Chapter 1754 - 718: Waiting for a Rabbit by the Tree (Part 2)

Chapter 1754: Chapter 718: Waiting for a Rabbit by the Tree (Part 2)

"What do you take me for? It’s not like I’m in the mafia... Relax, I just made sure she resigned, that’s all."

Zhou Wang looked helpless, but he knew very well that at least within the industry, Linda could forget about finding another job.

He actually didn’t know that Mr. Ren had already issued a "ban order," but after the public humiliation tonight, at the very least that Zhang Xun—supposedly Yan Lingchuan’s cousin—and that vice president from Daxia Film and Television, probably wouldn’t let Linda off easily...

Anyway, there was no need to tell Senior about any of this, since the odds were she’d never cross paths with Linda again in this lifetime.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Senior pleading with him earlier, Zhou Wang wouldn’t even have bothered wasting his time making a trip to Nuo Jin Restaurant...

Of course, aside from ostensibly giving Linda a chance, the reason he personally went to Nuo Jin Restaurant actually had another layer of intent.

That was to use the mouths of those few dozen people at the banquet hall to spread the message that "Jiang Mo is his woman."

More or less, it would help Senior avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

And save himself some hassle.

If any other blind idiot dared set their sights on Jiang Mo, then Zhou Wang could simply say, "Don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"Mr. Zhou, where to next?"

At this moment, seeing their conversation wind down, Qu Peining, who was temporarily serving as Driver, spoke up.

After they left Nuo Jin Restaurant, she had been driving in a certain direction according to Zhou Wang’s instructions, but in truth, Qu Peining had no idea where they were headed.

"Mm, turn right at the next intersection, then turn right again at Coal Ash Alley..."

Zhou Wang glanced at the navigation on his phone as he spoke.

Hearing this, Qu Peining’s body stiffened. She shot a look at Zhou Wang, but in the end said nothing, merely continued driving silently.

About ten minutes later, the Mercedes G-Class with a Beijing license plate stopped at the entrance of a certain alley.

Deep inside the alley, two vermilion doors were tightly shut; one could vaguely see that it was a huge courtyard compound.

"You... why?"

Once Qu Peining was sure Zhou Wang wasn’t messing with her and had really driven to her front door, she lifted her head coldly and questioned him.

"Peining, tonight is New Year’s Eve."

"So what if it’s New Year’s Eve?"

"Go see your mom. I know deep down you definitely miss her... Mm, you haven’t answered her calls in a long time, have you? I heard from Qu Yunfeng that she was hospitalized again recently and only got discharged a few days ago."

"..."

Qu Peining suddenly fell silent, just lifting her eyes to look at Zhou Wang.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious, just some old ailments acting up."

"...I didn’t ask to know."

Qu Peining bit her lip, but Zhou Wang still noticed a slight shift in her expression.

"Regardless, stay home for a day. After all, who knows when you’ll be back next time."

Zhou Wang spoke earnestly, "The people in that house, whether you like them or not, they’re still your family. Mm, there’s got to be at least one or two who truly care about you. I don’t want to see you regret it someday."

Qu Peining said nothing, but her gaze turned uncertain.

Seeing this, Zhou Wang smiled and said, "I know you might still be a bit nervous. Relax, I’ve thought it through for you... Mm, Senior will go in with you."

"Really?"

Qu Peining froze for a moment, then turned to look at Jiang Mo.

Having already discussed it with Zhou Wang, Jiang Mo smiled and nodded. "Mm, Peining, if you don’t mind..."

"Of course I don’t mind!"

Qu Peining spoke with a hint of surprise at first, then, as if realizing something, glanced at Zhou Wang with some guilt. "But today is New Year’s Eve, you, you two..."

"Come on, Senior and I have so many holidays to spend together in the future, missing one New Year’s Eve is no big deal. This was her idea too. It’s been a long time since you two besties had a proper talk..."

Zhou Wang offered a few words of comfort to Qu Peining.

Jiang Mo also chimed in to persuade her, and Qu Peining was finally moved. She and Jiang Mo got out of the car together, then, under Zhou Wang’s waving hand, walked toward the big residence deep in the alley, looking back every few steps.

Zhou Wang lit a cigarette and watched the two women disappear behind the vermilion doors before finally withdrawing his gaze.

"Well, I’m a lonely bastard again."

Zhou Wang stretched lazily, moved over to the driver’s seat of the Mercedes G-Class, and for a moment felt a bit at a loss.

The time right now was neither early nor late. Zhou Wang mulled it over and, having no particular plans, turned the wheel and drove toward Beidou No.1 Courtyard.

Better to just wash up and sleep early.

...

Parking Senior’s Mercedes G-Class in the underground garage of Beidou No.1 Courtyard, Zhou Wang took the opportunity to check on the Lamborghini Aventador that was also kept there.

Mm, no dust, still looks brand new... which meant that during the days he wasn’t around, the property manager in charge of his residence hadn’t been slacking off; they’d even been helping him clean the car. Not bad.

Originally, Zhou Wang had wanted to hire a house steward for Beidou No.1 Courtyard as well, but later, since he couldn’t find a suitable candidate, the matter was put on hold.

But in fact, it seemed fine without a steward. His apartment in Beidou No.1 Courtyard was the Tower King unit, and the supporting services provided by the property management were already quite comprehensive. Having a steward or not didn’t make much difference.

He took the elevator to the 7th floor, and the motion sensor lights in the foyer switched on automatically. Using his fingerprint, he opened the double armored doors that were said to be AK47-proof, and Zhou Wang couldn’t help but freeze.

Because before he had even spoken to wake up the smart home system, all the lights in the house were already on.

Someone’s here?

Zhou Wang was slightly startled, and certain old memories suddenly surfaced in his mind. He quickened his pace into the living room, but soon came to a halt.

In front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows facing the lake stood a woman.

She had her back to Zhou Wang, arms folded, silently gazing at the night outside the window.

The woman was very tall. The well-tailored black suit dress accentuated the graceful lines of her back, and after the transition of that slender, barely handful waist, the silhouette flared sharply outward into an exaggeratedly full curve.

Her straight, shapely calves were wrapped in sheer black stockings that, under the lights, gave off a faintly enticing sheen... When Zhou Wang first caught sight of her, he couldn’t help swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Because not only was this woman wearing sexy stockings, but the stilettos on her feet, at least eight centimeters high, were black with red soles as well. That was just downright cheating.

And as far as Zhou Wang could remember, this should be the first time she’d ever worn this style of high heels.

"Qingkui, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Wang’s gaze lingered on her beautiful back for quite a while before it finally occurred to him to sound surprised.

The woman standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows was none other than Jiang Qingkui.

Only she and Xu Wenqian had access permissions to all of his residences... That was the private perk befitting a Secretary and an Assistant.

It wasn’t until Zhou Wang spoke that Jiang Qingkui seemed to come back to herself. She slowly turned around, still keeping her arms folded. When she saw Zhou Wang, a complicated look flashed through her eyes before she curved her lips into a half-smile and said:

"Mr. Zhou wouldn’t answer my calls or reply to my messages, so all I could do was come here and lie in wait, right?"

There was no resentment in her tone, but faced with her calm expression, the hairs on Zhou Wang’s arms still stood on end, and he could only say awkwardly:

"I’ve been pretty busy these past few days; it’s not that I was deliberately ignoring you... Eh, hang on, how did you know I was in Beidou... Uh, Senior sent you a ticket too?"

Zhou Wang was no fool. Halfway through speaking, he’d already put the pieces together.

Given how well Jiang Qingkui knew him, she would definitely guess he wouldn’t miss Senior’s premiere. Thinking about it that way, it all made sense.

"Mm, I was just at the Grand Theatre too."

Jiang Qingkui nodded, confirming Zhou Wang’s guess.

"Then you..."

Zhou Wang originally wanted to ask if Jiang Qingkui had some urgent business, but then felt that sounded a bit too distant, and for a moment he had no idea what would be appropriate to say.

Jiang Qingkui also said nothing; she just stood there quietly looking at him, and in the silence, the atmosphere suddenly took on a faintly eerie charge.