Chapter 1787: Frustrated in Love, Successful at Work

Sheng Hanyu told Zihan that it was impossible for Top Sheng to give up business dealings with Country L, and that he should not act on impulse; for a businessman, the most important thing is profit!

Qi Shishi and Zirui were never a good match to begin with, so her getting engaged is a good thing.

He is now not only Zirui's brother but also the Heir to Top Sheng; he must look at the big picture, broaden his perspective, and not just fixate on matters of the heart.

Speaking of matters of the heart, Sheng Hanyu was full of anger again.

Zihan, that fellow, has the nerve to meddle in others' relationships when his own love life is a mess, constantly dating beautiful women every day, and they are never the same face—what exactly is he trying to do?

"Stop worrying about Zirui and talk about yourself. Do you dare to have a steady girlfriend..."

Zihan immediately excused himself: "Dad, I still have a lot of work to do, I'm leaving."

He returned to his office and let out a sigh of relief; thank goodness, his father didn't keep harping on it.

But he couldn't just ignore Zirui either; after thinking for a long time, he decided to tell Zirui the news.

Zirui said indifferently: "Oh, I know. Do you have anything else? If not, hang up; I have a lot of things to be busy with."

Zihan:...

He had risked his neck and even gone so far as to write a self-criticism to stand up for Zirui, so why was this person so unappreciative?

He said very considerately: "Zirui, you don't need to pretend to be strong in front of me. If you want to cry, just cry; I'll listen."

A brother isn't there to tease or mock, but to genuinely wish him well. Zirui understood all that, but he said coldly: "You'd better manage your own affairs and stop meddling in everything, or you'll end up failing at everything."

"How can you be like this? I'm doing this for your own good..."

Zihan felt quite aggrieved; the two of them were twins, did he really need to put on airs in front of him?

He didn't pay too much attention to Zirui's attitude.

Zirui was naturally introverted and not very good at showing his emotions; even if he was heartbroken, he kept it all inside, but only the one suffering knows the pain.

He continued to persuade: "Zirui, you don't need to be shy. If you have grievances, you should say them out loud. Bottling it all up inside will make you sick. I can keep you company and chat..."

Zirui's attitude remained cold: "You really are idle. I have to get back to work; I don't have time to talk nonsense with you."

"Beep, beep, beep—"

A busy signal came from the other end; Zirui had hung up the phone.

"So cold-blooded, hmph!"

Zihan stuck his tongue out at the phone, but he wasn't truly angry. Since the person involved didn't care, why should he keep dwelling on it?

It wasn't that Zirui didn't care; heartbreak was a certainty, but was being heartbroken useful?

It was useless.

Since it was useless, it was better to do something useful.

He did not doubt Qi Shishi's feelings for him in the slightest; she must have had her own hidden reasons for making such a decision.

Actually, Zirui had known the news earlier than Zihan. Qi Shishi had told him via WeChat without much explanation, only saying that their fate had reached its end and they should not contact each other in the future.

Zirui said: "Fine, let's not contact each other in the future."

On the surface, both of them were very cold, but how much their hearts ached, perhaps only they themselves knew.

Zirui was heartbroken, and he wasn't the only one being cared for.

Parents and siblings called one after another, including his grandparents.

It was just that everyone's way of showing concern was different. Except for Zihan, no one asked him directly; instead, they expressed their concern tactfully, letting Zirui know through their actions that he still had family, and that family would always be with him and would never abandon him.

Shi Youxuan appeared quite calm in front of her family.

But when she was alone with her husband, all her anger came out.

"You were right; we should have forced them apart from the beginning. Nothing has even happened yet, and she has already abandoned our Zirui. If they had really been together, she would have discarded Zirui without hesitation the moment they encountered any storm."

"The inherent flaws of the Qi Family are just like this. She is the same as her father and brother... actually, she's even worse than her brother!" Shi Youxuan was so angry she couldn't stop talking.

Qi Heng had also done things that wronged the Sheng Family back then, but he was still deeply devoted to Shi Ran and wasn't as "decisive" as Qi Shishi.

And his "deep devotion" eventually ruined him as well.

His wife was very angry, but Sheng Hanyu remained quite calm. He comforted his wife: "Forget it, don't be angry. Sitting in that position, she has many things she is forced to do; she is not like us."

Shi Youxuan said the same thing as Zihan: "Stop cooperating with Country L, lest we end up with all our assets confiscated later." Such things hadn't happened just once; Shi Youxuan didn't want to trip over the same stone twice!

"It won't happen."

Sheng Hanyu was very calm.

"The stupid act of confiscating assets was Qi Heng's biggest blunder. Qi Shishi is very smart; she won't do such a thing."

At that time, because the Sheng Family's assets were confiscated, although it provided a temporary emergency boost to Country L's economy, it cost the country its credibility.

For a very long time, Country L remained stagnant, and it had everything to do with that incident.

Qi Shishi was different from her brother; she was calmer and more cold-blooded than Qi Heng, and more like her father.

She would never do such a thing.

Zirui threw himself entirely into his work, and no one in Phoenix Village knew he was heartbroken.

First, he asked the Accountant Hao to organize the village's accounts, but he was put off time and again; every time, Accountant Hao had a different excuse to fob him off.

A week later, after his countless urgings, Accountant Hao finally couldn't put it off any longer and reluctantly brought out the account books.

"Village Chief, here are the account books. Take a look."

Zirui took them and flipped through them roughly, immediately discovering the problem: "There is a deficit of hundreds of thousands on the books. Where did this money go?"

Accountant Hao looked at him with new eyes.

"Not bad, Village Chief. You're too impressive, right? You found the problem just by taking one look?"

With the education Zirui had received since childhood, looking at such account books was simply too easy.

This wasn't even the half of it; he could see the specific loopholes, but he didn't say anything. One shouldn't reveal all their skills at once; as long as one's trump cards remain hidden, one holds the initiative.

But one couldn't always be low-key; only by being high-profile occasionally could one avoid being looked down upon.

Zirui had been raised as the Heir to Top Sheng since he was a child; his abilities were not something a small village accountant could compare to. Accountant Hao did not dare to underestimate the young Village Chief before him.

Some things could no longer be hidden, so he told the Village Chief the truth.

"The loopholes in the village accounts are all from the Village Chief's entertainment expenses in previous years. Every time people come down from above, they have to eat and drink; whether they get things done or not, this Hallucinogenic Pen expense is unavoidable anyway."

These old, stale matters are always unavoidable.

Zirui said, "Can't this money be saved?"

"It can't be saved. You don't know, the previous Village Chiefs all had the same idea as you, but you have too much of a student air; if you save this money, it will be difficult to get anything from above in the future."