CH 10

Chen Jianhong’s voice didn’t fluctuate at all, like it was a very ordinary thing for him to come home.

He nodded and it was like meeting face-to-face.

Zhang Yazhi said, “Xiao Zhao is back from a busy day?”

Then she pulled her husband to her and praised it, “Did you know that Xiao Zhao has recently been investing in business? The reason he came back so late today is because he went to talk to someone about the project and signed a contract. I told you before that you don’t need to worry about the children. They are all clever and have their own ideas.”

Chen Jianhong’s expression didn’t change much, but during the conversation with Zhang Yazhi, his eyes stayed on Chen Qizhao. “Is that so?”

Zhang Yazhi wondered, “Can’t you praise your child who is being sensible?”

Chen Jianhong still maintained the same attitude. “There needs to be real achievements. Investing can be done with money. Doing it well or not is the real thing.”

Chen Qizhao hadn’t seen Chen Jianhong after his rebirth. Now that he saw Chen Jianhong again, he felt that his father should be like this. At this point in time, they hadn’t seen each other for a few days. However, in Chen Qizhao’s memory, it had been more than 10 years. It was so long that he almost couldn’t remember Chen Jianhong’s appearance.

Zhang Yazhi was a loving mother while Chen Jianhong was a textbook strict father.

Ever since he was a child, Chen Qizhao had been stern, unsmiling, strict and harsh. His education method was exactly the same as Chen Shiming’s. This type of harsh method of expressing himself was a time bomb for the teenage Chen Qizhao. He didn’t get along with his older brother or have a good relationship with his father. He even sometimes deliberately provoked a fight with Chen Jianhong in a vain attempt to see other emotions on his stern face.

Yet no matter how noisy it was, in his eyes, Chen Jianhong was always the mountain of the family. Then one day, the mountain collapsed.

Chen Qizhao still remembered the day when Chen Jianhong was admitted to hospital. He stood in the corridor outside the emergency room while his mother and older brother talked and with the doctor. he could only stand there stupidly and he even thought that the emergency room was nothing. It would be fine to save him.

However, how could there be such satisfaction? It didn’t take long for Chen Jianhong to leave.

It wasn’t quiet in the living room. Zhang Yazhi was discussing tonight’s dishes with the housekeeper. Chen Shiming sat on the sofa casually and discussed work with Chen Jianhong. He still had that blunt tone… if it wasn’t compared with other people’s families, this was probably the so-called happiness and harmony of their family.

Zhang Yazhi had just finished explaining things to the housekeeper. and looked back, only to find that Chen Qizhao didn’t go upstairs as directly as before. He chose to sit down in a corner of the sofa in the living room, as if he was far away.

The boy sat there quietly and didn’t play with his phone. He also didn’t interfere in the conversation between Chen Jianhong and Chen Shiming.

He didn’t seem to be ‘acting strong while inwardly feeling weak’ as much as before. He was quiet and sensible. Zhang Yazhi felt relieved while at the same time, she felt more of a sense of distance. She was inexplicably surprised by her own feelings. It was obviously a good thing for her child to be sensible. Why did she think he was further away?

Yet this feeling increased even more when they were eating.

Chen Qizhao declared, “I’m full.”

Zhang Yazhi hurriedly told him, “Don’t forget to take your medicine. Did you forget to change your medicine at noon?”

“I know.” Chen Qizhao took his phone. “I’ll go up first.”

The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Yazhi set her eyes on Chen Shiming. “Did you quarrel with your brother again?”

Chen Shiming looked at his mother with surprise, his tone as calm as ever. “I don’t think the two of us can sit peacefully at the dinner table after arguing.”

He finished speaking and added, “But he was really quiet tonight.”

Chan Jianhong shifted his gaze over. “Did his project not go well?”

Chen Shiming thought about it. “Xiao Xu told me that the progress isn’t bad.”

Zhang Yazhi couldn’t think of a reason. She excluded several direct reasons before asking Chen Shiming, “Then where did the money for his project come from?”

Chen Shiming looked at Zhang Yazhi. “Didn’t you give it?”

Zhang Yazhi looked at Chen Jianhong.

Chen Jianhong bluntly replied, “I didn’t give it.”

—

Chen Qizhao felt more relaxed after going upstairs. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his mouth if he sat there longer.

Chen Jianhong had just returned from a business trip and he didn’t want to make an unpleasant scene on such an occasion.

In his impression, the only time his family could sit and eat together in harmony was probably when he was in middle school. At that time, Chen Jianhong and Chen Shiming weren’t so busy with their work and they could occasionally be together when he came home from school. Later, Chen Jianhong and Chen Shiming became busier with work and the timing of when they went home to eat often wasn’t right. Even if they did manage to get together to eat, most of the discussions were about work.

Chen Qizhao didn’t understand it when he was younger. If they still wanted to talk about work at home, why didn’t they move directly to the company?

Later, his conflict with Chen Shiming became bigger. Any little thing at the dinner table could become a reason for the brothers to quarrel. Forget about eating in harmony. Even talking less could be considered peace.

The voices coming from downstairs were cut off. Chen Qizhao stopped thinking about the previous absurd things and locked the contract documents in the drawer. He had added the person in charge and some documents had been sent to his inbox.

Qin Xingfeng’s attitude when signing the contract today revealed many things. There might not be any direct evidence but it was basically certain that Qin Xingfeng was inseparable from Lin Shizong. Chen Qizhao hadn’t discovered this relationship previously, but if he thought about it, obviously Lin Shizong’s purpose of sending someone to approach him could only be for the Chen family.

Perhaps in his previous life, this seemingly insignificant project was the time bomb that Lin Shizong buried in the Chen family.

Chen Qizhao knew Lin Shizong and he should be able to guess what Qin Xingfeng and Mr Wang should do next. All he had to do was put out the long line to catch the big fish and then pass this thing to Chen Shiming through Special Assistant Xu.

There was a lot more to it.

Chen Qizhao hid the computer files and opened another webpage, searching for information related to cerebral hemorrhages. Asking Zhang Yazhi to go for a physical examination was different from asking Chen Jianhong. If he asked Chen Jianhong to go for a full-body physical examination for no reason then they would most likely quarrel. Chen Jianhong had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. He was somewhat ill due to his age but the sudden illness was also related to his bad habits.

Chen Qizhao read the increasing list of precautions and suddenly felt that dealing with this was more difficult than dealing with Qin Xingfeng’s matter.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. The person who came was Uncle Zhang, the housekeeper.

Chen Qizhao glanced at him doubtfully. “I’ve taken the medicine.”

There was a bowl of dark medicine on the housekeeper’s trap and two cups of hot tea next to it. The housekeeper said, “This is the tonic that Madam boiled. It is said to replenish energy and blood. Please drink it.”

The housekeeper saw that Chen Qizhao didn’t move and thought he would have to persuade this person to drink the medicine. However, before he could say anything, the boy in front of him picked up the bowl with one hand. He tested the temperature before drinking it directly.

Chen Qizhao finished drinking and saw that the housekeeper hadn’t left yet. “Is there anything else?”

The housekeeper was also holding a bag of wound medicine in his hand. “The wound is inflamed and the medicine should be changed regularly. The bandage should also be changed.”

“I’ll change it myself later.” Chen Qizhao thought of Zhang Yazhi’s instructions just now and took the medicine from the housekeeper’s hands. He asked, “Have they finished eating?”

“Madam is on the phone. Sir and the Eldest Young Master have gone to the study,” the housekeeper explained in a timely manner.

Chen Qizhao’s eyes stopped on the two cups of tea. “Is that for them?”

The housekeeper smiled and didn’t speak.

Chen Qizhao didn’t ask any more questions. He was about to leave with the medicine, but when he entered his room, he caught a glimpse of the content of the web page displayed on the screen that hadn’t been turned off. His steps toward his room stopped for a moment.

He turned and called out to the housekeeper. “Wait.”

The housekeeper: “?”

“They work day and night, they really think they are a young and vigorous 18 year old.” Chen Qizhao’s eyes stopped on the tea for a moment before he said somewhat awkwardly, “What tea are they drinking… just get some sleeping aids and send it to them.”

—

There was a knock on the door of the Chen family’s study.

“Enter.”

Two men were sitting at the long table in the study.

Chen Shiming frowned wearily and only glanced at the housekeeper, who brought in water. He continued saying, “I will send people to follow up on this project. It is good to have new adjustments. For the follow-up contract, I will have people change it again. If there are no problems, send it to the other party to confirm it…”

“I’ll leave this for you to arrange.” Chen Jianhong saw that the housekeeper had come and instructed, “Old Zhang, have the driver come half an hour earlier tomorrow.”

Chen Jianhong was no longer young and there were signs of aging between his eyebrows. Even so, the powerful aura he had accumulated over the years of being in business still existed.

His unsmiling face brought about a great sense of oppression. He was always very serious when things involved work, even if it was the study at home

The housekeeper immediately said, “Yes, I’ll arrange it right away.”

The housekeeper had been in the Chen family for over 20 years and had been following Chen Jianhong for a long time. The group became more powerful under Chen Jianhong’s hands and reached today’s grand scale. Chen Shiming was taught by Chen Jianhong and their personalities were very similar. Most of Chen Shiming’s resolute methods came from Chen Jianhong’s teachings.

Chen Shiming had discussed things for a long time so his voice was dry.

He was about to take the tea when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something and his gaze paused. “Uncle Zhang?”

The housekeeper had come in with a tray containing four cups.

The original tea wasn’t removed but two more cups of milk were added.

He explained euphemistically, “Eldest Young Master, this is tea and the other cup is milk.”

Chen Shiming could see that this was milk. “My mother asked you to send it?”

The housekeeper hesitated. “It isn’t Madam.”

Chen Jianhong’s gaze swept up.

The housekeeper added, “The milk was sent by the Second Young Master… he said it is a sleep aid.”

The two men in the study were silent for a few seconds.

After a moment, Chen Shiming asked, “Has he been drinking?”

The housekeeper recalled Chen Qizhao’s words and expressions and made a judgment. “He shouldn’t have drank.”

Chen Shiming: “……”

He didn’t feel that Chen Qizhao would act like this in a state of consciousness. This strange behavior was like sleepwalking.

The housekeeper saw that the two men had normal expressions and couldn’t judge their thoughts for a moment.

He was wondering if he should take back the milk when Chen Shiming opened his mouth, “I will make three more preparatory plans for the risk level. Then I will go back to rest first.”

Then he picked up the glass of milk and left the study.

The housekeeper looked at Chen Jianhong. He saw that Chen Jianhong’s gaze was stuck on the milk and there was no emotion on his face.

The housekeeper spoke cautiously, “Sir, should I withdraw the milk?”

Chen Jianhong continued to read the documents, his voice was usual. “Leave it.”

—

It was past 9 o’clock in the evening.

Yan Kailin called three times before finally getting through. The moment he heard the other person’s voice on the phone, his sluggish spirit was revived. “You finally answered your phone. I’m bored to death.”

“I just went to take a shower.” Chen Qizhao still had some water vapor on his body. He removed the plastic film over the wound and put it on speaker mode to talk to Yan Kailin.

Yan Kailin told him, “That kid Cheng Rong sent me a message asking me to go out again. Are you going out at night? If you go, I’ll sneak out.”

“I won’t go out.” Chen Qizhao removed the plastic film, took the scissors and started to remove the bandage.

The location of the wound was on his arm and it was convenient for one person to apply medicine. It just took a bit of effort to tie the bandage. He dealt with the grumbling of the 18 year old on the phone while applying medicine.

“Forget it, Shen Yuhuai hasn’t slept yet. I’m afraid he will make a complaint to my brother…” Yan Kailin spoke endlessly before asking, “What’s with the sound on your side since the beginning? In addition, why are you quiet? Are you doing something bad while chatting with me?”

“I’m applying medicine to my wound.”

Yan Kailin sat up in shock and his voice became an octave higher. “No, were you beaten by your brother? Is Chen Shiming so fierce?”

“It is really lucky that you weren’t beaten to death by your brother.”

Chen Qizhao was dumbfounded. “…I’m hanging up.”

How could Yan Kailin let Chen Qizhao hang up? The next second, he saw he was going to start a video call to see Chen Qizhao’s wound. Chen Qizhao was a bit annoyed by the voice of this brat, but perhaps it was due to the small friendship in the previous life. His tolerance of Yan Kailin was surprisingly high.

In the end, he really didn’t want to hear this person keep speaking. The moment the video invitation popped up for the third time, he agreed to the video request.

Yan Kailin thought the wound was just a joke. Then he saw Chen Qizhao’s wound and gasped. “F*k, which gangster attacked you? This knife cut is too deep. Can you handle it alone?”

He hadn’t noticed this wound that night at the bar.

“You were drinking with this wound?!”

“F*K! Brother Zhao, can you be gentler with your wound?”

“Have you taken the medicine? Is Auntie at home? In addition, your housekeeper. What is his name? Uncle Zhang…”

Shen Yuhuai came out of the bathroom and heard Yan Kailin’s voice. This person was sitting on the sofa of the small apartment and staring at his phone while speaking in an exaggerated voice. Shen Yuhuai frowned slightly and was about to remind Yan Kailin to take a shower. He had just appeared when he saw the scene on the screen of the mobile phone.

The wound on the arm was conspicuous. The traces of sutures were intertwined with the fair skin, covered with the residue of the medicine. The young man was topless and biting the bandage with his mouth. His other hand was holding the other end of the bandage and he was bandaging his arm. His wet hair stuck to his face, the ends still dripping wet. His eyes were half lowered and the bandaging technique was very rough.

Chen Qizhao finished treating the wound. He heard Yan Kailin’s noisy voice and wanted to hang up the video call.

His finger was moving to hang up when he suddenly saw Shen Yuhuai in pajamas standing behind Yan Kailin.