He ran his fingertips along the skin of the back of her hand, like teasing a cat with its fur standing on end.
Ning Yuan really wanted to slap his handsome face and then strangle these bastards to death, but she held back.
She abruptly pulled her hand back, sat back down, and coldly uttered a single word: "Ask."
The most important thing now is to figure out who this man is and what his purpose is in approaching me.
Zhou Yan tugged at his tie, which she had torn apart, and said with a hint of teasing, "Sister-in-law, you're so fierce, how many men can handle you?"
"Bang!" Ning Yuan's DIOR high heels slammed hard on the table, the sharp heels landing precisely on the edge of the table between her legs with a loud thud.
She looked at him expressionlessly, her voice as cold as ice: "Stop talking so much nonsense. If you say one more word, next time you won't just kick the table."
Zhou Yan glanced down at the shoe tips that were so close to his face, and felt a tightness in his groin.
He clicked his tongue, subtly straightened his clothes, and then continued, "That dock, besides your antiques, also has smuggled arms, did you know that?"
Ning Yuan crossed her arms, her eyes icy: "I don't know."
Zhou Yan scrutinized her expression, and after a moment, nodded: "It seems you really don't know."
“Now, it’s your turn to answer my question.” Ning Yuan stared intently at him.
She asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Who...are you?"
Zhou Yan's lips curled into a playful smile: "The second young master of the Zhou family, my mother's surname is Zhou and her given name is Zhu Jun. He also has an older brother with the same father and mother, named Zhou Zhaonan... Hmm, maybe he should be surnamed Rong now."
"Bullshit! Impossible!" Ning Yuan blurted out.
Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow as if he had heard a funny joke and asked, "Why is it impossible?"
Ning Yuan's gaze was sharp as a knife as she locked onto Zhou Yan: "Aunt Zhu Jun is my mother's best friend. My mother met Zhou Zhaonan when he was a child. If you are his brother, my mother couldn't possibly not have met you!"
Zhou Yan chuckled, his tone tinged with mockery: "Has Madam Ning seen my brother and mother since her early years? Has she seen them again?"
Ning Yuan was silent for a moment, then had to admit, "No."
My mother said that they only met twice, when Anan was still young, and then they lost contact.
The Zhou family, who once dominated Shanghai, gradually disappeared after going to England.
But she quickly realized what was going on and said in a cold tone, "But Aunt Zhou has no reason to hide it from my mother. There is no conflict of interest between them."
Zhou Yan sneered, his tone tinged with contempt: "Don't presume to know everything about the Zhou family. Madam Ning didn't even know that her best friend had actually given birth to twins."
Ning Yuan's face paled, her pupils contracted, and she subconsciously clenched her fists.
She stared coldly at Zhou Yan, her tone forceful: "Twins? There's some basic logic to this nonsense. You mean, even your father didn't know your mother, Miss Zhou Zhujun, had given birth to two children?"
She gave a mocking laugh. "You don't even know your father's name?"
Zhou Yan straightened his police uniform tie with a cold gaze, his tone so flat that it betrayed no emotion: "If he knew his wife had given birth to two children, he would be even less likely to let her take the children away; at least one would have to stay. My mother would not allow such a thing to happen either."
Ning Yuan couldn't help but scoff, her eyes full of doubt: "Fine, I'll take it as you're telling the truth."
She paused, her tone becoming even sharper: "Then why would Aunt Zhou Zhujun need to hide it from her closest friend—my mother, Madam Ning the Second?"
Zhou Yan twitched the corners of his lips, and his ambiguous smile seemed particularly irritating to Ning Yuan: "Sister-in-law, this is the second question."
He leaned forward slightly, a smirk playing on his lips: "Now it's my turn to ask you, who exactly is behind this shipment? Is the owner of the dock a member of the 14K triad?"
Ning Yuan leaned back in her chair, her posture languid yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible wariness.
“Zhou Sir, these are two issues as well.”
She gave him a cold look: "I won't answer the first question; it's a trade secret. The second..."
She paused slightly, then said in a nonchalant tone, "The dock isn't 14K."
Ning Yuan answered crisply, still looking directly at Zhou Yan with sharp eyes: "Now, it's your turn to answer my question."
Zhou Yan didn't intend to push too hard. He casually toyed with the lighter in his hand: "My mother has always been aloof."
The lighter was turned on and off repeatedly, the clicking sound of metal clashing was particularly clear in the quiet room.
He scoffed: "If someone is capable of taking their child away to start their own family, they naturally wouldn't want to reveal the fact that they had to send one of their children to their second uncle as a hostage due to the family infighting."
Ning Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
Oh, right... there's internal strife within the Zhou family!
My mother said that Aunt Zhou gave most of her fortune to Rong Wenwu, which led to a very tight cash flow after she went abroad.
Therefore, she was constantly ostracized by many people in the family, and there was constant infighting within the family. People kept challenging her position as the head of the family and demanding that she divide the property and separate the family.
This is why, when Aunt Zhou fell seriously ill, Zhou Zhaonan was sent back to Rong Wenwu's side.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh, trying hard to control the surging emotions inside her: "Aunt Zhou can leave so resolutely with her child, she's not the kind of person you're describing!"
Zhou Yan curled his lips into a half-smile, his disdainful expression seemingly mocking Ning Yuan's naiveté: "My mother dedicated the first half of her life to the ideals she and her lover held, and the second half to her family and my grandfather's last wishes."
“Whoever raised her, she naturally cherishes them. She devoted all her love and attention to my eldest brother, Zhou Zhaonan, in the latter half of her life.”
He slowly took out his cigarette case and picked out a cigarette with his long, slender fingers.
"And I am to be sent to my second uncle as a hostage of the family head in exchange for his support of my mother's right to control the Zhou family's overseas assets."
Zhou Yan lit the lighter, and with a "click," the pale blue flame flickered and lit the cigarette.
“My older brother goes to Eton College and I go to Winchester College. The two schools are more than 40 kilometers apart, which is very close. But I only see my mother during the Chinese New Year. She will take my brother to the family dinner and give a speech.”
The crimson firelight reflected on the man's cold and sinister face, making him appear particularly eerie: "My elder brother was born just like me. I heard he was a genius, but unfortunately, he was raised to be both sincere and naive."
Zhou Yan slowly exhaled smoke, and amidst the swirling smoke, his handsome face appeared even more indifferent: "He possesses everything I desire."
Ning Yuan closed her eyes, her mind buzzing, feeling dazed.
She could barely hear what he was saying... she could only see his face, his body, his movements...
If you disregard his scent, would twins even share the same familiar physical sensations?
Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes, a hint of aggression in his smile: "Of course I know what my father's name is."
He suddenly lifted Ning Yuan's chin with his fingertips, his tone cold: "Rong Wenwu, is that right?"
Ning Yuan was forced to look at that identical face, and subconsciously tried to avoid his touch, but he held her firmly in his grasp.
She felt her breathing quicken, and his gaze made her uneasy, yet strangely familiar.
Why are they so similar, yet so unfamiliar?
Looking at her slightly dazed expression, Zhou Yan's smile deepened: "Sister-in-law, you seem to like me a lot?"
He sighed softly, "Zhou Zhaonan, he had a mother's love in the first half of his life, a father's love in the second half, and..."
His gaze lingered on Ning Yuan's face for a moment, then he suddenly lowered his head, leaned close to her face, almost touching her lips, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke—
"Sister-in-law, is it worth it to remain chaste for him, even going so far as to feign friendship with me to gather information?"
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