Chapter 106 Zhou Huaiyan's Visit
"Ayan, it's her! I just saw her, she's in that taxi. Have someone stop her."
The middle-aged man was very excited. He grabbed Zhou Huaiyan's arm and urged him on impatiently.
Zhou Huaiyan's brows were furrowed. The taxi sped away and was long out of sight. Zhou Huaiyan could only patiently try to persuade him: "Uncle, please calm down. I'll have someone look for it, okay? I'll let you know as soon as I find out."
"Then hurry, you must find her," the middle-aged man said.
They waited until someone brought the man back.
Zhou Huaiyan then asked his assistant to investigate the woman in the taxi.
He himself couldn't remember how many times he had investigated this kind of thing for his uncle.
Ever since my uncle had a serious illness, he has become completely confused and only remembers his childhood sweetheart.
Zhou Huaiyan's parents died early, and he grew up with his uncle.
My uncle never married and gave him everything; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was his second son.
Since his uncle was so concerned about that woman, Zhou Huaiyan naturally hoped to find her, which would also fulfill his uncle's wish.
But this is not an easy task. Not to mention that his uncle's memory is fading and he can't explain it clearly, his uncle has traveled to too many places when he was young, so finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
This time, Zhou Huaiyan still didn't have much hope.
Jiang Xingyao was unaware of Zhou Huaiyan's situation. For several days in a row, she was busy preparing for her next two commercial performances.
After all, she wasn't famous enough yet, and in this industry, she was just a newcomer. The price offered to her was not high, only a few hundred thousand, but Jiang Xingyao did not refuse.
Her goal now is not to make money, but to make a name for herself as quickly as possible.
Jiang Xingyao quickly lost the sense of fulfillment that comes from being busy. Apart from a slight discomfort at first, she soon got used to the feeling of being single-mindedly focused on work.
By the time she finished the two performances, half a month had passed. With nothing else to do, Jiang Xingyao planned to take this opportunity to return to the capital to deal with her divorce, but instead received an invitation from the Zhou family.
It's less of an invitation and more of...
Jiang Xingyao looked at the tall man sitting in front of her, still feeling somewhat unsettled.
Shen Ying had told her before that the Zhou family was all-powerful in the entire Hong Kong city, an existence that others could not reach. But today, as soon as she opened the door, the Zhou family's eldest son, who was rumored to be so powerful, was standing at her door.
"Mrs. Jin, I apologize for my abrupt visit. I hope you won't take offense. I have a favor to ask of you." Zhou Huaiyan said politely, and with a wave of his hand, his assistant and others piled up gifts in front of Jiang Xingyao.
The sheer absurdity of it left Jiang Xingyao speechless.
“Mr. Zhou, you don’t need to be so polite. I won’t be meeting your wife soon. You can just call me Miss Jiang or by my name. Is there anything I can do to help you, Mr. Zhou?” Jiang Xingyao found it all quite strange.
Zhou Huaiyan's politeness suggests he meant no harm.
Jiang Xingyao just couldn't understand what a powerful figure in Hong Kong would want from her, a newcomer.
Zhou Huaiyan said, "There will be a family banquet at the Zhou family tomorrow. I would like to invite Miss Jiang to the Zhou family to meet my uncle."
"Your uncle?" Jiang Xingyao was even more surprised.
Zhou Huaiyan did not hide anything from Jiang Xingyao. He briefly explained Zhou Keyuan's situation: "My uncle saw Miss Jiang on the street that day and has been obsessed with her ever since. I know Miss Jiang is young and definitely not the one my uncle is thinking about, but I still hope that Miss Jiang can come with me, just to make my uncle give up."
Zhou Huaiyan remained humble and polite throughout, showing no airs of a Hong Kong bigwig. Jiang Xingyao briefly inquired about the family banquet and ultimately did not refuse.
Her few relatives had either passed away or...
Jiang Xingyao has never been able to resist family affection.
Zhou Huaiyan thanked Jiang Xingyao again, told her he would pick her up early the next morning, and then left.
After Zhou Huaiyan left, Jiang Xingyao couldn't help but sigh. Rumors in Hong Kong said that Zhou Huaiyan preferred women who wore white dresses. Who knew that he did all this for his uncle? Rumors are indeed unreliable.
Because of this commotion, Jiang Xingyao's plan to return to the capital was temporarily put on hold.
For the past two weeks, Jin Qingyu has been calling and messaging Jiang Xingyao every day, but Jiang Xingyao has ignored them all and hasn't replied to a single one.
Aside from their divorce, she and Jin Qingyu had nothing to talk about.
But Jin Qingyu was persistent, sending at least ten messages every day, mostly asking what Jiang Xingyao was doing.
On the day Jiang Xingyao's last commercial performance ended, he even had someone order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered, but Jiang Xingyao didn't accept it and threw it away on the spot.
Just yesterday, Jiang Xingyao heard from Shen Ying that Jin Qingyu's injuries seemed to have healed, and someone saw him go to see Jiang Cancan.
Jiang Xingyao felt a deep sense of irony. Since he had recovered, the first thing he did was to see Jiang Cancan. Since he loved her so much, why didn't he mention the divorce to her at all in his messages?
Jiang Xingyao didn't take these pieces of information to heart. If Jin Qingyu didn't mention it, she would wait until she got back and brought it up herself.
Thinking this way, Jiang Xingyao decided to ignore it and blocked all of Jin Qingyu's contact methods.
The next morning, Jiang Xingyao went to the Zhou family. Zhou Huaiyan personally came to pick her up. Along the way, probably to keep Jiang Xingyao from being nervous, he told her a lot about Zhou Keyuan.
To Jiang Xingyao's surprise, Zhou Keyuan, who had built up half of the Zhou family's empire in Hong Kong, was originally from the capital.
The car stopped at the Zhou family's residence. Just as Jiang Xingyao was about to get out, a girl came running over like a butterfly. She called out "Brother Huaiyan," but when she saw Jiang Xingyao in the back seat, her expression froze: "Brother Huaiyan, what's she doing in your car? Isn't this the Zhou family's banquet? Why is she here?"
The girl was none other than Du Wei, who had been outshone by Jiang Xingyao in the competition.
A spoiled and willful young lady now stared angrily at Jiang Xingyao with wide eyes, clearly regarding Jiang Xingyao as her imaginary enemy.
Jiang Xingyao didn't have much of a conflict with her and was about to explain herself when Zhou Huaiyan said, "Miss Jiang is my guest. You have no right to tell her what to do."
Furthermore, since you know this is a Zhou family banquet, it's inappropriate for you to be here.
Du Wei, if you know what's good for you, leave on your own. Don't make me kick you out.
"Why can't I? Brother Huaiyan, don't you know anything about our affair? I'm going to marry you sooner or later. If she, an outsider, can do it, why can't I, the future mistress of the Zhou family?" Du Wei questioned.
Zhou Huaiyan frowned slightly: "Those are just your Du family's delusions. I have never given any indication. Du Wei, my patience is limited. In the future, you and your Du family should stop trying to use this kind of rhetoric in front of me."
Zhou Huaiyan uttered two sentences and then immediately ordered someone to see the guest out.
Du Wei was quickly dragged away. As she left, her resentful eyes swept over Jiang Xingyao.
Zhou Huaiyan, having shed his cold demeanor, asked Jiang Xingyao, "Miss Jiang, did I scare you just now? Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"
“It’s normal for you to cut your losses quickly since you have no feelings for Miss Du. Besides, although Miss Du claims to be your fiancée, she doesn’t really know you. This shows that the engagement she’s talking about is just wishful thinking on her part,” Jiang Xingyao said.
She not only didn't think Zhou Huaiyan was cold-hearted, but even admired his approach, unlike Jin Qingyu...
Zhou Huaiyan seemed intrigued by her words and teased, "Miss Jiang and I have only met three times, but from what you're saying, it seems you know me better than Du Wei?"
Jiang Xingyao shook her head: "I don't know you either, but at least I know that you're not the one who likes girls in white dresses."
On the day of the piano competition, Du Wei, who claimed to be engaged to Zhou Huaiyan, wore the same white dress as everyone else.
Zhou Huaiyan chuckled: "It seems Miss Jiang is quite perceptive. Alright, it's getting late, Uncle is waiting. Let's go inside."
The Zhou family banquet was truly just a family banquet. Besides Zhou Huaiyan and Zhou Keyuan, there were also some members of the Zhou family's collateral branches.
These collateral relatives were all very cautious in front of Zhou Huaiyan, and not one of them dared to interrupt. This alone shows Zhou Huaiyan's prestige in the Zhou family.
According to Zhou Huaiyan, Zhou Keyuan hadn't been in good spirits these past two days. After having lunch at the Zhou family's house, Zhou Huaiyan took Jiang Xingyao upstairs to see Zhou Keyuan alone.
The man leaned against the bed, without any airs, and his expression was gentle. Hearing the noise, he looked towards the door. Jiang Xingyao was about to greet him when Zhou Keyuan suddenly became excited, got off the bed, and walked towards Jiang Xingyao: "Xinxin, you are Xinxin, no, Xinxin isn't as young as you. Are you Xinxin's daughter?"
As he spoke, he reached out to take Jiang Xingyao's hand.
Jiang Xingyao looked to Zhou Huaiyan for help. Zhou Huaiyan was also a little surprised. He whispered, "Uncle has never been so excited as he is today. He won't mention those people again after he's seen them."
"Miss Jiang, I know this might be a bit abrupt, but could you please speak with my uncle for a moment? If possible, could you please ask about that woman's identity for me? This is the first time my uncle has mentioned her name."
Although it's just two vague characters, and it sounds like a nickname, it's still much better than searching aimlessly.
Jiang Xingyao had come to fulfill the old man's wish, so naturally she wouldn't refuse.
She helped Zhou Keyuan to sit down to the side, but Zhou Keyuan still held onto her wrist tightly and kept asking, "Child, are you Xinxin's daughter? Is your mother alright?"
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