Du Zhaohui had no desire to speak with Zhou Cheng.

Master Qiu had readily agreed to Zhou Cheng’s requests, yet repeatedly deflected Du Zhaohui’s – he felt discriminated against.

The fishing boat was far from the dock now, and returning to port would take time.

Master Qiu and his people had left cleanly, leaving only the boat operator. Out on the vast sea, Du Zhaohui refused to talk to Zhou Cheng, he had no one to converse with.

After holding back for a long while, he finally burst out:

“Zhou, don’t tell Xia Xiaolan about me trying to buy that vase.”

If he had succeeded in buying it, it wouldn’t matter.

But he hadn’t, had he?

Du Zhaohui felt humiliated!

Of all places to lose face, it had to be in front of Zhou Cheng. Had he known Master Qiu had also invited Zhou Cheng, Du Zhaohui would never have come to New City.

“What’s there to tell? Mr. Du is overthinking.”

Zhou Cheng wasn’t a fool. Du Zhaohui was trying to curry favor with Xiaolan, so why would Zhou Cheng help him?

Why would he remind Xiaolan of what Du Zhaohui had quietly done?

Du Zhaohui couldn’t help probing, “These items you’re asking Master Qiu about, they’re for Xia Xiaolan too, right? She’s suddenly interested in these old pots and vases – is she planning to enter the antiques business?”

What was so good about the antiques business?

How much could one earn without reaching Master Qiu’s scale?

It would be better for Xia Xiaolan to continue developing properties the size of Golden Sand Pool.

One Golden Sand Pool project earned tens of millions – her wealth could double in just a few years.

If Xia Xiaolan wanted to dabble in antiques, Du Zhaohui wanted to advise her to think it through. If she had no projects lately, she should focus on helping him with the Electronics Plaza.

“No, this has nothing to do with business. It’s a private matter between us.”

The words “between us” were enough to make Du Zhaohui want to spit blood.

Zhou Cheng was Xia Xiaolan’s boyfriend; they were closer, and Du Zhaohui couldn’t compete no matter how hard he tried.

He admitted Zhou Cheng was somewhat handsome.

But was being handsome so great?

Until the fishing boat reached shore, Du Zhaohui ignored Zhou Cheng completely.

Zhou Cheng enjoyed the peace. Having obtained the information he wanted, he needed to return to his unit – he had no time to waste on Du Zhaohui!

He’d been taking a lot of leave lately because of Zhou Yi’s situation. While his unit hadn’t complained, Zhou Cheng felt it wasn’t good.

Seeing Zhou Cheng’s aloofness made Du Zhaohui even more irritated. After watching Zhou Cheng drive away in his Jeep, he asked Ah Hua:

“Could you beat him in a fight?”

Ah Hua was terrified – had the young master gone mad from anger? Attacking a classified unit official? Ah Hua figured he’d never be able to set foot in mainland China again.

“…Young Master, you want me to fight Mr. Zhou? If I make a move, Mr. Zhou definitely won’t hold back.”

People from classified units didn’t use fancy moves. Zhou Cheng had blood on his hands. If Du Zhaohui insisted, Ah Hua would have to risk his life for his employer.

Du Zhaohui caught his meaning and rolled his eyes: “Alright, look at how scared you are!”

Ah Hua had an epiphany, “Young Master, I’m not afraid of death, but I’m more useful to you alive than dead.”

Bah!

Saying such sappy things – did he think he’d get a raise?

Du Zhaohui dropped his playful expression.

“This Master Qiu shows no respect. Find someone to investigate his background, see where he came from.”

He had suddenly appeared in Hong Kong, which Du Zhaohui found strange.

Not giving him a face while favoring Zhou Cheng-Du Zhaohui couldn’t accept it.

Moreover, he wanted to get the Tianhuang seal from Tang Yuanyue before Zhou Cheng. Du Zhaohui believed he had some advantages over Zhou Cheng.

Among all the buyers Master Qiu had mentioned, he could find anyone in Hong Kong.

Except for the painting in that good-for-nothing Du Zhaoqi’s hands.

Imagining Zhou Cheng going to look for these items only to find them all in his possession, Du Zhaohui wanted to throw back his head and laugh:

What use was being handsome if you weren’t as rich as him!

Even if Young Master Du had to sell his mansion and luxury cars, a mere million Hong Kong dollars wasn’t worth mentioning.

…

Three days later, Zhou Cheng did receive the chicken blood stone seal at Boss Ding’s stationery shop in the capital.

Master Qiu had moved quickly, getting the item back from Hong Kong in such a short time.

Zhou Cheng also found Master Qiu strange, but unlike Du Zhaohui, who was so stung by the loss of face that he wanted to investigate Master Qiu’s background, Zhou Cheng was satisfied with retrieving the chicken bloodstone seal. This gave him the right to talk with Ye Xiaoqiong.

Regarding the antique deals worth millions of Hong Kong dollars, Zhou Cheng naturally had to inform Zhou Wengang of his findings.

Zhou Wengang was truly disgusted by Yuan Han:

“In my long life, I’ve rarely seen such a shameless scoundrel.”

He’d seen plenty of bad people.

But bad people and scoundrels weren’t the same thing – some people did evil deeds but wouldn’t harm their pregnant wives. Yuan Han was the typical sort who thought women could be remarried and children could be had again, willing to kick aside anyone who stood in the way of his social climbing and pursuit of wealth.

Even if he were truly talented and capable, Zhou Wengang wouldn’t dare want such a son-in-law.

As cruel as Yuan Han had been to his ex-wife, once Zhou Yi lost her usefulness, she’d become the second Ye Xiaoqiong!

Thinking of Ye Xiaoqiong’s fate, Zhou Wengang felt heavy-hearted:

“This poor girl, she misjudged character and has no family to rely on. Even if she won’t help wake Zhou Yi up, we should do something.”

Zhou Cheng nodded, “Uncle, I agree.”

Zhou Yi was foolish, but Ye Xiaoqiong was truly innocent.

When within his means, Zhou Cheng didn’t mind doing good deeds.

Helping inquire about the sold family heirlooms was one thing; the second was the returned property from Ye Xiaoqiong’s family. Initially returning it directly under Yuan Han’s name hadn’t followed regulations. The Yuan family had been cunning, fearing Ye Xiaoqiong might cause trouble after coming to her senses, they had secretly transferred the property to Yuan Han’s mother’s name.

Would these twists and turns hold up under careful investigation?

With the Zhou family’s help, the house could be returned to Ye Xiaoqiong.

Zhou Cheng was about to say more when the door opened – it was Zhou Yi’s discharge day.

In the hot weather, Zhou Yi entered wearing a hat and long clothes covering her completely. Jiang Hong carried the luggage while the nanny held the baby.

As soon as Jiang Hong entered, the listless Pekingese lying in the kitchen ran over barking.

“Mom, the dog… dog…”

Jiang Hong glared at her, “I’ve been taking care of it while you were in the hospital. Now your father is letting you stay at your parent’s home for postpartum recovery – you should be content. Do you expect me to chase Lele away?”

Just then, Zhou Cheng and Zhou Wengang came out of the study, and Jiang Hong immediately changed her stern face to a smile:

“Zhou Cheng, you’re here? Perfect, I wanted to call Xiaolan, but I’m not sure if it would disturb her now?”

Zhou Cheng wrote down Xia Xiaolan’s apartment contact information, “It wouldn’t disturb her, but today is their firm’s bidding day. Xiaolan probably won’t be off work until very late. Why don’t you wait a few hours before calling?”

Jiang Hong exclaimed, “Oh right, I remember! Your mother mentioned last time that Xiaolan was interning at some American firm full of great architects. She’s amazing! I won’t disturb her work then, I’ll call another day.”

Zhou Yi was secretly rolling her eyes, which Zhou Cheng noticed but didn’t expose.

He felt uncomfortable too – he’d just made a trip to New City in Fujian Province for Zhou Yi, the whole family was planning for her sake, and here she was, acting ignorant and unaware.