176: Chapter 176 She Becomes the Shield 176: Chapter 176 She Becomes the Shield In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived.
The Ouyang Family had not seen Ouyang Jiuzhang since yesterday afternoon, and they had been blocking the hospital entrance since then.
They were blocking Su He, and she knew very well that they were waiting for her.
Therefore, this morning she did not go to the hospital, but instead had Lan Yan take the old man out through the back door to avoid encountering the Ouyang Family.
Zhong Yue was also waiting early at the notary office.
Once everyone had arrived, the will testament notarization began.
Besides the notary office staff, there were three witnesses present, including Su He and Zhong Yue, with the third being the person in charge of the Red Cross.
The whole process was rigorous and solemn.
The old man sat in front of a mahogany table, and subsequently, one of the staff members turned on the video camera set up beside them.
With a calm and dignified expression, the old man said, “I am Ouyang Jiuzhang, male, 66 years old, from Beijing, and have been devoted to the art of carving all my life.”
“At the time of recording this will testament, I am in good mental health, with no mental illness whatsoever.
Here is my physical examination report, which can attest to this point.”
“Now, I, Ouyang Jiuzhang, have decided that should the day come when I pass away, all the assets under my name will be donated in full to the Red Cross.”
“As for my family members, I only have one thing to say: you have the ability to provide for yourselves, even without my wealth, you won’t end up homeless.
The decision I made today comes after deep consideration, and my mind is currently very clear.
I am aware of what I am doing and what I am saying.
If one day you have the chance to see this video, I hope you will maintain some dignity for the Ouyang Family and not create an ugly scene.”
“…”
An hour later.
All procedures were completed.
Then, Su He sent the old man and Gu Yu to one of the apartments under her name.
She had someone clean it up the day before—Sunday.
For the time being, they would not return to Yuling Pavilion.
If Luo Xiuzhu and the others could not find them, they would surely look there.
In the apartment.
Su He said to the old man sitting across from her, “You can stay here peacefully to recuperate.”
Ouyang Jiuzhang did not object to her arrangements.
“In the next few days, Gu Yu will accompany you,” Su He went on to say.
“I am not at ease leaving you alone here.
As for Yuling Pavilion, let’s close it temporarily, we are not in a pressing need for that bit of money.”
Gu Yu didn’t have any issues, except that he feared the old man might get restless.
He cautiously glanced at the old man beside him.
Ouyang Jiuzhang glanced at him lightly and said, “What are you looking at?
Don’t tell me you want to go back to work?”
Gu Yu was taken aback for a moment and then quickly waved his hands saying, “No, no, no, I don’t want to.”
He too was afraid to encounter the Ouyang Family members who only had eyes for money; they were all savages he couldn’t handle.
He definitely did not want to go back to work.
The old man disdainfully withdrew his gaze, “Then just follow what your senior sister arranged.”
Su He did not stay long after making the arrangements and left.
After leaving, she did not return to the hospital but went to meet with Zhou Yixing.
At a private tea house.
As soon as Su He entered, a faint aroma of tea lingered at her nostrils, and the surroundings were very quiet.
However, this place did indeed fit the elegant and dashing image of Young Master Zhou.
Zhou Yixing was already waiting in a private room early on.
Smiling upon seeing her, he said, “You’re here, have a seat.”
The man poured her a cup of tea, “Da Hong Pao, have a taste.”
Su He took a sip; the tea was mellow and full-bodied, with a lingering aftertaste and a hint of orchid fragrance.
Zhou Yixing was like a man basking in the sunshine, giving off a pleasant and refreshing aura.
He asked, “How does it feel?”
Su He pondered for a moment, as if seriously contemplating the taste before answering his question.
In the end, she simply said, “Not bad.”
Zhou Yixing joked, “Tea that starts with six figures per kilogram, and that’s all you have to say?”
Su He: “…”
“Are you always this extravagant?” she outright asked.
Her mother loved drinking tea, yet unfortunately gave birth to a daughter who didn’t appreciate it.
After all, she didn’t inherit this trait.
After diverging a bit in their conversation, Su He mentioned the main topic.
She pulled a USB drive from her pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards him.
“Your requested data analysis report is all in here.”
After she finished speaking, Zhou Yixing keenly noticed the word “gravitas” on her face.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, asking, “A problem?”
Su He hesitated for a while before speaking: “If you were merely interested in the prospects of this project, then proceeding with the financing now is indeed fine.
Whether it’s the product itself or its overall structure, the project is actually perfect.”
Zhou Yixing did not interject but waited for her to continue.
The word “now” was subtly used by her.
What about the future then?
“But—”
She changed her tone and continued: “This might just be a fleeting bloom.
In half a year, you’ll probably lose so much money that you’d struggle to afford clothes, and then you likely won’t be able to afford this six-figure tea anymore.”
“Everything you want to know is written in the files on the USB drive.
You can take a look at it slowly when you get back.”
Zhou Yixing did not know how to react to her metaphor.
After finishing speaking, Su He added: “Why do I feel like the financing for this project wasn’t your idea?”
The reason for her sudden query was that she had specifically checked the company starting this project yesterday, and as it turned out, the parent company of the project was X group.
If she remembered correctly, the Zhou Family did not get along with X group, so it was strange for him to finance a project from X group.
Zhou Yixing did not feel embarrassed about being seen through by her and chuckled softly, “You still saw through it.”
He wasn’t intentionally keeping it from her, but some things, before being confirmed, he didn’t want to publicize.
“It’s not a project I’m in charge of,” he said in a low voice.
“It’s that person from home.”
Su He did not immediately catch who the “that person from home” referred to.
She directly asked, “Your dad?
Or your stepmom?”
“But it’s unlikely to be your dad, as he liked X group the least.”
After realizing, she added this sentence.
Then it would be the last woman; she knew that after Mr.
Zhou’s first wife passed away, he married the female manager from the Zhou Family’s investment bank department.
Normally, this woman should be content being a wealthy housewife at home, but instead, she continued her previous job.
However, she had also heard from Zhou Yixing before that his young stepmother had often clashed with him in the company.
Suddenly, Su He had a bold guess.
She said, “Could it be that your step-mother wants to bring down the Zhou Family?”
Her speculation was purely a shot in the dark, but she couldn’t help but make a bold guess.
After all, if the Zhou Family had really financed this project in the early stages, there might be no problems for half a year, and it might even seem profitable, but in reality, it wasn’t—
Beneath the perfect facade of this project lay a bottomless pit.
Once this time node was passed, all problems would be exposed, and the Zhou Family would face a severe financial crisis.
This could also become a major stain in the life of the Zhou Family, which had never faced such a serious crisis as the leading investment bank in M country.
Mr.
Zhou was even known as the father of investment banking in M country, and his only son, Zhou Yixing, had inherited his excellent genes, so much so that the saying ‘the pupil surpasses the master’ could apply.
After all, Zhou Yixing was the youngest investment banking newbie on Wall Street in M country and had become the president of the Zhou Family at such a young age.
To her knowledge, Mr.
Zhou had almost stopped managing the significant powers of the family, leaving everything to Zhou Yixing.
Seeing that he didn’t speak, she figured she had her answer.
Then, she added, “I mean, Young Master Zhou, you are, after all, the president of the Zhou Family.
She’s just a department manager.
You can’t possibly lack the authority to veto her proposals, can you?”
Zhou Yixing gathered his thoughts and said, “The old man agreed to this matter, and it’s just been stalled by me.”
Su He: “…”
Uh…
Mr.
Zhou actually agreed, which indeed took her by surprise.
After finishing his conversation with Su He, Zhou Yixing made a direct phone call and pulled the plug on the project.
After he hung up the phone, Su He took a sip of her tea and said, “After all, it’s a project approved by your dad; doesn’t canceling it mean you’re slapping his face?”
In her impression, Mr.
Zhou had never faltered in this respect.
Zhou Yixing replied, “Well, I can’t sacrifice the entire Zhou Family just to save his face.”
He didn’t distrust his father, but he didn’t trust his seemingly gentle but scorpion-hearted step-mother.
He had always felt something was off, but somehow, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact issue.
He then said, “With your analysis report, even if the old man is stubborn, he will yield.
After all, you’re the only one capable of making that stubborn mule my father is listen to reason.”
The stingy old man of his family, who never yielded to anyone, had only ever conceded to Su He.
So, one of the major reasons he approached Su He was because of his father.
Back in the day, his old man was ready to offer her a high salary to bring her over to the Zhou Family, but she bluntly told him, “My aspirations do not lie here.
I’m simply looking to acquire an additional skill.”
For a while, Mr.
Zhou even began to question his life choices.
He had finally found a shining gold nugget in the financial world, and it told him it had no interest in the field.
After hearing this, Su He said, “Don’t make me sound so mystical; I don’t even know I have such ability.”
Zhou Yixing replied, “Don’t be modest.
You indeed have it.”
“…”
Two o’clock in the afternoon.
When she returned to the hospital, she received a call from Xing Siyang.
“There are some leads on the explosion case from the other day, but the results seem a bit unexpected.”
Su He’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she listened to Xing Siyang’s words.
Then she heard him continue, “All the investigation results point to a woman named Luo Yi.
I checked, and this woman has a son who attends the same kindergarten as Xixi.
Do you remember her?”
Upon hearing this name, Su He was slightly startled.
Luo Yi was not an unfamiliar name to her, having heard it several times before and met her a few times.
But what could she possibly have to do with this woman, who she had little to no association with?
Su He said, “I have no grudge against her and have only met her a few times, so what’s her motive?”
Xing Siyang revealed the results of the inquiry to her, “Her given reason is jealousy over your good husband.
Also, she claimed your husband ignored her when she was in trouble, which led to her being bullied all night.”
After hearing this, Su He was full of doubts, “???”
Such a far-fetched reason!
Immediately, she asked confusedly, “She said Jiang Feng ignored her when she was in trouble, what’s all that about?”
Xing Siyang spoke, “She claimed that she sought help from your husband during a crisis, but he ignored her and walked away.”
Su He: “…”
Although Jiang Feng was cold by nature, he wouldn’t be so heartless as to ignore a helpless woman seeking aid.
Unless, the place and circumstances were not right for him, and for Jiang Feng, ignoring would be the norm in such scenarios.
After all, he wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs.
“Did she mention a specific time and place?”
“No, she refused to answer that.”
After pondering for a moment, Su He said, “Siyang, based on your years of experience as a detective, do you think her story holds up?”
“Leaving aside whether her reasons are valid, considering that she’s a woman with no power or influence, where did she get the contraband from?”
It wasn’t that Su He looked down on Luo Yi’s family background, but the Ji Family really didn’t have such capabilities.
Also, given Luo Yi’s position in the Ji Family, they would not antagonize the Jiang Family for her sake.
Moreover, she hadn’t forgotten the phone call she overheard last time at the Gold-plated Club.
There was a connection between Luo Yi and Lou Ziang.
Xing Siyang of course knew there were many loopholes in Luo Yi’s story, and too many things seemed too coincidental.
Knowing that Su He had brought this up, he was sure she had her suspicions.
“So, you mean she’s taking the blame for someone else?
Whom do you suspect?”
“Lou Ziang, but I have no evidence, just a hunch.”
After explaining, she recounted the incident she previously encountered at the Gold-plated Club.
Upon hearing this, Xing Siyang replied, “Alright, I will have someone verify this.
However, I do feel that if Luo Yi really is taking the fall, it might just be a delaying tactic.”
Su He asked, “Why do you think so?”
Xing Siyang said, “Just a hunch.
She’s too calm, and when she described the whole process, it was as if she was reading from a script.”
This was something he noticed while interrogating Luo Yi.
“Additionally, if she truly did it, yet she didn’t erase her tracks and instead left evidence leading to her, it gives the impression she orchestrated this explosion with a do-or-die mindset.
But you’re unharmed now, so her ‘do-or-die’ notion doesn’t hold up, making it highly likely she’s just a temporary scapegoat.”
As for who was orchestrating everything behind the scenes, further verification was needed.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan also received the news.
“Master, Luo Yi’s reason is jealousy toward the madam and your alleged failure to help her.”
Jiang Feng reported respectfully but also expressed how baffling women’s logic and jealousy could be.
A chill spread through the man’s brows as he spoke in a low and cold voice, “Jealousy?
A failure to help?”
Jiang Feng had no recollection whatsoever of the alleged incident of Luo Yi’s ‘failure to help’.
The man then said in a deep voice, “Check on Lou Ziang.
The Ji Family couldn’t possibly get their hands on contraband!”