Chapter 33: Sleeping Beauty and the Troublemaker

Chapter 33: Sleeping Beauty and the Troublemaker

Minglong's conference room.

When Tan Youming and Shen Zongnian arrived, Zhao Shengge was going over the daily hospital logs.

He carefully checked the same details every day, then gave them a slight nod, "Wait a moment."

His head is really round.

Zhao Shengge shut down the computer without expression.

Tan Youming sat down on the sofa. At first, he thought Zhao was working, but then noticed him taking a phone call. Although his voice was low, Tan could catch snippets like "soup," "nutrition," and "let him be."

Tan Youming poked Shen Zongnian's palm, signaling him to listen.

However, Zhao Shengge ended the call quickly, leaving Tan with no chance to gather more clues. As someone who digs deep, Tan couldn't resist asking before they started discussing business, "Whose call was that?"

Zhao Shengge played along with his curiosity, "The housekeeper."

Tan Youming asked, "What's going on?"

Zhao Shengge took the contract from his hand and skimmed through it, saying, "Her cat won't eat."

"..." Tan Youming felt Zhao was teasing him, "Is this some kind of new cold joke?"

Shen Zongnian also looked up.

Zhao Shengge didn't elaborate and got straight to the business at hand.

The meeting wasn't formal, but they talked until nightfall. After it ended, Tan Youming asked Zhao Shengge if he wanted to come with them to visit Chen Wan.

"Also, Jiang Ying is coming. Ah Xuan is accompanying him to Beidao today to buy a painting. We'll meet at the hospital."

Zhao Shengge declined, "No," he didn't want to go with a crowd, so he gave a casual excuse, "I have to go back to the old house tonight."

Zhao Maozheng had been urging him for days, probably to question him about what happened during the launch and celebration.

"Alright," Tan Youming thought Zhao Shengge was really cold-hearted and reminded him, "Don't skip the discharge party I'm hosting for Chen Wan. After all, his injury is somewhat your fault."

Zhao Shengge didn't immediately agree, just said, "We'll see about that."

"..."

The driver was already waiting in the parking lot. Zhao Shengge got into the back seat and, unlike usual, didn't immediately open his work files. There were several new photos on his phone.

Chen Wan was eating an apple, his eyelashes lowered, his lips very red, with what looked like water or juice dripping onto his fingers.

Chen Wan was working while on an IV, his face slightly pale, typing one-handed with a serious expression.

Chen Wan wasn't covering himself properly with the blanket, one foot sticking out, very white.

Zhao Shengge returned to the old house, and the servants began serving the meal.

The Zhao couple was also there; they had just returned from an art exhibition in Austria yesterday.

Zhao Min was into sculpture, and Wan He painted, the couple "harmonious," the kind of "artists" money could buy.

Zhao Maozheng had realized early on that Zhao Min had no talent for business or politics, so he poured all his anger and hope into his eldest grandson, strictly training Zhao Shengge from a young age to ensure the family's legacy would continue.

Wan He asked Zhao Shengge if he has been busy recently.

Zhao Shengge, who wasn’t close to his parents, gave a brief reply.

Wan He then smiled and asked if Minglong had recently worked with the Xu family, mentioning that their eldest daughter was said to be very beautiful and capable, and inquired if Zhao Shengge knew about it.

Zhao Shengge said he didn’t know much about it.

"..."

Zhao Shengge’s tone was calm but cold, and Wan He and Zhao Min exchanged glances, not daring to ask more.

They had always been a little intimidated by their son.

When Zhao Shengge was young, his parents left him with the elders and traveled the world.

By the time they noticed, Zhao Shengge had grown from a cold teenager into an enigmatic and reserved young man.

Outsiders described Zhao Shengge as mysterious, but even his parents didn’t understand or get close to him.

Zhao Shengge didn’t judge his parents’ actions; he had never held any expectations for them.

In fact, he had no expectations for anyone, including himself.

In the crowded Zhao family mansion, what he carried was just a hollow, exaggerated, and meaningless sense of duty, heavy as a thousand pounds, with shackles, which Zhao Shengge had borne from the age of eight to twenty-eight, and would continue to bear.

From this angle, Chen Wan wasn’t wrong to think Zhao Shengge was kind.

A sense of responsibility and duty is also part of kindness.

The Zhao couple left right after dinner.

They were heading on a North American tour and mentioned they might not make it back for the New Year.

Zhao Shengge politely wished them well and left it at that.

They were a family of formalities.

Zhao Maozheng summoned Zhao Shengge: "Come to the study with me."

His son wasn’t cut out for it, so he was especially harsh on his eldest grandson.

The name Zhao Shengge was meant to ground him, not let him drift on empty promises.

Zhao Maozheng, used to absolute power, only grew more controlling with age: "Your parents are back, yet you don’t come home."

If not for Zhao Maozheng’s insistence, Zhao Shengge wouldn’t have shown up.

Zhao Shengge rarely returned to the old mansion; he didn’t have fond memories of it.

As an adult, Zhao Shengge avoided the spotlight, refusing interviews and photos, all to maintain his freedom.

And this place was the root of all his constraints.

"What’s keeping you so busy that you can’t even come home?"

It wasn’t a question, but Zhao Shengge didn’t care about Zhao Maozheng’s prying.

The old man, now a shadow of his former self, clung to a hollow authority, powerless to interfere. He sipped his tea, expertly deflecting: "Just handling some things."

"..."

Zhao Shengge felt no affection for Zhao Maozheng, but he could still speak politely to someone he disliked or felt no connection to, because if there was truly someone or something he couldn't tolerate, he would handle it in a more direct and straightforward manner.

Zhao Maozheng was momentarily speechless, his cloudy eyes sternly fixed on him: "Cut the word games. What? Do you think I'm old and can't control you anymore?"

"The matter with the Xu family, how do you plan to explain it to me? To them? To the public?"

He was visibly agitated, his cane banging loudly against the corner of the table, as if Zhao Shengge had committed some grave offense.

Zhao Shengge gave him a strange look: "First of all, my own affairs don't require explanation to anyone."

"Secondly, it was you who, without my knowledge or consent while I was abroad, publicly announced the engagement. You should be the one to explain to the Xu family, to the public, and even, if I were to pursue it, you would have to give me an explanation."

"..." Zhao Maozheng roared, "I have to give you an explanation?! Everything I did was for what reason!"

"Don't forget, Minglong has signed a ten-year plan with them, the financing for Beisha Island is still in the fundraising stage, and the construction site at Lychee Corner has just started."

"Well, I've restructured the financing, the construction site will be subcontracted, and as for the contract, I plan to negotiate a termination with the other party."

Zhao Shengge spoke politely, but it was infuriating. Zhao Maozheng was furious, shouting, "You backstabber!"

The old man took a breath: "Do you look down on Xu Zhiying? What about her isn't good enough for you?"

"On the contrary," Zhao Shengge said without any emotional fluctuation, "I have great admiration for her."

"In fact, I'm not exactly the best choice for her." In Zhao Shengge's heart, Xu Zhiying was an exceptionally outstanding woman, though this admiration had nothing to do with romantic love.

"Most importantly," Zhao Shengge told Zhao Maozheng, "I don't intend to be tied to the Zhao family. The person I want to partner with is Xu Zhiying herself." Zhao Shengge knew well that for a woman to reach such a position in the cutthroat world of business could only prove that she was more capable and outstanding than most men in the game.

To some extent, he admired Xu Zhiying.

"You don't dislike her, but you're unwilling to marry her. What," Zhao Maozheng's cloudy eyes remained sharp, "do you have someone else?"

Zhao Maozheng could only think of this possibility, but the spies he had placed around Zhao Shengge hadn't reported anything like this to him.

"What kind of person are we talking about?" He would never allow just anyone to enter the Zhao family.

Zhao Shengge didn't care about his probing, but perhaps because he himself hadn't fully figured it out, he thought seriously for a moment and answered cautiously: "Not at this point."

A very intriguing answer.

"Zhao Shengge, don't push my boundaries. You know I have ways to find out and ways to intervene."

"You likely can't anymore," Zhao Shengge, though young, spoke with the demeanor and authority of someone in a superior position. "If there ever comes a day, and there is such a person, they will be firmly in my grasp. They will be by my side, not tied to the Zhao family, Minglong, or any of the standards and frameworks you envision, but solely mine."

The backstabber Zhao Shengge had no morals or filial piety, but he didn't want to further provoke the old man, so he said, "Get some rest, don't stress too much—it's bad for your health," and turned to leave.

Zhao Maozheng called after him: "Zhao Shengge, do you still resent me?"

Zhao Shengge stopped in his tracks.

"Is it because of those burned models or that poor dog that was shot in the head?"

Zhao Shengge shook his head calmly, looking down, and said, "I don't have the time to hate you."

"But when you're gone, you can ask Bozhu if he hates you."

Bozhu, the puppy that thirteen-year-old Zhao Shengge rescued from a cardboard box on a rainy night, just a newborn, with a perfectly round head.

Without a driver, Zhao Shengge drove a boxy Land Cruiser himself, not heading directly back to his apartment in Central, but instead detouring through most of the city, speeding along the Binhai Avenue up to the Ring Road 375—the scene of the incident that night.

Desolate and by the sea, without guardrails, the damaged sections of the green belt and the cliffside railing had not yet been repaired, resembling monstrous creatures in the night.

Chen Wan was reckless.

Zhao Shengge once again realized this with utmost clarity.

The engine and impact performance of the Grand Cherokee Jeep were equivalent to the combined force of three ordinary Volkswagens. Calculating the distance needed to force an emergency brake within seconds of extreme speed, then cutting in to intercept—the probability of such extreme foresight succeeding was only one in ten million. If it failed, it would result in total destruction, with no remains left.

It's hard to say that someone capable of making such extreme decisions didn't harbor the resolve and death wish to perish together.

Zhao Shengge stepped on the accelerator without expression, the engine roaring as the wheels brutally crushed over this stretch of death zone.

An assistant called, reporting new developments in the case.

"They want to protect him, to ensure absolute safety, you might have to go over and talk personally, and also notify the higher-ups," the assistant suggested, as it involved criminal responsibility, Zhao Shengge would have to appear in person. "But this way, the time you previously asked me to clear for the day after tomorrow will be gone."

Zhao Shengge now somewhat regretted refusing Tan Youming and the others' suggestion to go to the hospital together earlier.

But he couldn't be at ease without pressing the matter firmly.

"I understand," Zhao Shengge glanced at the new photos received on his phone. Chen Wan was already asleep, with what should be flowers brought by Tan Youming and the others by the bedside—bellflowers, lilies, carnations—accentuating that classical face, reminding Zhao Shengge of some fairy tale about a sleeping beauty who would only wake with a kiss.

He really hadn't read those as a child; Zhao Shengge's early education lacked such warm moments as bedtime stories. Even the comics and storybooks lent by his international school classmates turned to ashes in Zhao Maozheng's wrath.

At ten, Zhao Shengge felt sorry and secretly bought new ones to return to his classmates, but he never again accepted comics and games shared by others.

Zhao Shengge looked at the photos in the dark for a while longer, then told the assistant, "Go prepare, we'll leave as soon as possible."

Despite the doctor's strong recommendation for Chen Wan to stay hospitalized for a full week, by the fifth day, Chen Wan firmly went through the discharge procedures. His company couldn't do without him for too long.

The auntie who had been taking care of him had grown fond of him and advised, "Mr. Chen, rest a few more days, health is important, money can't be earned all at once."

She had previously worked at the old residence, and after Zhao Shengge returned to the country, she was responsible for cooking for him. However, Zhao Shengge rarely came home on time at night, so the auntie seldom visited, never receiving such appreciative treatment as Chen Wan.

Chen Wan was good-looking and had a good temperament, eating whatever was made, drinking soup when told, eating fruit when told—the auntie had never seen such an obedient young man.

Chen Wan had lost a lot of weight due to the Wanbao Navigation project, but now he had regained some flesh and looked much more spirited.

The auntie felt sorry for Chen Wan, who had suffered so many injuries, and during his long hospitalization, apart from friends like Zhuo Shao, no relatives came to visit.

Occasionally hearing him on the phone with his mother, she was always either playing cards or shopping. Chen Wan said he was fine, and she quickly hung up.

Chen Wan smiled, "Auntie, I'm really fine, staying longer would just make me moldy."

He didn't know the auntie had been with the Zhao family for over a decade, thinking she was just temporarily hired by Zhao Shengge, and when leaving, he gave her a big red envelope.

The auntie returned it, "No need, Mr. Chen, this is my job." She had already received a generous salary from the young master—who said his friend was a workaholic and asked her to occasionally take photos to ensure he was really resting well.

Tan Youming learned from Zhuo Zhixuan that Chen Wan had been discharged early and began arranging his previous plan—to throw a discharge party for Chen Wan to ward off bad luck.

Chen Wan didn't want these young masters to go through the trouble for him and offered, "Tan Shao, I'll treat everyone, as a thank you for your concern during this time."

Tan Youming agreed and set a time with him.

Since Chen Wan was hosting, it was naturally up to him to invite everyone. Shen Zongnian, Jiang Ying, and a few other friends who usually hung out together had visited him in the hospital, so they were all to be invited. The tricky one was Zhao Shengge.

Zhao Shengge was hard to book, a consensus in the circle.

Chen Wan considered whether he could invite Zhao Shengge through Zhuo Zhixuan or Tan Youming, but he thought it might come off as insincere.

This was his hospital discharge party.

If he personally called every other friend but only sent a message through someone else for Zhao Shengge, it would be impolite and unfair.

After much deliberation, Chen Wan worked up the nerve to call Zhao Shengge's second assistant, politely extending his invitation.

The second assistant was also very polite, indicating that she would relay the message. However, she kindly suggested that Chen Wan might try calling Zhao Shengge directly for such a personal invitation, as it would increase the chances of successfully inviting him.

Chen Wan was surprised. Although he didn't know how the assistant knew, he indeed had Zhao Shengge's private number.

Zhao Shengge had given it to him during his hospital visit.

"Those people might not leave you alone. If you notice anything unusual, call me directly, anytime, don't wait."

Chen Wan was momentarily taken aback.

Are there even ten people in all of Hai who have Zhao Shengge's private number?

Had he really become one of the lucky ones?

Chen Wan tried to stay calm and said, "Okay."

Zhao Shengge noticed him studying the string of numbers with his head down and no follow-up reaction, so he added, "But I usually don't answer calls from unknown numbers."

Chen Wan paused, his excitement fizzling out like a popped balloon.

But then Zhao Shengge added, "You have to give me yours."

In a matter-of-fact tone, Chen Wan looked up and blinked slowly.

Author's note:

Ge starts laying the groundwork, big time.

Ge barely had a childhood, but Wanbao keeps reminding him of those fairy tale characters he never read, but he figures they must be something like that.