Lu Yanheng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed through the bright glass at Yancheng's most bustling commercial district. His deep eyes were like a calm sea, concealing a chilling killing intent beneath the surface.
There was a knock on the office door. Lu Yanheng lowered his gaze and turned around to see his secretary, Xiao Chen, standing outside. Xiao Chen reported, "Mr. Lu, someone is looking for you."
Out of professionalism, Xiao Chen tried her best to keep her tone calm, but Lu Yanheng still caught a hint of panic in her expression.
Lu Yanheng: "Who?"
Before Xiao Chen could answer, a huge commotion broke out in the office area.
Lu Yanheng frowned slightly and looked towards the door when a tall figure in a black trench coat strode into the president's office.
Lu Yanheng was slightly taken aback when his collar was suddenly lifted up by the other person.
Where are they?
The other person's voice was hoarse and deep, carrying a strong sense of threat.
Lu Yanheng remained calm and composed, meeting the other person's furious gaze. He raised the corners of his lips and said slowly, "What are you saying?"
The hand gripping his collar tightened even more instantly, and Lu Yanheng felt a little suffocated by the tie, his eyes involuntarily turning sharp.
Xiao Chen, who was standing to the side, was terrified and, no longer caring about his image in front of his boss, exclaimed in alarm, "President Lu!"
"Close the door." Lu Yanheng scrutinized Pei Shaocheng without looking at him, and briefly instructed Xiao Chen, "Get out."
Xiao Chen nodded hurriedly and quickly closed the door to the president's office.
Lu Yanheng reached out and pressed down on Pei Shaocheng's arm, saying coldly, "Mr. Pei, did you come here so abruptly to dominate today's headlines?"
"Where is Wen Yuhan!" Pei Shaocheng roared, slamming Lu Yanheng's back against the French window.
Lu Yanheng winced in pain, his eyes flashing with cold light.
“Please make this clear, Mr. Pei.” He took a deep breath and lowered his voice, “This is Lu’s territory, not some roadside grocery store where you can come and go as you please.”
“Lu Yanheng, my patience is limited. I’ll give you five seconds.” Pei Shaocheng’s hand veins bulged as he muttered, “If you don’t talk now, I’ll kill you.”
"Hahaha..." Lu Yanheng sneered upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes, and retorted word by word, "I'd like to see if you dare."
An extremely oppressive atmosphere instantly filled the entire room. Just as the two were reaching a fever pitch, the office door was pushed open again, and a strong smell of tobacco wafted in.
"Yo, Mr. Pei." A somewhat languid voice sounded from behind the two of them, "What did my brother do to you?"
Lu Yanheng's expression froze instantly. A man in a floral shirt, smoking a cigar, strolled slowly toward them, scrutinizing the two with interest.
"Who gave you permission to come in?" Upon seeing this person, Lu Yanheng's previous ease instantly turned into suppressed anger.
The other person wasn't annoyed at all, and said jokingly with a rising tone at the end, "Hey bro, you're about to be thrown off the roof, why are you still acting like a boss?"
"You!" Lu Yanheng was so choked up that he couldn't finish his sentence.
The other party then turned to Pei Shaocheng and smiled, "Mr. Pei, shall we speak in private?"
Pei Shaocheng scrutinized the man for a few seconds before slowly releasing his grip on Lu Yanheng's collar.
When he spoke again, his tone had returned to calm.
"I have other business to attend to today, so I'll make an appointment with Mr. Lu another day."
Lu Yanchen raised his hands knowingly and said, "Understood, then next time. I'm free anytime."
After speaking, he glanced at Lu Yanheng again, his smile widening: "However... compared to my elder brother, perhaps I can give Mr. Pei a more direct answer."
Pei Shaocheng's expression changed slightly, while Lu Yanheng couldn't contain himself and angrily shouted, "Get out!"
"Oh." Lu Yanchen raised an eyebrow. "So, Big Brother can swear too."
Lu Yanchen took a puff of his cigar and gestured to Pei Shaocheng with his eyes again.
Pei Shaocheng was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "President Lu, please lead the way."
Lu Yanchen quickly and respectfully made a "please" gesture, and as he led Pei Shaocheng away from Lu Yanheng's office, he didn't forget to turn back and give Lu Yanheng a provocative smile.
After the two left, Lu Yanheng lowered his head and let out a long sigh. Then he raised his fist and slammed it heavily on the mahogany desk.
He picked up the phone, dialed a number, and said in a deep voice, "How's the matter I asked you to handle?"
The person on the other end of the phone quickly replied, "We've pretty much got the details of the plagiarism incident, but we still need to confirm the relationship between the two."
Lu Yanheng: "Continue the investigation, and make sure you provide me with the most detailed information!"
...
In the office at the far end of the company's rooftop, Lu Yanchen took two glasses from the liquor cabinet, poured whiskey on the rocks into each, and handed one to Pei Shaocheng.
"Why didn't you say anything about your return to Yancheng, Mr. Pei? Is the filming going smoothly?" Lu Yanchen asked, raising his glass to Pei Shaocheng. "Speaking of which, I had dinner with Mr. Shen last night. The seafood there was pretty good; let's go together sometime."
“President Lu.” Pei Shaocheng interrupted Lu Yanchen directly.
Lu Yanchen smiled, took a sip of his drink, and nodded, saying, "I understand, I understand. There's no rush to make a decision on something as important as cooperation." He paused, "You want to ask that friend surnamed Wen, right?"
Pei Shaocheng remained silent.
Lu Yanchen continued, "To be honest, my good older brother has also been looking for him recently."
"What do you mean?" Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened.
Lu Yanchen handed Pei Shaocheng another cigarette, lit it, and stepped forward, saying, "He's gone missing. My brother sent someone to bring him back to Yancheng from there, but the next day when they went to look for him at his place, they found it was deserted."
At this point, Lu Yanchen couldn't help but laugh and said, "He wouldn't answer the phone, which really worried my brother. He wasn't paying attention in the meeting today, just like a student daydreaming in class."
He rested his chin on his hand and leaned back in the leather chair. "So I'm really curious, who exactly is this friend surnamed Wen, that he can make President Pei and my older brother so worried?"
"Is this your answer?" Pei Shaocheng asked in a deep voice.
"Yes and no," Lu Yanchen said slowly. "I'd like to make a deal with Mr. Pei. I can help you find the person. I happen to have a friend who's an expert in finding people. Of course, I have my own reasons for doing this. You're a smart man, so you'll understand what I mean."
“Heh.” Pei Shaocheng chuckled softly upon hearing this, then looked up at Lu Yanchen and said slowly, “When President Lu was considering cooperating with me, he must have had someone investigate him, right? The two words I hate most in my life are coercion and bribery.”
A dark glint flashed in Lu Yanchen's eyes.
Pei Shaocheng turned around, his back to Lu Yanchen, and said, "I'm sorry, your answer isn't very helpful, but Shen Wei and I will still seriously consider which of the two of you we want to cooperate with in the future." He paused, "Of course, President Lu also provided me with some new ideas... Goodbye."
After saying that, he left the office without looking back.
...
The Rolls-Royce drove away from the building and sped along the bustling city streets.
Pei Shaocheng sat in the back seat, lit a cigarette, and instructed Emily:
"Immediately contact the media to release information indirectly... speculate that we and Huacan will likely prioritize reaching a strategic cooperation with Lu Yanchen. The wider the news spreads, the better."
Emily nodded: "Okay."
Pei Shaocheng stared with a dark look at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window.
Wen Yuhan, I refuse to believe you won't come out...
At that point, even if we lock you up forever, we will never let you escape again.
...
A note from the author:
In the next chapter, Teacher Wen is going to get caught by Pei!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 45
The dimly lit room was filled with a pungent smell of smoke.
The curtains were drawn, and even though the sun was shining brightly outside, the room remained dark.
On the disheveled bed, a thin figure lay motionless. If it weren't for the cigarette he held between his fingers, occasionally bringing it to his lips for a few puffs, one wouldn't even know whether he was awake or asleep, alive or dead.
The ashtray on the bedside table was overflowing with cigarette butts, haphazardly stuck in its contents. Several empty bottles lay scattered on the floor—red, white, beer, and foreign liquor—a rather diverse selection.
The man was wearing a loose white shirt, the same one he wore when he left the hotel in the film studio.
There were wine stains on the collar, giving off a faint smell of alcohol.
At this moment, he was quietly staring at the ceiling, as if observing something.
Following the line of sight, one can see numerous streaks of varying thicknesses crisscrossing the roof of the wooden house. Perhaps due to the dampness, a patch of bluish mold has even appeared in the corner of the wall.
The man reached out and lazily stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. As he finished drinking, the bottle tilted, and the remaining liquid spilled onto the white sheets.
He then reacted slightly, letting out a barely audible "Ah." As he reached out to help, he suddenly saw a butterfly fly out of the bottle, flitting before his eyes, then into his ear, before flying from his mouth to the ceiling, landing on the mold, fluttering its wings…
Am I dreaming?
It's still an illusion.
The man, his eyes glazed over with intoxication, followed the butterflies and noticed that the stripes on the roof began to rapidly change, combining into human faces, laughing, cursing, and displaying all sorts of bizarre expressions.
He chuckled to himself, as if watching a very interesting movie. He then opened another can of beer, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.
Suddenly, someone opened the door with a key, and blinding sunlight streamed in.
The man, having been in the dark for a while, squinted, unable to adjust, but remained motionless.
"You said you were here for a vacation, but as soon as you arrived you just crawled inside and lay there like a corpse." A slender figure, backlit by the sun, stood outside the door, holding an ugly little cat in her arms. She frowned, annoyed by the smell of smoke inside, and said, "I knew I shouldn't have brought you."
Seeing that the person on the bed still didn't speak, the other person raised their voice and called out, "Teacher Wen, I'm talking to you."
Wen Yuhan raised her hand to cover her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I'm listening, Boss A Luo."
The woman called A Luo was the owner of a bar called "Pan" in Yancheng.
She frowned as she walked into the room, casually kicking aside the bottles and jars under the bed, and shoved the kitten in her arms into the other person's hands, saying, "Here, your baby keeps crying, hurry up and feed him!"
"Meow!" The kitten meowed in perfect unison.
Wen Yuhan took the cat and stroked its fur gently. The kitten must have recently entered its molting period, and it looked even uglier than before.
Wen Yuhan lowered her eyes and scratched the kitten's chin, then whispered to A Luo, "I think I just saw a butterfly."
A Luo frowned: "You've had too much to drink again. There are no butterflies in the dead of winter."
At this point, she sighed softly and said in a gentle tone, "You told me the other day that you wanted to get away and clear your head, and I've been a bit troubled lately, so I thought I'd bring you to my hometown. But what have you done? You're always smoking or drinking, and you never go out for a walk. You're so boring..."
"Ah..." Wen Yuhan chuckled, a cigarette dangling from his lips, "You're a kind person."