Liu Keying didn’t even bother putting on an act.

She was just Du Chengrong’s fourth concubine, not much older than Du Zhaohui. Going to show concern for him would likely only cause trouble.

If she wanted to express maternal love, she had her children for that.

However, Du Zhaoji, whom Liu Keying and Liu Tianquan called the silent but biting dog, immediately suspended his work upon hearing that his elder brother had gone straight to the hospital upon returning to Hong Kong.

“Postpone my schedule.”

“Second Young Master, we have appointments-“

Du Zhaoji raised his hand to interrupt, “Every business deal is important, and business is endless, but right now I need to visit my brother in the hospital.”

His staff didn’t dare persuade him further.

The relationship between the second and eldest young masters had been written about in Hong Kong gossip magazines – it was supposedly a fight to the death over inheritance. Perhaps out of caution, Du Zhaoji never spoke ill of the eldest young master even in front of his closest assistants.

Could it be that the second young master truly valued brotherly affection?

This made Du Zhaoji’s supporters anxious. The second young master had studied abroad too long, read too many books, and was too naive. If he didn’t treat the eldest as an enemy, would the eldest show him any mercy? If the eldest won, those who had followed the second young master wouldn’t fare well either.

But with Du Zhaohui hospitalized, the second young master should visit.

If he didn’t go, wouldn’t his usual display of brotherly affection be questioned?

Du Zhaoji took his suit jacket off the hanger, his gaze lingering on a document on the desk. The document’s edges were covered with small sticky notes, and Du Zhaoji, with his somewhat obsessive-compulsive Virgo tendencies, felt very irritated by the untidy edges.

But looking closer, the sticky notes were categorization markers, allowing one to find desired content without going through each page.

It was a simple preliminary indexing method, not a genius invention, but it saved time.

It saved time not just for Du Zhaoji, but for anyone who would read this document.

If everyone were willing to think more when doing their work, efficiency would undoubtedly improve greatly. Du Zhaoji paused his steps and took another look at the document: “Who organized this? To find out.”

Who organized it?

The secretarial office had several secretaries, and the assistant couldn’t immediately answer, but he still took the document.

Would this person be fired? The second young master liked innovation but didn’t like people being unconventional.

Untidy edges made the second young master very resistant – why stick unnecessary notes and risk his displeasure?

As soon as Du Zhaoji left the company, the assistant slammed the document on the desk:

“Who organized this? Don’t you know the second young master’s rules?”

The assistant’s gaze swept across the women in the secretarial office, all dressed elegantly. Unlike the eldest young master who was always in gossip papers, they saw the second young master as a golden ticket. While marrying into the Du family as a wealthy young madam might be unlikely, having a relationship with the second young master would surely bring rich rewards.

Career prospects, financial returns… the assistant could see through their intentions.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Not me either.”

“I remember Coco was responsible!”

With the assistant’s expression so dark, Coco naturally wouldn’t admit it. “It wasn’t me!”

If not her, then who?

Coco pointed to the general office outside, “It was the newcomer!”

It was perfectly normal for the secretarial office to delegate work to office clerks, but Coco should have known the second young master’s habits – why would she send this document to the office? Someone in the secretarial office must be trying to set her up – places with many women were always full of scheming.

Following Coco’s direction, the assistant found the newcomer Ye Xiaoqiong, who was unusually plainly dressed.

Plain meaning Ye Xiaoqiong wore no makeup.

Her clothes were also very simple, all cheap items.

The assistant couldn’t understand where she got the confidence to move about Central. No wonder Coco would bully such a newcomer.

“You did this?”

Ye Xiaoqiong nodded without defending herself.

The assistant was direct, “Wait for notice, the second young master might want to see you.”

Make an example by scolding and firing her.

The assistant wasn’t sure.

Du Zhaoji was usually quite mild-mannered but very strict about work matters.

Ye Xiaoqiong felt nervous but also excited.

Life was about taking chances. She had gambled when she jumped on a train with nowhere else to go, when she smuggled herself from Shanghai to Hong Kong, and when Coco asked for help, she had used some clever tricks – that too was a gamble. She desperately wanted to stand out. Between being an office clerk and working in the secretarial office, which had better prospects was obvious.

Whatever those women in the secretarial office could do, she could do too.

She believed that given the chance, she could do even better.

So why not try?

…

When Du Zhaoji arrived at the hospital, Du Zhaohui had just returned to his room from a walk.

The heart monitor showed his heart was completely normal. If Du Zhaohui weren’t so wealthy, the doctors might have thought his problem wasn’t physical but psychological. It was a common problem among rich people – fear of death, excessive worry about their health, and making a huge fuss over a single toothache. But that was usually seen in elderly wealthy people – there weren’t many young rich men like Du Zhaohui who feared death so much.

Considering Du Zhaohui’s wealth, the doctors couldn’t directly say he had mental issues and had to be cautious and thorough with his examinations.

“Emotional fluctuations can cause irregular heartbeats. Mr. Du can stay for a few more days of observation.”

Du Zhaohui had just put the heart monitor back on when he saw his dear brother Du Zhaoji.

Du Zhaoji was one of the people he most disliked recently. He couldn’t help checking the monitor – his heartbeat showed no change, and seeing Du Zhaoji didn’t trigger the rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath symptoms.

“Big Brother, what’s wrong?”

Du Zhaoji’s concerned expression seemed genuine. Du Zhaohui gave a cold smile, “Your big brother isn’t dying yet, just doing a routine health check.”

Du Zhaoji remained worried and called the doctor to ask.

The doctor glanced at Du Zhaohui, “Mr. Du is very healthy, this is just a routine checkup.”

Nothing was wrong anywhere, he just believed he was sick – this psychological issue was the eldest young master’s privacy, no need to tell others. All of Hong Kong’s gossip papers loved writing about the Du family; with Du Zhaohui away from Hong Kong, even tabloid sales had declined.

Du Zhaoji had studied abroad for many years, and the brothers were quite unfamiliar with each other.

Du Zhaohui particularly disliked how this wretch maintained such a refined and dignified manner. Though younger, the wretch was half a head taller than him. Fitness was popular abroad, and Du Zhaoji had developed broad shoulders and a slim waist, looking very stylish in clothes… and he still wanted to compete for the family inheritance. Du Zhaohui would have to be possessed to like this wretch!

With Du Zhaohui’s expression sour, the second young master still managed to find conversation topics:

“Daddy isn’t in Hong Kong now, but if he were, he’d be the first to visit Big Brother. Since childhood, Daddy has always loved Big Brother the most – I’ve always been envious. I know Big Brother doesn’t like me, thinking my mother destroyed your family. It’s hard to judge the elders’ affairs now – if not my mother, there would have been others. If we fight each other, others in the family will only applaud with joy. The group is quite large – why won’t Big Brother join hands with me to make it even better?”