Everyone: “…”
Yan Bai walked away with a dark face.
Before leaving, he left a message for Zhou Zhenghui, telling him to find him within three days if he wanted to retrieve his biological daughter, or else it would be too late.
Jiang Leyi was astounded and finally managed to say, “Nannan, do you have a grudge against him?”
In her memory, this was only the second time she had seen this man…
Jiang Nanshu regarded him as if he were an enemy.
Jiang Nanshu gave her a helpless look and said somewhat embarrassedly, “Sister, what he said to you made me very upset. You are not some counterfeit; you are the unique Jiang Leyi, and you are my only sister. No one should insult you.”
“Was I too fierce just now?” She looked towards Zhou Zhenghui, her face filled with guilt, “Mr. Zhou, I’m sorry. I tend to be protective, so I can be a bit hot-tempered. I hope you can forgive me.”
Zhou Zhenghui shook his head, smilingly looking at Jiang Nanshu, “Miss Jiang, I should thank you instead. Your words were enlightening and cleared my mind instantaneously. No wonder he has been tight-lipped about my daughter all these years despite my pleas.”
“Don’t mention it, I can’t stand seeing such despicable characters triumph,” Jiang Nanshu replied with a smile.
Zhou Zhenghui felt a surge of appreciation in his heart, and his relationship with Jiang Nanshu quickly grew closer.
From initially addressing her formally as Miss Jiang, he had now started calling her Nanshu.
When Liu Yueru came down, Zhou Zhenghui took them to a pre-reserved restaurant for a meal.
Along the way, Liu Yueru kept holding Jiang Leyi and asking about her life over the years.
Learning that she had lived comfortably and was loved by her family, she immediately burst into tears, repeatedly expressing relief that Leyi hadn’t suffered outside.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nanshu was chatting with Zhou Zhenghui.
As they conversed, the topic shifted to Zhou Yanxu.
Jiang Nanshu regretfully spoke, “I know about the exploits of the former head of the Zhou Family. If he were still alive, the Zhou Family would likely be better managed. I think Yan Bai is not a good person; he’s too malevolent. They must be biological brothers, right? How can their dispositions differ so much.”
When Zhou Yanxu was brought up, Zhou Zhenghui’s eyes also showed regret, “Talent is often envied by the heavens, Yanxu was the perfect successor, but he died young. I never wished to see that kind of accident happen.”
Human bones can only turn to ash in a cremation furnace with temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius. How could a fire burn a person completely to ash?
What the maid said was true; after the fire was extinguished, Zhou Yanxu’s body was not found.
Jiang Nanshu speculated that the Zhou Yanxu of this world might not have died.
He could have been rescued by someone or might be recuperating somewhere.
“Ah,” Jiang Nanshu sighed deeply, “Before coming to Port City, I happened to read some material about him. He is a person worthy of admiration, and I admire him so much that it instantly made me want to meet him. Unfortunately… that wish can no longer be realized, Mr. Zhou, I have a presumptuous request, and I hope you can grant it.”
Zhou Zhenghui paused, “What is it?”
“I would like to visit Zhou Yanxu’s tombstone. Since I couldn’t meet him while he was alive, at least I’d like to pay him a visit after his death.”
That wasn’t a presumptuous request at all.
Zhou Zhenghui readily agreed, “Sure, when are you free? I haven’t seen him for a while either; I hope he won’t hold it against me, his uncle.”
“How about tomorrow? I can’t stay in Port City for long.”
“Okay.”
Later, Jiang Nanshu and Zhou Zhenghui talked a lot more.
She learned many things about Zhou Yanxu’s childhood.
He had congenital heart disease, was clever and eager to learn, good-natured, kind, did a lot of charity work, and few businessmen could achieve his level of selfless dedication.
He loved admiring landscapes, whether they were rainy scenes or mountain and water scenery, all bringing him joy. He was a Buddhist, so he had a gilded Buddha statue at home, but it was destroyed in that fire.
“He loved watching the snow,” Jiang Nanshu said softly.
Zhou Zhenghui briefly stared at her, wondering how she knew.
Then Jiang Nanshu added, “But it never snows in Port City.”
A hint of reminiscence crossed Zhou Zhenghui’s face. “Yanxu once said that when he got a bit better, he wanted to go north to see the snow. Unfortunately, that wish never came true.”
Jiang Nanshu stopped talking.
She was thinking, if she found Zhou Yanxu in this world, would she still want to return to her original world?
All her efforts were aimed at going back, wanting to take back the heirloom Zhou Yanxu had left her.
The Zhou Yanxu in this world would no longer be the Zhou Yanxu she knew.
Jiang Nanshu’s tumultuous emotions continued until she returned to the hotel.
It wasn’t until she reached the door that she noticed Lu Qingyan leaning against the wall, his tall figure evident. Hearing her approach, he looked up, his eyes faint, “Where have you been?”
“Why are you here?” Jiang Nanshu stood still.
Unable to hold back, Lu Qingyan let out a cold chuckle, “Why am I here? Have you forgotten about me? Couldn’t reach you by phone, no replied messages. Returning so late; do you know what time it is? It’s already nine o’clock. I couldn’t find you, so I could only wait at your hotel room door.”
As he spoke, Jiang Nanshu could hear a hint of grievance in his tone.
But his expression was icy, his face stern as usual. His peach blossom eyes, which were normally gentle, turned sharp, devoid of any smile.
“Nine o’clock? Nightlife just begins at this hour…Oh, maybe my phone was on silent, no wonder I didn’t receive any messages. I genuinely had no idea.”
Jiang Nanshu hurriedly took out her phone, checked it, and looked guiltily towards Lu Qingyan, “It’s not that I didn’t want to reply to you; my phone was off.”
“I called you twenty-five times and sent over thirty messages until your phone turned off, and I stopped sending more. Didn’t you have even a moment to glance at your phone?”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
His tone became colder, almost like the prelude to an argument.
[Wasn’t the inner voice saying the phone might have been on silent? Are you deliberately skipping the main issue?]
Indeed, she hadn’t checked her phone, as she had been busy asking Zhou Zhenghui about Zhou Yanxu and had no time for anything else.
And she needed to go to the Western Suburb tomorrow.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t want Lu Qingyan to know she was planning to visit Zhou Yanxu at the West Suburb Cemetery the next day.
“The phone was on silent, honey, don’t be mad at me, it makes me sad.” Jiang Nanshu stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her ear against his chest, her voice carrying a faint touch of grievance and coy appeasement.
She sniffed, tilted her small face upwards, and asked with a slight frown of her delicate brow, “Did you smoke?”
“Uh-huh,” he answered in a cold tone.
He didn’t embrace her, turned his head away, not wanting to look at her.
She had no idea that while he couldn’t reach her, he was nearly frantic, even wondering if she had run into danger or trouble along the way. He had searched the route from the hotel to the crew countless times without finding her; even the crew said they didn’t know.
His connections in Port City weren’t extensive because it wasn’t his comfort zone.
He was so anxious he nearly called the police.
But all Jiang Nanshu said was she missed his calls because her phone was on silent.
Was it really that she hadn’t heard, or did she not care?
The more Lu Qingyan pondered, the more irritable he felt, becoming sensitive and suspicious, which wasn’t a good sign.
“Brother Qingyan, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. Can we make up?” Jiang Nanshu said softly, cooing an apology.
Lu Qingyan remained silent, growing even colder.
Jiang Nanshu’s heart skipped a beat.
Was all the affection she had cultivated over this time going to be wasted?
She intended to eventually break up with Lu Qingyan, but definitely not like this.