Chapter 122 Is it concern or surveillance?
The restaurant was booked by Zhou Huaiyan.
Sitting in the private room, he said apologetically, "Miss Jiang, I'm so sorry to have bothered you all this time. It's just that my uncle has been talking about you ever since he saw you last time."
I really have no other choice. My uncle has become increasingly confused over the past few years, and we've seen many doctors, but nothing has helped. Now I can only let him be.
Jiang Xingyao nodded, indicating her understanding.
At the dinner table, Zhou Keyuan sat opposite Jiang Xingyao. He kept staring at Jiang Xingyao, as if trying to find the shadow of someone through her face.
When Jiang Xingyao looked over, he quickly pushed the dishes in front of him toward her, saying, "Xinxin, eat some vegetables. You're too thin."
His eyes were clear and innocent, making him look like a naive child, a far cry from the once-powerful figure he had been in the business world.
Zhou Huaiyan casually pushed the food that Zhou Keyuan handed him back, saying, "Uncle, Miss Jiang can eat by herself. You just need to take care of yourself."
He continued speaking to Jiang Xingyao, "Miss Jiang, as you can see, my uncle's condition isn't very good, but I feel bad for troubling you like this. How about this, I'll pay you a salary. You come to the Zhou family twice a week, and I'll give you one million every week. Is that alright?"
Perhaps worried that Jiang Xingyao might disagree, Zhou Huaiyan added, "Or if Miss Jiang has any other requests, she can make them. As long as I can do it, I will never refuse."
Jiang Xingyao also kept that photo that looked so much like Qu Xinting in her heart.
She hesitated for a moment, then quickly agreed: "Then let's do as Mr. Zhou says. However, I'm not sure if I'll be available all the time. I'll make time for the Zhou family every week. Mr. Zhou, do you have any objections?"
The implication is that she can't be available whenever needed.
Zhou Huaiyan said, "What's the big deal? I'm the one who needs Miss Jiang's help, so everything will be done according to Miss Jiang's schedule."
Jiang Xingyao did not refuse Zhou Huaiyan's offer of payment. If she didn't want anything and just kept helping, it would inevitably lead to some entanglements. It was better to make things clear from the beginning.
While Zhou Huaiyan and Jiang Xingyao were talking, Zhou Keyuan kept staring at Jiang Xingyao until the two fell silent. Then Zhou Keyuan asked again, "Xinxin, how is Xinxin now?"
"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Zhou. She's doing well and healthy." Jiang Xingyao quickly got into character, echoing Zhou Keyuan's words and then subtly probing, "Uncle Zhou, my mother asked me to ask you, have you forgotten everything about you and her?"
"Nonsense! How could I forget Xinxin?" Jiang Xingyao's words suddenly agitated Zhou Keyuan. His voice rose several decibels, but he stopped mid-sentence with a sigh, a sudden wave of dejection washing over him as he clutched his chest. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry to Xinxin. If I hadn't been late that day, Xinxin wouldn't have…"
Does Xin Xin still hate me? Does she still not want to see me?
Jiang Xingyao couldn't answer that question. She was just using Xin Xin's name to get information out of Zhou Huaiyan; she couldn't make decisions for others.
Zhou Huaiyan went straight to the point: "Uncle, what exactly happened between you and Aunt Xinxin? Why doesn't Aunt Xinxin want to see you?"
Zhou Huaiyan remembered that his uncle had been in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. His beloved, who had left a deep impression on him, was most likely far away in the capital. If he was just late, it shouldn't have made her hold a grudge against him for more than 20 years.
When Jiang Xingyao heard Zhou Huaiyan's overly blunt words, a hint of disapproval flashed in her eyes. Before she could say anything, she saw Zhou Keyuan indeed become agitated. He covered his head and muttered intermittently, "I'm sorry, Xinxin, it's my fault, it's all my fault, it's all my fault."
Zhou Keyuan's condition was clearly very wrong. At Jiang Xingyao's prompting, Zhou Huaiyan quickly called his attending physician.
After sending Zhou Keyuan back to the Zhou family home, Jiang Xingyao and the attending physician coaxed him to sleep. Half an hour had passed, and Zhou Huaiyan was still standing at the door, his brows furrowed with worry.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Jiang, I've troubled you again today. I've made sure you didn't even get to eat properly," Zhou Huaiyan said.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Mr. Zhou, you're too kind. From now on, you're my employer, and this is what I should do."
However, there's something I think I should remind Mr. Zhou about: Uncle Zhou and Xin Xin... Aunt's past seems to have left him with very painful memories.
I know Mr. Zhou is anxious, but we can't be too impatient. At least not like today, asking questions too urgently, otherwise Uncle Zhou might not be able to accept it.
When mentioning the name "Xin Xin," Jiang Xingyao hesitated for a moment before adding the title "Auntie."
She still felt that Zhou Keyuan's ideal woman overlapped too much with Qu Xinting's.
"I did act impulsively today. My uncle rarely talks about the past, and it's my fault for not thinking things through," Zhou Huaiyan said.
Jiang Xingyao said, "If Mr. Zhou trusts me, you can leave this matter to me. I will try to test him every time I come to see Uncle Zhou in the future."
“Of course I trust Miss Jiang. I can also tell that Uncle isn’t on guard around you,” Zhou Huaiyan said. He looked into Jiang Xingyao’s eyes and probed again, “Miss Jiang, after you went back this time, did you think of any familiar elders?”
In fact, Zhou Huaiyan had already arranged for people to investigate Jiang Xingyao.
He also knew a little about Jiang Xingyao's family situation, especially her mother.
The woman was just too mysterious; his men hadn't found a picture of her yet.
"Mr. Zhou knows that I've been busy with the divorce lately, and I'm really overwhelmed," Jiang Xingyao said ambiguously.
With the topic shifted, Zhou Huaiyan didn't pursue the matter any further.
The news of Jiang Xingyao's divorce had already circulated online a couple of days ago. Even though the news was suppressed too quickly, the Zhou family and the Jin family are now business partners, and Zhou Huaiyan had heard some rumors about it.
The topic was a bit awkward, so Zhou Huaiyan didn't ask any more questions. He just said politely, "I'll still need to trouble Miss Jiang with my uncle's affairs in the future, so please don't call me Mr. Zhou anymore. It sounds rather awkward."
You can call me "Uncle," and since I'm a bit older than you, if you don't mind, you can call me Brother Huaiyan.
Zhou Keyuan was not in good condition. He had only been asleep for a short time when he suddenly woke up again, as if he had a nightmare.
Jiang Xingyao hurried inside to check on him. He kept repeating "Xin Xin" to himself, saying over and over again what he had said at the restaurant earlier that day, apologizing for being late.
His current state and attitude are unstable, so Jiang Xingyao didn't dare to ask any more questions and could only try to comfort him with his attending physician.
Zhou Huaiyan wanted to follow him in, but just then his phone rang. Seeing the name flashing on the screen, he glanced at Jiang Xingyao in the room out of the corner of his eye, walked to the other end of the corridor, and then answered the phone: "President Jin, you're so busy, how come you have time to call me?"
On the other end of the phone, Jin Qingyu's voice was tinged with static: "My wife has gone to Hong Kong, and I'm a bit tied up here. I'd like to trouble Mr. Zhou to find someone to look after her for me. I'll thank you in person when I go to Hong Kong in a few days."
"Madam?" Zhou Huaiyan feigned confusion. "Didn't the internet say that President Jin and Mrs. Jin divorced? Were those rumors false?"
As business partners, Zhou Huaiyan had learned some things about Jin Qingyu before meeting him, especially the things that were being publicized online.
Zhou Huaiyan himself actually disapproved of some of Jin Qingyu's actions.
But since they were just business partners making money together, he had no interest in their private affairs.
But things are different now. His uncle still needs Jiang Xingyao, and Jin Qingyu has come to him on his own initiative, so he definitely has to ask more detailed questions.
There was silence on the other end of the phone. After a while, Jin Qingyu's voice came through again: "She wanted a divorce, and she did, but I don't plan to let go. I'll come to Hong Kong to find her after I'm done with this busy period."
"I'd appreciate it if Mr. Zhou could find someone to help look after her during this time. She's reserved and doesn't like to argue, and I'm worried she might get taken advantage of."
This time, Zhou Huaiyan fell silent.
On Jin Qingyu's end, the voice continued: "By the way, it would be best to arrange an assistant for her, a woman. I can't stand seeing other men around her. Also, if any reckless man tries to get close to her, have someone tell me."
I know Mr. Zhou is busy, so you can give me his assistant's phone number and I'll contact him directly.
Zhou Huaiyan frowned, and only after Jin Qingyu finally finished speaking did he ask, "Does President Jin need me to help take care of Mrs. Jin, or to keep an eye on her?"
In this world, where there are women, there are men. Mrs. Jin has a job and a life. Even if I were willing to help, I couldn't eliminate all the men around her as you suggested.
I can't help with this kind of favor and I don't want to. In fact, I advise Mr. Jin not to ask others for help with this kind of favor.
Anyone with sound values would never do such a thing. And of course, would Mr. Jin really trust someone willing to do such a thing to stay by Mrs. Jin's side?
Zhou Huaiyan hung up the phone without waiting for Jin Qingyu's response.
Meanwhile, Jin Qingyu, far away in the capital, stared intently at his now-black phone screen, his face filled with frustration.
If Jin Yanzhou hadn't been relentlessly pursuing him like a mad dog these past few days, he wouldn't have needed to ask Zhou Huaiyan for help.
"Mr. Jin, these are the documents for the meeting later. Please take a look." When Assistant Xu came in, he saw that Jin Qingyu's expression was not good, but he still handed over a thick stack of documents.
After a moment's hesitation, he added, "Mr. Jin, Jiang Cancan is here again, waiting at the door."
"Tell her to get lost," Jin Qingyu said.
"I've already told her, but she said she wouldn't leave until she saw you. I called security to kick her out, but she came back on her own." Assistant Xu had always thought that Jiang Cancan was sensible and capable, but recently he suddenly realized that Jiang Cancan was indeed quite capable, especially when it came to pestering people.
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