Chapter 64 The Contract

Chapter 64: The Contract

"!!"

The driver's pupils shrank sharply. He whipped his head around, staring in disbelief at the man in the backseat, whose face remained calm and eyes cold.

How was that possible?!

How did he know?!

That piece of paper... he had torn it out after Mr. Shen got out of the car, following Lu Lin's orders while the bodyguards' attention was focused on the director's office.

The whole thing had been super covert, leaving no trace behind.

Fear coiled around his guts like a cold snake, instantly tightening around his insides.

He looked at Shen Qingci in the rearview mirror—those calm, almost icy eyes—and felt a chill shoot from his feet to the top of his head.

Time stretched on forever.

The air in the car froze again. After what seemed like forever, the driver felt his back drenched in cold sweat.

He looked at Shen Qingci, his eyes full of uncontrollable terror and pleading, his lips trembling but unable to utter a single word.

Shen Qingci's fingertips tapped lightly on the top of his cane. After a long pause, he spoke again, his tone flat, but his words cut like a blunt knife, chipping away at the driver's last defenses bit by bit.

"Wang Dacheng, fifty-six years old. Your wife, Afen, runs a breakfast stand at the market entrance in your hometown county. She works from dawn till dusk, and business is just okay."

Wang Dacheng's whole body shook violently.

"Three sons, one daughter," Shen Qingci continued slowly, his words slow but crystal clear. "Your eldest son, Wang Qiang, works a tower crane on a construction site in the provincial capital. Last month, after messing up an operation, he hurt his back and is still in the hospital."

"Your second son, Wang Gang, works for a contractor doing renovations back in the hometown. Last month, he almost got into a knife fight over a pay dispute and got locked up for three days..."

"Your third son, Wang Yong, got into a university in the city, graduating next year, and is sending out resumes for internships..."

Shen Qingci paused, his gaze piercing through the car to the distance, his voice flat, giving nothing away.

"Your daughter... Wang Juan, is now..."

"Mr. Shen! Boss Shen!!" Wang Dacheng couldn't take it anymore. He whipped around, his voice hoarse and twisted from sheer terror.

His face was pale as a ghost, his eyes bloodshot, his hands clawing at the seat back desperately as his body trembled violently.

"This—this has nothing to do with my family, Boss Shen! I beg you! I... I was just following Lu Lin's orders! I didn't dare go against him! Boss Lu... he would kill me! He really would!"

He babbled, tears and snot running down his face. "I've worked for Lu Lin for years! I know him too well! He hates—more than anything, he can't stand betrayal! Everyone who betrayed him before... none of them ended up well! Worse than dying!"

"Boss Shen, please have mercy! Spare me and my family, please! If I do what you say and Lu Lin finds out, my fate... will be even worse than theirs!"

He was practically groveling on the seat, begging in despair.

Shen Qingci listened quietly to his sobbing and fear, his face showing no hint of sympathy or hesitation.

Only when Wang Dacheng's voice faded into muffled, hopeless sobs did the car fall into dead silence again.

After a long moment, Shen Qingci slowly closed his eyes, his thick lashes casting a tiny shadow underneath.

He didn't give Wang Dacheng another look, just saying a few words in a flat, unreadable voice.

"Drive."

He paused, then added:

"Back to the villa."

Wang Dacheng froze. He looked up with his tear-streaked face, staring at Shen Qingci in disbelief.

That was it? No more pushing him to hand over the paper? No more talk about making him obey?

He didn't dare ask. He could only pull himself together, start the car again, and head toward the villa.

The car pulled into the villa's courtyard.

Shen Qingci took the sealed document bag, leaned on his cane, and got out, just leaving a single remark: "Don't tell Lu Lin about today. With me around, nothing will happen to you." Then he walked straight toward the house.

His back was straight and solitary, as if the silent storm in the car had never taken place.

Uncle Fu, seeing the car pull in, immediately came out to greet him. "Sir, you're back."

Shen Qingci stopped and instructed calmly:

"Tell Lu Lin to come straight up to see me when he returns."

"Yes, sir."

Uncle Fu acknowledged respectfully, watching Shen Qingci climb the stairs step by step with his cane, his figure disappearing around the corner.

By the time Lu Lin returned, the sky had completely darkened.

---

Uncle Fu took his coat and relayed Shen Qingci's message in a low voice: "Sir said to go upstairs and see him directly when you get back."

Lu Lin had just finished dealing with the three people who had insulted Shen Qingci at the banquet a few days ago. Hearing this, his eyes lit up slightly, and a smile unconsciously tugged at his lips.

But then Uncle Fu added, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible concern: "When Sir came back this afternoon... he looked like he wasn't in a good mood."

The smile on Lu Lin's face instantly froze, then fell.

A flicker of unease quickly crossed his heart.

Brother is unhappy?

Was it because he found out about today's lesson to those three families?

Lu Lin's face darkened as he said he understood.

He didn't go upstairs immediately. Instead, he turned to the kitchen.

He carefully brewed a cup of coffee, then personally made a few of Shen Qingci's favorite dishes.

Only after finishing all this did he take a deep breath and head up to the second floor.

Upstairs, Shen Qingci had already read through the medical records brought back from the mental hospital twice.

Every cold printed word, every seemingly routine yet actually cruel treatment record, pierced his heart like fine needles.

But his face showed nothing unusual—only a nearly stagnant calm.

At the sound of the knock, he gathered the spread-out documents and locked them in the desk drawer.

Then, a clear, calm voice rang out: "Come in."

The door was cautiously pushed open a crack. Lu Lin first poked half his head in, and upon seeing Shen Qingci seated behind the desk, his eyes instantly lit up.

Like stars flickering to life, most of his earlier unease faded away.

"Brother..." He pushed the door open and entered, his voice soft and low, his tone carrying an undisguised attachment, "Uncle Fu said you were looking for me."

Shen Qingci nodded, skipping pleasantries and cutting straight to the point with a businesslike coldness: "There's a job I need to talk to you about."

Hearing it was about work, Lu Lin's initial tension immediately eased.

He walked over to the desk, knelt on one knee beside Shen Qingci, looked up with an obedient expression, and asked, "Brother, what job do you want to discuss with me? I'll do it well."

Without looking at him, Shen Qingci picked up a neatly bound contract that had been prepared in advance and pushed it in front of Lu Lin.

"Take a look at this. If there's no problem, sign it."

Lu Lin stood up, picked up Shen Qingci's usual black fountain pen, unscrewed the cap, and smoothly and without hesitation, signed his name with a flourish on the signature line.

The scratch of the pen on paper was especially clear in the quiet room.

Shen Qingci's usually placid eyes flickered slightly.

He looked up at Lu Lin, who had just finished signing and was now capping the pen with a look of seeking approval, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The next second, he lifted his foot and kicked Lu Lin's shin lightly but sharply.

"Signing a contract without even reading it," he said, his voice turning cold with clear displeasure and reproach, "Who taught you that?"