Chapter 2842

Zhou Andong was sleeping soundly when he felt a soft hand placed on his stomach, then slowly moving downward. Immediately afterward, he felt a warm sensation on his chest.

Zhou Andong blinked open his eyes in a daze and heard Jian Qiu leaning against his ear, murmuring dreamily: "Husband, the morning air is very fresh; exercising is good for health."

A few minutes later, Jian Qiu lay on Zhou Andong's body, giggling softly: hehehe.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Andong flared with anger: "Woman, don't provoke me, or I'll make you know how formidable this great hero is!"

Jian Qiu sneered and said: "Three-minute great hero?"

"Woman, you've successfully angered me." Zhou Andong let out an angry roar, and immediately Jian Qiu let out a sharp scream as the two began to fight.

More than half an hour later, Zhou Andong rubbed his waist, dressed, and sighed: "It's been a long time since I exercised; I can't keep going like this, or I'll be bullied to death by you. I've decided—starting tomorrow, I'll resume training. Ten kilometers every morning, horse stance for an hour."

Jian Qiu's face glowed with red, full of spirit as she put on her clothes: "I'll run with you, but you must keep your word—no giving up halfway."

"Who are you looking down on?" Zhou Andong pouted: "When I was young, following the old man in martial arts training, I could endure any hardship; getting up to run in the morning—I still can't persist?"

"Good!" Jian Qiu pulled Zhou Andong outward: "No need to wait until tomorrow—it's only seven now, perfect time to go out for a run."

Zhou Andong said somewhat unwillingly: "Are we just going to run in our clothes?"

Jian Qiu glanced at her casual outfit: "What's wrong with this clothing? If one truly wants to exercise, wearing a suit is just as fine for running."

Zhou Andong helplessly said: "Fine, whatever you say goes."

Jian Qiu laughed, and the couple, like newlyweds just fallen in love, held hands and left the room. Lian Kai and Shen Mingwei were on duty; seeing Zhou Andong and Jian Qiu come out, one stood at attention.

Zhou Andong waved his hand: "We're going out for a run."

Lian Kai knocked on the opposite room door, then followed with Shen Weiming; when they reached the elevator entrance, Wang Wentian and Yu Zhan also arrived.

Several people took the elevator to the first-floor lobby and saw the hotel doors pushed open, an elderly woman with a full head of white hair, dignified and luxurious, being escorted inside by a crowd.

Zhou Andong pulled Jian Qiu to make way; at that moment, two tall, burly men in suits, wearing sunglasses, strode over arrogantly, shouting: "Move aside!"

Wang Wentian and Yu Zhan shifted their bodies, stepping in front of Zhou Andong and Jian Qiu, raising their hands and shouting sternly: "Stand there and don't move, or you'll bear the consequences."

That sharp shout drew everyone's attention; the two tall, burly men were startled and immediately stopped. At the same time, Lian Kai and Shen Weiming had already reached the men's sides, bodies tense, poised to strike—if those two dared to step forward half a pace, they would suffer a fatal blow.

The two arrogant men wanted to laugh, but only twitched the corners of their mouths, unable to laugh. Because they also sensed danger, their instincts told them not to move—any movement might bring a fatal strike.

Suddenly, the spacious lobby fell into an extremely eerie silence, but this silence lasted only a few seconds before a surprised soft cry rang out: "Zhou Dong?"

Immediately, a middle-aged man walked over with a beaming face, constantly saying: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."

"Stop!" Wang Wentian raised his hand in a stopping gesture: "Don't come any further."

"Zhou Dong!" The middle-aged man immediately stood still, not daring to move forward: "I am Shen Zhongming from the Zhaoshang Bureau; we met at last year's entrepreneurs' forum."

Because the urban complex project had always been managed by Li Ling, he and Shen Zhongming had truly only met at the entrepreneurs' forum.

"Oh!" Zhou Andong showed no expression on his face, nor did he let the man approach, merely nodding slightly: "So you're Director Shen."

Shen Zhongming instantly felt embarrassed, but dared not show any temper: "Zhou Dong, you see..."

Zhou Andong ignored him and turned his gaze to the white-haired old woman, frowning slightly. At that moment, Jian Qiu, holding his hand, suddenly gripped it tightly.

Zhou Andong tilted his head to look at his wife: "You—know her?"

Jian Qiu nodded slightly, calmly said: "Let's go!"

Zhou Andong smiled faintly, said softly: "Wentian, let's go!"

As they passed that group, Zhou Andong glanced again at the old woman. Coincidentally, she was also looking at him with interest, and politely nodded her head.

After leaving the hotel lobby, Zhou Andong took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it: "Who is that old woman?"

Jian Qiu's expression turned cold: "A traitor!"

Zhou Andong looked puzzled: "Traitor?"

"Yes!" Jian Qiu affirmed: "Her name is Bai Moyun; she should be nearly ninety. During the War of Resistance, she was an important intelligence operative of our party. Later captured, to save her life, she handed over the codebook and contact points.

This caused the Shanghai underground network to suffer a devastating blow, the contact radio destroyed, multiple liaison officers killed. Then she completely defected to the Nationalist Party, assigned to handle liaison work with the Soviet Union, and was even granted the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the war ended, she entered the Nationalist Party's foreign affairs department, serving as ambassador to Uruguay and Iraq. As the Nationalist Party suffered successive defeats, she followed the retreating forces to Taiwan, then later went to the United States.

After arriving in the United States, leveraging her early-acquired network and language advantages, she entered the business world, founded a trading company, her business grew larger and larger, and within a few years she bought the entire office building, becoming a well-known Chinese-American wealthy merchant in San Francisco.

As she aged, the thought of returning to her roots grew stronger. During the 1970s–80s reform and opening-up, domestic conditions gradually stabilized, so she wrote to relevant departments expressing her wish to return home to visit relatives, while also expressing regret for her past betrayal.

In 1981, she was finally allowed to return to China. This former traitor transformed into a patriotic overseas Chinese businessman. However, no one knows what considerations the higher-ups had, arranging the reception personnel to be her old comrade-in-arms who was arrested with her yet remained unyielding..."

Jian Qiu began to run slowly, speaking as she ran: "How ironic—they were not only comrades-in-arms who fought together for years, but also classmates sent together to study in the Soviet Union. In the end, they took different paths: one died rather than yield, holding fast to his ideals; the other became a traitor, abandoning his ideals."

Zhou Andong spread his arms, tilted his head back, inhaled a deep breath of fresh morning air, then said: "Since the central authorities allowed her to return, they naturally had their considerations—this has nothing to do with us; as long as she doesn't provoke me, it's fine."