Chapter 68

Zhou Yanzhou just abandoned his car at the restaurant entrance and ran upstairs to find her.

By now, the traffic police had slapped two parking tickets on his windshield. Zhou Yanzhou picked them up, took a glance, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them expressionlessly into a trash can, acting as if he had seen nothing.

Seeing this, Chen Xi couldn't help but sigh that this man really knew how to get things done.

Perhaps because Zhou Yanzhou had just rescued her from the jaws of defeat, Chen Xi unusually refrained from talking back to him. Instead, she sat in the passenger seat, lowering her head to listen silently to his scolding.

After leaving the restaurant and being in the car for a short while, Zhou Yanzhou finally recalled the vague location pin Chen Xi had sent him two hours ago.

He clicked his tongue and sneered, "Good job. You knew I'd panic when I saw the location, so you didn't say a single word and just waited for me to come get you?"

"Chen Xi, you've got some nerve. What if I hadn't checked my phone? What if I had arrived a little later?"

"Do you think that because I always give in to you, you can do whatever you want without fear of consequences?"

"Do you really think you can walk sideways just because I'm around? Or that I can always clean up your messes? Can you please use your brain for once? Couldn't you tell there was something wrong with a dinner like that? Did you really have to drink? Have you no sense of how terrible your alcohol tolerance is?"

Zhou Yanzhou's liver ached with anger. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned around to see Chen Xi with her head down, mindlessly playing with her fingers in absolute silence. That pent-up breath in his chest made him even angrier.

Taking a deep breath, the nerves on Zhou Yanzhou's forehead throbbed so violently he was nearly hyperventilating.

Rolling down the car window, Zhou Yanzhou took a moment to breathe in some fresh air. Supporting the steering wheel with one hand, he fished out a cigarette pack from the armrest compartment, flicked one out with his thumb, clamped it between his lips, snapped the pack back into place, picked up his lighter, and raised his chin to light the cigarette.

Through the swirling haze, Zhou Yanzhou's face was veiled in blue smoke. After a few puffs, the anger in his chest dissipated somewhat.

He lifted his eyelids, his cigarette-holding hand resting on the window frame. Most of the smoke drifted outside, though occasional wisps floated into the cabin.

Chen Xi was choked by the smoke and involuntarily coughed twice.

Seeing this, Zhou Yanzhou quietly discarded the cigarette butt.

Passing through an intersection, Zhou Yanzhou hit the brakes, his gaze falling upon the young woman beside him as he asked nonchalantly, "Lost your tongue?"

Chen Xi licked her lips, her voice dry as she replied, "Weren't you furious?"

Zhou Yanzhou was puzzled. "So?"

Chen Xi blinked, looking innocent. "Not to provoke you."

Hearing the answer, Zhou Yanzhou laughed out of sheer exasperation. He drew a breath and gritted his teeth, "You're getting bolder."

Enduring the man's wrath, Chen Xi closed her eyes for a second and whispered, "Then what else could I have done?"

"My boss told me to go to the dinner, could I refuse? The clients forced me to drink, could I not drink?"

Chen Xi actually felt a bit dizzy. She had been frightened earlier, so her mind had been racing, but now that she had entered "safe mode" and the alcohol was hitting her system, her cognitive processing speed slowed down considerably.

"As an intern, what right do I have to speak up?"

Seeing that Chen Xi showed not the slightest realization of her own mistake, Zhou Yanzhou's expression fell. He asked expressionlessly, "Chen Xi, tell me the truth, how much of today was premeditated?"

"Were you really unable to avoid it, or did you deliberately want to make me worry?"

Chen Xi's face paled.

She widened her eyes at the now-calmed Zhou Yanzhou, her tone involuntarily turning cool. "You think I drank on purpose?"

Zhou Yanzhou twitched the corner of his mouth, his face a picture of calm as he said, "I didn't say that."

*But that's what you're thinking.*

Chen Xi stubbornly stared into Zhou Yanzhou's face, answering him in her heart.

Zhou Yanzhou also figured that since things had already reached this point, splitting hairs further was meaningless.

He paused for two seconds, his peripheral vision locking onto that flawless face, and accepted his fate. "Fine. I'm taking charge of your situation."

"But I have a condition."

Chen Xi licked her lips and asked hesitatingly, "What is it?"

After careful consideration, Zhou Yanzhou decided to follow his inner desires. "Quit your internship at the law firm. Come work as in-house counsel at my company."

If he kept her by his side and under his direct supervision, she wouldn't be able to get into these kinds of messes anymore.

Chen Xi froze at Zhou Yanzhou's demand.

She blinked her eyelids, asking incredulously, "Work as in-house counsel at your company?"

Zhou Yanzhou raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why not?"

Chen Xi pressed her lips into a thin line, temporarily unable to tell whether he was joking or serious.

A brief silence fell inside the car cabin until a cell phone ringtone suddenly pierced the quiet between them.

It was Zhou Yanzhou's phone.

Before leaving, Zhou Yanzhou had sent Chen Huai a message telling him to handle the aftermath.

Chen Huai had just returned from vacation when he received the message and rushed to the scene. Seeing the devastation in the private room, the onlookers who hadn't yet dispersed, and the man being carried away by an ambulance, Chen Huai felt his head swell to twice its size.

Over the phone, Chen Huai spoke with hesitation, "The guy was taken away by the ambulance. The restaurant seems to have security cameras, and the other party's lawyer reviewed the footage and said this isn't over."

"That guy is an executive at Xingsheng, and behind Xingsheng is the Guan family."

Hearing this, a nameless fire flared up in Zhou Yanzhou. Holding his phone, he barked at Chen Huai, "Of course this isn't over! Tell that bastard to wait. Bullying someone on my territory? He can wait to eat prison food!"

"So what if it's the Guan family? They'll still have bad luck if they mess with me."

"It's already the utmost mercy that I'm not demanding compensation for emotional distress. Tell him to hurry up and sue, I'm waiting!"

Hearing Zhou Yanzhou's ice-cold voice, Chen Xi silently turned her head to look at the man.

The car was very quiet, and even without the speakerphone on, some sound leaked out.

Chen Xi caught the gist of the conversation and knew that President Zhong had no intention of letting the matter rest, which inevitably stirred a sense of worry in her.

With Zhou Yanzhou's explicit permission, Chen Huai felt emboldened to handle the situation.

Hanging up, Chen Huai invited the opposing party's lawyer to the side. Exchanging glances for two seconds, Chen Huai tactfully and subtly conveyed his boss's intentions.

The lawyer was a shrewd veteran who had litigated for plenty of wealthy and powerful people; a single glance was enough to tell him who could be crossed and who could not.

And this particular master before him was definitely not to be messed with.

Though he hadn't laid eyes on the big boss himself, upon hearing that his client was backed by the Guan family, the other side showed not a shred of fear—instead, their arrogance grew, clearly unbothered by the Guan family.

"My boss's meaning is that if this truly goes to trial, your client will likely be spending a few years eating prison food. Of course, I'm not trying to intimidate you."

"Given your client's background, today's stunt is definitely not his first rodeo."

"A bad deed always leaves a trail. If it really comes to that, it's hard to say who won't let whom off the hook."

Having spent so much time around Zhou Yanzhou, Chen Huai had picked up a thing or two about his boss's bluffing skills.

Hearing Chen Huai put it this way, the lawyer weighed the situation in his mind.

He accepted the cigarette Chen Huai handed him and said amiably that he would first check on his client at the hospital and discuss the complexity of a lawsuit with him.

The moment Chen Huai heard that, he knew the other party intended to settle privately.

He smiled and made a polite gesture of seeing him off.

Having settled the aftermath, Chen Huai sent his boss a text message.

By the time Zhou Yanzhou saw that text, he had already arrived at R University.

The car drove ostentatiously through the east gate into the campus, passing classroom buildings and a patch of lush greenery, when the young girl beside him called out in time, "Stop right here."

Though puzzled, Zhou Yanzhou hit the brakes.

No sooner had the car come to a complete halt than Chen Xi unbuckled her seatbelt, turned around, and gazed earnestly at Zhou Yanzhou.

Startled by her look for half a second, Zhou Yanzhou quickly resumed his flippant demeanor. "Got something to say?"

Ignoring the playful amusement in the man's eyes, Chen Xi took a breath and muttered softly, "Thank you for today."

Zhou Yanzhou didn't catch it clearly. "What?"

Biting her lip and closing her eyes, Chen Xi raised her voice, "Thank you for today."

This time Zhou Yanzhou understood. He raised his chin with a look of extreme dissatisfaction, "Is that how you thank someone?"

"Have you considered what the consequences would have been if I hadn't shown up in time today?"

"A simple 'thank you' and that's it?"

Never expecting Zhou Yanzhou to completely brush off her gratitude, Chen Xi was momentarily at a loss and instinctively followed his lead. "Then what do you want?"

Zhou Yanzhou patted his lap. "Get over here."

Chen Xi: "..."

Verbal thanks weren't enough, he actually had to pull this kind of unhealthy stunt?

Seeing Chen Xi hesitate, Zhou Yanzhou locked the car doors and delivered a breezy threat: "Five seconds."

"Five."

Chen Xi remained motionless: "..."

Unhurriedly, Zhou Yanzhou continued, "Four."

Chen Xi's heartbeat inexplicably accelerated: "No—"

As calm as a hound, Zhou Yanzhou said, "Three."

Chen Xi bit her lip: "No way."

Zhou Yanzhou sneered, "Two."

The threat in the man's eyes was far too heavy for Chen Xi to withstand. Before he could shout "One," she drew a sharp breath and stiffly hoisted herself up.

The moment her knees rested on the leather seat, Chen Xi was yanked straight into Zhou Yanzhou's embrace.

Sitting sideways across his lap, she instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, keeping her eyes shut, too afraid to look at him.

Zhou Yanzhou wrapped one arm around Chen Xi's waist while his other hand cupped her face, his thumb slowly tracing the contour of her lips.

Ticklish, Chen Xi instinctively shrank her shoulders, trying to push away the large hand resting on her waist, but it remained completely immovable.

As his scorching breath brushed against her forehead, Chen Xi couldn't take it anymore and slowly opened her eyes, only to crash right into a pair of peach-blossom eyes brewing with amusement.

Before Chen Xi could react, the man lifted her chin and leaned down to capture her lips.

The movement was gentle at first, carrying a sense of restraint, but it eventually devolved into rough plunder.

Ambiguous wet sounds echoed within the car cabin, making Chen Xi burn red down to her neck, while the man grew increasingly heated.

She was wearing a thin white shirt paired with a narrow black skirt today; as the kiss deepened, the hem of her shirt was tugged out of her skirt by the man's hand.

Realizing that the man's fingers were brushing against the soft flesh of her waist, Chen Xi curled up like a bow from the ticklish sensation.

Feeling skin as smooth as silk, Zhou Yanzhou shifted his lips away from Chen Xi's lower lip down to her chin, her neck, lingering over the skin of her collarbone.

Chen Xi's heart could no longer handle the strain, beating frantically at a frequency so fast she half-suspected she had developed a heart disease.

With her eyelids tightly shut, she trembled slightly under his touch like a butterfly resting on a lake surface, its wings fluttering continuously as the wind blew.

At this moment, Zhou Yanzhou had cast all reason to the wind, with his inner vices shouting and rioting wildly in his head.

Amy was a woman with sharp instincts; she could always read four or five tenths of a person the moment they stood before her.

That day in the elevator, when Amy was whispering into Chen Xi's ear, her peripheral vision had actually remained fixed on Zhou Yanzhou.

Unless he were blind, Zhou Yanzhou surely would have caught that blatant provocation.

He simply hadn't given it any thought back then, only finding the woman rather eccentric and figuring that if Chen Xi stayed around her too long, she'd surely pick up bad habits.

Now that things had genuinely reached this point, he finally realized how utterly bland his past life had been.

Beads of sweat dotted Zhou Yanzhou's forehead. Closing his eyes, he suppressed the wild beast desperate to break out of its cage, forcibly restrained the squirming figure in his arms, leaned down to gently bite Chen Xi's lower earlobe, and rasped in a hoarse voice, "Stop moving."

Sensing Zhou Yanzhou's abnormal state, Chen Xi was frightened into immediate rigidity, not daring to fidget anymore.

After a long while, Zhou Yanzhou returned to normal. He considerately smoothed down Chen Xi's hem, grasped her shoulders, and pushed her upright off his lap.

Flushed and heart-pounding, Chen Xi scrambled back to the passenger seat, her limbs so weak she could barely sit straight.

A few minutes later, having completely recovered, Zhou Yanzhou rolled down the car window, picked up his cigarette pack, lit a cigarette, and smoked it squintingly, puffing at an unhurried pace.

He flicked the ash, his peripheral vision falling upon the young woman who still had her head lowered, busy straightening her skirt and buttoning her shirt. Clearly not yet recovered from the shock, the girl's face was flushed, and her exposed skin looked like a cooked crawfish or the evening glow on the horizon, immensely alluring.

Fortunately, it was class time, and with the scorching sun blazing mercilessly overhead, baking the earth, no one had the idle leisure to stroll around campus.

Otherwise, someone would surely have cast their gaze toward the Porsche parked by the roadside, wondering what the people inside were up to.

While Chen Xi was still suffering from lingering fear, Zhou Yanzhou smiled with complacent satisfaction and teased, "That really is a top-notch weapon for close combat."

In a flash, Chen Xi snapped her head up, glaring at the man with a blushing, embarrassed glare as she protested, "Zhou Yanzhou!"

Acting as if he hadn't heard her threat, Zhou Yanzhou took a drag of his cigarette, tilted his head back to blow a smoke ring toward the car roof, and remarked deadpan, "Your colleague was right, it really is deeply concealed."

Chen Xi: "..."

Having straightened her skirt, Chen Xi took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, pushed the door open, and scrambled out of the car without a moment's hesitation.

Out of lingering resentment, Chen Xi deliberately used force when closing the door.

With a loud *bang*, the door slammed shut with such velocity that an uninformed observer might have thought an explosion had occurred.

Sitting inside the car, Zhou Yanzhou was metaphorically slapped in the face by the gust of wind whipped up by the closing door.

Looking at that slender yet stubborn retreating figure, he let out an amused, exasperated chuckle.

Anyone else who dared give him such attitude would have had grass growing on their graves by now.

Was she convinced he wouldn't do anything to her, hence her utter fearlessness?

Zhou Yanzhou rubbed the back of his head and accepted his fate, thinking, *Fine, I've completely been wrapped around a little girl's finger.*

Realizing that the incident at the restaurant still lacked a final conclusion, Zhou Yanzhou's face turned cold. Glancing at the text message Chen Huai had sent, he started the engine, drove away from R University, and headed straight for the Guan family residence.

When Chen Xi reached the end of the path, she intentionally glanced back, only to find that the Porsche parked at the intersection had already vanished, leaving a trace of disappointment in her eyes.

She pressed her lips together and forced herself to banish those inappropriate thoughts.

Upon returning to the dorm, Chen Xi remembered she had returned without asking for leave. After two seconds of hesitation, she sent a text to Amy, who handled attendance: *Amy, I'm feeling unwell, can I take a half-day leave?*

An hour ago, Xu Feng had stormed back into the law firm looking furious. Ignoring everyone, he marched straight into Fang Hui's office.

When he finally emerged, Xu Feng looked like an ant on a hot tin pan, his complexion dark enough to drip ink.

Sensing something was amiss, Amy immediately picked up her teacup and sauntered over to the pantry under the guise of fetching water to fish for gossip.

As it turned out, the other colleagues were equally in the dark, knowing only that Fang Hui and Xu Feng had engaged in a screaming match inside the office.

The two of them had originally resigned from a prestigious "red circle" firm together to jointly found Fang Hui Law Firm—Fang Hui managed the firm's business operations while Xu Feng handled the litigation. Over the five years since the firm's establishment, the two men had barely ever crossed swords.

Yet now, they were quarreling so bitterly that it faintly looked like they were going to split up.

Amy had been at Fang Hui Law Firm for two years. While she couldn't say she loved it, she still held a certain sentimental attachment to the place after staying so long.

Hearing that they were about to part ways, Amy's first thought was: *Where on earth am I going to find such a cozy and comfortable job again? Don't tell me I'm actually going to wait for Xu Yi to support me?*

The moment the thought arose, Amy spat it out mentally with a disgusted *pah-pah*, chanting inwardly: *Men are unreliable, unreliable. A woman must achieve financial independence.*

Finishing the gossip, Amy brewed herself a cup of coffee and ambled back to her workstation to slack off.

After a couple sips of coffee, Amy suddenly remembered that this intern had gone out on a field assignment with Xu Feng, so why hadn't she returned?

Just as she was wondering, Chen Xi's text arrived.

Amy picked up her phone from the desk and scanned the message, instantly setting down her coffee and typing out a flurry of concerned queries: *Where are you feeling unwell? Did you see a doctor? What did they say? Is it serious? Where are you now? Do you need me to come visit you?*

Seeing Amy's text messages, Chen Xi was torn between laughter and tears.

Touched, Chen Xi made sure to decline: *I'm fine, just a minor issue, nothing to worry about.*

Thinking of what happened today, Chen Xi figured she wouldn't be interning at the firm anymore, though she deeply hated to part with Amy.

Sighing regretfully, Chen Xi texted Amy: *Amy, I probably won't be interning at the firm starting tomorrow.*

Amy replied instantly: *What's going on?? Didn't you just start your internship a week ago?*

Chen Xi: *Something came up during today's outing and I offended Lawyer Xu. I doubt he'll let me stay at the firm.*

Amy frowned, the rumors she had just heard in the pantry gradually taking on a ring of truth. After a moment of thought, she replied: *I might have to change jobs too.*

Chen Xi was stunned: *Why suddenly want to change jobs? Are you unhappy working at Fang Hui?*

Amy sighed, casting a stealthy glance at the two tightly shut offices where zero activity was visible, and typed back with annoyance: *Just now, Old Man Xu came back and had a huge screaming match with the boss. They're probably splitting up.*

Looking at the messages from Amy, Chen Xi didn't know how to react for a moment.

Leaving R University, Zhou Yanzhou stepped heavily on the accelerator, speeding all the way to an affluent residential compound in the West Third Ring.

Recognizing his license plate, the security guards dared not block him and waved him straight through.

Along the way, Zhou Yanzhou's mind raced with various thoughts, all of which were ultimately overwhelmed by a long-festering resentment. Aside from stopping at red lights, he didn't hesitate for a second as he drove straight to the Guan residence.

Arriving at the gates of the Guan home, Zhou Yanzhou abandoned his car by the roadside, grabbed his phone, stepped out, and pressed the doorbell.

The person who opened the door was the Guan family's elderly butler, who recognized Zhou Yanzhou. However, ever since Guan Yue's death, the Guan family had blacklisted Zhou Yanzhou entirely.

Seeing that the visitor was Zhou Yanzhou, the old butler froze and asked hesitatingly, "Sir, is something the matter?"

Standing outside the iron gates, Zhou Yanzhou said expressionlessly, "I'm looking for Guan Wenchuan."

Sensing the aggressive momentum rolling off Zhou Yanzhou and the barely suppressed anger in his eyes, the old butler carefully declined, "I'm sorry, the master is not home."

Zhou Yanzhou let out a cold laugh, his tone indifferent, "Then please trouble yourself to pass along a message when he returns: don't push things too far."

"I haven't said much about how Guan Yue died, but that doesn't mean I'm a fool."

"Don't you fucking dare dump all the dirty water on my head. My patience is limited."

"Also, one of the beasts under his command has crossed me. If they don't want Xingsheng to face ruin, stay the hell out of my way."

With that, ignoring the old butler's increasingly wretched complexion, Zhou Yanzhou turned back to his car, slammed his foot on the gas, and sped away.

Had Jiang Chi witnessed the entire scene, he undoubtedly would have sighed: *Behold a crown rolling for a beauty's sake.*