Switzerland, 5 PM, Fu Jichen sat in the hotel’s western restaurant, with only a steaming cup of black coffee on the table in front of him.
He raised his wrist and looked at his watch for the third ti. He had been sitting here for more than half an hour, still waiting for the person he was supposed to et.
To keep the CEO of the Junshan Group waiting for half an hour, the other party must have so guts.
Switzerland’s weather has been bad lately, without any sunlight, and the sky was in dark tones. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, workers were repairing the road, with yellow warning signs and caution tape set up, and a heavy roller truck slowly approached, seemingly to repave the road.
Fu Jichen thought, if this delay continues, who knows if the car will be able to get out.
After waiting another five minutes, the observation elevator stopped on this floor, and the door opened to reveal a man in a suit, adjusting his cuffs as he walked, his black handmade leather shoes gleaming, and wearing a Patek Philippe watch. His real age was over fifty, but from his appearance, one would think he’s only just past forty. He had a scholarly look, and although he exuded the aura of an upper echelon, he didn’t give off an oppressive feeling.
The man walked over gracefully, pulled out the chair opposite Fu Jichen, and sat down.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Chen. I was upstairs in a eting, and my assistant forgot to remind ." The middle-aged man’s eyes were deep, resting on Fu Jichen’s face.
Upon closer observation, the two of them surprisingly had three-tenths resemblance in their brows and eyes.
Fu Jichen picked up the coffee cup and took a sip. It didn’t take much intelligence to hear that this was an excuse. A faint smile appeared on Fu Jichen’s handso face: "Mr. Xiao is busy acquiring the Junshan Group’s shares and dissolving Junshan Group’s partnerships; naturally, you can’t spare the ti to et with ."
Though he wore a smile, his tone carried no discernible emotion, at least to Xiao Hesheng, it didn’t sound angry.
Indeed, Fu Jichen is now more valued than his father, sitting in a position only second to the chairman; naturally, he has mastered the skill of hiding his emotions.
"Since Mr. Chen handed a business card, no matter how busy I am, I had to co. Tell , what do you want to discuss?"
After saying this, Xiao Hesheng raised his hand to call over the waiter, ordering a drink in German, the sa as Fu Jichen’s, black coffee without any additions.
The smile on Fu Jichen’s face deepened slightly, and he spoke directly: "Isn’t Mr. Xiao just asking knowingly? To sabotage Jun Mountain’s project, Mr. Xiao flew to Switzerland in person amidst his busy schedule, promising Lawrence wealth beyond three lifetis. As a businessman, there are probably few like Mr. Xiao, who would forgo profitable opportunities just to make a losing deal."
Xiao Hesheng’s gentle voice did not conceal its sarcasm: "I’ve barely been here a few hours, yet you’ve already got everything figured out."
"Since our objectives are known to each other, let’s be frank: what would it take for Mr. Xiao to withdraw? Why not speak outright, and I’ll consider it accordingly." Fu Jichen said this not out of fear of him but to resolve this matter in the quickest way possible so he could return ho.
He had more important matters to handle and couldn’t afford to waste ti here.
The waiter delivered Xiao Hesheng’s coffee, and Xiao Hesheng politely nodded in thanks, his gaze returning to the man opposite him.
This was his first direct interaction with Fu Jichen; from the mont he sat down, he had been evaluating Fu Jichen repeatedly, increasingly feeling a sense of familiarity in his features.
Xiao Hesheng withdrew his gaze, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window: "I ca to et you rely out of curiosity, curious about who’s in charge of Jun Mountain now. Actually, I have nothing much to say to you; if your father were the one sitting here today, maybe I could have a word or two with him, but as for you, there’s no need to waste ti."
Xiao Hesheng’s words were blunt, even trampling on Fu Jichen’s face.
Still, Fu Jichen wasn’t angry, listening to Xiao Hesheng continue: "From the mont I made a move, I didn’t plan to hide in the shadows. My hostility toward the Fu Family is pretty much out in the open. Lawrence’s matter is just the beginning; no, purchasing the shares from Fu Yunhan is the real starting point. From here on, the confrontations with the Fu Family are bound to increase, but I hope next ti, it’s your father who cos to talk to . Like a turtle hiding its head, sheltered under the Fu Family’s wings, he should co out and et an old acquaintance."
Xiao Hesheng picked up the coffee cup from the saucer and took a small sip.
To his words, Fu Jichen did not comnt.
Xiao Hesheng checked his watch, set down the coffee he had only taken a sip of, moved his chair, stood up, and said, "Goodbye," ending this eting.
"May I ask why?" Fu Jichen leaned back against the chair unperturbed, his fingers interlaced on his crossed knee as his gaze moved calmly upward to et Xiao Hesheng’s eyes.
The dim hue of the sky shrouded Xiao Hesheng’s face, adding a touch of gloom to his gentle countenance.
"Because your mother was the executioner, and your father an accomplice, the Fu Family owes two lives. It’s already lenient of not asking your Fu Family to pay with lives." Xiao Hesheng’s tone was light, but the veins protruding on the hand gripping the chair’s back revealed his restrained resentnt.
Fu Jichen calmly observed that bony hand. Under the table, his clasped fingers tightened, thinking to himself, so it’s indeed like this.
Xiao Hesheng had no desire to continue conversing, and turned to leave. However, he heard Fu Jichen’s unhurried voice from behind: "Are you referring to Xiao Heting?"
Xiao Hesheng’s pupils quivered, and he turned back to look at the person sitting there.
It had been thirty years since he last heard soone ntion the na "Xiao Heting."
She was his only sister, the sole family mber remaining in this world after their parents passed away. Yet, he hadn’t taken good care of her, allowing her to fall in love with a man she shouldn’t have, leading to a tragic end of both lives. In her best years, she should have been carefree, but instead, died in a foreign land.
Others might hear the na "Xiao Heting" and assu it was a boy’s.
Originally, their parents gave his sister this na hoping she wouldn’t be confined by gender, that she could venture forth and do what she desired like a man.
In fact, in so aspects, his sister’s personality was indeed like a boy’s—resolute, decisive, and independent. That’s why he felt comfortable leaving her in the mainland while he focused on his career in Hong Kong.
He never expected such a person to fall headfirst into the pit of love, sinking deep.
Their parents died in a plane crash, leaving him and his sister to rely on each other.
Since childhood, his sister was enamored with calligraphy and painting. At seventeen, she ca to Yicheng in the mainland from Hong Kong, becoming the sole disciple of the calligraphy master Long Qishan.
The siblings usually kept in touch through phone calls, making three to five calls a week.
Once, Xiao Hesheng heard his sister ntion a man over the phone. It wasn’t the first ti Xiao Hesheng had heard the na "Fu Zhengjun." As a businessman, he’d long heard of the Fu Family’s eldest son, a notable gentlemanly businessman, outstanding at a young age, praised for his gentlemanly deanor, unlike other businessn known for their ruthless, profit-driven ways.
That year, Fu Zhengjun went to Yicheng on a business trip, visiting Master Long Qishan to request a painting to celebrate his father’s birthday.
It was there he t Xiao Heting, falling in love at first sight.
After Xiao Heting passed away, Xiao Hesheng sorted through his sister’s belongings and ca across her diary describing that day.
In autumn, Yicheng is often drizzly, with weeks without seeing the sun. But that day was bright and sunny, a rare good weather. She was practicing calligraphy in the pavilion, her long hair half-styled with a wooden hairpin, wearing a moon-white short blouse and a long skirt. The wind blew, scattering the Xuan paper filled with writing on the stone path outside the pavilion. At that mont, the housekeeper was leading Fu Zhengjun through the moon gate, and a piece of Xuan paper floated precisely to his foot.
He bent down to pick it up, first admiring the bold and elegant writing, and when he looked up, he glimpsed a graceful figure in the pavilion.
Xiao Heting turned around with a brush in hand, their eyes eting, as if fated by destiny, binding their fates at that very mont.
From then on, Fu Zhengjun frequently visited Master Long Qishan’s residence outside of work, and as they discussed poetry and art, they developed feelings for each other, promising their lives to one another.
Far away in Hong Kong, Xiao Hesheng was left to manage the company alone after their parents’ death. The senior mbers were disrespectful, and the internal conflicts were continuous, leaving him overburdened and unable to tend to his sister.
The next conversation with Xiao Heting was supposed to be about her planned return to Hong Kong, yet she vaguely ntioned not feeling well and decided not to return for the ti being.
She stayed for more than half a month. Eventually, unable to hide it, she reluctantly admitted she was pregnant, and the unborn child was Fu Zhengjun’s.
At that ti, Fu Zhengjun’s affairs in Yicheng were concluded, and he had returned to Beicheng.
For the first ti, Xiao Hesheng was angry with his sister, reprimanding her over the phone for losing self-respect, for having a child with a man without preparation, and asked if Fu Zhengjun knew of her pregnancy.
Xiao Heting, with her pride, confessed to her brother that she hadn’t told Fu Zhengjun yet. Xiao Hesheng vividly rembered his sister’s gentle voice over the phone, filled with maternal joy, as she said, "Before leaving, Zhengjun told that when he returns, he’d discuss with his family and formally propose to our Xiao Family. When he proposes, I’ll share this good news with him. Brother, I’m going to get married."
However, as she waited long in Yicheng, what she received was news of the Fu Family’s eldest son set to be engaged to a girl from the Wei Family.
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