Chapter 30: Xie Huai

Chapter 30 Xie Huai

"You..." Xie Ya trailed off, so angry he couldn’t find the words. He had known Zhou Zuofei would become his worst nightmare.

The customers he encountered at the bar, though difficult, were usually manageable—some even handled effortlessly.

Because he understood exactly what each person wanted. Some were drawn to his looks, others to vanity, thinking that if they could "tame" someone others couldn’t, it would be a point of pride.

But Zhou Zuofei was the exception—immune to both charm and threats, impossible to pin down.

Not only that, she would occasionally drop hints to unsettle him, giving him the unsettling feeling that she had already seen through his act but was choosing to wait and watch.

It was like the ever-looming Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

Xie Ya knew that if he didn’t handle Zhou Zuofei properly, his identity would be exposed sooner or later. She might even turn around and call Cen Huan.

But if she was just after money, things would be much simpler.

Xie Ya forced himself to stay calm. "You don’t know my brother. He’s not the type to be blackmailed, so you won’t get a single cent from him. Might as well start by squeezing me instead."

Zhou Zuofei only found this more amusing. "What if I’m not after money?"

Twenty grand wasn’t peanuts, but passing it up for a laugh was far more entertaining.

Xie Ya took a deep breath. The noise outside the door was growing louder—he could even hear Zhan Zilang loudly stage-whispering to warn him.

*Huai-ge*, you must’ve seen wrong. Xie Ya’s in City A for university, isn’t he?"

"Yeah, I even met him there last time."

Clenching his jaw, Xie Ya turned back to Zhou Zuofei. "A hundred grand."

Her expression flickered with interest. As expected, every problem was just a matter of price. On one hand, Xie Ya thought it was a sick joke, but on the other, he was relieved it worked.

Just as he thought he’d successfully persuaded her, she tapped her head and said, "Look—I’d love to earn that money, but I can’t sell my soul."

Xie Ya leaned against the door, hearing footsteps closing in.

Through clenched teeth, he asked, "Then what do you actually want?"

"If you’re asking for a favor, shouldn’t you at least show the right attitude?" Zhou Zuofei shrugged. "Since you’re so against begging, as neighbors, I’ll give you an idea—help yourself..."

She pointed at the window. "Jump," she said, as if it were obvious.

Xie Ya stared at her in disbelief before his face darkened with rage.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m not telling you to die. There’s a platform outside—you can climb down."

She’d discovered it earlier while wandering around.

The platform outside the window was a cinch to climb. At the time, she’d even thought, *Isn’t this just inviting thieves?*

But then she realized her worry was laughable. Who’d ever seen a luxury home with bars on the windows? Their security measures were probably concentrated on the perimeter—no thief could even breach the gates.

But hey, now it could help Xie Ya escape.

Zhou Zuofei was no fan of Xie Ya, but without knowing the full situation, she wouldn’t jump into the fray. If he could escape, more power to him. If not? Tough luck.

As for the 100,000 yuan, saying she wasn’t tempted would be a lie, but it wasn’t enough to make her reckless.

If the other party were to transfer a million to her right now, she wouldn’t hesitate—she’d carry Xie Ya downstairs in a heartbeat.

Xie Ya had no way out now. Stepping outside would mean certain death, and continuing to negotiate with Zhou Zuofei seemed futile. Time was running out for him.

After a quick assessment, he dashed to the window and confirmed what Zhou Zuofei had said.

At that moment, he felt as if he had been given a way out when all seemed lost.

Now he truly couldn’t figure out what Zhou Zuofei wanted. She could have taken the money and offered him an escape, yet she refused—but was still willing to provide information.

Xie Ya turned back and gave Zhou Zuofei a conflicted glance.

Just as he was about to say something, a knock sounded at the door. There was no time left to hesitate. Like a reflex, he deftly swung over the windowsill and hit the outside platform with a loud thud.

The knocking stopped abruptly, followed by Zhan Zilang’s concerned voice: "Zhou-jie, you alright?"

Only then did Zhou Zuofei slowly rise and walk over to open the door.

A group waited outside, but there was clearly a stranger in the mix.

The man at the forefront was tall, dressed in a crisp black suit. His features bore a passing resemblance to Xie Ya’s, but his demeanor was more hard-edged, almost severe, exuding a familiar aura—much like Ling Yu.

Was this Xie Ya’s brother?

Zhou Zuofei’s thoughts raced, and she quickly pieced together the truth. So Xie Ya’s “poor” act was a lie—the whole "dropping out to pay debts" story was probably fake.

As she pondered, Xie Huai was also studying the woman before him.

Though he and Zhan Zilang were of different ages and didn’t interact much, he had a general idea of the backgrounds of the kids in their little circle.

The woman in front of him wore light makeup and professional attire, radiating office-worker energy—nothing like someone raised in a wealthy family.

At first glance, she seemed ordinary, but there was something off about her, making him look twice.

Zhan Zilang, standing behind Xie Huai, quickly spoke up: "Zhou-jie, what happened just now?"

As he asked, he threw Zhou Zuofei a pointed glance.

Though he hadn’t had the chance to warn her, he trusted that her quick thinking would save her.

"Nothing, just tripped over something," Zhou Zuofei replied, playing it up by rubbing her knee.

The man who was likely Xie Ya’s brother finally spoke. His voice was smooth and deep, like aged whiskey. Though his words sounded like a request, his tone left no room for refusal.

"Apologies for the disturbance. I’d like to come in and take a look—if that’s alright?"

Zhou Zuofei was used to this song and dance. Every middle manager at her job pulled this power-play crap.

The only difference was that this man had a stronger presence and a more pleasant voice—no wonder they were brothers.

She immediately looked to Zhan Zilang. This wasn’t her room—she had no say in the matter.

Seeing Zhan Zilang nod at her, she stepped aside without protest.

The man walked in like he owned the place. The others stayed outside, standing obediently by the door, holding their breaths—a stark contrast to their earlier rowdiness.

Zhou Zuofei leaned toward Zhan Zilang and whispered, "Who is that?"

The other replied, "Xie Huai."

"Xie Huai..." Zhou Zuofei repeated, though it was clear the name meant nothing to her. She paused before asking, "Could you tell me a bit more?"

"Well..." Zhan Zilang was at a loss for how to introduce him. Among their circle, Xie Huai was a prominent figure—there was no one who didn’t know the name, even if they hadn’t met him in person. So, he couldn’t come up with a good explanation offhand.

Especially under these circumstances, he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Because right now, what worried him more was—had Xie Ya been found out?

He wanted to ask Zhou Zuofei, but feared Xie Huai might overhear, so he forced himself to stay silent.

Xie Huai scanned the room. Aside from display cabinets, there were several life-sized statues and shelves—no shortage of hiding spots. Naturally, he couldn’t search every nook and cranny—that would be both unseemly and disrespectful to the Zhan family.

So he only took a quick look around before stepping back.

Turning to Zhou Zuofei, he said, "Sorry to barge in. How should I address you?"

Indeed, someone who’d worked a real job knew how to mind manners better. Compared to Xie Ya, Xie Huai’s tone was just as haughty, but it felt way smoother.

Zhou Zuofei replied politely, "My surname is Zhou."

"Sorry, Miss Zhou. My surname is Xie."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Xie. I’ve long heard of your reputation."

Zhou Zuofei reeled off the niceties straight-faced, even though she’d only learned the name two minutes ago.

But Xie Huai saw right through it all too well.

He had heard their conversation clearly—not even a minute ago, she had been asking who Xie Huai was, and now she was pretending to be well-acquainted with him.

Most people would seem fake or scheming doing this, but for some reason, it didn’t provoke much distaste in him.

Perhaps it was her demeanor—sharp but not gullible, a faint smile on her lips, her tone neither submissive nor arrogant, with no ass-kissing vibes.

This only confirmed Xie Huai’s suspicion—she truly knew nothing about him.

Zhan Zilang, sensing the awkwardness, jumped in, "Brother Huai, see? I told you Xie Ya definitely isn’t here. I didn’t even know he was back. Don’t worry, if I see him, I’ll definitely let you know—no, I’ll personally drag his ass back."

The others chimed in, all on the same page—to get Xie Huai out of there as soon as possible.

Such an obvious act couldn’t fool Xie Huai. Unhurried, he said, "Since I’m already here, I’ll say hi to the old man."

Zhan Zilang could only put on a grin and respond carefully, "Then I’ll accompany you."

When Zhou Zuofei first arrived, Zhan Zilang had mentioned that his parents were hardly ever around, and his grandfather lived alone in the guest house out back.

With the matter seemingly resolved, Zhou Zuofei figured she’d get back to gaming. Given the situation, Zhan Zilang was gonna be tied up for a while.

Just as Xie Huai passed by her, she suddenly felt something off. Looking up, she found him sizing her up—his pitch-black eyes giving nothing away, his gaze setting off her creep radar.

She chose not to react and quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

It seemed she had underestimated the situation. His manners were probably just for show.

Plenty of people were like that, but most at least put in the effort to pretend convincingly. This guy, though...

What was this guy’s deal anyway?

After sitting down, Zhou Zuofei didn't immediately resume the game. Instead, she pulled out her phone and typed Xie Huai's name into the search engine.

Search results instantly flooded the screen.

Zhou Zuofei skimmed through a few authoritative websites and found that Xie Huai was the president of Shirui Group, as well as a representative of some business association, honorary advisor to a charity organization, and so on...

In short: a big shot you don’t mess with.

However, these written descriptions weren’t as clear as Zhan Zilang’s attitude—if even they couldn’t cross him, he must be someone even more formidable.

With such a powerful family background, how the hell did Xie Ya crash on Cen Huan’s couch for over a week?

Zhou Zuofei entered Xie Ya’s name into the search engine, but came up empty. She then returned to Xie Huai’s search page, where one news article clearly stated that Xie Huai was the only child in his family, and his father was also an only child. So who the heck is this ‘brother’ Xie Ya?

She couldn’t help but recall the over-the-top rich-family dramas she used to watch, filled with plots about switched identities, illegitimate children, and the like. Was life really this soap-opera-level messy?

It seemed she’d need to grill Zhan Zilang later.

Zhou Zuofei set her phone aside and resumed the game. Once immersed, she easily lost track of time. Zhan Zilang came back, saw her happily playing alone, and said he had stuff to do before leaving again.

By the time she finished a chapter, over two hours had passed. No way she’d finish today. It was nearly four o’clock now, and if she stayed any longer, they’d probably rope her into dinner.

So Zhou Zuofei started gathering her stuff to bail while shooting Zhan Zilang a text, asking if she could borrow the game disc.

As she waited for a reply, she heard movement outside the door and figured it was Zhan Zilang, so she went to open it.

However, it was just a housekeeper cleaning nearby, who greeted her immediately upon seeing her.

"Hello, miss. Do you need anything?"

"I was wondering where Zhan Zilang is."

"Mr. Zhan is in that room with his friends," the housekeeper said, jerking a thumb toward the room down the hall, then politely added, "Should I pass on a message?"

"No need, I’ll go ask him myself."

Zhou Zuofei thanked her, went back to grab her things, and headed toward the end of the hallway.

When she was still a few meters away from the room, she could already hear a bunch of voices talking over each other—everyone was chatting about people they knew.

Before she even reached the door, she heard someone loudly call out Zhan Zilang’s name.

"Dude, seriously? Everyone’s chatting, and you’re the only one on your phone!"

"Hold on, I’ll put it down after sending this message."

"Ohhh? What message is so important it can’t wait?"

"Yeah, yeah, who’s so important? Spill it."

"Just texting Sister Zhou."

Hearing her name unexpectedly, Zhou Zuofei stopped dead.

"She’s really your boss?"

"Yeah, she was the one who showed me the ropes when I joined the company."

"Then shouldn’t you be sucking up to her? Though you’ve always been clueless with girls—you should take notes from A Yang."

Another male voice chimed in, "Isn't it simple? A-Yang is the best at flirting with women. Let him charm your 'Ms. Zhou,' and then you can do whatever you please at work."

"Forget it, I don’t get involved with proper women—too much trouble."

"But professional wear looks best on real office workers..."

Seeing his friends crossing more and more lines, Zhan Zilang finished his message and immediately shut them down.

"Enough. This kind of talk is really disrespectful."

Truth be told, he'd long disliked this behavior from his friends. He had brought it up a few times, but compared to the others, his unwillingness to join in the teasing or boasting made him the square peg.

His friends knew he didn’t like it, so they usually kept it to themselves. Occasionally, they'd slip up, and he’d just let it go.

But today, the target of their teasing was someone he knew personally, and that discomfort was magnified tenfold. He couldn’t stand another word.

Seeing he was genuinely angry, his friends quickly reined it in.

Yet Zhan Zilang only felt a surge of frustration, because he knew the others didn’t actually see their casual teasing as a problem—they were just holding back because he disliked it.

But these were his childhood friends. Aside from this, they'd always had his back. Years of friendship wouldn’t be broken by such a minor issue.

He sighed and picked up the phone to ask the butler to arrange a car to take Ms. Zhou home. But after a brief exchange, he was told Zhou Zuofei had already left.

"When did she leave?"

"Just two minutes ago—she just walked out the gate."

"Why didn’t you arrange a car for her?"

"Ms. Zhou insisted. She said she’d cleared it with you."

A flash of confusion crossed Zhan Zilang’s mind—when had Ms. Zhou cleared it with him?

Just then, his phone vibrated. After hanging up, he saw Zhou Zuofei had sent him a waving goodbye sticker.

Zhan Zilang immediately asked why she hadn’t taken the car.

Her reply came shortly after:

[Just felt off. Needed to clear my head.]