Returning - Chapter 105
Chapter 105: Equally Miserable
Eldest daughter, Zhuang Yiqing, 31; eldest son, Zhuang Ye, 26; second son, Zhuang Ze, 25; second daughter, Zhuang Ruyun, 23; youngest son, Zhuang Tong, 11.
Looking at the list of the Zhuang family members, Zhao Yu couldn't help but find it utterly absurd.
Apart from Zhuang Yiqing and Zhuang Ye, who were born to the lawfully wedded Mrs. Zhuang, the other three were all illegitimate children from different mothers.
For many men, especially wealthy ones, having affairs and keeping mistresses was commonplace. Yet, most with any sense would not recklessly father illegitimate children. But that Chairman Zhuang Zhen just kept bringing people home, and it was no wonder Zhuang Ye had hated him so deeply since childhood.
Zhuang Tong was still young and could not accomplish much for now, though it was hard to say whether Zhuang Zhen would remain in good health, shield him as he grew up, and then leave him a lavish share of the family fortune.
Zhuang Ruyun dared to clash head-on with Zhuang Yiqing, relying on the doting affection Zhuang Zhen showered upon her, his poor, motherless daughter after her mother's death. But she was just as arrogant as Zhuang Yiqing, yet lacked the actual power to back it up. Her mind likely wasn't sharp enough either, making her a less formidable enemy.
For now, the greatest threat to Zhuang Yiqing and Zhuang Ye was probably Zhuang Ze.
Compared to Zhuang Yiqing, Zhuang Ze had the advantage of gender—Zhuang Ye had once mentioned that their family still harbored some feudal notion of favoring sons over daughters, believing it best for a son to inherit the family business.
Compared to Zhuang Ye, Zhuang Ze held the advantage of personality—a rebellious son who had hated his father since childhood versus an obedient son who always knew how to curry favor; whom would a father prefer?
Moreover, Zhuang Ye had said that Zhuang Ze's mother was the most scheming, yet most skilled at feigning understanding, virtuousness, and propriety—far more sophisticated than the "resentful wife" type his own mother had been.
Merely within the immediate family, so much strife existed. What about Zhuang Ye's uncles and cousins, who were equally troublesome? This alone illustrated how difficult Zhuang Yiqing's circumstances were, and the level of cunning required for her to achieve her current status must be remarkable.
Setting aside her hatred, Zhao Yu genuinely admired a woman like Zhuang Yiqing. Unfortunately, a blood feud lay between them.
After scrolling through Ling Jianhuan's Weibo from beginning to end again and again, Zhao Yu began to slowly ponder what method to employ to swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly sabotage this arranged marriage.
Her cellphone rang. She glanced down; it was a call from Xu Chengyan.
Upon answering, there was only one sentence on the other end: "Half an hour."
It was always a commanding, non-negotiable tone, but Zhao Yu did not always obey.
This time, however, thinking it had been a while since they last met, and eager to find out if she could fish for any information from Xu Chengyan, she readily opened WeChat to check the address he had sent, replying with a cheeky sticker.
Zhao Yu had visited Xu Chengyan's residence before, but this time, he directed her to a private club.
Xu Chengyan had given prior instructions. After she stated his name, an attendant led her to a private room. Based on past experience, because she feared having her true identity exposed, and Xu Chengyan was still willing to indulge her in this charade, they usually met privately, just the two of them, with no outsiders present.
But this time, as soon as she pushed open the door to the private room, Zhao Yu froze. Inside the spacious room, besides Xu Chengyan on the sofa, there were several other people.
Closest to Xu Chengyan was a middle-aged man in a black suit. Judging by his obsequious, fawning attitude toward Xu Chengyan, he was certainly not a friend Xu Chengyan had brought along.
Kneeling on the floor in front of Xu Chengyan's sofa was a man in a server's uniform.
Seeing the injuries on his face and the fresh blood streaming down his head, Zhao Yu immediately felt a wave of dizziness, and her stomach churned violently.
Surrounding the server were four aggressive, burly men. Their leader was a young man dressed in refined attire, with handsome features and a face bearing some resemblance to Xu Chengyan.
Noticing Zhao Yu enter, the young man raised an eyebrow with extreme flippancy. "Brother, this woman of yours isn't bad. How about lending her to me for a couple of days?"
What answered him was Xu Chengyan's icy, sharp glare.
The man clicked his tongue. "I came all the way here to help you deal with this trouble, and you won't even give me this tiny benefit. So stingy."
"Even if you hadn't come, nothing would have happened to me." Xu Chengyan crooked a finger at Zhao Yu, motioning for her to come over.
Zhao Yu forcibly suppressed the wave of nausea inside her, obediently walked over, and sat down beside him. Xu Chengyan reached out and draped an arm around her shoulder, then glanced at his left wrist. "Five minutes late."
The lighting in the private room was dim, which conveniently made Zhao Yu's already pale complexion less noticeable.
She steadied herself and said quietly, "Traffic."
Xu Chengyan smiled at her, then shifted his gaze back to the server before him. "Still won't talk?"
The server shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum, even flinging a few drops of blood from his face.
Xu Chengyan unhurriedly picked a cigarette from the table. The middle-aged man in the black suit beside him immediately and attentively bent down, offering a light. "President Xu, please calm down. Getting angry over someone like this isn't worth it."
Lighting the cigarette and taking two drags, Xu Chengyan slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then looked up at the man. "Manager Lei, what did your boss say on the phone just now? Oh, yes, he said, this person is mine to dispose of as I see fit. As for you..."
"I am also at your disposal, at your disposal..." The middle-aged man was so panicked his hands were shaking. He strode over to the server and began punching and kicking him. "Were you lying? Were you? Do you know?"
The server was clearly already injured. Being kicked like this made him grimace in pain, but he dared not dodge. He could only try to straighten his body and remain kneeling.
"Tsk, tsk!" Seeing the interrogation was going nowhere, Xu Chengyan sighed and gently shook his head, turning his gaze to the young man who resembled him.
"Since we can't interrogate anything out of him, let's just do it like last time. Kill him directly, chop off his hands and feet, and sink him into the sea. Simple and convenient."
He spoke as lightly as if discussing what to eat the next day. Yet the server, watching him sit there casually blowing smoke rings, was so terrified he shuddered.
"Fine, since Big Brother gave the word, I won't play with him anymore." The young man waved a finger at one of the burly men beside him. "Gag him first."
The burly man obeyed, grabbing a handkerchief from the table and moving to stuff it into the server's mouth. At this, the server finally panicked, desperately twisting his body to the side, gasping urgently, "I'll talk, I'll talk."
"Wouldn't it have been settled if you'd talked sooner?" The young man sauntered closer, grinning, but then ground his foot down on the server's already injured knee, not letting up even as the man hissed in pain. "Dare to lie and see what happens?"
"It... it was... all I know is it was a woman, in her twenties, very pretty, with a good figure."
"Nonsense!" The man increased the pressure under his foot.
"To use such a dirty trick against my big brother, who else could it be but a woman? A man?"
As he spoke, he started laughing to himself, then turned his head, eyeing Xu Chengyan with a malicious grin. "Brother, with your build and looks, do you think any man might actually want to drug and rape you?"
Xu Chengyan gave him a cold glance, then pulled out his phone, opened a photo, and held it up. "Show him."
Zhao Yu discreetly glanced over and realized it was a photo of Zhuang Ruyun. She then noticed Xu Chengyan's crotch, which had already tented up prominently.
It seemed this Zhuang Ruyun truly loathed Zhuang Yiqing to the core, and was truly foolish to an extreme, actually thinking of sleeping with Zhuang Yiqing's fiancé as an act of revenge.
Seeing the server nodding repeatedly, Xu Chengyan showed no surprise whatsoever, merely waving his hand impatiently. "Hurry up and take your people back. Stop cluttering up my sight."
"Brother, you're burning bridges here. Your little brother here gave up a beautiful woman and traveled all this way just to help you..."
Before he could finish, Xu Chengyan shot him a look.
"From the private room next door to here, how far is that?"
"Far enough anyway." The young man gestured for the several burly men to take the battered server away. Manager Lei quickly stepped forward to lead the way.
"President Xu, please, this way. A lounge has already been prepared for you."
Xu Chengyan pulled Zhao Yu up by her waist, the entire weight of his body gradually shifting onto her shoulder. Only upon hearing his ragged breathing did Zhao Yu realize that his earlier composure and nonchalance had been forcefully feigned. The drug's effects had long since taken hold, and he could barely hold on.
Zhao Yu wrapped an arm around his waist and guided him toward the door. But he stumbled, yanking her off-balance with him for a few steps. As she moved to steady him again, her peripheral vision caught something behind the sofa.
There, a large pool of blood had already dried, a deep, vivid red.
The turmoil she had just suppressed in her stomach surged back with a vengeance, a hundred times stronger than before. It felt as if her internal organs were churning outward.
Zhao Yu could not help but tremble, feeling her hands and feet turn instantly ice cold. Unable to tend to Xu Chengyan, who was about to collapse, she let go of him and sprinted desperately toward the restroom.
Before she could even reach the toilet, she was already braced against the wall, dry heaving violently.
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