Chapter 8: Dilemma

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Mo spent the entire day in anxious suspense, but the expected storm never came. She was deeply perplexed. Knowing Gu Zhiru as she did, if Gu Zhiru hadn’t picked her up at the Zhou family home on the second day, she definitely would have reported it to Zhou Sipei immediately. Yet from start to finish, Gu Zhiru hadn’t called her once to ask about the situation, and Zhou Sipei and Tang Shulan acted as though they knew nothing at all.

Even when school resumed, the Zhou family home remained calm and quiet. Zhou Mo was finally certain there was something fishy behind this, and it had to have something to do with He Chong.

After her classes on the first day of the new term, Zhou Mo called He Chong, wanting to head to Yannan Town to meet up with him.

On the other end of the line, He Chong said hurriedly, “I’m busy with something today. Once I finish, I’ll come over to find…”

“Is it work-related?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit tricky. Might take some time.” He Chong chuckled softly, reassuring her, “Be a good girl. I’ll call you back later.”

Something really had gone wrong on He Chong’s end, and it was no small matter.

Over the New Year holiday, Lin Xinghe hadn’t stayed idle either. He worked overtime at home to finalize the modification plan. After the new year began, He Chong inspected it, confirmed there were no issues, and submitted it to Sun Qi for sign-off. However, the very next day, He Chong received a phone call from Sun Qi, who lambasted him for treachery and declared that he would never collaborate with him again. Sun Qi even warned that as long as He Chong tried to make a living in Xicheng, he shouldn’t expect anything to go smoothly within any domain Sun Qi influenced. In other words, Sun Qi had formally declared a feud against him.

He Chong found the whole thing baffling and had no idea what was going on. After making numerous inquiries, he finally uncovered the truth: Sun Qi had been competing with another group of rich kids in Xicheng. Just yesterday, Sun Qi learned that those rich kids had successfully modified a Mercedes-AMG B63, the exact same model he had asked He Chong to modify. What infuriated Sun Qi even more was that the modification technique used on that car was virtually identical to the blueprint He Chong had submitted to him.

When Lin Xinghe heard about this, he rushed to the garage in Yannan Town before dawn to figure out a countermeasure with He Chong. The lights at the main entrance of the garage were on, but the building inside was pitch-black. Lin Xinghe pulled out his phone to check the time and saw it was only five in the morning. He Chong probably wasn’t up yet.

He reached for his keys to unlock the back door, only to find it unlocked; it swung open with a light push. The inside was shrouded in darkness. Just as Lin Xinghe reached to turn on the lights, a spark of fire flickered in the dark ahead, dimly revealing the outline of a person.

Lin Xinghe paused. “Chong-ge?”

From the spot in the darkness where the tiny spark glowed, a low hum came in response: “Mm.”

Lin Xinghe turned on the light.

He Chong had barely slept all night, busy gathering news and studying the blueprints. He trusted Lin Xinghe’s capability completely; Lin Xinghe’s design and concepts were not something an ordinary person could easily replicate. If it wasn’t a total coincidence that the other party had hit upon the exact same approach, then…

He raised his dry, bloodshot eyes to look at Lin Xinghe.

A wave of discomfort washed over Lin Xinghe. With just that single look, he understood what He Chong was thinking at that moment.

“Chong-ge, saying this now might sound like an afterthought, but whether you believe it or not, I didn’t leak the plan. You’ve helped me out more than once or twice. I’m not the kind of person to repay kindness with malice.”

He Chong lowered his head, took a drag from his cigarette, and exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke. After a long silence, he said in a raspy voice:

“I believe you.”

Lin Xinghe froze for a moment.

“Help me think about this. Is it theoretically possible for the other party to come up with an identical design?”

Lin Xinghe had long known that He Chong operated on the principle of trusting the people he hired without hesitation, but being granted absolute, undivided trust still moved him deeply.

He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, “Chong-ge, I have a suspicion, but I don’t have any proof.”

“Go on.”

“Before Yan Tianyu left, he came by once. The day after he left, when I was tidying up my things, I noticed one of the drawing sheets was missing. That drawing was critical; it covered the engine specs. I couldn’t be sure back then that he was the one who took it, so I didn’t mention it to you, and I just pulled an all-nighter to redraw it.”

He Chong furrowed his brows tightly, remaining silent for a long time. After a good while, he raised a hand to press his temples, ash flaking down from the cigarette between his fingers.

He asked the previous question once more: “Theoretically speaking, is it possible to come up with an identical plan?”

“I can only say that when it comes to being one hundred percent identical, nothing is absolute in theory. But from a practical standpoint, achieving an identical result is… virtually impossible.”

Unless someone involved leaked the secret.

If it wasn’t He Chong and it wasn’t Lin Xinghe, then there was only one possibility left.

He Chong stood up and stubbed out his cigarette on the workbench. “Xinghe, this might be asking too much, but is there any way you can refine our current design even further to shave off a little more of the zero-to-hundred acceleration time Sun Qi asked for? Even if it’s just by 0.1 seconds? Don’t worry, I won’t pay you a single cent less than you deserve.” He Chong’s voice sounded exhausted. “That’s the only way I might get a chance to explain things to Sun Qi.”

Lin Xinghe was also well aware of Sun Qi’s influence in Xicheng. He didn’t have a job yet, and the money for his mother’s medical treatments depended entirely on his commissions working under He Chong. The two of them shared a common fate where if one fell, the other would suffer, at least on a professional level. On a personal level, He Chong had shown him kindness when he was down, and as a friend, Lin Xinghe didn’t want to see him lose his foothold in Xicheng because of this.

After a moment’s contemplation, Lin Xinghe said, “I’ll do my best.” He wasn’t one hundred percent confident either, but he could only give it everything he had.

He Chong nodded. “Now that things have come to this, rushing won’t help. Get some rest first before you get to work. I’m going to catch some sleep.”

He Chong yawned and walked upstairs with heavy steps.

The moment Lin Xinghe agreed, he bent over the workbench, unrolled the blueprints, and began studying them.

Lin Xinghe’s technical breakthrough was not something that could yield results overnight, but the fallout from Sun Qi was already beginning to show. Previously, He Chong frequently received calls inquiring about prices, but overnight, those inquiries dropped by more than half.

It wasn’t that He Chong wasn’t worried, but by nature he believed that every problem would work itself out eventually.

He Chong remembered his promise to Zhou Mo. He carved out some time to head into the city and meet up with her.

Ever since she met He Chong, Zhou Mo’s attendance in non-essential elective classes had plummeted. The two had agreed to meet in the parking lot. From afar, Zhou Mo saw He Chong leaning against his car, quietly smoking a cigarette. When he looked up and saw her coming, he put out the cigarette early.

As she approached, Zhou Mo noticed how worn out he looked and could not help feeling a bit worried. “Did the matter get resolved?”

He Chong smiled. “It’s nothing.”

He opened the passenger door to let Zhou Mo get in, but she suddenly took a step forward and threw her arms around him. The impact knocked He Chong back half a step. After steadying himself, he reached up to hold her arms and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”

“To cheer you up. Perk up a little.”

He Chong paused, then pulled her tightly against his chest. “Then this encouragement is pretty great,” he said with a smile.

The early spring air was bitterly cold, making outdoor activities unpleasant, so they spent the afternoon watching a movie. The film was mediocre, and both of them felt it was a waste of ticket money.

That evening, He Chong took Zhou Mo to a very expensive restaurant in Xicheng.

The restaurant was called the “Chen Family Mansion.” Zhou Mo had been there a few times with her parents and knew it was far from cheap.

When ordering, Zhou Mo held the menu upright to block the view from neighboring tables and whispered, “Why did we come to such an expensive restaurant?”

He Chong chuckled. “I can’t have you eating at street stalls with me every single time.”

“It’s really expensive here!”

“Having a meal here once in a while is fine.”

“Then let me get the bill today, okay?”

“If you do that, it’ll make me look bad as your boyfriend.”

“I don’t care. Let me pay today.”

He Chong smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Naturally, Zhou Mo had not forgotten the main purpose of meeting He Chong today. Over dinner, she got straight to the point. “Before I went to spend the second day of Chinese New Year^[1] with you, did you call Aunt Gu?”

He Chong was not surprised at all that Zhou Mo had guessed it, but he was astonished that Gu Zhiru actually possessed enough of a “spirit of contract” to protect herself.

“Yeah, I made a small deal with her.”

Zhou Mo immediately grew tense. “Did you…”

“Don’t worry. A minor matter like this wasn’t worth dipping into my mother’s estate.”

Zhou Mo was amused and shared her state of mind over the past few days with him. “I was fully prepared to be grounded for half a month.”

“What, are you a little disappointed that your dad didn’t find out?”

“I’m just worried this is only the calm before the storm,” Zhou Mo said, looking up at him with a serious expression that showed she was not joking. “He Chong, I want to tell them.”

He Chong flatly rejected the idea. “No.”

Zhou Mo froze.

Realizing his tone was too harsh, He Chong said, “Think about it. What would happen if you told your parents right now?”

“Grounded?”

“Grounding you would be light. If they take you abroad and hide you away somewhere, where am I supposed to find you then?”

“I wouldn’t go. They can’t just knock me unconscious and drag me onto a plane, can they?”

He Chong fell silent for a moment, gazing at Zhou Mo. “Are you truly prepared to turn against them?”

Zhou Mo opened her mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.

The fact that she hesitated showed she did not yet have the resolve to burn her bridges^[2]. Understanding this, He Chong reached out, took her hand, and comforted her. “Trust me. It won’t be much longer.”

Zhou Mo nodded, but she remained downcast for the rest of dinner.

Sensing her mood, He Chong held her hand as they walked toward the parking lot. “Are you full? Want to get some ice cream?”

“No, it’s too cold.”

“Cream puffs?”

“Too heavy.”

He Chong was briefly stumped. After a moment’s thought, he said, “I don’t eat many desserts. Why don’t you give me a few options?”

Zhou Mo giggled.

They stopped beside the car. Just as He Chong was about to open the door for her, she suddenly buried her face against his chest and said, flustered, “I think I just saw someone I know.”

He Chong turned around, using his body to shield her, and asked with a smile, “Really? You’re not just saying that so I’ll hug you, are you?”

Zhou Mo swatted him gently. “Really. Though it’s also possible I mistook her for someone else.”

“Someone you know well?”

“Not at all. Just someone I ran into at one of those boring cocktail parties. I’ve only met her once. She probably didn’t see me, though.”

After waiting a moment, Zhou Mo looked up and glanced past He Chong. “Looks like she’s gone. Let me go inside.”

“Leaving already?” He Chong gave a low laugh. Placing a hand on the back of her head, he leaned down and kissed her before finally letting her go.

As usual, He Chong drove Zhou Mo home, stopping at an intersection near her neighborhood. She unbuckled her seatbelt but sat there without moving. Looking up at He Chong, she did not realize there was still a hint of aggrieved longing in her eyes.

He Chong pulled Zhou Mo into his arms, pressing her against his chest, and asked in a low voice, “Do you still not trust me?”

Zhou Mo clutched the lapels of his shirt. “I do.”

In the quiet darkness, He Chong suddenly leaned down and kissed her.

His palms gripped her waist tightly while his lips moved against hers with deep, lingering warmth. His tongue parted her lips, slipping past her teeth to seek out hers, entangling with it in intense passion.

Zhou Mo’s knees went weak, leaving her breathless under his fierce assault. Held tightly in He Chong’s embrace, her body ached faintly from the pressure, but it felt as though only this pain could drown out all her anxiety, doubt, and panic.

After a long while, He Chong released her, catching his breath. He gently brushed aside the hair on her forehead, met her eyes, and said in a deep voice, “Once I set my mind on something, no one can make me give up. Not even you.”

The night was quiet. Zhou Mo nodded, resting her forehead against his chest, listening to the heavy, powerful beat of his heart like waves crashing against rocks.

They stayed in the car for another ten minutes or so until it was time for Zhou Mo to head home.

Releasing her, He Chong instructed, “Get some rest when you get home, and don’t overthink things. Once I wrap up what I’m dealing with and the weather warms up, I’ll take you out somewhere fun.”

Zhou Mo’s eyes lit up. “Where?”

“Wherever you want to go, we’ll go.”

“Let’s take a road trip to the desert.”

He Chong smiled and said, “Sure.”

Zhou Mo slung her bag over her shoulder, kissed his cheek, and opened the car door. Just as she was about to step out, she suddenly remembered something. “Wait, I was supposed to pay today. How did you end up beating me to it again?”

He Chong suppressed a smile. “Next time.”

“How much was it today? I’ll pay you back,” Zhou Mo said, reaching for her purse.

He Chong quickly stopped her. “You eat like a bird, so it wasn’t much. Next time. Next time I’ll definitely let you pay.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He Chong stroked Zhou Mo’s long, silky hair.

“Go on in and get some rest early.”

Zhou Mo stepped out of the car and walked inside with a light step.

The moment she opened the door, Tang Shulan’s voice drifted over from the living room. “Clear your schedule this Saturday. You’re coming with me to a banquet. Duan Yongzhou will be there too.”

“I’m busy on Saturday.”

Tang Shulan’s gaze swept over to her. “Busy with what?”

“I made plans with Ye Yin…”

“Cancel them.”

“Mom…”

“How many times have I told you? People like Ye Yinyin aren’t in the same circle as you. She won’t do your future any good.”

The words stung Zhou Mo, sending a rush of heat to her head. She couldn’t help pushing back. “Why does making friends have to involve all these calculations? Yinyin is genuine, warm, and hardworking…”

“You’re still young, which is why you think so naively,” Tang Shulan interrupted with a yawn. She folded her newspaper, set it on the coffee table, stood up, and headed toward the bedroom.

“I’m not going on Saturday.”

Tang Shulan stopped in her tracks and turned around. “Momo, are you trying to bargain with me?”

Zhou Mo pressed her lips tightly together.

“Let me teach you something: bargaining requires leverage. Tell me, what leverage do you have?” Seeing Zhou Mo flush red and stand mute, she shook her head with a sigh. It was as if she were deeply disappointed to have raised such a stubborn, naïve, inflexible, and foolish daughter, one who was virtually useless aside from her decent looks and talent for painting.

“Everything I arrange for you is for your own good. Don’t you like painting? If you marry into an artistic family like the Duan Family, you’ll have a path forward no matter what happens.”

Zhou Mo said indignantly, “You’re just using me as a pawn.”

Tang Shulan looked at her coldly. “Then tell me, if you don’t marry Duan Yongzhou, how do you plan to live in the future? Rely on us to support you for the rest of your life? Your father constantly worries that there’s no heir to manage our family business. If you had any business sense, he’d naturally be eager to groom you, but do you have that ability?”

“I didn’t choose this path!”

A trace of pity entered Tang Shulan’s eyes. “When you were eight years old, you couldn’t even choose a dress without me picking it out for you.”

Zhou Mo wanted to argue further, but Tang Shulan let out a yawn. “I’m tired. Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Zhou Mo trembled with rage, yet every single word from Tang Shulan hit her right where it hurt most.

She stood frozen in the empty living room for a moment, her heart filled with panic, fear, and helplessness.

She dropped her bag and rushed into the studio.

The studio was thick with the heavy scent of turpentine, and canvases were stacked against the walls in layers, leaving barely any room to walk. Originally, the studio had been just over ten square meters, but as Zhou Mo produced more and more paintings, Zhou Sipei had knocked down the walls to the cloakroom and tea room on either side, expanding it to over thirty square meters.

This place was her Neverland, her Utopia, her Promised Land.

A canvas with just a few fresh brushstrokes stood by the window. Zhou Mo gripped a paintbrush, her hand trembling as she squeezed out paint.

Suddenly, the dried blocks of color on the canvas twisted and distorted, blurring before her eyes into a mottled, chaotic mess.

Zhou Mo took a deep breath, blinked, dropped her brush, and took half a step back. Just as she turned to leave, she accidentally bumped into a freshly painted canvas that was drying. With a crash, the canvas fell to the floor.

Zhou Mo rushed to pick it up, but as she crouched down, a wave of despair washed over her. She covered her face and burst into tears.

On Saturday, Zhou Mo accompanied Tang Shulan to the banquet.

Though completely unwilling, just as Tang Shulan had said, she was in no position to negotiate terms.

The banquet was held at a private resort villa. Tang Shulan led Zhou Mo around to greet everyone before finally pushing her toward Duan Yongzhou, telling her to make the most of the time to build a connection with him.

Zhou Mo felt intensely awkward, but she bit the bullet and greeted Duan Yongzhou.

Duan Yongzhou glanced at her and pointed to the lawn across the swimming pool. “Let’s take a walk over there.”

Zhou Mo knew she shouldn’t take her frustration out on Duan Yongzhou. Besides, his gentlemanly demeanor felt like a breath of fresh air, easing the resistance in her heart.

She looked at him and said, “Mr. Duan…”

“From now on, you can just call me by my name,” Duan Yongzhou said with a smile. “Let’s go.”

Having not seen him for a few days, Zhou Mo thought Duan Yongzhou looked even more haggard than before. His complexion was unhealthily pale, and his light gray suit emphasized his gaunt frame. In the night breeze, he seemed fragile, like a flickering candle flame.

Zhou Mo couldn’t help feeling a bit concerned. “Mr. Duan, are you cold?”

“I’m fine.” Duan Yongzhou shook his head. “Thank you for last time.”

“It was nothing.”

“Did coming here today put you in a difficult position?”

Zhou Mo shook her head.

“Socializing like this… sometimes I can’t decline either.”

“You certainly have more options than I do.”

Duan Yongzhou smiled without refuting her. “There’s an artists’ reception next month. Would you like to go?”

“I’m sorry, I…”

“It’s not a date, don’t worry. Many emerging painters will be attending, and it might inspire you. I don’t mean anything else by it. If you’re willing, we could just be friends.”

“I’d love to be friends with you, but…” Zhou Mo stopped in her tracks.

Duan Yongzhou stopped alongside her. He looked down at Zhou Mo and said softly, “If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll explain to my parents. There won’t be any more meetings of this nature in the future.”

Zhou Mo hurriedly said, “I’m sorry. Actually, I…”

Duan Yongzhou looked at her, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny. “Do you already have someone you like?”

Zhou Mo nodded. Duan Yongzhou was far sharper than she had imagined.

“Is it someone I know?”

“What happened between him and the Gu family should be common knowledge by now. His name is He Chong. You might have heard of him.”

Duan Yongzhou seemed somewhat surprised, then smiled. “You’ve caught me a bit off guard. I have indeed heard about him and the Gu family. Trading a villa worth sixty million for a graveyard plot takes a certain disdain for wealth.”

“It isn’t that he holds money in contempt. To him, some things are simply more important than money.”

“Choosing him won’t be an easy path for you. Social status is secondary. Go back three generations and who wasn’t a commoner? But the biggest issue will be your parents’ attitude.”

Zhou Mo said dispiritedly, “I know.”

“As far as I know, He Chong is quite famous among the Four Young Masters of Xicheng and their circle. He has frequent dealings with Sun Qi, and Sun Qi trusts him deeply.”

Zhou Mo was taken aback. “Why would Sun Qi be dealing with him so often?”

“You didn’t know? He designs custom car modifications. While it’s not a mainstream scene, the group of people who enjoy messing around with cars is by no means small.”

Zhou Mo stood there in stunned silence. She suddenly realized that she might have misunderstood He Chong all along. “So… is working in that line of business actually quite profitable?”

“Someone like Sun Qi naturally wouldn’t think twice about throwing around massive sums of money. However, I heard that He Chong offended Sun Qi recently, so going forward, I fear…”

Zhou Mo was even more astonished; she had been completely in the dark about everything Duan Yongzhou was telling her. To this day, she had still thought He Chong was just an auto mechanic, at most holding some shares in his uncle’s garment factory. But thinking carefully about it now, the last time he took her to that expensive Chen Family Mansion, he hadn’t even blinked when paying the bill. In fact, he paid every time they ate together, never even letting her glance at the receipt.

“How did he offend Sun Qi?”

“I don’t know the details. You can ask He Chong yourself.” Duan Yongzhou paused, then added, “Has he been keeping it from you?”

Zhou Mo said nothing.

Duan Yongzhou understood. “Men sometimes have a bad habit of refusing to let others know when they hit a rough patch, especially those closest to them.”

Having laid all her cards on the table with Duan Yongzhou, Zhou Mo felt the atmosphere between them grow much more relaxed. Yet her chest felt tight. “But I thought…”

Duan Yongzhou looked her over. “If I said that even though I’ve never met He Chong, I can understand why he did it, what would you think?”

“Why?”

“Because the person involved is you. You grew up in an environment that was far too sheltered. With many things, rather than burdening you with useless worries, it’s better to…” Seeing Zhou Mo bite her lower lip with her brow tightly furrowed, he quickly added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. Being naive isn’t a bad thing. Plenty of people would envy your innocence.”

The words sounded strikingly familiar. Zhou Mo thought back; it seemed He Chong had once said something nearly identical.

Was being naive really a good thing? She was suddenly filled with doubt.

“Is there anything I can do to help with his trouble with Sun Qi?”

Duan Yongzhou shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

For a moment, Zhou Mo felt deeply powerless.

Chatting as they walked, they unknowingly rounded the swimming pool and stepped onto the neatly manicured lawn opposite. Spotting a stone bench, they sat down.

Inside, Tang Shulan had been keeping an eye on Zhou Mo’s movements all along. Seeing her seemingly chatting so amiably with Duan Yongzhou, she was delighted.

She looped back to the inner room to get some red wine when a woman in a black dress suddenly blocked her path. “Mrs. Zhou, what a pleasure to meet you.”

Tang Shulan paused and studied the woman’s face, but couldn’t place her. Unable to recall who she was, she simply smiled and nodded. “Hello.”

The woman in black smiled and said, “I haven’t congratulated Mrs. Zhou yet on finding such a fine son-in-law.”

Tang Shulan assumed she was referring to Duan Yongzhou. Secretly thrilled, she smiled demurely and said, “Now, don’t go spreading rumors. Nothing is set in stone yet^[3].”

The woman in black feigned surprise. “What? The last time I bumped into your daughter dining at the Chen Family Mansion, they were acting so intimate. I assumed a wedding was just around the corner…”

Tang Shulan’s face fell.

The woman in black covered her mouth with a chuckle. “I was just telling my husband how unconventional the Zhou family is when picking a son-in-law. Ignoring generation, ignoring background, not even caring about ties with the Gu family, all to choose such a rebellious bastard…”

Tang Shulan naturally understood who she was talking about. Her mind buzzed as anger rushed to her head. She wished she could grab Zhou Mo and interrogate her right then and there. But trapped by her status and the setting, she could only smile smoothly and say, “That must be a misunderstanding. My daughter might not have many outstanding qualities, but her greatest virtues are her dignity, propriety, and obedience.”

The woman in black gave a dry laugh. “Then I must have seen wrong. I was thinking, the Zhou family is full of respectable people, so how could they ever allow such a scandal?”

After taking some effort to dismiss the woman in black, Tang Shulan naturally had no desire to stay any longer. She set down her glass, hurried over to the other side, interrupted Zhou Mo’s conversation with Duan Yongzhou, and led Zhou Mo away from the reception.

Tang Shulan’s head throbbed with anger. Given her usual style, she would have berated Zhou Mo within an inch of her life. But the black-dressed woman’s words were so absurdly unbelievable that, after some thought, she decided to investigate the matter secretly before taking any action.

Seeing Tang Shulan’s face shift through various shades without saying a word for a long while, Zhou Mo was completely bewildered. “Mom, is something wrong?”

Tang Shulan glared at her. “We’re going back! Don’t you dare run off.”

Zhou Mo just found it baffling. “Oh.”

Misfortunes never came singly.

On He Chong’s side, before the matter with Sun Qi could be resolved, trouble struck his uncle’s garment factory. The breached order before the New Year had apparently just been a prelude. After the New Year, the factory had taken on several major new orders. Right in the middle of full-scale production, those business partners suddenly, as if by collusion, broke their contracts simultaneously, willing even to pay the breach penalties.

The tactic was identical to last time, making He Chong suspect foul play. With such massive orders canceled after labor and raw materials had already been poured in, whether they chose to halt production or push through, the heavy financial loss would cripple the garment factory.

With so much at stake, He Chong had no choice but to pull himself away from the Sun Qi matter and take a trip to Luocheng.

He Zhengkui and He Yifei were frantic over the situation. Neither of them could fathom why old friends they had partnered with for years, people whose backgrounds they knew inside and out, would rather pay penalties than fulfill their contracts.

He Chong got the list of partner merchants from He Yifei. He studied it for a long time without finding anything in common among them.

The early spring weather was dismal, with a dreary rain falling. He Chong pulled back the blinds, lit a cigarette, and propped his legs on the desk, turning the list over and over in his hands as he examined it.

He Yifei walked in to brew him some tea and coughed twice from the heavy smoke. “Bro, you should cut back on the smoking.”

He Chong grunted in reply, slapped the list face down on the desk, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Taking a long sip of the hot tea He Yifei handed him, he asked, “Yi Fei, who do you think this is targeted at?”

He Yifei curled his lip. “Well, I’ve never gone out of my way to offend anyone.”

He Chong fell deep into thought.

He Chong knew his uncle He Zhengkui’s character well: he didn’t gamble or visit prostitutes, being an honest and trustworthy man through and through. As for He Yifei, aside from getting tricked by a woman in the past due to poor judgment and foolishly trying to play the hero, which had accidentally landed him in the detention center, he usually kept his nose clean and never looked for trouble.

He Chong said, “This must be aimed at me.”

“Could it be that Sun Qi?”

“Not necessarily. I know Sun Qi. If he wants to target someone, he usually goes straight for the throat rather than going to all this roundabout trouble.”

He Yifei hadn’t slept well all night worrying about this, and he looked thoroughly drained. “Bro, it’s not even your zodiac year^[4]. How are you having such bad luck?”

He Chong gave a small laugh. “Maybe I should go pray at a temple one of these days.”

He Yifei glanced at him, suddenly faltering.

“What are you thinking?”

“Bro…” He Yifei stammered. “I had a thought, though I don’t know if I’m right… could it… could it be related to Miss Zhou? Like five years ago with Qin Xi. She was a rich girl too, and the Qin Family…”

He Chong’s voice sank. “Yi Fei.”

He Yifei knew this was a sore spot for He Chong and wasn’t something to bring up lightly, but the factory’s current crisis was driving him crazy. Unable to hold it in any longer, he blurted out, “Miss Zhou is a nice person, I know that. She doesn’t throw spoiled heiress tantrums like Qin Xi did… but Bro, ordinary folks like us really can’t afford to cross rich people. They’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, but what about us? The factory comes second, and making money comes second too. I just don’t want you almost losing your life like last time.”

He Chong abruptly stood up. Thinking he was angry, He Yifei hurriedly said, “I’m sorry.”

He Chong’s expression was cold. “Keep an eye on the factory. I’m heading out.”

“Where are you going?”

He Chong didn’t answer. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he walked out into the fine drizzle toward the main gate.

Restless, He Chong drove over to 2046 to get a drink with Han Yu.

After listening to him explain what happened at the garment factory, Han Yu didn’t say a single sarcastic word for once. “Are you short on cash? I’ve got a bit saved up here, take it to tide yourself over.”

He Chong shook his head, picked up the glass of hard liquor on the table, and took a deep gulp.

Probably due to the rain, the bar was quiet today. Han Yu had free time, so he sat on a stool beside him and joined him in drinking.

“Boss Han, do you also think I’m a toad dreaming of swan meat^[5] for dating Zhou Mo?”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Go ahead.”

“A girl like Little Jasmine is like a delicate rose, exceedingly delicate. She needs just the right temperature and humidity, or she won’t survive.” Han Yu took a sip of his drink. “I’m not saying she’s a bad person, just giving you an objective view. A girl that innocent needs to be protected from every bump and scratch. Living a life with her is going to be exhausting.”

“I like innocent ones.”

“Maybe you owed money to rich folks in a past life, so you’re cursed to be completely wrapped around the fingers of rich girls in this one. One after another, it’s the exact same story. What else can you do? Just take it.”

He Chong drank at a rapid pace. “Sometimes I really feel like I’m punching way above my weight. I have nothing to give her.”

Han Yu clicked his tongue. “Hold on, hold on. I really hate listening to this self-pitying nonsense. To be fair, the factory issue might not be the Zhou family’s doing. You and Little Jasmine haven’t been exposed yet, so why would the Zhou family bother targeting you? Instead of drinking yourself into a stupor here, why don’t you go ask the people breaking their contracts if someone paid them off?”

He Chong paused, then let out a light laugh. “Boss Han, how come I never noticed you were actually so reliable?”

Han Yu scoffed, “Get lost.”

He Chong crashed in the bar’s staff room for the night and headed back to the factory the next morning.

He Yifei and He Zhengkui were still making a last-ditch effort, but those clients were set on breaching their contracts. Whenever asked for a reason, they only hemmed and hawed.

It was obvious that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. It was either a competitor, or…

He Chong had a suspicion, but he couldn’t be sure. He decided to take Han Yu’s advice and go talk to the clients who had canceled their contracts to dig for information.

The He family’s garment factory was located in the suburbs near the border of Luocheng and Xicheng, so a large volume of their goods was shipped to Xicheng. He Chong was heading to the largest wholesale clothing market in Xicheng, where one of their major clients operated.

The wholesale market was packed with people and vehicles, and the rain had turned it into a total gridlock. Unable to drive his car in, He Chong parked nearby and waded through the mud on foot to find his target. Wholesale shops of all sizes lined the area row upon row, but even terrible weather couldn’t slow down the merchants stocking up. People coming and going were squeezed into a grid of narrow streets, packed together like chickens in a coop, loud and chaotic.

After squeezing through the crowd for a long time, He Chong finally reached the shop at the very back of the wholesale market. The boss was a burly, thick-waisted middle-aged man with a leather pouch strapped around his waist, sitting on a tiny folding stool and shoveling food into his mouth. The moment He Chong revealed his identity, the man grabbed his lunch box and walked inside. “I don’t know anything! Go ask someone else!”

He Chong quickly stepped forward two paces to block his path, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and offered him one. “Boss Zhao, I won’t take up much of your time. Just give me two minutes. You’ve known my uncle for years. You wouldn’t have the heart to just watch his factory go under, would you?”

Boss Zhao stopped in his tracks and glanced down at He Chong’s hand. In the end, he let out a sigh, snapped the lid back onto his boxed meal, took the cigarette, and tucked it behind his ear. “What is it you want to ask?”

He Chong got straight to the point. “Was backing out of the contract really your own idea?”

“Little He, we’re in business. The whole point is to make money. If there’s a cheaper source of supply, and the quality is about the same as before, what would you do if you were in my shoes?”

He Chong caught his drift. “Then who introduced this new supplier to you? Did they cover your breach of contract fee as well?”

Boss Zhao glanced around, took a sudden step closer, and whispered, “Think about it yourself. If you hadn’t offended someone, who would go through so much trouble just to crush you?”

Back in his car, He Chong sorted through the information he had just gotten from Boss Zhao. He lit a cigarette, his fingers tapping absently on the steering wheel.

Speaking of offending someone, the only person he’d crossed recently was Sun Qi. However, the first contract breach had occurred before the blueprints were leaked, so it was unlikely to be Sun Qi’s doing.

His thoughts were a bit jumbled, so he rolled down the window to let the cold wind blow in. Clearing his head a little, He Chong shifted his angle and began thinking it through again. Regardless of who was offended, if this matter keeps escalating, the garment factory will immediately face the massive threat of a severed cash flow. What will he do then?

If the situation worsens, he’ll definitely try everything possible to keep the garment factory from going under.

So, what is the trump card in his hand?

He Chong gasped as realization struck, and he slammed his fist hard against the steering wheel.

Sixty million Yuan. He had two villas worth a total of sixty million Yuan in his hands.