Chapter 976: Fortune from Misfortune

Zhou Andong glared at them, furious at Zhou Anlei’s condition, and kicked him again in the ass.

“When you were a kid, if you’d endured some hardship and trained harder with Grandpa, you wouldn’t have had your legs broken.”

“Enough!” Jian Qiu pulled Zhou Andong aside. “Book a room. Get a shower first. You two are about the same build—give him one of your outfits to wear, then take him out to get a haircut and buy two new sets of clothes.”

She’d met Zhou Anlei twice before, but never imagined their third meeting would be under these circumstances—just thinking about it made her want to laugh.

But then she remembered his broken legs, and laughing would be inappropriate, so she held it in.

“I’ll check if there are any rooms left on the 28th floor.” Zhou Andong walked toward the front desk.

The front desk girl saw Zhou Andong approaching, quickly adjusted her blouse and straightened her collar, greeting him with overflowing enthusiasm.

“Hello, Mr. Zhou, how may I assist you?”

“Hi!” Zhou Andong asked, “Are there any rooms left on the 28th floor?”

The front desk girl smiled. “Floors 28 and 29 are temporarily closed to the public. If you need one, you can apply through the event organizers.”

“Thank you!” Zhou Andong thanked her, turned back, and kicked Zhou Anlei in the ass again. “Come with me!”

Watching Zhou Andong walk away without a second glance, the front desk girl sighed in disappointment, touching her face.

“Am I not pretty?”

Another girl burst out laughing. “You’re daydreaming again—didn’t you see the woman beside Mr. Zhou?”

“I saw!” The front desk girl tossed her head proudly. “So what? She’s prettier than me, but which man doesn’t like a little cheating? What if Mr. Zhou takes a fancy to me? Then I won’t have to stand here every day, swallowing other people’s contempt.”

“Get real!” The other girl snorted. “Even if Mr. Zhou did cheat, he wouldn’t look at us.”

If Zhou Andong had heard their conversation, he’d have marveled—Yangcheng truly was the vanguard of reform and opening-up; even these girls were so bold.

On the 28th floor, Zhou Andong spotted Cao Li standing outside the room door. She must’ve knocked and gotten no answer, realized they hadn’t returned, and was waiting there.

“Mr. Zhou, Ms. Jian, Factory Director Wu, Mr. Zhang—the banquet starts in half an hour. Let me take you to the venue.”

As Cao Li spoke, her eyes drifted to Zhou Anlei, wondering inwardly how he’d gone out and come back with a beggar.

“Miss Cao, are there any rooms left on this floor?” Zhou Andong pointed at Zhou Anlei. “This is my cousin. He came to Yangcheng a year ago, had some trouble, and ended up like this. We happened to run into him today, so I brought him back.”

“There are!” Cao Li understood, reached into her bag, and pulled out a key card. “Room 2831 is empty.”

Zhou Andong took the key card and kicked Zhou Anlei again. “Move!”

“I’ll go get him clothes.” Jian Qiu opened the room door. “Miss Cao, come in and wait a bit.”

“Okay!” Cao Li knew they wouldn’t make it to the banquet hall anytime soon.

Zhang Shenghui said, “We’ll rest in our room. Let us know when you’re ready to leave.”

In Room 2831, Zhou Andong opened the door. “Get in and shower. We’ll eat soon.”

In the past, being kicked all the way would’ve made him jump up and curse.

Now, this guy had no temper at all—he just grinned whenever Zhou Andong kicked him.

Probably, over the past year, society’s beatings taught him how to behave.

This was a luxury suite. Zhou Andong shut the bathroom door, walked into the living room, turned on the TV with the remote, and lit a cigarette.

Then Jian Qiu came in with clothes, tossed them on the sofa. “Put these on. After dinner, we’ll take him for a haircut and new clothes.”

Jian Qiu didn’t stay—Cao Li was still in her room; she couldn’t leave her alone.

After about twenty minutes of showering, Zhou Anlei stepped out wrapped in a towel, drying himself.

Zhou Andong pointed at the clothes on the sofa. “Put them on. The underwear’s brand new.”

Zhou Anlei silently dressed, wanting to say something but unable to speak.

“Say nothing. No matter how much we fight or how badly we treat each other at home, we won’t let outsiders bully us.”

Zhou Andong crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up, and patted Zhou Anlei’s shoulder.

“Aren’t you the one who used to worry I’d get cheated?”

Zhou Anlei smiled, his eyes suddenly reddened, then he turned away.

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

“Let’s go!”

Zhou Andong stared at Zhou Anlei’s waist-length hair and sighed helplessly.

Luckily, in this era, there were plenty of artsy types and musicians who liked long hair.

Otherwise, with Zhou Anlei’s appearance, Zhou Andong didn’t know if he’d have the courage to walk beside this idiot.

“Once I finish what I need to do here, I’ll take you to the hospital for a checkup. See if your legs can be treated.”

“No!” Zhou Anlei shook his head. “Leave it. It’s not that bad. It reminds me every day that outside my family, no one will coddle me.”

Zhou Andong tilted his head, glanced at Zhou Anlei, then suddenly smiled. “Looks like this past year really taught you a lot. You’ve turned misfortune into fortune.”

Passing by Wu Hongkang and Zhang Shenghui’s room, Zhou Andong raised his fist and pounded twice hard on the door.

“Can you knock more gently? Is that how you knock?”

Zhang Shenghui’s annoyed voice came from inside—he knew it was Zhou Andong without asking, since no one else would do this.

Zhou Andong knocked again on his own door. “We’re leaving!”

Soon, Zhang Shenghui, Wu Hongkang, Jian Qiu, and Cao Li emerged.

Zhang Shenghui sized up Zhou Anlei and grinned. “Give me back my yuan.”

Zhou Anlei froze, then blushed.

“I… don’t have money now.”

“Ask Zhou Andong for it.” Zhang Shenghui challenged him with a cocky chin lift. “Will you pay up?”

“Can you even be a little dignified?” Zhou Andong laughed. “In a moment, at the banquet, I’ll find someone to settle this. The CEO of Qinchi, giving away a yuan and now regretting it—trying to get it back?”

“Fine, you win,” Zhang Shenghui gritted his teeth.

Though it was a joke, with so many people around, rumors could twist and spread—and he’d be the one suffering.

Plus, he was certain that if he said another word, Zhou Andong would broadcast it everywhere.

Wu Hongkang shook his head helplessly, muttering under his breath: “Why do you goad him?”

The group arrived at the banquet hall on the second floor. Since it gathered entrepreneurs from the three regions, the banquet blended Chinese and Western styles.

The massive hall had long tables lining both sides, laden with Western dishes—steak, grilled meat, lobster, abalone, cake, hamburgers—and plenty of Chinese stir-fries, covering all eight major regional cuisines.

The hall was crowded—not just the forum’s entrepreneurs, but also their attendants and relatives who’d come along for tourism.

“Mr. Zhou!”

As Zhou Andong entered, many turned to look, and someone called out.

Following the voice, he saw Lian Xiangzhi walking over, holding a glass of red wine, smiling broadly.