Reply to Keats - Chap 10
“I just ran into someone from the Fang family and had a quick chat with them. We are in the parking lot now.”
“Okay, wait a moment, I’ll go down.”
Among the many luxury cars, Zhuo Zhixuan found the Maybach, walked over and knocked on the door.
The rear window was lowered. Zhao Shengge leaned back in his chair, his hands casually resting on the window sill. He nodded at him and asked, “What’s up?”
Zhuo Zhixuan bent down slightly and handed the things to him: “The waiter found it when cleaning, it should be yours.”
The cigarette box and lighter were wrapped in brown paper, neat and clean. They did not look like lost items picked up during housecleaning, but rather like a gift.
Zhao Shengge took it, opened it, took a look, and his eyes suddenly raised up, looking straight at Zhuo Zhixuan, his gaze was calm and slow, and deep and unfathomable.
Zhuo Zhixuan’s palms suddenly broke out in sweat. Obviously, in this posture, he was the one standing in a superior position.
But Zhao Shengge had dark eyebrows and eyes, and when he looked at people calmly, one could read a meaningful scrutiny and sharpness in his eyes, even though he might not have meant that.
Zhuo Zhixuan suddenly remembered that when they were young, they played rugby together. Their team was led by Zhao Shengge. Zhao Shengge would not get angry even if they lost the game. He always patiently guided everyone to adjust their tactics and then said a few words of encouragement. Not much, but very meaningful. Some people are born with leadership and a sense of security, and can easily bring a group of people together.
Zhao Shengge was very forgiving of his teammates who did not do well, but someone pretended to be offside and passed the ball back, and he never saw that person appear next to Zhao Shengge again.
Not being strong enough can be tolerated, but Zhao Shengge will never forgive lying and cheating.
Zhuo Zhixuan really wanted to know if there was anyone in this world who would lie to Zhao Shengge without feeling guilty.
Oh, there really is one.
Chen is a great philanthropist.
He really owed Chen Wan in his previous life.
Just when Zhuo Zhixuan wanted to say something, Zhao Shengge smiled at him lightly: “Please make the trip.”
“…No.” Because he wanted to talk to him, Zhuo Zhixuan kept his head down.
Zhao Shengge handed him a cigarette, patted him on the shoulder, said, “This hotel is very good, and it’s a good start to the business,” and then left.
“……”
Chen Wan was helping Zhuo Zhixuan see off guests at the hotel, and she had no idea that she had stumbled and escaped a disaster without realizing it.
He always felt that Zhao Shengge would not remember him, but he didn’t know that he had a face that made people want to commit a crime, nor did he know that Zhao Shengge might have to deal with a hundred things in a day, but the number of people he needed to see in a week might not exceed ten.
Besides, he was such a vigilant and suspicious person.
Zhao Shengge sat in the back seat of the car with his legs crossed, playing with the lighter and then throwing it aside.
The weather in Hai City is changeable. It is raining outside the car window now. The rain is sticking to the glass like broken threads. The wind is very strong. It is estimated that the observatory is preparing to issue a red rain warning again.
On the second day after the last No. 8 typhoon signal evacuated Hai City, Zhao Shengge went to Tan Youming’s club after a video conference.
The lighting, music and even the temperature that night were all unusually suitable and relaxing, and subtly different from every other time I had been there.
When the fruit plate was served, Shen Zongnian asked Tan Youming: “Are you upgrading the service here?”
Zhao Shengge leaned back on the sofa and glanced at the fruit plate that contained almost all of his favorite tropical fruits.
A very shallow cross-shaped cut had been made on the mangosteen with a knife.
This troublesome and delicate fruit will get your hands dirty with purple juice when you break it open, but if you pick out the flesh in advance it will oxidize and change color in a few minutes.
Making a cut makes it much more convenient and easier to open the fruit, while still allowing the flesh to remain protected by the peel.
There was also a kind of pomelo called ruby, which was also cut open and pitted. Even a picky person like Zhao Shengge tasted a few more petals that night.
It’s not that Tan Youming’s club is upgrading its services, but that there is one more person to worry about.
Chen Wanyin concealed his presence in the dim light, while Zhao Shengge openly examined and evaluated him under the spotlight.
This kind of scene happened more than once.
After a dinner party, in Shen Zongnan’s teahouse, several men sat around an octagonal table discussing business, while Chen Wan carried a teapot to boil water and make tea.
He hardly spoke, his hands were very white, and there was a very small mole between the base of the index and middle fingers of his right hand, which appeared and disappeared as he opened and closed his fingers.
The whole person looks gentle, respectful, frugal, and suitable for family life.
He even calculated the temperature of the hot cup to be just right in his hand.
Details like these were nailed in Zhao Shengge’s mind like precise icons.
Where Chen Wan is, even the humidity of the air is most comfortable.
Not many times, but enough.
It was enough to arouse Zhao Shengge’s vigilance.
To be fair, Chen Wan acts with integrity. His thoughtfulness and consideration are subtle and subtle, and they moisten things silently without leaving any trace.
Most importantly, he treats everyone equally.
He does not fawn on the prominent people like Tan Youming, and does not blame the waiter who accidentally spills wine.
He was very clever, and tried to turn this meticulous and considerate social etiquette into indiscriminate worldly wisdom – not being deliberately nice to anyone, but treating everyone’s preferences equally, observing everyone in detail, and taking everything into consideration.
All of these were logical and there were no loopholes. Chen Wan was a master at everything. Chen Wan was almost successful. Unfortunately, he met Zhao Shengge.
Zhao Shengge, a man with more tricks than pineapple holes.
Everyone took it for granted and accepted Chen Wan’s kindness, but Zhao Shengge did not.
Zhao Shengge was not that narcissistic, but who asked Chen Wan to rinse the Dahongpao tea twice before giving it to him that night?
There is a saying in Haishi that “the stronger the tea, the bigger the business”. People here drink strong tea. Zhao Shengge changed to drinking light tea after he damaged his stomach due to not being used to foreign food during his years abroad.
Occasionally, the secretary would forget to filter the tea leaves twice, and Zhao Shengge could tell the difference at the first sip, but he would not say anything.
Zhao Shengge is not used to treating others harshly. As long as it is not a mistake of principle, he doesn’t really care.
But this is a very small but intimate personal habit.
Zhao Shengge doesn’t like to use coincidence to explain things. He likes clues, likes to unravel the mystery, and likes to draw out objective laws from chance.
Coincidences are accidental, only laws are eternal.
Chen Wan wanted to label and conceal himself by being “vulgar” and “worldly”, but he missed one point – he did not let Zhao Shengge see his intention.
A person is dangerous if his intentions cannot be seen.
Chen Wan is smart, but by chance, he met Zhao Shengge.
When a rose meets a tiger, its fragrance will be revealed even without any sniffing.
Since he was a child, Zhao Shengge has seen people who are sweet-mouthed but have evil hearts, who are double-dealing, and who are playing hard to get.
The cigarette box and lighter are just a small test and can’t prove anything.
He didn’t take advantage of the situation to climb up, which just means Chen Wan is understanding, not harmless.
He thought that he could give it to her without anyone noticing, and Zhao Shengge could also refuse to accept it without making a fuss.
Chen Wan was silent, like a cloud of hazy mist that floated over from time to time and was blown away by the wind.
Zhao Shengge doesn’t like ambiguity, the unknown, uncertainty, or people playing tricks on him.
So BYD suffered an unexpected disaster on the day of the auction.
Chen Wan went to the store to pick up the car the next day.
After BYD overestimated its own capabilities and had a life-and-death battle with Rolls-Royce, it ran into problems and was sent to a shop for repairs.
The boss was an acquaintance, and I asked him how he managed to drive a vehicle known for its endurance to the point where the engine system overheated.
Chen Wan patted the hood of his car and sneered, “I ran into a psychopath.”
After the auction that day, he went to check, but there was no clue. The Rolls-Royce with an ordinary license plate but an invincible one seemed to have disappeared into thin air like steam.
Just like Zhao Shengge who disappeared after the opening banquet that day for nearly two months.
Even Tan Youming couldn’t find the person. Zhao Shengge was very busy and had a special identity. He had also experienced a dangerous shooting case abroad two years ago. He had to be cautious, and everyone understood that, or had gotten used to it.
Chen Wan never took the initiative to ask, but Zhuo Zhixuan knew him, so he deliberately guessed during the dinner that Zhao Shengge had gone to Canada because an important economic industry secret meeting was held there recently.
Zhao Shengge was just elected as a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Association this year, so there is a high possibility that he will attend.
Tan Youming interrupted and said, “No, that’s not the case.” He said that according to the rules, they went to Xinguo, because according to Minglong’s plan, a new batch of factories were to be built recently.
Originally, it was not Zhao Shengge’s turn to go in person to build a factory, but these were a batch of fully intelligent factories, and Minglong was always at the forefront of the industry. This new AI program was put into large-scale production for the first time, but he was not sure, so he looked at Shen Zongnan. Shen Zongnan didn’t know whether he really didn’t know or not, so he kept silent.
He was always tight-lipped, so Tan Youming leaned over and asked, “You didn’t lie to me, did you?”
When he was in school, Zhao Shengge would often only call Shen Zongnan when he was working on robots and model airplanes. He disliked Tan Youming and Zhuo Zhixuan for being too impatient.
Shen Zongnian took his phone back from him: “No.”
Chen Wan didn’t know who to believe. He looked around but couldn’t find any clues, and felt a little disappointed.
He couldn’t help but think that it was not easy to be friends with Zhao Shengge. He wondered if the person who would stand by his side in the future would be the same. They would only meet once every three to five months, and the other person’s whereabouts would be kept strictly confidential and untraceable.
I can only wait passively and silently.
But these have nothing to do with Chen Wan.
He would never wait for that person even if he was willing. When that person really appeared, he would not wait any longer.
Zhuo Zhixuan was shocked when he saw Chen Wan quietly drinking tea without saying a word. When he left, he pulled her aside, looked around, and whispered seriously, “Don’t mess around.”
“What?”
Zhuo Zhixuan looked at him for a while and said, “Those were just our guesses. Don’t really fly. If Zhao Shengge really wants to hide, even his old man can’t find him.”
“…” Chen Wan looked at him like a fool, “Am I sick?”
Zhuo Zhixuan looked at him like a madman and replied seriously: “You already have it.”
“……”
