After Zhou Ziwei's unintentional encounter with Yu Xiaoru in Baoshan, his impression of her became even more profound.
Just hearing her voice on the phone made Zhou Ziwei feel as if Yu Xiaoru's delicate yet slightly haggard face was reappearing before his eyes...
Hearing Yu Xiaoru ask again, Zhou Ziwei finally snapped out of his daze and said in a standard Northeastern accent, "Oh... hello, I... I'm Yang Hongtao's old classmate. I just came from the Northeast and will be staying in Zhongdu for a while, so I came to see my old classmate... But... why did his family move? I remember this house should belong to his family. If you're the landlord, then you must be someone from his family, right? What... are you Yang Hongtao's wife?"
Zhou Ziwei didn't mean to take advantage of Yu Xiaoru by saying this, but if he didn't ask, it would seem unreasonable and would easily arouse suspicion.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before a faint sigh came through: "I'm sorry... I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Brother Tao... he passed away three years ago."
"What... How is this possible..." Zhou Ziwei exclaimed in feigned surprise, "Wasn't his health always good? How could this be... No way, how could he be so young, how could he... how could he be gone?"
Yu Xiaoru sighed again and said, "I'm sorry... I know it's hard for you to accept this fact, but the fact is the fact... Since you are my husband's old classmate, I should have greeted you on behalf of Brother Tao, but... I'm quite busy right now and don't have time. You... should go!"
"What?" Zhou Ziwei exclaimed in surprise, "You're mine...you really are my old classmate's wife?"
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 238: In the Clouds
Zhou Ziwei was really confused by Yu Xiaoru. How did he end up with an extra wife... or rather, an extra wife in his past life?
Although Zhou Ziwei had long known that Yu Xiaoru had been serving his parents at his home since he was imprisoned in his previous life, he never expected that Yu Xiaoru would present herself as his wife in front of others. This would have serious consequences for her, even though she had never actually had any relationship with Zhou Ziwei in his previous life, not even holding his hand once. But others didn't know that.
Since she claims to be Yang Hongtao's wife, in other people's eyes she is a married woman, a widow, even though she doesn't have a marriage certificate.
If she wants to find a boyfriend in the future, it will be much more difficult. Even if she does find one, she will have to lower her standards. This is a very important matter for a woman's entire life.
If Yu Xiaoru only wanted to take care of Yang's parents, there was no need for her to create such a fictitious title. She could have simply recognized Yang's parents as her godparents, and then she could have continued to live in the Yang family and take care of them like her own children. However... she insisted on calling herself Yang Hongtao's wife in front of others, which clearly indicated that she did not want to remarry.
Will she never remarry? Or, as she said... at least not for the next hundred years?
Zhou Ziwei gently shook his head, temporarily putting the question aside, and continued talking to Yu Xiaoru on the phone: "So I have to call you sister-in-law now... cough... My name is Lin Xuefeng, I'm two months older than Yang Hongtao, and I was his classmate in junior high... I really didn't expect... it's only been a few years since we last met, and Hongtao has actually... sigh... Anyway, even if Hongtao is gone, I still want to see his parents. Back then, they treated me almost like their own son. Now that Hongtao is gone, I am their son... um... I also brought a lot of local specialties from my hometown to give to them. Could you please tell me their current address? I'll go visit them right away..."
There was a slight silence on the other end of the phone before Yu Xiaoru said softly, "Okay! If you really want to meet my parents, then come to the Little Cafe across from the Cloud Tower first. I'll be waiting for you there..."
After Yu Xiaoru finished speaking, she hung up the phone. Zhou Ziwei stood there in a daze for a while before turning around and going downstairs. He carried the sturdy canvas bag and walked a long way before finally hailing a taxi and heading straight to the location Yu Xiaoru had mentioned.
Zhou Ziwei was certainly familiar with the Yunzhong Building. Three years ago... when he was still Yang Hongtao, he had been working there. It was the headquarters of Yunzhong International Group, which was founded by Huang Lianshu. Apart from the bottom three floors used to house shopping malls and supermarkets, the top thirty-three floors of the thirty-six-story building were all office buildings of Yunzhong International.
This alone demonstrates just how powerful the Yunzhong Group is.
While a 36-story building may not be considered a high-rise in a nationally renowned modern metropolis like Zhongdu, there are many high-rise office buildings. However, those office buildings typically house hundreds of companies sharing a single space. Any company that can independently occupy an entire floor of a building as its office is considered quite powerful. But compared to Yunzhong International, a large company that occupies an entire building with a total of 33 floors of offices, it is truly insignificant.
Zhou Ziwei didn't know why Yu Xiaoru chose this place to meet. Could it be that... Yu Xiaoru is also working at Yunzhong International now?
Zhou Ziwei shook his head inwardly, thinking that such a possibility was unlikely. After all, after he went to prison, Yu Xiaoru had completely broken ties with her sister Yu Xiaoya, and Yu Xiaoya had become Huang Lianshu's personal secretary. It was unlikely that Yu Xiaoru would work in the same company as her sister again.
Furthermore, Yu Xiaoru also knew that Yang Hongtao (Zhou Ziwei) was harmed by Huang Lianshu. Since she was willing to remain unmarried for life for Yang Hongtao (Zhou Ziwei), how could she possibly go to work for her enemy's company?
After getting out of the car in front of the coffee shop opposite the Cloud Tower, Zhou Ziwei did not immediately go into the coffee shop to find Yu Xiaoru. Instead, he turned around, looked up at the building that had obviously just undergone a complete renovation and was painted as if it were newly built, and remained silent for a long time.
Although Zhou Ziwei showed no outward expression, he secretly clenched his fists, silently telling himself: sooner or later, he would shatter all the wealth and glory represented by this building, and he would make the owner of this building grovel before him like a dog, allowing him to trample on him at will. And that day... should not be far off.
Zhou Ziwei then gradually fixed his gaze on a window on the top floor of the building. If he remembered correctly, that should be Huang Lianshu's office.
If Zhou Ziwei wanted to, he could simply release the ladybug and kill the culprit who caused his execution in his previous life within seconds.
However… Zhou Ziwei certainly wouldn’t allow Huang Lianshu to die so easily. His hatred for Huang Lianshu was beyond what could be vented by simply killing him. He had to first strip Huang Lianshu of everything he had, turning him into a penniless and disgraced pauper, and then reveal his true colors to this bastard, making him die knowing why, dying in pain, fear, and regret… Only in this way could the raging fire in Zhou Ziwei’s heart be quelled.
After glancing at the window again, Zhou Ziwei showed no unusual expression, then slowly turned around and walked into the Little Dot Coffee Shop...
The coffee shops here are nothing like the ones in Sanshui Street in Tonghai. Sanshui Street is a famous red-light district, and even the coffee shops there are designed in a very suggestive way. Each small, pigeon-coop-like cubicle can only accommodate two or three people, providing a place for men and women who can't afford a hotel room to have a brief intimate encounter.
Despite its name, this tiny coffee shop is actually quite spacious and bright. It has private rooms, but the main hall is over 200 square meters, giving it a very grand feel.
As soon as Zhou Ziwei entered, he spotted Yu Xiaoru sitting in the corner. However, he couldn't just walk over there like that. Instead, he pretended to be a country bumpkin visiting the city, carrying a tattered canvas bag and looking around in a rustic manner.
"Hello, how many of you are there?"
Although the coffee shop staff were somewhat surprised and curious to see such a rustic-looking person, who looked like a construction worker, enter the coffee shop, out of professional habit, the waitress still politely came over to inquire. However, the waitress had already made up her mind that if this fellow villager really wanted to spend money here, she would have to make sure to clarify the price with him in advance to avoid any unexpected disputes when settling the bill.
"I...I'm here to find someone."
Zhou Ziwei deliberately acted like a timid, unsophisticated country bumpkin, making the waitress almost burst out laughing. Just as she was about to ask Zhou Ziwei who he was looking for, Yu Xiaoru stood up, waved to Zhou Ziwei, and said, "You must be Hong Tao's old classmate, right? I'm Yu Xiaoru... Come and sit down!"
"Oh..." Zhou Ziwei responded and hurried over to sit down opposite Yu Xiaoru. After sitting down, he refused to take off the heavy canvas bag, but carefully held it in his arms, looking every bit like a migrant worker.
Yu Xiaoru observed Zhou Ziwei carefully for a while, but couldn't see anything unusual about him, before asking, "You said you were Hong Tao's classmate in junior high? But how come you're from Northeast China?"
"Oh...it's like this..." Zhou Ziwei hurriedly explained, "My hometown is in Northeast China, but a few years ago my parents were working in Zhongdu, so they brought me here to study for two years. Then something happened back home, and my whole family moved back. Actually, Yang Hongtao and I were only classmates for half a year, but he was my best friend in Zhongdu. Back then, my classmates all thought I was from the countryside and was unsophisticated, so no one wanted to talk to me. Some classmates even bullied me. Yang Hongtao was the best to me."
He often took me to his home to play, and his parents never discriminated against me at all. Every time I went, they would prepare lots of delicious food that I had never seen before for me, and they wouldn't let Yang Hongtao and me take it... Haha... Back then, Yang Hongtao even complained that his parents were biased, as if I were their real son.
Zhou Ziwei's words were not entirely nonsense. In fact, he did have a classmate from Northeast China when he was in junior high school in his previous life. They only spent half a year together before the classmate's whole family moved back to Northeast China for some reason.
Back then, that classmate often came to his house to play. Yang's parents saw that his classmate was hardworking and honest, and they treated him very well.
However, that classmate was not named Lin Xuefeng, nor was he dressed up like this. But after so many years, it's normal for a teenager to change his appearance. I suppose Yang's parents wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
As for the name of that classmate from back then, Zhou Ziwei's parents didn't know much about it either. They usually just called him Xiao Dong. Zhou Ziwei wasn't worried about being exposed, and he just said that Xiao Dong was his nickname.
Next, Yu Xiaoru casually asked some questions about Yang Hongtao (Zhou Ziwei's previous life). Seeing that Zhou Ziwei answered flawlessly without any loopholes, she was finally relieved and confirmed that Zhou Ziwei was not an imposter.
Zhou Ziwei also pretended to ask about Yang Hongtao's cause of death, and it felt rather strange to ask someone about how he died in his past life.
There's a reason why Yu Xiaoru is being so cautious. She's currently working on something big, and after a period of hard work, things are starting to look promising. However, she's becoming increasingly careful before things truly succeed, determined not to make any mistakes at this stage.
She would naturally be more wary of strangers who suddenly approached her during this period.
However, it seems that the honest-looking young man from Northeast China in front of him must really be Yang Hongtao's old classmate. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to tell Yang Hongtao's childhood stories so clearly, including some things that even her sister didn't know.
“Brother Lin, actually, I didn’t want Hongtao’s old friends or classmates to bother Mom and Dad again. After all, although Hongtao has been gone for three years, I know in my heart that Mom and Dad still haven’t gotten over the shadow of Hongtao’s death. I was really afraid that they would be traumatized by contacting people related to Hongtao again, so… that’s why I arranged to meet them here first…”
Yu Xiaoru picked up her coffee and took a sip before continuing, "But since you've come all the way from the Northeast to see them, I can't very well stop you... Sigh, speaking of which... although Mom and Dad don't have to work anymore, they get quite bored staying at home every day. And I... I'm too busy with my job as their daughter-in-law to spend much time with them. Since you got along well with them before, then... it would be good for you to visit them. But... I hope you'll be careful when you talk to them and try to avoid mentioning Hong Tao... Sigh, both of them aren't in good health, and I'm really worried they might not be able to handle the shock!"
"Ah...are they not in good health? What illnesses do they have...do they go to the hospital for check-ups regularly?" As soon as Zhou Ziwei heard that his parents were not in good health, he stood up anxiously, wishing he could sprout wings and fly to his parents' side to visit them immediately.
Upon seeing Zhou Ziwei's state, Yu Xiaoru's last shred of doubt vanished. She quickly comforted him, saying, "I took them to the hospital for a full check-up a few days ago. The illnesses... well, there's nothing seriously wrong, but they're all very weak. This is probably because the shock of Hong Tao's accident three years ago was too great for them, causing them to become ill from emotional distress. Coupled with their poor appetite and insomnia, their bodies are naturally weak..."
"Oh... just weak, hmm... that makes things easier."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei finally felt relieved. His biggest fear was that his parents had contracted some kind of terminal illness, in which case even he might not be able to do anything about it. However, if it was just physical weakness, then it was not a problem at all. His soul power had a very strong effect on enhancing physical constitution. As long as he had the opportunity to come into contact with his parents and occasionally infuse some soul power into their bodies, he believed that under the slow nourishment of soul power, his parents' bodies should be able to become stronger very quickly.
Although this slow nourishment could not possibly make his parents' bodies reach the same superhuman physical abilities as him, it would be easy for them to at least recover to the physical condition of a normal person.
Seeing Yu Xiaoru looking at him with a questioning gaze, Zhou Ziwei finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Oh... it's like this. Although my parents are just ordinary farm workers, my grandfather is a very famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor in our hometown. Over the years, I have learned a lot of medical skills from my grandfather, especially traditional Chinese massage. My grandfather said that I have learned it even better than him. The weakness of the elderly is partly due to depression, but the main reason is due to poor blood circulation. As long as they receive my massage, I believe that it won't be long before they recover their health."
"Traditional Chinese medicine massage can strengthen the body?" Yu Xiaoru said, somewhat puzzled. "I've never heard of that before. Zhongdu is such a big city, and there are quite a few famous traditional Chinese medicine doctors. Last year, I even took my parents to see a famous old traditional Chinese medicine doctor. However, at that time, the old doctor only prescribed some nourishing Chinese medicine for my parents, but he never mentioned that massage could strengthen the body!"
Zhou Ziwei chuckled sheepishly, revealing a sincere yet proud expression, and said, "True masters are often found among ordinary people. My grandfather is a true reclusive master doctor. If he were to actually show his face, he would surely shock the entire medical world. However, my grandfather is just too lazy and doesn't have a good impression of city people. So even when hospital directors or other people who know my grandfather's background come to invite him, he has never agreed. He's spent his whole life holed up in this remote mountain village. But his medical skills are truly superb. Although I didn't receive much of his true teachings, I've definitely surpassed him in traditional Chinese massage, haha... You definitely won't believe anything I say now, but once I meet Hong Tao's parents, you can let me try it out a little, and I guarantee it will blow your mind."
"If it's really that amazing, then I'd really like to see it for myself..." Seeing Zhou Ziwei's confident demeanor, Yu Xiaoru couldn't help but feel a little skeptical. She was actually quite eager to see if Zhou Ziwei was just spouting nonsense. So she immediately called the waitress to pay the bill and hurriedly left the coffee shop with Zhou Ziwei. However, just as they were standing at the intersection, waiting to hail a taxi, a white BMW suddenly screeched to a halt in front of them. A man leaned out and waved to Yu Xiaoru with a grin, and Yu Xiaoru's face immediately tensed up...
The man first looked Zhou Ziwei up and down with some curiosity, then his eyes revealed a look of disgust. He then turned to Yu Xiaoru with a smile and said, "Xiaoru... it doesn't seem to be time to get off work yet, right? Where are you going... Oh, who is this gentleman next to you? Aren't you going to introduce him to me?"
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 239: Reunion of Family
When the man in the car asked her a question, Yu Xiaoru gave a cold snort and said, "Who he is is none of your business, I don't need to report to you... Although it's not time to get off work yet, I've already asked Minister Guan for leave... Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now..." After saying that, Yu Xiaoru immediately waved to Zhou Ziwei and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute..." The man in the car immediately waved and said, "I have a business dinner tonight in room 302 on the third floor of the Yunzhong Hotel... There might be two foreign guests attending... Please don't forget to attend, Miss Yu... Oh... I'll let Minister Guan know about this, and he'll contact you later. Okay... Bye-bye..."
The man then suddenly stepped on the gas and sped away in his BMW.
Yu Xiaoru stood there blankly, staring at the departing car, her teeth clenched tightly, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes.
Zhou Ziwei watched coldly from the sidelines, witnessing everything that was happening. Now he could finally be completely certain that Yu Xiaoru really did work at Yunzhong International. He was also familiar with the man who had just appeared. That guy was called Zhao Zhongsheng, and he was a senior manager at Yunzhong International, holding the position of deputy director of the Yunzhong International Expansion Department.
This guy's lecherousness was already common knowledge in Cloud International. It's said that he was even detained a few years ago for soliciting prostitution.
However, because this man was one of the company's founding members who had worked alongside Huang Lianshu in the early years, and because he did indeed possess extraordinary abilities in business, Huang Lianshu did not strip him of his power despite his less-than-stellar reputation.
Zhou Ziwei felt disgusted whenever he saw this guy. He never expected that this fly would now be swarming around Yu Xiaoru. However, Zhou Ziwei still had some doubts in his mind. How did Yu Xiaoru end up working at Yunzhong International? Although in Zhongdu, being able to work at Yunzhong International was definitely an honor for ordinary working people.
The problem is that because of her own situation, Yu Xiaoru couldn't possibly be without resentment towards Huang Lianshu, and Huang Lianshu couldn't possibly be without suspicion of Yu Xiaoru. So why did Yu Xiaoru insist on mingling with Yunzhong International?
Although his mind was filled with countless questions, Zhou Ziwei couldn't very well ask Yu Xiaoru about them at this moment, and he figured even if he did, Yu Xiaoru wouldn't answer him.
So he could only stand silently to the side, watching Yu Xiaoru's figure, feeling a pang of heartache in his heart.
Regardless of whether Yu Xiaoru works at Yunzhong International or not, Zhou Ziwei believes that she is not like her heartless sister, who would sell everything for money and profit.
On the one hand, she claimed to be Yang Hongtao's wife, and on the other hand, she had to work at Yunzhong International. It is conceivable how much pressure she would face from the exclusion and prejudiced looks she would encounter at Yunzhong International. It is really hard to imagine how her young shoulders could bear all of this.
"let's go!"
Finally, a taxi arrived. Yu Xiaoru, looking somewhat pale, got in and let Zhou Ziwei sit in the back. She sat alone in the front passenger seat.
"Go to Building 4, Guixiang Community..." After getting into the car, Yu Xiaoru hurriedly gave the taxi driver the address, then gently closed her eyes, a hint of fatigue showing on her pale face.
Looking at Yu Xiaoru through the rearview mirror, Zhou Ziwei felt a subtle tremor in his heart, as if a string was being gently plucked, and a strange feeling slowly brewed within him...
Zhongdu City is very large, and Zhou Ziwei has not been back here for more than three years, so he felt that Zhongdu had changed a lot. At least he had never heard of the name Guixiang Community before.
However, when the car entered the residential area that resembled a landscape garden, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but be slightly lost in thought.
There aren't many buildings here; only seven or eight are scattered among a lush garden. Most of the land area is occupied by flowers, trees, artificial hills, and fountains. In today's urban areas where land is extremely valuable, the utilization rate of this community is shockingly low.
If built according to normal architectural design, this land could support at least seventeen or eighteen buildings, not just seven or eight.
Just one glance at the stunning scenery around the neighborhood tells you that the investment in environmental improvements for this community must be far greater than the cost of building those seven or eight buildings.
Therefore, although those buildings are not detached villas, their construction cost is definitely not low, and the actual price may be much higher than that of a real villa...
Did your parents move here?
Zhou Ziwei looked around, his mind reeling from the shock. He never imagined that his parents, under Yu Xiaoru's care, could live in such a high-end neighborhood. It was quite different from what he had initially imagined.
It's important to understand that while Yu Xiaoru is a top student at Zhongdu Foreign Languages College and finding a job shouldn't be a problem, and her salary would certainly be high, this is only relative to the average working person. For a working person to buy a small apartment of a few dozen square meters in a place like Zhongdu on their own, they would probably have to struggle and work hard their entire life. As for living in a community like Guixiang, which has an incredibly nice environment... even a white-collar worker in a foreign company, with a huge salary and bonuses, could barely afford a small apartment of a few dozen square meters even if they saved two or three times that amount without spending a penny!
But Yu Xiaoru has only been out of school for a few years. No matter how strong her professional skills are, how good her work performance is, or how high her salary is, she could never earn so much money to buy such a luxurious apartment building!
After getting off the bus, feeling Zhou Ziwei's surprised and envious gaze, Yu Xiaoru finally managed a faint smile. She pointed to the building in the middle and said, "Yang Hongtao's parents live there... Hehe... Don't look at me like that. Yang Hongtao's family isn't rich, and I didn't win the lottery. This apartment is rented. The housing prices here are ridiculously high; I could never afford to buy one in my lifetime. However... although the rent is outrageously expensive, I can still afford it for now... The city is too polluted these days, filled with toxic gases. Their health isn't very good to begin with, and staying in the city for too long will only worsen their condition. But the environment in this neighborhood isn't bad. Although I can't afford to buy, renting is manageable. Anyway... anyway, Hongtao is gone now, so saving any more money is pointless. I might as well let Hongtao's parents enjoy their later years a little more..."
Zhou Ziwei was stunned upon hearing this. He turned to look at Yu Xiaoru, sighing inwardly, but didn't show much on the surface. He simply nodded somewhat blankly and said, "Well... Mom and Dad should be used to living here, right? I... Oh, I'm sorry, I used to call them Mom and Dad too. I... I'm not trying to take advantage of you!"
Zhou Ziwei was only halfway through his sentence when he saw Yu Xiaoru's expression change, and she glared at him fiercely. He then remembered that Yu Xiaoru was referring to herself as her parents' daughter-in-law, and if he also called them Mom and Dad, wouldn't that be taking advantage of Yu Xiaoru? He immediately put on a naive act, pretending to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said, "Really... Back then, I called them Mom and Dad, just like Hong Tao... They also accepted me as their godson. If you don't believe me... you can ask Mom and Dad later... Oh, no, no, no... you can ask Hong Tao's parents later, and you'll know if I'm lying or not."
Seeing Zhou Ziwei so anxious and stammering as he desperately tried to explain, Yu Xiaoru couldn't help but find it a little funny. Perhaps those spoiled brats might try to take advantage of her by using a form of address, but this man from Northeast China wouldn't be so bored, would he?
"It's alright... as long as you didn't mean it. Okay... let's go upstairs now! I have things to do tonight, we need to hurry."
Zhou Ziwei guessed that what Yu Xiaoru was talking about was Zhao Zhongsheng, whom he had just run into on the street, who was going to take Yu Xiaoru to a social event that night. This made Zhou Ziwei feel a little uncomfortable.