Chapter 17
"Even with you, you can only be with me."
A custom-made black Hongqi car stopped outside the heavily guarded compound gate. The car door opened, and He Qingzhao got out. The guards respectfully let him through.
He Qingzhao entered the courtyard and walked along the winding path between two lawns toward the detached villa.
He had just arrived at the villa when his phone rang. He thought it was Cheng Jiamo calling, but when he took it out, he saw that it was Tang Jingyao.
"Fourth Brother." He answered the phone and walked to a crabapple tree on his right.
He and Tang Jingyao originally had no connection. At the beginning of the year, under the matchmaking of He Zongxun, the two joined hands to explore the Southeast Asian market, which led to their cooperation.
After several encounters, he could tell that although Tang Jingyao appeared ruthless and heartless, he was an upright person and easy to get along with.
Tang Jingyao was two years older than him. After they became familiar with each other, he started calling Tang Jingyao "Fourth Brother," just like He Zongxun did.
This address of "Fourth Brother" not only affirmed Tang Jingyao's status in the martial arts world, but more importantly, it brought the two closer together.
In He Zongxun's words, Tang Jingyao had a rough and tumble spirit in his bones, and he valued loyalty and righteousness. People close to him called him Fourth Brother, which he appreciated.
A simple "Fourth Brother" can solve many problems for you.
He Qingzhao stood under the crabapple tree and said with a smile, "Fourth Brother, what's the matter that you're calling so late?"
Tang Jingyao said, "Rong Chen asked me to ask you if you have time to go to Nancheng for tea?"
He Qingzhao chuckled: "When did Fourth Brother become Rong Chen's mouthpiece?"
Tang Jingyao wasn't angry at being teased, and said in a calm voice, "Rong Chen was just relaying a message."
The implication is that the person who actually invited him was not Rong Chen.
He Qingzhao understood and chuckled softly, "I remember Fourth Brother saying that it's best for businessmen not to take sides."
Tang Jingyao said, "I am a pure businessman, but you are not."
He Qingzhao smiled gently, "Fourth Brother should know that our He family, like yours, doesn't take sides..."
Tang Jingyao interrupted him, saying, "The He family is the He family, and you are you. I have already delivered the message; whether you go or not is up to you."
After hanging up the phone, He Qingzhao turned and walked into the villa.
He Rong'an sat on the sofa, glanced at him indifferently, and said in a commanding tone, "Focus on your business and don't get too close to that person from the Rong family."
He Qingzhao sat down opposite He Rong'an and smiled sarcastically: "Then who should I get too close to? Why don't you give me a clear instruction, Secretary He? Please make a list of who you want me to associate with and who you don't want me to associate with."
"You bastard!" He Rong'an slammed his hand on the coffee table, making the teacups on it jump. "Is this how you talk to your father?"
He Qingzhao loosened his tie with one hand, slumped back on the sofa, and said with a roguish air, "If it were someone else, I might put on an act, but in front of you, there's no need for me to. After all, even Secretary He didn't put on an act, so how could I, as his son, possibly do so?"
He Rong'an was so angry that his temples throbbed. He raised his hand and pressed his temples: "I heard from Zong Xun that you keep a house full of pets in Xihai."
He Qingzhao readily admitted, "Yes, because I didn't get what I wanted at the age I was supposed to, so it became an obsession." Finally, he added with a smile, "Just like you, when you were young you didn't marry the woman you wanted to marry, so you married a country girl you didn't like. After you gained power, you immediately abandoned your wife and found a substitute who was the one you imagined to be with."
He Rong'an's face darkened, and he grabbed the ashtray on the table and smashed it at him, hitting him squarely on the forehead.
He Qingzhao's forehead was hit and bled, but he didn't even frown, remaining calm.
He Rong'an frowned and called the nanny over: "Take him there..."
"No need." He Qingzhao stood up and said coldly, "I won't die, no need for Secretary He to worry."
He Rong'an's momentum weakened: "What happened between your mother and me is a matter for our previous generation, and it has nothing to do with you. No matter what, you are still my son. Although I remarried, I don't have any children."
He Qingzhao laughed: "It's not like you have the throne to pass to me."
"Can't you just speak normally?" He Rong'an yelled at him with a stern face. "Do you have to be so sarcastic and sarcastic, with every word laced with barbs?"
He Qingzhao clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles tense, and blood flowed down his forehead, down his sharp jawline, and onto his body, staining his white shirt red.
He Rong'an felt a pang of pity seeing the bright red mark on his forehead, so he asked the nanny to bring medicine and gauze to bandage his wound.
"A supervisory team has been established and will be going to the Southern Province next month. You'd better not get too close to that person from the Rong family at this time. If nothing happens to the Rong family, fine, but if something does happen, you will be implicated."
He Qingzhao sneered: "Are you worried about getting yourself implicated?"
He Rong'an retorted, "You are my son, aren't you and I one?"
He Qingzhao turned her head away, her face cold and silent.
He Rong'an added, "No one cares whether my relationship with you is harmonious or not; they only know that you are surnamed He and are my son, He Rong'an. If something happens to me, do you think you'll have a good time?"
He Qingzhao's face grew even colder, his aura was very low, and his eyes seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice.
He sat back down on the sofa, his face expressionless.
He Rong'an's tone softened: "If you really like that girl, and she is innocent and reliable, Dad won't object. After all, our family doesn't need arranged marriages. I'm just worried that you'll fall into a trap."
He Qingzhao sneered: "What, you're worried I'll get the short end of the stick?"
He Rong'an said, "It's not that you'll suffer a loss. With your personality, no woman has ever made you suffer. I'm just worried that you'll get into unnecessary trouble."
He Qingzhao's lips curled into a mocking smile: "What trouble could there be?"
"If that girl is planted by your rival, or if she knows your situation and intends to get close to you and take advantage of you, then even if you don't suffer any real harm, you will inevitably be affected."
He Qingzhao didn't even bother to sneer anymore, and lowered his eyes without saying a word.
He Rong'an leaned over and patted his arm, earnestly advising, "Son, listen to your father this once. I would never harm you. You're not a child anymore, and you've been in the business world for many years. You should know that things like this happen all the time, and we have to be careful. So, the best way is to find a girl you know well and prevent such things from happening."
He Qingzhao didn't want to stay a minute longer, so he stood up and said, "You don't need to worry about my affairs. I know what to do."
He Rong'an also stood up and put his hand on Qingzhao's shoulder: "Qingzhao, Dad is getting old and doesn't have the energy to climb any higher. I just hope to stabilize things before I retire so that I can lift you up even higher."
He Qingzhao lowered his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing.
After leaving the heavily guarded compound, He Qingzhao sent a message to Cheng Jiamo.
HE: [I have something to do and can't make it. You can sleep by yourself. I'll have the driver pick you up tomorrow.]
-
Cheng Jiamo had insomnia and was still awake at two in the morning.
She grew up in a dependent family and spent three years living in Thailand, enduring hardship and oppression, which led to neurasthenia and poor sleep quality.
On the eve of the college entrance examination, she was so anxious that she couldn't sleep until 3 a.m. It was almost 4 a.m. before she finally drifted off to sleep, but she was sleeping very lightly. A classmate's talking in his sleep woke her up.
In her first year of university, she has improved a lot through medication and exercise. Although she still suffers from insomnia occasionally, she no longer experiences the kind of insomnia she had before the college entrance examination, where she couldn't fall asleep until three or four in the morning.
But today, she had insomnia again, and it was quite severe.
The hotel bed was large and luxurious, and actually very comfortable to sleep on, many times more comfortable than a single bed in the dormitory, but she just couldn't fall asleep. Lying on it, she felt wide awake, yet her mind was heavy.
She sat up, took out her phone, and posted a message on her WeChat Moments.
At two in the morning, I saw the crabapple blossoms still awake.
She posted it for less than a minute, then quickly deleted it.
However, she received a message from Cheng Jiahe shortly afterward.
Are you having trouble sleeping again?
Cheng Jiahe was her classmate in high school in Lucheng, and they even sat next to each other for half a year in their second year of high school.
Because their names differ by only one character, people jokingly say they are half-siblings.
After graduating from high school, the class had a dinner party and then went to karaoke. Cheng Jiahe confessed his feelings to her at the karaoke bar.
She assumed he was drunk and didn't respond.
He didn't mention it again afterward, so she pretended not to know.
Later, he went to Haicheng for his college entrance exam, and she came to Beijing. They never saw each other again, only occasionally exchanging a few words on WeChat.
Upon seeing the message he suddenly sent, Cheng Jiamo did not reply immediately.
A few minutes later, looking at the dark sky outside the window, she felt inexplicably sad. She probably really needed someone to talk to her for a while, so she replied to him.
Hmm, I'm having trouble sleeping.
H&M: [Are you having any troubles?]
Jingyu: [No.]
A few minutes later, Cheng Jiahe sent a 60-second voice message.
Cheng Jiamo clicked on it, and it was a cappella rendition of "White Moonlight" by Cheng Jiahe.
This is Cheng Jiamo's favorite song. To be precise, she only started liking it after meeting He Qingzhao three years ago that summer. During her junior and senior years of high school, she listened to this song often and listened to it on repeat.
She sang this song when she went to a karaoke bar after graduating from high school.
After listening to the voice message, Cheng Jiamo replied with the word "thank you".
She opened her WeChat Moments and reposted it.
White Moonlight
Somewhere in my heart
So bright
But it was so cold
...
White Moonlight
Looking at both ends of the sky
In my heart
But not by my side
After sending the message, she opened her music app, played the song "White Moonlight" on a single track, and then lay down on the bed.
-
After leaving the compound, He Qingzhao did not return to his own residence, nor did he even change his clothes. He went straight to First, a rooftop bar located on the central axis in a prime location.
The owner of this bar is Zhong Qi, who was He Qingzhao's elementary school classmate and is one of the playboys in Beijing's elite circles.
The bar has two floors. The lower floor is the main hall, with a stage and open booths, while the upper floor is the VIP area, which includes luxury private rooms, a private cigar area, and an open-air viewing platform.
On the rooftop terrace, He Qingzhao sat on a brown leather sofa, three buttons undone around his neck, his blood-stained white shirt half-open, legs spread wide as he leaned against the sofa, a cigar in his right hand and an antique glass in his left.
If other people wore their clothes open and spread their legs like that, they would only look roguish, sleazy, or even vulgar and greasy.
However, He Qingzhao's actions possessed a fatal charm. Perhaps it was because of his excellent temperament—handsome, refined, and elegant, as clean and beautiful as a gentle breeze and bright moon. So even when he was smoking, with his shirt open and legs spread, he didn't come across as greasy. Instead, he appeared roguish, unrestrained, elegant, and dashing.
Of course, the main reason is that he is too handsome. His face is aloof and cold, and even if he just sits there silently, he can become the focus of the whole room.
Zhong Qi watched as he drank one glass after another, and before long, half a bottle of whiskey was gone.
"Alright, stop drinking." He pressed down on He Qingzhao's hand. "You're still injured, don't drink here and cause trouble."
He Qingzhao raised an eyebrow with a flirtatious expression: "Afraid I'll die here?"
Zhong Qi laughed and said, "I'm scared, I'm terrified."
He Qingzhao, with a cigar in his mouth, gave a roguish smile.
Zhong Qi flicked some ash from his cigarette into the ashtray and asked, "Are you trying to stand up to Secretary He, or have you really taken a liking to that female student?"
He Qingzhao leaned back on the sofa and tilted his head back, his prominent Adam's apple bobbing slightly. The blue and white light and shadows flashed into the depths of his eyes, making them look like a deep, dark sea.
He narrowed his eyes, suppressing the turmoil within them, his voice as cold as the night: "I don't know."
Zhong Qi took a drag on his cigarette and said in a deep voice, "Keeping a female student as a mistress isn't a big deal, as long as you keep a low profile. It's just that there's a leadership transition coming up soon, and you're running for office, so the timing isn't quite right." He suggested, "Why don't you wait a bit longer, until things are settled? There's no rush, is there?"
He Qingzhao stubbed out his cigar, picked up his antique glass, and took a sip. His voice was hoarse and sexy from the smoke and alcohol.
"urgent."
Zhong Qi laughed and scolded, "What's the rush? You've been single for 27 years, what's one more day?"
He Qingzhao rubbed the rim of the cup with his thumb, and smiled in a lewd and roguish way.
Zhong Qi took a deep drag on his cigarette: "Damn it, don't smile at me like that, you're making me hard."
He Qingzhao kicked him in the groin: "Stop fucking fantasizing about me."
Zhong Qi's phone rang. He glanced at it, stood up, and said, "Tuesday is here. I'm going over there. Drink less."
"Go ahead," He Qingzhao waved his hand. "Leave me to the hell alone."
After Zhong Qi left, He Qingzhao picked up her phone to check the time and casually opened her WeChat Moments, where she saw a post from Cheng Jiamo.
White moonlight?
He frowned slightly. The young girl had a crush on someone?
HE: [Aren't you asleep yet?]
Cheng Jiamo heard the WeChat notification sound, but she assumed it was a message from Cheng Jiahe and ignored it.
HE: [Who is the White Moonlight?]
The phone dinged again, but Cheng Jiamo still ignored it.
He Qingzhao sent two messages but received no reply. He didn't have the patience to wait, so he directly video-called Cheng Jiamo.
When Cheng Jiamo heard the video call, she picked up her phone and saw that it was He Qingzhao calling. Her heart skipped a beat.
With trembling hands, she pressed the answer button. The video showed He Qingzhao's face, which was outlined by light and shadow, making him appear sharp and cold.
"Where are you?" she asked softly, tidying her messy hair.
Holding his phone in one hand and a cigar in the other, He Qingzhao asked in a low, husky voice, "Who is the white moonlight?"
Cheng Jiamo originally wanted to say "It's you," but when she met He Qingzhao's nonchalant and flirtatious gaze, her nose tingled and a bitter feeling welled up in her heart.
She pursed her lips and smiled casually, "Nobody, it's just lyrics."
He Qingzhao smiled and said, "It's alright if there is."
Just as Cheng Jiamo was about to explain, He Qingzhao said again, "Even if you're here, you can only be with me."
Hearing his forceful and ruthless tone, Cheng Jiamo realized with a start that she had done something wrong.
She couldn't afford to mess with someone like He Qingzhao.
She shouldn't have agreed to be his girlfriend. Even though he had saved her and helped her, she could repay his kindness, but she should never have gotten entangled with him emotionally.
Fortunately, she hasn't gotten too deeply involved yet; it's only just begun, and there's still time to extricate herself.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"He Qingzhao." She looked at her phone with a gentle smile, "I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore. I feel it's not right. I'll repay you for the favor I owe you in another way later."
He Qingzhao's hand, which was holding a cigarette, tensed up so much that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
He narrowed his eyes, took a deep drag on his cigar, and smiled with his usual dignified and refined air.
"Stop fooling around and go to sleep."
Cheng Jiamo felt wronged: "I'm not making a scene, I'm serious."
He Qingzhao raised his lips slightly: "Repay in another way? What other way?"
Cheng Jiamo moved her lips, but couldn't say a word.
He Qingzhao said, "What I want, you can give me right now. Do I need to pay it back?"
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