Camel thorn (Part 4)

Don't you think you owe me an explanation?

"What explanation do you want to give you?"

With a crisp tap, the glass was slammed onto the table. The man looked at the indifferent expression on the other person's face, took a deep breath with a hint of anger, and said, "You know what you should say."

Cen Zheng smiled softly, gazing at the heavy rain outside the window. The sudden downpour blurred the entire floor-to-ceiling window, and since she wasn't wearing her glasses, she couldn't see anything clearly, but that was for the best.

“My stance is very clear,” she slowly turned her head, looking at the other person expressionlessly, “Father.”

The older people looked at her, remaining silent for a moment, their faces displaying an unreadable expression.

Neither of them spoke, and the only sound in the air was the wind and rain outside the window. After a long while, as if he had thought of something, Cen Zheng chuckled softly, breaking the silence.

"You've kept your job, so there's nothing to worry about."

The man sneered, "I'm fine, but what about you? With the downfall of that Huang fellow, you've been dragged down with him. Do you think I wouldn't worry about you in this situation?"

Of course I'm not worried. My concern about her is only about the interests tied to her.

From a very young age, this connection of interests has existed closely. Many things that he was unable to do were carried out through her. She was also responsible for contacting the people he was tired of dealing with or eager to please. She was systematically invested with many interests, all of which were things they cared about and could not give up.

Her parents invested so much resources and effort in her, all for the sake of cultivating a refined and respectable person who could bring glory to the family.

Cen Zheng knew this, of course, so without a doubt, she didn't care much about that insincere concern. A mocking smile appeared on her lips, and she looked out the window again.

"I can only say you should have stopped sooner; you trusted that guy surnamed Huang too much."

“At least he has been in this position for so many years, and we have already recouped our investment. This is not a losing business.”

Is that so? Cen Zheng didn't think too much about the accuracy of that statement. Anyway, she had no interest in the business between these old men, and her task and role were unrelated to it. Her father had never intended for her to take over, but that was fine, since she didn't want to do it anyway.

"I just don't understand why you did this, Cen Zheng. Give me your reasons."

From the perspective of her allies, she really shouldn't have done that. She had done so many things, both openly and secretly, that could be described as "betraying her own side." She knew that she would be exposed sooner or later, but the current situation seemed even worse.

If it were that man surnamed Huang who questioned her, Cen Zheng might have performed even better, but the person sitting in front of her was her own father, so much so that she didn't even have the desire to defend herself.

Many years have passed, and she has become utterly fed up, so fed up that she is no longer willing to waste her breath.

But in the end, she still spoke slowly.

“I know him better than you do. He has been too eager for quick success in recent years, so his downfall was to be expected. I am only doing this to avoid being implicated too much.”

However, the other party sneered and said, "It seems that your plan was not very successful after all, and you have been implicated."

To such blatant mockery, Cen Zheng responded with a nonchalant smile, his fingertips tapping aimlessly on the armrest of his chair: "Yes, but if I hadn't done that, it might not just be me who would have been implicated, you wouldn't have escaped either."

That statement was, of course, false. With his ability to have multiple escape routes, no one affected by his actions would be shaken in the slightest. She was well aware of her father's abilities, and she didn't expect him to be grateful. The relationship between her and her father seemed to have long since faded to the point where trust was no longer a factor.

The man paused for a moment, glanced out the window following her gaze, but quickly frowned. He looked away, his tone impatient and agitated.

"Don't waste your energy."

She interrupted him without hesitation, "A new broom sweeps clean, but do you really think things will be as easy as they were before? The new guy is tough to deal with, so don't rack your brains. Just focus on your own little things."

"You mean I don't need to protect you?" The man laughed angrily. "Cen Zheng, I don't think you're that stupid."

"Think what you want," she chuckled softly, but didn't voice her true thoughts. "Does it matter if I'm stupid or not? If you think you're smart, you can take the risks yourself. Why did you have to let me in in the first place?"

A former sports official began plotting to get a share of the pie after retiring, and the one who carried out this plan was her, who was ignorant of all this during her adolescence.

This is inherently unfair.

Suddenly recalling what happened back then, Cen Zheng found it difficult to remain completely calm. Even though she had forced herself to accept it over the years, she still couldn't let go of it all and needed to stay composed.

Seemingly noticing the change in her expression, the man said nothing more, sighed, lowered himself slightly, and stared at her intently, adopting a rare serious demeanor.

“Cen Zheng, you are my daughter. I can’t just stand by and watch your future be ruined.”

“Because we are still bound by interests,” she suddenly turned her head, coldly fixing her gaze on his face, as if meticulously analyzing the credibility of his words. After a long while, she got her answer and laughed, “As for the future, I no longer have that.”

She wasn't an optimistic person, nor did she have the same desire to start over as he did. An end is an end, destruction is destruction, and there was no need for anything to continue. This was the path she had chosen for herself.

Seeing her stubborn attitude, the mask on the man's face seemed to slowly crack open, revealing a hint of gritted teeth, but it was quickly covered up again as he took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

"Haven't I already fulfilled my responsibilities?"

Cen Zheng didn't listen to the rest of what he said. Her gaze fell on his forehead, where the veins were bulging, and then slowly moved away. Bored, she looked at the window again. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and the sky outside was even starting to darken rapidly, making the indoor lights appear bright. She could vaguely see her reflection in the glass window.

Yes, how could she dare?

How can a good child who has been disciplined for so many years suddenly become useless, like countless uncontrolled, malfunctioning machines, completely devoid of any value for reuse? Is this normal?

Perhaps. She didn't know how others like herself were doing, whether she was one of the few exceptions, or what awaited her from then on. There were so many unknowns in her future, but she didn't care about any of them anymore.

"...What about your husband? His family can always help you out; he won't just let you go down this path!"

Upon hearing those two words, Cen Zheng frowned slightly. She looked at her father, who, after his long speech, was clearly a little too agitated. He stared intently at her, as if trying to glean something from her indifferent expression, or perhaps trying to continue to pressure her with his intimidating presence. Maybe it was a combination of both.

She seemed to think for a moment, and after a while, she remembered that there was such a person. She smiled and said, "Him? He's probably with the lawyer, busy discussing the division of property."

"What?" The middle-aged man was clearly stunned, not expecting things to turn out this way. "What do you mean?"

Cen Zheng felt that his meaning was already very clear, and seeing his father's obviously surprised face, he couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Is this something so hard to understand? Anyway, after so many years of marriage, he's never been truly sincere with her. Of course, as someone has always firmly believed, sincerity begets sincerity. What she didn't give, she can't take back. In a way, it's even fair.

Back then, in order to better bind her to Coach Huang's interest group, her father personally selected that person, or rather, the background behind him. But what good did that do? When the building collapsed, no one was spared.

“Not everyone is as wise as you,” she said, barely concealing the sarcasm in her voice. She raised the corners of her mouth, almost laughing as she spoke. “Their family is struggling to take care of themselves, why would they bother to help me?”

The man muttered in exasperation, “Foolish! Didn’t I consider this back then? Their family is powerful and wealthy. Even without this background, they could have made a name for themselves in Beijing through other connections. Even if he wanted to divorce you, you should have told me sooner so I could have helped you negotiate.”

It's rather pathetic that she even needs her father to mediate her own marriage.

But what else could she say? This marriage was never a good match. Her father had been begging for her hand in the first place, but what did she get in return? Just years of groveling and swallowing her anger.

“Their family has been dissatisfied with me for a long time; it was only a matter of time. There’s no use trying to persuade them.”

Cen Zheng had long understood this principle. If this incident hadn't happened, there would have been another, and another after that. Her husband was already dissatisfied with many of her actions, so of course he couldn't tolerate such a disgraced person continuing to stay in the house. She had anticipated this all along.

"This is a bit tricky..." the man muttered anxiously to himself, looking down.

Actually, it's not difficult at all. Since the downfall of the man surnamed Huang, everything has collapsed so quickly and smoothly that it didn't even cause Cen Zheng much trouble. Many years ago, when she made her first mistake, she had already foreseen that one day things would turn out this way.

The original interest group completely collapsed, the soil on which she depended for survival was destroyed, all the things buried underground were exposed, she was purged and expelled, birds and beasts scattered around her, she had no power in her hands, her family was broken, her relatives and friends betrayed her, and all her hard work over the years was in vain.

And this seems to be the best ending she could get.

"No, no! You can't just give up on yourself like this. I know your abilities. Of course you can make a comeback. It's not difficult at all!"

It's not a difficult thing to say so easily. It's as if she has simply erased all her hard work over the years. Starting over is certainly an option, but Cen Zheng would never choose that option again.

"I won't do that."

She picked up the untouched cup of coffee in front of her, glanced at it, silently put it back, and suddenly blurted out, "You ordered the wrong thing, I don't like Americanos."

“I said I’ve never liked Americano; I think it’s too bitter.”

The middle-aged man's excitement lessened somewhat, and he leaned back slightly, his tone somewhat intriguing, "You didn't say that."

“Yes,” Cen Zheng replied succinctly, his face still expressionless, “so you never knew either.”

I never knew that she had always had a sweet tooth.

Having said all he could say, Cen Zheng felt that the conversation could end there. So he reached for his coat and bag, stood up, and walked out without saying a word.

"stop."

She paused for a moment. "Is there anything else?"

"Now, I somewhat regret the decision I made back then."

Hearing the undisguised weariness in the middle-aged man's voice, Cen Zheng couldn't help but be stunned. He turned his head slightly, almost unable to believe his ears, and suppressed the trembling in his voice, "What?"

Cen Zheng closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and her faint hope was completely dashed. She smiled self-deprecatingly.

“No,” she said softly, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes as she looked at him, but it was quickly replaced by mockery. “I was wrong.”

"As for Zhou Zeyu's matter, don't interfere." She finished with those words, "If you really dare to do that, I won't care about saving face."