Chapter 130 Deviation

Chapter 130 Deviation

Jiang Luo, who had been constantly traveling on business without a break, finally returned to Shenzhen that day.

Coincidentally, Zheng Bin also came to hang out with him. Along with Wang Chuang, You Junyu acted as host, treating them to meals, clubbing, trips to Hong Kong and Macau, spending money like it's water—typical rich kid behavior.

The four of them partied hard, spending twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars just on meals in Hong Kong, not to mention gambling at the casinos in Macau.

You Junyu truly lived up to being a factory owner's son, carrying a large bag of Hong Kong dollars and US dollars, spending so extravagantly that, in Wang Chuang’s words, "Even if I used cash to wipe my ass, I wouldn’t dare take this much at once."

"Screw you."

You Junyu laughed and cursed: "You're the one wiping your ass with US dollars!"

Wang Chuang hooked an arm around his neck: "Still saying 'your mother'? I haven’t even said 'your mother' yet."

"Were you out of your fucking mind back then, running to that small market to snatch business from your Grandpa Wang and General Manager Jiang?"

"Tell me, weren’t you asking for trouble?"

"And sure enough, you ended up dead, didn’t you? Even got thrown in jail."

"Did you wet your pants when the police arrested you, didn’t you?"

You Junyu laughed: "Fuck your uncle! You’re the one who wet your pants."

You Junyu also had a sharp tongue and teased Zheng Bin: "Heard you made your fortune from dog washing?"

Zheng Bin cursed him: "Fuck your mom."

"Don’t be like that."

You Junyu laughed recklessly: "Come on then, fuck me."

Zheng Bin: "Get lost!"

Zheng Bin pointed at You Junyu and asked Jiang Luo: "Where did you find this guy? If it weren’t for him spending money, I’d want to punch him."

"Who told him I made my fortune from dog washing? Old Wang?"

"Me."

Jiang Luo wore a carefree, nonchalant grin.

"Fuck!"

Zheng Bin cursed: "I should fuck you."

The four joked and roughhoused, partying their way from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and Macau, then back from Hong Kong and Macau to Shenzhen. They even rode together in You Junyu’s flashy sports car, top down, yelling randomly on the road.

But when they returned to Shenzhen late at night, You Junyu drove the car to a hotel. At the hotel entrance, four young women dressed sexy with long legs exposed were waiting.

Huh?

Zheng Bin in the passenger seat's eyes popped out.

Wang Chuang found those eight long legs way too flashy and quickly raised a hand to shield his eyes.

Jiang Luo, sitting nearby, glanced over and quietly rolled his eyes.

As the car stopped, You Junyu got out first, embracing two girls on each side, gesturing to Zheng Bin, Jiang Luo, and Wang Chuang: "So? Let’s keep the party going?"

"Awesome!"

Zheng Bin got excited and moved to get out.

Wang Chuang didn’t move. Jiang Luo leaned back in the rear seat looking lazy: "I haven’t mentioned this to you before, right?"

Wang Chuang reached forward and pulled Zheng Bin back.

Jiang Luo looked at You Junyu unhurriedly: "When you’re hanging with me, anything goes except these three: prostitution, gambling, drugs."

You Junyu looked unconcerned: "Prostitution what?"

"Just some girls, just dating. Isn’t love free nowadays?"

Jiang Luo: "You go enjoy your freedom then. I’m taking the car."

With that, he stretched his long legs and moved to the driver’s seat, then glanced at Zheng Bin in the passenger seat: "You want to play like this?"

"Then get out."

"Hey, no."

Zheng Bin immediately settled down.

Only then did You Junyu realize Jiang Luo was serious. Seeing the other three weren’t getting out, he quickly let go of the girls and went over, asking Jiang Luo: "Don't like this?"

"What's the problem? They’re just girls."

He bent down, hand on Jiang Luo’s shoulder, lowering his voice: "The girls I found are clean." "They’re all willing participants too."

Jiang Luo: "Let’s go."

Jiang Luo really drove the car away.

"Hey, hey!"

You Junyu didn't have time to deal with the four girls now and hurriedly ran after the car, "Wait for me! Wait for me! Hey! Jiang Luo!"

The car had already gone at least twenty meters before stopping.

You Junyu caught up, climbing into the back seat: "Alright, alright, I get it. No girls when we party, right? Understood. Won’t call them next time."

Then he asked Jiang Luo: "Where to?"

Wang Chuang and Zheng Bin said in unison: "Karaoke bar?"

You Junyu readily agreed: "Karaoke it is! Let’s go! I’ll direct, I know a place, I’ll take you!"

So at three in the morning, the four were in a karaoke private room, grabbing mics and shouting:

"Laughing aloud across the seas! Waves surging on both shores! Rise and fall with the tide! Remember only today!…"

Wang Junqing, Fourth Brother, and Third Brother stood or sat waiting outside the private room.

Fourth Brother held a bottle of cola, his arm hanging at his side, leaning against the wall, yawning widely: God, still playing. What are these rich kids made of? Aren’t they tired?

Around ten o’clock that morning, the Bentley drove into Shengfei Factory. Jiang Luo walked into the office looking his usual self. Aside from some bags under his eyes—clearly he hadn't slept well—his expression was no different than usual.

He got a call at the office from Huo Zongzhuo, who was calling from out of town: "You only got home in the early morning, why didn't you sleep in?"

"Got stuff to do."

Jiang Luo had the phone to his ear, sitting at the desk, looking through the ledger Mo Wanzhen had just brought over.

Huo Zongzhuo’s voice was gentle: "Not sleepy?"

"I'm alright."

Jiang Luo really didn’t feel that tired. He even joked: "Can’t help it, young people just have that energy."

Huo Zongzhuo chuckled on the other end.

Jiang Luo made small talk while going through the accounts: "Where are you? I thought you were going to Shenyang?"

Huo Zongzhuo: "Yeah, I’m in Shenyang."

Jiang Luo was curious: "That's pretty far. What's the occasion?"

Jiang Luo had been traveling all over the country recently. Other than that quick trip back to Haicheng, he hadn’t seen Huo Zongzhuo for at least two weeks.

Now Huo Zongzhuo was off on another business trip, this time to Shenyang.

Huo Zongzhuo replied: "Jinbei Auto - know them? Their main plant's here."

"Mm, and then?"

Jiang Luo kept looking through the ledger.

Huo Zongzhuo: "Jinbei previously put out 100 million shares publicly. I’m here this time to buy up some of their stock."

"How much?"

Jiang Luo instinctively asked, meaning how many shares.

Huo Zongzhuo: "Aiming for over 35%."

Jiang Luo instinctively asked again: "What's that gonna run you?"

Huo Zongzhuo: "About ten million US."

Jiang Luo: "..."

Jiang Luo put the ledger down and immediately said: "Dad! Father!"

Putting on his best suck-up voice.

Huo Zongzhuo chuckled.

Jiang Luo leaned back and asked: "What's with buying Jinbei?"

Huo Zongzhuo: "I set up a holding limited company in Bermuda."

"I plan to use this company to acquire Jinbei and get into the domestic auto game."

Jiang Luo immediately wondered, last time around, had Huo Zongzhuo gotten into the auto industry? He didn’t remember that.

Little did Jiang Luo know that because of him, because he was in Haicheng, Huo Zongzhuo had been spending more time in Haicheng last year and, through an introduction, unexpectedly met a man named Yang Rong.

This Yang Rong was precisely the person who, in the previous life, acquired Shenyang Jinbei through an offshore shell company.

That company was named "Huachen Holdings," which later became China's first NYSE listing.

Jiang Luo being reborn, with the deviation of his life’s trajectory, was changing more than just a couple of lives—

That day, Jiang Luo was finally back in Haicheng and could finally see Huo Zongzhuo, who he hadn't seen in two weeks.

As soon as he got off the plane, he called Huo Zongzhuo. Since Huo Zongzhuo was tied up, he went back to the Shengfei factory first.

Arriving at the factory gate, he parked the car and was waiting for the gate to slide open. Lao Si, looking outside, suddenly said: "Manager Jiang, looks like someone's here to see you at the gate."

"Huh?"

Jiang Luo was looking down, working on a design in his notebook.

He glanced up and out the window, making out the figure walking toward them. Jiang Luo was stunned.

Huang Bing Bing?

Jiang Luo rolled the window down. The young woman, under the late August sun, came up to the car. She bent down and looked inside: "Hello, are you Manager Jiang Luo?"

"Can I help you?"

Jiang Luo looked her over. Huang Bing Bing was very young at this time, just in her early twenties.

Huang Bing Bing didn’t introduce herself and clearly didn’t know Jiang Luo. She just said politely: "Could I go to your office to talk with you? I won't take much of your time."

Jiang Luo: "Okay."

The sliding gate opened. They drove into the factory. Huang Bing Bing followed behind, holding a hand up against the sun as she walked into the factory.

Lao Si glanced at the woman’s figure reflected in the rearview mirror and asked, curious: "Manager Jiang, do you know her?"

Lao Si hadn’t seen her around Jiang Luo before.

Jiang Luo didn’t answer, was lost in thought for a moment—Huang Bing Bing was a doctor.

She was his attending physician in Haicheng in his previous life.

Why was she here?

Jiang Luo was puzzled.

In this life, they had no connection, at least not before today.

Jiang Luo got out of the car and looked in the direction Huang Bing Bing was coming from, waiting for her.

Seeing Jiang Luo waiting, Huang Bing Bing hurried over quickly: "Sorry."

Jiang Luo led her into the office, turned on the air conditioning, sat down at the tea table, boiled water to make tea, and gestured to the seat opposite the sofa: "Sit."

"Okay, thank you."

Huang Bing Bing wiped the sweat from her face, put down the shoulder bag she was carrying, went over, and sat down.

"Looking for me about something?"

Jiang Luo spoke calmly, head bowed, focusing on washing the tea set in his hands.

Huang Bing Bing looked surprised: "You? Do you know who I am?"

"I don't."

Jiang Luo looked up at her: "You came to see me, so there must be a reason."

"I'm Huang Bing Bing."

She introduced herself, saying: "I am Zhao Shuo's fiancée."

Jiang Luo: "..."

What!?

Jiang Luo was shocked.

How could Zhao Shuo's fiancée in this lifetime be Huang Bing Bing?

Huang Bing Bing used to be his attending doctor, and Zhao Shuo didn't know her at all—his wife in the previous life was an elementary school teacher.

Jiang Luo didn't show much emotion on his face and continued brewing tea: "So? What brings you here?"

Huang Bing Bing looked sincere: "I came on behalf of Zhao Shuo, and his parents."

As she spoke, Huang Bing Bing took out a red card from her bag and handed it over with both hands: "Zhao Shuo and I are getting married soon. This is the invitation."

If it were anyone else—whether it was Zhao Shuo's wife or talk of marriage—Jiang Luo wouldn't care, let alone accept the invitation.

But the person before him was Huang Bing Bing, the one who had worked hard to save him in his previous life. Jiang Luo naturally couldn't just ignore it.

He reached out and took it, opened it, and took a look. It was indeed an invitation to Zhao Shuo and Huang Bing Bing's wedding, scheduled for next month.

After reading it, Jiang Luo placed the invitation on the sofa beside him.

Huang Bing Bing had been watching him the whole time. Seeing that he had finished reading, she gathered her courage and said: "As the future daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, I am of course aware of some of the issues between you and the family."

"I came here not because Zhao Shuo or the others asked me to, but on my own."

Huang Bing Bing spoke clearly: "Because Zhao Shuo and I are really close, and his uncle and aunt have been very kind to me."

"I just wanted to try to see if I could do something for them."

"Even if it's just delivering an invitation."

Huang Bing Bing looked at Jiang Luo sincerely: "Jiang Luo, Uncle, Aunt, and Zhao Shuo—they all truly regret what happened and have always hoped you would return home."

"Their feelings for you are genuine, I swear to you."

Jiang Luo didn't like hearing this and usually wouldn't bother listening, but because it was Huang Bing Bing speaking, he didn't show impatience and let her finish.

Huang Bing Bing: "I also know I have no right to say these things here."

"I just wanted to make an effort and try."

"To see if you'd see me, if you would accept the invitation, and if you would be willing to attend mine and Zhao Shuo's wedding."

"We all truly hope you can come."

"Congratulations."

Jiang Luo waited until Huang Bing Bing finished speaking before saying this, while also making his position clear: "I won't be attending the wedding."

"I understand what you mean."

"Wishing you a happy marriage."

To Huang Bing Bing, Jiang Luo offered his sincere best wishes.

Having said what she wanted to say, Huang Bing Bing felt somewhat awkward seeing Jiang Luo's lukewarm reaction. After all, she and Jiang Luo didn't know each other, and here she was sitting and talking to herself.

Jiang Luo calmly asked: "If I may ask, how did you and Zhao Shuo meet?"

"Oh."

Huang Bing Bing explained: "At Huating."

"It was really a coincidence—you were actually there that day too."

"Do you remember? You splashed water in Zhao Shuo's face. I was in the restaurant at the time, having dinner with a friend."

"The scene you made was pretty hard to miss, and both my friend and I saw it."

"Later, when I went to wash my hands, Zhao Shuo happened to come out of the men's restroom. He had washed his face, and water was dripping from his face and clothes. I saw him and lent him my handkerchief."

"That's how we met."

So that's how it happened?

Jiang Luo thought fate was truly bizarre.

Later, Huang Bing Bing left. After seeing her out and watching her walk away, Jiang Luo stood gazing at the woman's disappearing figure, momentarily lost in thought—

The previous life felt like something that happened a very, very long time ago.

He still remembered the first time he met Huang Bing Bing. She was wearing a mask, sitting behind the desk in the consultation room, her exposed eyes gentle and calm as she asked him where he felt unwell.

He also remembered sitting with Huang Bing Bing on a bench in front of the inpatient building, chatting idly while basking in the sun.

And he remembered how, before he was transferred to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Huang Bing Bing made a special trip to see him, held his hand, encouraged him, saying everything would be alright, urging him not to give up, and assuring him that he would recover.

Jiang Luo stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching Huang Bing Bing's retreating figure—What a pity, Dr. Huang. That was the last time we saw each other.

Thank you.

These were the words Jiang Luo hadn't had the chance to say to her before his death in his previous life.

Thank you, Dr. Huang.