Chapter 985: Hard to Accept

With a sudden rustle, Zhou Xianqiang stood up, startling Wang Huijun, who sat beside him and rose as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re saying Zhou Andong is Second Uncle’s grandson?” Zhou Xianqiang was truly stunned.

Seeing his brother’s expression, Zhou Xianyong could no longer deny the truth—this Zhou Andong was clearly no ordinary man.

“Is Zhou Andong that impressive?”

Zhou Xianqiang nodded: “Extremely. In two years, he turned a bankrupt distillery into a commercial behemoth.”

Zhou Xianyong fell silent. He was under forty, yet his net worth already exceeded 20 billion New Taiwan Dollars.

Though not the richest among his generation, everything he owned was earned with his own hands.

He never leveraged any family resources—not even money. If anything, the only advantage he borrowed from the Zhou family was his identity as the youngest son, which allowed a friend to lend him five million New Taiwan Dollars, funding the fashion magazine now sweeping the island.

So while the public held little regard for him and the Old Man looked down on him, the Old Man’s friends and business partners still admired Zhou Xianyong. Especially in fashion circles, everyone addressed him as “Prince Zhou.”

More importantly, his company is in a phase of rapid growth, with a promising future. Many say his business acumen far surpasses his brother’s. His holdings will surpass the Jinwan Group—it’s only a matter of time.

With such achievements and such praise, anyone would surely become arrogant, swollen with pride.

Yet now, a younger businessman suddenly emerged, surpassing his own decade-and-a-half of effort in just two years.

Worse still, this young man was from across the sea—from a country he thought of as desperately poor—and possibly even his own cousin’s son. He simply couldn’t accept it.

The Old Man had expressed doubt. Now his brother confirmed it, yet he still rejected the truth from within.

He knew his brother would never lie to him, especially on something this serious.

Zhou Xianqiang said: “If you have time, you should go to the mainland and meet Zhou Andong—our cousin. Have a proper talk.”

Zhou Xianyong shook his head: “What’s there to talk about?”

Zhou Xianqiang asked: “Do you know why Zhou Andong rose so quickly?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Zhou Xianyong picked up a cigarette from the coffee table and lit it.

“Childish!” Zhou Xianqiang chuckled. “I’ll tell you—it’s marketing. Our cousin is a marketing genius, a master.”

Zhou Xianqiang patted his brother’s shoulder and added seriously: “You’re in fashion, specializing in women’s luxury goods. Marketing is critical. Go talk to our cousin—I’m sure he’ll give you excellent advice.”

Zhou Xianyong recalled the Old Man’s words and muttered irritably: “I can’t even avoid meeting him—the Old Man said we’re all going to the mainland for Lunar New Year.”

Zhou Xianqiang paused, then smiled: “That’s good. With this connection, future collaboration opportunities will multiply. Keeping in touch strengthens bonds—and benefits future business.”

“Fine!” Zhou Xianyong accepted reality. “You and the Old Man praise him so much, I’m actually eager to meet him now—to see if he’s really as impressive as you claim.”

“He’s even more impressive than you imagine.” Zhou Xianqiang bent down and crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. “At the time, Jiangzhou Distillery was deeply in debt and undergoing reform. Zhou Andong was just an ordinary worker.”

But the city leadership had bold vision—they appointed Zhou Andong as factory director. He didn’t have an easy job: he faced not only massive losses but also suppression from certain official factions.

His environment was perilous. If it had been me or you, you’d have crashed hard—possibly never recovered.

Yet every time he was cornered, he struck his enemies in the most unexpected places, turning danger into safety.”

Zhou Xianyong said: “So our cousin is practically legendary.”

“You could say that.” Zhou Xianqiang nodded. “I didn’t know much about him until our collaboration with Dahrun. After meeting him, I gathered information and learned all this.”

Zhou Xianqiang sat beside his brother: “With China’s reform and opening-up, opportunities abound everywhere. Based on Zhou Andong’s demonstrated abilities, his future holds limitless potential.”

So we must cultivate a good relationship with Second Uncle’s family. Strengthen our ties. Even if this connection is false, we must still acknowledge this kinship.”

Zhou Xianyong crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, lit another, then stood and walked toward the door.

“I’m leaving!”

Zhou Xianqiang sighed helplessly: “Arrange your company affairs first. Lunar New Year is around February 10th—we’ll head to the mainland in early February.”

Zhou Xianyong slipped on his shoes, opened the door, waved without looking back, and slammed it shut.

“Xianqiang!” Wang Huijun asked curiously: “How old is Zhou Andong?”

Zhou Xianqiang replied: “About twenty-six or twenty-seven—maybe twenty-eight.”

Wang Huijun asked: “Is he married?”

“He has a girlfriend—very beautiful, with great poise. Whether they’re married or not, I’m not sure.”

Zhou Xianqiang glanced at his wife in surprise: “Why are you asking?”

“Wang Xihé!” Wang Huijun smiled at Zhou Xianqiang. “She’s a model, great figure, beautiful, runs her own modeling agency. I think she’d suit Zhou Andong perfectly.”

Zhou Xianqiang smiled wryly: “You’ve never even met Zhou Andong—how do you know they’d suit each other?”

“You just said it yourself,” Wang Huijun said matter-of-factly. “Zhou Andong is so outstanding—he’d be perfect with Xiao Xi.”

“You’re dreaming. Zhou Andong’s girlfriend is even more beautiful than Xiao Xi—especially in poise. Xiao Xi can’t compare.”

Zhou Xianqiang pulled Wang Huijun to her feet: “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

………………

Yangcheng, Garden Hotel!

In a luxury suite on the 19th floor, only a single bedside lamp glowed with dim yellow light.

A woman stood by the window, her thin silk nightgown translucent in the dim glow.

A breeze drifted in from outside, stirring the fabric, revealing glimpses of her perfect figure.

Then a short, stout figure wrapped in a towel emerged from the bathroom.

He rushed over and embraced her, about to kiss her when she uttered a single cold word.

“Go.”

The man froze, his hand still gripping her.

“Go!” Her voice grew colder. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“What’s wrong now?”

He spoke, yet obediently released her.

Smoke curled from her lips, shifting into strange shapes under the lamplight before rising and drifting away.

“I’m not in the mood tonight. Go back to your room.”

“Alright.”

He wanted to say more but feared angering her, so he trudged back to the bathroom to dress.

“I’m leaving. Get some rest—you’ve got a lot tomorrow.”

He left. The woman remained motionless by the window.

“Zhou—An—Dong!”

After an indeterminate time, the woman clenched her teeth, whispering his name syllable by syllable.