Chapter 99 Offering Tribute

Chapter 99: The Offering

An Qiao committed suicide in her dorm room, leaving a suicide note that expressed her hatred for Zhao Mingshi, accusing him of deceiving her emotions and exploiting her physically. The news spread like wildfire, quickly escalating into a major scandal.

Zhao Mingshi was summoned repeatedly by his counselor, department, and college administration. The university was in an uproar, and Zhao Mingshi was utterly bewildered.

An Qiao committed suicide?

It had never crossed his mind that An Qiao would go to such an extreme over a relationship.

Soon, the counselor contacted the Zhao family. Zhao Guangyuan, Su Lan, and Zhao Shuo rushed to the campus. Several police officers from the local jurisdiction also arrived, all treating the matter with utmost seriousness.

Although An Qiao came from a modest background, she was an exceptional student at Fudan University, boasting excellent grades and outstanding abilities. Her file had been sent to the Personnel Bureau, which had assigned her to one of the best job opportunities. The receiving unit had already confirmed her placement with an official letter.

With this incident, multiple parties were thrown into disarray. The receiving unit immediately called the Personnel Bureau, demanding an explanation.

Behind closed doors, university officials lambasted Zhao Mingshi, exclaiming, "How can you date someone to the point where they try to kill themselves?!"

"What were you thinking?!"

"The suicide note clearly spells out your name—no one else. How can you deny it?!"

Zhao Mingshi was scared, confused, furious, and upset, feeling incredibly unlucky to be caught in such a mess.

He never imagined An Qiao would commit suicide.

He thought that as a smart, college-educated woman, An Qiao wasn't foolish—how could she try to kill herself over something as fleeting as a romance?

How could she do it?

Seething inside, Zhao Mingshi screamed: *If you want to die, why couldn’t you do it somewhere far away? Why’d you have to drag me down with you?!*

Zhao Mingshi couldn’t care less whether An Qiao survived; he only resented her for dragging him into it. He despised her for it.

As he faced reprimands from university officials, police questioning, and multiple meetings about the mess, he realized his future was likely ruined. He hated An Qiao even more than he had hated Jiang Luo.

That night, very late, as they left the university administration building, the silent Zhao Guangyuan suddenly slapped Zhao Mingshi hard across the face.

Zhao Shuo: "Dad."

Zhao Guangyuan turned and barked: "Don’t call me Dad!"

Pointing at Zhao Mingshi, he demanded of Zhao Shuo: "You knew he was secretly dating and even checked into a hotel with a girl, didn’t you?!"

"You kept quiet! You covered for him! You let him get away with it! Now look what happened!"

Zhao Mingshi stood frozen in place, head hung low, crying.

The tears weren’t genuine; he just knew that at this moment, nothing he said would help. Only tears might elicit a little sympathy and soften the yelling.

When they returned home, after Zhao Guangyuan and Su Lan had gone to their bedroom to rest, Zhao Mingshi quietly went to Zhao Shuo’s room. He knelt beside Zhao Shuo, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looked up with tears streaming down his face, and begged: "Brother, please send me abroad. Please."

"I know what I did was wrong, I really do."

"An Qiao’s suicide attempt is going to ruin me. It really will."

"Please help me. I’m begging you."

"I really need to go abroad. I’ve gotta get out of the country."

…

At the hospital, An Qiao lay with her eyes open, staring vacantly and numbly at the white ceiling, her face ashen.

Outside the ward, An Qiao’s parents and older sister faced university officials and the counselor. Some were silent; others were sitting on the floor, sobbing and causing a commotion—

Their daughter had committed suicide after being deceived emotionally and physically. They were the victims, yet the university wasn’t punishing the male student responsible, and the police weren’t arresting him either. Everyone just wanted to hush the whole thing up and downplay it. To make matters worse, An Qiao’s job offer was rescinded. She lost the good job she was about to start and could no longer be assigned work by the university or the Personnel Bureau. She would only receive her diploma and have to fend for herself.

An Qiao’s mother sat on the floor, kicking her feet and wailing her heart out: "There’s no justice! This is utterly unjust!"

"What did we do wrong? What did my daughter do wrong?"

…

In Haimen, at Hongming, workers were busy in the factory—moving machinery, cleaning workshops, taking inventory of remaining fabrics, and so on. Everyone was busy, yet each face carried a hopeful outlook for the future.

In Haicheng, at Huo Zongzhuo’s new company, Xue Zhizhong signed several contracts in his office, grinning from ear to ear.

He had linked up with Huo Zongzhuo and become his "supplier." In the future, he would provide all the glass needed for the construction of a plot of land owned by Huo Zongzhuo.

This meant he would get a small cut from Huo Zongzhuo. Though small, the profit margins on glass were substantial, which meant good money.

Moreover, having secured ties with Huo Zongzhuo, his future was set.

Xue Zhizhong was thrilled.

As a pragmatic businessman, once the contracts were signed, he began planning how to "show his gratitude" to Huo Zongzhuo.

He knew what Huo Zongzhuo liked and had already started preparing earlier.

Elsewhere, Bai Ting and Wang Junwei were researching how to become agents selling pagers. They had traveled to several places and even took a train to another city.

As for Zhang Xiangping, she began learning from the rural couple who set up a small stall, exploring on her own what she could sell to make money.

Jiang Jianmin mocked her, saying she was idle—that she should watch TV or knit a sweater for Zhao Mingshi instead of wasting time on this.

Zhang Xiangping retorted: "What do you know? When I make money, don’t come crawling to me."

One month later—

In Haicheng, at Hongming.

The first batch of new machinery arrived, delivered by trucks driving into the factory. Everyone was excited.

Pan Xiao fetched water and distributed cigarettes to the drivers, then directed the workers to unload the machinery.

His mobile phone rang from his waist. He hurried aside to answer: "Hello? Oh, General Manager Jiang."

Pan Xiao responded repeatedly to the person on the phone: "Yes, yes, everything has arrived. Right."

"Okay, okay, I’ll make sure they’re careful. Don’t worry, General Manager Jiang. Okay."

Pan Xiao hung up and turned to resume his work.

Just then, a worker passing by while moving machinery teased him: "Director Pan Xiao, you’re a big boss now with your own mobile phone. You’ve been corrupted by capitalism pretty fast."

"Go away, go away."

Pan Xiao: "What corruption? What capitalism? General Manager Jiang gave it to me for easier communication. It’s not like I bought it myself."

“It’s so expensive—I can’t afford it; I just can’t bring myself to spend that much.”

Another worker joked, “Why don’t you get me one too? I want one!”

Pan Xiao: “Get lost—back to work!”

Where was Jiang Luo at that moment?

At a restaurant in Haimen, in a private room on the second floor.

He had arrived first, taken a seat, checked the time, paused thoughtfully for a moment, then reached out and poured himself some tea from the teapot on the table.

Idly, he reflected that wearing a sling for his broken arm wasn’t merely inconvenient in daily life—it also cramped his style, marring his good looks.

Lately, Jiang Luo had grown somewhat irritated by the sling, hoping his arm would heal soon. It made dressing difficult—and, most importantly, undermined his image.

Jiang Luo sipped his tea, aware that the appointed time hadn’t yet arrived. He waited patiently, then glanced at his watch again to check how much time remained.

Just as he finished checking, the door to the private room swung open. Before anyone entered, a bright, cheerful voice rang out—a young woman’s: “Mr. Jiang, you’re already here?”

“I’m sorry—that’s my fault. I should’ve arrived earlier.”

Jiang Luo looked up and saw a woman in her twenties walk in.

She was beautiful—almond-shaped eyes, a straight, delicate nose, thin pink lips, dressed in an elegant light-blue dress. Her long, wavy hair and fair complexion immediately caught the eye.

“Mr. Jiang.”

Smiling, she approached and extended her hand.

Jiang Luo stood, took a few steps forward, and shook her hand. “Hello—may I ask your name?”

After releasing her hand, she smiled again. “My surname is Yu—like *Yu Meiren* (‘Beauty Yu’), with the ‘tiger’ radical above and ‘Wu’ (‘mouth’ and ‘sky’) below. My given name is Dong—as in ‘winter.’ Yu Dong.”

A faint jolt ran through Jiang Luo.

In Haicheng, Xue Zhizhong had invited Huo Zongzhuo to dinner at the Peace Hotel, ostensibly to discuss business.

They dined and chatted; the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

As the meal neared its end, Xue Zhizhong deliberately checked his watch, let out an “Oh,” and said, “My friend is about to arrive.”

Huo Zongzhuo assumed Xue Zhizhong had other commitments and replied with a noncommittal “Hmm,” adding, “Go take care of it.”

Xue Zhizhong smiled. “Nothing urgent—no matter how busy I am, it doesn’t interfere with dinner.”

As he spoke, he glanced upward in a certain direction, raised an eyebrow, lifted his hand high, and waved them over: “Over here!”

Lowering his hand, he dabbed his mouth with a napkin and stood up. “Mr. Huo, let me introduce you…”

At that moment, someone approached the table and stood beside Xue Zhizhong.

Huo Zongzhuo glanced up—casually at first—but paused slightly upon seeing the newcomer’s face.

It was a young man who bore a 30–40% resemblance to Jiang Luo, both in appearance and demeanor.

Huo Zongzhuo’s expression instantly turned icy. He averted his gaze from the young man’s face and fixed it coldly on Xue Zhizhong.

Meanwhile, Xue Zhizhong nudged the young man beside him. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Introduce yourself.”

The young man smiled, a bit awkwardly, and said to Huo Zongzhuo, "Hello, Mr. Huo."

Even his voice sounded just like Jiang Luo.

At the airport, a plane, having received permission from the control tower, accelerated down the long runway, lifted off and climbed, slowly soaring into the clouds.

On the plane, Zhao Mingshi sat by the window, staring blankly outside.

Leaving in this manner, sneaking away without telling anyone, made him miserable. He felt a surge of pent-up frustration, resentment, and defiance.

*Just wait—whether it takes one or two years, or even five or ten, he will return eventually!*

*He was no less capable than anyone else and wouldn’t be held back by anyone. Sooner or later, he would come back gloriously and pull off a stunning comeback!*

*Just wait!*

*All of you, just wait!*

"What did you say? Say it again!"

Zhao Guangyuan, usually so calm and gentle, lunged forward upon hearing what Zhao Shuo had said, grabbed him by the collar, his eyes blazing with anger.

Zhao Shuo, already feeling guilty and aware he couldn’t hide the truth, lowered his head and said meekly, "I sent Ming Ming abroad. He left this morning on a flight, just now."

"Regardless, he needed to go abroad. He’s young—he can’t let anything ruin his future."

Even Su Lan, standing nearby, was stunned.

He left? He left!? They had already discussed with An Qiao’s parents, agreeing that the two should marry to make amends and take responsibility for An Qiao.

Now, with him gone, what about An Qiao? What were they supposed to do?

Zhao Guangyuan gripped Zhao Shuo’s collar tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. "He ruined that girl’s reputation, took her innocence, and cost her a good job—he has to take responsibility! How could he run away like this?!"

"Zhao Shuo! You’ll get married too! You’ll have children! Your child could go through the same thing! How could you secretly send him away?! Do you think you’re doing him a favor?! Why don’t you think about the girl who committed suicide!"

Zhao Shuo looked up, not to argue but to explain. "Should Ming Ming have to get married so young just because of 'responsibility'?"

"If he is responsible for that girl, who will take responsibility for his life?"

"Zhao Shuo!!!"

Enraged, Zhao Guangyuan raised his hand and slapped Zhao Shuo, but the fury and sudden spike in blood pressure overwhelmed him. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed straight backward.

"Dad!"

"Honey!"