"Ugh... what's that so bright and glaring?"
Although Liu Xiaofei had her eyes closed, it was impossible for her to completely block out the strong light. She immediately reached out to shield her eyes from the intense light.
Zhou Ziwei laughed and said, "Silly girl... since you can already feel how dazzling this light is, it proves that your eyes are healed. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to feel even the most dazzling light. Open your eyes! You'll see that the colors of this world are still so vibrant..."
Liu Xiaofei gently lowered her hand that was blocking her eyes, but still did not open them; instead, her expression became even more resentful.
After a long pause, Liu Xiaofei sighed softly and said, "If my eyes really get better, will you no longer feel any guilt towards me? Will you... stop paying attention to me?"
"Of course not... Why would you think that?" Zhou Ziwei then realized that Liu Xiaofei wasn't really worried about losing him or that her eyes weren't actually cured, which was why she was hesitant to open them.
It turned out... she was just afraid that once she opened her eyes, she would be completely severed with Zhou Ziwei. This stirred a strange feeling of emotion in Zhou Ziwei's heart again. He couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke Liu Xiaofei's slightly thin face, saying, "Don't worry! You're so cute, how could I bear to ignore you... I'm still waiting for your eyes to heal so I can touch you... Hehe..."
"Ah...you said it yourself, no backing out!" Zhou Ziwei only meant to tell a dirty joke, but he didn't expect Liu Xiaofei to cheer excitedly upon hearing it. She immediately grabbed Zhou Ziwei's hands and pressed them hard against her full breasts. Then she suddenly opened her eyes, blinked mischievously, and said, "Actually, I already secretly opened my eyes a crack to take a look...I'm really all better now!"
Zhou Ziwei stared blankly at the spot where his hands were now resting, then looked at Liu Xiaofei's smug expression and couldn't help but smile wryly, saying, "Let go! You're playing with fire!"
"I won't let go..."
Liu Xiaofei said firmly, "If you really are fire, then melt me away! That way I can stay in your heart forever."
"No... let's not say such cheesy lovey-dovey things, okay?"
Zhou Ziwei felt the two amazingly elastic mounds under his hands, and his breathing became heavy. However, not wanting to be suspected of taking advantage of someone in distress, he barely suppressed his instinctive desires, pursed his lips towards the door, and said, "Alright... we'll be there in half an hour. If we're like this... it won't be good if your parents see us."
Liu Xiaofei bit her lip hard and said, "I don't care... Anyway, they've already tacitly accepted what's between you and me, so it doesn't matter even if they see us. Besides... didn't they all say... as long as we don't open the door, they absolutely won't bother us? Hmm... Brother, why aren't your hands moving... You didn't touch me like this last time... That time... you touched me until... until my whole body went limp..."
Hearing such provocative words, Zhou Ziwei finally couldn't hold back any longer. The lewd nature that had been hidden deep within him, inherited from his former owner, suddenly erupted, causing Zhou Ziwei to let out a soft groan. His hands involuntarily began to vigorously knead those two full mounds...
"Um...you rascal...couldn't you be a little gentler?"
Liu Xiaofei's body went limp instantly, and she lay down on the bed following the kneading force of Zhou Ziwei's hands. Her eyes were half-closed, and her small mouth was slightly open, uttering a series of sounds like a dream... At this moment, her naturally beautiful appearance, coupled with her coy and alluring demeanor, could absolutely arouse any man's primal desire to conquer...
Zhou Ziwei's eyes seemed to be spitting fire as he suddenly leaned down and pressed his entire body against Liu Xiaofei's, then kissed her sexy and soft lips. However, at this crucial moment, the phone on Zhou Ziwei's waist suddenly started ringing incessantly...
When Zhou Ziwei heard his phone ring, he was slightly startled. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to answer the call that had caused trouble at such a crucial moment. But then he inadvertently saw a clear look of struggle on Liu Xiaofei's face as he kissed her passionately. He was immediately startled, and his slightly dizzy head cleared up considerably. He let out a soft "Ah!" and hurriedly sat up.
Impossible... The real Liu Xiaofei should never be like this... This... is not her intention.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, it was like a bucket of cold water being poured over Zhou Ziwei, chilling him to the bone, and all his burning desire vanished without a trace...
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 143: Something Big Has Happened
Zhou Ziwei had long known that Liu Xiaofei's last kidnapping by bandits was not just a matter of losing her eyesight; the main problem was that her soul had been damaged. However, this damage to the soul was something that hospitals could not detect. At most, they could say that her brain had been stimulated or something, but in essence, the brain and the soul are two completely different concepts.
As for the consequences of Liu Xiaofei's soul being damaged, Zhou Ziwei wasn't quite sure. However, he had a vague feeling from Liu Xiaofei's reaction. He felt that the image of him covered in blood and risking his life to save Liu Xiaofei that he had faked back then was deeply imprinted in Liu Xiaofei's soul, leaving a deep mark on her soul. That's why Liu Xiaofei was acting so crazy in front of Zhou Ziwei now.
This led to Liu Xiaofei doing things that would have been impossible for her in a normal state, but under the influence of that soul imprint, she did them naturally.
Since this idea originated from Liu Xiaofei's soul imprint, it could also be said that all of Liu Xiaofei's actions just now came from her true heart. However, the slight struggle on Liu Xiaofei's face indicated that this soul imprint did not completely control Liu Xiaofei's will.
Moreover, that soul imprint was only deeply imprinted on Liu Xiaofei's soul when she was subjected to intense stimulation, so this imprint probably won't last forever. So when this soul imprint disappears one day... Liu Xiaofei will likely regret what she did.
Zhou Ziwei sighed softly. To be honest, it wasn't that he disliked Liu Xiaofei, but... it didn't seem like he liked her very much either.
Therefore, after Zhou Ziwei regained consciousness, he did not take advantage of the situation and possess Liu Xiaofei's body, as doing so would seem a bit too beastly.
Moreover... more importantly... Liu Xiaofei's parents should be back soon, and Zhou Ziwei doesn't think he can finish everything in such a short time.
Although the ward door is locked now, Liu Xiaofei's parents probably won't barge in when they return.
However... given how anxious they are about their daughter, it's probably inevitable that they'll peek through the crack in the door to listen for sounds inside.
But if Zhou Ziwei and Liu Xiaofei were to make any sounds that are inappropriate for children, that would be...
The phone was still ringing incessantly. Zhou Ziwei quickly jumped out of bed and used the opportunity of answering the call to escape the awkward situation from before.
The call was actually from Wang Xuewei, which surprised Zhou Ziwei somewhat. After all, although he and Wang Xuewei were husband and wife in name, their relationship was worse than that of neighbors. Although Zhou Ziwei had become a major shareholder of Xinda Daily Chemicals after producing the formula for vaporized laundry detergent, their relationship had not improved much as a result.
In the days leading up to Zhou Ziwei's departure from Dangyang, Wang Xuewei was extremely busy with various matters related to the launch of the company's new project. She would return home late at night almost every day, and then immediately drive her secondhand Buick to the company at the crack of dawn the next day.
So the two of them hardly ever had a chance to meet, and even though they both wanted to ease the tension in their relationship, they couldn't find an opportunity.
Zhou Ziwei didn't even have time to say goodbye to Wang Xuewei before leaving Dangyang. It wasn't until he arrived in Kunming that he remembered he should tell her. Even if they weren't in a fake marriage relationship, they were still shareholders in the same company, weren't they? So he called Wang Xuewei, but her phone was unreachable. He then called his nominal father-in-law, Wang Guohui, and asked him to tell Wang Xuewei that if the company needed Zhou Ziwei for any new projects, she could contact him.
For the next few days, Zhou Ziwei did not receive any calls from Wang Xuewei. He simply assumed that Wang Xuewei was indifferent and did not take him, her nominal husband, seriously at all, so he did not pay any attention to it.
Little did Zhou Ziwei know that just as he left Dangyang and boarded the plane, Wang Xuewei was searching for him all over the world because of a rumor related to him. However, since Zhou Ziwei was on the plane and his phone was off, Wang Xuewei naturally couldn't find him.
Afterwards, Wang Xuewei learned from her father that Zhou Ziwei had gone to Kunming alone without saying a word, and had notified her father by phone, but had not informed her at all. This made her even angrier, so she stubbornly refused to call Zhou Ziwei.
Until this day, when the rumor Wang Xuewei had heard became a reality, she finally couldn't resist dialing the phone number Zhou Ziwei had given her once again...
"Hello... are you Zhou Ziwei? It's me... I'm Wang Xuewei..." Wang Xuewei's tone was still as cold as ever, but there was a hint of anxiety that she couldn't hide.
"Oh... I know it's you..." Hearing Wang Xuewei's tone, Zhou Ziwei got a little angry. Seriously... I don't owe you any money, so why do you always treat me like a debt collector? I'm your husband in name, aren't I? Even if you don't want to call me husband, would it kill you to call me Ziwei or Awei?
Therefore, Zhou Ziwei didn't stand on ceremony with Wang Xuewei on the phone, and said in the same cold tone, "Just tell me what's on your mind! I have other things to do."
There was a slight silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a cold snort, "What else could you possibly be busy with? You're busy flirting with women, aren't you?"
Hearing Wang Xuewei's words, Zhou Ziwei became even angrier.
That's right... Just now he almost ruined a pure girl, but... didn't he pull back from the brink? Faced with the active seduction of such a beautiful, pure, and... such a beautiful woman, Zhou Ziwei was able to resist, which made him admire his own self-control.
However, Wang Xuewei's sarcasm at this time, suggesting he was playing around with women, is understandable. But when has Wang Xuewei ever fulfilled even the slightest wifely duty to Zhou Ziwei, or to his predecessor? Since she hasn't even fulfilled her duties as a wife, what right does she have to exercise her rights as a wife over Zhou Ziwei?
Zhou Ziwei, whether out of resentment for the previous owner of this body or displeasure at Wang Xuewei's attitude, was momentarily enraged. Instead of explaining, he sneered and said, "Yeah... I am flirting with women outside, so what? I can't touch the women in my own home, but can't I flirt with other women? Xiaofei... come here, come into Brother Wei's arms..."
Without waiting for a reply, Zhou Ziwei pulled Liu Xiaofei, who had just sat up in bed and whose face was still flushed, into his arms.
Caught off guard, Liu Xiaofei let out a soft, startled cry, her face contorted with embarrassment. "Mr. Wei... Mr. Zhou, what... what are you doing? You... you're talking to your wife on the phone, aren't you? I... I won't bother you anymore..."
As Liu Xiaofei spoke, she tried to struggle away. Although she could tell that there seemed to be some conflict between Zhou Ziwei and his wife, if she cooperated with Zhou Ziwei at this moment and made some offensive noises, it might completely ruin Zhou Ziwei's marriage. In that case, she, who was still a "mistress" in the pre-service stage, might have a chance to be officially recognized as the wife.
However, Liu Xiaofei was not the kind of woman who was born to play tricks. This thought only crossed her mind for a moment before she immediately and decisively put it aside. Instead, she shouted into Zhou Ziwei's phone, "Sister-in-law... don't misunderstand. I'm just a policewoman sent by the police to protect Mr. Zhou. There's nothing between us. Please don't listen to Mr. Zhou's nonsense!"
Zhou Ziwei was taken aback when Liu Xiaofei actually tried to explain for him under these circumstances. Before he could react, Liu Xiaofei broke free from his embrace and ran away to the other side of the hospital bed.
"I'm sorry... It seems I really misunderstood you... I apologize..."
Zhou was startled again by Wang Xuewei's voice coming from the phone. He gave a wry laugh and said, "What... do you really believe what she said?"
"Why don't you believe me?" Wang Xuewei's voice was much calmer, and the coldness had lessened somewhat after her apology. She paused slightly before continuing, "Since the police have already assigned someone to protect you, you must already know about what happened at your home, right? Hmm... it seems I was being nosy. I thought you were out and about and didn't know about it, and I was worried you might be in danger, so I called to tell you... Well, alright... it's good that you know about it. I don't have anything else to say, so I'll hang up now..."
Zhou Ziwei was completely confused and hurriedly said, "Hey...wait a minute...don't hang up yet...can you explain it to me more clearly? What is it? What exactly happened to my family?" He was startled when he heard Wang Xuewei say that something had happened to his family. His first thought was of his parents who were far away in Zhongdu, but then he realized that they were his relatives from his previous life. Now, apart from himself, probably no one else would know that he still had two such relatives.
Therefore, the "home" Wang Xuewei mentioned should refer to the Zhou family in Dangyang.
"What...you didn't know?"
"Yeah... I have no idea what you're talking about."
"How is this possible... Aren't the police already protecting you? Didn't they tell you about your family situation?"
Zhou Ziwei, somewhat exasperated, said, "Please, the police sent people to protect me because of something else. This has absolutely nothing to do with my family. Just tell me clearly what exactly happened to my family!"
"Oh... I see... then I'll tell you..."
Wang Xuewei was somewhat surprised, not understanding why the police would send someone to protect Zhou Ziwei, a playboy, if it weren't for that incident. However, this wasn't the time for detailed questioning, so she quickly replied, "A health product company under your Zhou Group is producing... a male enhancement product that reportedly has very serious problems. Many consumers have experienced severe side effects after taking it, and the most serious cases have been diagnosed by doctors as lifelong infertility, meaning they can no longer... have that kind of life. Because of this incident, the Zhou Group's reputation has plummeted, and all of its businesses have been severely affected, bringing it to the brink of collapse."
"Oh...I see..."
Zhou Ziwei didn't react much to this news. After all, he was no longer the original Zhou Ziwei. After his rebirth, he hadn't even met the parents and younger brother of his predecessor, so he had no feelings for these nominal relatives.
In fact, even his predecessor, the real Zhou Ziwei, seemed to have a very strained relationship with his family when he was alive. He was a deposed "crown prince" and naturally harbored resentment towards his parents. Apart from having some contact with his younger brother, he probably had no affection for the rest of his family.
That's why Zhou Ziwei didn't take what Wang Xuewei said to heart. It was just some business stuff. Anyway, Zhou Ziwei wasn't expecting to inherit the Zhou family's business, so whether the Zhou Group collapsed or not was none of his business.
He even believed that since the Zhou Group was cheating consumers by producing counterfeit and shoddy products, it should naturally be punished, which was only natural.
Wang Xuewei was unsure whether to admire or despise Zhou Ziwei's composure. In her view, Zhou Ziwei's indifference to the impending collapse of the Zhou Group was clearly because he had never taken it seriously. It was a massive industry with a total market value of over one billion yuan... Even if Zhou Ziwei was a deposed "crown prince" and was destined never to become the head of the Zhou Group, the fact that he was the eldest son of the Zhou family could not be changed, and therefore his share of the family fortune would never be diminished.
Zhou Ziwei showed no reaction whatsoever to the prospect of losing such a large sum of money. Wang Xuewei knew that she herself certainly couldn't do that.
While Zhou Ziwei's lack of greed for family wealth is admirable, his complete indifference to the rise and fall of the Zhou Group is something that Wang Xuewei, who has always valued family ties, finds very distasteful.
"If that were all, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to find you."
Wang Xuewei snorted and said, "The most unfortunate thing is... among those people who suffered lifelong effects after taking Zhou's Group's products, there was actually a very powerful figure. He couldn't bear the terrible consequences of never being able to be near women again and being childless. Even going bankrupt for Zhou's Group couldn't quell his anger. So he posted a huge bounty on the international black market assassin network... listing the names of several high-ranking executives of Zhou's Group, as well as all the managers of that subsidiary health product company, and offering different bounty prices according to their status."
And your Zhou family, father and two sons, are all on the list... Just last night and today... two high-ranking members of the Zhou Group have been assassinated. Now everyone in the Zhou Group is living in fear, trying every possible way to escape assassination attempts... Of course... the rumors about the black market assassin network and the big shot offering a huge reward are just hearsay. There is no evidence to prove that the big shot was involved in hiring assassins... The police are powerless to do anything about it and can only passively protect the few people most likely to be assassinated. Your father and brother are currently under heavy police protection. There was an assassination attempt against your father before, which was successfully thwarted by the police, so they should be safe for the time being.
"You're the only member of the Zhou family out there. I don't know if the police or anyone from the Zhou family will notify you to go into hiding, so... well, you'd better figure it out yourself! Anyway, you're a major shareholder of Xinda Chemicals, and I don't want anything to happen to you, which is why I'm calling to let you know."
"Black market assassin network...hiring killers..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei's expression finally hardened. His first thought was of the assassin who used the darts. He wondered if that person was an assassin from the black market network, lured by the huge bounty, which was why he, Zhou Ziwei, had been included in the assassination target list... If that were the case, then the matter of the assassination would be clear, and Zhou Ziwei wouldn't have to worry about finding the enemy hiding in the dark anymore... But... was that assassin who used the darts really after that huge bounty?
"When did all these things you mentioned happen? When were the health products from the Zhou Group found to be problematic? And... when did the assassination attempt on my father happen?"
"On the very day you left Dangyang for Kunming, I heard that your Zhou Group's products had a serious quality issue. I called you several times after hearing about it, but I couldn't get through... As for your father being attacked by assassins last night... I hadn't heard of anything like this before..."
"This just happened yesterday..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei frowned again. It seemed that the assassin who used the cross-shaped darts earlier had nothing to do with this bounty assassination.
It's easy to imagine that, unless the person offering the reward is a fool, the reward amounts for the three members of the Zhou family, father and sons, will not be the same, and the least valuable one will undoubtedly be Zhou Ziwei.
So... if this bounty assassination had started many days ago, then the assassin should have started with the other two people first. There seems to be no reason to start with him, such a worthless target.
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 144: Covering Up
Zhou Ziwei didn't seem to feel much about the crisis facing the Zhou family; his only headache was that he had inexplicably become a target of a bounty in the assassin community again.
If his nominal relatives still cared about him, Zhou Ziwei wouldn't have been so heartless. However, since they didn't treat him like a piece of cake and no one even informed him of such a big incident, Zhou Ziwei naturally had no intention of helping the Zhou family through the crisis.
Although Zhou Ziwei didn't leave his new phone number with his nominal family, Wang Xuewei and her father had his number, so if they really wanted to find Zhou Ziwei, they couldn't possibly not find him.
What bad luck... I finally found a body to be reborn into, but after being reborn, I was constantly targeted for assassination because of the previous owner of this body... This... my luck is really bad!
But Zhou Ziwei thought to himself, if the previous owner of this body hadn't been suffocated to death by the assassin using a car seat cushion, he might still be huddled inside that tiny bullet, without any chance to start anew... So it's really hard to say whether this is a blessing or a curse for him!
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ziwei felt an invisible burden on his mind. He hadn't yet dealt with the organization that the assassin he encountered in Dangyang belonged to, or the employer who hired the assassin. Now, there was another bounty on his head. It was hard to say how many more assassins would target him next.
Although Liu Xiaofei hid on the other side of the hospital bed, the ward was only so big, and the two weren't far apart. Moreover, Zhou Ziwei wasn't deliberately avoiding her, so Liu Xiaofei overheard some details. As soon as Zhou Ziwei hung up the phone, she immediately rushed over nervously, grabbed his arm anxiously, and asked, "What's wrong? I heard you mention a black market assassin network. You're not being wanted there, are you?"
Zhou Ziwei glanced at her, then could only manage a helpless bitter smile, saying, "I'm afraid so... She wouldn't lie to me about this... Hmm... What, you've also heard of the black market assassin network?"
Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Liu Xiaofei's eyes immediately reddened with anxiety. She bit her lip and said, "How could I not know... Don't forget... I'm a police officer... How could I not pay attention to something like this... Sigh, that black market assassin network is basically the world's top assassin organization now. It's said that at least half of the world's professional assassins belong to this network. However, it's a relatively loose organization. The organizers merely provide a platform for assassins and employers who want to hire someone to commit murder; they don't actually have much control over the assassins. But it's precisely because of this that it attracts a large number of assassins to join the organization and become its members."