Chapter 22 Is Love Important?
At the same time, a celebration banquet was held for the Zhou family's project.
The banquet hall of the Shang's Hotel is decorated in a Southeast Asian style, and the air is filled with the aroma of lemongrass and coconut.
The banquet hall was already filled with the clinking of glasses and lively conversation.
When Yan Shuang walked in wearing silver high heels, several male colleagues nearby stopped talking at the same time.
Someone even accidentally knocked over a wine glass, the red liquid spreading across the white tablecloth.
Yan Shuang wore a sky-blue fishtail dress that hugged her curves, with a lace open back that revealed a large expanse of fair skin, and her long, curly hair cascading down one shoulder.
"Yan Shuang?" Project leader Wang Hequan rubbed his eyes dramatically. "If I had known you were this beautiful, I should have put you in charge of customer reception in the first place!"
She smiled slightly upon hearing this, a gesture that made the peach-colored lip gloss on her lips even shinier.
Amidst laughter, Yan Shuang accepted the champagne offered by the waiter and took a small sip.
The alcohol slightly relaxed her nerves, which had been tense for several days.
She even allowed herself to sway gently to the jazz music played by the band, the hem of her dress rippling like water, attracting even more admiring glances.
"Let's take a picture together!" Wang Hequan boldly put his arm around her waist and pointed his phone camera at the two of them.
Yan Shuang did not dodge.
The moment the flash went off, she didn't notice that in the second-floor circular corridor, a cold gaze was fixed on Wang Hequan's hand resting on her waist.
"Qiu Zhu!" Du Yunchuan strode over with a wine glass in hand, patting Shang Qiu Zhu's shoulder affectionately. "Finally caught you."
"The project dividends have arrived." Du Yunchuan raised his glass to Shang Qiuzhu. "Next time there's a money-making opportunity like this, remember to call me first."
Shangqiu Zhu smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes: "Didn't you think this project was too risky?"
"It was risky, but the rewards were really high." Du Yunchuan took a swig of wine and lowered his voice. "It's just that next time... could you choose a safer route? Zhou Lin almost got us into serious trouble."
"Insurance projects?" Shangqiu Zhu chuckled lightly, his voice low. "What's the point of that?"
Du Yunchuan shook his head and laughed, as if he had already anticipated this answer: "I knew you would say that. You were like this back in college, always choosing the most difficult investment cases to study, and you still haven't changed."
He leaned closer to Shangqiu Zhu and half-jokingly poked his friend's chest, saying, "You're such a cunning person; the tougher the bone, the more energetic you become."
Shangqiu Zhu did not respond; her eyes remained like two unfathomable pools of water.
Du Yunchuan looked at the lobby on the first floor and his eyes lit up: "Isn't that your little secretary?"
Shangqiu Zhu slowly sipped her champagne, watching her chat and laugh with her colleagues, and watching her eyes crinkle at the corners because of a joke.
"It's unbelievable." Du Yunchuan sipped his whiskey. "She and Yan You are practically identical, but..."
"But what?" Shangqiu Zhu's voice was extremely calm.
Du Yunchuan swirled his wine glass, carefully considering the words: "Yan You is like a flame, fiery and exuberant, you can feel her presence from afar." He looked at Yan Shuang, "And her sister... is like a deep pool, calm on the surface, yet able to draw people's souls in."
Shangqiu Zhu's fingers paused for a second on the rim of the cup.
Just then, Yan Shuang seemed to sense their gaze and looked up in their direction.
Under the lamplight, her eyes were calm to the point of melancholy, yet they also carried a certain resilient light, quite different from Yan You's carefully crafted brightness.
“To be honest,” Du Yunchuan handed Shang Qiuzhu a cigar and cut straight to the point, “I’ve never understood why you agreed to marry Yan You.”
Shangqiu Zhu took the cigar but did not light it; he simply held it between his slender fingers.
“It’s just a business alliance.” His voice was even calmer than the night breeze. “The Yan family’s connections in the political arena are very beneficial to Hong Kong’s new energy projects.”
Du Yunchuan chuckled, exhaling a perfect smoke ring: "Don't give me that. I've known you for fifteen years, when have you ever compromised yourself for business interests?" He leaned closer, lowering his voice, "It's because of that incident, isn't it? Ten years ago..."
Shangqiu Zhu's fingers tightened, creating a crease in the cigar.
This subtle reaction convinced Du Yunchuan that he had guessed correctly.
His voice was filled with disbelief, “Qiu Zhu, that was so long ago! You were only a teenager then, and if it was just about repaying a debt of gratitude, there were a thousand ways to do it, why risk your marriage?”
"Marriage is nothing more than an exchange of value." Shang Qiuzhu finally lit his cigar, the orange-red flame reflecting the unfathomable darkness in his eyes. "The Yan family wants it, I give it to them, it's that simple."
Yan You and Shang Qiuzhu's engagement began with a kidnapping case, but Shang Qiuzhu only saw marriage as a way to repay a debt of gratitude.
“You don’t like Yan You,” Du Yunchuan suddenly said, not in a question.
Is this important?
"What's important to you?" Du Yunchuan asked, unusually serious. "With your current status, wouldn't it be suffocating to have someone you don't love by your side?"
Shangqiu Zhu did not deny it, but simply said, "Are you finished?"
"It's not too late to back out now. Marriage isn't a business contract that you can sign and then breach by paying compensation."
"Compensation?" He seemed to have heard a foreign word, and said in a dismissive tone, "Don't worry, I never do business at a loss."
These words, spoken casually, struck like a silent thunderclap. Du Yunchuan understood Shangqiu Zhu; for him to utter such words meant that he must hold enough leverage to overturn the situation, and was confident that he would not pay any unexpected price.
At this time, Shangqiu Zhu was unaware of this.
In truth, fate had already secretly marked the price.
He did not expect that in the near future, someone would make him willingly break the principles he had adhered to for many years.
He made exceptions for her time and time again, and the chess game he had calculated for her was subject to change.
"Damn it!" Du Yunchuan slammed his wine glass down on the oak barrel. "You've got something on the Yan family?"
Shangqiu Zhu did not respond, and this silence was more unsettling than any answer.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go and tear up that damned engagement right now."
"What's the rush?" Shangqiu Zhu took a sip of red wine. "Isn't it more interesting to let the pieces drive themselves to their doom?"
Du Yunchuan followed Shang Qiuzhu's gaze and finally landed on Yan Shuang, his brows furrowing tightly.
"Qiu Zhu, you..." He hesitated, feeling that his friend's current state was more unsettling than if he had simply lost his temper.
Shangqiu Zhu withdrew his gaze, drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, and gently tapped the bottom of the glass on the table.
A burst of applause suddenly erupted in the banquet hall, and the celebration banquet officially began.
Shangqiu Zhu slowly got up and went downstairs.
Du Yunchuan saw Shangqiu Zhu's back, which was as upright as a pine tree, yet like an iceberg, forever floating in a cold sea that no one could touch.
As Shangqiu Zhu turned and walked back into the banquet hall, his gaze briefly met Yan Shuang's.
Those eyes held the stillness before an approaching blizzard.
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