Chapter 58#

Regarding Ruan Cheng’s matter, it couldn’t be explained in a few words, so Zhao Rong asked Xu Xin to come directly to his house.

As Xu Xin entered, he asked him: “Xiao Zhao, you mentioned that driver from Young Master’s family, has he come looking for you again?”

“No,” Zhao Rong shook his head and frowned, “I was wondering too. Did you see him when you came?”

Xu Xin said: “No. But don’t worry too much. That person doesn’t have much brains, so he probably doesn’t have much capability either.”

Zhao Rong glanced out the window again.

Before the Chen family got into trouble, he had been back to the main residence a few times and had some impression of Chen Jingnian’s driver. This person was originally a local thug, very troublesome, so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to extort money from him.

However, he had always thought this person wouldn’t give up easily, so he had been vigilant and ready to respond at any time. Unexpectedly, several days passed without any movement.

Did he really give up?

Perhaps he was overthinking it.

He thought about other potential problem areas and, just in case, immediately called the caregiver, asking her to notify him immediately if any unfamiliar person came to see Zhao Ming.

Then, he led Xu Xin into the study, asked him to sit down first, and went to brew two cups of fresh tea.

Xu Xin took out the documents and, seeing Zhao Rong doing this, hurriedly said: “Why are you bothering with this? I can do it for you.”

Zhao Rong stopped him: “Don’t be so formal. What’s there to do or not do? I’m not particular about these things.”

Zhao Rong placed a cup of tea in front of Xu Xin, then sat on the other side of the desk with his own cup, and began to flip through the documents.

Xu Xin said to him: “These are all the people related to Ruan Cheng that can be found openly, and their connections. I asked someone to inquire in the Zhuxi area for a few days and sorted out the people Ruan Cheng connected with in Yang City. Your feeling was indeed correct; he definitely had someone guiding him in these projects in Yang City, but this person…”

Without Xu Xin needing to say it, Zhao Rong had already seen it from the documents.

Ruan Cheng’s network in the Zhuxi area was very complete and had no loopholes, but only when it came to Yang City, before he connected with Liu Shun’s parents, there was a blank area.

“Can’t find out how he got involved with Liu Shun’s parents?”

“It’s easy to ask about the person who connected Ruan Cheng and the Liu family, but how this person knew Ruan Cheng…”

That was unclear.

Zhao Rong looked at the problem areas Xu Xin had highlighted in the documents, and thought to himself, Indeed.

Someone like Ruan Cheng wouldn’t associate with ordinary people, and the process of such connections could usually be found out by asking around.

The fact that it couldn’t be found indicated a problem.

However, the person behind Ruan Cheng was truly formidable, managing to leave no trace. Even those investigating, who clearly knew there was a problem, couldn’t figure out who made the connection.

But why would this person help him?

Zhao Rong looked at the names of the people related to Ruan Cheng again, and in his contemplation, his gaze suddenly fell on a familiar name.

He had never met this person, nor did he know them.

The reason he was familiar with this name was because he had seen it in the original novel of The Return Journey.

— This person was Qiao Nanqi’s friend.

Zhao Rong’s gaze deepened, staring at the name for a long time.

Xu Xin saw him suddenly remain silent for a long time and called out to him: “Xiao Zhao? What’s wrong? Is there a problem somewhere? Or should I personally make a trip to Zhuxi and sort it out for you again?”

“No need.”

Zhao Rong said in a low voice.

At this moment, he didn’t know what his mood should be.

“Brother Xu, I still need to go out today, right now.”

In the office, Qiao Nanqi sat by his desk, his eyes slightly closed, as if resting.

Xiao Wu brought in a freshly brewed cup of Longjing tea. As he set down the teacup, he subtly glanced at Qiao Nanqi’s expression—it was emotionless, not like someone who had just been angry.

And in front of the desk, the cleaning staff who had just been called up were cleaning some faint muddy footprints on the floor.

These were made by someone Qiao Nanqi had brought back earlier.

This morning, Qiao Nanqi’s driver was temporarily unwell, so Xiao Wu drove Qiao Nanqi to the nursing home.

He thought Qiao Nanqi would stay at the nursing home for a while, like the previous few days. But as soon as the car stopped, before Qiao Nanqi even got out, he just glanced out the window and said: “That person… I saw him loitering here before.”

Xiao Wu turned back: “Who is Sir talking about?”

Following Qiao Nanqi’s gaze, he saw a person dressed in construction clothes, covered in cement marks, looking like someone who had been working on a construction site these days. However, this person had a fierce expression, walked very slowly, and carried a sack in his hand, not at all like someone going to work.

They watched from the car as this person slowly ambled past the small courtyard where Zhao Ming was, then ambled back from the other side.

Qiao Nanqi’s face instantly darkened.

“You go down,” he said to Xiao Wu, “and tell him… Zhao Rong is looking for him.”

Xiao Wu, having been with Qiao Nanqi for many years, knew that this person loitering near Zhao Ming’s residence had ulterior motives. He didn’t ask why, but directly followed Qiao Nanqi’s instructions, got out of the car, and stopped the person.

Upon hearing Zhao Rong’s name, the person indeed carried his sack and followed him into the car.

As soon as he got into the car, the person’s expression changed: “Young Master Qiao—”

“It seems you’ve met me,” Qiao Nanqi merely glanced at the other party, still sitting upright in the back seat, his voice low. “Sit down. Whatever you need Zhao Rong for, you can tell me too.”

Then he said to Xiao Wu: “Drive, back to the company.”

His tone was leisurely, his expression indifferent, and his eyes concealed a sharp edge, as if he were truly an easy-going person.

The man gritted his teeth and actually got into the car, returning to the company with them.

At first, this person might have been intimidated by Qiao Nanqi’s reputation and felt somewhat guilty.

But later, seeing that Qiao Nanqi never got angry, he became more and more presumptuous, not only revealing his identity as the Chen family’s driver but also repeatedly stating his intention to ask for money.

Xiao Wu drove in front, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror—their Sir, who loved cleanliness the most, was now slightly frowning, yet he didn’t react even when his sleeve was stained by the other party, allowing a dirty worker to sit beside him and spout nonsense.

And after this person asked for money, he actually slowly nodded and said: “Okay.”

— It would be strange if he agreed.

Xiao Wu knew very well that their Sir’s current calmness was the most terrifying.

Upon arriving at the company, Qiao Nanqi told the man to put down the sack, led him into the office, and closed the door.

Xiao Wu didn’t go in, just stayed in the cubicle.

He opened the sack and saw that it contained ropes, heavy metal tools, and similar items. Clearly, the intention was malicious. Their Sir probably didn’t even need to look at the contents of the sack to confirm this, otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the person in alone to talk.

The office was originally very quiet, with only faint sounds of conversation.

Not long after, he heard movement from inside the office—the person was actually begging for mercy, even kneeling. The sound of kneeling was so loud that Xiao Wu heard it clearly.

Just as expected.

He had been Qiao Nanqi’s assistant for so many years. Besides seeing Qiao Nanqi in a sorry state in front of Zhao Rong, when else would their Sir tolerate such a person?

The calmer he was in the car just now, the more…

Young Master Qiao’s methods, after so many years, who could escape them?

These past few days, Xiao Wu had seen Qiao Nanqi, who had become a bit more human, every day and almost forgot what their Sir used to be like.

He listened to the sounds from inside, and after a while, without Qiao Nanqi needing to instruct him, he skillfully called the company’s security to drag the person away.

Before the person was dragged out of the office, Qiao Nanqi didn’t even glance at him, saying indifferently: “Besides Zhao Rong, no one in the Chen family, from top to bottom, can withstand a thorough investigation. Since you’ve delivered yourself to my doorstep, you might as well go keep your Eldest Young Master company.”

The person was still struggling, but upon hearing these words, his entire body went limp.

Qiao Nanqi was too stingy to even give him a single glance from beginning to end.

After the person was dragged away, Qiao Nanqi merely glanced unhappily at the spot on the floor that had been dirtied by the man just now and said: “Have someone clean it up.”

Then he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest until now.

After Xiao Wu put down the teacup, he didn’t leave but asked: “Sir, are you… busy now? Or do you have any arrangements later?”

Qiao Nanqi slowly opened his eyes.

“No,” he said, picking up the teacup and taking a small sip.

The clear fragrance filled his nose and mouth, instantly calming his earlier anger.

The matter with the Chen family’s driver was resolved. After the worry and anger, he was now in a good mood. At least it allowed him to see that the person hadn’t had time to do anything.

If something had truly happened to Zhao Ming…

Qiao Nanqi thought of Zhao Rong’s smiling face whenever he visited Zhao Ming during this period and could hardly imagine how Zhao Rong would react if something happened to Zhao Ming.

Fortunately.

Qiao Nanqi had dealt with such matters countless times over the years. He had resolved many issues even more troublesome than this Chen family driver.

He should have long been accustomed to such outcomes, but this time, he felt like a student who had submitted a perfect exam paper. The thought of the teacher’s potential praise when grading it made his heart ripple with anticipation.

If he told Zhao Rong about what happened earlier, would Zhao Rong… even soften a little?

He had always disdained such behavior, but now he was actually somewhat tempted.

Just then, Xiao Wu’s next sentence was: “Mr. Zhao is here at the company. He’s in the reception room downstairs. He said he didn’t have an appointment and would wait until you’re free—”

Qiao Nanqi had already stood up. “Which one?”

Zhao Rong hadn’t expected Qiao Nanqi to come so quickly.

He had instructed Xiao Wu to treat him like any other person looking for Qiao Nanqi, and to wait until Qiao Nanqi was free. He hadn’t expected that shortly after he sat down, the man would open the door to the reception room.

It seemed Xiao Wu hadn’t listened to him.

Qiao Nanqi’s steps were originally very fast, but after opening the door, he saw Zhao Rong sitting upright inside and suddenly paused at the doorway.

Xiao Wu followed behind, and seeing Qiao Nanqi like this, immediately understood he shouldn’t be watching what happened next. He stepped forward, gently closed the door behind their Sir, and left.

Zhao Rong held a not-so-thick stack of documents, sitting by the coffee table, looking at Qiao Nanqi.

As his gaze swept over, he noticed a dust mark on Qiao Nanqi’s white shirt sleeve. This person loved cleanliness the most, so this dust mark was truly strange, but Zhao Rong had no interest in investigating.

He merely shifted his gaze and said: “You’re here. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your work.”

Qiao Nanqi walked over and sat down in front of him. “I wasn’t busy when you came.”

He looked at Zhao Rong, his eyes showing a hint of a smile: “You came to see me today…”

Zhao Rong placed the documents in his hand in front of him.

He sighed silently and said: “I won’t waste your time; long story short. Was Ruan Cheng brought in by you?”

Qiao Nanqi’s smile faltered.

He had already heard the faint displeasure in Zhao Rong’s tone.

“I…”

His voice hitched, and he didn’t know how to explain.

He had no ill intentions.

It was just that when he sought Ruan Cheng, he didn’t know that Zhao Rong had only been pretending all these years, thinking it would be good to give Zhao Rong a hand. Later, when he found out, he changed his approach, only wanting to secretly give the once forcibly restrained Zhao Rong some opportunities.

He had also dealt with those potentially exposing pieces of information beforehand; it shouldn’t have…

“You erased it very cleanly.” Zhao Rong looked at him and said slowly, “Mr. Qiao, just assume I guessed it. Anyway, judging by your reaction, I wasn’t wrong.”

“Thank you for your kindness. I’m not so cold-hearted and ruthless that I would trample on someone’s good intentions towards me, so this ’thank you’ has no other meaning. Truly, thank you for going to such lengths to arrange a Ruan Cheng for me when I knew nothing and no one. But the reason I immediately came to the company to find you is to tell you face-to-face that not all kindness is acceptable to me.”

“Effort needs reciprocation. We have no relationship anymore. Your kindness towards me will only be a burden to me. Because you did these things without my consent, I don’t want to repay, but I have to.”

Qiao Nanqi opened his mouth but said nothing.

These words even poured a basin of cold water on his earlier thoughts. He had just been hoping Zhao Rong would be happy after learning about the morning’s events, but now he didn’t even dare to speak.

A burden.

If he spoke, would it add another burden to Zhao Rong?

Would Zhao Rong think he had ulterior motives and did it deliberately?

“We are…” He paused, the two words grinding out of his throat with difficulty, “friends. Just consider it a friend’s good intentions.”

“Hmm, friends.”

Zhao Rong’s expression was indifferent, as if he were handling official business.

“Even friends should settle accounts clearly. I’ll have my assistant interface with Xiao Wu to calculate the financial losses you’ve caused me with Ruan Cheng during this period, and I’ll repay you double.”

He deliberately emphasized “double.”

Qiao Nanqi clenched his molars tightly, still saying nothing.

He understood Zhao Rong’s meaning. Precisely because he understood too well, he had nothing to say.

Zhao Rong didn’t want any unclear entanglements with him anymore.

Arguing would only make Zhao Rong more unhappy.

But acquiescing seemed to reinforce the word “friends.”

After a moment.

“I’m sorry,” he could only say, “I’ll ask you next time.”

Zhao Rong had already stood up and slowly left.

Only when Zhao Rong turned his back to Qiao Nanqi did he look up, watching Zhao Rong’s retreating figure, watching him walk further and further away, finally entering the elevator.

Then, he withdrew his gaze, sat in place, and didn’t move.

Who knows how long passed.

“…Sir?” Xiao Wu asked him cautiously from the doorway. “Do you need me to close the door for you?”

Qiao Nanqi came back to his senses.

He looked at Xiao Wu, and then seemed to be looking at the empty hallway, his gaze deep.

Xiao Wu was a bit apprehensive: “Sir?”

“I’m going up to change,” Qiao Nanqi finally reacted, “then to the nursing home.”

At least that was the “goodness” Zhao Rong rarely tacitly allowed him to offer.

After Zhao Rong got into the car, Xu Xin asked him: “Resolved?”

“Hmm.”

“Going home?”

Zhao Rong thought for a moment—Lu Xingping was already back.

“Since we’re already out, let’s go to the jewelry store. We haven’t bought the wedding rings yet.” After buying them, he could then take the consulted wedding procedures and the wedding rings to Lu Xingping’s house, and the two of them could discuss it together.

Even for a fake marriage, people would be invited. Although Lu Xingping told him to do as he pleased, he still had to ask for Lu Xingping’s opinion on everything.

Xu Xin turned on the navigation and slowly stepped on the gas.

Zhao Rong called Zhao Ming’s caregiver.

The caregiver said Zhao Ming was awake and handed the phone to Zhao Ming.

“Mom,” his tone was gentle, completely different from how it was in the company’s reception room just now. “I won’t be coming to accompany you these two days. There’s a lot to do for the wedding.”

“…”

“Hmm, I’m going to buy wedding rings now.”

“…”

“It won’t be too tiring. I’ll make sure to rest. If anything happens, remember to call me.”

“…”

The car had already left the parking lot, merging into the bustling traffic.

When Qiao Nanqi arrived at the nursing home, the caregiver was pushing a wheelchair, about to take Zhao Ming out for a walk, saying Zhao Ming wanted to see the snow.

He suppressed the emotions that had been crashing around in his heart, and with a slight smile, stepped forward: “I’ll do it.”

The caregiver recognized him and, having no reservations, naturally agreed.

Although Zhao Ming had no problems with her legs, she had been ill for so many years and lacked stamina. When she went out for a stroll, she would sit in a wheelchair, occasionally getting up to walk a bit.

Qiao Nanqi had never done such a thing, but he had seen it often during his time at the nursing home and quickly got the hang of it.

As he slowly pushed Zhao Ming along the cleared path, Zhao Ming smiled and asked him: “Why are you here at this time?”

On both sides of the path were green belts that would be vibrant in summer, now completely covered in white. The freshly fallen snow was still soft, reflecting the daylight, pure white and bright.

White clouds drifted, and cool breezes flowed.

Occasionally, there were pedestrians around, but the snow absorbed sound, and the world was quiet.

Qiao Nanqi clearly heard Zhao Ming’s question and was somewhat puzzled: “I came because I wanted to.”

He had been coming frequently these days, and Zhao Ming had never asked such a question.

Zhao Ming, however, showed a surprised expression, turning her head in the wheelchair to look at him.

“Didn’t you go with Xiao Rong?”

“Zhao Rong might be busy with something; it has nothing to do with me.”

Zhao Ming looked at him in confusion.

Ever since Zhao Rong told her he was getting married, this young man had come almost every day, always patiently accompanying her.

She had even seen him and Zhao Rong talking alone in the backyard.

She was slow to process things and only said after a while: “Aren’t you getting married to Xiao Rong? Why aren’t you going with him to pick out rings?”

The wheelchair suddenly stopped, halting on the silent path.

The vast white snow dazzled Qiao Nanqi’s eyes, yet it was as if his ears were plugged with these icy, bone-chilling things.

His hands, gripping the wheelchair handles, slowly tightened. His entire body felt instantly cold, and his mind became a chaotic blank.

“…What did you say?”