It was rare for Shen Nanyue to see Shen An’an blush, so she couldn’t resist teasing her for a while.
Only after seeing Shen An’an’s embarrassed and annoyed expression did she finally regain her composure.
She cleared her throat and pulled Zhou Yushen to his feet.
“You two entertain yourselves for a bit. I need to discuss something with him.”
With that, she led Zhou Yushen upstairs.
Li Che suddenly called out, “Perfect timing. An’an and I have some things to discuss too. You two have fun upstairs.”
The final words carried an unmistakably suggestive tone.
Especially the word “fun”—it was loaded with implication.
This time, it was Shen Nanyue’s turn to blush.
Seeing this, Shen An’an immediately flicked Li Che on the forehead.
“Who gave you permission to make jokes about my sister?”
Li Che clutched his head dramatically and grumbled in protest.
“I was helping you get revenge, and this is the thanks I get? How heartless.”
“What revenge? That’s my sister!”
“Fine, fine. My mistake.”
Sis-con.
Li Che silently complained to himself.
While the two bickered, Shen Nanyue and Zhou Yushen had already gone upstairs.
Because of Li Che’s teasing comment about “having fun,” Shen Nanyue didn’t even dare close the study door after entering.
Seeing this, Zhou Yushen couldn’t help chuckling.
“You don’t have to pay attention to what Li Che says. He’s never serious.”
Shen Nanyue looked embarrassed but forced herself to remain calm.
“I recently heard about Meng Yan’s acquisition of Huansheng Group. His dramatic transformation and sudden attack on the Zhou family all started after that business conference.”
Once the discussion turned to business, the lingering awkwardness in her heart gradually faded.
“Over the last couple of days, An’an and I talked again about the time she was imprisoned. She mentioned those faint sounds of a woman crying.”
She paused.
“That might be another breakthrough point. I don’t want to make assumptions, but I don’t think the Zhou family’s transactions were simply ordinary cargo deals.”
The water might be much deeper than they thought.
Before she could finish, Zhou Yushen’s expression had already darkened.
“You and Shen An’an have a plan, don’t you?”
It sounded like a question, but his tone made it clear he was certain.
Shen Nanyue nodded.
“The reason I invited you here is because we’re going to use Huo Zhu to notify Chen Mu and provoke him into making a move. As long as he leaves the Chen family’s sphere of protection, we’ll have a chance to capture him.”
Zhou Yushen frowned.
“That’s a risky strategy.”
“We don’t have much choice.”
Shen Nanyue replied calmly.
“If we don’t take the initiative, we’ll remain at a disadvantage.”
She continued, “Chen Tianming values Chen Mu immensely. Only by using Chen Mu as leverage can we force him to reveal his weaknesses.”
Unlike Chen Yuan.
When the scandal broke, the Chen family had abandoned Chen Yuan without hesitation because Chen Tianming had always carried deeply ingrained preferences for sons over daughters.
When Shen Nanyue was young, Chen Tianming would openly tell her father—in front of her—that he should have another son.
Even when Shen An’an was adopted, Chen Tianming had remarked that her father should have adopted a boy instead.
That mentality created a clear imbalance between Chen Mu and Chen Yuan.
Growing up, Chen Yuan had suffered many unfair treatments simply because she was a girl.
To make up for the fatherly affection she lacked, Chen Mu had always treated his sister exceptionally well.
Yet in the end, not a single member of the Chen family had been willing to stand by Chen Yuan’s side.
Zhou Yushen sat silently on the sofa.
His head lowered slightly.
Sunlight streamed through the window and landed on his soft hair, casting shadows across his flawless face.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“I’ll handle the kidnapping.”
A smile appeared on Shen Nanyue’s face.
“Li Che said he’ll make the necessary preparations.”
Only then did Zhou Yushen nod.
After they finished discussing Chen Mu, Zhou Yushen’s gaze landed on a newspaper page wedged between the sofa and the carpet.
He bent down and picked it up.
The article was about Mi Xin.
Not good.
Shen Nanyue immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
Zhou Yushen placed the newspaper clipping on the table and looked up at her.
“You can ask me directly if you want information about actors. The artists under my company are understood far better internally than by the outside world.”
“Ask you about actors?”
Shen Nanyue looked at him thoughtfully.
After a brief pause, Zhou Yushen quickly added, “I don’t personally manage the company’s operations, but I can have someone prepare a detailed report on Mi Xin for you.”
Shen Nanyue let out a snort.
“Forget it.”
She leaned back casually.
“The people around her have already told me more than enough about what I need to know.”
“As for Mi Xin’s profile…”
She waved a hand dismissively.
“You can keep it for yourself and admire it all you want.”
What did she mean by “keep it for yourself and admire it”?
Zhou Yushen frowned, his expression darkening.
His thoughts suddenly drifted back to that day.
When he had come out of the lounge, he had immediately noticed Shen Nanyue’s sour mood.
The air had been filled with someone else’s perfume.
At the time, he had assumed that someone had visited while he was sleeping and had upset her.
Now, seeing Shen Nanyue’s inexplicable hostility toward Mi Xin, he suspected that the person who had angered her was Mi Xin.
“You don’t like Mi Xin?”
Shen Nanyue had no intention of answering.
She merely turned her head away with a cold expression and refused to look at him.
Did she have to like that woman?
Who knew Zhou Yushen was the type to judge things based only on appearances?
“If you want to change the spokesperson, you can discuss it with me.”
“That’s unnecessary.”
Shen Nanyue replied coolly.
“Changing spokespersons repeatedly isn’t a good look. From a professional standpoint, Mi Xin is perfectly capable of doing the job.”
Even she failed to notice the trace of resentment hidden in her tone.
But Zhou Yushen heard it immediately.
He didn’t panic.
On the contrary, Shen Nanyue’s little display of temper gave him a long-forgotten sense of reassurance.
“All right. Think it over yourself.”
He stood up and walked over to sit beside her.
The sudden closeness made Shen Nanyue instinctively move away.
Zhou Yushen glanced at her sideways.
Then he casually extended an arm and pulled her back against his side.
“What are you doing?”
Li Che’s suggestive use of the word play suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
Her face immediately began heating up again.
“What exactly happened that day in your office?”
Zhou Yushen knew Shen Nanyue wasn’t the type to get angry easily.
What had Mi Xin said to her that had caused her to direct her frustration toward him as well?
After a moment’s thought, Shen Nanyue immediately realized which incident he was referring to.
Mi Xin was one of Zhou Yushen’s contracted artists.
The contract had already been signed.
She didn’t want to create trouble for him.
So she lowered her head and remained silent.
“Nothing.”
After a pause, she added, “Anyway, it has nothing to do with you.”
If she was saying that, then it definitely had something to do with him.
Zhou Yushen’s mind worked quickly.
He reviewed Mi Xin’s various relationships in his head.
In the end, his thoughts settled on the people closest to her.
Mi Xin and Gu Linlang had once been close friends.
Zhou Yushen’s brows knitted tightly together.
A trace of cold hostility flashed through his eyes.
Shen Nanyue didn’t notice his expression.
She had taken out her phone and just received a message from Chen Mu.
Chen Mu: Yueyue, who are you with?
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Nanyue calmly typed a three-word reply.
Shen Nanyue: Zhou Yushen.
At that exact moment, Chen Mu was preparing to start his car.
The instant he saw the reply, his hand withdrew from the steering wheel.
A bodyguard who had been following him stepped forward and blocked his path.
“I’m going to see a friend, not going out to fool around.”
“Young Master, don’t blame us. We’re only following orders.”
Chen Mu’s face instantly darkened.
Being watched and monitored all the time felt absolutely awful.
It was, frankly, a damned miserable experience.
— The end of the Chapter–
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