Plunder-Chapter 257: I Care
Every morning at 6:30, Cheng Lu would always show up at Chu Garden.
But that day, after Zhou Jin’an had prepared everything, Cheng Lu still did not appear.
He dialed Cheng Lu’s phone, but it was turned off.
Zhou Jin’an’s heart sank.
Cheng Lu had been with him for nearly ten years, and his phone had never been turned off.
Realizing something might have happened unintentionally, he activated the mobile tracking to find that Cheng Lu’s location was at a hotel.
Without much thought, he immediately went to the garage to get his car and drove straight to the hotel.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the room at the hotel.
Clothes were strewn untidily all over the floor, and there were used condoms as well.
The man sleeping soundly on the bed was snoring like thunder.
Cheng Lu abruptly woke up.
Yet he found himself lying in a hotel bed, and to his horror, there was a man lying on his chest.
Startled, he abruptly pushed the man away.
The man with blond hair woke up, his sleepy eyes barely open, "It’s still early, let’s sleep a bit more."
He muttered and then reached out again to embrace Cheng Lu.
Instinctively, Cheng Lu jumped off the bed.
In that instant, he realized something.
Rage quickly surged within him, and he grabbed the man by the throat, whispering fiercely, "What did you do to me last night?"
The blond man woke fully then, a satisfied smile on his face, "I’ve done what needed to be done, now I belong to you. You can’t just pull up your pants and deny anything, you have to take responsibility for me."
"Take responsibility my ass!"
Knowing the truth, Cheng Lu wanted nothing more than to end the blond man’s life. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
He swung his fist, bashing the blond man’s face hard.
"Gentle, gentle, don’t just hit my face!"
The blond man, covering his head with his hands, dodged.
He hadn’t expected Cheng Lu to throw punches so fiercely.
Soon, his face was as swollen as a pig’s head.
Unsatisfied, Cheng Lu dragged the blond man off the bed and kicked him.
Last night, he had gone to a bar to drown his sorrows.
But he had never expected to be assaulted.
He didn’t know how long he had been hitting him, but the blond man lay on the ground no longer able to move.
"If you dare let this get out, I swear I’ll kill you!"
Cheng Lu threatened.
The blond man lay on the ground, panting like a dog, no longer able to speak.
Cheng Lu put on his clothes and hastily walked out of the room.
Just as he reached the hotel lobby, Zhou Jin’an walked in through the front door.
"Why is your phone off?"
Zhou Jin’an asked coldly.
Cheng Lu’s brows were deeply furrowed, avoiding Zhou Jin’an’s gaze, "It ran out of power."
Having said that, he walked towards the exit.
Zhou Jin’an’s gaze was sharp, noticing that Cheng Lu’s right-hand knuckles were all skinned.
Blood was already seeping out.
He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Cheng Lu’s wrist.
"Who did you fight with?"
Feeling humiliated and angry, Cheng Lu had never thought that such a degrading incident would happen to him.
Moreover, he couldn’t talk about it to anyone else.
"The person who deserved it."
Cheng Lu shook off Zhou Jin’an’s hand and walked away quickly.
His behavior was very unusual.
Zhou Jin’an’s eyes narrowed, knowing it was useless to press Cheng Lu as he wouldn’t talk.
The two drove separately to the company.
Soon after arriving at the company, Zhou Jin’an received a call from Director Huang.
"Director Zhou, is Assistant Cheng at the company?"
As Zhou Jin’an was about to head to a meeting, he responded, "He is, what’s up?"
Director Huang didn’t clarify but said, "I’m at your company’s lobby, I’ll tell you more when I come up."
However, upon his arrival, Zhou Jin’an found out that Cheng Lu was in trouble.
"A person died at the Crown Hotel, we have to take Cheng Lu for investigation."
Director Huang handed over the arrest warrant to Zhou Jin’an with a troubled expression.
"Director Zhou, this is really difficult for me. I know what Assistant Cheng is like, but the hotel check-in was under his name, the surveillance footage also captured him returning to the room with that person, and this morning the maid heard noises of fighting in the room; this situation might be tricky to deal with."
Zhou Jin’an’s expression was extremely grim.
Such a serious incident had occurred and Cheng Lu hadn’t mentioned a word to him.
"What exactly happens?"
Zhou Jin’an turned his gaze to Cheng Lu.
Cheng Lu’s face was cold and stern, "I only hit the person who deserved it, but I controlled myself, I didn’t kill him."
"Why did you have to hit him?"
Zhou Jin’an asked further.
Cheng Lu clenched his lips tightly, unwilling to say a word.
"What’s your relationship with that person?"
Zhou Jin’an continued to question.
"No relationship."
Cheng Lu answered resolutely.
"How can there be no relationship if you were staying in the same room?"
Zhou Jin’an’s anger soared.
"Director Huang, let’s go."
Cheng Lu didn’t want to answer. He stretched out his hands, ready to be taken away by Director Huang.
"What exactly are you hiding?"
Zhou Jin’an stepped forward, intending to stop them.
Cheng Lu was his man, no matter what happened, he was determined to protect him by all means.
"Director Zhou, I didn’t kill anyone, I just hit someone. But no matter what, hitting someone is also a crime, and I am willing to accept the punishment. That person deserved it, and I have no regrets," Cheng Lu said stubbornly.
Zhou Jin’an was furious, but it was useless.
Cheng Lu followed the two police officers straight to the elevator.
Director Huang looked embarrassed and comforted him, "Director Zhou, don’t worry, we will thoroughly investigate and clear Assistant Cheng’s name."
Just like that, Cheng Lu was taken away.
As soon as he was put in the police car, someone took a photo and sent it to An Jinhua.
"President An, our chance to counterattack has come," Xu Mei said with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
An Jinhua seemed very relaxed; he brewed a cup of tea and leisurely blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface.
"What goes around comes around, huh? You’re quick-witted. Zhou Jin’an is untouchable, but we can touch the people around him."
"Exactly, now that he’s involved in a homicide case, it won’t be so easy for him to escape the charges," Xu Mei replied, her smile charming.
An Jinhua instructed, "Make sure to comfort his family well. The aftermath must be handled cleanly."
Xu Mei stood up to take her leave, "Rest assured, you’ve been unaware of this from the beginning. The real drama has just begun; your job is simply to watch."
She sashayed towards the door, pulling it half open, then she stopped.
"President An, are you still waiting on Australia?"
An Jinhua took out a cigar and lit it, asking, "What do you mean?"
"Being attacked from both sides will lead to his own downfall, allowing us to strike back harder. What do you think?"
An Jinhua looked at Xu Mei approvingly and said, "Do as you suggest."
The news of Cheng Lu being taken away caused quite a stir in Nanchen.
Since he refused to speak the truth, no one could help him.
While Zhou Jin’an was in a complete mess, someone seized the opportunity to spread rumors.
"Nanchen’s CEO Zhou Jin’an’s wife was shot in Australia, and his assistant is suspected of murder."
Once this message was released, it was quickly reprinted by major media outlets.
Nanchen’s stocks plummeted to a halt by ten o’clock in the morning.
Zhou Jin’an’s office phone was nearly blown up with calls.
Inside the company, people were panicking, and various speculative voices emerged.
Zhou Jin’an was fighting a lone battle, utterly powerless against the battle of public opinion.
"What the hell is going on?"
He called Xiaolu.
"I’m sorry, Director Zhou, I hid the truth from you. I was injured that day, but it’s nothing serious now," Xiaolu explained on the other end.
But a delayed explanation was meaningless now.
"Remember, tell me everything immediately whenever anything happens; don’t hide anything from me. For now, pause your work and focus on recovering," Zhou Jin’an ordered.
Xiaolu listened but was unwilling to comply.
"Director Zhou, it was just a minor injury, really not serious. I can continue to work. Please let me work, I promise I won’t cause any trouble."
Zhou Jin’an said nothing more and hung up the phone directly.
He stayed busy late into the night, and there were still issues in the company that hadn’t been resolved.
Director Huang called.
"Director Zhou, I owe you an apology."
"Did he confess?" Zhou Jin’an asked coldly.
Director Huang sighed heavily, "Assistant Cheng won’t say anything, and the situation is already very disadvantageous for him."
"Blockhead!" Zhou Jin’an cursed, getting up angrily.
"I’m coming over now."
Twenty minutes later, he appeared at the police station building.
Director Huang was waiting there, leading Zhou Jin’an to the interrogation room.
Cheng Lu sat there, looking haggard. He glanced up at Zhou Jin’an as he entered, then quickly averted his gaze.
"Do you want to go to jail?" Zhou Jin’an said in a low voice.
Cheng Lu seemed downcast.
Having misfortune in love was one thing, but, as a man, he had experienced something unspeakable.
He had lost all dignity.
Did he really have to tell others like Xianglin’s Wife?
"Director Zhou, please leave. I have nothing to say," he turned his head away, looking defiant.
Zhou Jin’an paced back and forth in the room, his anger simmering with every step.
"Do you realize what you are doing? Wake up, Cheng Lu. If you really end up in jail, you’ll ruin your life," Zhou Jin’an said, frustrated by his lack of fighting spirit.
The Cheng Lu in front of him had become someone he didn’t even recognize anymore.
Cheng Lu’s head drooped, "If it’s ruined, then it’s ruined. I don’t care anymore."
The scariest thing for a person is to give up on oneself.
And now, Cheng Lu had chosen to give up on himself.
Zhou Jin’an’s patience had its limits; he grabbed Cheng Lu’s clothes and held on tightly.
"You may not care, but I do. Don’t forget who brought you out of that backwater place. I’m telling you, your life is mine, I didn’t give you permission to give up, and you don’t have the right!"
