The Billionaire's New Wife in Chief

Chapter 707 - 186: The Man in the Corner

Upon hearing this, Director Zhao’s face slightly changed, but he still maintained a smile and said, "I didn’t quite understand what President Lu just said."

Lu Jingchen looked at the face before him, already lined with wrinkles, retracted his hand into his pocket, and stood tall. He watched the man in front of him with an indifferent tone and said, "Does Director Zhao really need me to spell it out?"

As expected, once these words were out, Director Zhao, who had maintained some composure, instantly changed his facial expression.

There were also a few people around who were good at reading the room, and after exchanging glances, felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off. The volume of the music in the private room had been deliberately lowered when Lu Jingchen entered, so it wasn’t noisy.

But Lu Jingchen and Director Zhao weren’t speaking loudly either, so the people around couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying—only a rough idea.

Seeing the situation, someone stood up and addressed Lu Jingchen, "President Lu, there’s no need to be so serious the moment you arrive. Come on, take a seat here. Let’s have a couple of drinks first, and then we can talk, okay?"

The deliberately lowered tone of voice was a clear indication that he was offering Lu Jingchen a way out.

Lu Jingchen glanced sideways at the man, finding him somewhat familiar. After thinking it over, he recalled that CK Corporation had a partnership with the man’s company. He decided to owe the man a favor and did not refuse, "Sure, it might be better to sit down and talk."

The man, initially worried that Lu Jingchen would not agree, had broken out in a cold sweat, but now, seeing Lu Jingchen sit down, his smile grew even wider. He immediately called over a waiter to bring over better drinks, while covertly signaling to Director Zhao with his eyes.

Officially, they all addressed him as Director Zhao, but it was also very clear to everyone that it wouldn’t be long before he retired to make way for the next generation to take his position.

The so-called Director Zhao was the head of An City’s Health Bureau, whose full name was Zhao Kuan. Outwardly, he was a clean and honest director of the Health Bureau, but in secret, this director had once been a street thug—a fact not known to many, only a select few were privy to this information.

Amongst those few, Lu Jingchen was included, although he did not immediately expose it.

Lu Jingchen had his reasons for coming today, and it just so happened to involve Zuo Yuqing.

Director Zhao had a liking for Zuo Yuqing, and probably quite a few people in the circle knew about it. Zuo Yuqing was known in the entertainment industry as a pure goddess. Apart from a scandal with a man in her early years, she hadn’t been involved in any other scandalous events.

Director Zhao had always enjoyed playing around with actresses from the entertainment industry, and many young actresses had been involved with him, though it was never explicitly stated.

Who would dare challenge him when Director Zhao was so connected and influential that he could ruin someone’s career in an instant?

Moreover, some said that Director Zhao had political connections in the government, so even if exposed, it wouldn’t be certain that he could be brought down from his position.

Lu Jingchen had no idea how Zuo Yuqing got entangled with Director Zhao. Many people inside the circle knew that Zhao was a pervert in secret, with numerous young women having been broken or even destroyed by him.

In reality, Zuo Yuqing was quite innocent, always conducting herself properly, focusing on acting or the set or advertisements as required, never frequenting bars or regularly attending banquets. When left to her own devices, she would simply stay at home.

Suddenly, she received explicit and implicit threats from Director Zhao. She outright refused the first time, and Director Zhao didn’t say anything. The same happened the second time.

Zuo Yuqing naturally continued to refuse but then faced intimidation. There was even a close call when she nearly got kidnapped by a group that looked like thugs.

Luckily, her agent and assistant were not too far away at the time, or she really could have been taken.

Zuo Yuqing had no choice but to turn to Lu Jingchen for help. After all, her family was abroad, and there were not many people she knew in An City. The only familiar person was Lu Jingchen, her ex-boyfriend. Although she initially returned to the country hoping to reunite with him, after meeting Song Qiao a few times, she promptly abandoned that idea.

She could see that compared to her, Song Qiao was a better match for Lu Jingchen.

Initially, Lu Jingchen did not respond to Zuo Yuqing’s plea for help, but after a series of events, he found it difficult to remain uninvolved.

At this moment, Director Zhao felt a sense of gloom, especially when facing Lu Jingchen’s perennially stoic expression, which only added to his irritation.

But he also knew that his company couldn’t rival CK Group, let alone the presence of the Lu Family backing CK Group.

Upon seeing Lu Jingchen sit down, Director Zhao also took his seat directly. However, this time, he sent the few young girls in the private room out.

Shortly after, only Lu Jingchen and four middle-aged men remained inside the private room, along with a young man who sat in the corner, silent throughout. The music coming from the room’s speakers was neither too loud nor too soft, creating an ambiance that wasn’t too noisy. When Lu Jingchen sat down, he made a point of glancing at the young man in the corner, but quickly withdrew his gaze.

Director Zhao personally poured a glass of wine for President Lu, his face always wearing a smile, yet there was an unmistakable displeasure hidden within it as he directly said, "President Lu, I am merely one of Miss Zuo’s suitors. Isn’t it normal for me to pursue Miss Zuo? Moreover, both of us are single and unengaged, what’s with the unpleasant talk of letting go or not letting go?"

Without beating around the bush, Director Zhao wanted to drag Lu Jingchen in circles.

Upon hearing his words, Lu Jingchen glanced at him indifferently. With a somewhat languid posture, he leaned into the sofa, took out a cigarette, and was about to light it when someone immediately offered him a lighter and lit his cigarette for him.

Lu Jingchen did not refuse and let others help. He then took a deep drag of the cigarette before looking back at Director Zhao, chuckled softly twice, and uttered, "Director Zhao, if I remember correctly, Miss Zuo doesn’t fancy you, nor does she entertain the idea of accepting your pursuit. Your relentless badgering has become direct harassment to her."

The forty-something Director Zhao was indeed unmarried, but that was not because he had never been married; he had been married three times. His first wife died of sickness, while the next two divorced him through court due to his domestic abuse.

Lu Jingchen also knew very clearly that the two women who divorced Director Zhao were retaliated against after winning their cases: one had her face disfigured, and the other had her legs crippled, still confined to a hospital bed to this day.

Anyone with eyes could tell whose doing this was—nothing but Director Zhao’s revenge against his two ex-wives.

Although his relationship with Zuo Yuqing was not significant anymore, she was, after all, a girl he fancied in his youth, and her grandfather had old ties with his own.

If he didn’t help Zuo Yuqing, he would likely get an earful from the old man when he returned home.

Even without this connection, Lu Jingchen would still consider taking care of the matter for Zuo Yuqing, particularly since it was time to settle some old scores he had with Director Zhao.

The moment Director Zhao heard this, his face became even uglier, turning shades of blue and white. After a long while, his complexion grew cold as he sneered at President Lu, "President Lu, are you saying Zhao Kuan is unworthy of Zuo Yuqing? After all, I, Zhao Kuan, am the head of the health bureau, well-connected in every respect. Zuo Yuqing is but an actress, does she merit lessons from President Lu?"

"Director Zhao, I am not lecturing you," said Lu Jingchen, his expression unchanged, as indifferent as ever. Seated together with Director Zhao, his aura was distinctly more imposing. With his usual indifferent face, he spoke lightly, "I’m merely discussing a deal with Director Zhao. Didn’t I just ask? How much money do you want to leave Miss Zuo alone? Name your price!"

"President Lu, do you think I, Zhao, lack money?" Director Zhao, unable to detect the implicit message in Lu Jingchen’s words, scoffed in response.

"Hmm, indeed, you’re not short of it," acknowledged Lu Jingchen unexcitedly, admitting to the fact that Director Zhao wasn’t short on money, with an expression that remained impassive.

The group around them was utterly baffled; they finally grasped what Lu Jingchen and Director Zhao were actually discussing. They exchanged glances but said nothing.

Those present tonight were heads of several major companies in An City. Director Zhao’s status was something they temporarily couldn’t afford to offend, as he still had the power to execute underhanded tactics in the health sector, potentially exposing their vulnerabilities.

But to them, Lu Jingchen was even more untouchable.

After all, their major companies were all in cooperation with CK Group, which was involved in nearly every industry and held a sizable market share. If they offended Lu Jingchen, their future market development could very well be restricted.

For a moment, everyone just wanted to quietly stay in their corners, trying their best to minimize their presence, not wanting to draw the attention of these two prominent figures onto themselves.

The young man in the corner, however, kept his gaze on Lu Jingchen and Director Zhao, the corners of his mouth adorned with an almost imperceptible smile. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose bridge, giving him a somewhat scholarly appearance.

But the inherent regal aura he carried made it impossible to ignore his presence, even though the corner he occupied was dimly lit and away from much light, which subconsciously caused others to overlook him.

Just now, Lu Jingchen had indeed taken several looks at him, and those looks clearly showed interest.