Plunder-Chapter 262: Disrupt His Formation

At the detention center, Zhou Jin’an and Qiao En visited Cheng Lu again.

Qiao En deliberately brought dumplings made by Sister Rong for Cheng Lu.

"Director Zhou, Young Madam, I’m sorry,"

Cheng Lu, overwhelmed with guilt, hung his head low.

Zhou Jin’an’s handsome face was stern as he snapped, "It’s good you know you’re sorry! You really are a wild calf!"

Qiao En looked on with a smile, without interjecting much.

"Assistant Cheng, go ahead and eat the dumplings. Sister Rong made them specially for you. She said you love the three delicacies filling. Try them,"

Qiao En handed the dumplings to Cheng Lu.

He grabbed the chopsticks and began eating voraciously.

"Delicious!"

A happy smile blossomed on his face, and his eyes also sparkled brightly.

As he ate, he suddenly choked up.

"Director Zhou, I won’t screw up again."

"Try screwing up again, and I’ll beat your butt till it blooms,"

Zhou Jin’an’s lips curled up, his words fierce.

"Alright, stop scaring Assistant Cheng. Let him eat his dumplings slowly."

After finishing the dumplings, the three of them sat down and began discussing serious matters.

"Director Huang has already caught the criminal. Don’t worry, we will definitely get you justice."

Cheng Lu nodded heavily.

"Director Zhou, thank you, and Young Madam."

"Don’t thank us; we have seen your contributions over the years. In fact, we already consider you family. You hurt Huang Mao, and Director Huang can’t cover for you. You might be detained for a while, so... "

Before Qiao En could finish, Cheng Lu became agitated.

"I know, I made a mistake and should be punished. Director Zhou, Young Madam, rest assured, I will definitely reform and strive to get out early."

Zhou Jin’an muttered a low "hmm."

"This wasn’t your fault; someone set you up. I will close the net soon and make them pay."

Although Zhou Jin’an didn’t specify, Cheng Lu understood.

"An Jinhua will not die a good death!"

He gritted his teeth tightly.

Qiao En gave Zhou Jin’an a look and found an excuse to leave.

"Assistant Cheng, don’t worry about Youyou; Director Zhou and I will make sure someone takes good care of her. She is a good girl; do not let her down."

"Hmm, for her, I will definitely cooperate with the police’s investigation and strive to get out early."

Leaving the detention center, Zhou Jin’an and Qiao En felt much lighter.

The rain continued outside, pouring incessantly.

Zhou Jin’an held an umbrella in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Qiao En’s shoulders as they slowly walked toward their Maybach.

"Let’s walk for a while,"

The air was filled with a faint fragrance of sweet osmanthus, Qiao En suggested.

"Alright."

Zhou Jin’an signaled the driver to follow them, and the two walked slowly in the night.

"I really hope it can always be as peaceful as it is now,"

Qiao En suddenly expressed her longing.

Zhou Jin’an tightened his grip on her shoulder, "There will be such a day."

The two walked quietly for a while, no one spoke, only the sound of the wind rustling the falling osmanthus flowers, the rain kissing the umbrella fabric, and their shoes tapping on the ground could be heard.

All was silent, in harmony with the desires of their hearts.

After walking a while, Qiao En grew tired, and the two returned to Chu Garden by car.

Just as they got home, Director Huang’s call came again.

"Someone has made a move first."

"What’s the situation?" Zhou Jin’an furrowed his brow, standing by the window in the study.

Director Huang sighed deeply, "Our people followed the leads and found that this matter is related to Xu Mei; just as we were about to apprehend her, she was nearly consumed by fire."

At this, Zhou Jin’an’s eyes darkened instantly.

Xu Mei was a person from An Jinhua.

She had followed him for many years, being one of his confidantes.

Xu Mei framing Cheng Lu was not her solo act; even if An Jinhua had nothing to do with this incident, Zhou Jin’an could guess that the real manipulator behind was An Jinhua.

Now that Xu Mei had been exposed, An Jinhua, in a bid to save himself, had turned against her.

"Can she survive?"

Zhou Jin’an asked further.

"Her life is saved, but whether she can survive depends on her fate. However, whether she lives or dies, Assistant Cheng’s name can be cleared."

But for Zhou Jin’an, this was not enough.

He wanted to not only clear Cheng Lu’s name but also to bring these wrongdoers to justice.

"Make sure she survives."

Zhou Jin’an instructed.

"Don’t worry, I have assigned someone to look after her, and the news has been locked down."

After hanging up with Director Huang, Zhou Jin’an came out of the study.

"Young master, it’s so late, are you going out again?"

Sister Rong inquired further.

Zhou Jin’an "hmm"-ed, "I’m going to the hospital."

Sister Rong didn’t ask any more questions. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Zhou Jin’an would visit Mrs. Zhou in the hospital periodically, so, no one thought much of it.

He left the house alone and drove out of Chu Garden.

Afterward, he called Zhou Chucheng.

Now that Cheng Lu had been detained, the only person he could think of for help was Zhou Chucheng.

"Come out!"

Zhou Jin’an said coldly.

"Right away!"

Zhou Chucheng immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed out.

Zhou Jin’an sent his location over WeChat, and half an hour later, the two met by the lake.

The rain and fog were dense, and there was no one around the lake.

Zhou Chucheng found a secluded spot, parked the car, and then came looking for Zhou Jin’an with his head bare.

He pulled open the car door and sat down in the back seat.

Raindrops slid continuously down his hair. Zhou Jin’an turned his head to look at him and handed him the tissue box beside him.

"It’s raining so heavily, don’t you know to use an umbrella?"

He ribbed him, but his words were full of concern.

Zhou Chucheng smiled naively, "The rain isn’t that heavy."

"Tomorrow morning, go find An Jinhua," Zhou Jin’an said coldly.

Zhou Chucheng didn’t ask why and simply responded.

"Okay."

"Tell him you can’t sign those few projects, no matter what, let him agree."

Zhou Chucheng was shocked.

"Big brother, are you planning something big?"

Zhou Jin’an, however, didn’t answer, "After the deed is done, I won’t shortchange you."

Hearing this, Zhou Chucheng felt displeased.

"Big brother, what are you saying? We are real brothers, and I’m really happy to do something for you. Don’t worry, I know what to do, just leave it to me."

"Mm, okay."

Zhou Jin’an’s tone remained indifferent.

Zhou Chucheng knew when to leave, and as Zhou Jin’an was not much of a talker, he understood it was his cue to leave.

"Then I’ll go first."

He pulled open the car door, and was about to leave with his head bare when Zhou Jin’an stopped him.

"Grown up as you are, you still don’t know how to take care of yourself, take this umbrella."

He handed the umbrella beside him to Zhou Chucheng.

He was slightly stunned, pleasantly surprised.

"Big brother, you’re really kind!"

Even though Zhou Jin’an’s face was covered in a cold frost, Zhou Chucheng still felt a warmth typical of an elder brother emanating from him.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Zhou Chucheng went to An Corporation with a worried expression.

"Brother Hua."

Upon seeing An Jinhua, Zhou Chucheng grabbed his arm and burst into tears.

He wasn’t very old to begin with, and now he sobbed heart-wrenchingly.

An Jinhua was puzzled, his brows furrowing slightly as he pushed Zhou Chucheng away and asked, "What’s happened to you?"

Zhou Chucheng continued crying, sniffling all the while.

He naturally retained a youthful air, having gained a reputation as a profligate in his earlier years.

In An Jinhua’s view, Zhou Chucheng was a naïve rich kid.

"Brother Hua, I can’t take on those projects anymore, can you return the money? My brother yelled at me, my mom yelled at me too; she’s being unreasonable and even stopped my credit card."

Zhou Chucheng acted with convincing tears and snot.

"I’m already twenty-three, yet she still treats me like a child, calling me a prodigal, always saying I’m just making trouble. Brother Hua, how am I making trouble? Isn’t it because I want to stand out like you and do something meaningful, but they all look down on me?"

Upon hearing this, An Jinhua understood everything.

He scoffed inwardly at Zhou Chucheng’s uselessness.

"I must have a good talk with Aunt Man; you’re a man now, you should make your own decisions. Besides, those projects aren’t valuable; even if it’s a loss, it’s not much money. Who doesn’t know that the Zhou family has a huge fortune? What’s a bit of money to them?"

"Exactly! Any money I spend is wasted, while Zhou Jin’an alone controls Nanchen, and the rest are content to be shrinking turtles. Brother Hua, I’m giving up on the project; once this is over, can I work with you? I don’t want to live so pathetically for the rest of my life, can you help me?"

He clasped An Jinhua’s arm, shaking it.

An Jinhua smiled but pushed Zhou Chucheng’s arm away.

"Chucheng, we signed a contract, didn’t we? There are rules in black and white. If you want to break the contract, you’ll have to pay a penalty."

"No problem, I’ll pay," Zhou Chucheng agreed spontaneously.

"Alright, then I’ll have my assistant take care of it."

He made a call through the internal line, instructing his assistant to handle it.

Soon, the penalty contract was printed and brought over; Zhou Chucheng saw that the amount was not small.

He blinked his eyes at An Jinhua, "Brother Hua, what’s going on? Why is the penalty so high? Those small projects aren’t worth fifty million, so why is the penalty thirty million?"

An Jinhua’s gaze deepened, "The marketplace has its own rules, Chucheng. Brother Hua isn’t bullying you; we have to do things according to the rules."

"Okay, I understand. Then I’ll take this to my mom and have her pay."

Zhou Chucheng pouted and left.

However, less than an hour later, he returned.

This time, he brought Yao Chuman with him.