Chapter 1839

Still, he planned to discuss it once more with his parents to see if they had any other ideas.

When he got home, his parents were already sitting in the living room waiting for him.

He reported to his parents what he had just discussed with the Shenglong Group, and his parents expressed great satisfaction after hearing it.

Then, he began discussing with his parents the matter of choosing a representative.

After some discussion, they decided to invite a professional to stand in for the family representative at the signing ceremony.

Over the next few days, Liu Zhihao was busy with matters related to the signing ceremony.

He first contacted the staff of the Shenglong Group to confirm the representative and the content of the speech, then busied himself inviting the media and guests.

The day before the signing ceremony, Liu Zhihao made a special trip to the Shenglong Group to go over every last detail with them one final time.

Once everything was ready, he returned home to rest.

Early the next morning, he set off for the signing ceremony venue together with his parents.

When they arrived, the venue had already been decorated very impressively.

The check-in desk, red carpet, flowers, lighting, music—nothing was missing; the entire venue brimmed with a festive atmosphere. After Liu Zhihao and his parents signed in at the check-in desk, they were shown into the VIP room.

The VIP room was already full of guests; Liu Zhihao and his parents found a few seats and sat down.

Before long, the CEO of the Shenglong Group, surrounded by the crowd, walked up onto the stage and began presiding over the signing ceremony.

As the ceremony proceeded, Liu Zhihao envisioned a bright future for the family business's cooperation with the Shenglong Group.

After the signing ceremony ended, Liu Zhihao and his parents left the venue surrounded by media reporters.

Back home, Liu Zhihao felt that everything that day had gone perfectly.

Although the signing ceremony itself had been brief, he felt it had been very fulfilling.

He was confident that, with the support of the Shenglong Group, the family business would surely rise to the next level.

In the days that followed, Liu Zhihao and the family business began preparing for the cooperation.

While selecting suitable collaboration projects, they also discussed the details of the cooperation with the Shenglong Group.

After a period of preparation, the collaboration project was finally finalized.

It was a comprehensive cooperation involving capital investment, management output, brand collaboration, and many other aspects.

Both sides placed great hopes on this cooperation, hoping it would bring greater benefits and development to each party.

After signing the contract, Liu Zhihao and the family business began putting the cooperation into practice.

Together with the Shenglong Group's staff, they drew up a detailed cooperation plan and assigned each side their respective tasks.

Although the work was progressing fairly smoothly, Liu Zhihao still felt something was unreal about it all.

He couldn't shake the feeling that everything had gone too smoothly.

Perhaps because the family business had run into some difficulties before, he had become overly cautious about these matters.

Still, he kept reminding himself to cherish this opportunity and make the most of the chance to cooperate.

And so, time slowly slipped away. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the cooperation project between the Liu family enterprise and the Shenglong Group was basically complete.

That day, Liu Zhihao received a call from his company assistant: "Boss, there's news on the matter you asked me to investigate!"

"What news? Out with it!" Liu Zhihao urged anxiously.

"The matter you previously ordered me to investigate—about Li Minghua—I uncovered a few leads. According to reliable intelligence, two months ago a man named Li Minghua checked into a hotel in some foreign country and had relations with a female server. Afterwards, that female server became pregnant. However, she didn't keep the baby, so it didn't draw the police's attention. I dug deeper and found that the female server was actually Zhang Xiaohui, that is, our boss lady's sister. I'm worried…"

"Worried about what? Just get to the point!" Liu Zhihao irritably cut off the assistant, urging him to hurry up and say the key thing.

"Yes!" the assistant replied hurriedly, continuing: "Based on my speculation, that car accident back then was definitely planned and orchestrated by the boss lady, in order to frame the bastard in Zhang Xiaohui's belly. And the bastard in Zhang Xiaohui's belly must have been born prematurely and died. So…"

Liu Zhihao grew angrier with every word: "So you think my own brother Liu Zhilong is already dead, is that it?!"

"Yes! That is indeed my guess! And I think the child in Zhang Xiaohui's belly was completely fake! Because she never went back to the hospital for a check-up afterwards."

"Bullshit! Shut your mouth!"

Liu Zhihao shouted furiously and hung up the phone.

At that moment, he was so angry that his whole body was trembling.

He could never have imagined that his own brother had not only been murdered by his own wife, but had also been slandered by her as a bastard.

Liu Zhihao's heart was filled with both rage and sorrow.

After a moment, he forced back his tears, stood up, walked into the living room, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly, and a soft, girlish female voice came through the phone: "Hello? Who is this?"

"Who are you? Where's Zhilong? Where are you? Tell me now!" Liu Zhihao demanded through gritted teeth.

"Are you insane? What right do you have to mind my business?" the female voice said coldly, then hung up with a snap.

Hearing the beeping sound from the phone, Liu Zhihao felt a tightness in his chest.

Then, summoning all his strength, he hurled the phone onto the carpet, collapsed onto the sofa, and wept in agony.

Just then, a black sedan slowly drove into the villa complex and stopped in front of the villa. A young woman, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, stepped out of the car. Her face was youthful, her long wavy curls fell to her waist, spilling over her fragrant shoulders; even with a mask on, it could not conceal her delicate beauty. She was dressed in an ankle-length gown pieced together from petals of every color, the hem swaying gently, as if she were a flower fairy walking through a garden of blossoms.

Behind her followed two bodyguards wearing sunglasses—one a burly man with a stubbly beard, the other a flat-topped man with an expressionless face.

The young woman looked up and saw Liu Zhihao, instinctively took a step back, and murmured: "Bro… brother!"

At that moment, their eyes met, and Liu Zhihao was utterly stunned.

This young woman in front of him looked far too much like Liu Zhilong!

She was none other than Liu Zhilong's own younger sister—Liu Xueting!

"Brother, what's wrong?" Liu Xueting asked, looking at Liu Zhihao with concern. "Are you okay?"

Liu Zhihao shook his head mechanically, struggling to calm his agitated emotions, and asked: "Xueting, why are you here?"

"I came back to the country for a vacation! What, I can't come?" Liu Xueting playfully blinked and asked back.

"No… when did you get back?" Liu Zhihao asked in surprise.

"Just got back not long ago. I'm going to attend a banquet in a bit. Brother, will you come with me?" Liu Xueting pleaded.

"Good... I'll go with you,"Liu Zhihao said, coming back to his senses.

"That's great!"Liu Xueting cheered happily, then turned around and said to the two bodyguards behind her: "Please go get the evening gowns from the trunk and bring them in."

The two bodyguards nodded, walked to the trunk, opened it, and took out two black suitcases from inside.

"Brother, go change your clothes first! I'll wait for you outside in the car in a moment."Liu Xueting pointed to the second floor.

Liu Zhihao obediently nodded, turned around, and walked up to the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, he entered the bedroom, closed the door, and leaned against it, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

His heart was both shocked and joyful.

What shocked him was that Liu Xueting had returned.

What brought him joy was that Liu Xueting was not dead!

But where exactly had Liu Zhilong gone?

Just as Liu Zhihao was deep in thought, a sudden phone ring broke the silence.

He casually took out his phone and answered the call, immediately followed by a bout of coughing.

"Zhilong? It's your Uncle Wang."A strange man's voice came from the phone, "Here's the thing: I heard your company needs capital injection now, and I am interested in cooperating with you. Do you have time tonight? Shall we meet and talk?"

"Uncle Wang? Which Uncle Wang?"Liu Zhihao pretended to be confused on purpose.

"Oh my, which Uncle Wang could there be besides me? Me!"A light laugh came from the phone, "Come to my office tonight! I'll wait for you."

"Alright, Uncle Wang, see you tonight."After hanging up the phone, a cold sneer curled on Liu Zhihao's lips. He quickly changed into a black suit, fastened a silver tie, combed his hair neatly, then walked down the stairs and headed toward the door.

At that moment, Liu Xueting walked in from outside, wearing a red knee-length gown embedded with sparkling diamonds, looking like a princess from a fairy tale world.

"Brother, are you ready?"Liu Xueting asked happily upon seeing Liu Zhihao.

"Mm, let's go."Liu Zhihao nodded and said.

He felt his heart was extremely calm at this moment, with not a shred of panic left.

After getting into the car, Liu Zhihao sat beside Liu Xueting, while the two bodyguards sat in the back row.

The car slowly started and drove along the winding mountain road.

About half an hour later, the car finally arrived in front of a magnificent villa.

After the car stopped steadily, Liu Zhihao and Liu Xueting got out together, while the two bodyguards went ahead first and waited at the entrance.

"Let's go, Brother, I'll take you inside."Liu Xueting said, linking her arm with Liu Zhihao's.

Liu Zhihao nodded slightly and followed Liu Xueting into the villa.

The interior of the villa was decorated in a golden and brilliant style, looking like a castle.

Passing through the corridor, they arrived in front of an office.

Liu Xueting knocked on the door.

"Come in."A man's voice came from inside.