Rivals of Rebirth - Chapter 18

Zheng Jue looked at his smiling face and couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved. He thought in his heart, where did you two come from? You were the only one I made an appointment with.

But it’s not really good to say it clearly, so he just curled up the corners of his mouth and said with a dry smile, “I really made Young Master Zhou laugh. Indeed, I do have something to ask Young Master Zhou.”

Zhou Chengan’s expression changed and turned to look a little more interested, “Mr. Zheng is very polite, we’re all friends. If you have anything to say, then let’s discuss it.”

Zheng Jue felt awkward as he now saw clearly. Zhou Chengan was a pimp here. Otherwise, how can someone who can do such a thing treat him as his friend? He’s probably just a stakeholder(1) for him.

“Actually, it’s just a coincidence. I met a young lady named Lin Ai a few days ago. I heard that she seems to have a very close relationship with Young Master Zhou’s cousin. I wonder if it’s true?”

Zheng Jue spoke ambiguously, but Zhou Chengan’s expression sank already, “Lin Ai?” Zhou Chengan glanced at Zheng Jue suspiciously, “How did Mr. Zheng come to know Lin Ai?”

Seeing him reacting so much, Zheng Jue knew that there was a lot going on here. Therefore, he also smiled, “Oh, she seems to be Lin Su’s younger sister. There was a lot of trouble with Lin Su a few days ago. She came to beg me to help Lin Su.”

When Zheng Jue said these words, Zhou Chengan hadn’t said any response yet, but Han Jin already sneered first, “Mr. Zheng is so sympathetic on cherishing jades. Do you need someone else to ask for this kind of thing?”

Zheng Jue was stunned by his sneer, so he could only say, “Young Master Han is joking.”

Han Jin curled his lips into a smile, but there was a coldness in the corners of his eyes and brows. There was a cold aura on his originally delicate and handsome face. He stared at Zheng Jue but didn’t say a word more.

Zhou Chengan saw that Han Jin was in a bad mood, so he didn’t dare to say more. However, at the same time, he wanted to remind Zheng Jue, so he could only say, “Lin Ai is not simple. She and Lin Su are sisters. Mr. Zheng, I advise you to stay away from her.”

Zheng Jue squinted his eyes after hearing this. Now that Zhou Chengan himself had warned him about her. It seems that this Lin Ai was indeed not simple.

“Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Zhou. I will pay attention,” Zheng Jue’s smile remained the same, but a coldness flashed in his eyes. Zhou Chengan really knew that Zhou Chengyuan had bad luck in his last life, so wasn’t it Zhou Chengan who got the benefit?

Han Jin glanced at Zheng Jue, and the indifference in his eyes was finally reduced a bit. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, “What do you think about what I said last time?”

Zheng Jue’s originally smiling face couldn’t help but pause, turned his face stiffly to glance at Han Jin, and whispered, “I don’t have any thoughts about it.”

Han Jin’s face turned cold, and he gritted his teeth, “You really have no thoughts about it?”

Zheng Jue nodded somewhat unnaturally, “No.” His tone was so low that it almost dropped into the dust.

Hearing this, Han Jin suddenly stood up, turned around, and left without saying a word. Zhou Chengan called him, but he didn’t look back. In the end, Zhou Chengan had to smile awkwardly at Zheng Jue and follow after him.

Zheng Jue watched Han Jin drive away while his heart became more and more uneasy, as if a rabbit was in his arms, jumping up and down.

**

When Zheng Jue returned to the company, it turned out that Susie had been waiting for him for a long time.

“Mr. Zheng, why didn’t you answer my call? This afternoon is the day to meet Mr. Wen, have you forgotten?” Susie looked anxious.

Zheng Jue’s expression became slightly frozen. He met with Zhou Chengan, so he turned his phone mute. He really forgot about Wen Huaan, “How much time is left?”

Susie was so angry to death, but she had to continue speaking, “There’s still half an hour left. Mr. Zheng, if you don’t leave now, then you will be too late.”

Zheng Jue didn’t go back to the office at all and immediately followed Susie into the car. Fortunately, it was not yet a rush hour, so the driver had successfully hurried all the way. After catching the tail of time(2), they arrived at Wen Huaan’s company.

As soon as he entered Wen’s building, he saw a well-dressed lady waiting in the reception area. Seeing Zheng Jue come in, she greeted him with a smile, “Mr. Zheng is finally here. Mr. Wen is waiting in the conference hall.”

Zheng Jue nodded, before being led by her up to the fifteenth floor where the Wen’s conference hall is. Wen Huaan met with him in the conference hall instead of the office. His status in Wen Huaan’s eyes was so obvious.

As soon as Zheng Jue entered the conference hall, he saw Wen Huaan sitting in the upper seat with a calm expression. When he saw Zheng Jue, he stood up with a smile, “Aaron, you are here.”

Zheng Jue smiled and shook hands with him, “There is a traffic jam on the road. I’m late, Uncle Wen has been waiting for a long time.”

Since he wanted to play the role of an uncle who had a close relationship with his nephew, then it was understandable that there was nothing wrong with cooperating with him.

“You are a busy person. In the newspapers these past few days, news about you is even hotter than a popular star,” Wen Huaan smiled elegantly.

Zheng Jue curled up his lips slightly. He really didn’t know whether he was really complimenting or insulting him. For the time being, he decided to take those words as if he was complimenting him indeed.

“I made Uncle Wen laugh. I’m still young, so I want Uncle Wen to teach me more.”

Wen Hua’an looked at him who was not into the oil and salt(3), and his originally gentle smile couldn’t help but stagnate for a while, “You child, you have also become humble with me. I have a very good relationship with your parents, and you are their son. Naturally, I will look after you for them. If you have any difficulties, just tell me, I heard that your cooperation with Zhou last time was not very smooth!” Wen Huaan had a meaningful look on his face.

Seeing Wen Huaan like this, Zheng Jue’s eyes twitched slightly. After talking for a long time, he finally got to the point.

“Uncle Wen, where did you get the news from? My cooperation with the Zhou’s has been very smooth. Young Master Zhou is a rare partner, and our cooperation has been very pleasant,” Zheng Jue smiled with ignorance.

Hearing this, Wen Huaan pulled his lips imperceptibly, showing a trace of disdain. Zheng Jue could see it clearly, but the next second Wen Huaan returned to his previous gentle appearance and whispered, “You don’t have to lie to me. The Zhou family is domineering, especially in the real estate industry, so much that they wish all the land that makes money in Hong Kong is their Zhou family’s property, not to mention that you pulled out their teeth this time, and even got a piece of gold. How could they let you off so easily? I heard that this real estate is obviously your land, and Mr. Zhou actually stepped in, which is a bit too much.”

Zheng Jue looked at him who was filled with righteous indignation but was secretly instigating him. It’s not easy to disturb his interest. After he finished speaking, he smiled and said, “What is Uncle Wen saying? My company is small, and I can’t eat in such a large market. With the Zhou, it became just easier to solve my financial problem. Hence, we are just making money and getting rich together.”

Wen Huaan was choked by his answer for a while, and his originally perfect smile also became a little cracked. After pausing for a while, he smiled and said, ” Okay, you have good eyesight. No wonder you’re your father’s son.”

After speaking, he pretended to be mysterious and paused, perhaps wanting Zheng Jue to ask questions, but Zheng Jue sat very steady, without a trace of curiosity. Wen Huaan vomited to death in heart, but he had to put on a gentle look on his face and said warmly, “It’s just that although you are generous, your heart is not enough to swallow an elephant. The Zhou family is very unstable, and the power conflict is very serious. Even though Zhou Chengan is a reliable one, his cousin Zhou Chengyuan is short-sighted. I heard that he is very jealous of this project and has a tendency to dominate this project.”

Zheng Jue frowned slightly after hearing this, “Uncle Wen, is this true?”

It seemed that Lin Ai had already begun to play a role, and Wen Huaan really spared no effort in order to provoke his relationship with the Zhou family.

“Of course, it’s true. I heard people say it by accident. You must be careful yourself. Even if you want to find a partner in the future, you must find a reliable partner. The Zhou family’s relationship is too complicated. You wouldn’t handle them since you just came to Hong Kong,” Wen Huaan looked at Zheng Jue worriedly.

Zheng Jue made a very distressed look, but his thoughts kept going back and forth a thousand times. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally said, “Uncle Wen, I have to think about what you said. This matter is very important, and the project is already halfway done. It’s really hard to get out.”

Wen Huaan smiled understandingly, “I know your difficulties. This is just a reminder that I gave you. How to deal with it depends on yourself.”

Zheng Jue reluctantly curled up the corners of his mouth and nodded in agreement, looking obviously a little worried. Wen Huaan looked satisfied by this and said, “I heard that you are very close to Han Jin of the Han family. He is a capable man but is very mean and unkind. You have to be careful.”

Zheng Jue was about to laugh angrily. At this time, he did not even forget to provoke him and Han Jin.

While Zheng Jue nodded casually, his brows were already even more furrowed. Wen Huaan sighed with relief in his heart when he saw him like this and then said more after speaking too much.

Afterward, the two of them talked about some things that didn’t exist anymore, all of which were related to Zheng Jue’s parents back then. Zheng Jue felt ruthless in his heart when he heard it but still wore a look of listening on his face. It turned out the one who killed his whole family can still make this appearance. His parents probably knew about it, but just didn’t know when they would die.

When the two finally finished talking, Wen Hua became content with peace of mind, but Zheng Jue felt depressed. It turned out that this was the taste of his hard work. He laughed at Yanyan with his enemies(4). However, even if it was all for his revenge in the future, the torment that was inflicted on him this time was quite unexpected.

When Zheng Jue left Wen’s, he found Susie waiting at the door. Seeing Zheng Jue coming out, she hurriedly greeted him, “Mr. Zheng, do you want to go back to the company?”

Zheng Jue was really disgusted by Wen Huaan right now. Now that he was exhausted physically and mentally, he didn’t want to say anything further and just managed to say, “Go back to the apartment. We’ll talk about the company tomorrow.”

Susie was obviously stunned. This appearance was not Zheng Jue’s style at all, but she didn’t ask any more questions and nodded in response.

*

The author has something to say: I’ve been really exhausted these days, so I’m really sorry for not updating this yesterday. Now, he’s going to have a head-to-head confrontation with the boss. I wish I didn’t have to write about it. ┭┮﹏┭┮

*

Footnotes:

1. Stakeholder refers to people who have a stake in an enterprise (Merriam-Webster).

2. Catching the tail of time (在时间的尾巴) means doing actions in a hurry (古域鬼影, 2014).

3. Not into the oil and salt (不进油盐) is a Chinese idiom which describes a very stubborn person (Baidu).

4. Laughed at Yanyan with his enemies (己的仇人言笑晏晏) in a dream probably indicates that a person will achieve success, difficulties will pass, and good luck will come in the future (Zgjm, 2022).