A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 179: You think I’m illiterate?"_1

As soon as she got in the car, she took off the men’s jacket she was wearing, folded it neatly, and returned it to its owner without a word.

In the confined space of the car, a scent of ink and paper emanated from him, a fragrance utterly devoid of desire.

Zhou Xiangqun simply said, "Xiaozhang, Jingji."

It wasn’t a question. It was a renowned restaurant, famous for its official’s cuisine.

She realized that there were men in this world who never spoke in questions. They made decisions unilaterally.

"I’m not hungry," she said.

Zhou Xiangqun glanced at his watch, then slowly removed the pen he wore in his breast pocket. He jotted on a piece of paper, "2:46 PM to 8:00 PM." Then he asked, "What did you eat during that time?"

"Although Rongpai Residence is delicious, it’s very expensive. Do you even have the money?" Shen Jing suddenly asked.

Her question was sincere, genuinely concerned.

The most shocked was the driver, who glanced through the rearview mirror to see a vein throbbing on his boss’s forehead.

That bag of soy milk and fried dough sticks had solidified Shen Jing’s impression of Zhou Xiangqun as a frugal and simple old man—an image she doubted she could ever change.

Zhou Xiangqun’s expression tightened. He met the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror, which were clearly enjoying the show, and instructed, "Xiaozhang, step on it. Take her home."

"Alright, we’re going to eat. I won’t talk anymore," she said meekly.

Amused by her, Zhou Xiangqun suppressed a smile and handed her a tissue. "Not crying anymore?"

"I’m hungry."

Zhou Xiangqun’s mouth twitched. "Achen must have really had his wires crossed to like a creature like you."

What a joke. The word ’like’ was an extravagance when it came to the Second Young Master of the Zhou family.

She truly kept quiet then, her chin resting on the window. The glass reflected her eyes, glistening with unshed tears.

Zhou Xiangqun opened a leather document bag and handed her a form. "If you feel targeted and have complaints, write them down and submit them to the relevant supervisory departments. After verification, someone will investigate the issue."

Shen Jing turned and asked, "Are you trying to help me?"

Zhou Xiangqun replied, expressionless, "With not a single pleasant word from your mouth, who would want to help you?"

Shen Jing didn’t accept it. In business competition, opponents often have no moral bottom line. If they can’t find anything on me now, they’ll only become more ruthless. She understood her current predicament.

The two got out of the car, one after the other, and entered the restaurant.

Throughout the meal, she ate very slowly.

Zhou Xiangqun served her a bowl of fish maw soup and placed it in front of her.

"Thank you," she said, gently taking the spoon with both hands.

Her fingertips, which used to dance over the strings of a pipa, were clean. This time, they were coated with a layer of clear, tender pink nail polish.

Such a young girl, Zhou Xiangqun thought.

He withdrew his gaze and calmly continued eating.

Throughout the entire dinner, Zhou Xiangqun didn’t utter a single word.

The men of the Zhou family, Shen Jing mused, were so polite they never spoke during meals—almost to an excessive degree. Once the meal was over, however, the things they said could hardly be considered human. She had only encountered two men from the Zhou family. Power, fame, influence, wealth—they had it all. Yet each was a man with another side hidden deep within, adept at disguising his shrewdness. They only let you see what they wanted you to see, creating an illusion that they were just as they appeared. You could never fully grasp their true nature.

At ten at night, Zhou Xiangqun drove her back to the Shen family estate and walked her to the gate.

In the dead of night, everyone in the Shen household who should have been asleep was, and the door had been left unlatched for her.

She appeared lost and downcast; he ultimately couldn’t rest easy about the young woman.

A servant came down the stone steps.

"Fourth Miss, we couldn’t find you all night."

Seeing Zhou Xiangqun, the servant stammered, "Zhou... Zhou..." He hastily corrected himself, "Mr. Zhou, what brings you here so late, and in the snow? Please, come inside for a cup of tea."

Zhou Xiangqun simply said, "I ran into your Fourth Miss on the road and gave her a ride back."

He added, "She might have caught a cold, so please take good care of her."

"Of course. Thank you for troubling yourself to bring her back personally, Mr. Zhou. I’ll go inform the Old Master that you’re in the front courtyard," the servant said, courteously guiding the way while making polite conversation.

"Old Mr. Shen is unwell. I won’t disturb his rest." With that, Zhou Xiangqun opened his black umbrella with one hand and turned to leave.

The servant had no choice but to escort Shen Jing to her room first.

Back in the car, Zhou Xiangqun suddenly spotted a small, chic purse on the driver’s seat.

She probably forgot it, he thought, handing it to the driver. "Take this back to the Shen family."

"Okay." The driver had just taken it when the loose zipper on the purse gave way, and several boxes CLATTERED out onto the car floor, right under their noses.

The driver assumed they were the young lady’s cosmetics and bent to pick them up.

Seeing the text on the boxes, he looked up, his smile blooming like a flower.

Zhou Xiangqun asked curtly, "What are those?"

The driver’s mind raced. It wouldn’t do to mention such things—items the senior official, a bachelor for many years, probably wouldn’t understand, he thought. So he beat around the bush, saying, "Maybe it’s candy?"

Zhou Xiangqun nodded slowly, a deep, meaningful "Oh?" escaping him. "You really take me for an illiterate, huh? Do you think I can’t read?"

Indeed, there were words on the boxes: three large blue characters.

"Sorry, sir," the driver said. "I thought you hadn’t seen them. I was just joking. You’ve been so somber and serious today; I’m not used to it."

"Achen’s?" Zhou Xiangqun took the purse back, his movements suddenly cautious as he zipped it up. "Is she... pregnant?"

The driver said patiently, "They all look like new packaging. The receipt shows ten boxes in total. She hasn’t used a single one yet."

"She hasn’t tested yet, so don’t jinx it."

"And the Zhou family...?" the driver asked.

Zhou Xiangqun leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples. He murmured, "There’s no need to discuss uncertain matters. Perhaps the young lady was just curious and bought them for fun."

The driver understood the unspoken message. "I understand."

「The next day.」

When Shen Jing woke up and realized her purse was missing, she finally remembered buying those test kits.

She hurried downstairs to look for it and saw the nanny holding it. "Fourth Miss, your purse was left in Mr. Zhou’s car. His driver just brought it over."

Shen Jing took it and went upstairs. But surely that senior official doesn’t have a habit of snooping through a girl’s purse, she thought.

As she passed her grandfather’s room, she heard him cough softly.

Shen Jing paused, then peered into the room. Seeing the old man drinking medicine, she called out, "Grandpa."

Old Mr. Shen put down the medicine bowl. "If you can’t get the contract, then don’t. You should be clear about Zhou Xiangqun’s standing. The children of the Shen family have never sought glory by selling themselves. We’d rather be impoverished and eat chaff than lose our integrity. Understand?"

Shen Jing giggled. "Don’t misunderstand, Grandpa. Even if someone tried to sell themselves to him, he wouldn’t trade his position for it. That man is incredibly self-disciplined and upright. He might as well be a monk. He’s famous for loving only his work and never indulging in worldly pleasures with women."

Old Mr. Shen’s expression turned cold, his voice stern.

"Last night at nine, your Second Uncle saw you dining at Rongpai Residence. He said Zhou Xiangqun served you rice and picked out dishes for you—he was just short of feeding you himself."

Second Uncle must have vision problems, Shen Jing thought. The dish had been far away, and Zhou Xiangqun has long arms; I just asked him to help move it closer.

"First Xie Qinyang, then Cheng Jinchuan, and now Zhou Xiangqun. What games are you playing?"

Shen Jing felt a little wronged. "Grandpa, don’t you trust me?"

"Of course, I trust you," Old Mr. Shen’s voice grew even colder. "But what if it were someone else looking at this situation?"

Shen Jing replied softly, "As long as you trust me, Grandpa, that’s enough. What others think is their business."

Old Mr. Shen looked up, his gaze fixed on her. "Wang Dafu was investigated today for falsifying accounts involving a large sum of money. He will inevitably face imprisonment. Do you understand now?"

Shen Jing maintained her smile. "How fortunate. It’s a good thing we didn’t partner with Wang Dafu."

Old Mr. Shen scoffed coldly and silently resumed drinking his medicine.

There was a hidden hand behind Wang Dafu’s investigation. Was she pretending not to understand the implications?