Sounds of engine roaring could be heard outside the door. Shen Peichuan headed outside and saw a black car stopping by the roadside. He noticed that Su Zhan was in the driver’s seat through the windshield. The car door was pushed open, and Zong Jinghao got off the car.
He was dressed in an immaculate black suit, an apt combination with his impassive and deadpan expression.
Shen Peichuan had almost gotten used to his apathetic demeanor. Ever since Lin Xinyan left, he had been curt with his words. He would only head outside to deal with Wen Qing’s matters. Otherwise, he would be cooped up in the office.
Su Zhan and Shen Peichuan had it better than Guan Jing though. This past month, Zong Jinghao had been burying himself in work. Whether it was for the development of the company, or to keep himself busy was another question altogether. Having said that, he had acquired two major companies in the country in the past month.
Wanyue was shrouded in a tense atmosphere. The last time when Shen Peichuan bumped into Guan Jing, Guan Jing had grievances about how Zong Jinghao had gone cuckoo with work. There was an instance where they had a meeting for six hours straight, starting from nine o’clock in the morning that lasted till three o’clock in the afternoon. There was no lunch break and nobody was allowed to enter the meeting room. Nobody dared to voice out even when they had ran out of water, let alone to leave the meeting room for a toilet break. Hundreds of top management of the company set their back straight, grumbling about the situations to themselves.
Zong Jinghao would reprimand those who were not up to his expectations regardless of the situation.
The workload was mountainous in view of the acquisition of two major companies.
Even though Zong Jinghao was his usual standoffish self in front of Su Zhan and Shen Peichuan, he did not resort to torture the two of them.
Shen Peichuan was ever more grateful for his luck. He came over and reported in a low voice, “Just another bumpkin who has never seen the outside world. Even if he knows something, I believe it might not be significant.”
Zong Jinghao was unfazed by Shen Peichuan’s report. “Has he disclosed anything yet?”
“Not yet. I’ve been waiting for you,” Shen Peichuan lowered his head. He could not seem to bring himself to look at Zong Jinghao’s face. He cast a glance at Shen Peichuan before entering the factory.
Su Zhan, who was trailing behind him followed suit. So Shen Peichuan tugged at his shirt and whispered, “Do you think we should look for them on our own?”
It had been very distressing for Shen Peichuan to work under someone with such erratic mood swings.
Su Zhan glanced at Shen Peichuan and replied hesitantly, “Will he get mad at us if he found out about this?”
He’s not even trying to look around. Will he get mad at us for being busybodies?
“We’re going to do it quietly of course. There’s no way we are going to let him know about this.” Shen Peichuan looked ludicrously at Su Zhan. It’s something that we’re supposed to do under the table.
“Sure, we’ll work on the details later tonight.” Su Zhan sighed and said, “Finally someone has it worse than me.”
Shen Peichuan was rendered speechless.
Su Zhan smiled, “Finally, I feel like the balance is tipping over to my side. Did you know how hard it has been for me to put up a strong front when Qin Ya’s not around all this while? You wouldn’t understand. But I know he would.” He proceeded to point at Zong Jinghao who had just entered the factory. Edging closer to Shen Peichuan, he whispered, “He had it worse than me. His wife and children left him.”
It was no wonder that he was gloomy all the time.
Shen Peichuan snorted, “Why do I feel that you’re gloating?”
Su Zhan immediately put on a serious face. “Nonsense. I am not gloating. I… just feel like he could finally understand my pain.”
Shen Peichuan was at a loss for words again.
“Are the two of you done talking?” The words were like a cold winter breeze.
The two of them turned around. Their impeccably dressed boss formed a stark contrast to the messy factory that he stood in.
Shen Peichuan forced himself into a smile and walked over to his boss’ side, “I was asking Su Zhan out for a drink tonight. I didn’t dare to ask you about it.”
Zong Jinghao replied curtly, “Is that so?” There was not a trace of warmth in his voice, nor was there any fluctuation in his tone.
“Yes,” Shen Peichuan replied begrudgingly.
Zong Jinghao cast another glance at him and did not comment further. He parted his lips and said impassively, “Get him to start talking.”
Shen Peichuan nodded and walked over to the boy. He grimaced, and put on a menacing look as he barked at the boy, “Tell me! Who ordered you guys to kidnap?”
The boy shivered as he looked at him. He did not dare to play any tricks and regurgitated everything that he knew. “We would work for whoever paid the money. My cousin had always received menial jobs to get into a fight for someone. But this time he did not receive the job himself. I heard him saying that a subordinate under someone named Gu came looking for him. He was quite excited to get this job as he said that this was one that would pay well. We just needed to kidnap someone and we would get a handsome pay. Who knew that we weren’t even getting paid after almost sacrificing our lives.”
He felt quite indignant at this point. After his cousin was dead, he did not dare to stay any longer at B City either. He quickly deferred back to his hometown but was unfortunate to get caught by Zong Jinghao and his people. Damn it, we didn’t even get paid.
Someone with the surname Gu? Shen Peichuan wondered.
Someone named Gu? Shen Peichuan wondered before asking, “He didn’t mention any names?”
The boy shook his head. “I just heard from my cousin that it was someone with the surname Gu. I didn’t even know who it was. But my cousin said it was someone quite powerful. I’ve told you everything. Can you let me go now?”
He cast hopeful glances at Shen Peichuan.
“Why the rush? I would definitely let you go if you had told us everything. Otherwise…” Su Zhan said as he leaned against the door. He pointed at Shen Peichuan’s men, “They play rough. I won’t be surprised if you’d lose a leg or a hand if they beat you up.”
The boy paled at Su Zhan’s remark and stuttered, “I… Really, I’ve told you everything I knew. I’m really a bumpkin who follows my cousin everywhere he goes. I don’t know anyone with the surname Gu. Please believe me.”
Shen Peichuan crossed his arms before his chest. He stroked his chin and tried to think of someone with the surname Gu. “Could it be Gu Bei?”
Gu Bei was not an unfamiliar name in their circle.
He turned around and looked at Zong Jinghao who stood before the window. “Is this Gu Bei the only son of the Old Master Gu? This Gu Bei is well known for thinking that he could get away with anything with his father backing him up.”
“If that were the case then it would explain the reason that Wen Qing did not want to dirty his own hands and contacted him instead. If I were not mistaken, the Old Master Gu was acquainted with Old Master Wen, right?” Su Zhan asked.
Old Master Gu and Wen Qing’s father, Wen Jin, were of the same generation. Old Master Gu had a far-reaching influence too. Su Zhan got to know about this when Zong Jinghao were still on good terms with Wen Qing.
Shen Peichuan’s face became stern at Su Zhan’s remarks. It would be quite a sticky situation if what Su Zhan said was true.
Old Master Gu was not someone easy to deal with, and he would not admit to this haphazardly anyway.
Why would he agree to help Wen Qing? What were their terms? Did he help Wen Qing because they were friends, or was it a mere exchange of interests?
It would be an easier situation to handle if were an exchange of interests. Otherwise, it would be a hard nut to crack.
Zong Jinghao’s face sank as he had his plans all mapped out in his head. Then, he turned around to leave and stopped in his tracks at the entrance. “I don’t want to see this person again.”
