty years ago and is located in the most prosperous prime location in Haicheng. It was very prosperous at that time and was a symbol of wealth at that time. Even now, the prices here are still sky-high, or even impossible to buy.

Fang Shimian suddenly thought of the ostentatious face in the surveillance video. No wonder he felt it looked familiar at first sight. It was actually He Yao.

The wind was a bit strong, blowing down a few leaves. Fang Shimian stuffed the medicine in his hand into his pocket, wrapped his coat tighter, opened his phone to check the time, and sent a message to Xu Long.

Not long after, there was movement at the gate. Xu Long, holding a thick cotton-padded coat, walked out with a sour look on his face and a cigarette in his mouth. When he passed by the security guard, he stopped to chat a little, handed out two cigarettes, and walked out swaggeringly.

Xu Long stopped less than ten meters away from Fang Shimian and pretended very arrogantly that he didn't see Fang Shimian.

When Fang Shimian walked over slowly, Xu Long stopped pretending and wrapped the cotton coat in his hand around Fang Shimian, "You have a cold and a fever but you didn't say anything. You are frozen into a popsicle but you are still walking around slowly. I think you deserve a beating!"

Fang Shimian smirked and was slapped on the back fiercely by Xu Long, "I think you did it on purpose."

"Brother Long, there is still half an hour left, you should leave early." Fang Shimian felt warmer, and his face became more rosy. His round eyes looked at him brightly, beautiful and lively under the soft moonlight.

Xu Long was stunned, then came to his senses in an instant, snorted uncomfortably, "I'm just worried that you'll be frozen to death." He paused again, raised his eyebrows and looked at him fiercely, "What qualifications do you have to say that I left early? You disappeared for a day, and the order was busy today. I'm the only one in the monitoring room, and I'm bored to death."

The rice noodle shop that Fang Shimian loved was not far away. It was located in a shop on the outskirts of the community, not far from the main entrance, and it only took a few steps to get there.

There weren't many people in the restaurant, so they found a seat and sat down. Perhaps the previous table of guests had just left, so the waiter only collected the dishes and chopsticks, and the oil stains on the table had not been cleaned up yet.

"Have Brother Ma and the others arrived early to take over?" Fang Shimian sat down and scanned the code to order food, while Xu Long took a tissue to wipe the table.

"No, I asked the order supervisor to do it for me." Xu Long threw the paper into the trash can under the table, went to the front and got a big bowl, and poured a full bowl of hot tea, "Give me a small portion."

"Did you hear that, little devil?" Xu Long yelled.

Fang Shimian was hesitating whether to add a fried egg, but when he heard Xu Long's request, he went back to change it and placed the order without the fried egg.

Before the rice noodles were served, Fang Shimian first saw that the WeChat request was approved, and then a strange phone call came in. He knew who it was without thinking.

I forgot to give Zhu Ze a note.

Fang Shimian hesitated for a moment, but still answered the phone.

Zhu Ze asked Fang Shimian when he would rest, and Fang Shimian honestly answered Saturday. After hearing this, Zhu Ze asked Fang Shimian to keep that day free for him.

Fang Shimian wanted to find a reason to refuse, but Zhu Ze was very keen to detect the ambiguity in Fang Shimian's words, so he asked: "Didn't you agree to treat my brother to a meal, Xiao Mian?"

The voice was very soft and there was no threat in it, but Fang Shimian couldn't help but think of the way Zhu Ze stared at him in the afternoon.

Even though he was not being locked in that gaze, Fang Shimian still felt terrified.

"Xiao Mian?"