CM | Chapter 24

“To be precise, she once expressed her interest in me.”

Gu Yao’s heart tightened along with that, but on the surface, she calmly took the conversation forward. “Mm-hmm, fair enough. You’re so handsome, successful in your career, single, at a suitable age for marriage, with a brilliant future ahead of you, and no bad habits. Of course plenty of women would have expressed their interest in you.”

Zhu Shengxi looked a little surprised. After a second of blankness, he laughed. “This is the first time I’ve heard you praise me like that.”

Gu Yao said, “I never praised you before?”

Zhu Shengxi said, “No, but you write it all in your eyes. Every time I see the way you look at me, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.”

This time, Gu Yao was the one who froze. She quickly shot him a glare. “Don’t try to brush me off. Stop changing the subject.”

Zhu Shengxi lifted a shoulder. “I’ve already confessed. Tian Fang did express interest in me. But I didn’t respond. Of course, over the years there were plenty of women who had designs on me, and I never let them succeed.”

As soon as he said that, silence fell.

Gu Yao looked quietly into Zhu Shengxi’s eyes. They were just like the eyes of that boy she had dreamed of that night, the depths clear yet mixed with the dust of the mortal world, a contradictory blend.

But strangely enough, it was precisely those eyes that put her at ease. A year ago, she had survived a car accident by the skin of her teeth, and not only had she suffered physical pain, she had also had to endure the torment of losing her memory.

That kind of unease had nearly driven her mad.

More than once she had been on the verge of collapse, and no amount of persuasion from the people around her could calm her down. Only when Zhu Shengxi appeared in front of her and looked at her would she slowly settle.

Back then, she had been very unfamiliar with him. Yet that strange feeling, both familiar and unfamiliar at once, had tethered her instead, making her want to know more. She wanted to explore what kind of connection her former self and he had shared, and why seeing him felt like seeing another version of herself.

Zhu Shengxi then said, “See, it’s exactly that kind of look. Every time you look at me like that, it makes me feel more worthy than any reward in this world.”

Gu Yao lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, then steered the topic back. “I know. You didn’t respond to Tian Fang, and you never let other women get their way with you either.”

Zhu Shengxi said, “You know?”

Gu Yao said, “This past year, my life has been very quiet. I also have a rough idea of your habits and schedule. If you were a hedonist, after pretending for this long you should’ve shown some flaw by now, but you didn’t. Instead, you seemed to enjoy this pace of life. Even the most watertight man in the world will make the person sleeping next to him notice something if he cheats. And I’ve never once received a harassment call from any strange woman. If you could still have a foot in both camps under those circumstances, then you might as well change careers and become a spy.”

After hearing Gu Yao’s analysis, Zhu Shengxi’s expression became a little odd.

Gu Yao continued, “But then again, anyone living in this world has to have a few secrets. If your secret isn’t about women, then what is it?”

Zhu Shengxi picked up the coffee pot, topped off Gu Yao’s cup by half, and put the empty plate into the dishwasher as he said, “In front of you, I have no secrets.”

Gu Yao tilted her head and studied him. “You mean you had no secrets from the me a year ago, or from both the me a year ago and the me now?”

Zhu Shengxi paused in mid-motion and met her gaze for a few seconds before saying, “You’re really something. You’re even more like a psychologist than you were a year ago.”

“I didn’t have much to do this past year. I’ve been working hard at studying.”

“You’ve already surpassed yourself.”

That was Zhu Shengxi’s very fair assessment. After a beat, he added, “Take the case of Chen Feiyu, for example. Even the you from a year ago wouldn’t have dared to be that bold.”

That topic successfully drew Gu Yao’s attention.

She immediately remembered what Xu Luo had said that night. He had said that the reason Wang Meng and the association had so quickly and ruthlessly forced her to leave was because they had been acting on Gu Chengwen’s instructions, clearly protecting her in the way a father would.

And for that Chen Feiyu case, Gu Yao had also told Qin Song not to mention it to her parents or Zhu Shengxi. But now Zhu Shengxi was casually bringing up “Chen Feiyu.”

Gu Yao let out a soft sigh. “Did Qin Song tell you?”

Zhu Shengxi slowly shook his head. “It was Wang Meng.”

Gu Yao was astonished. “Why would he tell you all that?”

“For fame, for profit, aren’t those all reasons? Wang Meng wants me to invest in his psychotherapy clinic, and the association is also waiting for support from Uncle Gu’s interests. From their point of view, if all it takes is a little information about your work in exchange, why wouldn’t they?”

Gu Yao frowned at once, filled with resistance and disgust.

At that moment, Zhu Shengxi said, “It was precisely because Wang Meng and the association were treating you as bargaining chips for profit that Uncle Gu suggested the association let you leave.”

As he spoke, he walked around the island counter and came over to Gu Yao’s side.

Gu Yao was still seated on the barstool, staring at him blankly.

Only when Zhu Shengxi came close, placed both hands on her waist, and said in a low voice, “If you like, you can set up another association. If the old one gets in your way, taking it down isn’t a problem either. Why ruin your own mood for a few irrelevant outsiders?”

For a moment, Gu Yao was speechless. Looking into those eyes just inches away, then at his lips, which had always been a pale shade, the anger in her heart unexpectedly faded little by little.

That feeling made Gu Yao understand that Zhu Shengxi really knew her personality very deeply. Deep enough to know exactly what to say, to state his position without wavering while also soothing her emotions. That kind of understanding was not something that could be formed in just three or five years of acquaintance.

Gu Yao sighed. Softly, she said, “If something like this happens again, can you not hide it from me?”

Zhu Shengxi nodded. “Okay, I won’t hide it from you.”

But Gu Yao was not so easy to appease. She pressed again, “Answer me honestly. If it had been the me from a year ago, would you and my dad have hidden this from me?”

Zhu Shengxi said, “No.”

He wasn’t lying.

Gu Yao could read the truth in that moment.

However, the next second, Zhu Shengxi smiled slightly and said, “If it had been the you from a year ago, you wouldn’t have waited for us to make a move. You would’ve taught Wang Meng a lesson in your own way. Everyone in the association was totally obedient to you, and no one dared cross you.”

Gu Yao froze. “Was I a tigress before? You never said that.”

Zhu Shengxi’s smile deepened. “If it were me, I wouldn’t use those three words to describe you. A more accurate term would be… hmm, queen.”

Gu Yao: “…”

Silence fell over the room again, and Gu Yao’s expression was bizarre beyond words.

Zhu Shengxi raised a brow. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Gu Yao said, “Why did I only just realize you have a bit of a submissive streak?”

After a few seconds of quiet, Zhu Shengxi let out a low laugh. It sounded very pleasant, and his body trembled faintly with it.

Then he said, “The way you used to order me around, I liked that a lot. But the calm, content version of you now, enjoying life as it comes, is just as captivating. Whichever one it is, it’s still you.”

That was probably the most beautiful love talk in this world, and it wasn’t forced at all. Everything came naturally.

Gu Yao’s heart stirred. She pressed her lips together and asked carefully, “Was I the kind of rich girl who was spoiled and willful before? Otherwise, why would you say I ordered you around?”

Zhu Shengxi was still smiling. “No, I used the wrong word. It’s just that back then, no matter what you said or did, even when you seemed as approachable as possible, you still gave off an inborn arrogance.”

Gu Yao found that incredibly unbelievable. Then she thought of something else. “Right, when I was tidying up the house a while ago, I found several boxes of books in the storage room. There was all kinds of stuff, nothing related to psychology. Just some boring romance novels, cheesy inspirational crap, and even science fiction novels… uh, were those all bought by you?”

“It was you.”

“Me? That’s not my reading taste at all.”

“I asked you that question too. You said you read bad books to build your own reading taste. If every book you read was a good one, with no bad books to compare against, how could you tell good from bad? It’s just like if a person never wasted time doing meaningless things, they naturally wouldn’t understand how precious time is. People are the same. They grow by making mistakes. The only difference is that some people correct themselves quickly and turn back before they go too far astray, while others just keep going wrong once they’ve gone wrong, because since they’ve already made a mistake, they don’t care about making a few more.”

Gu Yao listened, stunned for a long while before saying, “That’s unbelievable. I really did have a lot of twisted logic before.”

Zhu Shengxi chuckled softly. “Who talks about themselves like that?”

Gu Yao didn’t take up that thread. Instead, she steered the topic back to the beginning. “I’m very interested in Tian Fang’s case.”

Zhu Shengxi was caught off guard, and surprise showed in his eyes.

“You want to get involved?”

“Mm. After all, this concerns you, and my dad too.”

“Just because of that?”

“Of course. Also because I want to use this chance to regain some professional instincts. I’ve been pretty free lately anyway. But the main reason is that when I met her yesterday, I noticed some things.”

Zhu Shengxi asked, “What things?”

Gu Yao answered very seriously, “For example, she likes you. For example, she really resists facing a psychology expert. For example, she has injuries on her body. For example, her motive for murder in this case.”

As she spoke, Gu Yao kept watching Zhu Shengxi’s expression. She really wanted to know whether he knew what was going on inside, whether he knew about the way the ‘Zhaoyang Office’ bound clients with sex, and even whether the executive had once assaulted Tian Fang before he died.

But Zhu Shengxi remained very calm. No panic, no wandering gaze.

He only said, “You think the motive for murder is suspicious.”

Gu Yao said, “The injuries on her body definitely weren’t self-inflicted. If she had been assaulted before the incident, then in a reflexive counterattack she accidentally beat that executive to death, that would be self-defense. Those injuries were so obvious that whether it was the police or the forensic examiner, they should’ve seen it at a glance. So why charge her with intentional homicide? There’s only one answer. Tian Fang lied to the police. She may have claimed to have that kind of preference, and this time things just went too far, ending in an accidental killing. But based on my observation, she doesn’t seem like the kind of woman with S and M tendencies.”

Zhu Shengxi nodded. “Was that what that useless lawyer told you?”

“Yes, but I think what he said makes sense. It wasn’t baseless. And from a business standpoint, looking at the bigger picture, if sacrificing Tian Fang could preserve Jiangcheng Gene’s reputation and help Zhaoyang Office cover up the insider details of their sex trade, everyone should be more than willing to see that happen. I just really want to know what you think.”

After a long moment, Zhu Shengxi let out a soft sigh. He took Gu Yao’s hands and said, “Actually, I did know about this. The defense strategy drafted by Zhaoyang was indeed submitted to me for approval.”

Gu Yao said, “You knew Tian Fang was just acting in self-defense?”

“Whether it was self-defense is another matter. That night, in that room, only she and the deceased were there. What happened between them, only they themselves know. It could be explained as self-defense, but it could also be bedroom play. But whichever it was, they should not have dragged Jiangcheng Gene into it. That’s the only thing I care about.”

Gu Yao frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Zhu Shengxi’s gaze was steady, but his tone carried a hint of helplessness. “A week before the incident, Lian Qiyun had already submitted his resignation. I approved it. But because his position required a period of handover, the matter was never made public. By rights, he was no longer considered a company employee, but then he had this accident at such a crucial moment and dragged the company down with him. As the founder, I can only prioritize the company’s interests first. If his one reckless act affects the operation of the entire company and causes hundreds of people to lose their jobs, that is not a result anyone wants to see.”

Gu Yao stared. “The Lian Qiyun you’re talking about is that dead executive?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you clarify things to the media?”

“If I said it now, those media outlets would claim my company fabricated Lian Qiyun’s resignation in order to get itself out of trouble. By then, we’d have no way to defend ourselves. So the result of the meetings between PR and Zhaoyang is to settle the lawsuit cleanly first, then make Lian Qiyun’s resignation public.”

“Then why did Lian Qiyun resign?”

Zhu Shengxi paused, and his eyes cooled a little. “He leaked trade secrets.”

What?

Gu Yao drew in a breath, only then realizing the matter was far less simple than it looked on the surface.

Who would’ve thought that at that moment, Zhu Shengxi would throw out another explosive piece of news. “As for the sexual relationship between Tian Fang and Lian Qiyun, I knew about it. But it was only recently that I found out Zhaoyang had always been using this kind of method to bind clients. I originally thought Tian Fang was getting close to me purely out of personal admiration. I never expected Zhaoyang’s instructions to be behind it as well. Later, when they realized this method was ineffective on me, they started targeting several of my executives. As far as I know, besides Lian Qiyun, two others have also fallen for it. Once this is settled, I’ll talk to them.”

Gu Yao sounded a little mocking. “I thought Zhaoyang was able to become number one in Jiangcheng these past years because of its strong business capabilities. I didn’t expect it would also need to rely on sex appeal.”

“Zhaoyang’s business capabilities are indeed among the best. If it weren’t for Likun as a competitor, Zhaoyang wouldn’t need to bother with this kind of thing. The major clients of these two offices are either rich or powerful, and most of them are men. Aside from financial dealings, if you add a little personal indulgence into the mix, wouldn’t the bond be even tighter? But as the saying goes, water can carry a boat, and it can also capsize it. Sooner or later, Zhaoyang’s way of playing this game would cause trouble. The people over at Likun are not pushovers either. They’ve been trying to catch Zhaoyang’s weak spot for years. Now look, one wrong move, and the whole board goes to pieces.”

At that, Zhu Shengxi’s smile faded. “How Zhaoyang privately binds its clients is none of my concern. But the one thing they should never, absolutely never have done, is drag Jiangcheng Gene into it. Having an entire company buried with two people engaged in filthy business, there is no such logic in this world. So in my view, whether Tian Fang acted in self-defense or not isn’t important at all. She wasn’t an innocent victim in the whole matter either. If something happens to Jiangcheng Gene, then she and Lian Qiyun are the killers. I’m still willing to spend money and people to help Tian Fang turn intentional homicide into manslaughter. That is already my greatest leniency.”

Because of Zhu Shengxi’s words, Gu Yao finally began to sort out her thoughts, and the missing pieces of the puzzle at last fell into place.

Tian Fang was Zhaoyang Office’s sex tool for binding clients, meant to satisfy certain male clients’ special needs, and Lian Qiyun was one of them.

On the day of the incident, Lian Qiyun must have gone too far, and he had also taken drugs. Tian Fang couldn’t take it anymore and beat Lian Qiyun to death.

Thinking of this, Gu Yao asked, “Then what about the drug residue found at the scene? Why did the media say it was a new drug developed by Jiangcheng Gene?”

Zhu Shengxi said, “I’m still investigating that, but I’m guessing it should be someone from Likun messing with us. There’s no way Lian Qiyun could have gotten hold of a drug newly developed by the company, let alone used it as an aphrodisiac. That’s absurd. Besides, the technical investigators have already analyzed the components of the residue and matched them against our company’s new drug samples. The results didn’t match at all. For the media to wildly sensationalize it at a time like this and expose baseless speculation to the public is just to smear Jiangcheng Gene. And at this time, the people from Likun are also trying every possible way to get in touch with me, hinting that for now only they can help Jiangcheng Gene. Zhaoyang has made a huge mistake this time, and I shouldn’t trust them anymore.”

“So you mean this is a tactic used in a business poaching attempt?”

“Not rare. I’ve seen far dirtier things than this.”

Gu Yao fell silent.

According to Zhu Shengxi’s explanation, the whole thing could indeed hold together. At least the logic made sense. The person Tian Fang contacted first to clean up the mess came from Likun Office. Maybe she had already had enough of what Zhaoyang was doing and reached her breaking point. Likun may have also made their move on her, causing Tian Fang to waver, which was why when this happened, the first thing she thought of was Likun.

Gu Yao said, “I heard that this time, Tian Fang also looked for people from Likun first to help. She didn’t expect Likun to just be using her. They just wanted to muddy the waters.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t speak, but his eyes were very cold.

Gu Yao reached back and took his hand. “Next, I want to keep in contact with Tian Fang and this lawsuit. Would you object?”

A trace of disgust appeared on Zhu Shengxi’s face. “Together with that useless lawyer?”

Gu Yao smiled. “He is very useless, but the case isn’t. I can’t just run straight to Zhaoyang Office and take the materials myself.”

“Since you’ve already decided, what else can I say?” Zhu Shengxi sounded somewhat helpless. He casually pulled Gu Yao down from the barstool and said, “I have time all day today. Want me to go home with you for dinner later?”

“I only went back a couple of days ago.”

“Mm, I’m guessing you must’ve forgotten to wish Auntie a happy birthday.”

Gu Yao froze.

Oh right, today was her mother Li Huiru’s birthday. How could she have forgotten…

Seeing this, Zhu Shengxi smiled. “Come on, change clothes and let’s head out. We’ll pick out a birthday present first.”

Water can carry a boat, and it can also capsize it: a saying meaning the people can support a ruler or institution, but can also overthrow it.

One wrong move, and the whole board goes to pieces: a chengyu meaning that a single mistake can ruin the entire situation. Literally, “one misplaced piece means the whole board is lost.”