Plunder-Chapter 254 Closing the Net

The person on the other end of the phone received the order and immediately went to carry it out.

An Jinhua pondered for a moment before making another call.

"What’s the situation with Zhou Jin’an now?"

"It’s pretty quiet, no different from usual."

The reply came from Xu Mei.

"That’s not normal."

An Jinhua’s brow furrowed once more.

He knew better than anyone how much Zhou Jin’an cherished Qiao En. If the person who was injured last night was indeed Qiao En, at this moment, Zhou Jin’an shouldn’t be this calm.

"What’s up, President An?"

Xu Mei asked in surprise.

An Jinhua didn’t make a sound, simply ordering, "Keep a close watch on him."

Not long after he hung up the phone, his assistant came to knock on the door.

"President An, Director Zhou has arrived."

At this news, An Jinhua immediately got up.

In the living room, Zhou Chucheng was lounging on the sofa with his legs crossed, engrossed in playing games on his phone.

"Chucheng is here!"

A smile crowded An Jinhua’s otherwise cold face, and he quickly walked towards Zhou Chucheng.

Zhou Chucheng immediately put away his phone, "Brother Hua, you’re so busy!"

Once they were seated, An Jinhua had his assistant bring over two cans of tea leaves.

"I know you love tea, so I specially had someone get these for you."

Zhou Chucheng’s eyes lit up as he took the two cans of tea leaves.

"Brother Hua is always good to me."

"Did you come over because there’s something you need?"

An Jinhua lit a cigar and his gaze fell softly on Zhou Chucheng.

"Those projects I talked about last time with Brother Hua, what do you think?"

Zhou Chucheng looked at An Jinhua with a face full of innocence.

An Jinhua took a deep drag on his cigar, squinting as he sized up Zhou Chucheng.

"I’ve thought about it, all those are lousy projects. If you want to do business, I have a few profitable ones for you."

Zhou Chucheng pouted, "Brother Hua, don’t spoil me like this anymore. Everyone knows you’re good to me, but I’ve grown up now. Originally, I had no interest in business at all. But as you know, Zhou Jin’an now has control of Nanchen, and my brother and I are shut out. My brother just wants to live it up, and my mom, she weeps every day and pushes me to compete with him, but as you know, am I really capable of that?"

Zhou Chucheng said, then let out a heavy sigh.

"Brother Hua, could you please help me out? I don’t care if I earn money or not, what I need is experience. If I stay a greenhouse flower my whole life, my brother, my mom, and I will definitely be left out in the cold in the future."

He muttered to himself, as if genuinely troubled.

"Aren’t you working as a director? I’ve heard you’re quite good at that, and it’s also a way out. The business world is like a battlefield; why must you dive into this field?"

An Jinhua was skeptical about Zhou Chucheng from the beginning to end.

Ignoring the profitable projects and instead aiming to acquire those nearly failed enterprises from his hands.

It was unusual, and given his suspicious nature, he naturally had to be on his guard.

"I really did like directing before, but as you know, that field burns money. Since my dad died, our family has gone downhill. My mom said that as long as I take back Nanchen, I can get half of the shares, and then I can do whatever I want."

Zhou Chucheng showed a face full of yearning and smiled.

An Jinhua remained silent with a smile.

"Brother Hua, please help me out, will you? I’m asking you to help me. In the whole Rong City, no one is good to me except for you. If I really managed to take back Nanchen, I promise to give you a ten percent share, okay?"

His words sounded like those of a child unfamiliar with the ways of the world.

Ten percent of Nanchen’s shares would be a tremendous income.

"What you say doesn’t count."

An Jinhua teased Zhou Chucheng deliberately.

But Zhou Chucheng took it seriously, "How can it not count? I’ll write it down right now."

As he spoke, he hurriedly walked over to An Jinhua’s desk, found paper and pen, and swiftly wrote down his promise.

To make it more credible, he even pressed his fingerprint on it.

"There, does it count now?"

Zhou Chucheng handed over the written promise to An Jinhua with a proud face.

He squinted, reading each word carefully for a while.

Afterward, An Jinhua laughed.

"Alright, I’ll give it to you."

He got up and instructed the assistant to prepare the contract proceedings.

Zhou Chucheng was so happy he couldn’t contain himself, grabbing An Jinhua’s arm and shaking it, "If only you were my real brother, Brother Hua."

Ten minutes later, he left the An Corporation building carrying the two cans of tea leaves and the signed contracts.

Once he reached the underground car park, he dived into his car.

He casually tossed the two cans of tea leaves onto the back seat; the cans rolled off the seat onto the floor, scattering tea leaves everywhere, but he didn’t so much as give them a second glance.

He photographed the contracts and immediately sent them to Zhou Jin’an.

"Big brother, it’s done!"

In the CEO office of Nanchen, Zhou Jin’an stood with a coffee cup in hand in front of the tall French windows.

Looking out from the window, he could see the entire scenery of Rong City at a glance.

There came a message on WeChat; he opened it and immediately saw the photo sent by Zhou Chucheng.

"Well done!"

In an instant, his tense lips relaxed.

"Big brother, if there’s anything else you need me to do, just command me."

Zhou Chucheng felt a surge of joy upon receiving Zhou Jin’an’s praise.

"Hold steady and protect yourself."

Zhou Jin’an replied with a total of nine characters.

"Got it!"

After replying to the message, Zhou Chucheng then drove back.

Meanwhile, Zhou Jin’an gave another order to Cheng Lu.

"We can consider closing the net."

Singapore.

Qiao En had been anxious all night.

With Auntie Jiang and Sister Rong in Australia, where a gun battle had erupted, she had no idea what the situation was.

She worried, wishing she could go there herself.

But she was now pregnant, and any mishap would inevitably involve the child in her womb.

On one side was her mother; on the other, her child. She was caught in a dilemma.

Several times, she thought of sending a message to Zhou Jin’an. She drafted the text, but chose to delete it just before sending.

He faced An Jinhua in Rong City, where the pressure and risk were incredibly high. Now that she could no longer stand by his side and fight alongside him as before, she must not become a burden that held him back.

Thus, Qiao En could only tuck her worries and unease back into her heart.

Zhou Jin’an had made thorough arrangements; dedicated security was in charge of her safety, and a nanny took care of her daily needs.

At lunchtime, Qiao En didn’t come downstairs.

The nanny brought the meal into her room, and just as Qiao En was about to eat, there came a knock on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The sound was very faint.

"Come in."

As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened, and Lin Youyou carefully pushed it open.

"Madam Zhou!"

Lin Youyou called out timidly.

Qiao En had grown accustomed to being called Madam Zhou by others and had accepted this identity. But it felt strange to hear it from Lin Youyou.

"Youyou, you can call me Sister En, or, as before, call me Secretary Qiao."

"Secretary Qiao."

Lin Youyou repeated in a low voice. She stood at the door, visibly uneasy.

"Come in and have a seat."

Qiao En said.

Only then did Lin Youyou enter the room and sit down in a corner of the couch, her fringe falling over her forehead. The breeze brushed past, causing it to sway gently.

She wore no makeup but looked quite beautiful; however, her eyes inexplicably carried a tinge of sadness.

"Are you okay?"

Qiao En poured a cup of milk and handed it to Lin Youyou.

She took it and held it tightly in her hands.

"Mhm."

Lin Youyou nodded her head; her eyelids drooping once again.

"Have you had your meal?"

Qiao En asked further.

Lin Youyou shook her head and then nodded.

"Join me for a bit of food."

Saying so, Qiao En asked the nanny to add another set of tableware. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The two sat down at the dining table. Qiao En served Lin Youyou some dishes, but she kept her head down, preoccupied with heavy thoughts.

The meal was a bit stifling.

"Secretary Qiao, Assistant Cheng told me that you came here specifically for me. Really, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble."

Mentioning Cheng Lu, the light in her eyes dimmed even further.

"Do you like him?"

Qiao En’s question was direct.

Lin Youyou was taken aback, looking at Qiao En in astonishment, not knowing how to respond.

After a while, she hung her head low, and said in a small voice, "Assistant Cheng is an excellent person, and I, in my current state, am not worthy."

Qiao En set down her utensils and stood up, taking Lin Youyou’s hands in hers, "He asked me to have a serious talk with you. Youyou, if there’s anything on your mind, you can tell me."

Lin Youyou looked up at Qiao En, hesitant to speak.

After a long pause, as if gathering courage, she said, "I want to give birth to this child and raise him."