Shen Zui clicked his tongue and leisurely squeezed through the crowd from the back.
“Make way, make way.” Xiao Li hurriedly shielded Shen Zui.
The crowd only noticed an exceptionally striking-looking man pushing his way in, with an aura that seemed rather unapproachable, and instinctively made a path for him.
Shen Zui walked to the front, glanced at the woman still sitting on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, then looked at the young man standing there in silence.
Then, he spoke lazily.
“Crying so loudly, people might think your husband died.”
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
The woman was taken aback and immediately glared at Shen Zui: “Who are you? What business is it of yours?”
But Shen Zui acted as if he hadn’t heard, his gaze slowly sweeping over her.
“Didn’t you say you worked hard to raise your nephew?”
He lifted his chin, analyzing in an unhurried tone.
“Then you must be living quite comfortably.”
The woman’s face stiffened: “What do you mean?”
Shen Zui chuckled, his tone casual yet tinged with sarcasm.
“What do I mean?”
He pointed at her wrist.
“That gold bracelet must cost at least twenty or thirty thousand, right?”
Then he glanced at her clothes.
“This jacket was last year’s new release. I remember it selling for over ten thousand in the mall.”
The people around immediately began whispering.
The woman clearly panicked: “I—I bought it myself!”
“Bought it yourself?”
Shen Zui raised an eyebrow and leisurely turned his gaze to the young man.
“What a coincidence.”
“You keep saying he’s ungrateful after making money, but look at your nephew—his clothes are washed until they’re faded, and his shoes are worn out.”
As he spoke, his tone suddenly turned cold.
“Is this the living standard of someone who’s made money?”
The crowd quieted down again, and many began scrutinizing Yi Chao closely.
Indeed, the young man didn’t look wealthy at all. The woman grew anxious, raising her voice.
“He’s just too stingy to spend! I worked so hard to raise him!”
“Worked hard?”
Shen Zui interrupted her, his tone suddenly turning indifferent.
“If it was so hard, why don’t you just let him give you the inheritance? Are you afraid he’ll sue you in court?”
With that one sentence, he hit the nail on the head.
The woman’s face instantly changed, and the people around began to catch on.
“That’s right… if you truly raised him with a clear conscience, why fear the court?”
“Exactly, the court doesn’t just rule arbitrarily.”
“Maybe she really did misappropriate the inheritance.”
The tide of discussion immediately shifted. Seeing the situation turning against her, the woman grew furious and stood up abruptly, pointing at Shen Zui.
“Stop talking nonsense! What’s it to you?”
But Shen Zui leisurely pulled out his phone from his pocket and waved it.
“It’s none of my business. But I just happened to call the police.”
“After all—”
He glanced at the two cars collided in the middle of the road.
“You’ve also caused a traffic accident, blocking the main road and disrupting traffic.”
Shen Zui’s tone was light.
“When the police arrive, why not discuss your inheritance dispute as well?”
The woman’s face went completely pale.
And Yi Chao, who had been standing silently all along, suddenly looked up at that moment, his gaze meeting Shen Zui’s for the first time.
Just then, someone in the crowd gasped softly.
“Is that… Mr. Shen?”
Another person immediately leaned closer, squinting for a better look, their tone suddenly growing excited.
“It really does seem like him! I’ve seen reports about President Shen, it’s him!”
Soon, someone else excitedly added.
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s him! President Shen from Shen Group! Isn’t he always followed by that little bald secretary?”
Xiao Li, standing not far away: “…”
Little bald Xiao Li silently touched his increasingly sparse hairline, his face completely expressionless.
Shen Zui heard the surrounding discussions and knew he had been recognized. Staying any longer would likely lead to being surrounded.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze casually glancing to the side, landing on the drawing board in the young man’s arms.
In the corner of the drawing board, two words were written in pencil: A Chao.
Shen Zui raised an eyebrow.
He looked up at the young man before him, his tone now a bit more casual than before.
“Hello, is your surname Chao?”
Yi Chao was clearly taken aback.
But Shen Zui continued, “I see the painting on your drawing board is quite good.”
He said it lightly, as if mentioning it offhandedly.
“If you don’t have a job for now, you could come try at my corporation.”
As he finished speaking, he reached out behind him. Xiao Li almost reflexively pulled a business card from his suit’s inner pocket and handed it over smoothly.
Shen Zui took the card and casually passed it to the young man.
“If needed, you can contact this number. Our HR will arrange things.”
After saying this, Shen Zui smiled at him, casually waved his hand as if he had done the most ordinary thing, then turned and left.
Meanwhile, the crowd behind him had already erupted.
“Is that really President Shen from Shen Group?”
“Oh my god, was he just recruiting someone?”
“That young man is so lucky…”
“Shen Group, that’s one of the top companies in City A!”
Discussions continued one after another, but the young man standing in place still held the business card, as if he hadn’t fully processed what happened. The edges of the card were slightly clenched by his fingertips.
Soon, police arrived at the scene, began directing traffic, and handling the accident. Shen Zui sat in the car, lowering his head and casually scrolling through his phone, as if he had completely lost interest in the chaos outside.
Just then, the car window beside him was lightly tapped twice. Shen Zui looked up and saw the young man from earlier standing outside the car—it was Xiao Chao.
He rolled down the window, turned sideways to look at him, and asked casually, “What’s up?”
The young man seemed a bit nervous, his fingers slightly clutching the hem of his clothes, and said softly, “Just now… thank you.”
Hearing this, Shen Zui smiled dismissively and waved his hand. “No problem, no problem. I just can’t stand bad guys bullying people.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man suddenly handed a piece of paper inside.
Shen Zui took it and saw it was a drawing.
The drawing depicted him standing in the crowd earlier, with clean lines and distinct lighting, even capturing his somewhat nonchalant expression perfectly.
Shen Zui was immediately stunned. “You drew this just now?”
Yi Chao nodded. “Mm.”
He seemed a bit uneasy and added, “Consider it a thank-you gift.”
Shen Zui couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration, genuinely praising, “You’re really amazing. It’s drawn so well. Thank you.”
Yi Chao didn’t say anything, his face still wearing that gloomy, reticent expression. However, beneath his long hair, the roots of his ears had already turned red unconsciously.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shen Zui’s eyes lit up.
“By the way, I see you paint so well. I happen to be planning to venture into the art industry recently and want to start a gallery. Would you be interested in painting some portraits for me? I can pay.”
In truth, Shen Zui simply noticed that the person before him was likely short on money—after all, studying art was an expensive pursuit.
And he had been thinking about investing in some money-losing projects lately. Since that was the case, why not just organize an art exhibition?
As for the artist, of course, he would look for someone like this—unknown but skilled.
Losing money would be justified.
Xiao Li in the front seat silently gripped the steering wheel, his mind a whirl of complex thoughts.
Venturing into the art industry?
When was that decided?
Just now?
Shen Zui, however, was already enthusiastically continuing, “Alright then, let’s exchange contact information first.”
After the two added each other as friends, the car started moving again. Shen Zui leaned back in his seat, growing more excited the more he thought about it, and couldn’t help but discuss with Xiao Li in the front: “Oh, by the way, do you remember that piece of land in the southern part of the city a while back? The one we couldn’t decide what to do with?”
“I’ve made up my mind!”
“We’ll build a Shen Zui Portrait Gallery.”
“It’ll be filled with portraits of me—all kinds of styles, from different periods, all of me.”
Shen Zui grew more pleased with himself as he spoke, even nodding in approval.
“I think this idea is quite brilliant.”
Xiao Li: “…”
Great.
Just listening, it was clear that this project of Shen Zui’s was likely yet another completely unprofitable investment.