Chapter 652: Should Have Expected What Would Happen

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Shi Mengwan didn’t notice Zhan Haoze’s gaze. Her thoughts were a little adrift at the moment. For so many years, she had been constantly searching, constantly searching. From the beginning, she had been filled with hope, but later on, she felt that the hope was increasingly slim.

It wasn’t that she had forgotten her Dear Brother, but that she had placed him in the depths of her heart. She didn’t recall him easily, or else she would feel very anguished.

But ever since she met Zhan Haoze, she had been reminiscing about the past more and more.

She didn’t like it too much. The more she recalled, the more it reminded her that she and her Dear Brother might really not be fated to be together.

Just like today, she had already seen Zhan Haoze and her Dear Brother as two different people, but then she saw such a side to Zhan Haoze.

For a moment, she was in a trance, as if she had returned to more than ten years ago. He was the same, always arguing with others, always fighting with others.

She couldn’t help but think of these two people as one person. They were too similar. Not only did they look alike, there was also —

A magnified face suddenly appeared before her eyes. The malicious eyes that were the same as those in her memories, and he stared at her just like that.

Shi Mengwan was shocked, and her body moved back in surprise. Behind her was the sofa, and her back touched the back of the sofa.

Zhan Haoze’s body moved closer, and Shi Mengwan swallowed her saliva.

“Mr. Zhan, the wound has been bandaged. You can go now.”

Zhan Haoze pursed his lips slightly and looked at the nervous expression on Shi Mengwan’s face. He stretched his hands forward and placed them directly on both sides of her body.

“Where would I go?”

Shi Mengwan blinked her eyes. Where would he go? Of course he would be leaving this place.

“Mr. Zhan, this is my home.”

“I know this is your home. When you brought an unfamiliar man home, didn’t you think of the consequences?”

Seeing that Zhan Haoze’s face was getting closer and closer, Shi Mengwan pressed hard against his chest.

“Mr. Zhan, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I just –”

She couldn’t say the rest of her words. She just thought of him as her Dear Brother. She just replaced the past memories in front of her eyes once again.

But the man in front of her didn’t recognize her, nor did he admit that he was her Dear Brother.

“In short, all of this is a misunderstanding. It’s getting late, I still need to rest. Please see yourself out.”

Zhan Haoze’s body blocked her way. Shi Mengwan didn’t move, nor did she run away. She didn’t want the same thing that happened in the elevator to happen again.

“Mr. Zhan, can you move aside?”

Zhan Haoze stared at Shi Mengwan’s face for a while, and finally stood up very slowly.

Shi Mengwan didn’t relax just because he stood up. The other party was too tall. With her height of nearly 1.7 meters and sitting like that at this moment, she could only make the other party appear even taller.

She didn’t know that when her eyes stared at Zhan Haoze’s face defensively, there was an irresistible charm in her eyes.

The ends of her eyes were slightly raised in a seductive expression, but she didn’t know it.

Zhan Haoze stood there but was in no hurry to leave, nor was he in a hurry to move. Shi Mengwan was a little nervous, so she swallowed her saliva. Her eyes revealed some anticipation.

Zhan Haoze’s eyes darkened at her eagerness to see him leave as soon as possible. Not only did he not leave, but he also leaned down.

Shi Mengwan felt even more nervous and leaned back. This could be considered a silent invitation.

Zhan Haoze looked at her half-opened lips and stopped when his lips were less than a centimeter away from hers.

Shi Mengwan’s breath was burning hot. She stared at the enlarged face in front of her and inexplicably felt thirsty.

She instinctively pursed her lips. Zhan Haoze’s face came closer, and almost touched hers.

“Miss Shi.” Zhan Haoze’s voice sounded a little low.

“If you don’t intend to let a man do anything to you, don’t casually bring a man home, and don’t casually put on such a seductive posture.”

“…”

After saying this, Zhan Haoze stood up and left.

The sound of the door closing made Shi Mengwan snap out of her daze. After she snapped out of her daze, she was filled with anger.

What did Zhan Haoze mean by that?

What did he mean by her casually bringing a man home? And what did he mean by her casually putting on a seductive posture?

Shi Mengwan wanted to scold him, but the person she wanted to scold had already left. She wanted to scold him, but she couldn’t.

Gritting her teeth, Shi Mengwan simply couldn’t let go of her anger. She told herself that if she still cared about Zhan Haoze after this, she would be a pig.

She was so angry.

..

When Zhan Haoze entered the door, he noticed that the lights in the hall were still on.

Chen Feifei was sitting on the sofa, and her facial expression didn’t look too good. Chen Feifei kept a straight face until Zhan Haoze entered the door, and only then did her expression finally cheer up.

She stood up quickly and rushed to Zhan Haoze.

“Brother Hao, you’re back.” Chen Feifei’s eyes were a little red. When she walked to Zhan Haoze, she had already readjusted the expression on her face.

When he entered the door, he had on his suit jacket, so the wound on his hand was covered. Chen Feifei didn’t notice that she touched his wound when she pounced on him.

Zhan Haoze’s brows furrowed imperceptibly. He resisted the urge to pull Chen Feifei’s hand away.

“It’s so late. Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

“You know it’s so late?” Chen Feifei pouted. “It’s so late, but you still weren’t back. Didn’t you know that I’d be worried?”

“Go to sleep.”

Zhan Haoze’s voice was gentle, but he didn’t coax her like before. Chen Feifei was a little unhappy.

“Brother Hao, where did you go?”

“Nowhere. I was just working overtime at the company.”

“I must tell Dad not to give you so much work. Look at you, you don’t even have time to accompany me.”

“Stop fooling around.” Zhan Haoze’s tone of voice was uncharacteristically serious. “Work is work, not play.”

“Then so be it.” Chen Feifei was getting more and more unhappy. “But you’re always busy. You were willing to spend time with me before, but lately, you’ve been spending less and less time with me.”

Her tone was full of complaints. Zhan Haoze looked at her and his expression softened. “I’ll spend time with you after I’m done busying.”

“You said it.” Chen Feifei hooked her arm around his. “Don’t lie to me. If you stand me up, I’ll tell Dad.”

“Tell me what?”

The sudden voice made both of them look at the stairs. Chen Yongchang came down at some point and looked at the two people holding hands.

“Dad.” Chen Feifei saw her father and quickly let go of his hand. She ran to Chen Yongchang. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“My precious daughter isn’t sleeping, so how can I sleep?”

Chen Yongchang patted Chen Feifei’s hand. “What’s wrong? You haven’t said what you want to say to me.”

“Let me tell you. I want you to give less work to brother Hao. Look, he’s so busy that he doesn’t have time to accompany me.”

“Really?” Chen Yongchang glanced at Zhan Haoze, then looked at Chen Feifei. “You’re not young anymore. Don’t be too willful. Haoze is a person who wants to do great things. How can he accompany you every day?”

“I don’t care. I just want brother Hao to accompany me.”

Chen Feifei was rarely this willful, and her tone was coquettish. Chen Yongchang couldn’t do anything about this daughter of his.

“Okay, okay, okay, but it’s late now. You should go to bed.”

“Then –” Wanting him to send her back to her room, Chen Feifei looked at Zhan Haoze.

“You go to bed first. I have something to ask Haoze.”

“Alright.” Her face full of displeasure, Chen Feifei pouted. “You’re the most annoying, Daddy. It’s not enough to ask brother Hao to help you during the day, but you still want to snatch him from me even at night.”

“Feifei.” Chen Yongchang called her name. Chen Feifei was unhappy. She stomped her feet angrily and went upstairs.

“It’s really hard to keep a girl when she gets older.”

Chen Yongchang looked at his daughter, glanced at Zhan Haoze, and walked towards the study room. Zhan Haoze silently followed behind him.

The study room was on the first floor. Chen Yongchang entered the door and motioned for Zhan Haoze to sit down. He didn’t sit down, but stood opposite the desk.

“It’s been so many years, but you’re still so politely distant.”

Chen Yongchang seemed to be lamenting. Zhan Haoze didn’t respond, and he didn’t need his response.

“There haven’t been many things happening in the company recently. Why are you back so late today? Is there something else?” Chen Yongchang’s gaze contained some probing.

“It’s nothing important.” Zhan Haoze’s voice was very calm. “It’s just a small matter. I’ve already taken care of it.”

“I believe you know what to do.”

Chen Yongchang didn’t continue this topic. Instead, he changed the topic.

“That year, Feifei saved you and brought you back. It’s been more than ten years now. You also know how Feifei feels about you. That child had always been stubborn ever since she was young. Since she has decided on you, as her father, there’s nothing I can do. You’re not young anymore. It’s time to think about starting a family. Don’t you think so?”

Zhan Haoze was silent and didn’t reply.

“The last time Feifei was hospitalized, you promised me that you would marry her. Although her body has recovered, she still needs to be carefully nurtured. To be honest, I don’t feel at ease handing her over to someone else. I’ve learned about your character over the years. Haoze, I should be able to trust you, right?”

Zhan Haoze’s lips pursed slightly, and he finally nodded slightly.

“I promised you that I would take care of her.”

“Okay. It’s getting late. You go rest first. You don’t have to go to work tomorrow. Accompany Feifei.”

Zhan Haoze didn’t refute. He nodded slightly, turned around, and left.

After returning to his room, Zhan Haoze took off his suit jacket. The blood stains on his shirt were still there. He took it off and threw it into the trash can.

He looked at the wound that was bandaged with gloomy eyes. Thinking of Chen Yongchang’s words just now, he took out his phone.

He pressed a group of numbers based on his memory. After the call was connected, he only said one sentence, “I agree to what you said last time.”

After hanging up, Zhan Haoze deleted the call record.

He made two more calls, and each time, he only said a few words before deleting the call records.

After putting down the phone, he laid down on the bed. He shut his eyes tightly to conceal all his emotions.

… ..

Shi Mengwan hung up, but she couldn’t suppress her shock.

She already knew that Su Qingsang was the illegitimate daughter of the Su family. However, she didn’t expect that Su Qingsang’s mother would come looking for her one day.

This was too wondrous. Today, Su Qingsang called to invite her to a meal and meet her mother.

Shi Mengwan then met Xiang Caiping, an auntie who looked rather amiable and cute.

Shi Mengwan liked her very much. Whenever she saw her, she would think of her own mother. When she thought of her own mother, Shi Mengwan would think of her. During the mid-autumn festival, she was busy drawing, so she only stayed at home for two days before returning to Lin City.

Later, her mother called, and her words were filled with disappointment. Perhaps, she should pick a day to go back.

Gradually, winter came to Lin City, and the weather slowly turned cold. This day was the birthday of the designer, Tong Yan.

Ever since Song Searching studio got on track in the second year, Shi Mengwan had been busy all by herself.

She hired two designers. One was Zhou Xinglei, and the other was Tong Yan, a man and a woman respectively. They weren’t very experienced people, but their design philosophy suited her very well.

Tong Yan was one year younger than her. Today was her birthday. She didn’t have a boyfriend yet. In the past few years, she had treated everyone to a meal to celebrate her birthday.

In the beginning, because Tong Yan didn’t have a boyfriend, as her boss, Shi Mengwan treated her to a meal to celebrate her birthday.

Later, she simply turned the birthdays of the people in the studio into get togethers.

When it was time to get off work, Shi Mengwan brought her assistant, Xiao Ji, her secretary, Xiao Qiu, and her design assistant, Shang Zhi, to her car.

The other design assistant, Cheng Jiang, followed Tong Yan into Zhou Xinglei’s car. The seven of them went to ChaoWen Courtyard together.

In the past, Shi Mengwan didn’t spend so much money. However, ever since Su Qingsang got married, Huo Jinyao often gave her all kinds of credit cards. In the past, Su Qingsang foolishly thought that their company was blessed with good benefits.

Now she realized that it wasn’t company benefits at all. It was basically President Huo using all sorts of excuses to curry favor with his wife.

Especially since Huo Jinyao’s identity was also known in Lin City, there were too many people who wanted to curry favor with Huo Jinyao.

Many of the membership cards she had now were given by Su Qingsang. It had to be said that the title of Mrs. Huo was very useful.

Shi Mengwan brought her six employees into ChaoWen Courtyard. The chefs here could make specialty dishes of cuisines from all over the country.

Although Shi Mengwan was from the south, her taste was heavy and she liked spicy food.

She ordered two spicy dishes and left the rest to the birthday girl, Tong Yan.

Halfway through the meal, Shi Mengwan received a call. She asked Xiao Qiu Xing to take care of them while she went outside to get the cake.

Yes. As a good boss, ordering cake for her employees was also one of her considerate actions.

The cake Shi Mengwan ordered was delivered to the hall of ChaoWen Courtyard. She took the cake and was about to walk into the private room when she caught sight of Zhan Haoze from the corner of her eye.

She couldn’t help but stop in her tracks. It had been almost a month since she last saw Zhan Haoze.

During this month, she tried her best not to think about Zhan Haoze or that man.

She kept hypnotizing herself and telling herself that that man was no longer her Dear Brother. He was a hooligan and a scumbag.

He liked to ridicule her and look down on her.

However, she didn’t expect that when she was about to succeed, she would see Zhan Haoze again.

He was standing in the corridor with a woman standing beside him. That woman wasn’t Chen Feifei, but someone else.

When Shi Mengwan was about to enter the room, she saw that woman lying in Zhan Haoze’s arms while Zhan Haoze’s hand was around her waist.

That scene made Shi Mengwan frown. She didn’t know what to feel.

Dear Brother would probably only be a shadow in her memory. She turned around and entered her private room without looking back.

What she didn’t see was that after she left, Zhan Haoze’s hand had already left that woman.

“I’m really sorry, President Zhan.” Ling Xue steadied her body and slowly removed her hand from Zhan Haoze’s hand.

“The heel of my shoe was too high and I didn’t stand properly. I almost bumped into President Zhan.”

“It’s okay.” Zhan Haoze was expressionless. “Your father is still waiting for us in the private room. Miss Ling, please.”

“President Zhan, you don’t have to be so polite.” Ling Xue nodded at Zhan Haoze. “Speaking of which, I’m about the same age as you. Therefore, you repeatedly calling me Miss Ling is too polite. Why don’t you just call me by my name, Ling Xue?”

Ling Xue wasn’t bad looking. She was also very confident in her family background and appearance.

At this moment, her gaze towards Zhan Haoze was that of unabashed and direct romantic interest.

All that there was left was for her to directly state that she was romantically interested in him.

Zhan Haoze’s expression didn’t change. He took two steps forward and opened the door of the private room. “Miss Ling, please.”

Ling Xue gave Zhan Haoze a deep look and entered the room slowly.

Ling Xue’s father was the chairman of a company that had cooperated with the Chen family. Recently, the two companies had been discussing a cooperation project.

Chen Yongchang’s health hadn’t been good these few days, so he left this matter to Zhan Haoze to handle. Today was the day they agreed on to sign the contract.

Originally, once the contract was signed, it would be over. However, the other party was, after all, a business partner. Chen Yongchang asked Zhan Haoze to show some goodwill and treat the other party to a meal.

The place was set at the ChaoWen Courtyard. Zhan Haoze brought his secretary, Le Xin, over, while Ling Dong brought his daughter, Ling Xue.

It was inevitable they would drink at the dinner table. Zhan Haoze’s tolerance for alcohol wasn’t bad. This was also the reason Chen Yongchang was at ease to let him come out to socialize.

Le Xin also tried to block it, but Zhan Haoze still had to drink the wine that Ling Dong was toasting.

After three rounds of drinking, Ling Dong was drunk. “Brother Zhan, I really admire you. You’re so young, but you’re so impressive. Brother Yongchang is really lucky to have a talent like you.”

“Ling Dong is too polite.” Zhan Haoze didn’t take such a compliment seriously. There wasn’t much pride on his face either.

Chairman Ling was also someone who had been in the business world for many years. He really admired Zhan Haoze, who didn’t show his emotions and was able to achieve perfection in everything he did.

He sincerely envied Chen Yongchang’s good luck and couldn’t help but look at Ling Xue again. “Come, Ah-Xue, give another toast to Brother Zhan.”

Ling Xue picked up her wine glass and toasted Zhan Haoze. “President Zhan, let me toast to you.”

Zhan Haoze didn’t decline and picked it up to drink.

Ling Xue smiled and looked at Chairman Ling. “Dad, I’ve already toasted him. It’s your turn now.”

“Good, good, good.” Chairman Ling picked up his wine glass. “Brother Zhan, I’ll toast you. I wish us a happy cooperation.”

“A happy cooperation.”

Zhan Haoze downed his glass again. Le Xin wanted to stop him, but couldn’t interfere.

Zhan Haoze drank a lot. When he was about to leave, Chairman Ling stood up.

“Brother Zhan, I drank a little too much today. Do you mind letting your secretary send me home?”

“I don’t mind.” Le Xin didn’t drink much today. Zhan Haoze called him here so that he could send Chairman Ling and his daughter home after he got drunk.

He watched Chairman Ling leave with Le Xin. Zhan Haoze stood up and planned to leave as well.

However, the door of the private room was opened again. This time, Ling Xue came in.

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

“Miss Ling?”

“I dropped something. I came back to look for it.”

As Ling Xue spoke, she started to look for it in her original seat.

Out of politeness, Zhan Haoze didn’t rush to leave. “What are you looking for, Miss Ling?”

“A necklace.”Ling Xue pointed at her neck. “I was wearing it just now. I don’t know why it disappeared.”

Zhan Haoze frowned slightly. He was about to say goodbye when Ling Xue raised her head to look at him. “Zhan, do you mind helping me look for it?”

“I don’t mind.”

At this moment, Zhan Haoze couldn’t refuse. He was still working in Chen Yongchang’s company, and the person in front of him was his business partner.

He bent down and helped Ling Xue Look for her necklace.

The table in the private room was very big, and Ling Xue was beside Zhan Haoze. She was wearing a V-neck shirt today. When she bent down, Zhan Haoze could see her expose herself.

He turned his face away without any fluctuation, but Ling Xue exclaimed at this moment.

“Here.”

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand in his direction. Because the two of them were squatting, Zhan Haoze didn’t notice for a moment, and was actually knocked onto the ground by Ling Xue’s sudden approach.

Ling Xue’s hand reached out behind Zhan Haoze. This way, she was practically sticking to Zhan Haoze’s body.

“I’m sorry, President Zhan.”

Ling Xue picked up the necklace. Zhan Haoze didn’t speak and waited for her to leave his embrace. Ling Xue, however, took advantage of the situation and pressed her hands on his chest.

“President Zhan, how should I thank you for helping me find the necklace?”

“No need to thank me. Miss Ling, can you get up first?”

Ling Xue didn’t say anything. She lowered her head and was about to kiss Zhan Haoze’s lips.

Zhan Haoze avoided her. Ling Xue’s kiss landed on Zhan Haoze’s face. Zhan Haoze’s brows furrowed. Just as he was about to push Ling Xue away, he suddenly realized that something was wrong with his body.

Hot. He felt the heat coming from his stomach. The wave of heat surged downwards.

His eyes sharp and cold as a knife, he suddenly looked at Ling Xue.

“President Zhan, you’re so handsome.”

She had seen many handsome men, but she liked people like Zhan Haoze. Abstinent, cold, and utterly unapproachable.

She liked this type of men, and liked his attitude.

She couldn’t help but want to have a closer relationship with Zhan Haoze. Even if she couldn’t marry him or be with him, it didn’t matter.

She only needed a one-night stand anyway. It was a great deal for her to have such a wonderful man.

But unfortunately, when they talked about cooperation before, Zhan Haoze didn’t seem to understand no matter how she implied it.

Helpless, she could only think of another way.

Today was the day the two corporations signed the contract. When she found out that Zhan Haoze had arranged a meal, she had made an appointment with him at ChaoWen Courtyard.

She had just probed Zhan Haoze and found out that he actually didn’t fall for her trick. This made her want Zhan Haoze even more.

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