Chapter 111. "If he dies, you..."
When Wen Xue received the message from He Yan, she was making rose tea in the company's break room.
A delicate fragrance lingered in the air. She loved the tea room; its floor-to-ceiling windows made it a perfect spot to relax and daydream. She sipped her floral tea, the lingering aroma easing her fatigue. In a good mood, she typed: "You don't mind if I support you financially now, do you?"
He probably thought she was joking.
But she was serious, more serious than ever before. She hoped that He Yan, who seemed invincible, could rely on her.
He Yan: [I don't mind]
He is easy to take care of.
Thanks to her, he quit smoking long ago, saving a considerable amount of money. If he didn't need to socialize, he could also completely give up drinking.
Three meals a day: breakfast consists of two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk; lunch consists of one meat dish and one vegetable dish; and dinner consists of a bowl of noodles.
The money she gave him was more than enough to support him.
After thinking for a moment, he followed her lead and asked with interest, "So what should I do?"
Wen Xue smiled and replied earnestly: "Just do what you like."
She will grow up.
She'll earn more money than she does now, and then treat her as well as he used to treat her. From the moment he appeared in her life and took her away until now, he hasn't let her suffer a single day... even though he took her to the doctor and made her drink a lot of traditional Chinese medicine...
She wanted to treat him that way too.
He Yan sat in the car, unconsciously rolling down the window and letting the wind in. He remained quiet for a long time, trying to calm himself. No one had ever said such things to him before, and he still felt uneasy, needing to distract himself with something else.
Just like the ointment she bought for him a long time ago.
He didn't want to escape; he was just at a loss.
On the other side, seeing that he didn't reply, Wen Xue chuckled a few times, picked up her cup again, and returned to her workstation, immersing herself in her work. She knew her boyfriend fairly well; he looked cold, serious, and even a little fierce, but he could be shy at times.
She was typing on the keyboard.
Half an hour has passed.
An hour has passed.
Her phone vibrated, the screen lit up, and she finally received his reply. It was simple, and very much in line with his style: "Mm."
Wen Xue chuckled softly.
She seemed to lose control and burst out laughing, so she quickly picked up her cup and drank some water to cover it up.
…
As expected, the new year brings new beginnings. Wenxue has a strong feeling that this year will be better than last year, and everything will improve. For example, last year during the Qingming Festival, it rained for several days in Xicheng District, but this year the weather forecast predicts sunny skies.
More than two months later, He Yan returned to Haicheng to pay respects to his relatives.
She wasn't idle while staying in Xicheng; she walked the dog and tutored students. One day, she went to a coffee shop to explain problems to her students. She refilled her teacup several times, and two hours passed in a flash.
The girl stretched and quickly packed her textbooks and test papers into her bag. She whispered to Wenxue, "Sis, I'm going shopping with my classmate. I have to go now, or I'll be late. And whoever is late has to buy milk tea."
Wen Xue smiled and nodded, then asked, "Did you tell your mother?"
The girl waved her phone in her hand, "I've said it."
"Okay." After watching her leave, Wen Xue saw that it was still early, so she didn't rush to leave. She took out a pen and took notes in her notebook. She sat in a corner, where the sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was strong, making the whole cafe warm and bright.
Zhou Xian got out of the car and walked over.
He gazed at her from outside for a moment, then stepped into the café, where soothing melodies played.
There weren't many customers. On such an afternoon, it was a perfect time to meet up with your lover or friends for a drink, whispering sweet nothings, enjoying a leisurely and pleasant time.
"A cup of coffee," he said softly.
The clerk looked up, paused for a moment after recognizing his face, and asked, "Okay, would you like to drink it here or take it to go?"
Zhou Xian turned slightly to the side, raised his hand and pointed to the table in the corner, "Just send it there."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Another chocolate mousse, please."
The shop assistant looked at him in surprise.
Wasn't he referring to Ms. Wen, the tutor hired by the boss? Could they know each other? But his words were strange. If she remembered correctly, Wen Xue had a boyfriend, and he often picked her up.
Zhou Xian ignored the shop assistant's curious stares. After paying, he seemed to only see Wen Xue and walked straight towards her.
Taking it one step at a time.
Wen Xue closed her lesson preparation book, tightened the lid of her cup, and put them into her schoolbag. She picked up the ballpoint pen on the table and suddenly felt a shadow fall in front of her. She subconsciously looked up and met Zhou Xian's calm and unwavering eyes.
Her pupils constricted, and her body unconsciously went into a defensive stance.
Zhou Xian smiled nonchalantly, pulled out a chair, sat down in front of her, and said slowly, "Wen Xue, it's been a long time."
Wen Xue pursed her lips, looking at him warily.
She remembered what He Yan had told her. He was currently in trouble and should be overwhelmed with problems, so why was he coming to see her again?
“I might be leaving for a while,” he muttered to himself. “No, it should be a very, very long time. I’ve been thinking, and I should come see you before I go.” He smiled. “The first time we met was this time last year. Do you remember?”
Wen Xue loosened her grip and quietly observed her surroundings.
This is a busy area, crowded with people everywhere, and there's a guard post just a few hundred meters away.
He couldn't do anything to her.
She knew that, as the situation became more tense, He Yan had also arranged for someone to protect her, who was nearby.
Thinking this, her tense shoulders relaxed.
"you say."
Zhou Xian leaned back in his chair, looking at her with a leisurely smile: "If I hadn't been in such a hurry to leave that day, wouldn't things be different now?"
Wen Xue had no intention of answering this question at all.
She hurriedly grabbed her bag and got up to leave, but before she could take two steps, she heard him speak slowly, "No, right? After all, I was the one who got shot in America and almost lost his life, don't you think?"
Wen Xue stopped in her tracks, her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at him abruptly.
"Can we sit down and have a proper chat?" he asked with a smile, his hands clasped together.
The shop assistant came over with a tray, looking hesitant and feeling uneasy. What was going on? The person seemed to have ill intentions.
She slowly placed the coffee and mousse cake that Zhou Xian had ordered on the table, then quickly glanced at Wen Xue several times, asking her with her eyes if she needed any help.
Wen Xue forced a smile and sat down.
The clerk hesitated before leaving, and after returning to the bar, he kept glancing at the table where Wen Xue was.
“You seem surprised that I found out about this?” Zhou Xian laughed meaningfully. “I found out around the New Year. It’s quite strange. Whoever I asked to intercept his project, then got into trouble.”
So it turns out they were using the "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" tactic on him.
Zhou Zhan quickly uncovered most of the businesses he had hidden away.
As luck would have it, after the old man collapsed, Zhou Zhan seemed to be unable to wait any longer and left some clues. He followed the clues and, coincidentally, found an unexpected surprise. He had been wondering how his good older brother and He Yan knew each other, but after flipping through the information, he noticed that He Yan had gone to the United States on a business trip at the end of October and the beginning of November last year.
One event is a coincidence, but two events are not coincidences; they are premeditated.
But when he went to investigate who saved Zhou Zhan, all the hospitalization information had been erased and deleted, leaving only a sentence from the medical staff: "It was a young, tall Asian man."
That's really interesting.
It turns out it wasn't Zhou Zhan who had a tough fate, but He Yan.
Wen Xue stared at him silently.
Zhou Xian's smile gradually faded. Did he regret it? If he hadn't gone to the supermarket that day and hadn't run into her, he wouldn't be the one about to suffer such a crushing defeat. But what was there to regret? The word "regret" didn't exist in Zhou Xian's dictionary.
He would do the same thing again if given the chance.
No, let's do it again—
He leaned forward and pushed the plate of mousse cake toward her, his tone calm and without any fluctuation, "I don't care whether Zhou Zhan is dead or not, but I still regret that your boyfriend didn't die back then."
Wen Xue felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Every time she thought of the wound on He Yan's shoulder, she felt a lingering fear. Even He Yan didn't know that for a period of time, she would often wake up from nightmares, her pillow always soaked with sweat and tears. She dared not think about what she would do if the bullet had missed and hit his heart, and He Yan had ceased to exist in the world.
She couldn't accept it.
She was determined to make the masterminds of this conspiracy pay an even heavier price.
And this person is now sitting right in front of her.
She looked at him coldly, finally no longer needing to hide her hatred for him, and said, word by word, "If he dies, you will die too."
Zhou Xian's expression froze.
He stared at her expressionlessly, then suddenly laughed. "Is that so?"
This was the first thing she said to him today, and it was so beautiful.
Wen Xue deeply loathed him. She wasn't a saint; she couldn't remain calm in the face of someone who had hurt He Yan time and time again. Even if she had been in the past, it was all an act. She stood up and smiled slightly, "You asked me before if I felt sorry for you."
She said, "It is indeed very pitiful."
There was nothing there, it was completely empty, it was really pitiful.
After saying that, she picked up her bag and left without looking back.
Zhou Xian sat there like a statue, for a very long time, until dusk fell. He drank the cold coffee in his cup, recalling the hatred in her eyes when she looked at him. At that moment, her eyes were only for him, and he felt a sudden pleasure, letting out a short laugh.
He is indeed strange.
He even found her hatred quite appealing and desired it.
Under the strange gaze of the shop assistant, he walked out of the shop, returned to the car, and gave a place name. The driver, who had been waiting since afternoon until evening, was not surprised and respectfully responded before starting the engine and driving towards the former residence of Zhou Xian's maternal grandfather.
Aunt Zhang was busy in the yard. She had very sharp ears and heard the sound of tires rubbing against the ground. She quickly put down what she was doing and hurried out. Sure enough, Zhou Xian's car was parked at the door. He got out of the car, exuding a chilling aura.
She came to his side and said urgently, "Old Cheng's nephew is here again. He wants to see you, but I told him you weren't here. He insists on staying here."
Since that incident, in order to keep her comfortable job, Aunt Zhang has been reporting every little thing to him, from visitors to any new developments like neighbors moving in.
Zhou Xian didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard this.
He nodded and went straight into the house. As usual, he looked at his grandparents' portraits for a while and lit incense.
Gao Xu also heard the commotion and hurriedly came downstairs. Seeing Aunt Zhang's attentive manner, he guessed that Zhou Xian had returned. He was overjoyed and was about to call out, but Aunt Zhang, not wanting to give him a friendly look, stopped him, saying, "He is offering incense to Old Master Cheng. You can't disturb him."
Gao Xu scoffed: "I'm not an outsider, I'm his cousin!"
He didn't care and was about to rush in that direction.
But when he actually reached the door and saw Zhou Xian's back, he couldn't help but shrink back.
On the Cheng family side, every single one of them is now intimidated by Zhou Xian.
Even after realizing his current predicament, Gao Xu mustered his courage and went inside. After stopping, he called out, "A-Xian."
Zhou Xian seemed to ignore him, bowed three times earnestly, inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner, and remained calm.
"I heard the group is holding a board meeting soon." Gao Xu carefully chose his words. "You need to be wary of Zhou Zhan. That kid seems nice, but he's actually full of schemes and tricks. He was the one who framed me, trying to bring me down to deal with you..."
Which man in his position has a clean private life?
Such a small matter was exposed as news. If this wasn't Zhou Zhan's doing, then who was?
That's right. If we don't bring him down, how can Zhou Zhan have a reason to return to China to take up his post?
He gets furious whenever this is mentioned.
If he hadn't been forced to resign, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to turn things around and end up owing a huge sum of money.
Zhou Xian calmly turned around and looked Gao Xu up and down as if he were a lump of rotten flesh.
This kind of useless trash is a waste of time; even glancing at him is a waste. Now he's like a rat in the street, nobody pays him any attention. After all, who would guard against a good-for-nothing? Originally, Gao Xu was going to be left to Zhou Zhan, but he's changed his mind now.
No one has ever managed to escape unscathed after ruining his plans.
Gao Xu was a bomb he planted a long time ago.
If it weren't for this good-for-nothing's inability to control his lust, Zhou Zhan would never have had the chance to return to China so early. It's already a sign of his mercy that he didn't cripple Gao Xu.
It's simple for him to turn Gao Xu into a desperate criminal: just make him drown in debt and live a life of constant uncertainty.
"Cousin-in-law".
Zhou Xian strolled up to Gao Xu and said casually, "We're all family. I won't abandon you. Don't worry, I'll make up for the money you owe. Besides that, I'll give you another sum of money. I won't let your aunt and uncle suffer with you by hiding and running away."
Gao Xu was stunned, overjoyed, but he wasn't stupid; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to secure a high-level leadership position before. He hesitated and asked, "Then I...I..."
"Do me a favor."
"Once it's done, the money will go into your account no matter where I am."
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