The night was deep. Yu Shulin felt his way to Liang Zhou's bedroom and quietly climbed into bed.
Liang Zhou opened his eyes, turned over to embrace him, lowered his head to kiss his forehead, and asked softly, "Can't sleep?"
"That... the gift you gave me..." Yu Shulin nestled in his arms, raised the box in his hand, and waved it. "Aren't you going to put it on for me?"
Liang Zhou curved his lips, squeezed his hand, and said, "I was waiting for you to come and put it on me. Well, of course, that would be after you've fallen for me."
"But I already like you, brother." Yu Shulin was confused.
"Not the kind of liking between family members." He sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, fished out a simple platinum chain from the nightstand drawer, took the simply styled pair of rings from the box, threaded them onto the chain, and gently helped him put it on. He stroked his face and smiled. "The kind of liking between lovers, understand?"
Yu Shulin raised his hand to touch the cool-feeling chain around his neck, crawled up to face Liang Zhou, and took his hand. "Brother..."
"Shh, I understand." Liang Zhou held his hand back, leaned in to kiss his eyes. "I said I'd wait for you to grow up. I'm already very content that you're willing to be with me. I can wait. Don't you worry."
The feeling of his eyes being kissed was strange, as if someone was gently brushing them with a feather, a sensation that went straight to the bottom of his heart. He closed his eyes and then opened them, gazing into Liang Zhou's gentle eyes in the warm yellow lamplight. His heart suddenly felt a pang of sourness and a sense of being at a loss. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and threw himself forward to hug him. "Mm, thank you, brother."
Liang Zhou lowered his head to nuzzle his hair and sighed. "Shulin... you need to grow up quickly."
"Okay." A slow-germinating seed fell into the pitch-black river, nourished by the shimmering water, sprouting leaves, and then blooming into a radiant flower. Points of light scattered, illuminating faint ripples.
After suffering such a heavy blow, Ronghua miraculously did not go bankrupt.
Zhao Zhi flipped through the documents that had just been delivered, his expression grim. "Someone actually injected funds into Ronghua."
"Who?" Zhang Qian was puzzled. "Does Liang Jian have such a loyal and devoted friend? With his character."
"It's Wang Chen." Zhao Zhi closed the file, also perplexed. "When Liang Jian was getting divorced, Wang Chen suddenly demanded to terminate her contract with Rongguang and paid the penalty in one lump sum. Given her income, that's rather suspicious."
"She got her hands on confidential information from Rongguang, so naturally she ran." Liang Zhou pushed the computer away, took out a bottle of eye drops and began applying them. After blinking slowly a few times, he continued, "Someone behind the scenes helped her. It's Liang Zixiu."
"Liang Zixiu?" Zhang Qian's eyes widened. "Didn't he disappear? And where would he get such a large sum of money to invest in Ronghua? That's too strange."
"It's the Liu family." Having found the entry point, Zhao Zhi's mind started working rapidly. "After eliminating all impossible answers, the one that remains, no matter how absurd it seems, must be correct. Liang Zixiu has plenty of dubious friends, but few who could come up with that much money. There's no arguing that Wang Chen is Liang Zixiu's person. So, after eliminating Liang Zixiu's network of connections, the only one left who could provide that much money is the Liu family. On the surface, the Liu family pretended to withdraw from City B dejectedly for their daughter's sake, relaxing Liang Jian's guard. But behind the scenes, they secretly contacted Liang Zixiu, wanting to use him to bring down Liang Jian... If that's really the plan, then the Liu family's scheming is truly vicious."
"Damn! That works? And why would Liang Zixiu listen to the Liu family?" Zhang Qian was dumbfounded by this speculation.
"Precisely because he is not Liu Yu's biological son." Having figured it out, Zhao Zhi regained his composure and explained, "Do you think Liang Jian's wife is really as pitiful as the internet makes her out to be? What has she been enduring all these years of hatred while staying married to Liang Jian? Money! Liang Jian's assets have long been mostly drained by her. When Liu Yu was still Mrs. Liang, her favorite pastime was taking her daughter on shopping sprees and vacations abroad, spending millions on each trip. That's not even counting the jewelry, luxury cars, and mansions she bought every year, plus the money she secretly stashed away... an astronomical sum. Liang Jian has basically been making money for her all these years."
"My goodness..." Zhang Qian felt like he had opened a door to a new world, murmuring, "Women are terrifying..."
"Indeed terrifying." Liang Zhou nodded and said, "But Liu Hao is even more terrifying. The situation Liang Jian and his son find themselves in today is entirely due to his machinations. He's gone to great lengths to make his move into City B."
"Liu Hao?" Zhao Zhi frowned, deep in thought.
"He wants to kill two birds with one stone. I've uncovered a few things; take a look." Liang Zhou put away the eye drops and tossed a file over. "The information Wang Chen got is all fake. Take it back and study it carefully. Liu Hao will probably use this stuff to get Liang Zixiu to go after us. Make some preparations."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhi's expression relaxed, and he nodded. "I understand." Since they were prepared in advance, there was nothing to fear.
Damn, what does he understand? Why don't I understand anything? Zhang Qian looked at these two guys in confusion, tugging at his hair. "Can someone explain to me what all this messy... stuff is? How did you figure out Liu Hao is involved in this? Give me a hint, please."
Zhao Zhi gave him a profound look, full of meaning. "It seems you really do need a vacation. I hear excessive brain use can lead to brain damage."
"I approve this leave." Liang Zhou opened a file and gestured with his eyes for Zhang Qian to get lost. "Didn't you want time off? Go ahead, take as much as you want."
"..." Suddenly he didn't want the vacation anymore! Please tell me the truth, guys!
Half a month later, Ronghua's new shareholder, Wang Chen, allied with some minor shareholders to oust Liang Jian.
With fresh capital and new management, Ronghua was like it had taken a stimulant. Layoffs, restructuring, and shifting development strategies followed one after another. Then, within just two months, they cut most of the poorly performing branches and concentrated all funds on film investment.
Contrary to her seemingly clueless persona, Wang Chen was domineering and dictatorial when it came to managing the company, allowing no dissent. The contrast was frighteningly schizophrenic. Her role in a hit film in October gave her a bit of fame, and netizens became curious to dig into her background. However, all they unearthed were gossip about how she liked to cling to Liang Zhou during filming and bullied staff, nothing else.
For such a previously mediocre actress to suddenly transform into a company director—who would believe there's nothing fishy about that? So netizens speculated: Wang Chen was formerly a Rongguang artist and seemed to adore Liang Zhou... Could the real mastermind behind Ronghua now be Liang Zhou? Was Wang Chen just a pawn on the board?
It could be said the netizens guessed half right. Wang Chen was indeed a pawn, but not Liang Zhou's.
Liang Zixiu, unshaven and disheveled, sat in front of the computer, his expression gloomy and eyes sinister. When he saw an unreliable gossip piece about rumors between Wang Chen and Liang Zhou, he suddenly started chuckling darkly.
He wouldn't let off a single member of the Liang family!
Overnight, a flood of gossip speculating about an ambiguous relationship between the current chairmen of Rongguang and Ronghua suddenly surfaced.
Liang Zhou was busy teaming up with his eldest uncle, Zhou Qinghe, to secure investment from Yan Kaiwen. Hearing this piece of gossip, he frowned and simply temporarily delegated the position of Rongguang's Chairman to Zhao Zhi. Keeping only the title of General Manager for himself, he started running to Qingchi every day.
Once the official appointment letter was issued, netizens were stunned, then their imaginations ran wild. What was this? This was a slap in the face! Weren't they all saying the chairmen of the two companies were involved? I won't even explain; I'll just give up the chairman's position, how about that?
Netizens were briefly shocked by this bizarre method of clarification, then flocked to Rongguang's official website to leave messages expressing their boundless admiration for Liang Zhou, while also unanimously declaring—shameless rich guy, we don't love you anymore, goodbye!
Regarding this "Liang Zhou Loudly Slaps Gossip Rumors" incident, Wang Chen smiled and took it in stride, addressing the rumor for the first time head-on. She claimed it was all a misunderstanding and that she and Liang Zhou were just "good friends."
"Pah, who knows you!" Zhang Qian threw down the newspaper, sulking. "Liang Zhou is too indiscreet. Poor Xiao Yu."
Guan Bowen glanced at him and went back to playing on his phone. Technology sure developed fast these days. Just a couple years ago phones were like bricks, and now they could handle internet and games without a hitch. Impressive, impressive. Delightful, delightful.
In a pleasant mood, he tapped open QQ, found Yu Shulin's account, opened the chat window, and started typing furiously.
ILoveMovieKingGuan: Xiao Yu, your Liang Zhou is straying. Go break his legs. Don't say I told you. Justice is on your side. Clenched fist, go for it!
During a class break, Yu Shulin took out his phone, saw the message, and facepalmed helplessly.
Shulin: Uncle Guan, give up the struggle. Even if I broke my brother's legs, the work you're supposed to do, you'd still have to do it.
ILoveMovieKingGuan: Xiao Yu, saying things like that makes you not cute at all.
Li Tao glanced at Yu Shulin happily chatting on his phone and suddenly asked, "Are there still any of Liang Zhou's fans at school bothering you?"
"Huh?" Yu Shulin snapped back to attention, put his phone away, and replied, "It's okay. Everyone's enthusiasm died down after that initial wave, and they don't bother me anymore. My brother took care of the media; they won't disturb everyone's studies."
"Mm." Li Tao lay back down on the desk and flipped through his book. "That's good."
Time drifted leisurely toward the end of the year. After focusing solely on developing its film division, Ronghua had completely diverged from Rongguang's development path.
—One was a comprehensive entertainment company, the other a film investment company. Their positions were different now; there was nothing left to fight about.
There was an entertainment industry awards ceremony at year's end. Liang Zhou, having won an award again, attended the event.
Yu Shulin was curled up in the car, holding an MP3 player to memorize vocabulary words. He casually handed a lollipop to He Long beside him. "Brother He, for you. Strawberry flavor."
He Long, who had grown taller, stronger, and darker after months of running around out of town, silently took it. He skillfully unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth, and mumbled, "Why didn't you go in with the young master?" The red carpet, the awards ceremony, the after-party... the whole tedious affair would take hours. Why wait cooped up in the van with him, the driver/assistant? Wouldn't it be better to go out and walk around?
"It's too noisy." He stuffed a piece of chocolate into his own mouth and said with a smile, "Brother said he'll come out as soon as possible."
Having just finished December's monthly exams, he looked very relaxed, his words noticeably more frequent. He joked, "Besides, dressed like this, how could I go in?"
The half-day holiday today was decided by the school last minute. He had just gotten home when Liang Zhou pulled him into the car. His backpack and thick winter coat... standing next to the impeccably suited Liang Zhou, the styles clashed too much.
He Long nodded, took out his vibrating phone to check it, and started the car. "The boss asked me to take you to dinner. He's already reserved a table. Let's go."
Yu Shulin nodded.
At the awards ceremony venue, Liang Zhou looked impatiently at his watch, deeply dissatisfied with the ceremony guests on stage who loved to ramble.
"What's wrong?" Guan Bowen maintained an elegant posture and a smiling face, but his words were down-to-earth. "Hemorrhoids? Can't even sit still for a bit?"
Liang Zhou glanced at him, his voice low and tone ominous. "Shulin has a half-day off today."
Guan Bowen understood and smiled, a hint of teasing flashing in his eyes. "Eager to get back home, hmm?"
"He's waiting outside in the car. I told He Long to take him to dinner."
"Oh? He Long?" Guan Bowen perked up, leaning in a little. "That assistant of yours is still around? Haven't seen him in ages, I thought you'd fired him."
Liang Zhou looked at him sideways, his gaze full of scrutiny.
Guan Bowen raised an eyebrow. "Why look at me like that? You think everyone's like you, liking men? I'm just curious."
"Is that so." He looked away, turning his attention back to the stage, his attitude utterly perfunctory, his tone dripping with doubt.
"...Hey, what was your assistant doing before?"
"Heh."
"...So not cute. Serves you right for staying a virgin chicken!"
By the time they finished dinner, the awards ceremony was only halfway through. Yu Shulin made a grand gesture and decided to take He Long shopping at the mall.
"There's a food court on the fourth floor of this mall. It's not very big, but the food is pretty good. I'll show you." Yu Shulin stood on the escalator, turning his head to talk to He Long.
He Long stared at his stomach, paused, and reminded him tactfully, "Young Master Shulin, you have quite an appetite." So please stop eating. You ate so much for dinner, aren't you bloated?
"A good appetite helps you grow taller. Besides, I didn't eat enough at dinner, so having some snacks now is just right." Yu Shulin was in a good mood, patting his stomach with feeling. "Haven't you noticed I've grown taller again? Brother He, you should eat more too, or Uncle He will worry."
"...I will." After not seeing him for a few months, Young Master Shulin seemed to have become even more of a big eater... How exactly is the boss raising him?
Halfway through the awards ceremony, Wang Chen arrived fashionably late.
She walked up to Liang Zhou with a smile, polite yet smug. "Regret rejecting me so harshly back then? Never thought I'd be sitting as your equal one day, did you, General Manager Liang? You think I liked being linked with you in rumors? No, I find it degrading."
Liang Zhou couldn't even be bothered to turn his head, keeping his eyes on the stage, ignoring her completely.
Guan Bowen, already in a bad mood, turned his head upon hearing this and smiled warmly and genteelly. "Sick? Take your medicine. Understand?"
Wang Chen's smile stiffened. Mindful of the cameras, she turned, chin held high, and went to take her seat.
Yu Shulin, holding a bowl of soft, spicy little potatoes, pointed at the big screen where the camera had just swept past Guan Bowen, puzzled. "Brother He, can you tell what Uncle Guan was saying? The camera moved too fast."
He Long, holding a stick of candied hawthorn berries, glanced around at the young men and women staring excitedly at the big screen with shining eyes. His eyebrow twitched. "Probably 'hello.'"
"Is that so? That woman is really annoying. Uncle Guan still greeted her, he's so good-tempered," Yu Shulin remarked, finishing the last potato and continuing to stare at the large screen broadcasting the awards ceremony live.
He Long expressed a strong desire to go have a word with the mall manager. You sell home appliances, fine, but what's the deal with hanging a big screen in the rest area playing a live broadcast of an entertainment industry awards ceremony? Trying to increase customer traffic isn't done like this!
The award for Best Actor of the Year began. After a long string of nonsense from the presenter, the list of nominees was shown. Following that, the presenter milked the suspense for a while before excitedly announcing Liang Zhou's name.
A faint smile graced Liang Zhou's lips as he took the stage, accepting the trophy from the special guest presenter, Guan Bowen. The two shared a warm embrace.
"Dragging it out on purpose, huh?"
Guan Bowen patted his back happily, putting on the act of a caring senior brother looking out for his junior, and smiled. "Letting you have a bit more screen time. No need to thank me."
The embrace ended. Guan Bowen stepped back, yielding the microphone. Liang Zhou took it, said a few words of thanks, expressed his gratitude once more, and then left the stage.
Yu Shulin threw away the bowl that had held the potatoes and clapped. "Brother is so handsome."
He Long nodded proudly, then shot a disdainful look at Guan Bowen, who was also leaving the stage, and frowned — after not seeing him for a few months, this Movie King seemed even more unreliable.
Once Liang Zhou's screen time was completely over, Yu Shulin stood up, stretched with a smile, and turned his head to look at He Long. "Brother He, I'll go throw away the trash. You go buy some drinks. We'll meet at the car later and go find brother, okay?"
He Long nodded. "Alright."
After He Long had walked some distance away, Yu Shulin pursed his lips into a sly smile, glanced back at the big screen, and turned to walk towards the men's clothing section on the fifth floor — his brother had won an award, he should give him something, right?
Liang Zhou left the ceremony early. Guan Bowen was not at all surprised.
Wang Chen swept a smiling glance at his departing figure, raising a hand to cover the smile at the corner of her mouth — Liang Zhou, enjoy your triumph for a little while longer. Soon, you won't be able to revel in it anymore.
After leaving, Liang Zhou first called Yu Shulin. No answer. Frowning, he called He Long. Upon learning that He Long wasn't with Yu Shulin, his expression changed.
"Go find Shulin quickly. Liang Zixiu might be making his move."
He Long's face paled dramatically. He threw away the candied hawthorn skewer in his hand and rushed towards the crowded mall.
At a corner in the mall corridor, Yu Shulin walked over holding a gift. Two ordinary-looking men who had been waiting in the shadows stepped forward, blocking his path.
Yu Shulin stopped, looked up at them, and frowned. "Who are you?"
The two men stepped closer, gripping his shoulders from left and right, smiling. "Young Master Yu, our boss wants to see you. Come with us."
"..." What kind of terrible lines are these.
Yu Shulin instinctively tried to struggle. One of the men holding him patted his back, tapping it. "Behave. Don't move, don't shout. Otherwise, I'll have someone take care of your brother first."
The spot where he was tapped hurt a bit; it didn't feel like a hand. He frowned, his heart sinking — these two might have real weapons on them.
Online, news about Liang Zhou using Rong Guang to launder money began to spread like wildfire. Simultaneously, a confidential document was sent to the relevant authorities' email by a mysterious person.
Yu Shulin was truly missing.
Liang Zhou didn't sleep all night. Even though he knew in his heart that these things were almost certain to happen, he was still unbearably anxious.
Early the next morning, the relevant authorities suddenly visited Rong Guang, carrying a report letter, demanding to audit the accounts. Liang Zhou rushed to the company after receiving the news. Before he could even settle into his chair, he was invited to the police station for some 'tea'.
The media, who had just been publishing reports congratulating Liang Zhou on his award, were all dumbfounded. Then, like dogs catching the scent of meat, they became excited, digging and biting frantically at Rong Guang, hoping to uncover some inside story.
Right at this moment, Wang Chen, who had been mocked by the media for "trying to please Liang Zhou but being cruelly ignored," tearfully held a press conference. She acknowledged her identity as Liang Zhou's girlfriend but then regretfully stated that they had broken up a few days ago due to disagreements.
What disagreements?
Because Liang Zhou was stubbornly determined to use Rong Guang to launder money.
"..." She's sick. That was the media's unanimous assessment of her words. Who didn't know Liang Zhou's background? His father was rich, his mother was rich, he himself was a Movie King, and he owned a company. His money had never been anything but clean. Launder what? His money had always been perfectly white.
Wang Chen sobbed, producing a stack of documents. She said she hadn't wanted to believe Liang Zhou would do something illegal either, but look, Rong Guang's books simply couldn't be making this much money. In the past two years, he'd opened branch companies, movie theaters, invested in several big-budget films, plus all the miscellaneous expenses like talent shows... the expenses and income were completely inconsistent. Even a fool could see there was a problem.
Not wanting to be fools, a group of paparazzi and gossip journalists took on the work of finance and legal professionals, flipping through that stack of documents with a rustle. In the end, they reached an unclear conclusion.
That's right, Liang Zhou must be laundering money! These documents all have Liang Zhou's signature, and the accounts are very problematic. Look at that one film, invested 50 million, earned several hundred million — definitely money laundering!
Seeing that they had caught on, Wang Chen expressed with grief and indignation that it was precisely because she opposed Liang Zhou's illegal activities that he had her transferred from Rong Guang to Rong Hua.
The journalists were in an uproar, asking her if the behind-the-scenes boss of Rong Hua had indeed become Liang Zhou.
Wang Chen nodded, saying that Liang Zhou had started wanting to 'clean' Rong Guang several months ago. Coinciding with Rong Hua's turmoil, he got the idea to target Rong Hua. First, he injected capital into Rong Hua, gaining management rights. Then, he pushed her into a director position at Rong Hua, wanting her to help continue laundering money. She was just a woman, timid, and didn't want to help him with this. Who would have thought that Liang Zhou, with his black-hearted and ruthless nature, forced her to do it. They had a huge argument and broke up. Now that the money laundering had been exposed, she said she was very sad, very scared, and was willing to assist the relevant authorities in their investigation, hoping Liang Zhou could turn back from the brink of disaster soon.
The events of this morning were truly lively. Liang Zhou, who was infinitely glamorous just yesterday, was now in jail, and Rong Guang was facing the awkward situation of being investigated. This plot development was too dramatic.
Then people began to sympathize with Rong Guang's current chairman, Zhao Zhi. He hadn't been in the chairman's seat for long before encountering such a nasty affair. Thinking about it carefully, did Liang Zhou suddenly appoint Zhao Zhi as chairman to make him a scapegoat?
Oh, oh, high society is so complex, their hearts so dark.
