Zhou Yushen glanced sideways at Shen Nanyue and said lightly, “Are you worried about him?”
Shen Nanyue caught a faint trace of jealousy in his tone.
She fell silent for half a second before speaking again.
“What I mean is, it seemed more like you were venting your emotions. Did Chen Mu offend you before?”
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Zhou Yushen’s eyes, disappearing in an instant.
“You were once engaged to Chen Mu. I simply don’t like the sight of him.”
Shen Nanyue fell even quieter.
Even someone as narcissistic as her had never considered that possibility.
Because the Zhou Yushen she knew didn’t seem like the type to hold grudges over something like that.
Yet the seriousness in his expression made it impossible not to believe him.
“What? You think I’m incapable of doing something like that?”
“Mm. You don’t seem that childish.”
Zhou Yushen let out a soft laugh.
“I normally wouldn’t be bored enough to go looking for trouble with a romantic rival. But since he came looking for me himself, I just settled both old and new scores together. I may have gone a little too hard on him.”
In the end, Shen Nanyue could only laugh helplessly.
“I never expected that sometimes you could actually be… kind of violent.”
When she watched the surveillance footage of Zhou Yushen pinning Chen Mu down and beating him, she had already noticed how skilled he was in a fight.
It completely contradicted his aloof, untouchable aura.
“I’m very peaceful.”
At that, Shen Nanyue finally burst into laughter.
She laughed so hard that she curled up in the passenger seat, trembling nonstop.
Zhou Yushen: “…”
Only after Shen Nanyue finally regained control of herself did he speak again.
“Do you still want the Chen family to pay for imprisoning An’an?”
As Shen Nanyue wiped away the tears caused by laughing too hard, she answered:
“Of course I do.”
“But there’s no evidence right now. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I have a way.”
Shen Nanyue turned to look at him.
Her eyes, moistened with tears, shimmered brightly, filled with anticipation.
…
For several days in a row, Zhao Fang never managed to sit down and have a proper conversation with Shen Nanyue.
Either Shen Nanyue was rushing out for something urgent, or she was occupied with one meeting after another at the company.
Even when meetings ended and Zhao Fang hurried over to find her, her next appointment would already be waiting.
In short, he simply had no opportunity to speak with her properly.
And through all this, he had finally witnessed Shen Nanyue’s ruthless methods firsthand.
Because he and Huasheng Factory had tried to undermine Shen Nanyue together, she had used the situation to make an example out of them.
She wanted everyone in the company who refused to accept her authority as chairwoman to see the consequences of going against her.
Only after Shen Nanyue swiftly selected another highly qualified factory to cooperate with did the matter finally come to an end.
At last, she had time to meet Zhao Fang.
Inside the executive office.
After Assistant Xu poured coffee for both Shen Nanyue and Zhao Fang, he quietly left the office.
Shen Nanyue took a light sip of coffee before looking at Zhao Fang, who had remained silent the entire time.
“Mr. Zhao, weren’t you supposed to have a lot to say to me? Now that I finally have time, why are you suddenly silent instead?”
By this point, Zhao Fang had already cursed Shen Nanyue countless times in his heart.
Originally, he had wanted to discuss continuing cooperation with Huasheng Factory.
But now that she had decisively settled on another factory, what was left for him to say?
“If Mr. Zhao has nothing else, then I’ll continue with my work. I won’t see you out.”
After saying that, Shen Nanyue actually stood up and prepared to head toward her desk.
Zhao Fang hurriedly stopped her.
“President Shen, I really do have something to discuss.”
Only then did Shen Nanyue sit back down, smiling as she looked at him.
“Please go ahead, Mr. Zhao.”
“President Shen, I heard that before taking over Shen Corporation, you opened your own studio. Is it still operating?”
Shen Nanyue lifted her eyes toward him.
“And?”
Zhao Fang smiled as he spoke.
“I was thinking that since you’ve already taken over Shen Corporation, you should devote all your attention to the company. As for your studio, you should either shut it down or merge it into Shen Corporation.”
“If you choose to merge it into the company, I can recommend someone to take charge of the studio.”
Shen Nanyue curved her lips into a smile, though there wasn’t the slightest warmth in her eyes.
As expected of a businessman—his calculations were meticulous.
Her studio had already become a popular shop in Fengcheng.
After the fashion show last time, it had gained quite a bit of recognition.
Combined with the growth of Fengcheng’s tourism industry, the studio’s brand name had gradually started to spread.
If managed properly, its future prospects were extremely promising.
Zhao Fang actually wanted to freeload off her studio.
He really had the nerve to suggest it.
“Mr. Zhao, aren’t you thinking a little too much?”
Still unwilling to give up, Zhao Fang pressed on.
“Your studio and Shen Corporation belong to the same business sector—they’re both in fashion design. As shareholders, we naturally worry that you might divert Shen Corporation’s projects to support your own studio.”
“No need to worry, Mr. Zhao. My studio’s clothing style is different from Shen Corporation’s. Besides, I’m not responsible for the company’s main designs, so there won’t be overlap.”
Shen Nanyue’s expression turned completely cold as she stood and walked toward her desk.
“I need to work now. Please see yourself out, Mr. Zhao.”
Zhao Fang glared hatefully at Shen Nanyue’s back before gritting his teeth and turning to leave.
…
Huansheng Group.
Zhou Yushen smiled as he listened to Shen Nanyue complain about the old-timers at the company.
“Don’t mind them. When people get old, they just want to stick their hands into everything. Ignore them.”
The two chatted for a while, but because Shen Nanyue had work to handle, she hurriedly hung up.
The moment the call ended, another unexpected call came in.
It was Han Ping.
His gaze darkened.
After pausing for two seconds, he finally answered.
“Mother.”
“Ah Shen, I heard Linlang has returned and is in Fengcheng as well?”
A trace of disgust flashed through Zhou Yushen’s eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
“Mm.”
“I already know about how you sent Linlang abroad before. Before your Aunt Gu passed away, she asked you to take good care of Linlang. If she knew you were treating Linlang like this, how heartbroken she’d be…”
Zhou Yushen no longer had the patience to listen and calmly interrupted her.
“You’ve been in contact with Gu Linlang?”
A soft sigh came from the other end of the line.
“Your Aunt Gu was your birth mother’s good friend after all. Don’t be too heartless. Since Linlang is in Fengcheng, take proper care of her. Don’t let her illness relapse.”
“Got it. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
After speaking, Zhou Yushen directly ended the call.
Far away in the Zhou family residence in the capital, Han Ping stared at the now-dark phone screen.
The surprise in her eyes gradually transformed into overwhelming anger and hatred.
That child was becoming harder and harder to control!
She had to speed things up.
Thinking about the information Gu Linlang had provided, she made a call to a private investigator.
“How’s the investigation going?”
…
Gu Linlang had rented an apartment in Fengcheng.
At that moment, she stood in the bathroom, filling the bathtub with freezing cold water.
She slowly poured bucket after bucket of ice cubes from a small metal pail into the tub.
A layer of icy mist formed over the bathroom mirror, and the temperature in the room dropped several more degrees because of the freezing water.
Wearing a thin spaghetti-strap nightdress, Gu Linlang stood before the bathtub, biting her lip as she mentally prepared herself.
Only after a long while did she finally steel her resolve.
She lifted one foot into the tub before lowering her entire body into the ice-filled water.
Bone-piercing cold seeped through her skin and drilled deep into her bones.
In less than a second, her body began trembling violently.
The health she had painstakingly regained completely collapsed at that moment.
After a long while, she finally climbed out of the bathtub, trembling as she grabbed her phone and dialed emergency services.
— The end of the Chapter–
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