Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Spring Festival, 2033.

Wang Zheng pestered Nan Mu relentlessly. He claimed he had invited a table full of alumni from A University of Science and Technology to get acquainted and insisted that Nan Mu attend to lend the event some prestige.

“No! You have to come.”

“What? Why would I invite him? As long as Nan Mu shows up, you’re the biggest name I need. Who cares about that guy?!”

“It’s settled! If you dare stand me up, I’ll dump every share I own tomorrow and drive Nan Huan Group’s stock into the ground!”

Wang Zheng gave Nan Mu no chance to refuse. In a few sentences, he decided the matter for him.

Qiu Ziyu, who had been enjoying the show, perked up at the mention of selling shares. He leaned eagerly toward Wang Zheng, eyes shining with anticipation. “Don’t sell them to strangers. What a waste. Why don’t you give them all to me?”

Nan Huan Group was in a period of rapid growth. Its market value had nowhere to go but up. Only an idiot would sell now.

Wang Zheng choked, then glared at Qiu Ziyu in exasperation. He knew perfectly well Qiu Ziyu was provoking him on purpose, yet the man still had to join in.

…

After finally outlasting the noisy Wang Zheng and seeing him off, Nan Mu rubbed his aching forehead. Then he took a red envelope from his desk drawer and held it out to Qiu Ziyu.

“What’s that?” Qiu Ziyu stared blankly at the envelope. He had just stuffed a grape into his mouth and had not swallowed it yet, leaving his cheeks puffed out like an adorably foolish chipmunk.

Nan Mu gave him an enigmatic smile. “Your New Year’s money.”

“Are you crazy? I’m way too old for New Year’s money.” Qiu Ziyu pouted without even glancing at the envelope.

When he refused to take it, Nan Mu stood and tossed it into his lap. “Open it.”

Qiu Ziyu meant to return it, but the envelope felt so thin when he picked it up that it seemed empty.

“Are you messing with me?”

He popped the grape into his mouth, freed his hand, and opened the envelope. Inside was a check.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand…” Qiu Ziyu stared at the number, stunned. “Holy shit! Why are you giving me this much money?”

“It’s the money I borrowed from you in our first year of grad school.” Nan Mu smiled faintly. “I promised to repay you tenfold, remember? So I’m paying you back.”

“Come on!” Torn between laughter and exasperation, Qiu Ziyu tossed the envelope back. “I don’t need it. You’ve covered plenty of expenses for me over the years. Remember when I was away on business and my mom got sick? You took her to the hospital. My dad told me everything-the private hospital, the specialist you pulled strings to get. He tried to repay you, and you wouldn’t take the money.”

“That’s different.” Nan Mu shoved the envelope back into Qiu Ziyu’s hand. “One thing has nothing to do with the other.”

“How is it different?” Qiu Ziyu refused to accept it. He would have been ashamed to. “If you insist on settling every account this precisely, I could use this hundred thousand to pay you and still owe you more. If we’re brothers, quit pulling this crap!”

Qiu Ziyu tried to put the envelope back in Nan Mu’s drawer. Losing patience, Nan Mu kicked him. “Knock it off! I’m giving it to you, so take it. Weren’t you just complaining that all the wedding expenses were getting too much for you? Besides, you earned this.”

When Qiu Ziyu opened his mouth again, Nan Mu immediately threatened him. “Think carefully about what you’re going to say. Keep arguing, and your girlfriend’s plan to have me as a groomsman is finished.”

That only made Qiu Ziyu laugh in frustration. “Fine by me! I’d love for it to be finished. You think I care whether you’re a groomsman?”

His girlfriend was the one who thought having the president of Nan Huan Group in the wedding party would look impressive and prestigious.

But Qiu Ziyu hated the idea. Nan Mu had always attracted more girls than he did. After all these years, Qiu Ziyu was finally getting married. This was supposed to be his moment.

And now, even at his own wedding, Nan Mu’s handsome face would be standing right beside him. No one could understand how miserable that made him!

Worse, years of chasing criminals through the night and spending endless hours on stakeouts had left Qiu Ziyu with worse skin than Nan Mu…
“You don’t want me there?” Smiling like a scheming old fox, Nan Mu deliberately picked up his phone. “Then I’ll call my future sister-in-law and tell her you won’t let me come…”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Qiu Ziyu practically launched himself out of his chair and snatched the phone away. “Your buddy works overtime every day. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to find a wife? You think I’m like you, with no interest in anything anymore?”

The room, which had been full of playful bickering, abruptly fell silent. Realizing he had misspoken, Qiu Ziyu cast Nan Mu a nervous glance.

Nan Mu saw how carefully Qiu Ziyu was watching him and patted his shoulder, forcing out a small smile. “What’s with that face?”

Nan Mu seemed to be in a decent mood, so Qiu Ziyu gathered his courage. “I saw something on the news a few days ago. Was Wen Miao published in another academic journal?”

“Yeah,” Nan Mu answered absently.

His tone was flat, as though the news neither surprised nor excited him.

===

For years, Qiu Ziyu had never realized Nan Mu liked Wen Miao. It was only when Uncle Nan and Auntie kept chasing him down and asking whether, since he spent every day with Nan Mu, he had seen Nan Mu date any women that Qiu Ziyu finally noticed something strange. Nan Mu had always been popular with women, so how had he ended up with no one beside him?

After Qiu Ziyu’s own marriage was settled, his mother frequently called Auntie to discuss the engagement and wedding preparations. As a result, whenever Uncle Nan and Auntie saw Qiu Ziyu, they hounded him to have his girlfriend introduce someone to Nan Mu too…

Good grief, his girlfriend practically wanted to line up every female relative she had-from sophisticated women in their late thirties to adorable twenty-one-year-olds-and let Nan Mu choose among them.

Only after Wang Zheng accidentally let slip that Nan Mu had someone he had never gotten over did Qiu Ziyu discover his secret. He also found that although Nan Mu never spoke about it, his computer and phone were full of records of him searching for news about Wen Miao.

“Don’t get annoyed with me…” Qiu Ziyu was frustrated by his friend’s passivity. “If you really like her, then go after her!”

What good did it do to watch her from behind a screen? How could she possibly know?

And this was Nan Mu. He had talent, looks, and family status. What exactly was he afraid of?

“Seriously, though, Wen Miao went overseas after graduation and stayed there for ten years. Even if you two got together, would she return home for you? You have Nan Huan Group depending on you. You can’t spend all your time abroad…”

“She’ll come back. As long as…”

Sending Wen Miao abroad had been one of the recommendations Nan Mu left in his letter to Wen Xin, a safeguard against any retaliation from Wisdom Biotechnology.

As long as he brought Wisdom Biotechnology down…

Nan Mu suddenly turned to Qiu Ziyu. “By the way, how is the investigation into Wisdom Biotechnology going?”

“Slowly.” Qiu Ziyu wondered how the subject had abruptly shifted to Wisdom Biotech Company, but he had plenty to say once they were discussing it. “And I’ve noticed something very strange. Every time an investigation touches Wisdom Biotech Company, getting approval becomes incredibly difficult. I’m starting to suspect someone inside our system is protecting the company.”

His words reminded Nan Mu of the investigation into Gu Zhishu’s murder. The killer, Lin Zhengfeng, had previously committed rape, yet had been acquitted.

Perhaps there truly had been something suspicious behind that outcome.

“Be careful,” Nan Mu warned. “Huangfu Junsheng has extensive connections, and Wisdom Biotechnology already controls the livelihoods of many people. Don’t underestimate them.”

Qiu Ziyu nodded. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”