hhh

Extricate yourself from this engagement, extricate yourself from this circle.

"No open relationship, fine. Who's the one who's unqualified and without a title? Instead of arguing with me, why don't you think about why Du Junzhang gave his son to me? Du Junzhang is a member of the Ministry of Environment, and with Yu Long's cleaning skills, he can naturally rise to a higher position. But your father is the Speaker of the Ministry of Construction, can't he help Du Junzhang?"

This is also what Yu Zou can't understand. Although the interests of both parties in this marriage are obvious, neither is the best choice. If Du Junzhang wants to climb the social ladder, Chi Hengxun in the political arena is clearly a better choice than Yu Long in the business world.

However, Yu Zou overestimated Chi Hengxun. Not a second after he finished speaking, he was punched hard.

Chi Hengxun was displeased by these words. Before he could figure out what was wrong with him, he had already thrown a punch.

Yu Zou hadn't expected him to suddenly erupt. Blood was drawn from the corner of his mouth. His pheromones, like fragrant thugs breaking free of their seal, roared out along with the blood, attacking everyone present.

Chi Hengxun's pupils contracted sharply upon smelling the pheromones, and his muscles tensed to the point of trembling slightly. The cufflinks on his once-perfectly tailored cuffs snapped off with a loud crack, hitting the wall with a crisp sound. His pheromones also dissipated into the room along with his rage.

Yu Zou covered his mouth with his right hand and hid towards the door. Just as he was considering whether to retaliate, a group of tall and burly bodyguards rushed in, forming a human wall that separated the two of them.

Li Kuo, his face dark, pulled Yu Zou into another room. If he hadn't happened to be in the monitoring room and the monitor hadn't noticed the anomaly, many people would probably have suffered because of the pheromones that leaked out during their fight.

After the accompanying doctor examined Yu Zou's mouth and applied the medicine powder, Li Kuo couldn't help but scold him: "Yu Zou! How could you be so irrational?"

Yu Zou said coldly, "This is already a very rational conclusion."

Li Kuo was speechless, his anger simmering inside. After all, Yu Zou was right; if he truly wanted to fight him, simply lowering the bracelet would prevent Chi Hengxun, a former soldier, from escaping unscathed. Not to mention, the surveillance footage clearly showed Chi Hengxun's unprovoked outburst of anger, his initial verbal and physical attacks.

"Is it because of Du Pianjian again?" Li Kuo sat down on the sofa and pressed, "You like him?"

"dislike."

"Then why must we have a marriage alliance?"

“It’s not that I insisted, it’s Shao Yuan, it’s Du Junzhang.” Yu Zou took the ice pack from the doctor, pressed it to his face, leaned back on the sofa, took out his phone, swiped to open the chat box with the nickname “hhh”, and typed with one hand: “Why are some people still so irritable at thirty?”

After typing for five seconds, the message appeared: "A father who controls with high pressure, a mother who ignores and neglects him, an environment with confused values, and a man who cannot control himself."

Two more popped up a second later:

Do you need legal aid?

I want to eat hairy crabs.

Yu Zouxin relaxed a bit and typed a reply: Find Shi Nao

Li Kuo then said, "Now, you and Chi Hengxun have completely broken up."

Yu Zou shrugged, indicating that he had no choice and didn't care.

The text on the other end of the phone was twisted with malice: I saw you on the news! You were feasting on a luxury yacht, completely forgetting to bring me anything!

Yu Zou: The hairy crab is a freshwater crab.

hhh: ...

hhh: Can't you just understand? I'm not picky, I'll eat whatever you bring.

Yu Zou replied: I'll bring you a bottle of fresh Northwest Sea Breeze.

Li Kuoshi meant well, not wanting his friendship to reach such a freezing point. Yu Zou put down his phone and said, "I just told him that instead of making things difficult for me here, he should go and take action against Du Junzhang. I don't know what I did to him, but he suddenly called me."

Li Kuo understood Chi Hengxun; when angered, he wouldn't care what the other person said, only caring about making himself feel better. But Yu Zou's words weren't without merit; Du Junzhang couldn't possibly be unaware that Du Pianjian had been suspended from his post because of Chi Hengxun's pursuit.

Why would someone so ambitious insist on marrying Yu Zou, choosing the second-best option over the best?

Li Kuo hesitated: "You mean the western suburbs?"

The capital city has entered its later stages of development. To successfully navigate its decline, it must expand its influence to the surrounding areas. The area to the west of the capital was once a factory district, but it was shut down due to severe pollution, and the government imposed restrictions. The time for that is fast approaching.

Perhaps in the future, the west will become the next center.

As a legislator from the Ministry of Environment, Tu Chun-chang will inevitably be involved in the assessment of the local environment, and may be the one who decides which plots of land will be released in which order, and what kind of businesses can be carried out on those plots.

However, Chi Hengxun's father worked directly for the Ministry of Construction. The final bid had to be approved by the Ministry of Construction, so promoting Du Junzhang would be a simple matter, without needing to go through all these roundabout procedures.

Yu Zou replied: "Hmm, can you and Zhao Jun guarantee that you can take over the western suburbs?"

"No, that area belonged to the Luo family before it was shut down in the western suburbs."

Li Kuo threw a vial of glass reagent on the table: "A bunch of idiots, gambling so hard they forgot who they are, poured this into the fragrance, causing a lot of people to become confused. And recently someone has been trying to get us infected with this stuff, and has even tracked us down here. But he always manages to get away, disgusting like a lizard."

Yu Zou picked it up and shook it. Tiny bubbles appeared in the pale yellow liquid, which was liquefied pheromones. He asked, "So you called me here?"

Li Kuo: "Cooperation is not just about gardens, but also about shipping routes."

The ocean was pitch black at night, with only a portion of the waves turning white in the sunlight. Yu Zou came up to the deck for some fresh air, holding a glass of champagne, but wishing it were a ten-dollar canned beer.

The night breeze ruffled his black shirt, outlining his tall and straight figure. He rested his head between his arms and stretched his back. His bracelet vibrated slightly. Yu Zou looked up and saw it was his mother's number.

Yu Zou answered the call immediately, and a weak voice came from the other end: "Yu Zou, it's my mother."

"Mom?! Are you alright?" Yu Zou couldn't hide his worry. He had lost contact with his mother since Shao Yuan came.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, you..."

The person on the other end hesitated, but Yu Zou understood and said as usual, "Mom, is Shao Yuan next to you? Turn on the receiver."

There was silence on the other end. Yu Zou turned around and leaned against the railing, then said, "No? In that case, I'm relieved to know you're doing well. Goodnight."

Sure enough, Shao Yuan's voice came through the phone: "You've got some ideas, son. I didn't reply to your messages, so I had to resort to this. The project team refused to let me extract the technology, and they actually need your approval. It's only been a month, and Yulong is already yours?"

"You're just getting old. You dare take the reliable technology that's been provided for?"

Silence fell on the other end, but Yu Zou's lips curled into a smile. Shao Yuan had only thought today's performance was a bidding process, but on the contrary, it was the finished product. At this moment, Yu Zou hoped that Shao Yuan would quickly discover the bait he had laid. After all, exploiting loopholes was Shao Yuan's forte.

Yu Zou chuckled and mocked, "If you can't think of a solution, then hang up."

His gaze casually swept across the brightly lit hall. A person strolled in through the doorway, wearing a white cloak and looking around. The moment he saw him, he identified his target and walked over.

Yu Zou tried to dodge, but it was too late. He lowered his head and hung up the call. When he looked up again, his expression was normal.

"Why am I alone? Where is Chi Hengxun?"

"I'm asleep. I couldn't sleep because of seasickness, so I came out for some fresh air." Two buttons on Du Pianjian's collar were undone, revealing some red marks on her collarbone.

Yu Zou looked away the moment he touched the wine and gently swirled the liquid in his glass.

"I heard you got into a fight with Chi Hengxun today." Du Pianjian rested her arm on the railing, her fingers twisting together. She licked her dry lower lip and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Because of me?"

Yu Zou was in a particularly bad mood at the moment and had no intention of getting involved in the couple's affairs anymore. He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp, still thinking about how to extricate himself, without saying a word.

Du Pianjian looked up at him, her expression full of worry: "You're injured, you shouldn't drink."

The wine glass paused at his lips for a moment, then he raised it as planned, offering the empty glass to him and saying carefully, "I'm fine. It was business during the day, you don't need to worry about it."

"Don't lie to me." Du Pianjian smiled bitterly, her hand unconsciously touching her collarbone. "I know everything."

"You know what's going on, right?" Yu Zou thought to herself, but her face still wore a gentle smile. "It's okay. People blinded by love always do some unusual things. It's understandable. Go back quickly, or he'll misunderstand again if he sees you."

“I don’t want to go back, I don’t want to see Chi Hengxun.” Du Pianjian trembled, her hands gripping the edge of her shawl tightly.

Go back to your own room.

"He's inside."

"Then you can go sleep in his room."

"I don't want to either."

"Want another room?"

Du Pianjian shook her head, her eyes misty: "It's no use. Everyone assumes I belong to him. As soon as he opens his mouth, the waiter will hand over the key and open the room."

No, Zhao Junxi isn't. Yu Zou was speechless, the thought of going to sleep with Zhao Junxi swirling in his mind.

Yu Zou held the empty cup up to the brightly lit ceiling. The cup was filled with light, yet it felt even emptier: "This is Zhao Junjie's yacht. It has everything you could want. You'll always find a safe place."

But Du Pianjian remained unmoved. Yu Zou looked at the top of his hair, fluffy and soft, and suddenly her heart softened. She softened her voice even more: "Did you two have another fight?"

“We’ve always been at odds, and lately he’s become increasingly irritable, even more terrifying than before. I kept thinking that things would get better by February next year, but now I don’t think I can make it.” Du Pianjian looked up at Yu Zou, her dark eyes devoid of any light, like a ghost.

February?

“In February, his term will end and he can return to the army.”

Yu paused for a moment, then resumed, and smiled: "Separation anxiety? This is a sign of love."

Do you love me?

"You?" Yu Zou stopped and looked at Du Pianjian, then realized he had misunderstood. Just as he was about to answer again, Du Pianjian said, "Yes, is his separation anxiety a sign of his love for me?"

Yu Zou suddenly didn't know how to answer. Who would know which words would trigger which nerve by talking to a beautiful madwoman with a history of mental illness and whose condition was unclear?

“I can’t judge between you and him. But not wanting to be separated from someone is an expression of love,” Yu Zou said carefully, glancing at the surveillance camera. She couldn’t help but wonder how she could clear herself of suspicion in Du Pianjian’s testimony that she had instigated the crime because “Yu Zou said Chi Hengxun’s imprisonment of me was an expression of love, and I was so angry that I killed him.”

Or perhaps this will be his first scene.

“But I don’t think so,” Du Pianjian said softly, her words drifting into the air.

Fear crept up Yu Zou's spine, making his back feel exceptionally heavy and pricking with countless needles. The bustling hall seemed to recede further and further away from him like a mirage.

He suddenly also needed a mental illness certificate.

The report indicates that the experiment failed again.

Zhao Junjie's project was truly challenging. Aside from the first day, Yu Zou only did two things each day: play with his companions and work. Although he wasn't at the headquarters, the lab work continued smoothly.

Once again, his temples throbbed with pain, the effects of the coffee were waning, and he could barely keep his eyelids open. Yu Zou lay back on the bed, set his alarm for 9 a.m., and could still sleep for about 5 hours. Fortunately, Zhao Junjie was playing around with his days and nights reversed, so he didn't have to get up early. Then he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

However, what woke Yu Zou was not the alarm clock, but a piercing alarm.