Chapter 131: The Riddle
January 1, 2020, Wednesday.
The first day of the Gregorian New Year, a lonely holiday. Although it cannot change the basic rhythm of busy and competitive life, it serves as an emotional buildup for the entire society and is a prelude to the more significant upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
In City S on the east coast of China, at a five-star hotel.
Early in the morning, Zhuang Jianfei rushed to the hotel. At this time, he was dressed in a suit and walked steadily towards a suite at the end of the corridor.
The door opened, and a young woman in professional attire walked out, lowering her head in a somewhat frightened manner to greet Zhuang Jianfei before stepping aside to let him pass.
Months after the unhappy meeting between Old Master Chu and Wan Yue, Yao Li had reattached her broken ties. By then, she had completely left Zhuang Jianfei and returned to serve by Old Master Chu’s side.
Inside the suite were Old Master Chu and Yao Li by his side, along with two rugged men, both upper-tier knights in terms of their abilities.
“Old Master Chu, your personal visit makes us younger generations feel like a bunch of useless fools…”
Facing the white-haired elder sitting on the sofa, Zhuang Jianfei showed utmost respect, keeping a low profile.
“Jianfei, what’s the situation with Elder Wu?”
The elder put down his teacup, seemingly indifferent, yet hiding a hint of concern.
“Elder Wu only sustained some injuries; she’ll be fine after some rest. I’ve visited the scene, and it was clearly a trap set up deliberately. There should be other accomplices involved; otherwise, with just Cao Lao’er’s strength, he wouldn’t be a match for Elder Wu.”
“Early last month, the Black Dragon Society ambushed our secret warehouse at the riverside dock in City S, resulting in a significant loss of goods and the injury of two knights by Elder Wu’s side. Just when we managed to find some clues, it turns out the madmen from the Black Dragon Society have someone backing them, making a trap for Elder Wu…”
At this point, Zhuang Jianfei glanced at the two bodyguards in the room.
“Hmm, you need to investigate this thoroughly. Elders Shen and Gao are still in hibernation, and I can’t leave the central command for too long… Let’s put it this way, since this has already affected the Hidden Alliance, I plan to sit down with the Wang family to properly deal with the Black Dragon Society.”
These madmen have gotten support from certain people outside, and they’re becoming increasingly reckless. We must deal with them decisively. Otherwise, we all will have a hard time maintaining face later on.”
After sipping two more cups of tea, Old Master Chu turned his head to Yao Li beside him, “You all go out for a while; I need to have a private talk with Elder Zhuang…”
After exchanging glances with the two bodyguards, Yao Li stepped out, leaving only Old Master Chu and Zhuang Jianfei in the room.
“Jianfei, your previous effort teaming up with Old Feng to mess with the Wang family’s share of assets should come to an end… The Japanese and North Americans have their eyes on the Wang family; do you think the government is unaware? The Wang family is far too influential for us to offend, especially at this moment…”
Seeing Zhuang Jianfei’s submissive demeanor, Old Master Chu sighed deeply, “You have the ambition to let the Hidden Alliance continue to grow, but relying too much on outside help might lead to criticism. Gaining a little benefit won’t matter; what if you end up making a wedding dress for someone else? That would be difficult to clean up.”
“Especially since there are obviously shadows of the Engel family behind the Black Dragon Society. Perhaps the North American side also has a share in it; can you guarantee that they won’t drag the Hidden Alliance down with them?”
Zhuang Jianfei smiled slightly, appearing quite earnest: “You see the problem clearly; with you overseeing things, us younger generations can act with more confidence. In fact, I noticed something off starting last month and have already ceased actions.”
“Good, it shows you can see the wind direction… This time, you’ll assist me in negotiating with the Wang family to jointly eradicate the Black Dragon Society. Achieve something meaningful, and after ten more years of training, there’s still a great chance for you to enter the central command.”
Old Master Chu lightly shook his head, his tone ambiguous, whether in approval or criticism.
“Old Chu, shouldn’t Brother Xiang step in? He has the qualifications and status; I’m still a bit lacking for such a major scene.”
Noticing the teacup in front of the other was nearly empty, Zhuang Jianfei quickly picked up the kettle to refill it.
“He has gone south, reportedly taking people from the Ba Mansion to hone their skills and snatch business from the Black Dragon Society. When it comes to fighting, he’s stronger than you, but when it comes to strategizing, his temperament is lacking.”
Old Master Chu took a small sip of tea, then turned to stare intently at Zhuang Jianfei: “Xiang Tanxing is the nephew of Elder Gao, and he is also considered half my disciple. He’s currently in charge of the Ba Mansion and listens to me, but I’m likely not going to live for many more years. If I say he doesn’t have his own thoughts, would you believe that?”
“Wu Yuqing has already established a foothold in East China and City S, and Old Feng and Deng Baoyi are making waves in the coastal provinces to the south, setting an example for him. You are different; your ambition lies in the central command and you don’t even care about taking turf outside.”
“You’re very smart. You’re more decisive than they are, and you have the ability to endure and succeed, but can you suppress these old heads? You still have many areas that need to double your efforts…”
After speaking, Old Master Chu placed his teacup down, and the skin on his face, covered with age spots, twitched slightly, as if he were somewhat unwilling to accept the internal and external troubles facing the Hidden Alliance.
“Rest assured, I will always remember your support for us younger generations. For the grand plan of the Hidden Alliance over the next century, I don’t mind carrying the blame…”
Zhuang Jianfei respectfully bowed to Old Master Chu, and at the moment he lowered his head, a flicker of light crossed his eyes, showing contempt, fear, and puzzlement.
Not knowing when it happened, Zhuang Jianfei had left, but Yao Li and the two bodyguards did not return to the room. Instead, a young man stood formally before Old Master Chu.
“Old Ancestor, Zhuang Jianfei has gone to Wu Yuqing…”
After not seeing each other for several months, Wei Jun, who had once been beaten into a sieve by Jiang Yao, now showed no signs of foundational injuries; rather, he seemed to have slightly improved in strength, indicating that he had received considerable benefits while following Zhuang Jianfei.
Old Master Chu adjusted his clothing, looking indifferent: “Just continue following him; he won’t truly trust you. At the very least, keep a closer watch on him.”
“Old Ancestor, Zhuang Jianfei probably already knows my identity. If I keep following him, he won’t let me see anything more in detail. Many times, I don’t even know where he goes.”
Wei Jun lowered his head, feeling anxious.
“Alas, I didn’t expect that after hundreds of years, it ultimately falls upon our Chu family to treat the Hidden Alliance as a real family. Outsiders will always be outsiders…”
Old Master Chu sighed softly, showing a look of concern over gains and losses.
“Old Ancestor, since the passing of Brother Songming, there hasn’t been anyone in the Chu family capable enough. In the future, the discourse power in the central command will belong to outsiders…”
Wei Jun cautiously took a few steps closer, his voice low: “Actually, I think Zhuang Jianfei, aside from having great ambition and being ruthless, is truly talented. Why not find a cousin and marry her off to him, letting him join our Chu family?”
Hearing a younger generation offering advice, Old Master Chu chuckled: “Haha, it’s not that easy. For those who consider themselves capable and are high-spirited, such methods may not be effective but only make them tools for continued exploitation…”
“Back then, I arranged for Wan to be with your cousin Chu Songming, and it seemed it was almost set. Then unexpectedly, Cheng Yuanshan intervened, and Wan and Zhuang Jianfei, the two best prospects, tore apart their relationship and began forming factions out of spite.”
An internal struggle resulted in Wan taking away a group of people and resources, seeking the Wang family as a backing, thereby establishing her own independence. Zhuang Jianfei, through continually providing benefits to the alliance, gained his influence in Ba Mansion.
“I still don’t know who is the actual beneficiary after Chu Songming’s death; it seems our Chu family has been at a loss all along… Alas, it’s truly a riddle.”
Regarding the internal intrigues within the Hidden Alliance, Wei Jun naturally had no right to speak, merely lowering his head and pretending to be oblivious, treating it as background noise.
……
As per tradition, the Golden River Club was also closed for business on New Year’s Day.
In the afternoon, Jiang Yao called for Zhong Jing, and hurriedly drove to a high-end riverside community in Area Q, eager to see her new home.
The most luxurious birthday ever had passed two days ago, but at this moment, Jiang Yao was still in high spirits.
Located on the first floor, the more than 180 square meter flat has four bedrooms, two living rooms, three bathrooms, plus an almost equal-sized basement and outdoor garden. Although it was still a bare shell, it was enough to excite Jiang Yao as she wandered around.
This is one of the most expensive areas in City C, with a beautiful environment, low density, mature facilities, and a market price of at least seven million, with such quality layouts being highly sought after and essentially scarce.
Over the past six months, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao had achieved significant results, earning ample performance bonuses, but the expenses behind it were also considerable. Under Jiang Yan’s insistence, most of their incomes were used to procure various precious vampire secret medicines, while living quality improvements received very little attention, causing Zhao Peng to once look for goods everywhere to “clear out” the sisters’ savings.
Now, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao’s bank savings only amounted to just over a million, making it necessary to save up for another seven or eight years to buy a property of this standard.
After a little over ten minutes, facing the rough and empty shell of the house, holding the architectural plans provided by the developer and property management along with a large stack of renovation scheme materials, Jiang Yao fell into confusion.
“Excited? Think about how to decorate… The renovation costs will come from public funds, so there’s no need to save intentionally.”
Standing at the entrance of the empty front hall’s observation balcony, Zhong Jing couldn’t help but call out to the wandering Jiang Yao.
“Decoration? Um… Let’s wait for my sister to come back; I don’t know how to deal with it.”
Jiang Yao tugged at her hair, shaking her head as if it were a given, while flipping through the various renovation effect pictures in her hand and murmuring. She should like a simple style dominated by gray and black tones, and she doesn’t like fancy lighting fixtures and despises bathtubs… If only there was a dedicated computer room…
Mumbling, Jiang Yao rambled on about a whole bunch of things.
Zhong Jing didn’t interrupt her monologue, only slightly shaking his head, showing some helplessness.
Once Jiang Yao was done talking, Zhong Jing snatched the colorful materials from her hand, speaking very seriously: “You probably still don’t understand? This is your house; decorate it however you like.”
“Is it really mine alone? What I like… this doesn’t seem right…”
Jiang Yao stared blankly for a few seconds, then looked around while her expression changed subtly, as if Zhong Jing’s words had suddenly made her realize something.
“This house is your birthday gift; the master let me choose it, and I’m also handling the paperwork, so of course, it’s yours. How to renovate it should be entirely up to you.”
Zhong Jing sat down on the threshold of the nearby bathroom, smiling as he flipped through the renovation materials in his hand.
“Zhong Jing, you’re being cryptic; are you trying to sow discord?” Jiang Yao suddenly turned her head, eyeing Zhong Jing’s face intently.
“Your way of thinking is indeed quite strange… Jiang Yao is this busy, yet you want to be both her sister and mother? Handle your own affairs, and be opinionated; she’d be praising you for that!”
Zhong Jing sighed, looking down at the renovation materials in his hand but one hand subtly resting on his upper abdomen.
“Well then, I prefer a white theme, with maybe some gray and black that she likes!”
Jiang Yao didn’t notice Zhong Jing’s subtle change and instead pondered for several seconds. Finally, seeming to come to a realization, she clenched her right fist and slammed it into her left palm in a serious manner, as if making a significant decision.
However, in the end, she curiously looked back before sneaking up to Zhong Jing, squatting down with an odd expression: “Just to clarify, if my sister isn’t satisfied and brings it up, it’s all your idea, not mine, alright!?”
“Alright, if anything goes wrong, it will all be counted on me! Now, tell me your ideas, and I’ll make recommendations.”
Zhong Jing clapped his hands on his knees and was about to stand up when he felt a sharp pain intensify in his upper abdomen. His thigh and waist muscles relaxed, and he simply abandoned the idea of rising, lighting a cigarette instead, pretending to be nonchalant.
“Let’s have the master bedroom in gray and black, since she likes it…” Jiang Yao pointed in a certain direction.
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to use the master bedroom?” Zhong Jing exhaled a puff of smoke with a teasing smile.
“Master bedroom… Can I stay there? Fine, I want a white theme and a large projector; the head of the bed needs a computer!”
“The living room needs a long sofa, the kind with a corner, so at least two people can lie on it!”
“The observation balcony should have a treadmill…”
Seemingly having unlocked some internal switch, Jiang Yao poured out a torrent of her needs, finally smiling contentedly as if feeling a great relief.
This was the first time in her life that she completely did things according to her own wishes.
“Alright, it seems you really don’t understand renovations. The bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and cloak room are places of daily activity; they’re the key areas for renovation, yet you’ve overlooked them. Things like vanity tables, wardrobes, furnishings, and lighting fixtures are more important, and you just think about fun and lounging, right?”
“Additionally, let’s move the gym, study, and storage room to the basement. Make the outdoor garden a semi-open outdoor rest area.”
“There are four rooms here; master bedroom, second bedroom, guest room… Oh right, should we consider turning that last room into a nursery, just in case…”
As soon as the words fell, a brick suddenly flew over, causing Zhong Jing to quickly twist his body out of the way, laughing exaggeratedly: “Just kidding… That area can be made into a half-open water-friendly space, maybe place some wine cabinets and the like for style.”
Jiang Yao’s expression turned a bit strange as she slowly walked from the distant corridor, quietly staring at Zhong Jing.
Fearing he had gone too far with his joke, Zhong Jing touched his nose, flicking away the cigarette butt, awkwardly rising to his feet, which conveniently covered the discomfort in his expression caused by the abdominal pain.
“Alright, everything will be as you wish; I’ll take care of it. If there are any problems, I’ll take the blame… Let’s go; it’s almost time for lunch…”
Zhong Jing glanced at the watch, touching his painful abdomen while pretending to act hungry.
“Let’s have hotpot!”
Jiang Yao’s voice suddenly rose a little, still calmly looking at him, holding a posture as if he had to comply with her.
“Fine… I’ll let you decide this time.”
Zhong Jing smiled gently, rolling up his stack of materials, striding out.
At the moment he turned, the pain in his upper abdomen became more pronounced, and Zhong Jing’s expression dimmed slightly, feeling somewhat…
That night, Heshinji Seiya returned home. If she hadn’t given a heads-up in advance, Zhong Ma would have almost irrationally thought the Heshinji family was about to change their mind again. The moment Heshinji Seiya re-entered the Zhong family’s living room, it dissipated Zhong Ma’s inner anxiety.
Zhong Hai was very busy nowadays; with the joint production line with Kan Yue Pharmaceutical nearing completion and various year-end group meetings taking place, he spent New Year’s Day working from home.
As for his second son, Zhong Jing, he had been at home a bit more in the past week, but every time Zhong Hai saw the tightly closed study, his feelings were quite complicated.
Previously, he only knew that his second son had a significant gaming addiction, but upon realizing that his son had also entered the vampire world one day, the details of his life gradually started to seem exceedingly unreal to Zhong Hai.
The so-called transition period had already passed, yet the eldest son, Meng Huai, was still in a state of disappearance; the responses from his workplace were also vague and cryptic, leading Zhong Hai to rely on busy work to divert his increasingly anxious thoughts.
In Zhong Hai’s eyes, this family, apart from his wife who was still blissfully unaware, had already been torn apart by two worlds.
“Jing-kun… I’m sorry.”
The moment she walked into the study, Heshinji Seiya’s poised elegance instantly crumbled, and she approached the computer desk looking dejected, not daring to look up.
“Since you’re so certain that there’s no way, why bother going through all this trouble?”
Zhong Jing chuckled as he tossed the mouse aside, sliding his body out of the computer chair, his gaze falling onto a box in Heshinji Seiya’s hand, his voice teasing: “Did you bring me a placebo or are you planning to have me grasp at straws when I’m desperate?”
“It can delay the illness…”
Heshinji Seiya bit her lip, her face pale, “Maybe the Engel family will have a way…”
Playing with the medication that Heshinji Seiya had brought back, Zhong Jing shook his head with a smile: “Alright, I trust that the Wang family has some medicines available too. Let’s put this matter aside for now and just see how hard my luck is.”
“Jing-kun!”
“Hmm?”
Heshinji Seiya suddenly looked up, meeting Zhong Jing’s puzzled gaze.
Bai Yu-kun told me that you celebrated Miss Jiang Yao’s birthday the day before yesterday… Can you tell me if you’ve really grown fond of her?
Heshinji Seiya’s eyes gazed piercingly at Zhong Jing, with a hint of an odd smile on her lips: “I said before, she can’t protect even herself, this isn’t a joke. The Hyacinth simply cannot hold onto them.”
“The preparations by the Engel family have been in place since over seventy years ago, or rather, they’ve continued the work of the Gotar family.”
“If you’ve truly taken a liking to her, all you’ll gain is suffering.”
After speaking, Heshinji Seiya gently embraced Zhong Jing, resting her head on his chest, her expression comfortable, yet her tone remained cold: “She and Jiang Yan are unmatched existences in this world, but their time is limited. Their powers were never prepared for themselves…”
“You mean, they are merely temporarily hosted by the Engel family within Hyacinth?”
Zhong Jing held Heshinji Seiya’s shoulders, smiling awkwardly: “Since I am also someone who won’t live long, and I can’t stop everything, can I at least take a sneak peek into the future? Tell me, what’s the secret?”
“In three months, I will be engaged to Jing-kun, and then I will tell you, alright? Since Lady Yue doesn’t seem interested, let this be a gift for Jing-kun…”
Heshinji Seiya tightened her hold around the young man, laughing sweetly and contentedly.
