Chapter 75 Chance Meeting

Chapter 75: Chance Encounter

"You!"

Zhao Guangqian hadn't expected that even ten million yuan wouldn't sway Jiang Luo, and Jiang Luo's attitude left him both stunned and a little incensed.

Did the Zhao family owe him something?

Who owed him?

What kind of attitude was this?!

"We came to you first! To ask you to come home..."

Zhao Guangqian stepped forward, raising a finger to point at Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo rolled his eyes.

Zhao Shuo quickly intervened, blocking Zhao Guangqian. "Dad, Dad!" he urged.

Zhao Guangyuan, well aware of Zhao Guangqian's temper, also rushed over to pull him back, while saying to Jiang Luo: "Even if you don't want it, you shouldn't behave like this."

"We're speaking to you politely; how can you tell us to 'get lost' and even make us 'get lost'?"

Su Lan also stepped forward, utterly heartbroken and embarrassed in front of outsiders.

But she softened her tone and said: "Jiang Luo, please come home with us."

"Mom and Dad know we were wrong. Last April, when we came to find you, we should have brought you home."

"Let me apologize, okay?"

Jiang Luo ignored them completely, turning his head away with an exasperated look, refusing to meet their gaze.

He then gestured to Xiao Lu, telling him to find the security guard at the gate.

Zhang Ningfu stepped forward, facing Zhao Guangqian and the others, trying to mediate: "Boss, boss, let's talk calmly, calmly."

For a moment, the office was in an uproar.

Soon, pulled and escorted by Xiao Lu, Zhao Guangqian and the others finally exited the office.

Zhao Guangqian didn't want to leave and was forcibly dragged out.

He turned his head, fuming: "You little jerk! Don't you dare come home for the rest of your life!"

Zhao Shuo tugged at his arm: "Dad, Dad, watch your blood pressure."

"Let's go back for now."

Zhao Guangyuan also tried to persuade him.

Su Lan followed them out, head bowed, wiping away tears.

Xiao Lu brought up the rear, closing the office door.

As soon as it closed, inside the office, Jiang Luo rolled his eyes in exasperation, tossing the pen he had been holding onto the table, clearly annoyed.

Zhang Ningfu tried to smooth things over: "It's fine, it's fine, no big deal. Let's look at the blueprints, where were we just talking about?"

Wang Chuang reached out and patted Jiang Luo's shoulder to comfort him: "Don't mind them."

"Right, let's look at the blueprints, we'll continue."

The two foremen echoed.

The group then resumed their business discussion.

On the other side, Zhao Guangqian was grumbling as he was pushed into the passenger seat, so angry that he started swearing in dialect, repeatedly muttering "ce na."

Su Lan, who got into the car, broke down crying uncontrollably.

Zhao Guangyuan sighed, comforting Su Lan in the back seat. Zhao Shuo, also suppressing his anger, fastened his seatbelt and drove.

After leaving the factory, Zhao Guangqian ranted all the way: "What's that little brat so arrogant about?"

"Doesn't think ten million is enough?"

"Does he want a hundred million?"

"Why doesn't he just go to heaven!?"

Zhao Shuo couldn't help but say: "Dad, you shouldn't have mentioned giving him ten million."

"If you hadn't said it, he might not have been so arrogant. But once you did, he knew we were begging him to come home."

"Of course he's going to act arrogant."

Zhao Guangqian turned his head and snapped: "You don't understand a damn thing!"

"Money makes the world go round."

"If you had just given him money when he needed it and been good parents and a good brother, would this be happening now?"

"In the end, it's because you didn't handle things properly back then that he holds such a grudge against all of us—you and me!"

"You are most to blame!"

"Especially you!"

"You couldn't be a proper older brother to your own sibling; instead, you went and played brother to an outsider!"

Zhao Shuo got a bit irritated upon hearing this and retorted: "Dad! Ming Ming just isn't related to us by blood; he's not an outsider!"

"Enough, both of you say less."

Zhao Guangyuan, holding the still-crying Su Lan in the back seat, was getting a headache.

But Zhao Guangyuan already had an idea.

He calmly thought that the reason Jiang Luo was able to get a loan of ten million was likely because of Huo Zongzhuo.

He simply didn't believe Jiang Luo had the ability to secure such a massive amount of ten million.

Zhao Guangyuan thought of Huo Zongzhuo, his mind turning, and felt that if they wanted Jiang Luo to come home, they might need to start with Huo Zongzhuo.

He decided to reach out to Huo Zongzhuo later.

But little did Zhao Guangyuan know, he didn't need to take the initiative to find Huo Zongzhuo—Huo Zongzhuo already knew that the Zhao family had gone to the factory to find Jiang Luo and that things had ended very unpleasantly—

At that time in the office, there was a man who was the contractor responsible for the back factory area expansion.

This contractor was introduced to Jiang Luo by Huo Zongzhuo and was familiar with Huo Zongzhuo. Huo Zongzhuo had already given him a heads-up earlier: if anything happened at Jiang Luo’s place, he should give him a heads-up.

After leaving the office, the contractor wondered whether he should tell Huo Zongzhuo about what had just happened.

It was a family matter, not a factory issue—should he report it?

He thought it over, and the contractor still decided to call Huo Zongzhuo.

“Alright, I understand.”

Huo Zongzhuo was at his own company.

After hanging up, he stood by the window, hands in his pockets, and deliberately spent a few minutes thinking about the Zhao family’s situation.

Because of this, when he received Zhao Guangyuan’s call not long after, exchanged a few pleasantries, and was invited to have a meal together, Huo Zongzhuo made an excuse, saying he was out of town recently.

Zhao Guangyuan didn’t say much, chatted a bit more, and then said, “Zongzhuo, actually, I invited you for a meal, there's no big reason—I just wanted to talk to you about my youngest son.”

“What about Jiang Luo?”

Huo Zongzhuo played along, feigning ignorance.

*Sigh.*

Zhao Guangyuan sighed: “That child still refuses to come home.”

Huo Zongzhuo remained silent.

Zhao Guangyuan: “Zongzhuo, was it you who pulled strings and found connections for Jiang Luo, helping him secure a loan of ten million from Bank of China?”

Huo Zongzhuo immediately understood that Zhao Guangyuan didn’t even have the full story.

Or rather, Zhao Guangyuan had preconceived notions and simply didn’t believe Jiang Luo could get the money on his own.

Zhao Guangyuan neither understood Jiang Luo nor, as a father, had he tried to understand.

Seeing through this, Huo Zongzhuo’s enthusiasm for the call waned, and he said calmly, “Director Zhao, I’m a businessman. Businessmen don’t do unprofitable ventures just for show. Jiang Luo needed ten million—what reason would I have to help him secure that loan?”

“What benefit would it bring me to help him get ten million?”

Zhao Guangyuan paused on the other end of the line: “It wasn’t you?”

“No.”

Huo Zongzhuo couldn’t be bothered to continue the conversation. Before hanging up, he said slowly, “Director Zhao, this son is yours. You came to me wanting to talk, but honestly, it won't lead anywhere.”

“All I can say is, people have feelings.”

“If you nurture it, nurture it gently and sincerely—it will surely warm up. But if you hurt it, even without a sharp blade, the wound can run deep.”

“Jiang Luo refuses to come home—there must be a reason.”

“That reason is what matters most.”

The implication was that whether he returned home or not wasn’t the key issue.

The Zhao family had been fixated on this, which meant they were looking in the wrong direction.

After hanging up, Zhao Guangyuan sank into thought for a long time.

Why exactly was Jiang Luo refusing to come home and acknowledge them?

Was it because back in April, they didn’t bring him home immediately, and he held a grudge?

Or was it because he hated Zhao Mingshi for stealing the life that should have been his, while they still treated Zhao Mingshi as a son and kept him at home?

They offered him money, but he didn’t care—so it wasn’t about money?

What did Jiang Luo really want?

What was he really thinking?

His adoptive parents were one thing, but did he not want his biological parents either?

…

As for Jiang Luo, he had already put the day’s little episode behind him.

Yes, the Zhao family was well-off, Zhao Guangqian was a big boss, and Zhao Guangyuan later held a high position—but so what?

He didn’t care about any of it; he paid it no mind.

That afternoon, he received a call from Huo Zongzhuo: “Want to have dinner together tonight?”

Jiang Luo was in the factory area at the time, watching as the first batch of equipment just brought back from the port was moved into the workshop.

When Huo Zongzhuo suggested dinner, Jiang Luo raised his hand, glanced at his Omega wristwatch, and said, “Can’t do. The equipment’s here, and I can’t leave.”

Huo Zongzhuo: “Then I’ll come to you?”

“Sure.”

Jiang Luo: “Perfect timing—come help me move the equipment. An extra mouth means an extra pair of hands.”

Huo Zongzhuo backtracked: “Actually, I just remembered I have something else…”

Jiang Luo cut him off with a laugh: “Get lost! Who’d believe you? Hurry up and come help me move the equipment.”

Huo Zongzhuo said, feigning offense: “Your attitude’s getting worse lately—now you’re telling me to get lost.”

Jiang Luo retorted confidently: “Are you coming or not?”

Huo Zongzhuo’s tone turned exceptionally gentle: “Alright, I’ll be right there.”

“That’s more like it.”

Jiang Luo snorted, then added: “Bring me some KFC from the Dongfeng Hotel.”

Huo Zongzhuo spoke as if coaxing a child: “Western fast food isn’t healthy.”

Jiang Luo snorted again: “Do I look like a kid to you?”

“Aren’t you?”

Huo Zongzhuo said with a hint of laughter: “Apart from not sharing my surname, how are you not like a kid in my family?”

He stated decisively: “No KFC. I’ll bring you some dishes from the Peace Hotel instead.”

Jiang Luo: "Hmph!"

Huo Zongzhuo laughed: "What are you hmphing about? No respect, I'll spank you."

Huo Zongzhuo went to the Peace Hotel, ordered food, had it packed, and waited at an empty table near the door in the Dragon-Phoenix Hall on the eighth floor, casually flipping through the recent menu.

While browsing, someone suddenly said: "Director Huo?"

Huo Zongzhuo looked up and saw an "old friend," Xue Zhizhong.

Xue Zhizhong, realizing it was indeed Huo Zongzhuo, said excitedly: "Zongzhuo! Long time no see. Why are you here alone?"

He then called out to the waiter at the door: "What's wrong with you people? How could you let Director Huo sit by the door?"

"Zhizhong."

Huo Zongzhuo didn't stand up, just smiled: "No problem. I'm waiting for my take-out order."

"Oh, right."

Xue Zhizhong had a few people with him. He told them to go ahead, pulled up a chair, sat down beside Huo Zongzhuo, and made friendly small talk with him, exchanging a few pleasantries about family matters, where they spent the Spring Festival, and so on.

Huo Zongzhuo's attitude was neither warm nor cold, just giving brief responses.

"By the way,"

Xue Zhizhong said: "I recently heard you snagged some parcels of land in Pudong, Zongzhuo?"

He then casually chatted a bit more about the land acquisition and Pudong.

Xue Zhizhong smiled: "Director Huo, actually, I'm quite interested in getting into real estate too. You see..."

Huo Zongzhuo knew Xue Zhizhong wanted to ride his coattails.

He didn't mind this; many people sought connections through him. As long as they were useful, it was fine.

Huo Zongzhuo: "Stop by my company sometime to talk."

"Good, good. I'll definitely visit another day, for sure. I'll go as soon as I have time."

Xue Zhizhong was very sycophantic.

After chatting a bit more, Huo Zongzhuo checked his watch: "You have dinner plans here, right? You should get to that."

"Alright then, I'll head out."

Xue Zhizhong stood up and added: "Did you pay for this meal yet? If not, let me get it. I'll pay. Zongzhuo, you can just take your order and leave later."

"Okay, thanks."

Huo Zongzhuo didn't refuse, knowing that if he did, he'd have to engage in more pointless back-and-forth with Xue Zhizhong.

He couldn't deal with it.

Xue Zhizhong left. Shortly after, Huo Zongzhuo got his packed meal and left as well.

But Xue Zhizhong, upon entering the restaurant, thought of something else. He remembered last year when he tried to get in good with Huo Zongzhuo by offering him a young boy, but that boy ran off.

Xue Zhizhong also recalled that he had people look for the boy afterward but couldn't find him. Instead, he received a call from the vice bureau chief of the district public security bureau, learning that the boy had connections—his father was apparently some Director in Pudong.

Xue Zhizhong had mostly forgotten all this. Now, meeting Huo Zongzhuo again and intending to ride the Pudong development wave, he thought: *Director or whatever, who cares? A Director won't let me get into real estate with him.*

Since he was trying to get in with Huo Zongzhuo, he naturally had to flatter him.

Xue Zhizhong started scheming again, thinking since he knew Huo Zongzhuo was into this sort of thing, he must find a way to send him another pretty boy another day, just like the previous one.

At the worksite, Huo Zongzhuo hadn't arrived yet. Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang were moving boxes and equipment, sweating through their clothes and covered in grime.

Wang Chuang laughed heartily at Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo also laughed at Wang Chuang: "You look ridiculous."

The two of them were working with the same energy, just like when they went to Wenzhou to do business back in the day.