Reply to Keats - Chap 33
Chap 33
Sleeping Beauty and the Traitor
Minglong Conference Room.
When Tan Youming and Shen Zongnan arrived, Zhao Shengge was looking at the daily records of the ward.
He read the same content every day very carefully and raised his chin to the two of them: “Wait a moment.”
The head is really round.
Zhao Shengge turned off the computer expressionlessly.
Tan Youming sat down on the sofa. I originally thought he was working, but I saw him answering a phone call. Although his voice was low, I could still vaguely hear words like “soup”, “nutrition”, and “it’s up to him”.
Tan Youming poked Shen Zongnan’s palm and asked him to listen together.
However, Zhao Shengge’s call ended very quickly, and Tan Youming lost the opportunity to find more clues. However, he was a person who got to the bottom of things, so before starting to discuss business, he couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s calling?”
Zhao Shengge cooperated with his gossip: “Auntie at home.”
Tan Youming asked: “What’s wrong?”
Zhao Shengge took the contract from his hand and looked through it, saying, “She has a cat that doesn’t even eat.”
“…” Tan Youming felt that Zhao Shengge was playing a trick on him, “Is this some new kind of cold joke?”
Shen Zongnan also raised his eyes.
Zhao Shengge didn’t say anything else and went straight to discussing business with them.
It was not a very formal meeting, but the conversation lasted until dark. After the meeting, Tan Youming asked Zhao Shengge if he wanted to go with them to visit Chen Wan.
“And Jiang Ying, Ah Xuan will be accompanying him to Bei Island to take a painting today. We will meet at the hospital.”
Zhao Shengge refused, “No.” He didn’t want to go with so many people, so he made up a random excuse, “I have to go back to the old house tonight.”
Zhao Maozheng has been urging us for many days, probably intending to hold us accountable for what happened at the press conference and celebration day.
“Okay.” Tan Youming felt that Zhao Shengge was really inhumane and reminded him, “Then when I hold a discharge party for Chen Wan, you must not be absent. After all, you are responsible for his injury.”
Zhao Shengge did not agree immediately, but only said, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
“…”
The driver was already waiting in the parking lot. Zhao Shengge sat in the back seat but did not open the work documents immediately as usual. There were a few new photos on his phone.
Chen Wan was eating an apple, his eyelashes drooped, his lips were very red, and it was unclear whether it was water droplets or juice that flowed onto his fingers.
Chen Wan was working with a needle hanging on his head. His face was a little pale. He typed with one hand with an expressionless face, giving people a very serious feeling.
Chen Wan didn’t cover herself with the quilt properly, and one of her feet was exposed, looking very white.
Zhao Shengge returned to the old house and the servants began to serve the dishes.
The Zhao couple were also there. They had just finished an art exhibition in Austria and returned home yesterday.
Zhao Min is a sculptor and Wan He is a painter. The couple lives in harmony and are “artists” created with money.
Zhao Maozheng realized very early on that Zhao Min had no talent for business or politics, so he placed all his anger and hopes on his eldest grandson. He trained Zhao Shengge strictly since he was a child to ensure that the family business would have successors.
Wan He asked Zhao Shengge if he was busy recently.
Zhao Shengge was not very close to his parents and answered briefly.
Wan He smiled and asked Ming Long if he had cooperated with the Xu family recently. She heard that their eldest daughter was very beautiful and amazing, so she asked Zhao Shengge if so.
Zhao Shengge said he didn’t quite understand.
“…”
Zhao Shengge spoke in a calm and cold tone. Wan He and Zhao Min looked at each other and didn’t dare to ask any more questions.
They have always been a little afraid of this son.
When Zhao Shengge was a child, the Zhao couple left their son to the care of the elderly and traveled around the world, enjoying the romantic life. Naturally, he was not aware of Zhao Maozheng’s harsh and cruel elitist doctrines.
By the time they noticed, Zhao Shengge had transformed from a cold and aloof boy into a young man with unpredictable thoughts, profoundness and silence.
People outside say that Zhao Shengge is mysterious, but in fact even he, as his parents, does not understand or feel close to Zhao Shengge at all.
Zhao Shengge did not judge how well the parents did, he never had any expectations of them.
In fact, he had no expectations of anyone, including himself.
There are so many people in the Zhao family’s old house, and the responsibility he carries is nothing but an empty, exaggerated and meaningless one. It is a heavy responsibility and comes with shackles. Zhao Shengge has carried it from the age of eight to twenty-eight, and he will have to carry it forever in the future.
If we look at it from this perspective, Chen Wan is right to think that Zhao Shengge is a kind person.
Responsibility and accountability are also part of kindness.
After dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao said goodbye and left.
They will be touring North America soon, and said they might not be able to come back during the Chinese New Year.
Zhao Shengge said “It went smoothly” out of politeness and didn’t say anything else.
A very polite family.
Zhao Maozheng called Zhao Shengge: “Come with me to the study.”
His son was not that kind of person, so he was extremely strict with his eldest grandson.
The name Zhao Shengge means that he should not be confined to a high place or be surrounded by empty reputation.
Zhao Maozheng is used to killing and taking things, and at his age, his desire for control has only increased, from work to life: “You won’t go home even if your parents come back.”
If he hadn’t repeatedly reminded me, Zhao Shengge wouldn’t have appeared here today.
Zhao Shengge indeed seldom returns to his old house, and he does not have a very good impression of it. As an adult, Zhao Shengge does not like to appear in the public eye, does not accept interviews, and does not allow himself to be photographed, all for the sake of freedom.
And the source of all unfreedom lies here.
“What are you doing that you don’t even have time to go home.”
This was not a question, but Zhao Shengge no longer cared about Zhao Mao’s surveillance and testing. The old man, who was in his twilight years, now only had false authority that was stern on the outside but weak on the inside, and could not interfere with him in any way.
Today, probably no one will be able to tell Zhao Shengge what to do.
He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, speaking nonsense literature with perfection: “I’m busy with something.”
“…”
Zhao Shengge has no feelings for Zhao Maozheng, but he can talk nicely to people he doesn’t like and has no feelings for, because if there is really someone or something he can’t stand, there will be more direct and simple ways.
Zhao Maozheng choked for a moment, and stared at him seriously with cloudy eyes: “Stop playing word games with me here. What? Do you think I’m too old to control you?”
“How are you going to explain the Xu family’s affairs to me? How are you going to explain it to them? How are you going to explain it to the outside world?”
He spoke with great excitement, and his cane knocked loudly on the corner of the table, as if Zhao Shengge had committed some heinous crime.
Zhao Shengge looked at him strangely: “First of all, I don’t need to explain my own affairs to anyone.”
“Secondly, you were the one who leaked the news of the engagement without my knowledge and before I returned to China. You should explain this to the Xu family and the public. If I pursue this, you should also give me an explanation.”
“…” Zhao Maozheng shouted angrily, “I still need to give you an explanation?! Why did I do all this?!”
“Don’t forget that Ming Lung signed a ten-year plan with them, Bessa Island is still raising funds, and the construction site in Lai Chi Kok has just started.”
“Well, so I split the financing into shares and prepared to subcontract the construction site. As for the contract, I plan to negotiate with the other party to terminate it.”
Zhao Shengge’s words were polite, but very irritating. Zhao Maozheng was furious and scolded, “You traitor!”
The old man sighed and said, “You look down on Xu Zhiying? Why is she unworthy of you?”
“On the contrary,” Zhao Shengge said without any emotion, “I admire her very much.”
“In fact, I am not a good choice for her.” In Zhao Shengge’s heart, Xu Zhiying is a very outstanding woman, but this kind of appreciation has nothing to do with love.
“The most important thing,” Zhao Shengge told Zhao Maozheng, “I don’t intend to be tied to the Zhao family. I want to cooperate with Xu Zhiying himself.” Zhao Shengge knew very well that the fact that a woman could sit in this position in the world of fame and fortune could only prove that she was better and more capable than most of the men in the game.
To some extent, he admired Xu Zhiying very much.
“You don’t dislike her, but you don’t want to marry her. Why?” Zhao Maozheng’s cloudy eyes were still sharp. “Do you have someone?”
Zhao Maozheng could only think of this one possibility, but the spies he had planted around Zhao Shengge did not report this matter to him.
“What kind of person is he?” He would never allow such random people to enter the Zhao family.
Zhao Shengge didn’t care about his probing, but probably felt that he hadn’t thought it through completely, so he thought about it seriously and gave a conservative answer: “Not yet.”
A very intriguing answer.
“Zhao Shengge, don’t challenge my bottom line. You know, I have ways to know and intervene.”
“You probably can’t,” Zhao Shengge said, young but with a superior posture and aura. “If there really comes a day like that, and there is such a person, I will hold him tightly in my hand. When he comes to me, he doesn’t belong to the Zhao family, doesn’t belong to Minglong, doesn’t belong to any of the standards and rules you imagine, but only to me.”
The traitor Zhao Shengge had no morals or filial piety, but he didn’t want to provoke the old man anymore, so he said, “Go to bed early and don’t worry too much, it’s not good for your health.” Then he turned around and left.
Zhao Maozheng called out to him from behind: “Zhao Shengge, do you still hate me?”
Zhao Shengge stopped.
“For those models of yours that got burned or for that poor dog that got shot in the head?”
Zhao Shengge shook his head calmly and said condescendingly, “I don’t have time to hate you.”
“But a hundred years later, you can go down there and ask Boju whether he hates you or not.”
Bozhu, the puppy that thirteen-year-old Zhao Shengge picked up from a paper box on a rainy night, was born not long ago and had a very round head.
Without a driver, Zhao Shengge drove a square Land Cruiser by himself. Instead of going directly back to his apartment in Central, he drove around most of the city from the Coastal Boulevard all the way to Ring Road 375 – where the incident happened that night.
It is desolate, close to the sea, with no guardrails. The damage to the green belt and the railings on the cliff by the sea has not been repaired yet, and they look like ferocious monsters in the night.
Chen Wan is crazy.
Zhao Shengge once again realized this very clearly.
The engine starting and impact performance of the Jeep Grand Cherokee are the combined force of three ordinary Volkswagens. It calculates the distance that forces emergency braking within a few seconds of extreme speed, and then cuts in to intercept. The success rate of this extreme prediction is only one in ten million. Once it fails, the car will be destroyed and the people will die, leaving no body behind.
It is hard to say that people who can make extreme decisions do not have the determination and intention to perish together with their loved ones.
Zhao Shengge stepped on the accelerator with an expressionless face. The engine made a vibration and the wheels rolled through this death zone.
The assistant called to report the new developments in the case.
“If they want to protect him and make sure everything goes well, they’ll probably have to go over and talk in person, and then report to the higher-ups,” the assistant suggested. Since criminal responsibility is involved, Zhao Shengge will have to come forward in person. “But if you do that, the time you gave me the night after tomorrow will be gone.”
At this moment, Zhao Shengge felt a little regretful for rejecting Tan Youming’s suggestion to go to the hospital together today.
But he won’t feel at ease unless he kills the person.
“I understand.” Zhao Shengge glanced at the new photos received on his mobile phone. Chen Wan had already fallen asleep. The flowers brought by Tan Youming and others should be on the bedside, with gentian, lily and carnation. Against that classical face, Zhao Shengge was reminded of a fairy tale about Sleeping Beauty who had to wait for someone to kiss her before waking up.
He really didn’t read those when he was a child. Zhao Shengge’s early education did not have such a warm part as bedtime stories. Even the comics and storybooks lent to him by his international school classmates were turned into ashes in Zhao Maozheng’s anger.
Ten-year-old Zhao Shengge felt very sorry and secretly bought new ones to return to his classmate, but he never accepted comics and games shared by others again after that.
Zhao Shengge looked at the photos in the dark for a while and said to his assistant, “Go get ready. We’ll leave as soon as possible.”
Although the doctor strongly recommended that Chen Wan stay in the hospital for a full week, on the fifth day Chen Wan still insisted on going through the discharge procedures as the company could not do without him for too long.
The aunt took care of him and became attached to him. She advised him, “Mr. Chen, take a few more days off. Health is important. You can never make enough money.”
She used to work in the old house, and after Zhao Shengge returned to China, she was responsible for cooking for him. However, Zhao Shengge seldom got off work and went home on time at night, so the aunt seldom came to visit, and he had never received such caring treatment as Chen Wan.
Chen Wan is good-looking and has a good temper. He eats whatever is asked of him. He drinks soup when asked to drink soup and eats fruit when asked to eat fruit. Auntie has never seen such an obedient young person.
Chen Wan had lost a lot of weight because of the Wanbaohang project, but now she has gained some weight back and looks much more energetic.
Auntie felt sorry for Chen Wan, who had suffered so many injuries and had been in the hospital for such a long time that no relatives came to visit her except friends like Zhuo Shao.
Occasionally, I heard him talking on the phone with his mother, and the other party was always either playing cards or shopping. Chen Wan said that nothing serious happened, and the other party quickly hung up the phone.
Chen Wan smiled and said, “Auntie, I’m really fine now. If I stay any longer, I’ll get moldy.”
He didn’t know that his aunt had been a member of the Zhao family for more than ten years. He just thought of her as an aunt temporarily hired by Zhao Shengge, and gave her a big red envelope when she left.
The aunt pushed it back: “No, no, Mr. Chen, this is my job.” She had already received a generous salary from the young master – the young master said that his friend was a workaholic and asked her to take some photos of him occasionally to monitor whether he was really resting well.
Tan Youming learned from Zhuo Zhixuan that Chen Wan was discharged early, and began to arrange his previous plan to hold a discharge party for Chen Wan to get rid of the bad luck.
Chen Wan didn’t want to let these young masters take care of it for him, so he took the initiative to say, “Mr. Tan, I’ll treat everyone. This is to thank everyone for their concern for me during this period of time.”
Tan Youming agreed and made an appointment with him.
Since it was Chen Wan who arranged the plan, he would naturally be the one to invite everyone. Shen Zongnan, Jiang Ying and several other good friends who he usually got along well with had all visited him in the hospital, so naturally they all had to be invited. The more difficult one was Zhao Shengge.
It is difficult to make an appointment with Zhao Shengge, this is the consensus in the circle.
Chen Wan thought about whether she could invite the other party through Zhuo Zhixuan or Tan Youming, but she felt it was insincere.
This is his leaving hospital banquet.
If he called every other friend personally, but only asked someone to pass the message to Zhao Shengge, it would be impolite and unfair.
After much thought, Chen Wan finally mustered up the courage to call Zhao Shengge’s second assistant and politely expressed her invitation.
The second assistant was also very polite and courteous. She basically meant that she would convey the message. However, she was very enthusiastic and kind and suggested to Chen Wan that for this kind of private invitation, Mr. Chen might try calling Mr. Zhao directly, as this would increase the chances of successfully inviting him.
Chen Wan was stunned. Although he didn’t know how the second assistant knew it, he did have Zhao Shengge’s private number.
It was given to him by Zhao Shengge when he visited him in the hospital that day.
“Those people may not let you go. If you find anything unusual, just call me at any time. Don’t wait.”
Chen Wan was stunned for a moment.
Are there more than ten people in the whole city of Hai who have Zhao Shengge’s private number?
He actually became one of the lucky ones in ten million?
Chen Wan tried to appear calm and said, “Okay.”
Zhao Shengge saw that he had been studying the number with his head down, and did not respond. He said, “But I usually don’t answer unfamiliar numbers.”
Chen Wan paused, and his excitement quietly deflated like a balloon that was popped.
But Zhao Shengge said again: “You have to give me yours.”
In a very businesslike tone, Chen Wan raised his eyes and blinked slowly.
The author has something to say:
Start fishing at the pavilion, big fishing, special fishing
Ge almost had no childhood, but Wanbao would often remind him of those fairy tale characters. He had never read them, but he felt that they were probably like that.
