"By the way, you already have Mrs. Liu's contact information. Why did you refuse Mr. Liu's suggestion to go to a hotel instead of giving him the room number so that his wife could punish and restrain him?" Wu Fan asked.
This is more like the Zhou Luming he knows.
“That would certainly vent my anger, but I don’t want to spend another moment with him.” Zhou Luming looked at the scenery rushing past the car window and glanced at the rearview mirror. A red Volkswagen had been following them for several blocks.
Zhou Luming smiled and said, "You've finally arrived."
Chapter 95
===================
"I've changed my mind. Did you bring your household registration book and ID card? Let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau," Zhou Luming said casually, as if they were only discussing what to eat today.
Wu Fan slammed on the brakes, pulling the car over to the side of the road. He stared wide-eyed at the woman sitting in the passenger seat. He really couldn't understand her; she was utterly unpredictable, like she was shrouded in a fog.
"Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau?" Wu Fan repeated the question.
"Um."
"Going to do what?"
"What do you think?" Zhou Luming smiled, continuing to lean comfortably against the car. "Of course, we're going to visit someone for a date."
Wu Fan pursed his lips tightly. "What exactly do you want to do?" The thought that popped into his mind after hearing about going to the Civil Affairs Bureau was to register his marriage with Zhou Luming. Although her intentions were not pure, Wu Fan knew that he really wanted to be husband and wife with her, even if it was just a marriage registered on paper.
So, besides doubt, Wu Fan felt mostly excited.
Zhou Luming set the car's navigation, which indeed led to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Even though they were parked on the side of the road, the road was narrow, and the cars behind were honking and urging them to hurry up. Helpless, Wu Fan had no choice but to start the car and follow the navigation.
Zhou Luming didn't say anything more throughout the journey; she just looked out the car window, seemingly admiring the scenery.
Wu Fan remained silent. In her relationship with Zhou Luming, the one who fell in love first was destined to lose. When the car successfully entered and parked in the Civil Affairs Bureau compound, a small red car followed suit.
Zhou Luming and Wu Fan got out of the car and were about to enter the Civil Affairs Bureau's service hall when they saw a woman get out of the red car behind them. She rushed up to Zhou Luming, blocked her way, and said coldly, "Do you know what you're doing?"
When Zhou Luming saw her, a slow smile appeared on his lips. "What are you doing here, Aunt?"
Zhou Jiasang's anger hadn't subsided, and her cold gaze pierced Wu Fan like a flying dagger. "Are you really going to register your marriage with him? Is he the one you've chosen to marry? Have you done a thorough background check? Have you had your assets notarized? You're going to register your marriage without any preparation or clear plans? Have you lost your mind? Are you so desperate for those 40% of the shares?!"
Zhou Luming listened calmly, his expression remaining a half-smile. Zhou Jiasang had always given the impression of being taciturn and detached from the affairs of the Zhou Group, but unexpectedly, she was the first to step forward when Zhou Luming took action.
This shows that Zhou Jiasang had been paying close attention to Zhou Luming's activities and was very clear about the distribution conditions of the Zhou Group's estate.
She wasn't as indifferent as she appeared; she actually cared a lot about the Zhou Group.
“Aunt, I know very well what I’m doing, but do you know what you’re doing right now?” Zhou Luming asked calmly.
Zhou Jiasang quickly calmed down. Looking at her perfectly composed niece, she suddenly realized she had fallen into a trap. "You came here just to test and provoke me into showing myself?"
Zhou Luming nodded with a smile, "Yeah, and you actually showed up. I thought you would hold on until the very end. I was even prepared to take marriage certificate photos with him."
Zhou Jiasang lowered her voice, "You have no plans to register your marriage with him?"
"Hmm, I would never have a whirlwind marriage, and even if I were to have one, it wouldn't be him," Zhou Luming said casually.
Upon hearing this, Wu Fan felt a pang of pain in his heart.
He was actually mentally prepared; he clearly sensed that Zhou Luming was using him, but he was willing to do so. Even if it was feigned enthusiasm, he wanted to be with Zhou Luming, constantly deceiving himself into enjoying her gentleness.
Faced with the almost shameless Zhou Luming, Zhou Jiasang decided not to continue the entanglement and turned to leave. However, he found that someone was following behind him without his knowledge—Xu Yan.
Xu Yan wore a beige overcoat that went past her knees, over a white shirt and light blue jeans, with black boots. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, and her proportions were very well-proportioned. Her casual style was quite different from her usual style, indicating that she was trying not to attract attention so that she could follow Zhou Jiasang while Zhou Jiasang was focused on following Zhou Luming.
This is a classic case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Zhou Jiasang was completely fooled by the two young girls and suddenly felt that his reputation was in jeopardy.
"You two are having a fight and spreading rumors just to lure me out?"
"How else can I make you believe that I want to marry Wu Fan?" Zhou Luming's gaze passed over Zhou Jiasang and looked at Xu Yan. Xu Yan was also looking at her. Their eyes met, and they both understood each other's feelings.
It's a tacit understanding that doesn't need to be spoken. A rift must appear between Xu Yan and Zhou Luming, making people feel that he has an opportunity to take advantage of, before this person will make a move. Once he makes a move, Xu Yan and Zhou Luming will seize the opportunity.
So Zhou Jiasang couldn't help but show up, and Xu Yan and Zhou Luming caught the key figure.
Zhou Jiasang sneered, "Since when did you start to doubt me?"
Xu Yan said, "We were never sure it was you, but you are still among our suspects. The person who can hire S and command Xu Lang and Lu Yong must be someone with a powerful background and considerable wealth. Moreover, this person must have a very close relationship with the Zhou family. After considering all these factors, the most suspicious people after eliminating others are you and your aunt Zhou Jiayi."
"After Xu Lang was arrested, he refused to reveal who instructed him to hire S. There are not many people who can make Xu Lang work for her and know Xu Lang's weaknesses. In addition, they must have some connection with the Zhou Group. We can almost lock you down."
“Why can’t it be Zhou Jiayi?” Zhou Jiasang retorted.
“She’s too stupid,” Zhou Luming said bluntly. “Whether it was her or Sun Ren, they approached me with a purpose from the very beginning, and used very superficial and obvious means to target me. Later, they changed their tune and tried to curry favor with me. How could such a person with an unstable stance and so stupid possibly listen to an old fox like Xu Lang?”
Zhou Jiasang said, "Xu Lang is considered my elder. I'm just an ordinary doctor. How could I possibly make him obey me?"
“You may not be able to make Xu Lang obey, but the person behind you can.” Xu Yan approached Zhou Jiasang step by step, his pupils contracting slightly, his gaze fixed on Zhou Jiasang’s calm face. “This person can not only make Xu Lang obey, but also Lu Yong and you. His methods, connections, and financial background are all very powerful. Please tell me who is hiding behind you?”
Zhou Jiasang: "I have nothing to say," she said, glancing at Zhou Luming out of the corner of her eye. "I just happened to run into you today. I thought you were going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register your marriage, and as your aunt, it's only natural for me to come and witness your wedding. Now that you're just here for sightseeing, there's nothing else I can do. I have things to do at the hospital, so I'll be leaving now."
But Xu Yan held her firmly in place. He took another step closer to her, walking beside her side by side, and whispered in her ear, "Dad said that you and he were best friends when you were little. He was your most beloved younger brother, but you had to separate later. However, you often wrote letters and sent things to him. In a foreign land, the person he missed the most was always you. If it weren't for sending you things, he wouldn't have revealed his whereabouts and address, and none of the later events would have happened."
Zhou Jiasang's pupils contracted sharply, and his hands, hanging by his sides, clenched tightly.
“Aunt, I sincerely beg you, tell me who it is—who is hiding behind the scenes manipulating all of this, and to whom you revealed Dad’s whereabouts?”
Xu Yan was revealing her identity to Zhou Jiayi. Things had come to this point, and she had nothing left to hide from Zhou Jiasang.
Sure enough, Zhou Jiasang said in a low voice, "It's no use finding someone to replace your identity." She looked at Zhou Luming, but spoke to Xu Yan beside her, so that only Xu Yan could hear her, "You can erase all traces of her, you can replace DNA comparison samples, you can replace all the data files, but you can't replace your face."
“You look like your mother. Anyone who has seen your mother will know that you are Zhou Luming.”
“My father once sent you a family photo. Apart from that, the Zhou family doesn’t care about my mother, and no one remembers what she looks like. So unless you point out my identity, no one will doubt my identity,” Xu Yan said.
"In this respect, I have to thank my aunt for her help. Without her, I couldn't have kept this a secret for so long. However, I discovered that my aunt was not only deceiving her superiors and subordinates, but also helping others hide the truth. To put it another way, you were a double agent, caught between me and the person behind the scenes..."
Zhou Jiayi interrupted Xu Yan's speculation, "Stop speculating. You have to leave Haishi, take your little girlfriend, go wherever you want, just get out of here as soon as possible. I can't hold you off for long, and I'll be discovered soon... Go now, just like your father, fly far away."
"Like my father, running away but living in fear, and having to pay with your life once found?" Xu Yan said calmly, "No, I don't want to live that kind of passive life. I will stay to find him, face him with my own eyes, and deal with him with my own hands. That's why I came back, and no one can stop me."
"Aren't you afraid of implicating her?" Zhou Jiasang asked. She was referring to Zhou Luming.
Xu Yan looked at Zhou Luming and smiled, saying, "She is just like me, with a strong will."
Zhou Jiasang shook his head, "You're just as stubborn as your father."
"I inherited my father's stubbornness and determination."
Zhou Jiasang said, "Actually, you seem to have already guessed who he is without me saying a word."
“Having ruled out all possibilities, all that’s left is the answer. I just don’t know where he’s hiding, but you definitely do,” Xu Yan said. “Auntie, could you do me a favor and tell me where I can see him?”
Zhou Jiasang remained silent, passed by Xu Yan, paused briefly beside Wu Fan's car, and then drove off in her own vehicle.
Zhou Luming came over and asked, "What happened? Did she tell you the truth?"
Xu Yan shook her head: "She didn't say."
"So what should we do next? Should we ask Sister Anjing to check her dashcam footage?"
"No need. Although she didn't say it, she left her address."
"What address?"
Xu Yan asked Wu Fan to start the car, but said to Wu Fan, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wu, we need to borrow your car. I hope you don't mind."
Zhou Luming quickly added, "I will compensate for any damage. You can take a taxi back to headquarters; the fare will be reimbursed."
So the two of them left Wu Fan behind. Xu Yan pointed out that Zhou Jiasang had left information on the car navigation system, indicating a destination. Zhou Luming understood immediately and naturally became Xu Yan's driver. The two of them set off for their destination.
Zhou Luming knew that the answers to all the mysteries were about to be revealed.
Chapter 96
===================
Zhou Luming looked at the location on the car's navigation system. She was very familiar with the location; it was the Binhai New City project that they had just discussed investing in. Even for a financially powerful group like the Zhou Group, it would be necessary to rely on external forces to complete the project smoothly.
This is a very important matter, as it relates to whether Zhou Luming can gain a voice within the Zhou Group, and also to the future direction of the Zhou Group.
Zhou Luming had privately consulted Xu Yan about her opinion, since the Zhou family business was hers. However, Xu Yan completely relinquished control, genuinely disregarding the Zhou Group. Xu Yan stated that the decision was entirely Zhou Luming's, and that Zhou Luming was now hers.
If Xu Lang, Zhou Jiayi, Sun Ren, and others heard these words, they would probably be furious. What they had spent their entire lives scheming and plotting but could not obtain, was being looked down upon and casually given away to an outsider. Such behavior was astonishing.
Even if Old Master Zhou were to come back to life, he would probably be so angry that he would die again.
"This seems to be the planned location for the new coastal city. The demolition hasn't been completed yet, and it's a messy neighborhood. Who is Zhou Jiasang asking us to meet there?" Zhou Luming asked.
Xu Yan said, "Someone we overlooked from the very beginning."
"You seem to have guessed it?"
"I still can't be sure until I see that person." Xu Yan's lips were tightly pursed, and his expression was serious.
Zhou Luming glanced at Xu Yan out of the corner of his eye, reached out and took Xu Yan's hand, while holding the steering wheel with his other hand. "Relax, no matter what happens, I will be by your side."
Xu Yan felt the warmth from her hand, and her heart did indeed calm down a lot.
Zhou Luming asked, "But I still don't understand where I went wrong. After receiving their contact information, I pretended to take the bait and followed their enticing conditions to take control of the Zhou Group, steal Zhou Luming's identity, status, family relationships, and name, and even brought Wu Fan back to my side as a rumored boyfriend to create the illusion of betrayal... Even though I did all that, I thought it was foolproof, so why were they still able to find out?"
Xu Yan: "It's not your fault, the problem is with me. I'm not very good at acting." Zhou Jiasang reminded her that she had overlooked the fact that she looked similar to her mother in the plan. Although almost no one had seen her mother, they were still blood relatives, and her mother was not someone made up out of thin air. There were always clues to follow.
He thought he was clever and that everything would go according to plan. However, he became arrogant and complacent because things were going too smoothly, and he overlooked some details, ultimately ending up in a passive position.
However, it wasn't too late to realize everything; she still had a chance to meet the "director" who orchestrated everything—the person who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, making her the center of attention. Xu Yan was now going to confront him directly; she had obtained her ticket to the meeting.
The car entered a wide, deserted new road, which was specially built for the development of the coastal new city, but there were almost no vehicles going in or out.
At 120 km/h, Zhou Luming suddenly said, "If the deceased suddenly comes back to life after the inheritance has been passed on, what will happen to the inheritance that has already occurred? Will it be taken back and returned to the deceased?"
Xu Yan glanced at her. "The law stipulates that if a person declared dead reappears, they must return the inherited property. This only happens when someone is presumed dead."
"That's troublesome."
"Yes, this is indeed troublesome," Xu Yan added in his mind, because the current situation cannot be resolved through legal means, and Zhou Luming had obviously guessed the identity of the person in charge of all this, which was why he thought of this problem.
"I never expected that we would end up facing him." Zhou Luming laughed self-deprecatingly. "We went through a lot of trouble and suspected a lot of people, but we never thought of him. We were really fools and were completely fooled."
Xu Yan also agreed that she was a fool. From the moment she decided to return to China, she had stepped into the other party's trap. Only today did she realize it. Looking back on everything that happened, it all seemed like a joke.
The car was parked in front of a dilapidated sanatorium. There were no parking spaces, so it was just parked haphazardly in an open area.