Chapter 16 Fifth Brother, what happened to your neck?

Shen Jingni and Chu You returned to Beijing the next day.

They traveled on Zhao Zonglan's private jet.

Upon returning to Beijing, she immediately immersed herself in her busy work.

She'll probably be quite busy lately, as Shen Jingni often stays at the shop. The Shen family's old house is far away, so she's thinking of finding a place nearby.

Actually, this is not a difficult thing. Xu Ningwan owns quite a few properties and shops in this area.

But her mother would definitely not allow her to live outside.

"Sigh~" She sighed, leaning on her desk, then turned to Chu You and said, "When you have some free time these next few days, take a look around and see if there are any suitable apartments nearby."

Chu You nodded, "Okay, boss."

The two had just finished speaking when they faintly heard Qin Muhuan's voice.

She was told by Shen Jingni last time that she had no taste, so this time she changed her style and went for an elegant socialite look.

Today I wore a pink Chanel-style dress with a short wool coat, showing half of my legs, and came in wearing high heels.

Qin Muhuan also brought someone with her.

"Why are you here again?" Shen Jingni was speechless. "You must have a lot of free time on your hands."

"I came to see you." Qin Muhuan said with a smug look on her face, arms crossed. "You didn't get the Song Jin, and the Night Pearl was bought by Mr. Zhao's people. I reckon you won't last more than a few days here."

She sidled closer, lowering her voice: "I heard your dad cut off your cash flow too? Tsk tsk, how pitiful."

"But don't worry, although we have some past grievances, I, Qin Muhuan, am not the kind of heartless person. When you can't hold on any longer, I will buy all your shops and leave you some pocket money."

“Look,” she pointed to the people behind her, “I even brought an interior designer with me, so I can figure out in advance how to fix your tasteless decor.”

Shen Jingni really wanted to crack open Qin Muhuan's skull to see what was inside.

Blind arrogance, with no brains at all.

She leaned against the desk, relaxed and carefree, and slowly raised her eyes.

"Who said the luminous pearl was bought by Zhao Zonglan's people?"

As she spoke, Shen Jingni gestured to Chu You with her chin, indicating that she should take out the luminous pearl.

Chu You, holding the velvet box, stood happily in front of Qin Muhuan and carefully opened the lid. "Miss Qin, please take a look."

Qin Muhuan was dumbfounded.

impossible.

It's true that Mr. Zhao's assistant bought this luminous pearl.

She saw it with her own eyes; it can't be fake.

unless……

Qin Muhuan suddenly looked at Shen Jingni with a serious expression, as if she had just realized something. "You must have spent a lot of money to buy it back from Mr. Zhao, right?"

"Sixty million? One hundred million?"

She sighed softly, "Shen Jingni, you don't have much money to begin with, why do you have to pretend to be rich when you're not?"

However, this only fueled Qin Muhuan's fighting spirit even more.

The battle with Shen Jingni.

She felt that Shen Jingni was going all out to compete with her.

Miss Qin felt valued.

Shen Jingni looked at her as if she were an idiot: "Do you think Zhao Zonglan is short of that 100 million?"

Such a bizarre thought process, beyond saving.

Qin Muhuan's expression wasn't good, but she wouldn't admit defeat and stubbornly retorted, "Then you must have used some shady methods."

Shen Jingni shook her head.

She didn't use any special method.

This was a gift from Zhao Zonglan.

However, she didn't intend to tell Qin Muhuan; there was no need. Let her figure it out herself.

"Miss Qin, if you have nothing else to do, please go back quickly."

"Miss Feng and her fiancé will be here to sign the contract later, so it's not convenient for you to be here."

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit.

Qin Muhuan gritted her teeth in anger, and didn't forget to say something harsh: "So what if you got the luminous pearl? You're destined to lose money on Song Jin's order. Don't be too happy."

Finally, he gave a haughty snort.

Seeing her humiliated and leave in a dejected manner, Shen Jingni felt inexplicably happy.

She used to disdain fighting with Qin Muhuan, thinking it was pointless and meaningless.

But winning felt really good, really satisfying.

However, Song brocade should indeed be retrieved as soon as possible.

Her eyes darted around a couple of times, then she took out her phone and sent a message to Zhao Zonglan.

-

Rong Heng, the heir of the Rong family, has recovered and is finally able to go out and move around.

These past few days of staying at home have been really stifling.

Rong Heng had previously canceled their appointment due to illness, and since his friends were a few years older than him, he sent out invitations today to invite them to dinner and apologize.

There weren't many people invited, just Song Yanting and a few others.

Almost half of the hotels in the capital belong to the Rong family, with Wangjinglou being the largest and most famous. Now that Wangjinglou is closed for renovations, Rong Heng has chosen Wuqizhuang in northern Beijing.

Unlike the luxurious and grand Wangjinglou, Wuqizhuang is located in the suburbs, with a quiet and secluded environment and excellent privacy.

Sycamore trees can be seen everywhere in the manor, but it is winter now, the leaves are withered and yellow, and the falling leaves are rustling.

The waiters, dressed in warm uniforms, entered the private rooms with practiced ease, serving tea and warm drinks to the distinguished guests...

Zhao Zonglan was the last to arrive.

The waiter at the door nodded to him, respectfully called out "Mr. Zhao," and handed him a warm towel to wipe his hands.

When Rong Heng saw Zhao Zonglan, he immediately got up to greet him.

He was six years younger than Zhao Zonglan and called him "Fifth Brother".

The two families are old friends and visit each other frequently, so it was all very casual.

Xie Chengsui leaned back lazily in his chair, propped his chin up with one hand, yawned, and looked up at Zhao Zonglan who had just entered.

Although he seems unreliable, he has a keen eye for detail.

With just one glance, Xie Chengsui noticed the ambiguous marks on Zhao Zonglan's neck.

The red mark was right next to his Adam's apple. Although the color had faded, it was still easy to tell that it was a hickey.

His eyebrows twitched, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After Zhao Zonglan took his seat in the main seat, the waiters began to serve dishes and pour wine.

Song Yanting naturally saw it too, but he chose not to ask or say anything, because it was Zhao Zonglan's private matter, and asking might displease him.

Besides, someone might bring it up.

That would naturally be Crown Prince Rong.

Fifth Brother, what happened to your neck?

Fearing that Zhao Zonglan might not understand, he even pointed to the corresponding spot on his neck.

Zhao Zonglan glanced at him sideways, casually stroking his wine glass, and said in a nonchalant tone, "Biten by a cat."

cat?

Both Xie Chengsui and Song Yanting could guess who it was.

However, this description doesn't really fit with a tyrannical ruler like Zhao Zonglan who was so cold-blooded.

Pian Rongheng was rather clueless in this regard, and he pressed on, "Fifth Brother, when did you get a cat? How could the cat have bitten that spot?"

You might say he's stupid, but he also has analytical and judgmental abilities; you might say he's smart, but that doesn't quite apply to him.

"I just raised it two days ago."

Zhao Zonglan sipped his wine slowly, unusually patient in answering his question.

That proves he's in a good mood.

Xie Chengsui then spoke up: "When will we have the chance to see your little cat?"

Although he knew who the person was, he didn't dare to go and meet him rashly.

Zhao Zonglan lifted his eyelids to look at him, his expression indifferent. "We'll talk about it later."

That means it's not allowed.

Song Yanting had known it would turn out this way.

He took a sip of tea and said in a gentle voice, "Christmas is just around the corner, and my hot spring resort has just been renovated. Would you all do me the honor of coming over for a few days?"

Song Yanting owned a large hot spring resort in Yangzhou.

It's private and not open to the public.

Xie Chengsui: "I think it's a good idea, let's go there for Christmas." Then, he asked with a smile, "Can we bring a female companion?"

Song Yanting smiled and said, "Of course."

He then looked at the person sitting in the main seat.

But Zhao Zonglan was looking at his phone, and his originally cold and stern eyes had softened a bit.

That's quite unusual.

Few people knew his private number; not even the younger generation of the Zhao family knew it. They almost all contacted him through Chang An.

It's clear that the person who sent the message was "Little Cat".

Zhao Zonglan was indeed looking at Shen Jingni's information.

Thank you so much, Mr. Zhao, for the luminous pearl. You're too kind. If you can help me get the Song brocade back as soon as possible, you'll be the best person in the world.

It also included a kissing emoji.

Ha, sweet talk.