Chapter 146 Returning Home

Chapter 146: Returning Home

In the afternoon, Jiang Luo went out on business. As soon as he stepped downstairs, a brand-new burgundy Rolls-Royce was waiting at the entrance.

Lao Si (Fourth Brother) had a lollipop in his mouth and was chatting with Wang Junqing, who was leaning against the black Mercedes-Benz.

Seeing Jiang Luo emerge, Lao Si hurried over and opened the car door.

Wang Junqing also immediately got back in his car.

Soon, the Mercedes-Benz followed the Rolls-Royce, and the two cars drove off from the building together.

That evening, at the home on Wukang Road, six cars were parked in a row in the yard. In the back seat of one of them, a black Rolls-Royce with the license plate number "77777," Jiang Luo, with his shirt hiding his bare legs, lifted his knees and straddled Huo Zongzhuo. As they kissed, Jiang Luo tugged at his tie.

As he slowly sank down, Jiang Luo rested his hands on the man’s shoulders, tilted his chin up to catch his breath, and then began discussing business, panting as he spoke: "The building in Shenzhen is almost topping out. Are you going to the topping-out ceremony?"

"I think it’s better not to go. Otherwise, you’ll be grilled with questions about why the houses in the Luohu residential project aren’t being sold anymore."

As Jiang Luo tilted his chin up, Huo Zongzhuo kissed his neck and said, "Do we have to talk about these things now?"

"If I don’t say it now..." Jiang Luo, breathless, arched his neck as he lowered himself, simultaneously holding Huo Zongzhuo’s head, which was lowered to kiss his shoulder, and gasped, "We won’t be able to talk tonight. Ah!"

He was suddenly thrust against.

After that, Jiang Luo couldn’t form a complete sentence. He clung to Huo Zongzhuo, being rocked back and forth in his embrace, with only moans escaping his throat.

Nearby, the original Western-style house had been renovated. The walls were new, the windows were new, and the interior had been completely gutted and redecorated two years ago. From the first to the third floor, the style was very modern and high-end.

Now, the house was filled with signs of life: books Huo Zongzhuo had read, an ashtray on the coffee table with discarded candy wrappers, a watch Jiang Luo had casually tossed aside, and so on.

On the third floor, what used to be Jiang Luo’s room had become the master bedroom, while the adjacent room, where Huo Zongzhuo used to sleep, had been converted into a large walk-in closet.

The walk-in closet was filled with luxury brands and designer clothes. In the center island, the drawers were full of designer watches, belts, and cufflinks belonging to Huo Zongzhuo and Jiang Luo.

Every corner of the home exuded opulence.

Even the bedsheet Jiang Luo was lying on at that moment was made of high-density woven fabric custom-made by a factory in Suzhou, exceptionally soft.

Jiang Luo lay face down on it, his face buried in the pillow, moaning softly.

His hips were raised high, but Huo Zongzhuo was still unsatisfied. He spanked them firmly, producing a sharp sound, and said as he thrust, "Last month, you went to Manhattan and stayed for a week without coming back, huh?"

"If I hadn’t gone to get you myself, would you even have remembered to come home?"

Jiang Luo: "..."

That was last month’s matter.

And hadn’t he already been thoroughly punished for it last month?

As Jiang Luo tried to press himself up, Huo Zongzhuo thrust again, making him gasp and collapse back down.

Huo Zongzhuo took the opportunity to cover the younger man’s body entirely, lift his chin, and kiss his lips forcefully.

After it was over, Jiang Luo lay wrapped in a thin blanket, exhausted and dozed off.

Huo Zongzhuo lay beside him, holding him, and kissed his face. "I haven’t seen you buy anything recently."

Over the years, especially in the last two, Jiang Luo had splurged, particularly enjoying traveling around the world and shopping.

And Huo Zongzhuo loved seeing him use his credit card—the more he spent, the happier Huo Zongzhuo was.

But since returning from Manhattan last month, Jiang Luo had hardly spent any money this month. Huo Zongzhuo was curious and noticed this, so he asked.

"Hmm?" Jiang Luo mumbled, "There’s nothing worth buying."

As he spoke, he adjusted his position, snuggling closer to Huo Zongzhuo, and said lazily with his eyes closed, "Houses, cars, clothes, watches, entertainment, food, and drinks—I’ve bought them all. There’s nothing worth buying."

Huo Zongzhuo suggested, "I saw Zheng Bin bought an imported sports car. Should I get one for you too?"

"No," Jiang Luo yawned, "I don’t want it. It’s boring. Besides showing off, you can’t even drive it that fast."

"Driving fast is dangerous and troublesome."

His interest in sports cars was only so-so.

As Huo Zongzhuo was about to say more, Jiang Luo clung to him, whining like a puppy, "Dad, read me a poem. I’m going to sleep. I’m exhausted."

The next morning, Huo Zongzhuo and Jiang Luo sat at the European-style long table Jiang Luo had carefully selected. While eating breakfast, Jiang Luo held his phone to his ear, angrily yelling at the person on the other end, "How could you lose steel reinforcement? Why didn’t you lose your head instead?"

"Such a large construction site, and you’re all useless!"

"Is steel reinforcement like paper? Can you just pocket it and walk away?"

"Such heavy stuff, and you still managed to lose it?"

"Call the police? If calling the police worked, why would I be yelling at you here?"

"Are you even using your brain?"

Huo Zongzhuo sat beside him, serving porridge, and chuckled silently upon hearing this.

As soon as he laughed, Jiang Luo glanced at him sharply. Huo Zongzhuo found it even more amusing and handed him the bowl of porridge, his expression soothing: Calm down.

Jiang Luo’s temper hadn’t worsened, nor did he fly off the handle easily. It was just that over the years, as projects increased and he interacted with more people, he realized that if he didn’t show authority or scold people, many subordinates would slack off or not take their work seriously, especially at construction sites, where there were many sly individuals. They needed to be scolded—it was necessary to ensure they worked properly.

Sure enough, after hanging up, Jiang Luo’s expression returned to normal. He picked up the porridge bowl and sighed, "What can I do? You never scold anyone, so I have to be the one to do it."

"Steel reinforcement missing?" Huo Zongzhuo asked casually, as if it were someone else’s construction site and someone else’s steel.

"Missing, my foot," Jiang Luo scoffed, seeing through it clearly. "It’s just an inside job. They’ve grown bolder from getting too greedy."

"Don’t worry, they won’t be able to steal for much longer. I’ve already taken care of it."

Suddenly remembering something, he added, "Oh, right, I’m meeting up with Zheng Bin tonight."

"They’re having a party and invited me to tag along."

"Don’t drink too much," Huo Zongzhuo advised.

"I wouldn't dare!"

Jiang Luo glared at him.

Last time he drank too much when he came home, Huo Zongzhuo held him down and had sex with him all night—he almost lost his life, and his throat was hoarse the next day.

"By the way."

Jiang Luo suddenly remembered something and said, "Another day, take the President of Bank of China out to dinner on my behalf."

"I called him yesterday to arrange for their internal procurement of JOVE computers."

"No need to return the favor immediately, but we should still have a meal together."

"Okay."

Huo Zongzhuo said casually, as it wasn’t anything urgent.

"Have fun tonight."

That evening, at a massive mansion-like villa in Haicheng, a group of young men and women gathered to eat, drink, and have fun.

These were all the wealthy young adults from Haicheng and Shenzhen who used to hang out with Jiang Luo and Zheng Bin. Nowadays, some were married, some had moved abroad, others were busy with work—no longer as free, carefree, or rebellious as before. But whenever they got together, there was always endless conversation and fun to be had.

Plus, these days, their conversations often included insider information and news from various industries.

For instance, at that moment, sitting with Zheng Bin and Jiang Luo was a mutual acquaintance who said, "Recently, I met someone in New York—a fellow countryman who already has a green card. You won’t believe how amazing this guy is."

"He developed some kind of software and sold it to Microsoft for a lump sum of $3.5 million."

"He also created some stock analysis tool and sold it to Wall Street, making several million dollars in one go."

"Now he’s not only well-connected on Wall Street but was also recruited by Microsoft with a high-paying offer. They say he’s really sharp."

"What’s Microsoft? Something as soft as a breeze?"

Zheng Bin was still as clueless about business as ever.

But thanks to following Jiang Luo around and investing everywhere, he had already amassed a fortune far beyond ordinary people’s reach.

"What? No! That’s a company! They deal with computers and software!"

The young man said exasperatedly, "You should catch up on the news sometime, okay?"

He continued, "This guy recently returned to the country. I’ll introduce him another time so you can meet him."

He specifically added to Jiang Luo, "Since you’ve invested in a computer company, he might be helpful for you."

"Whether he’s useful remains to be seen," Jiang Luo said lazily. "Thanks."

"Don’t mention it."

The young man reached out, slung an arm around Jiang Luo’s shoulders, and squeezed it. "Last time my family wanted to open an international school, didn’t you help connect us with the education bureau? We’re all close here, no need for formalities."

"Yan Yan!"

On the weekend, Zhao Shuo brought his daughter to the park opposite the hospital where his wife Yan Yan worked, to play while waiting for her to get off work.

The little girl was skipping around happily, running up and down, playing on the park slide.

"Slow down," he said.

Zhao Shuo watched his daughter with a gentle expression, keeping a close eye on her to make sure she didn't fall or get hurt.

Just then, a familiar, steady male voice came from behind Zhao Shuo, "Brother."

Zhao Shuo froze, turned around, and saw a man with a face he knew all too well. However, the man now had a much more mature and composed demeanor, his hairstyle had changed, and he wore gold-rimmed eyeglasses, his eyes smiling as he quietly watched Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Mingshi? Zhao Shuo wondered.

Zhao Shuo was stunned.

"Brother."

Zhao Mingshi smiled.

Suddenly, Zhao Huan Yan ran over, wrapped her arms around Zhao Shuo's leg, and looked curiously at Zhao Mingshi, asking, "Daddy, who is he?"

Zhao Shuo looked down at his daughter, then at Zhao Mingshi, at a loss for words.

The little girl stared at Zhao Mingshi, and Zhao Mingshi met her gaze, smiling. He said to Zhao Shuo, "She’s already this big. So pretty—she looks like you, and like Sister-in-law too."

Finally, Zhao Shuo said nothing. He knelt down, gently touched the little girl’s face, and said softly, "Yan Yan, just go play by yourself for a while, okay? Don’t go too far. Daddy'll be right here, so stay where I can see you."

"If you have to go potty, remember to come and tell Daddy, understand?"

"Mm, okay."

The little girl obediently turned and went skipping off, heading back to play on the slide.

Zhao Shuo and Zhao Mingshi sat together on the edge of a flower bed not far from the children’s play area. Once extremely close brothers, they now had grown distant, and an awkward silence hung between them.

Zhao Shuo spoke first, "When did you get back?"

"Last week."

Zhao Mingshi’s voice was very calm, having long shed the immaturity of his youth.

Zhao Shuo was also composed. Over the years, although he hadn’t been totally in the dark about Zhao Mingshi’s whereabouts, the two brothers had indeed had little contact, separated by two different countries and places, with hardly any heart-to-heart talks.

Zhao Shuo politely said, "Good to have you back."

Then, as if speaking to a guest, he added, "So what brings you back?"

"Haven’t you already gotten a green card?"

"When are you planning to return to the U.S.?"

"Brother."

Zhao Mingshi turned to look at the man, a faint hint of guilt visible behind his glasses. His voice was low and gentle, "You still blame me, don’t you?"

"I know it’s all my fault. I was too young back then, didn’t understand anything. It’s all on me."

"I’m sorry, Brother."

Hearing this, Zhao Shuo’s heart churned with emotion, unable to calm down for a long time.

This now-mature man, softly apologizing, was once his most beloved and closest younger brother.