A Twisted Love Affair
Chapter 63: Arranging a blind date_1

Chapter 63: Arranging a blind date_1

Shen Jing just smiled as she looked at the skyscrapers outside the window, her attention focused on the images on the projection screen.

Why is this celebrity so popular?

There was a car driving slowly ahead.

Zhou Luchen honked the horn, showing impatience. "What are you looking at her for?"

Shen Jing looked up as he sped past the car, saying in a sour tone, "She’s pretty."

Zhou Luchen’s smile was vague as he responded, "Not as pretty as you."

Shen Jing lifted her hand to brush her hair, generously accepting the compliment.

"Of course. I wonder who it was, hugging me during our ’mandarin duck bath’ last night and calling me a thousand-year-old enchantress."

Zhou Luchen looked at her; she was really laying it on thick.

Shen Jing, looking docile, snuggled up to him, somewhat mesmerized as she stared at his profile. "Was it you?"

Just then, his phone rang.

He raised an eyebrow, letting it ring for a long time before answering.

He had a Bluetooth earpiece in, so Shen Jing couldn’t hear who was on the other end.

The air grew quiet.

Zhou Luchen remained impassive; even his tone was a faint "Hmm," in response to the caller.

After the call ended, he took off the Bluetooth earpiece, braked, and pulled over to the roadside. He took a stack of cash from his wallet, placed it in her hand, and told her to find her own way back.

Shen Jing clutched the money, looking up at him. "Where are you going?"

"Something came up."

Just those words, "Something came up," and he had dismissed her.

The late autumn air was cold. Shen Jing, accustomed to being chauffeured everywhere, wasn’t wearing much. Her slit qipao offered little warmth, and she felt a chill run through her the moment she stepped out of the car, her body instantly feeling cold.

She hugged her arms, her nose even feeling a bit raw from the cold. "Drive carefully."

As Zhou Luchen started the car, he glanced at her expressionlessly, rolled down the window, and said, "Come here."

Shen Jing looked into the car and, as he instructed, walked around to the driver’s side.

A black suit jacket was thrust into her arms. It carried the faint, particularly pleasant scent of agarwood-infused clothing.

Shen Jing froze for a moment.

His indifferent eyes flickered over her. She understood his meaning, leaned down, and planted a light kiss on his handsome profile.

"Is that good enough, Master Zhou the Second?"

Zhou Luchen laughed, revved the engine, and sped off.

「He was going back to the Zhou Family.」

Shen Jing had guessed as much. Clutching the stack of money, she hailed another car to go to her maternal grandmother’s for dinner.

The old woman ate early, so Shen Jing had to cook another meal.

Her grandmother, leaning on her walking stick, hovered nearby, nagging again about why Shen Jing visited her every day.

She’s got it wrong again; I’m not the one who visits her daily.

Shen Jing didn’t explain.

Their neighbor, Uncle Sun, carrying two teapots, came over to get a free meal.

At the dinner table, the old woman asked Uncle Sun conspiratorially, "What do you think of my granddaughter Nannan? She’s so very likable, isn’t she?"

Uncle Sun put on his reading glasses and looked Shen Jing over with a kindly expression. "She’s grown up to be quite pretty. Should we arrange for them to meet for a meal?"

The old woman elegantly lifted her teacup and nodded. "I think that’s a fine idea."

Shen Jing didn’t understand what they were discussing and simply nibbled on a pork rib.

As Shen Jing got up to wash the dishes, Uncle Sun watched her, feeling increasingly pleased the more he looked.

Uncle Sun discussed with the old woman, "If Nannan takes a liking to my boy, my hefty pension book will finally be of use."

The old woman nodded. "As for her marriage, I don’t really have the final say. Who knows if the Shen Family will have a hand in it."

Uncle Sun whispered, "Let’s have them meet first."

Shen Jing suddenly turned her head. "Who’s meeting whom?"

The two exchanged a knowing glance and then fell silent.

However desolate it was here, the Zhou Mansion, situated in Shanghai’s affluent district, was a scene of bustling grandeur.

Zhou Xiangqun had returned to the Zhou Mansion with the Old Master; this dinner was a Zhou Family gathering.

Zhou Xiangqun had been accompanying the Old Master in Beijing for work and rarely came back to stay.

As the eldest son of the Zhou Family, with a respectable status in Beijing, he was known for his filial piety in public, his thorough and steady way of handling matters, and an aura of unwavering integrity.

Many prominent families brought their daughters, under the pretext of visiting Old Master Zhou, to test the waters.

It was rumored that the Old Master truly intended to pass the position of Zhou Family Head to Zhou Xiangqun.

The widely coveted position of President of the United Bank was merely a part of the Zhou Family’s holdings.

Delving into their history, there was also a discreet branch of the Zhou Family in Beijing. Years ago, Old Master Zhou had peacefully divorced Old Madam Zhou and, after remarrying, had settled in Beijing and established a new family.

Since then, the Zhou Family in Shanghai and the Zhou Family in Beijing had become two separate entities.

Broadly speaking, however, the blood ties remained.

The family enterprise was prosperous, but there was a dearth of descendants; the halls of the Beijing Zhou Family were not filled with progeny. Thus, Zhou Xiangqun had been adopted and raised as a grandson.

Whether it was with the Second Master of the Zhou Family or the Eldest Master, marrying into the Zhou Family promised far more than just a bright future.

「At the banquet.」

Luchen ate little; the attendees were mostly distinguished elders.

He wasn’t keen on such socializing; he had returned merely to make his grandmother happy. After a few sips of tea, he got up to leave.

Zhou Xiangqun approached him, beaming, and said with ambiguous intent, "Is it appropriate to leave a young lady by the roadside?"

Luchen gave Zhou Xiangqun a perfunctory, indifferent glance.

Zhou Xiangqun pressed on, "How far have things gone between you two? She was in your car, yet you didn’t bring her home for dinner?"

Leaning against a corner of the pavilion, Luchen, ever the picture of calm composure, retorted, "Since when did you become such a busybody?"

Zhou Xiangqun spread his hands and chuckled. "Do you think those elders in the front hall are here to offer congratulatory gifts? They’re eyeing you. Can you handle so many beauties?"

Luchen scoffed and, with an air of indifference, turned and walked into the study.

「Inside the study.」

Old Master Zhou sat in the main seat. An 11-meter-long original of the "Inscription on the Stone Drum" was held taut by servants on either side.

Whenever the Old Master was back at the mansion with leisure time, he would have this magnificent treasure brought out to practice his calligraphy by copying it.

Standing on either side of the desk were his adopted grandson and his biological grandson.

The Eldest Master wore a formal Zhongshan suit, looking very scholarly.

The Second Master sat to one side, playing on his phone. He wore an iron-gray shirt; the soft, fine material was thin, stretching taut over his broad chest. He leaned lazily against the edge of the desk, utterly unperturbed.

Old Master Zhou put down his calligraphy brush. "Where’s your jacket? Aren’t you cold?"

Knowing the question was for him, Luchen smiled, his eyes narrowed slightly. "I can manage."

Old Master Zhou kept his gaze fixed on Luchen. "Why must you always go against your elder brother?"

Taking a drag from his cigarette, Luchen replied, his voice raspy, "He’s the one who likes to obstruct me."

Old Master Zhou’s expression turned stern. "Stay out of matters unrelated to the Zhou Family’s businesses."

Before the Old Master could finish speaking, Luchen tossed aside his cigarette butt. "There are so many Zhous. Which Zhou Family are you talking about?"

Old Master Zhou’s gaze followed him. "It’s always been like this. After your mother passed away, no one has been able to manage you."

Zhou Xiangqun placed the brush back in the Old Master’s hand and patiently ground the ink stick. "Grandpa, please calm down. He’s not doing anything terrible. He’s young and impetuous; if he causes trouble, he can clean up his own mess. You don’t need to worry about him."

Old Master Zhou harrumphed, still chiding Luchen. "You reject this, you reject that. I don’t even know what in this world you could possibly care about."

Luchen remained silent, scrolling through his phone.

Just then, he received a message from Shen Jing:

’When will you be back?’

His expression softened imperceptibly as his fingers typed a reply: ’Later.’