Seeing Jiang Shen, Duan Chaosheng was momentarily stunned, then his face darkened. Jiang Shen didn’t pay him any mind; to be precise, he never really fit into Yu Bai’s circle of friends. Most likely because those people thought he was too high and mighty, unlike Yu Bai’s previous boyfriends and girlfriends who were all fawning over him.
“Mr. Fu, how are you?” Jiang Shen spoke, and Fu Cheng’s assistant took the items from his hand. “Still alright, sorry to trouble you, Vice President Jiang, for making this trip,” Fu Cheng’s expression was as indifferent as ever. “No need to be so polite.”
The two chatted casually while others listened on the side. Jiang Wenze, despite his daily pursuit of perfection, wasn’t really a formidable character. The Jiang family’s operations were outdated, and it was only a matter of time before they were swallowed by the times. And yet, at this moment, they brought back Jiang Shen.
The “Mingxi” project was something he prepared for half a year in advance, even if it was just a slight rumor. The subsequent efforts were not in vain, and in the end, he struck with precision and ruthlessness, leaving no chance for others.
Fu Cheng valued Jiang Shen, and others couldn’t help but offer a few compliments. Jiang Shen responded to each one, his attitude calm yet distinctly distant. A couple of people who wanted to take the opportunity to chat with him gave up on the idea after seeing this.
Fu Cheng’s face was pale, not wanting to disturb his rest, so Jiang Shen found an appropriate time to leave. Duan Chaosheng chased after him from behind.
“Jiang Shen,” Duan Chaosheng’s tone was unfriendly, “we need to talk.” Jiang Shen was a bit annoyed, but Duan Chaosheng was a very persistent person. He frowned and said, “Just five minutes, I have other things to do.”
Because of this sentence, Duan Chaosheng’s face turned even more sour. The two of them walked to the stairwell. The light on the way down to the next floor was broken, dimly illuminating half the steps. There were no windows around, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
“You haven’t been in contact with Yu Bai recently, have you?” Duan Chaosheng started. Jiang Shen retorted, “Why would I contact him?” Duan Chaosheng’s expression was serious, “Jiang Shen, do you even have a heart?!”
Jiang Shen: “…………” Sometimes he really doubted himself because he felt out of place with the idiots of this world. “Is that all you wanted to say?”
Duan Chaosheng moved closer, “After breaking up with you, Yu Bai wasn’t feeling well either. Is it so hard for you to lower your head?” “Is that so?” Jiang Shen’s eyes were mocking, and he said softly, “I heard that right after breaking up with me, Yu Bai held a breakup party and got together with that junior who had been pursuing him.”
Duan Chaosheng’s face showed panic, “Who told you that!” Jiang Shen couldn’t hold back this time and chuckled, “Duan Chaosheng, do you think only you guys live in a place with advanced information, and everyone else is living in caves? Yu Bai’s actions, there were plenty of people who sent me pictures, including that junior of his. To put it bluntly, Yu Bai was emotionally cheating. Before we officially broke up, he was already unclear with that junior, helping him move, taking him to the hospital. What are you trying to talk to me about now? Innocence? I also have friends, and I will protect them, but enough is enough. Do you not care about right and wrong?”
Duan Chaosheng was somewhat embarrassed. He knew all too well about Yu Bai’s affairs. “You can’t just say Yu Bai regretted it, and then come to trouble me,” Jiang Shen continued, “Besides, he has no reason to regret. Our relationship wasn’t even like friends, it was just a combination of interests between two families.”
Duan Chaosheng immediately jumped as if he had caught a handle, “So you admit you approached Yu Bai for interests, right!” Jiang Shen felt a bit itchy in his palm, “Wasn’t Yu Bai the same?” “Yu Bai was sincere!”
Jiang Shen stared at Duan Chaosheng, his gaze a bit cold. Duan Chaosheng gradually lost his confidence. Sincerity wasn’t like that. “Anyway, you… you…”
“Five minutes are up, you’re busy,” Jiang Shen interrupted. Duan Chaosheng was blocking the door, and Jiang Shen didn’t want to waste words with him, so he simply went down the stairs. “Hey, wait! Jiang Shen, I haven’t finished talking!” Duan Chaosheng hurriedly chased after him for two steps. This person was always reckless, and the anger of being slapped in the face surged up in his heart. In a moment of spite, he reached out and pushed Jiang Shen’s shoulder.
Duan Chaosheng only wanted to vent his anger, but the stair sensor light was not sensitive and just happened to go out. Darkness flooded in like a tide, and Jiang Shen couldn’t see anything. He took a step forward, but it was empty. His whole body instantly lost balance, and by the time he stepped on something solid again, he had already fallen several floors down. His heart rate spiked, and Jiang Shen instinctively reached forward, only managing to grab the edge of the railing.
Bang—
A clear sound of impact. Duan Chaosheng was startled. “Jiang Shen?” Jiang Shen didn’t speak. His lower back was held, pressed tightly against another hot body. The other person caught him in time, enveloping him completely. Except for his face hurting a bit when it hit the man’s collarbone, he wasn’t injured at all.
The steady and calm breathing, although he couldn’t see, Jiang Shen instantly recognized the person. His whole body’s blood first froze, then a fiery agitation burned up his nerves, a certain emotion uncontrollably surged to his head.
Zhao Louyue helped Jiang Shen stand firm, intending to go up the steps. Jiang Shen grabbed him, and Duan Chaosheng’s “Hey!” lit up the sensor light. Jiang Shen pushed Zhao Louyue back, and Zhao Louyue instantly understood, retreating to the safety door without a trace.
In the dim light, Duan Chaosheng only saw Jiang Shen standing there, completely unaware of Zhao Louyue. Even so, Duan Chaosheng was already filled with regret and fear. Jiang Shen unbuttoned his collar and strode up. Duan Chaosheng was scared out of his wits and instinctively wanted to run, “What are you going to do?!”
He couldn’t escape. Jiang Shen wasn’t a delicate and powerless flower vase. During his student days, when blocked by hooligans and challenged to a one-sided fight, Jiang Shen could always catch the leader among three to five people and beat them black and blue. He was never one to suffer losses.
Duan Chaosheng struggled to no avail. At this moment, the sensor light was very cooperative and didn’t go out. Jiang Shen grabbed Duan Chaosheng’s arm, forcefully slamming him against the dusty wall. Duan Chaosheng felt his bones dislocate, cried out in pain, and Jiang Shen then let go, giving him a kick to help him climb several more steps, finally hitting his head on the stairs, seeing stars.
Duan Chaosheng felt utterly humiliated, but Jiang Shen’s cold voice rang out, “Your father will take full responsibility for your actions just now.” Duan Chaosheng feared his father the most. When Jiang Shen first took over the company, he was still young, but now it was different. Duan Nan wouldn’t dare to offend him, and only Duan Chaosheng, relying on his relationship with Yu Bai, thought that a little underhandedness didn’t matter.
Jiang Shen straightened his collar and turned to go downstairs. As he passed the safety door, he lightly tugged Zhao Louyue, “Let’s go.” Zhao Louyue was initially in a daze, but upon hearing this, he followed. His gaze was extremely obscure as it lingered on Jiang Shen’s waist, recalling the touch from earlier, lean and strong.
The two went to the underground parking lot. Jiang Shen’s car was the closest. He took out the car key to unlock it, gesturing for Zhao Louyue to get in and talk. Zhao Louyue was even more familiar with the car, and his action of opening the door made it seem like the car was his. Jiang Shen: “……”