Chapter 93: About Him

Qiao Jiu did not hesitate; she answered at once. “Go on.”

Lu Fengzhou asked, “Where are you?”

Qiao Jiu turned to look around and gave him the name of a restaurant.

He seemed to know it. “I’m on my way.”

Qiao Jiu went into the restaurant and sat by the window.

After ordering, she waited a little longer before Lu Fengzhou arrived.

When he got out of the car, his phone must have rung, but he only took it out for a glance and did not answer. Then he strode straight into the restaurant.

Qiao Jiu rested her chin on her hand, turned to look at him, and more or less guessed why he had come.

The moment Lu Fengzhou came in, he saw her and walked directly over to sit across from her.

Her gaze was cool. “You came because of Ding Mei?”

Lu Fengzhou folded his hands over his crossed leg. “What did she say to you yesterday?”

Qiao Jiu smiled faintly. “Naturally, only things in your defense.”

Then she asked back, “When my father was critically ill, did she go to the hospital?”

Lu Fengzhou said, “Everyone at department-head level and above went.”

Qiao Jiu nodded, a trace of bitterness in her voice. “I just don’t understand it. Everyone in the company went, so why were you the only one who kept me from going? Was it only so you could scheme against me later?”

Lu Fengzhou said nothing.

Qiao Jiu pressed her lips together and looked at him for a while. “Did my father leave you any final instructions?”

Lu Fengzhou lowered his eyes. After a long moment, he said, “He told me not to make things hard for you.”

Qiao Jiu went still. The corners of her mouth lifted, but her eyes still burned. Her father must have known too: once he was gone, Lu Fengzhou would never spoil her the way he used to.

...

That evening, the dinner venue had been chosen by Liu Changyong himself. It was not an especially upscale place; he said the local dishes there were authentic.

According to Liang Xiujin, he had not been back in over ten years, and he had brought his whole family to Shengcheng with him.

By the time they arrived, Liu Changyong was already there. When he saw Qiao Jiu come in, he hurried to his feet. “Xiaojiu.”

Qiao Jiu greeted him as Uncle Liu and went in with Liang Xiujin to take a seat.

Liu Changyong studied Qiao Jiu for a moment. “I later called a few old friends, and only then did I learn how many things had happened over the years.”

He sighed. “I heard some man tricked you badly. Xiaojiu, how did that happen? Why didn’t your father help you keep an eye on things back then?”

Qiao Jiu could not answer that question. Her father had tried to persuade her, but she had insisted on ramming straight into the wall.

After waiting a moment, Liu Changyong said, “He was surnamed Lu, right? I heard his name was Lu Fengzhou.”

Qiao Jiu murmured, “Yes.”

Liu Changyong muttered to himself, “Lu... surnamed Lu...”

Then he asked, “Do you know where his hometown is?”

That question made Qiao Jiu pause. “His hometown?”

Liu Changyong let out a very deliberate sigh. “He got you into this state, and he’s so unreasonable. Didn’t you go find his family and argue it out with them?”

Qiao Jiu did not speak. Instead, Liang Xiujin, sitting beside her, said, “I heard Mr. Lu’s family passed away early. It seems he is the only one left.”

“Passed away early?” Liu Changyong frowned. “How early is early?”

Qiao Jiu and Liang Xiujin both looked up at him. Liu Changyong seemed to realize his question was a little off, and he quickly waved a hand. “I was only asking. To have schemed you and Lao Qiao into this, I thought maybe it was a joint effort by his family. From the looks of it, it was all his own doing. That man must be quite deep.”

Qiao Jiu and Liang Xiujin both fell silent.

After a while, the dishes were served. They could not keep talking about such unpleasant things forever, so they changed the subject and spoke instead about Liu Changyong’s years of struggle in Shengcheng.

Back then, Liu Changyong had left with a sum of money. By his own account, he and Qiao Jiu’s father had gone into real estate together and made a great deal of money. But they were both men who understood things clearly; they knew that when people go into business together, friction is inevitable over time.

Neither of them wanted their brotherhood to suffer, so after making a profit, they settled accounts cleanly and went their separate ways.

Liu Changyong went to Shengcheng and used that money as start-up capital to get into home exports. He was lucky, too; in those years he had a brief burst of success.

Liang Xiujin smiled and raised his glass. “Few people are as clear-minded as you and Mr. Qiao. Most people do business together and only part ways after they have torn each other apart.”

Liu Changyong smiled, shook his head slightly, and said nothing more.

They drank like that for half the meal before the phone in his pocket rang.

Liu Changyong took it out. His expression paused briefly, then he turned to Qiao Jiu and Liang Xiujin. “I haven’t been back in too many years. Once people heard I was in Yuncheng again, a lot of old brothers called me, all eager to invite me to eat with them. But I only have one mouth. How could I possibly keep up with all of them?”

With that, he stood up. “I’ll go return the call.”

No one objected, so Liu Changyong left.

After sitting for a while, Qiao Jiu realized she had drunk too much juice and thought for a moment before standing as well. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Outside the private room, she headed toward the restroom. The men’s and women’s rooms were side by side.

As she approached, she suddenly heard Liu Changyong’s voice coming from inside the men’s room, agitated and angry. “Shut up. I told you to shut up. We are never bringing that matter up again.”

When Liu Changyong left, he had said it was an old friend calling. Yet the way he was speaking to this old friend was downright explosive.

Qiao Jiu hesitated and stopped in her tracks.

Then she heard his voice, lowered and tense. “I’ve already sent people to investigate that Lu Fengzhou. Be steady. You’re so cowardly. I told you to leave with me back then—why didn’t you go? Now you know how to be afraid.”

The other side said something, and he snorted. “Qiao Shiman isn’t dead. You think that if something happened, he could still protect you?”

Qiao Jiu froze. Her brows drew together. Qiao Shiman was her father’s name.

A few seconds later, Liu Changyong said again, “What use is being scared now? Wait until I finish checking. See whether Qiao Shiman’s death has anything to do with Lu Fengzhou. If not, all the better. If it does, then we’ll make other arrangements.”

Qiao Jiu’s expression turned serious.

How could her father’s death have anything to do with Lu Fengzhou? She had seen the medical report back then. It was late-stage stomach cancer.

But then her whole body stiffened.

With Lu Fengzhou’s methods, forging a medical report would not be difficult at all.

She felt cold all over. The thought was absurd, yet once it surfaced, she could no longer press it down.

On the other end, Liu Changyong was still talking. “If it really comes to that, I’ll give you some money. Go hide somewhere.”

A few seconds later, he erupted again. “Then what do you want? What good is sitting there shaking like a leaf? I’m telling you, behave yourself. If you dare drag me down, I won’t even let that Lu guy get to you. I’ll kill you myself first.”

It was probably because no one was in the men’s room and he had grown so furious that he could not keep his voice down.

The pause that followed was long. Qiao Jiu thought the call had ended, but after a while she heard Liu Changyong say again, “Qiao Jiu? She doesn’t know anything. I could tell from her reaction at a glance. Qiao Shiman kept his mouth pretty tight.”

He gave a low huff. “Coming back this time was the right decision. Who knows what else might happen later.”