A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 181: She said she didn’t want to see you_1

She believed that doctors wouldn’t deceive people.

She packed up her belongings, pushed the door open, and glanced sideways at Zhuang Ming.

"Are you satisfied now? There’s no need to watch me go into the operating room to take care of it."

"You misunderstand," Zhuang Ming remained expressionless. "I’m just afraid something might happen to you."

"You seem more anxious and diligent than the person actually involved."

Shen Jing checked her phone.

"Go to the parking lot and bring the car. I’m already late for work."

Zhuang Ming said only one sentence, "You don’t have to go to work today."

Shen Jing didn’t understand Zhuang Ming’s words. When she got in the car and noticed they weren’t heading to the company, she questioned him.

Zhuang Ming’s expression was serious. "Taihe Middle Court."

A top-tier luxury property beside the Jing-Hang Grand Canal.

Her father had bought their home there during the first phase of sales.

My own house is nearby too, she thought. "Let’s go. A free chauffeur."

She resents the Second Young Master, but surely she can’t resent me too, Zhuang Ming grumbled inwardly. I haven’t even provoked her.

Her family home was located near Bail Road.

She pushed the wrought iron gate open. It was usually maintained by hired help, so apart from being desolate and old, nothing had changed.

Her father used to dote on her mother. After he passed away, her mother’s mental state grew increasingly unstable. Feng Jian then deceived her, and she didn’t stay.

Shen Jing entered and tried to turn on the light; the switch was a push-button type, more than a decade old.

It was burned out; the light didn’t turn on.

She asked Zhuang Ming, "Do you have time? Help me find a renovation company in the next few days to get this place fixed up."

Zhuang Ming was silent for a few seconds before agreeing, "Your family’s place is quite nice."

"You’ve already investigated me, so why ask?" She went up the stairs.

Zhuang Ming followed behind her. "I took notice of some things, not intentionally invading your privacy."

"How much is your annual salary?"

"Your current assets wouldn’t cover it."

Shen Jing turned around and sized up Zhuang Ming. "So arrogant."

Zhuang Ming wasn’t really arrogant; after all, accomplishing every task on time while working for the Zhou Family wasn’t easy.

"If I were pregnant, would the Zhou Family take care of it?" she asked.

The empty room echoed with only her faint voice.

Zhuang Ming didn’t answer directly but offered what might be consolation, "Perhaps."

Shen Jing spoke softly, "Not perhaps, definitely. Could the president of United Bank allow an illegitimate child?"

"The night you left, the Second Young Master watched movies the whole night," Zhuang Ming added.

Shen Jing heard this but didn’t react. "No need to speak well of him. He probably had some pretty girl keeping him company while he watched."

Zhuang Ming was speechless, with truly nothing more to say.

She actually understood everything in her heart, yet she rebelliously tried a different way of living.

After a moment, she spoke up, "Zhou Luchen is back, isn’t he?"

Zhuang Ming admitted, "Thinking that you might have a baby, it seemed more appropriate for him to come back personally."

It’s best to see him from a distance one last time, Shen Jing thought. After all, there’ll be no connection between us in the future.

She pushed the door into the bedroom. It was a pink princess room, with a piano from over a decade ago in front of the window, and many trophies displayed on a cabinet.

Looking at the wall of honors, Zhuang Ming said, "You have a great talent for art."

"Not everyone has talent. It’s bought and hammered out through practice," Shen Jing said.

"If my father were alive, I think another wall would be covered in trophies."

Zhuang Ming grew quiet, then said, "In that case, the Second Young Master would never have met you in this lifetime, and I wouldn’t know you either."

"Zhuang Ming, we can’t end up together. I know it, and he knows it too. Our separation was inevitable—it was just a matter of time. It wasn’t because of anyone else, but because of us."

Shen Jing slipped her hands into her coat pockets, tilting her head back to gaze at the family portrait hanging on the wall. "An obsession—when you can’t have it, you think it’s the best. Once the obsession fades, so do the feelings."

"From his childhood, everyone in the Zhou Family indulged him. Even when he made mistakes, the worst they would do was chide him harshly, reluctant to let him suffer the slightest hardship. To him, losing or possessing something has become unimportant; the Zhou Family holds other great expectations for him. His future has already been arranged by them."

It was rare for the usually stoic Zhuang Ming to say so much to her.

Shen Jing busied herself, rummaging through cabinets, looking for photos.

Zhuang Ming didn’t want to disturb her, so he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

At dusk, not a single light was working in the old villa.

Zhuang Ming’s alarm clock rang. He checked the time, then knocked on the door. "Miss Shen, the Second Young Master should have arrived."

Only then did Shen Jing open the door. "Lead the way."

In less than ten minutes, the car drove to the Linshui Tower King villa estate.

The estate had nearly 4,000 square meters of shaded lawns, meaning the car had a considerable distance to drive on the grounds.

As night descended, Shen Jing went upstairs alone, waiting on the balcony.

After nearly ten minutes, she saw a Hongqi car enter. It approached from a distance, and the driver parked behind a fountain before opening the backseat door.

A man’s leather shoes hit the ground, and only then did Shen Jing catch sight of that handsome, remarkable face.

He was still him—noble, lofty.

"Let’s go."

Zhuang Ming was stunned. Is this it? he wondered. Is just one look from afar enough for her?

"You really aren’t going to speak with him?"

"Not speak, not see," Shen Jing turned away. "Just like he wouldn’t have chased after me back then."

Zhuang Ming chose to respect her decision. "You’ll run into him if you leave through the front door. I can take you out the back."

"I’m sorry to trouble you."

She hadn’t been there long, and the servants didn’t recognize her, so naturally, they asked no questions.

They watched the Master enter through the front door and then saw that slender figure disappear around the back corner of the yard.

The servant didn’t think much of it, simply taking the suit jacket from Zhou Luchen’s hands.

"Sir, dinner is ready. Would you like to eat now?"

Zhou Luchen suddenly understood. His eyes stared out the window, gazing distantly at an unlit lamp fixture in the backyard garden, swaying gently in the wind.

In just three or four seconds, he withdrew his gaze, pulled out a chair, and sat down with indifference, wiping his hands with a napkin.

The servant, understanding, set the tableware and served him soup.

Zhuang Ming’s text message: "I’ve taken Miss Shen home. She said she didn’t want to see you. Today’s events were a misunderstanding, and she’s very sorry. She didn’t mean to disrupt your work."

Zhou Luchen didn’t reply, quietly moving his chopsticks.

One could imagine that Shen Jing had used Zhuang Ming’s phone to send the text.

...

Xie Qinyang was the first to get wind of Zhou Luchen’s sudden return to the country. He drove like mad, rushing to Taihe to see him.

Seeing there was food, he sat down opposite Zhou Luchen, arranged his chopsticks, and asked, "You’ve only been gone a few days. What brought you back so suddenly?"

Zhou Luchen leaned back in his chair, fiddling with his phone, and replied nonchalantly, "Thought I’d become a father."

"You?" Xie Qinyang laughed. "Where from? Did the child spring out of a rock?"

With no intention of joking with Xie Qinyang, Zhou Luchen left him to eat alone and took his car keys to leave.

"I say, Second Young Master, don’t you have any manners for your guest? I just arrived."

"Suit yourself."

Zhou Luchen was always known for his cold and direct responses.