“Alright, everyone, keep it down a bit.”
Zhao Guangyuan, holding the sobbing Su Lan, felt his head throb. Still, he had already formed an idea.
He calmly thought that Jiang Luo being able to secure a ten-million loan was probably thanks to Huo Zongzuo. Zhao Guangyuan didn’t really believe Jiang Luo had the ability to get such a huge sum on his own—after all, ten million was no small matter.
Thinking of Huo Zongzuo, he considered that if they wanted Jiang Luo to return home, perhaps they could approach him through Huo. He decided to call Huo Zongzuo.
What Zhao Guangyuan didn’t know was that Huo Zongzuo had already learned that the Zhao family had gone to the factory to see Jiang Luo, and that things had turned unpleasant.
At that moment in the factory, a man—the foreman in charge of the expansion project—was considering whether to inform Huo Zongzuo about the incident. Huo Zongzuo had introduced the foreman to Jiang Luo and given instructions: if anything came up, let him know. After thinking it over, the foreman called Huo Zongzuo.
“Alright, got it,” Huo Zongzuo said, standing by the window in his own office, hands in his pockets. He spent a few minutes considering the Zhao family’s situation.
So when Zhao Guangyuan later called, after some small talk and suggesting they meet for a meal, Huo Zongzuo declined, saying he wasn’t in Haicheng recently.
Zhao Guangyuan didn’t press, chatting casually for a bit before saying, “Zongzuo, actually… I wanted to talk about my youngest son. Nothing else.”
“What’s wrong with Jiang Luo?” Huo Zongzuo asked knowingly, feigning ignorance.
Sighing, Zhao Guangyuan replied, “The boy still refuses to come home.”
Huo Zongzuo remained silent.
“Zongzuo,” Zhao Guangyuan continued, “you were the one who connected him with people to get that ten-million loan from the Bank of China, right?”
Huo Zongzuo immediately understood that Zhao Guangyuan hadn’t really grasped the situation. Or perhaps, Zhao Guangyuan assumed Jiang Luo couldn’t have obtained the money on his own. As a father, he hadn’t tried to understand him.
Seeing through him, Huo Zongzuo’s heart softened slightly. Calmly, he said, “Director Zhao, I’m a businessman. Businessmen don’t take losses just to make noise. If Jiang Luo needed ten million, why on earth would I help him get it? What benefit would it bring me?”
Zhao Guangyuan hesitated on the other end.
“Not you?”
“No.”
Huo Zongzuo didn’t want to continue the discussion. Before hanging up, he said slowly, “Director Zhao, he’s your son. You called wanting to talk, but there’s not much to discuss. I can only say this: hearts are soft, tender things. Warm them properly, and they’ll respond; hurt them, even without a sharp blade, and the wound can run deep.
“Jiang Luo refusing to return home—there’s a reason. That reason, that’s what matters most.”
In other words, whether he returned home wasn’t the key point. The Zhao family had been focused on the wrong direction.
After the call, Zhao Guangyuan thought for a long time. Why exactly wouldn’t Jiang Luo return home, why wouldn’t he acknowledge them? Was it resentment from April, when they didn’t bring him home immediately? Or hatred toward Zhao Mingshi, who had taken the life that was originally his, yet was still kept at home as their child?
Money didn’t matter to him, so it wasn’t about that. What did Jiang Luo really want? What was he thinking deep down? Even his biological parents—did he not want them either?
…
Meanwhile, Jiang Luo had long put aside the small incident from earlier in the day. Sure, the Zhao family was wealthy, Zhao Guangqian a major boss, and Zhao Guangyuan’s position respectable—but what of it? He didn’t care, didn’t even glance at it.
That afternoon, Huo Zongzuo called: “Dinner tonight?”
Jiang Luo was at the factory, overseeing the first batch of equipment being moved from the dock into the workshop.
When Huo Zongzuo suggested dinner, Jiang Luo glanced at his Omega and said, “Can’t make it. The equipment’s here. I can’t leave.”
“Then should I come to you?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll come over and help you move equipment—more hands, more labor.”
Huo Zongzuo amended, “Actually, I just remembered I have something else…”
Jiang Luo laughed and interrupted: “Bullshit! Who believes you? Come on, help me move this equipment.”
Huo Zongzuo murmured, amused, “Your attitude’s getting worse. You’re telling me to piss off now.”
Jiang Luo, righteous, shot back: “Are you coming or not?”
Huo Zongzuo’s voice softened: “Alright, I’ll be there immediately.”
“Much better.”
Jiang Luo snorted, adding: “Bring some KFC from Dongfeng Hotel while you’re at it.”
Huo Zongzuo, playful: “Fast food isn’t healthy.”
“I’m a kid, am I not?” Jiang Luo retorted.
“You aren’t?” Huo Zongzuo teased, smiling: “Aside from not sharing my surname, aren’t you my child in every way?”
“Fine, I won’t get KFC. I’ll pick up something from the Peace Hotel instead.”
“Hmph!” Jiang Luo huffed.
“Hmph what? Bad manners! I’ll spank you.”
Huo Zongzuo went to the Peace Hotel, ordered takeout, and waited at a random table near the door in the Dragon and Phoenix Hall on the eighth floor, casually flipping through the menu.
While browsing, someone approached: “President Huo?”
Looking up, Huo Zongzuo saw an “old friend,” Xue Zhizhong.
Surprised, Xue Zhizhong greeted warmly: “President Huo, Zongzuo! Long time no see. Why are you here alone?”
He also scolded the waitstaff: “Why is President Huo seated here?!”
“Zhizhong.” Huo Zongzuo didn’t rise. “No problem. I’m waiting for takeout.”
“Oh, I see.”
Xue Zhizhong waved off his companions and sat down, chatting casually with Huo Zongzuo about family, how they spent the Spring Festival, and other trivial matters. Huo Zongzuo’s responses were polite but indifferent.
“By the way,” Xue Zhizhong said, “I heard you bought a few plots in Pudong recently?”
Seemingly casual, a few words about land and Pudong.
Smiling, Xue Zhizhong added: “President Huo, I’m actually keen on real estate too. You see…”
Huo Zongzuo knew Xue Zhizhong was angling to ride his coattails. He didn’t mind; many sought connections with him, useful or not.
“Let’s talk at my office another day,” Huo Zongzuo said.
“Sure, I’ll come by soon. As soon as I have time, I’ll come.”
Xue Zhizhong flattered him, chatting a bit more. Huo Zongzuo glanced at his watch: “Got a dinner here? You go ahead.”
“Alright, I’ll leave then.”
Getting up, Xue Zhizhong offered: “Have you paid for your meal? If not, I’ll cover it. Zongzuo, just take your food and go.”
“Thanks, appreciate it,” Huo Zongzuo said, not refusing.
Xue Zhizhong left, and Huo Zongzuo soon got his takeout and departed.
Meanwhile, Xue Zhizhong remembered last year, when he had tried to win Huo Zongzuo’s favor with a young boy, only for the boy to escape. Later, he sent people to look but couldn’t find him; it wasn’t until the deputy director of the district police called that he learned the boy had connections—his father seemed to be some official in Pudong.
Xue Zhizhong had long forgotten these details, but now, seeing Huo Zongzuo again, he thought of leveraging Pudong real estate, figuring he’d better offer Huo Zongzuo a handsome boy again, like before.
Back at the factory, Huo Zongzuo hadn’t arrived. Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang were moving boxes and equipment, covered in sweat and dust.
Wang Chuang laughed at Jiang Luo; Jiang Luo laughed back: “Silly.”
Like their early days doing business in Wencheng, they were full of energy.
At a square table with a white tablecloth in a restaurant, Zhao Guangyuan sat quietly, glancing at his watch, clearly waiting for someone.
As a mid-level official, he normally appeared calm and composed, both in work and leisure. But now, sitting quietly, checking the time occasionally and looking toward the restaurant entrance, there was a hint of worry he rarely showed—he was waiting for Jiang Luo.
He knew Jiang Luo wouldn’t agree to see him.
Yet wanting to speak with him, Zhao Guangyuan used a bit of his authority and connections, calling the Juxiang Town government and leveraging their influence to get Jiang Luo to meet him.
Thus, Jiang Luo had no idea it would be Zhao Guangyuan who wanted to see him today. The town government had only mentioned a city-level official wanted to meet.