A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 187: You care about me, huh" _1

Zhou Luchen watched the video of Cheng Jinchuan being beaten, his face expressionless. He tossed the phone aside.

"Get me a new phone. This one is dirty."

He was extremely fastidious.

His phone happened to ring then. It was an unfamiliar landline number, yet it seemed vaguely familiar. Puzzled, Zhou Luchen answered.

On the other end was Shen Jing’s paternal grandfather, Old Master Shen.

"Regarding the recent events with the Cheng Family, it was Second Young Master Zhou who orchestrated them, wasn’t it?" Old Master Shen asked.

Zhou Luchen admitted frankly, "Does Old Sir have any questions for me?"

"Is Second Young Master Zhou my Ajing’s boyfriend?"

Zhou Luchen calmly sidestepped the question. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"I just want to know, what is your relationship with her?" Old Master Shen pressed.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Luchen explained, "Please don’t misunderstand, Old Sir. I was merely lending her a modest hand."

This time, it was Old Master Shen who fell silent, not speaking for a long moment.

Finally, the old master said earnestly, "Very well. We’ve troubled Second Young Master Zhou a great deal these past few days. The Shen Family is grateful for your help with the Cheng Family’s matters."

As they were, after all, practically strangers, they exchanged a few pleasantries before Old Master Shen invited Zhou Luchen for a meal.

He got up, casually slipped on a bathrobe, and went downstairs to the rear garden to feed the koi. The Second Young Master enjoyed raising koi and, in his leisure time, would appreciate flowers and gaze at the moon.

His new phone hadn’t arrived yet. He handed the jar of fish food to Zhuang Ming. "Let me borrow your phone."

Zhuang Ming took his phone out from his suit pocket and handed it over. There’s no need for Second Young Master to use the word ’borrow’.

He dialed Shen Jing’s number.

On the other end, the young woman asked enthusiastically, "Have you finished renovating my house yet? I want the exact same style of Austrian crystal chandeliers that Zhou Luchen has in his home. Remember to get several for me. They’re so, so beautiful! I’ve already transferred the money to you."

Shen Jing had assumed it was Zhuang Ming. A few days ago, she had asked him to help her replace her lights. She had taken a liking to the chandeliers in Zhou Luchen’s house but couldn’t find a way to get them custom-made herself, believing Zhuang Ming would have the connections.

"Come to my house and take them."

The man’s voice was husky and somewhat faint, sounding indistinctly beside her ear.

He had probably caught a cold from staying up late. Every time they spent a late night being intimate, his voice would become uniquely distinctive after his hoarse cries in her ear, like a fleeting tenderness drifting through mist.

Indeed, Zhou Luchen was the type of man whose voice, only after catching a cold from a late night, sounded most convincingly passionate when he spoke. It was an intangible allure that sparked the imagination.

Shen Jing’s breath caught. "Hm?"

"Where are you?" he asked.

Shaking off her wandering thoughts, Shen Jing answered truthfully, "I’m out having dinner with a client."

Zhou Luchen leaned against the carved balustrade, his bathrobe gaping open at the collar, looking rather disheveled. Behind him was a pond filled with Loulan nine-colored koi.

"Not inviting me?"

"The affairs of the Zhou Family, the Min Family, Song Cheng, and the Cheng Family have nothing to..." She wanted to say it had nothing to do with her, but ultimately, she was an indirect cause of the whole affair.

No, no. It was clearly Cheng Jinchuan’s fault; I’m the victim. From one perspective, Zhou Luchen only dealt with the Cheng Family because of me.

"Are you inviting me or not?" His tone carried a hint of command.

Shen Jing fiddled with her phone case, searching for an excuse. "I don’t have any money."

Zhou Luchen scooped some fish food from the jar and scattered it onto the pond’s surface, watching the koi churn and compete for it. "So, you’re not inviting me to your house for dinner?"

His expression was nonchalant, like that of a roguish Crown Prince.

Shen Jing recalled her grandfather’s recently dark expression and warned, "Don’t come. My grandfather will really take a stick to you."

Zhou Luchen chuckled lightly, his voice drawling playfully, "Oh? Are you worried about me?"

"Don’t get any ideas, Second Young Master. If you got hurt, I’m afraid the Zhou Family would come after me to settle scores," Shen Jing said, then hastily hung up.

Zhou Luchen smiled and tucked the phone back into Zhuang Ming’s suit pocket. "Since when did you start taking on interior design jobs?"

Uncertain of his mood, Zhuang Ming, who always felt as if he were treading on thin ice around him, replied, "I was helping her on your account, sir. You’ve always treated her well, so I thought it would be alright to lend a hand."

"Those lamps are one-of-a-kind pieces designed by a master before his passing," Zhou Luchen said unhurriedly. "Since you couldn’t find replacements, did you plan to bring her here to dismantle my house?"

Zhuang Ming asked in a low voice, "Would you let her dismantle them, sir? She’s quite set on it."

Zhou Luchen scoffed, then chuckled, tying his bathrobe securely around his waist before heading upstairs.

"Zhuang Ming, you ungrateful wretch."

After a while, he changed his clothes and drove off.

Watching the black car disappear into the distance, Zhuang Ming thought to himself. Old Master Shen personally called to extend a cordial invitation. Second Young Master is a filial man, always respectful to elders and kind to juniors.

「This was Zhou Luchen’s first visit to Xihe Bay.」

The car braked to a halt at the foot of the steps.

As he unfastened his seatbelt and lazily glanced up, he happened to see the young woman returning home from work, her arms laden with bags—either document carriers or her laptop.

Upon seeing him, Shen Jing stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the car.

"You really came? My grandfather will beat you up!" she exclaimed, unaware that Old Master Shen had invited Zhou Luchen for dinner to express his gratitude.

Zhou Luchen merely gave her a fleeting glance before striding up the steps.

Seeing Old Liang warmly ushering Zhou Luchen in at the doorway, Shen Jing hurried after them. "My grandfather invited you?"

He hummed in affirmation.

What? Shen Jing, startled, stumbled. Her heel caught the threshold, and just as she was about to pitch forward, a strong, steady arm wrapped around her waist from behind, saving her from an embarrassing fall.

"Thank you."

Zhou Luchen remained silent, his gaze falling on the threshold—a piece of well-worn sandalwood, clearly very old.

Old Liang had been startled by the scene and was relieved that Second Young Master Zhou had reacted so quickly.

"Our Fourth Young Mistress seems to have a special connection with this threshold," Old Liang said. "The Shen Family’s main gate has been repaired many times over the years, but this threshold has never been replaced."

Zhou Luchen remarked coolly, "Is that so?"

Seeing that this Second Young Master wasn’t as cold and heartless as rumored, Old Liang became even more eager to talk to him.

Old Liang continued, "When Fourth Young Mistress was a toddler, just learning to walk, she’d often trip on this very threshold. She’d fall and cry, and the family elders would take turns holding and coaxing her. But she was especially hard to soothe; the more you coaxed her, the more spoiled she acted."

After listening, Zhou Luchen stepped easily over the threshold and smiled faintly. "Indeed, she can be."

It seemed Second Young Master Zhou knew this from experience and could deeply empathize.

"She’d cry whether you comforted her or not, and her forehead would get a little red, swollen bump. So, the Old Madam gave her a nickname: Little Spoiled Bun," Old Liang recounted, his face beaming with a smile.

Zhou Luchen let out a muffled laugh.

Shen Jing turned and glared at Old Liang. "Uncle Liang, don’t go sharing family stories with strangers."

Old Liang simply took it as playful banter between the two. He stepped forward and took the files from Shen Jing’s arms. "Let me help you with these, Fourth Young Mistress. You can show Second Young Master in."

No matter what Shen Jing said—even treating him like a stranger or wishing she could stay far away from him—Zhou Luchen seemed indifferent. He showed no sign of anger; there was nothing for him to care about. If one doesn’t care about a person, their words hold no weight.

Today was the Shen Family’s annual banquet, and the members of the first and second branches, as well as the third aunt, had all returned for dinner. Her elder sisters and elder brother had also come, each with their respective partners. Old Master Shen had merely intended to invite Zhou Luchen for a meal to express his gratitude; it was nothing more than a polite gesture.

They took their seats, though not next to each other. Xie Nan and Zhou Luchen were good friends, so they naturally sat together, which inadvertently created a distance between Shen Jing and Zhou Luchen. It was as if they were separated by a vast distance.

Throughout the meal, Shen Jing kept her head down and ate in silence, not uttering a single word.

Let them all misunderstand. Zhou Luchen isn’t explaining, so why should I? After being seen hugging and holding each other by everyone, how could it be explained clearly anyway? It might be better to quietly leverage the title of ’Zhou Luchen’s girlfriend’ and make some waves. After all, these past two days, when submitting contracts and discussing collaborations, the clients have been noticeably more patient.

With Second Young Master Zhou of the Zhou Family present, the family dinner became somewhat formal and restrained. Only Old Master Shen, who feared nothing and no one, conversed with Zhou Luchen as if he were any ordinary dinner guest. Zhou Luchen, maintaining the polite and dignified demeanor befitting a scion of an aristocratic family, answered truthfully and chatted with the old master.

Shen Jing thought. Did this man slip Grandpa some kind of potion? Grandpa clearly disapproves of me associating with anyone surnamed Zhou. Could it be that after Zhou Luchen dealt with the Cheng Family, and after weighing the strategic situation between the families, Grandpa was actually swayed by his recent actions? Surely Grandpa isn’t that easily bought.

"Fourth Sister."

Shen Jing, whose head was almost buried in her rice bowl, looked up absently. "Hmm?"

Shen Ci lightly touched her nose and coughed softly, reminding her in a low voice, "Eat some of the other dishes, don’t just eat rice."

Just as the conversation lulled, Shen Ci’s words were clearly heard by everyone at the table. From the other end of the long dining table, Second Young Master Zhou glanced towards her. Their eyes met. He gave a slight, almost imperceptible lift of his lips, a clear hint of mockery in his expression.

Shen Jing put down her chopsticks and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "I’m full. Grandpa, everyone, please take your time and enjoy the meal."

「After dinner.」

Old Master Shen and Zhou Luchen chatted over tea in the front courtyard; what they discussed during that long while remained unknown. Even though Second Young Master Zhou of the Zhou Family put aside his usual aloofness and behaved with humility and grace at that moment, he still exuded an air of noble indifference to the sentiments of ordinary people.

When Zhou Luchen was about to leave, Shen Jing was reluctantly assigned the task of seeing him off.