Chapter 119: Something’s Wrong

The next day, Saturday, Qiao Jiu slept in late. She was woken by a kiss. Turning over, she saw Lu Fengzhou already dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, his body leaning against hers. "Get up and eat," he said.

At this hour, it was unclear whether it was breakfast or lunch.

Qiao Jiu waved her hand to push him aside. "I’m not awake yet."

This time, Lu Fengzhou was a bit more forceful. He pulled back the covers, lifted her out of bed, and headed toward the bathroom. "Eat first, then you can sleep again."

After setting her down, he squeezed toothpaste onto her brush and prepared water for washing her face.

With her eyes closed, Qiao Jiu brushed her teeth and washed her face, then stepped out to find breakfast already laid out on the table.

It wasn’t just her attitude toward Lu Fengzhou that had shifted dramatically; his demeanor toward her had changed as well.

Before, he had been cold and distant, but ever since he suggested they start over, he had turned around completely.

Yet, was there still anything about her worth his concern?

No. She felt emptied out by him.

The two sat down at the table. Lu Fengzhou spoke first: "I have some things to take care of later. You stay home by yourself."

Qiao Jiu scoffed. "I’m going home. There’s no way I’ll stay here."

Lu Fengzhou paused but didn’t argue. "Fine."

That was all they said to each other. After breakfast, Qiao Jiu went back to her room to grab the clothes she had taken off yesterday.

They were completely ruined—her underwear was torn to shreds.

Lu Fengzhou handed her one of his jackets. "Wear mine outside."

Qiao Jiu didn’t refuse. She took it and wrapped herself up, then they headed downstairs together.

Lu Fengzhou drove her back home. Qiao Jiu, like some ungrateful scoundrel, waved him off carelessly as soon as she got out of the car and strode into the neighborhood.

The car lingered for a moment, then Lu Fengzhou smiled faintly before stepping on the accelerator.

Once home, Qiao Jiu changed clothes and hesitated a moment before calling Liang Xiucheng.

Liang answered quickly. "Xiao Jiu."

Qiao Jiu gathered her words. "Acheng, I wanted to ask—has our company finalized the cooperation with Uncle Liu?"

She had never inquired about the partnership between the Liang family and Liu Changyong. Since Liu had suddenly left, she didn’t know if the matter had been settled.

Liang seemed uncertain too. "I think the contract was drafted, but since Mr. Liu left so suddenly, I’m not sure if it was signed. Why do you ask?"

Qiao Jiu licked her lips. "It’s nothing major. Just before he left, Uncle Liu invited me to a meal and talked about his company. I’m curious—do we have detailed information about his company?"

Any cooperation would require due diligence.

Liang nodded knowingly. "We do. My brother even brought some home before. He said Mr. Liu’s business is big—he’s involved in several fields."

Hearing this, Qiao Jiu immediately asked, "Are those files at the company? Would it be convenient for me to see them?"

Liang didn’t treat her like an outsider. "You want to see them now? I’m free. How about I go with you to the company and find them?"

They agreed on this, and Qiao Jiu quickly took a taxi to the office.

When she arrived, Liang hadn’t come yet. She sat in the lobby, idly flipping through some local gossip news.

After a few pages, she paused, frowning as she came across news about the Hu family. With Huo Ting marrying Hu Mingkuai, she was somewhat sensitive about the Hu family.

She clicked on the news, and within seconds her brows furrowed deeply.

Hu Ming, like Zhao Shuo, was no good; he had caused many scandals.

Qiao Jiu had assumed the news was about Hu Ming, but it wasn’t.

The article concerned Hu Ming’s father—an old man well into his years but still vigorous enough to have fathered an illegitimate child just over a year old.

Hu Ming had an older brother who was already married with children soon to start school.

Now, Hu Senior’s new son was younger than his own grandchildren, making the scandal all the more disgraceful.

Qiao Jiu exhaled sharply. Though it didn’t directly involve the Huo family, since they were about to marry into the Hu family, the shame was inevitable.

She couldn’t help but think of Lu Fengzhou. Last time, Huo Ting said the Huo family wanted to marry her to Hu Ming mainly because Lu Fengzhou had interceded.

She wondered if Lu Fengzhou had a hand in this scandal on the Hu side.

The Hu family was a prominent household, and Hu Senior was no ordinary man. For him to have fathered an illegitimate child, he must have planned carefully to keep it hidden.

Now that the secret was out, it was unlikely a coincidence.

If Lu Fengzhou was involved, what was his motive? He had no grudge against the Hu family.

Or could it be related to her?

Lost in thought, Liang Xiucheng arrived. Qiao Jiu put her phone away and stood to greet him.

Liang followed her toward the elevator. "Why the sudden interest in Mr. Liu’s company?"

Qiao Jiu smiled. "We talked a bit over dinner. Comparing his business to my father’s, he seems sharper. I’m curious how big his enterprise really is."

Whether her heart had softened or not, lies now came easily to her.

Liang didn’t think much of it and led her upstairs.

They went straight to Liang Xiuqin’s office. Liang Xiucheng flipped through some files and quickly found a thick stack of documents on Liu Changyong’s company.

It was clear Liang Xiuqin had done thorough preparation.

Liang handed the files over. "With Mr. Liu backing you up, the thing you mentioned before won’t be too hard to handle."

Qiao Jiu glanced at him, understanding what he meant.

She had wanted to take back the company.

She smiled faintly. "I’ll try on my own first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll find a backer."

Maybe it was her sensitivity, but she didn’t completely trust Liu Changyong. She felt his relationship with her father wasn’t as close as she had assumed.

Not quite disappointed—business was business. It was normal to keep a backup plan.

She couldn’t rely entirely on him; if she did take the company back, she wasn’t sure who would ultimately control it.

Liang said he had some things to handle and returned to his office.

Qiao Jiu took the stack of files back to her desk and started flipping through them from the front.

Liang Xiuqin’s investigation was comprehensive. The files detailed Liu Changyong’s early entrepreneurial days.

After arriving in Shencheng, Liu started in the furniture business, initially with a small stall.

Perhaps due to his keen mind and the booming furniture market at the time, his business quickly took off.

Later, he upgraded to a storefront, then founded a company, and eventually ventured into import-export, expanding his business significantly.

Qiao Jiu flipped further.

The files also contained some of Liu’s personal history. Over nearly twenty years, he had never returned to Yuncheng.

When his father fell ill, Liu took him around seeking treatment.

But the old man passed away, and his ashes were sent back to Yuncheng for burial.

Liu Changyong, however, did not return with them.