Chapter 11

After Zhao Zibei finished singing karaoke and played two rounds of upgrading cards, her phone rang. Only she and Shen Luan in the class had phones, both given by their families after the college entrance exam, even the models were the same—the newly released Nokia 6110.

Seeing the number, she hurriedly answered. On the other end was a torrent of words: “Zhao Zibei, when do you plan to return to the hotel?”

Her voice immediately softened: “It’s not even ten yet! I’ll definitely be back before ten.”

Zhao Zixin, her elder sister, was very strict with her. Since the younger sister had gone out with classmates this time and she happened to have an engagement nearby, she booked a hotel for her at a nearby resort.

Seeing this, Zhao Zibei knew she wouldn’t be able to go to Li Zhengqi’s house tonight.

The most disappointed was Li Zhengqi himself. He had arranged this event precisely to spend more time with his girlfriend during the break.

Li Zhengqi hugged her, looking unhappy: “Can’t you just not go?”

Zhao Zibei pushed him away: “No, my sister happens to be here today for something, and she’s already checked in and waiting for me at the hotel.”

With that, she slung on her backpack and hurried off on her bicycle.

Her sister had arranged to meet friends nearby upon hearing she was coming to Xiu Tan Peak. Zhao Zibei’s parents were busy with work, and she had been raised by her elder sister since childhood. The eldest sister was like a mother; she dared not disobey their parents, let alone her sister.

Originally, the girls had planned to spend the night at Li Zhengqi’s house. His villa had four floors including a basement, more than enough to accommodate ten girls.

Now, Zhao Zibei couldn’t go, and the girls were at a loss, especially Wan Yue.

That morning, Zhao Zibei had grabbed her hand, insisting they share one bed that night. Now, she had left her behind to stay at a hotel alone.

The friend who had promised to endure hardship together had suddenly gone off to enjoy herself. Wan Yue felt somewhat disheartened. She looked around but didn’t see Xu Qingling.

She asked Li Zhengqi, “Where’s Xu Qingling?”

Li Zhengqi replied, “She just left with Cao Siqing, said she was too tired and went to sleep at a nearby hotel.”

Wan Yue was surprised, her face stiffening slightly. She had never found the chance to talk with Xu Qingling today. It was Shen Luan who had taken the initiative to bring her along and even helped carry her backpack. Xu Qingling couldn’t ride a bike, and Feng Bo’s bike was broken—she couldn’t very well walk to Xiu Tan Peak.

Such a small matter wasn’t worth getting upset over. Forget it, she would talk to her back in Oak Tree Village.

A boy asked Shen Shun, “How much is your dad’s company guesthouse per night? Why don’t we all stay there tonight?”

Shen Shun, cutting cards, glanced at Shen Luan, a faint smirk tugging at his lips: “What’s so good about that rundown guesthouse? Isn’t Cuigu run by Shen Luan’s family? It’s the off-season now; let him give us a discount. We’ll all stay at Cuigu tonight.”

At those words, all eyes turned to Shen Luan.

Meeting Shen Shun’s challenging gaze, Shen Luan smiled indifferently: “Fine. It’s on me tonight.”

...

After completing the check-in procedures, Xu Qingling handed the room card to Cao Siqing.

Cao Siqing was shocked to learn it was only eighty yuan a night. The front desk’s listed price for the cheapest room was three hundred yuan.

“How did you manage that?” she asked.

Xu Qingling blinked and whispered, “I know someone inside Yuanxing.”

In her previous life, after the college entrance exam, she didn’t attend university but stayed home managing the supermarket and hotel business. The next year, although Xu Junwen failed the exam, her parents still sent him to college. That was when she woke up and resolved not to work for free at home anymore and decided to find a job.

Her aunt, Fu Juan, introduced her to Yuanxing. With low academic credentials and no work experience but decent height and appearance, she started at the bottom as a sales assistant.

Thanks to Fu Juan’s connection with the Shen family, she was assigned by Shen Shaozhou to a local real estate project in Xuncheng, headed by Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng later became the marketing director at Yuanxing, undeniably capable but notoriously a womanizer, known to have a muse for every project and famous within the company.

Earlier, when she mentioned Zhang Heng’s name to the front desk clerk, the woman looked at her several times, only becoming warm after Xu Qingling said she was Zhang Heng’s sister.

Fortunately, hotel check-ins were not strict on ID verification these days. She hadn’t even gotten her ID card yet and had used Cao Siqing’s instead.

Cao Siqing jumped for joy, putting the troubles with He Jinghui out of her mind. Seeing her so happy, Xu Qingling smiled quietly. The youthful vitality momentarily dispelled the shadows that had gathered on her brow in recent days.

Shen Angu sat there, watching the girl not far away. Her long hair, pale skin still marked by the sun’s scorch; wrists and ankles so thin they seemed breakable with a twist. It was hard to imagine such a slender body harboring such great power.

He had been dreaming intermittently these days, reliving that night’s experience.

He never believed in coincidences. The perfect coincidence of that night restrained him from revealing the truth.

All he knew was she wasn’t from Yonghai—it was enough.

He scrutinized her from head to toe several times, confirming again that he hadn’t seen her before that night.

She was still wearing the same white sneakers as that day, apparently newly bought.

Suddenly, Shen Angu felt a twinge of regret. After all, he should return her a pair of shoes.

Cao Siqing slung on her backpack, recalling the crippled man she had seen earlier. What a pity, so handsome yet lame.

She couldn’t help but share this discovery with Xu Qingling, nudging her arm to point at the man nearby.

Xu Qingling was elbowed several times, then followed her gaze. A man sat in a wheelchair, his hand casually resting on the stainless steel armrest, the cold metallic sheen accentuating his clearly defined, slender hands. Above were a neatly pressed white shirt and cufflinks that looked oddly familiar.

When her eyes moved up to his face, Xu Qingling froze.

No way! That night, she had risked her life to dig him out of a pit, and yet his leg was still crippled?!

Shen Angu’s eyes met hers. Seeing her face pale as if she’d seen a ghost and the faint furrow in her brow, he wondered if he looked that frightening.

He was about to push the wheelchair forward when his phone rang. It was his nephew.

Shen Angu answered and held the phone to his ear, his gaze following the girl. She hurriedly slung her bag on and pulled her friend away, her figure seeming to flee in haste.

His nephew was just finishing high school, so nothing serious. The young man inquired about his health, then hesitantly asked if he could bring classmates to stay at Cuigu that night.

Shen Angu said “Okay” and hung up. When he looked up again, the girl was gone.

...

Cao Siqing was dragged upstairs by Xu Qingling. The hotel room was clean and quiet, exuding a low-key elegance. Upon entering, she looked around in awe.

Xu Qingling sat on the bed, her mind buzzing, her heart sinking.

Was this fate? Whether in her past life or this one, Shen Angu could not escape his crippled destiny.

After Shen Angu was crippled in the previous life, his mental state deteriorated. Shen Luan replaced his uncle as CEO of Yuanxing and rose step by step to the pinnacle of his career.

Yuanxing was co-founded by Shen Xingbang and Shang Huilan, who early on transferred 49% of her shares to her son. Though Shen Xingbang controlled over half the shares, he actually held only 40%, with the remaining 11% divided among his eldest son Shen Shaozhou and comrades-in-arms.

If Shen Angu hadn’t suffered his mental breakdown, Shen Luan would have had no chance.

Xu Qingling bit her lip hard.

...

Cao Siqing was still thrilled, unaware of her friend’s mood.

She threw her arms around Xu Qingling, eager to share what she had seen earlier at the matchmaking event. “Guess who I saw in the lobby? Zhao Zibei’s sister! She was there with that crippled man. At first, I didn’t notice his leg problem. I thought they looked perfect together.”

Cao Siqing sighed, “Such a pity! He’s really handsome!”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but gesture: “Those facial features are amazing!”

Zhao Zibei’s sister? Xu Qingling pictured a sharp, decisive woman and said, “Her personality’s pretty striking, too.”

Shen Angu had likely recognized her just now. If he came looking for her, how would she explain why she was there that night? He wouldn’t think she was part of the group that kidnapped him, would he?

Xu Qingling’s mood was terrible. Had she known, she wouldn’t have meddled, only trapping herself deeper. She truly hadn’t expected Shen Angu to come to Cuigu. Yuanxing had many properties, but insiders knew Shen Angu never stayed at the family hotels.

...

“The front desk said those two guests stayed in room 8102. The taller girl is Zhang Yun, Zhang Heng’s sister. The other round-faced girl is Cao Siqing. They should be students from Xuncheng No.1 High School, here to play after the college entrance exam.”

“Zhang Heng?” Shen Angu mused over the name, then looked at his subordinate. “Who is Zhang Heng?”

Zhang Ye gestured vigorously: “He’s the project manager of the Old Street project. You even took a photo with him at last year’s annual meeting. Tall and big…”

Shen Angu pictured a burly, bearded man. The girl didn’t resemble him in appearance or temperament.

He pondered for a moment, then instructed Zhang Ye: “Go buy me a pair of sneakers for a young girl, size 37.”

Zhang Ye was momentarily stunned, unable to catch his boss’s meaning but, professionally, kept quiet and rushed to a nearby mall. Guessing from his tone, he bought a pair of canvas shoes costing two hundred yuan, a popular foreign brand favored by young girls.

The boss opened the box, glanced inside, and said nothing.

Zhang Ye scratched his head—probably a sign of approval?

Shen Luan led a group of classmates to Cuigu and unexpectedly saw his uncle in the lobby. He hadn’t mentioned it in the phone call earlier.

Shen Luan jogged over a few steps, stopping to look at Shen Angu’s leg. “Uncle, what happened to your leg?”

Shen Angu stretched his right leg: “A bone fracture; I need to wear a splint for a few weeks.”

A dozen or so teenagers followed Shen Luan, both boys and girls curious about Shen Angu. Mature and handsome men always attracted attention.

Wan Yue glanced several times. She had always thought Shen Luan’s demeanor was the most outstanding among the boys in their class, clearly a well-bred son of a wealthy family. Now seeing his uncle, she understood what a truly mature man looked like.

He seemed much older, his facial features sharp and masculine. His voice was pleasant yet carried an inexplicable tension. When his gaze swept over her, Wan Yue felt awkward and unsure where to put her hands and feet.

Shen Luan’s uncle had apparently become CEO of a major company at a young age. Perhaps this was the aura of a man with great power and status.

Wan Yue thought of Wei Donglai. According to his parents, Wei was expected to succeed as village chief of Oak Tree Village. He worked with uncles on construction projects and was tainted by the smell of money. No matter how he tried to change, his aura was that of a nouveau riche from a shantytown.

True wealth was utterly without the scent of money, appearing more like a university professor.

Shen Angu glanced around coldly, his gaze lingering on his nephew and the girl beside him. Smiling, he said, “You’re all Shen Luan’s classmates. Have a good time here these days. It’s on me.”

Leaving those words, he wheeled himself away. Staff stood by, smiling broadly as they stepped forward to make arrangements.

“Thank you, Uncle Shen!” The kids whistled excitedly behind him.

Shen Luan watched his uncle’s retreating figure, silent.

Having grown up accompanying his father to his grandmother’s village, his grandmother always reminded his father to be considerate of his uncle, who would eventually inherit Yuanxing. His father could only nod obediently.

Shen Luan suddenly understood his mother’s unwillingness. Even to invite a few classmates to Cuigu, he needed his uncle’s approval.