Shen Jing mused. To wait and see if he would co looking for her—such a thought was utterly clownish. His lavish family background made him a man above others; people usually flocked to cajole Mr. Zhou. It was a rare sight for him to lower his head and coax anyone. A true favored Son of Heaven. So brazenly cold-hearted. She was well aware of her disadvantage in this unrequited love, with absolutely no way to turn the tables on Zhou Luchen.
「Ao Area.」
In a private entertainnt room, bodyguards stood guard outside. Zhou Luchen’s stack of chips on the table never seed to diminish. So people aren’t just born lucky; they have good luck at the tables too. Zhou Luchen was one of them.
But he wasn’t in the mood. After discussing a project with a client, he got up and left. His assistant packed up the laptop and followed him out.
"Mr. Zhou, shall I arrange a flight back to Shanghai for you?"
Zhou Luchen replied coolly, "We’ll stay and have so fun for a few days before heading back."
The assistant recalled a pretty young woman who used to accompany their boss, but she hadn’t been seen in the past few days. Nor had the boss ntioned her. He attended etings when necessary and partied until dawn when he pleased, indulging himself unrestrainedly.
At three-thirty in the morning, Zhou Luchen was still at a gathering, playing cards. Several wealthy young scions from the Ao Area had arranged the ga for him. They played mahjong around a square table, the CLACKING of tiles not overly loud. It was unclear who was winning, but teasing laughter rose and fell among them.
After a while, Chen Yao tossed the topic to Zhou Luchen. "It’s been a few days. Aren’t you going to coax your Shen Guaiguai back?"
Shen Jing’s behavior increasingly suggested she wasn’t just away for work; she was deliberately staying away, waiting for this ’Master Zhou’ to break his own rules for her.
Zhou Luchen lazily drew a tile, forming a pure suit with consecutive kongs. A frivolous smile spread across his handso face. "Got tired of her."
It was normal for him to get tired of soone. In the ga of love, Mr. Zhou was inherently ruthless, always impenetrable.
Chen Yao picked up a mahjong tile. "She’s a pretty nice girl, just a bit naive."
"Not naive." As he spoke, Zhou Luchen leaned back in his chair, opened the mahjong table’s drawer, and took out a lighter. He leisurely tilted his head, relighting the cigarette at the corner of his lips. Even the simple act of lighting a cigarette was executed with perfectly controlled aristocratic flair.
Chen Yao couldn’t quite grasp his aning. The fla danced, and the smoke hung heavy. Zhou Luchen, his words muffled by the cigarette, said, "She knows how to play, and she knows how to run."
A young scion from a prominent Ao Area family chid in, "Soone actually managed to slip away from our Second Young Master? That’s rare. We should’ve t up with you a few days ago to see this young lady."
Zhou Luchen put down the lighter and shot the speaker a sidelong glance, saying nothing. His silence was enough to deter others from pursuing the topic; they quickly returned to their ga. He could talk about his won, but others didn’t have the liberty to comnt on them.
After a round of play, Zhou Luchen had downed several glasses of alcohol, his interest visibly waning. He signaled a nearby server for ice water.
Song Tingting happened to be close by. She had always been deeply, intensely afraid of Zhou Luchen. Even with his usual cynical deanor, he exuded an air of nobility and aloofness, creating a palpable sense of being in a different world from him.
Song Tingting didn’t dare bring the water over herself. She handed it to Chen Yao and quietly turned away. Only then did Chen Yao place the glass of ice water in front of Zhou Luchen.
Lately, Song Tingting had been clinging to Chen Yao again, frequently seen entering and exiting the hotel with him. Chen Yao, for his part, just went along with it.
Zhou Luchen shot Chen Yao a cold glance. "Going back for seconds?"
Chen Yao, chewing gum, replied, "Just for fun. I’m not so indiscriminate crocodile, eating whatever cos my way. I wouldn’t willingly touch her. She ca knocking on my door herself after her divorce, having ssed up her own life."
Zhou Luchen let out a soft, indifferent chuckle, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Chen Yao continued, "I’m just using her to deal with Liang Yingning. If the Liang Family willingly calls off the engagent, it’ll save a lot of trouble."
Zhou Luchen stated bluntly, "Even if you had ten Song Tingtings, the Liang Family wouldn’t call off the marriage."
"The Liang Family wouldn’t dare ss with you, but they insist on targeting . What’s the point of such a marriage anyway?" Chen Yao mused, then added, "I don’t go back for old flas, and you shouldn’t either."
"Seven of Circles."
Chen Yao discarded the tile, enabling another player to win.
With a nonchalant flick of his long fingers, Zhou Luchen revealed his hand, winning decisively. "Depends if it’s a weed or a rose."
His words were suddenly ambiguous, making Chen Yao look up, unable to guess his true aning.
The atmosphere among the young n and won was lively. One of the young scions received an urgent call—his girlfriend summoning him ho at this late hour. He promptly hung up.
This sparked lively teasing.
"Scared to answer your girlfriend’s call now?"
"She’s a real handful. If I answer, I have to be ho in ten minutes. No way I’m going back. She enjoys making kneel on broken glass too much. I’ll just wait till morning, tell her I didn’t hear the phone, and smooth things over by buying her a new bag."
A chorus of sympathetic sighs went around.
Chen Yao TSKed and chuckled. Seriously?
So, ladies, when your boyfriend tells you he didn’t hear his phone ring, don’t overthink it, don’t doubt yourself. He’s lying. He just doesn’t want to co ho.
「 」
That day, a major airship race was taking place over the sea. The winner hadn’t been announced yet. Red team, blue team, green team, white team, black team—chips were laid out for all of them.
Zhou Luchen couldn’t be bothered to bet, leaning back in the main seat on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed. The night over the sea was deep and dark, and he remained impassive.
Chen Yao kept coming across a video. "It’s a video of Shen Jing performing *pingtan* in Hong Kong. Soone recorded it and posted it online." He added, "Madam Cao spent 200,000 to have Shen Jing perform *pingtan* in Hong Kong, with all her accommodations and expenses covered."
Videos of Shen Jing’s *pingtan* performances, often fild by Madam Cao, had been circulating online and had recently gone viral on short-video platforms.
Chen Yao handed his phone to Zhou Luchen. Zhou Luchen glanced at it indifferently.
In the video, the notes of a pipa flowed. Only the perforr’s profile was visible—a beautiful woman, her red lips slightly parted, her voice husky, alluring, and soft.
He showed no particular expression.
Chen Yao swiped the video away. "Fine, don’t watch it then."
Zhou Luchen lightly pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, his dark eyes shifting to the airship race over the sea. He leaned forward and decisively bet all his chips on the red team.
That young woman’s delicate lips... they were a strikingly vivid red.
"Red," he said.
Chen Yao, thinking his bet was random, asked, "Red caught your eye?"
Zhou Luchen glanced at him and smiled. "You could say that."
Thirty minutes later, the red team indeed won.
Chen Yao was curious. "How did you know red would win? They seed like the weaker team."
Zhou Luchen barely lifted his eyelids. "Lady Luck favored ."
His words were clipped and cool. Having been exposed to the sea breeze all night, his voice was slightly nasal.
Later, Chen Yao ssaged Shen Jing:
"Zhao Zhiqiang was fined 50,000 and detained for 15 days."
"Mr. Zhou’s father is angry. The Zhou Family affairs are complicated, you don’t need to know the details. It won’t affect you."
"He won 50 million in chips last night."
"Another boring day today."
"Have you passed level 300 of Candy Crush yet?"
Shen Jing replied with a single word: "No."
With Zhou Luchen gone, Shen Jing hadn’t played Candy Crush. He used to ambiguously wrap his hand around hers, teaching her a ga even a three-year-old could play. The mory of his nonchalant glances and the patient, low laughter beside her ear remained vividly clear.
「Ten days since she last contacted Zhou Luchen.」
Chen Yao posted a picture on his Monts: wine glasses.
「Thirteen days since she last contacted Zhou Luchen.」
Chen Yao posted another picture on his Monts: the airship racetrack, with large stacks of chips.
Shen Jing exited the app and turned off her phone.
The Ao Area was quite close to Hong Kong. Really, extrely close. And Mr. Zhou was busy indulging in his decadent pleasures.
The weather grew colder. Even with a thicker sweater, the wind chilled her to the bone. Shen Jing clutched her coat tighter as she entered her room.
「Seventeen days since she last contacted Zhou Luchen.」
Chen Yao posted a picture on his Monts: an airplane that would take them back to Shanghai.
The caption read: "Work done. Heading ho."
So, their business was finished. They were returning to Shanghai.
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