Chapter 74 Jiang Huizhou, You Bastard (Part 2)

Chapter 74 Jiang Huizhou, You Bastard (Part 2)

"Why? What exactly is your relationship with him? Weren't you here to..." Lu Qingyan's eyes were red as he spoke: "Shen Zhixue, do you know I waited for you all night in the lobby downstairs?"

"Sorry." Shen Zhixue sighed and scratched his head: "This is hard to explain, but those reporters didn't just show up at the door for no reason. Someone must have arranged it. I'll give you an explanation... If it can't be resolved in the end, it definitely won't affect your reputation..."

"Who cares about that kind of thing!" Lu Qingyan suddenly shouted: "I waited for you all night downstairs, I called you hundreds of times with no answer, and now I'm standing in front of you! Is it because I'm afraid you'll ruin my reputation? Shen Zhixue?!"

Shen Zhixue, even if slow, was starting to get it now. He looked up at Lu Qingyan and after a while, slowly said: "Whether you care or not is one thing; whether I repay it or not is another. Lu Qingyan, you're a very good friend of mine, and I hope you will continue to be."

Lu Qingyan suddenly sneered, grabbing Shen Zhixue's loose collar and gritting his teeth: "Shen Zhixue, I didn't expect you to be this stupid. I used to think you were quite smart. What happened? Did someone mess up your brain last night?! Who are you protecting? That scumbag who used you, threw you here, left you to a bunch of reporters, didn't even bother to buy you a box of contraceptives, and then disappeared?!"

Shen Zhixue must be utterly embarrassed.

He considered Lu Qingyan a good friend.

No one would want to show such an unsightly side to a good friend.

Shen Zhixue exhaled softly and whispered: "Just consider my brain messed up, huh... Do you have anything else? If not, go back. I'm tired; I'll go home and sleep."

After saying that, he blinked lightly, lowered his head, and turned to walk out.

Only then did Lu Qingyan realize how hurtful his words were. He watched Shen Zhixue, covered in someone else's marks, his whole body soaked in the scent of sandalwood—someone else's scent.

The scent of an unknown, utterly despicable Alpha.

He was so angry he could kill someone. It was supposed to be his, everything was going so smoothly.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, some inexplicable person had tainted what he was determined to have.

Words spoken are like water spilled; Lu Qingyan couldn't take them back now. Shen Zhixue had already left the suite.

——

Shen Zhixue rubbed his aching waist and first went to the pharmacy near the hotel to buy the medicine he hadn't managed to get earlier.

The clerk looked at him with pity in their eyes.

Shen Zhixue then realized how terrible he looked: his exposed skin was covered in marks, his lips were chapped, and his eyes were swollen like walnuts.

To passersby, he probably looked like a pitiful worm, played with and discarded by an Alpha, having to buy contraceptives himself, without even water to take them, squatting at the pharmacy entrance, expressionlessly chewing them.

Honestly, it was the first time the clerk had seen someone take contraceptives like that, and it was quite shocking. Perhaps because he looked so pitiful, the clerk went inside and brought him a cup of water.

Shen Zhixue sighed, thinking there are still good people in the world. After drinking the water, he tossed the disposable cup into the trash and returned to the hotel.

He glanced at his wrist; his communicator had been blocked since yesterday, likely set by Jiang Huizhou while he was dazed.

Shen Zhixue opened the block settings, and countless messages popped up from his communicator, the first being Lu Qingyan's calls from yesterday.

He wasn't kidding—there were exactly 131 call attempts.

Shen Zhixue covered his forehead.

Damn, this emotional debt is never-ending.

The rest were calls from Jiang Xingliu and Du Du, likely calling to check on him when he didn't return last night.

Shen Zhixue found a set of clothes that fit. Although they couldn't completely cover the marks on his body, they could hide most of them, at least making him less conspicuous.

He returned to the hotel and requested to view the hotel's surveillance footage under the pretext of having lost something of his own.

The hotel manager, a stern-looking middle-aged man, seemed to have been bribed by someone, as if he had anticipated Shen Zhixue's request to check the footage, and adamantly refused to grant him access.

Shen Zhixue thought for a moment and then sent a communication to Wan Chenghan.

You wouldn't believe it, but in an empire where the military holds sway, the title of Major General Wan, the young master, is incredibly useful.

With just one phone call from Wan Chenghan, the manager obediently allowed Shen Zhixue into the surveillance room.

"Remember this, all of you," Wan Chenghan's voice came through the communication. "Shen Zhixue, Shen Zhixue, you must understand that the gifts of fate have already been secretly marked with a price..."

"I'll treat you to a meal," Shen Zhixue said as he checked the surveillance footage. "Two meals."

Wan Chenghan sat on the sofa, legs crossed, sipping coffee. Since he was no longer blinded by Yexue, he had become somewhat normal. To Shen Zhixue, he was just an older child with a temper and a bit of a tsundere attitude, but still tolerable.

His previous devotion to Yexue was genuine, treating her as his own Omega.

It was a pure heart, quite unlike a certain old fox.

Here, a special mention goes to a certain Jiang.

Wan Chenghan raised an eyebrow. "Where are we eating?"

"Hmm?" Shen Zhixue was focused on the surveillance footage and responded distractedly, "Where do you want to go?"

Wan Chenghan suddenly said, "Why eat out? I heard from Lu Qingyan that you're a good cook. I want to eat what you make."

"Alright," Shen Zhixue frowned as he watched the footage, then coldly said, "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. We'll talk next time."

Wan Chenghan widened his eyes in shock, as if he had never seen such a heartless scoundrel. "Wait, I—"

The communication was ruthlessly cut off.

Shen Zhixue watched the surveillance footage and saw Jiang Shuiling meet two men after leaving the restroom. She handed them a small glass bottle and then casually turned and walked away.

Shen Zhixue zoomed in on the faces of the two men and realized they were not the same men he had seen in the fire escape the previous night.

In other words, the men he saw last night were not Jiang Shuiling's people.

Shen Zhixue dragged the progress bar further and saw a man pour the contents of a transparent bottle into a glass, then exchanged a glance with a waiter serving drinks before approaching a masked man.

Shen Zhixue could roughly tell from the figure that it was Jiang Huizhou... this guy had been pretending to be lame all along.

The drugged drink successfully ended up in Jiang Huizhou's hands.

Shen Zhixue watched as he tilted his head back and drank it.

Logically, Jiang Shuiling didn't know that the president of Chengfeng Group was Jiang Huizhou, and she had no connection with the president of Chengfeng Group. Moreover, she had always liked Lu Qingyan. Why would she drug Jiang Huizhou?

Shen Zhixue narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something.

He paused, dragged the progress bar back a bit, and zoomed in.

He saw Jiang Huizhou holding the glass, pretending to drink, but the liquid actually flowed down his wrist to his arm.

Jiang Huizhou never drank that glass at all!

Shen Zhixue shot to his feet, his eyes glued to the surveillance footage as Jiang Huizhou followed a man in a suit into the elevator.

So, Jiang Huizhou had been playing along all along.

He’d faked being poisoned and walked right into this trap—on purpose!

What the hell was Jiang Huizhou’s goal?

Shen Zhixue had a gut feeling something was off. He scoured the footage for the two faces he’d spotted in the stairwell last night. Soon, he found them.

The person they were talking to... wasn’t Jiang Shuiling—it was Ji Yuan?!

Shen Zhixue hadn’t spent much time with Ji Yuan and couldn’t judge based on body shape, but he recognized the watch on Ji Yuan's wrist. He’d even envied it back then—a diamond-studded Austrian crystal watch worth a fortune.

So, the two guys in the stairwell yesterday were Jiang Huizhou’s lackeys?

Jiang Huizhou had never been caught in the trap—he’d set it. The only one who fell into it was Shen Zhixue.

Shen Zhixue let out a bitter, teeth-gritting laugh.

Fine, Jiang Huizhou, you’re one hell of a schemer.

He calmed himself down and continued watching, skipping the part where he barged into Jiang Huizhou's room.

He couldn’t bear to watch how stupid he’d been.

The reporters who showed up later were likely summoned by Jiang Shuiling.

She’d come to check if the drugging had taken out Chengfeng Group’s CEO. If the Jiang family could seize Chengfeng Group, they’d keep their grip on Capital Star.

But instead, she caught Shen Zhixue wheeling someone out...

Once Shen Zhixue connected the dots, he started feeling sick. Ever since taking those two pills, he’d been drowsy and struggling to stay awake.

He wondered if it was a side effect.

As he reached for the door, dizziness hit him, and he stumbled forward.

Just before he hit the floor, an arm caught him, pulling him into a familiar hold.

The scent of sandalwood—familiar, yet infuriating.

But now, it filled his senses, making his stomach churn.

Shen Zhixue looked up sharply and met Jiang Huizhou's cold eyes.

Jiang Huizhou sighed, "I step out for one thing, and you vanish. What are you even doing?"

"Back off," Shen Zhixue hissed, shoving Jiang Huizhou away. "Get the hell out!"

Jiang Huizhou glanced at the surveillance room behind him and immediately understood what Shen Zhixue had discovered. He lifted Shen Zhixue into his arms. "You’re burning up. Stay still. If you’re mad, save it for when you’re not sick."

Shen Zhixue grabbed Jiang Huizhou's collar, gritting his teeth, "Jiang Huizhou, you bastard!"

"Mm," Jiang Huizhou replied with a smirk, "I’ve never claimed to be a saint, Zhi Zhi."