Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Chen Mo didn't truly believe it at that moment; he just realized that it was a lie that could be seen through with a simple change of thought. The possibility of "Xi Siyan being married" had a considerable impact on him.

This made him constantly remind himself that the word "ex" in "ex-boyfriend" meant that any decision or aspect of his current life could be dismissed with "None of your business."

After so many years apart, making excessive comments about each other's lives wasn't something Chen Mo would do.

He entered the house.

Chen Mo poured him a glass of water.

The house he now lived in felt somewhat empty; he had moved in not long ago and hadn't added many unnecessary items.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll get a bag to pack your clothes." Chen Mo said as he went into the master bedroom.

Xi Siyan shifted the glass of water in his hand, taking in every detail of the living room. He got up without showing any signs, meticulously inspecting some small corners of the house.

When Chen Mo came out, he heard Xi Siyan talking on the phone on the balcony.

"Mm, understood... I'm here, haven't noticed anything yet, no need to worry, just keep an eye on things..."

When Xi Siyan hung up and came back inside,

Chen Mo asked, "Who was it?"

"The power company," Xi Siyan replied naturally. "I bought a new house after returning, there were some issues with the renovation, we're discussing them."

Chen Mo found this excuse a bit perfunctory.

But since Xi Siyan didn't want to elaborate, he didn't press further. After all, if it involved company secrets, it wasn't something he should pry into.

Still, Chen Mo gave a reminder.

"I heard your landing ceremony is at the No. 1 venue in Hengguang? Ren Xiansen from Chuanxing Technology has a deputy manager position there. Be cautious when dealing with him."

Xi Siyan walked over.

"I heard he doesn't get along well with your company."

"Not just us," Chen Mo moved around the sofa, pulling out several stacks of documents from a drawer under the coffee table. "These are all the information I've gathered on Chuanxing. He doesn't play by the rules and has offended many people in the industry. We just haven't figured out his funding sources."

Xi Siyan took the documents and continued, "It's UA Group."

"UA?" Chen Mo frowned deeply, then quickly understood, looking at Xi Siyan. "CM and UA have been clashing for a while. You knew Ren Xiansen from the beginning, so you deliberately chose that venue?"

Xi Siyan raised an eyebrow, not hiding it.

"UA is very wary of CM's return plan. It's better to face them openly. The boss of UA, Lunaer, is a fifty-year-old overseas Chinese with strong ambitions to expand into the Chinese market. As his domestic scout, Ren Xiansen doesn't care about reputation. Intelligent technology will be UA's focus going forward. You need to be more careful than I am."

As Xi Siyan spoke, he suddenly looked into Chen Mo's eyes and called out, "President Chen."

"What?" Chen Mo was puzzled.

Xi Siyan quickly shook his head and smiled. "Nothing."

As smart as Xi Siyan was, he had never been flustered before. He genuinely didn't know how to ask or say what he wanted to.

He returned two months earlier than planned.

This was also why CM couldn't do much against Chuanxing Technology at the moment. It was because of his last dream, which was clearer than ever before.

It felt less like a mysterious dream.

The feeling of Chen Mo dying was stronger than ever.

In countless dreams, he felt lost in the wilderness, unable to find him. Waking up, enveloped in emptiness, he only thought of that rainy night when young Chen Mo earnestly said, "Brother Yan, we both know it was just an accident."

His uncle's accident accelerated their inevitable separation.

Because they were too young.

Only that night, he dreamed of standing on an empty grassland in front of an unfinished building.

A stretcher covered with white cloth.

The blaring sirens of police cars.

The flashing lights of media cameras.

He couldn't hear what everyone was saying, but he had a premonition that he shouldn't lift the white cloth, knowing the cost would make him regret it.

He had a stronger premonition that the person lying there wasn't eighteen-year-old Chen Mo, but twenty-eight-year-old him.

What was he regretting in the dream?

Regretting not returning sooner? Or regretting letting go back then?

He dared not take the risk.

His strong intuition told him not to gamble.

So, counting from the day he left for abroad, five years, two months, and twenty-three days later, he boarded the plane back home.

The world thought he brought CM back to expand its territory, or to take over the family business, or perhaps due to national sentiment. But the core reason was only one.

Because Chen Mo was still here.

The 23-year-old Chen Mo was both the same and different from the 17-year-old Chen Mo.

The academic years in college and the past few years in the workplace had smoothed out the sharp edges that occasionally protruded beneath his seemingly carefree demeanor in high school. To outsiders, he appeared sometimes as a charming and knowledgeable figure, speaking eloquently as a leader in the workplace, and at other times as approachable and warm as a spring breeze.

He had nurtured himself well.

From a sapling growing on desperate, parched land to a towering tree.

Xi Siyan returned, weary from travel, approaching silently while being startled by that inexplicable dream.

He had thoroughly investigated all possible dangers around him, finding no signs of any.

Even when entering this house just now, he instinctively checked it once again, finding nothing amiss.

The only person Xi Siyan could think of who had a deep grudge against Chen Mo, the head of the New Technology Department, was Ren Xiansen.

Thinking of this, Xi Siyan's eyes turned cold.

That day, until Xi Siyan left home, Chen Mo felt that his mood was rather ordinary.

Thinking about how he took away those documents in the end, Chen Mo sighed, thinking: Although Class Leader Xi's charm hasn't diminished and has even grown stronger, his aura is intimidating. The new interns at New Technology would probably be trembling if they faced such a boss.

Xi Siyan took his own suit that day.

After taking two days off, Chen Mo returned to the lab to continue his research.

On the day of the CM landing ceremony, New Technology also received an invitation.

Chen Mo had originally planned to attend.

Whether as an indirect partner or due to personal friendship, there was no reason for him to decline.

However, that day, things seemed to take a different tone when Old K dragged him to pick out clothes early in the morning with great fanfare.

"Are you dressing up like a peacock?" Chen Mo finally lost patience after trying on the third suit.

Old K, sitting on a leather sofa in a high-end clothing store, stroked his chin and looked at him earnestly, saying, "Impatient already? Do you know how many people have been watching us since you and President Xi of CM were in the news together? They're waiting to see where we move so they can follow and make a profit. We can't afford to lose face for our company."

Chen Mo, wearing a dark red suit, sneered, "So you want me to go sell smiles for you?"

"How can you put it that way!" Old K refused to admit it, "I'm buying it out of my own pocket, isn't that enough?"

At that moment, the door of another fitting room opened.

Su Qianran walked out in a white floor-length dress and said to Old K, "It's rare that you're willing to spend money. But with Chen Mo's face, he'd look good in burlap, wouldn't he?"

Chen Mo rubbed his temples, "You two are enough."

Su Qianran laughed while admiring herself in the mirror, "How does this one look?"

"It looks nice," Chen Mo nodded in approval, "But isn't it too formal?"

Su Qianran replied, "CM's invitation isn't easy to get; it has to be formal. I just saw another red one that would be perfect for the wedding reception. I'll take both."

"The wedding is only a few days away," Old K commented, "Don't girls usually prepare these things in advance? You're shopping with us at the last minute."

Su Qianran flicked her hair, "I do what I want; what's it to you?"

Chen Mo's final outfit was chosen by Su Qianran, saying it matched her white dress. He wore it without complaint.

Friday morning, 10 AM.

The first venue of Hengguang was already bustling with security personnel maintaining order.

When Su Qianran appeared, linking arms with Chen Mo, many people had already arrived.

Chen Mo protected her from tripping over her dress, but Su Qianran was busy whispering in his ear, "Feeling like a star before the wedding; seems my choice was right."

Chen Mo glanced down at his suit, which was worn without a shirt underneath.

He wondered how Su Qianran had picked this particular style.

It wasn't informal; at first glance, Chen Mo's deep black suit with subtle silver patterns seemed to have a white open-collar inner piece, but in fact, it was just a decorative collar with nothing underneath.

A flowing silk scarf complemented the outfit, perfectly covering the exposed skin, adding a touch of formality with a relaxed and casual flair—a style Chen Mo had never tried before.

"President Su, President Chen."

Perhaps due to the previous news coverage.

Both familiar and unfamiliar faces came to greet them.

Especially Chen Mo, many probed subtly, asking if he was close to CM's boss?

Chen Mo consistently answered, "Not really, we've only met twice because of Huanshang."

This avoided further questioning.

At 10:30 AM, the ceremony officially began.

CM Group announced sixteen foreign investment projects, significantly boosting Sui City. Representatives from various industries and local leaders of varying ranks attended.

Chen Mo sat throughout the event, watching Xi Siyan in a formal suit, shaking hands, signing agreements, and giving speeches.

He said, "When CM was founded, we had a simple yet profound vision: to become strong and lead the industry. Central Meridian, beyond the initial theory, holds another special significance for me personally. You can understand it as the apple dangling in front of us or the moon hanging above. But today, CM is neither an apple nor a moon; it's a shot in the arm, every step CM takes..."

Su Qianran nudged Chen Mo's shoulder, "Why does this sound strange to me?"

"What's strange?" Chen Mo asked.

Su Qianran: "Haven't you noticed? CM, C, M, think about it."

Chen Mo thought about it carefully, then froze, feeling stunned.

He looked up at the person on the stage in the distance, who had just finished his speech amidst thunderous applause and was now being escorted into the next segment.

Chen Mo hesitated: Is Su Qianran's imagination too wild?

But Chen Mo soon had no time to dwell on this matter.

Because when he went to the restroom halfway through, he found several security guards struggling with a rather pretty girl at the corridor corner.

He initially thought the security guards were being overly cautious.

However, he saw two other people on the scene—Han Qian and Ren Xiansen. Han Qian was present during his last meeting with Xi Siyan.

And Chen Mo was even more familiar with Ren Xiansen.

In his thirties, with a triangular eye, and a peanut-sized scar near his eye.

The current Han Qian had become increasingly ruthless. He leaned against the wall with one hand while holding Ren Xiansen by the collar with the other, gritting his teeth, "You, Ren, should have been killed abroad back then! You must have forgotten how close you came to losing your eye!"

Ren Xiansen pulled back his collar, sneering, "Xi Siyan was too young back then, couldn't be ruthless. Now that you're back, let's see who's better."

Han Qian pointed at the girl beside him, "Your skills involve threatening a young girl to be your escort? How low can you get!"

Ren Xiansen laughed, "You misunderstand me; she wants fame, we both benefit."

Then he deliberately leaned closer to provoke, "By the way, I heard that Xi Siyan took quite a hit back then, suffered from concussion. Did it leave any aftereffects?"

"You..." Han Qian didn't finish his sentence.

Because he noticed someone placing a hand on his shoulder from behind.

Before he could turn around, the person stepped forward, passing him, and said coldly to Ren Xiansen, "I wondered who it was. You, a mere researcher, should stick to your research. Repeatedly... humph, ah!"

Chen Mo kicked the man's knee bend, then twisted his shoulder, pinning him against the wall. A sharp crack echoed, followed by the man's agonized cry.

Chen Mo pressed the man against the wall and asked seriously, "Did you hit him?"

"Chen Mo, you damn well know... ah!"

"Answer my question!" Chen Mo yanked the man's hair, slamming his head against the wall, continuing, "Did you hit him?"

"No," Ren Xiansen managed to say, his face red with veins bulging, "I hired some fugitives abroad, gave them money, but they were fools and didn't do anything."

Chen Mo had considered that Xi Jianxing could encounter trouble even abroad.

Xi Siyan's situation must not have been easy.

But hearing it firsthand was entirely different from imagining it. The fugitives abroad were mostly desperate men, and Ren clearly aimed to kill him.

Chen Mo's temple throbbed.

He hadn't felt such violent emotions for a long time, surging uncontrollably.

He yanked Ren Xiansen around and punched him in the face.

One punch, two punches, three punches...

Memories of fighting Chen Jianli, aiming to bite and kill without hesitation, resurfaced. Chen Mo had kept his younger self locked away in his heart, but today, the restraint broke unexpectedly.

When the surrounding people realized something was wrong, they rushed to pull him away.

Han Qian exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Stop, stop, you two act like a married couple, so violent in public. Your husband is fine, couldn't be better, sigh... damn, you guys are quick."

Chen Mo stepped back from the man lying on the ground, disheveled and panting heavily.

He stared at the group of people approaching from the corridor.

He inwardly sneered at Han Qian, wondering if he was confused. He and Xi Siyan had nothing to do with each other anymore.

In an instant, the group arrived.

Xi Siyan glanced at the man on the ground as if looking at a corpse. He grabbed Chen Mo's upper arm, his eyes scanning the scratch on Chen Mo's cheekbone, his dark gaze unreadable, "Another fight?"

"Yes," Chen Mo replied, still filled with aggression, staring back, "My hands were itching."

Xi Siyan dismissed the others and instructed Han Qian, "Clean this up."

Then he dragged Chen Mo away from the scene.

Chen Mo didn't know what he intended, nor did he expect him to move so quickly, stumbling along.

They finally stopped in front of a door.

Xi Siyan pushed it open, giving Chen Mo only a brief glimpse of what seemed to be a rest room.

Then Xi Siyan forcefully pushed him against the door.

He gripped Chen Mo's chin and kissed him aggressively.

It wasn't a gentle kiss; it was forceful and bloody.

As if he had wanted to do this for a long time, he deepened the kiss while slipping his hand under Chen Mo's shirt, causing both to freeze.

After two seconds, Xi Siyan pressed his lips against Chen Mo's and growled, "You really have guts."