Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zhou Huaichen was swamped all day, not only with the film studio project but also with two acquisition cases that demanded his attention. He barely had time for a sip of water.

Only after the meeting did he notice Ye Weian’s messages.

Looking at those two lines and the two emojis, the corners of his lips involuntarily curved upwards.

Thinking of Ye Weian sending cute emojis with a deadpan expression, he felt as if something had lightly tickled his heart.

He held down the voice message button, let out a soft chuckle, and said, "Only a rabbit?"

Ye Weian heard the notification, saw that Zhou Huaichen had replied, and immediately clicked to listen.

Through the internet, Zhou Huaichen’s voice lost some of its richness; even the "grape flavor" seemed to fade considerably.

He felt a bit regretful but couldn’t help listening to it several times.

The system, seeing him listen repeatedly, couldn’t take it anymore and reminded him, "Aren’t you going to reply to him?"

Ye Weian’s attention was focused on Zhou Huaichen’s voice, but he hadn’t paid attention to what Zhou Huaichen had actually said.

He listened carefully to the content again and finally understood what Zhou Huaichen meant. He immediately searched for emojis and sent them all.

Ye: [Puppy being cute.jpg]

Ye: [Kitten being cute.jpg]

…

Ye: [Sloth being cute.jpg]

Ye: [Blue whale being cute.jpg]

He sent over a dozen emojis in one go, each featuring a different animal.

He was using his actions to tell Zhou Huaichen: How could it just be a rabbit? A quick search shows there are all kinds of animals!

The system, watching its host’s actions, suddenly began to doubt whether choosing this host for the mission was a mistake.

The host was truly a straight arrow, and also an expressionless Zombie King. Having the host try to win over Yan Qing, that crowd-pleaser, sounded incredibly difficult.

Thinking back to the host’s earlier move of handing over a detailed statement to Yan Qing and demanding he pay back 700 million—that audacious move—the system felt even more despairing.

...

An assistant brought coffee in for Zhou Huaichen. He took a sip and nearly choked when he saw the dozen or so messages from Ye Weian.

...The head of the Ye family was more interesting than he had imagined.

His fingertips lightly brushed the screen as he flipped through the dozen or so cute animal emojis. Thinking of Ye Weian sending them with a serious expression, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and the fatigue of the day seemed to vanish all at once.

Zhou Huaichen set down his coffee and replied with a voice message: "Then what are you?"

After listening to the voice message, Ye Weian was completely baffled.

Asking what animal he was?

He wasn’t an animal—he was the Zombie King!

Unfortunately, there were no cute Zombie King emojis. He considered whether he should hire someone to draw a Zombie King series, with the best one definitely being the Zombie King acting cute.

Zhou Huaichen waited for a long time without a reply. Thinking of Ye Weian’s deadpan face deep in thought, he found it incredibly endearing, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He signed the last document and handed it to his assistant, planning to head off work while waiting for Ye Weian’s reply.

Zhou Yongnan suddenly burst into the office, agitated, and said, "Uncle, you have to help me!"

Zhou Huaichen asked the assistant to step out and calmly asked, "What is it?"

"Ye Weian is demanding Yan Qing pay back 700 million!" Zhou Yongnan blurted out the whole story indignantly. "He was the one who eagerly invested in Yan Qing before, and now he’s demanding repayment—what kind of behavior is that? He’s not a real man!"

Yan Qing had come to him in tears, asking to borrow money. As the eldest young master of the Zhou family, he received substantial annual dividends from the family fund, and the assets given to him by elders over the years definitely added up to 700 million. However, all that money was controlled by his parents, and he couldn’t access it. Even if he could, he wouldn’t dare give Yan Qing 700 million all at once. If the elders found out, his legs would surely be broken.

That was 700 million, not 70,000!

Zhou Huaichen had heard a little about how Ye Weian had spent a fortune to make Yan Qing famous a couple of years ago. Over a billion was no small sum... Thinking of how well Ye Weian had treated Yan Qing, he felt somewhat displeased.

However, that day when he heard Ye Weian’s inner thoughts, he felt that Ye Weian probably didn’t do it out of affection for Yan Qing.

Now, hearing that Ye Weian was demanding repayment from Yan Qing, Zhou Huaichen’s mood improved considerably.

He looked up at Zhou Yongnan: "So, you came to me—what do you want to do?"

Zhou Yongnan clenched his fists: "Can you lend me 700 million? Yan Qing asked to borrow money, and I want to give it to him." Afraid Zhou Huaichen might refuse, he anxiously added, "Ye Weian is threatening Yan Qing with the 700 million—either repay the money or commit to being with him wholeheartedly. Yan Qing is my boyfriend. Ye Weian, that jerk, is totally taking advantage of the situation..."

Before he could finish, he heard a harsh sound.

Zhou Huaichen slammed the coffee cup heavily onto the desk and glared at him coldly.

"...Uncle?" Zhou Yongnan was somewhat frightened and cautiously studied his expression.

Zhou Huaichen asked coldly, "Ye Weian told Yan Qing to break up with you and be with him instead?"

"Yes!" Speaking of this, Zhou Yongnan’s anger flared up again. "Just because he has a few lousy bucks, how dare he threaten Yan Qing!"

At this point, he couldn’t help but plead, "Uncle, you have to help me! I’m the eldest young master of the Zhou family, representing the Zhou family’s dignity. How can I let Ye Weian trample over me? Isn’t this an embarrassment to the Zhou family?"

Zhou Huaichen remained silent, just staring at him without a word.

Zhou Yongnan originally intended to say a few more derogatory things about Ye Weian, but noticing his uncle’s unpleasant, even grim, expression, he didn’t dare utter another word.

After a long while, he cautiously asked, "Uncle, are the acquisition cases not going well?"

He didn’t know much about company matters, but a few days ago, he accidentally overheard his grandfather and uncle chatting at the old residence and learned that the Zhou family planned to acquire two foreign shipping companies.

Zhou Huaichen rubbed his temples but didn’t answer the question. He only said, "Take my advice and break up with your boyfriend as soon as possible."

Zhou Yongnan’s eyes widened instantly.

He was both furious and deeply confused.

His uncle never interfered in his personal affairs. He and Yan Qing had been together for two years, and his uncle had never expressed an opinion. Why would he suddenly show dissatisfaction with Yan Qing now?

Actually, his family had never been very satisfied with Yan Qing. That day, when he went home to ask his grandfather for help dealing with Ye Weian, his grandfather, upon learning that Yan Qing had provoked Ye Weian first, clearly stated that he didn’t want to get involved in the younger generation’s matters...

But he had no choice—he just liked Yan Qing too much. The thought of Yan Qing leaving him broke his heart.

"Uncle, please help me..." He clasped his hands together and pleaded softly.

Zhou Huaichen: "Go ask your parents."

Zhou Yongnan had only come to beg Zhou Huaichen because he didn’t dare ask his parents. But seeing that Zhou Huaichen was determined not to help, he had no choice but to leave resentfully.

Alone in the office, Zhou Huaichen sat on the sofa, lost in thought over Zhou Yongnan’s words, not moving for a long time.

Sometime later, he received a message from Ye Weian—

Ye: [I’m not an animal, I’m the Zombie King.]

As if worried he might be scared, Ye Weian quickly sent another message—

Ye: [The Zombie King isn’t scary at all—he’s chill and handsome. You should look it up.]

Zhou Huaichen couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his absurd remarks.

But the thought of him using 700 million yuan to force Yan Qing to be with him made Zhou Huaichen’s heart sink again.

It was almost 10 p.m. Zhou Huaichen rubbed his thumb against his index finger, then opened the chat and typed—

Zhou Huaichen: [You owe me a meal. Buy me dinner tomorrow, okay?]

He had originally planned to take things slow and didn’t want to use this opportunity so soon.

But he really wanted to know the truth about the 700 million yuan.

Ye Weian received the message and replied casually with one word: [Okay.]

Just a meal—it wasn’t like this world was a post-apocalyptic wasteland with scarce resources. It wouldn’t cost much at all.

The system, having observed the entire exchange between its host and Big Boss Zhou, felt strangely concerned: [Host, you and Zhou Huaichen are acting strange. Very strange.]

Ye Weian: "?"

System: [Are the two of you going on a date tomorrow? What about Yan Qing?]

Ye Weian set his phone aside and said casually, "What about him? Wait until he comes crying and begging me."

System: "..."

*

The next day, after handling some work at the company, Ye Weian drove to a private restaurant for lunch.

The restaurant was chosen by Zhou Huaichen, located in a traditional courtyard house.

Zhou Huaichen arrived first. Just as he entered the private room, there was a knock on the door.

Yan Qing walked in, on the verge of tears as he gazed at him: "Mr. Zhou, can you help me?"

Zhou Huaichen narrowed his eyes and looked at the restaurant owner, who had followed Yan Qing in.

The owner, an old friend of his, winked at him: "The big star begged so desperately just to see you. Cut him some slack."

Yan Qing was already tearfully pleading: "I’m being threatened by Mr. Ye. I’ve asked many people, but no one dares to offend him. Even Yongnan can’t help me. You’re the only one in this world who can save me..."

"Please leave," Zhou Huaichen said politely, his gaze still fixed not on Yan Qing but on the restaurant owner.

Knowing he had angered him, the owner didn’t dare delay any longer and promptly half-dragged, half-escorted Yan Qing out.

Ye Weian happened to arrive just then and, seeing Yan Qing leaving, remarked with surprise: "Are you here to see me?"

Tears still glistened at the corners of Yan Qing’s eyes as he stared at Ye Weian resentfully, saying nothing.

Ye Weian, oblivious to his emotions, continued: "Here to pay me back?"

Yan Qing gritted his teeth: "I don’t have the money."

Ye Weian said, "Oh, so you’ve chosen to be with me instead?"

Yan Qing remained silent.

Ye Weian asked the system, puzzled: "What’s wrong with him?"

System: "..."

Just then, Zhou Huaichen emerged.

Ye Weian immediately brushed off his confusion and waved at Zhou Huaichen.

Zhou Huaichen didn’t even glance at Yan Qing and smiled faintly at Ye Weian: "Let’s go to the private room. It’s quieter there."

Ye Weian nodded and walked alongside Zhou Huaichen.

After a few steps, he turned back to Yan Qing: "If you’re not proactive about repaying debts, there’s something wrong with your head."

Yan Qing: "..."

Zhou Huaichen’s lips curled slightly.

Ye Weian paid no further attention to Yan Qing and asked Zhou Huaichen as they walked: "Did you look it up?"

Zhou Huaichen’s gaze rested on his face: "Hmm?"

Ye Weian: "The chill and handsome Zombie King. Did you look it up?"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

Author's Note: