Chapter 42: Qin Shuheng

“Qin Shili has been coming and going from the Qin family recently, but there hasn’t been any news from them.”

As Xu Shu spoke, Zhou Jinye remained silent, flipping over the old phone in his hand.

After a long pause, he finally asked, “Did the person who sent this phone provide their name or number?”

Xu Shu knew he would ask that. He pointed to the delivery slip beneath the phone. “It’s right there.”

Neither of them avoided speaking in front of Xu Wu.

“The person who contacted me only briefly mentioned the origin of this phone and didn’t elaborate. No one knows what connection that person has with Qin Shili.”

Zhou Jinye ran his fingers over the paper wrapping the phone. It wasn’t ordinary paper; its texture was distinct—it was custom-made.

He had placed the phone inside the paper bag, folding it along the creases on the paper.

He slipped it into his pocket. The sender’s information on the package appeared to be either randomly generated or belonged to someone real. Other than that, nothing stood out. He still needed to have someone investigate the paper further.

After leaving Xu Shu’s estate, Xu Wu remained seated, having witnessed and heard everything they discussed. When Zhou Jinye initially said he would bring her to meet someone, she hadn’t expected this. Now that she’d met him and understood Zhou Jinye’s intentions, she watched as he fastened his seatbelt. She asked, “Is Uncle Xu helping you deal with Qin Shili?”

Zhou Jinye turned his head slightly. “Yes. I brought you here today to tell you about these matters.”

He had listened to everything without brushing her off.

While Xu Wu had been observing the collected documents on the table during their conversation, she voiced her lingering question: “When did you start doing all this?”

“I forgot,” he replied nonchalantly.

His casual dismissal of the matter suggested that it held little significance for him. But for Xu Wu, it was different. He had been silently working behind the scenes, far from her sight.

A wave of guilt inevitably rose in her heart. Throughout the ride, she stared out the window. The car window was slightly cracked open.

After lunch, Li Qingyang called about a company matter. After dropping Xu Wu off at her apartment building, Zhou Jinye headed to the office.

Upon arriving at the company, Zhou Jinye learned that the counterparty mentioned in the contract Li Qingyang had previously brought up was now causing problems.

He had his assistant look into it and discovered that the company fell under the Qin family’s domain. The Qin family had originally focused on real estate but later transitioned into information technology as times changed.

The company involved in Li Qingyang’s contract was one acquired by the Qin family. Zhou Jinye set down the contract materials. “Have we contacted Qin Corporation yet?”

“We’ve reached out, but my assistant says Mr. Qin is extremely busy right now. Without his direct instructions, it’s difficult to get a meeting.”

Zhou Jinye glanced at the name of the company Qin Corporation had acquired, written clearly on the contract. Aside from Qin Shili, he rarely interacted with other members of the Qin family. He recalled that the current head of the Qin family was a grandson of similar age to him—Qin Shuheng. Turning to Li Qingyang, he said, “Give me the phone. I’ll try calling him myself.”

After finishing the call with Li Qingyang, just as he was about to leave, Zhou Jinye stopped him.

Zhou Jinye pulled the paper bag he’d taken from Xu Shu out of his pocket, removed the old phone, and handed the bag to Li Qingyang. As the son of a wealthy family, he had seen plenty during his childhood when he returned to his father’s side. Li Qingyang touched the paper, and his thoughts aligned with Zhou Jinye’s.

“Can you find where this kind of paper is produced?” Zhou Jinye placed the worn-out phone on the table and asked Li Qingyang.

Li Qingyang felt the edges of the paper and replied, “I’ll need to ask my dad. He uses this type of paper frequently and likely knows more about it.”

“Can you tear a piece off? I’ll take it home to show him tonight and give you an answer by then.”

But Zhou Jinye shook his head. “No need to tear it. Take the whole thing. Let me know once you’ve figured it out. Thanks.”

“Alright, I’ll head off now.”

Zhou Jinye dialed the number Li Qingyang had sent earlier. His name carried some weight, especially since the matter involved Qin Shili. The other party’s assistant scheduled a meeting for the next day.

After hanging up, he gazed at the towering buildings outside. His company was located in the most bustling commercial district, and from his office, he could see a nearby skyscraper resembling a spire.

If he remembered correctly, that building was Qin Corporation’s headquarters.

________________________________________

On his supposed day off, Zhou Jinye left the house, saying he had company matters to attend to. He prepared food for Xu Wu and left it on the table.

After the events of the previous night, Xu Wu had naturally started sleeping with Zhou Jinye. Despite the chaotic night, she still woke up around noon.

Both the night before and last night, she ended up sleeping with her head covered. She wasn’t used to sleeping with the lights on—it was too glaring—but Zhou Jinye’s fear of the dark made it impossible to turn them off.

This condition of his had persisted since childhood, unlike her college days when insomnia kept her awake. He relied on medication and couldn’t sleep without light.

Xu Wu opened a shopping app. Recalling how bright the overhead light was during both intimacy and sleep, she couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

She ordered a bed with built-in lighting and a lamp.

After completing the purchase, Zhou Jinye had already fed Pudding before leaving. Xu Wu reheated the food that had cooled.

Jiang Zihan, who had switched shifts, was off work today. They had arranged to meet yesterday, and they gathered at the same bar as usual.

The place was crowded due to the holiday season. The moment Jiang Zihan saw Xu Wu, she remarked with a smirk, “Looks like things are going well for you lately.”

“Did you show Zhou Jinye the custom-made dress I gave you?”

Xu Wu remained silent, sipping her water.

But the blush creeping onto her ears betrayed her. Jiang Zihan chuckled. “You didn’t send me pictures, but you showed him first.”

Xu Wu laughed. “Alright, I’ll send you a photo next time I wear it.”

Jiang Zihan began scrutinizing her face. “You’ve gained some weight compared to when I last saw you.”

Xu Wu cupped her chin, her fingers resting on her cheeks. She could feel the softness of her skin.

She had indeed put on some weight.

“I even have photos of you from when we first met,” Jiang Zihan said, pulling out her phone to show her. “Look, back then, you looked so gaunt. Your face was practically hollow.”

Xu Wu gazed at the image of herself from her freshman year of college. Back then, her complexion was pale, and she often struggled to fall asleep at night, usually staying awake until one or two in the morning.

“Now, your face has filled out nicely. You look much healthier.” Jiang Zihan commented.

“Have you been busy at the hospital lately?” Xu Wu deflected the topic.

“Yes,” Jiang Zihan took a sip of her drink. “Busy as hell. My dad even introduced me to someone yesterday.”

“A blind date?”

Jiang Zihan nodded. “He saw someone else become a grandfather and started worrying about my situation.”

Xu Wu remembered hearing Li Qingyang’s voice when she last spoke to Jiang Zihan on the phone. “Do you have someone in mind?”

“Not yet,” Jiang Zihan replied. After facing setbacks in her past relationships, she shifted her focus entirely to work. A fleeting thought of someone crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. Their personalities clashed, so it wouldn’t work.

Xu Wu observed her quietly, not pressing further.

Jiang Zihan was more pragmatic when it came to relationships, knowing what suited her and what didn’t. She was bold in love and decisive in cutting ties.

________________________________________

Half an hour remained before the scheduled meeting. Zhou Jinye returned to the company to retrieve something and noticed a message from Li Qingyang that he hadn’t seen the previous night due to other matters.

The paper used for the package came from a single factory. Li Qingyang mentioned that his father had purchased similar paper before, and many others had ordered it as well. The largest client consistently ordering from that factory was the Qin family.

The Qin family… There were several people with the surname Qin. Apart from Qin Shili, it was unclear who else it might involve.

As the appointed time approached, Zhou Jinye left the company and headed to Qin Corporation’s headquarters.

As he walked toward the building, a man dressed in a linen suit approached him.

“You were almost a second away from being late.”

Once the man stopped in front of him, Zhou Jinye glanced at his wristwatch, which gleamed with a regal gold hue.

The man’s hair was neatly combed behind his ears. Zhou Jinye had only learned yesterday that this person was a year younger than him, but it was impossible to tell from his demeanor.

Regal, mature, and meticulous—these were Zhou Jinye’s first impressions of Qin Shuheng, whom he should technically call his younger cousin by blood.

“Since I’m not late, I assume President Qin won’t break his word,” Zhou Jinye responded, matching Qin Shuheng’s imposing presence.

The assistant who had previously spoken to Zhou Jinye on the phone was aware of certain matters regarding the Qin family. Now, the protagonist of this story stood before them.

Though both shared the Qin family bloodline, their auras were strikingly different.

Standing beside them, Qin Shuheng began discussing the issues surrounding the acquisition project.

In terms of work, both men were equally straightforward and efficient. They addressed the core problems directly and proposed corresponding solutions.

After their discussion, Qin Shuheng’s expression softened, and he immediately arranged for someone to handle the matter.

They were seated in a customer meeting room. As Zhou Jinye conversed, he inadvertently noticed the papers in the assistant’s hands.

Just as he planned to take a closer look, the assistant accidentally dropped the documents while handing over water.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Jinye picked them up. The paper on their company’s table was different, but the texture matched what he had touched earlier.

After confirming the results, as Qin Shuheng prepared to leave, Zhou Jinye mentioned the factory producing the paper. At that moment, the man about to walk away paused. With his back turned, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“You’re much smarter than Uncle Qin Yao.”