Zhou Luming chuckled, but immediately received a warning look from Xu Yan. Zhou Luming immediately suppressed his laughter and quietly followed her to the study filled with surveillance footage.
It's strange, but every time they come here, their relationship changes a little bit.
Xu Yan gestured for Zhou Luming to sit on the sofa inside, while he himself sat on the swivel chair behind the wooden table.
"Xu Lang intends to arrange a marriage between you and his only son, Xu Yi, to pursue you. We can seize this opportunity to get close to Xu Lang, find out what methods he has, and what his connection is to the car accident involving Zhou Luming's parents. We can also help you gain Xu Lang's favor and get his support at the board meeting so that he can give you the key address and allow you to inherit the estate smoothly."
After listening, Zhou Luming rested his chin on his hand and sighed, "The task is arduous."
Xu Yan also agreed that the task was too difficult, but if it weren't difficult, she wouldn't have been chosen to replace Zhou Luming after so many selections.
"This is the payment for the previous case, plus compensation for your injuries." Xu Yan handed Zhou Luming a bulging envelope.
Receiving so much money all at once, Zhou Luming's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face. He counted the money as he spoke, "You guys really have a conscience. I haven't worked for nothing these past few days, and my foot injury hasn't been a waste of my time. You have no idea how inconvenient it was for me to hop around on one leg. Even though it's recovered a bit now, there are still some aftereffects—"
Xu Yan ignored her rambling and quickly switched back to the main topic, "I've already asked Sister Anjing to investigate Xu Lang's only son, Xu Yi, and his so-called girlfriend, Lin Shuwan. We'll study them together once the information arrives—"
Xu Yan's phone vibrated. She took out her phone, glanced at it, and changed her words, saying, "Sister Anjing has already given us the information." She projected the investigation document onto the screen.
Zhou Luming rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head to look, "I declare that Sister Anjing is my goddess, that was fast."
Xu Yan also turned to look at the information on the screen, seemingly unmoved by Zhou Luming's evaluation of Wang Anjing.
goddess?
She glanced at Zhou Luming's profile out of the corner of her eye. Lately, she'd caught up on some of the domestic news and gossip. Aside from his illustrious family background, Xu Yi was practically a homebody. He disliked bars, cars, and anything lavish. But he loved surfing the internet, playing games, watching live streams, and browsing forums—he participated in every form of entertainment he could do at home.
Investigating Xu Yi inevitably involves encountering some new internet slang. Xu Yan was aware of this, so he took some time to learn a bit and also saw the definition of the so-called internet goddess.
In this era that strives for equality, being called a goddess by a boy implies admiration, while being called a goddess by a girl may have other meanings besides worship.
Xu Yan's eyes flickered slightly as she stared intently at Zhou Luming.
Is her use of the word "goddess" purely an expression of worship?
Zhou Luming had noticed Xu Yan's gaze long ago. "Look, look," he thought, "it won't hurt me to look." But Xu Yan rarely stared at him like that. This time, the gaze had lasted too long, making Zhou Luming a little uncomfortable. He felt like he had done something wrong to be being watched.
Finally unable to bear it any longer, she said, "Xu Yan, what did I do wrong again? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Xu Yan hesitated for a moment, "You—"
"What about me?"
"It's nothing—" Xu Yan swallowed his words, looked away, and browsed through Xu Yi's information.
He graduated from a private high school with outrageously high tuition and fees. He then got into an ordinary university, instead of going abroad like other rich kids to buy a place and become a "sea turtle" (a term for someone with overseas education and connections), which was quite unconventional.
It's clear that this person, though seemingly obedient, is actually somewhat rebellious. Choosing to take the college entrance exam and attend a regular university will likely lead to conflict with Xu Lang.
His university grades were mediocre, and after graduating on schedule, he was assigned to an inconspicuous subsidiary. Although the subsidiary was not large in scale, it was a basic building material supplier in the construction industry. Relying on a single major client, it had no worries about revenue. Xu Lang placed him in this position, which was very secure. He could achieve good results and enrich his resume. It was paving the way for Xu Yi.
After Zhou Luming returned to China, Xu Lang kept inquiring about her whereabouts. After Luke's accident, Xu Lang clearly set his sights on Zhou Luming's marriage, wanting her to be his daughter-in-law.
But to everyone's surprise, Xu Yi had a problem; he had a girlfriend from an ordinary background.
Seeing this, Zhou Luming felt that this was a typical family drama at 8 pm. Such plots are often boring and long, and you can guess what will happen next even with your eyes closed, but they are very popular with parents.
“Xu Yi’s girlfriend is not simple,” Xu Yan suddenly said, staring at the photo of the girl projected on the screen. “We may need to spend a little time getting to know her.”
--------------------
Author's Note:
Today is a special day. I hope that all girls' love can be embraced, that they can always be themselves, not be subservient, not be defined, "do whatever they want," and be confident, beautiful, and generous.
Chapter 56
===================
Zhou Luming raised an eyebrow, leaned back on the sofa, and asked, "Oh? Is there something strange about Lin Shuwan?"
Xu Yan said, "She went to the same high school as Xu Yi, but Xu Yi said that he first met her at the company and that it was a chance encounter."
"This private high school has several thousand students across all grades, so it's normal that they don't know each other."
“No, this is not normal,” Xu Yan shook his head. “The tuition and fees of private high schools are high, which is not something that girls from ordinary families like Lin Shuwan can afford. Moreover, she and Xu Yi are in the same grade. She may not be able to participate in Xu Yi’s private activities, but they must participate in the public activities of the same grade, so the probability of them meeting often is high. I think this is not the first time Lin Shuwan and Xu Yi have met. They may have known each other since high school.”
Zhou Luming frowned in thought, "Could Xu Yi be lying to us? This guy seems honest, but he's actually a master actor?"
While texting, Xu Yan said, "I asked Sister Anjing to continue digging into their relationship. It's definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface."
The text message was sent, but a somewhat puzzling reply was quickly received: "I've been too busy to help lately, but I have a big gift for you. Please receive it tomorrow morning."
Xu Yan stared at the message for a moment, completely clueless as to what kind of grand gift Wang Anjing was going to give.
Zhou Luming walked over to her and took a closer look at the message. He smiled and said, "Sister Anjing is annoyed by us. She's the CEO of a tech company now, things are different now. It's normal that she's too lazy to bother with us. But I'm really curious about what gift she's going to give. Could it be some amazing artificial intelligence? Li Li and she are both such geniuses, they might actually be able to develop it. I really want to have a robot like the ones in science fiction movies."
She yawned, glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the big screen, and said, "I still have four hours to sleep, Mr. Xu. I'm going to rest and sleep. Look at my dark circles; I could pass for a giant panda. I'll get up on time tomorrow morning to work for you again."
Xu Yan looked at her face and saw that there were indeed some bruises under her eyes. Her usually bright eyes had also lost some of their luster. So he silently allowed her to go back to sleep and stayed in the study for a while longer. Looking at Lin Shuwan's college graduation photo on the big screen, he could see that she was a clean and refreshing female college student with two small tiger teeth and a bright, sunny smile.
only--
What secrets lie hidden behind that innocent smile? Why did she get involved with Xu Yi? Was it a fateful encounter or a deliberate arrangement?
Xu Yan rubbed her eyes, closed the study door, and went back to her bedroom. Before entering the bedroom password, she subconsciously glanced at the floor by the door. Not long ago, Zhou Luming was squatting there pitifully, wanting to sleep in her room.
Now that she has the truth she wanted, she has put herself out of her mind.
Xu Yan couldn't quite describe her feelings. On one hand, she felt that she had indeed guessed what Zhou Luming was thinking; Zhou Luming's approach and harassment were simply because she wanted to know about her relationship with the real Zhou Luming. On the other hand, she felt a little disappointed, thinking that once Zhou Luming found out what she wanted, she wouldn't cling to her like before.
Lying back down on the mattress on the bare floor, Xu Yan could still smell the faint, elegant perfume that Zhou Luming wore before going to sleep. She didn't find it offensive; on the contrary, she missed it.
The two were woken up early in the morning by a persistent doorbell ringing. Xu Yan, dressed in a formal suit, went to open the door, which startled the person at the door.
The person at the door was wearing a loose black hoodie, a baseball cap, and headphones, with the volume turned up so high that even Xu Yan, who was on the other side, could hear the intense rhythm coming from the headphones.
"Who are you?" Xu Yan looked down at the visitor, a young girl who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a round face, a petite figure, shoulder-length black hair, a backpack, and a tablet computer in her hand.
The visitor's gaze finally shifted from the electronic screen to Xu Yan's face. Upon seeing Xu Yan, she paused slightly before saying, "Hello, my name is Stella, you can simply call me S. Mr. Wang asked me to report here. Are you Xu Yan or Zhou Luming?"
She had painstakingly searched online for the two individuals' social media activity and information, but to little avail, which greatly frustrated her. She even began to suspect that the two were simply a fabrication by Wang Anjing. Therefore, when Wang Anjing asked her to assist these two individuals in their work, she came without hesitation. She was filled with curiosity about them; what kind of amazing people could remain invisible on the internet? How did they do it?
"Hello, S, I am Xu Yan."
S smiled, revealing her little tiger teeth, "So where is the rumored Zhou Luming?" She's said to be a great beauty, and a rich second-generation heiress who's about to inherit a huge fortune—a true "rich, beautiful, and successful" woman.
"Please come in—" Xu Yan stepped aside to make way. S was clearly a gift from Wang Anjing. Wang Anjing had been busy with a major event recently and didn't have time to personally help Xu Yan with these chores, so she sent a little girl instead. It wasn't that Xu Yan doubted Wang Anjing's judgment, but this little girl looked too young, and he wasn't sure if she could handle a complicated situation.
As soon as S entered, she looked around and expressed curiosity about the surveillance system in Xu Yan's home.
"Did Mr. Wang help you with this?"
"Hmm." Xu Yan stood in the living room, quietly observing her every move.
S wandered around for a bit, but didn't go upstairs. Instead, she took out her tablet and pen and started drawing and writing on it. Xu Yan glanced at it; it looked like a rough sketch of the interior of his house. He had absolutely no idea what S was doing.
"Oh my, Xu Yan, who is this lovely little girl?" Zhou Luming came out of the bathroom with a smile. She had already washed up and changed into a leather jacket, jeans, bright red lips, and long, slightly curly hair draped over her shoulders.
Xu Yan didn't answer her, but frowned and said, "Change into a formal suit."
Zhou Luming refused, "No." Her tone was almost coquettish.
Xu Yan said helplessly, "We are going to see Xu Lang today, and we may also see other members of the board of directors. Your appearance here will affect your image."
Zhou Luming crossed his arms and said, "They already disliked me, and it's not like they'll change their impression of me just because I changed into an expensive suit."
"Go change into a different outfit, or I won't take you."
Zhou Luming shrugged dejectedly and said, "Fine, whatever you say." She turned back into the room, not forgetting to ask, "Little girl, who exactly are you? You don't look like Xu Yan's illegitimate daughter..."
Xu Yan choked.
S blinked her cute big eyes and said, "I am S, sent by President Wang to help you solve all the problems you can't solve."
Zhou Luming chuckled, "Sounds impressive. I'll see what you're capable of later." He slammed the door shut, leaving behind a beautiful silhouette.
S turned to Xu Yan and said, "Is she Zhou Luming?"
"Um."
"The future heir of the Zhou Group?"
"Um."
S exclaimed "Wow!" and then muttered under his breath, "The Zhou Group might go bankrupt soon."
Xu Yan glanced at her. "Maybe."
S got back to the point, "I think there's room for improvement in your home's surveillance system."
"What's the problem?" Xu Yan knew she was trying to establish her authority in the technical field. Although she was young, she was recommended by Wang Anjing, and Wang Anjing shouldn't have misjudged her.
S said, "Although the current number of surveillance cameras is comprehensive, there are too many of them. It's completely unnecessary to install so many cameras. I just drew a rough sketch of your house's interior, calculated the corner angle of each monitor, and built a simple model. Your house currently has about 12 cameras on the first floor, but you don't actually need that many. If the locations are suitable, the number of cameras can be reduced to 5. If the second and third floors have similar structures, even more surveillance equipment can be saved."
Xu Yan: "The surveillance network in my home was designed and set up by Boss Wang. Now you say you can reduce it by more than half. Do you know that you are defying the authority of Boss Wang?"
S didn't care much, saying, "The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach."
Xu Yan was amused by her bold statement, "But I'm too lazy to touch these things. What good would reducing surveillance do for me?"
S's eyes darted around, "It can reduce electricity bills."
Xu Yan: "..."
Xu Yan hid to the side and called Wang Anjing to ask where she had found such a lively character. Wang Anjing's voice was a bit noisy. She said that S was specially selected from the Global Genius Youth China Challenge organized by Yuan Yuzhou Technology. Although she seemed naive, childish and unreliable in some things, she was indeed very talented. She hoped that Xu Yan could cooperate well with her and make good use of her strengths.
Xu Yan covered half his face and reluctantly accepted Wang Anjing's "gift." But he couldn't just leave the young girl at home, or she might tear the house down, so he had no choice but to take her with him to visit Xu Lang. Once they got downstairs, he would just leave her in the car.
After Zhou Luming changed into a light blue suit, he really did look the part. Xu Yan gave off the vibe of a professional elite, while Zhou Luming exuded a serious yet slightly unrestrained domineering CEO aura.
She left her collar unbuttoned, deliberately pulling it up to the bottom three buttons to show off her collarbones, as if afraid no one would notice how beautiful they were. Her sleeves weren't properly buttoned either, half-rolled up, and the hem of her shirt was tucked into her waistband, revealing a slender waistline that was truly enviable.
S, sitting in the back seat with her tablet, watched Zhou Luming lower his head and get into the driver's seat. He exuded a mature and sophisticated aura, and S's eyes widened in admiration.
"Sister Zhou, you are so cool and handsome, just like Natasha, the Black Widow from Marvel."
Zhou Luming choked abruptly, exchanging a glance with Xu Yan. She hadn't expected to cultivate the aura of a successful businesswoman overnight, but she had tried her best to lean towards the cool and domineering CEO persona. How did the person in the back row come to see her as a Black Widow-type agent?
S quietly said, "I've seen your performance in the Metaverse game world. I'm sorry, but I'll confess now, I'm a big fan of yours."
Xu Yan: "I arranged to meet Xu Lang at 11 o'clock. If we don't leave quickly, we'll be late."
Zhou Luming snapped out of her shock, fastened her seatbelt, shifted gears, and said, "Sit tight, little one, I'm going to show you what real driving skills are."