Xi Sheng’s crisis was far from over.
Two days later, a fatal accident occurred at the project site in the eastern suburbs of Beijing.
Homeowners who had purchased unfinished buildings in the project gathered a group of people, holding banners and causing a disturbance at the construction site.
Hou Wude had experience handling such matters: he would drag his feet and refuse to pay, and if he couldn’t delay any longer, he would offer a few thousand yuan to silence the ringleaders.
This time, he tried to use the same tactic, but either the steel scaffolding supporting the walls had loosened or a pushing incident occurred that day, causing the eight-story-high scaffolding to collapse, resulting in three deaths on the spot.
This incident would spell the end for all investors involved in the project, with no one reaping any benefits.
No benefits, no benefits; finished, finished. Lu Pingzhang would accompany him in his downfall.
A week later, Hou Wude was taken away by judicial authorities for investigation, along with the financial staff.
Lu Pingzhang, of course, was not spared; he was the largest shareholder of the project.
However, he seemed to have anticipated this day and was well-prepared. On the same day, he submitted the materials urging Hou Wude to start construction, along with some recorded phone calls.
He adhered to the principle that to expose Qiao Jin publicly, all potential risks must be addressed. This time, he was determined to bring Hou Wude down at all costs.
Qiao Jin knew nothing about this; his mother had passed away.
That day, he received an emergency notification from the hospital. Due to his connection with Lu Pingzhang, the hospital had been doing everything possible to save her, and even if Qiao Jin didn’t show up, they wouldn’t delay for a single second.
The call came in the middle of the night, and Qiao Jin knew what it meant.
Lu Pingzhang rushed over in the middle of the night and embraced the ice-cold Qiao Jin in the waiting room of the crematorium.
This was the second time Qiao Jin had cried in front of him.
Lu Pingzhang was still very busy. He briefly accompanied Qiao Jin for a day, helped him arrange his mother’s funeral, and then began to be frequently summoned to court.
Hou Wude, adhering to the principle that if he was going in, everyone should go in together, and if he was going to die, everyone should die together, handed over all the clues he had heard or gathered over the years, determined to drag Lu Pingzhang down with him.
Lu Pingzhang didn’t care about that.
His irritability was all because he couldn’t be by Qiao Jin’s side.
Qiao Jin had been resting for a while, with his daily life consisting only of eating and sleeping, refusing all entertainment activities. Fu Linshao didn’t disturb him either, letting him stay in the hotel for a long time.
It wasn’t until Sui Ran urged him to go back to work that he looked at his phone, which hadn’t rung in over two weeks. Inside were only a few photos sent by Fu Linshao.
Fu Linxiao answered immediately, sighing in relief: “You’re alive! If there was no response, I was going to send someone to break down the door at the hotel.”
Fu Linxiao sighed: “Let’s go out for dinner tonight. I’ll treat you.”
“Sure,” Qiao Jin said.
He had rested for a few days but still felt tired. His voice lacked energy, though it was much better than before: “Is there still Sui Ran?”
Fu Linxiao chuckled: “I was just about to mention him. He wants to poach you to his company, but you haven’t given him a definite answer, and this guy is so anxious his mouth is blistered. I’ll send you the photo later.”
“Don’t send it. No need,” Qiao Jin said helplessly. “Tell him it’s not necessary. If I go, I go. If I don’t, I don’t. We’re all adults. We can take it or leave it. We won’t let a little thing get us upset.”
“That’s the logic,” Fu Linxiao agreed, analyzing the situation. “If you go, it’s clearly beneficial for him. You have work experience, ability, resources, and you’re a friend. When you leave, you won’t just walk out the door without a second thought. Either way, he wins. Those evil capitalists.”
Qiao Jin also sighed in agreement: “No wonder he can be a boss.”
Fu Linxiao sighed and asked him, “Are you still staying at a hotel?”
This question made Qiao Jin suspect that he was about to bring up Lu Pingzhang, but fortunately, he didn’t.
Fu Linshao just hummed, “Stop staying in hotels. I’ve looked at two apartments in Dongfang Mingyuan. They’re two units per floor, across from each other. Let’s buy them together?”
Qiao Jin roughly calculated his savings and sighed, ” Then I’ll just go back to working at Sui Ran Company. I can’t keep falling behind. Every day is money.”
Qiao Jin couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you get that photo you sent me?”
“The one with you and the young guy?” Fu Linxiao said, “Friend, you almost blew it. Several studios had already written the articles, ready to expose you for cheating on Lu Zong, but they were pulled before they could be published.”
Qiao Jin paused, “Lu Pingzhang withdrew them?”
“Who else could it be?” Fu Linshao said, “Who is that young man? The angle he chose—if I didn’t know you and that you’re not into that kind of thing, I would have misunderstood too.”
“He’s a recent college graduate I hired at the company.”
Qiao Jin thought for a moment and didn’t mention his relationship with Lu Boyang, only saying, “There’s no relationship. I just see him as a younger brother.”
“Lu Zong doesn’t think that way,” Fu Linxiao asked, “Didn’t he mention this to you?”
If Qiao Jin could provide a reasonable explanation, that would be that. But if not, Yu Feng would inevitably be dragged into it.
Qiao Jin’s lips turned down slightly, and the curve of his side profile was tight and stiff.
Lu Pingzhang must have gotten into some trouble.
He was certain of it.
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Jin called Lu Pingzhang, but no one answered until the call was disconnected.
Qiao Jin paused for a moment and called Xiao Chang. Xiao Chang answered, but he didn’t know where Lu Pingzhang was.
“Secretary Yin, is Mr. Lu available?” Qiao Jin asked immediately. “Can you have him take the call?”
Even though he had deliberately softened his tone, Qiao Jin could still sense something was off.
“You can’t handle it. It’s very important. Only Mr. Lu and I know about it,” Qiao Jin said. “Tell me the time or the location, and I’ll go find him.”
Secretary Yin was a bit overwhelmed.
Most of the time, Qiao Jin was mild-mannered and easy to talk to, but on rare occasions, he was very sharp and uncompromising.
Secretary Yin wiped the sweat that had broken out in the cold winter month: “… I really can’t say, Mr. Qiao. It will be about three days, or perhaps longer. Once Mr. Lu has time, he will definitely prioritize…”
“No need,” Qiao Jin interrupted him. “What do you need me to do?”
Secretary Yin paused for a moment, took a deep breath to regain his composure, and said, “If possible, please avoid going out recently.”
He then logged into Lu Pingzhang’s group’s backend system, used his permissions to retrieve the contracts with Xisheng from the past two years, and called Yu Feng to come over.
Yu Feng didn’t ask what had happened and arrived at the hotel where Qiao Jin was staying within half an hour. The weather outside seemed cold, and he still emanated a chill.
Qiao Jin had already changed into a shirt and trousers. Seeing him come in, he smiled first: “You must be tired.”
Yu Feng calmed down and asked, “Brother Qiao, why did you call me so late?”
“There’s something I need your help with,” Qiao Jin pulled out a chair, poured him some hot water, and placed the contract he had pulled up on the computer in front of him. “Is there any way to find a loophole in this contract and get Lu Zong out of it?”
Yu Feng paused, but before he could speak, Qiao Jin said, “Give it a try. My judgment of people never fails.”
Yu Feng’s shoulders slumped, and he nodded heavily. “I’ll give it a try.”
Qiao Jin contacted Secretary Yin at midnight and asked Yu Feng to bring the documents to him.
After Yu Feng left, Qiao Jin couldn’t calm down. He tried many methods to relieve his anxiety, but none of them worked.
He had already lost his family; he couldn’t afford to lose Lu Pingzhang as well.
——Lu Pingzhang was his only remaining family member.
At that moment, Qiao Jin suddenly understood Lu Pingzhang from three years ago.
This emotional attachment wasn’t a substitute; it was a sense of belonging, a new, previously unattained, safe haven.
Lu Pingzhang emerged from the courthouse, and the people who had accompanied him safely handed him over to Secretary Yin before returning.
Behind Secretary Yin stood a senior executive from the group and the head of security. As soon as he emerged, they became excited and began shouting, “ Boss!”
Lu Pingzhang stood at the courthouse entrance, reluctantly joining them in the breeze.
Lu Pingzhang didn’t care how high the price was, and at that moment, he didn’t seem to care who the major shareholder was: “How can we prevent him from coming out?”
The senior executive gasped, and the bodyguard chief tried to say, “As long as Bai Yuan doesn’t change her mind.”
“How can she not change her statement?” Lu Pingzhang asked again.
The head of security replied, “Hush money or cutting off her escape route. I prefer the latter. Money has a price, but life is priceless.”
Lu Pingzhang’s hair was neatly combed, only the hem of his coat occasionally fluttering in the air: “This is a society governed by the rule of law. We don’t do those things.”
The bodyguard bowed his head: “I understand.”
Lu Pingzhang nodded and dismissed the two men.
It wasn’t until Xiao Chang pulled him out of the car and drove down the street that Lu Pingzhang seemed to come back to his senses. He turned to the secretary in the passenger seat and asked, “How has Qiao Jin been lately?”
“He’s fine.” Secretary Yin recalled the previous phone call with lingering fear, “The bodyguard sent there said Mr. Qiao hasn’t left the house recently.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Pingzhang raised his eyelids.
Under Lu Pingzhang’s gaze, he lowered his head, daring not to breathe a word, and cautiously said, “The legal counsel is Yu Feng. He used to work for our company, but he has since resigned along with Mr. Qiao. The final proposal to investigate the capital flow for the non-participating equity scheme was his idea. Although we lost all the investment in the project base, we managed to distance ourselves from it.”
Lu Pingzhang’s eyebrows twitched when he heard the name, but after a moment of silence, he did not make an issue of it.
Secretary Yin glanced at his expression and noticed that besides helplessness, there was also a hint of indulgence and satisfaction.
“Never mind,” Lu Pingzhang sighed. “I knew you couldn’t hide it from him.”
Six days later, Lu Pingzhang finally showed up.
He stood outside the hotel door and knocked. The lights inside were on, but no one came to open the door.
Lu Pingzhang took out his phone and called Qiao Jin. The call connected immediately.
Qiao Jin hurriedly said, “Secretary Yin?”
“Unbelievable.” Lu Pingzhang stood outside the door, unable to resist placing his hand on it. “You haven’t seen me in so long, yet the moment you answer the phone, you call me Secretary Yin.”
Qiao Jin remained silent for a long time, then hesitated before hurriedly saying, “You…”
“Open the door,” Lu Pingzhang said.
Qiao Jin stood inside the door in his pajamas. He seemed to have just taken a bath, and it had gone on for far too long. His eyes and hair were soaked, and his skin was pale and soft to an unreal degree.
“You,” Qiao Jin opened his mouth twice before managing to speak fluently, “you’re back.”
His voice was hoarse, making one wonder if he had never fully recovered from a cold.
But standing there, he showed no signs of illness, only evoking a sense of pity.
Lu Pingzhang released the phone he had been clutching in his pants pocket for a while. The wool coat draped over his wristwatch, which had been partially obstructed, fell back into place, adding a touch of humanity to his appearance.
Lu Pingzhang lowered his eyes slightly and smiled at him: “I heard you’re planning to jump ship with the company’s new employees. If I don’t come back, the two of you will be off together, won’t you?”
Qiao Jin looked at him: “It’s not true.”
Those two words stopped Lu Pingzhang in his tracks; he couldn’t smile anymore.
Qiao Jin looked at him with reddened eyes, and Lu Pingzhang couldn’t bear that gaze for even a second.
Days of interrogation hadn’t left a single wrinkle in his clothes, but at that moment, he felt as if his heart had been ground to dust.
He shouldn’t have been trying to lighten the mood; he should have stepped forward and held him tightly, so that he couldn’t go anywhere but into his arms.
Qiao Jin furrowed his brows, but before he could unfold them, he took a step forward and embraced him tightly.
Lu Pingzhang instinctively said, “I’m sorry.” He had never seen Qiao Jin act so out of character before, and he was a bit flustered: “I…”
“You need to change this habit,” Qiao Jin moved closer to him, feeling the strong, steady beat of his heart. “You can keep your other bad habits, but not this one.”
“I’ll change it. I’ll change everything else too.” Lu Pingzhang threw aside his armor and reached out to embrace him, his strength so great it felt as though he were embedding himself into his bones: “I’m sorry. I should have been with you these past few days. I came back too late.”
“It’s okay,” Qiao Jin said quickly. He pressed his cheek against Lu Pingzhang’s, resting his head on his shoulder, only now realizing how exhausted he was.
But he didn’t care. All he wanted was Lu Pingzhang.
Qiao Jin heard himself say, “It’s not too late.”
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