Chapter 832

Su Qingyu sat in the rehearsal hall chair, feeling as if he had just finished a marathon, his legs weak, his palms sweating.

Lin Dongfan had already left, but those eyes still stared at him in his mind.

"Tomorrow night, I'll be waiting for you."

Those words were light as air, but when they landed in his ears they felt like a sentence.

Su Qingyu pulled out his phone, his finger sliding through the contacts until it stopped on "Zhao Tianyu". He stared at it for a full half minute, but he still didn't dare press it.

Ask?

How to ask?

"Big brother, where did you get those couple hundred million?" Mayor Lin had me inquire.

If he actually asked such a stupid-ass question, Su Qingyu could pick his own way to die tonight—drowning in the river or filling a pit, either way he'd be dead for sure.

Not ask?

How will he explain things to Lin Dongfan tomorrow night?

Su Qingyu really wanted to slap himself—what the hell was he pretending to be back then! Sponsoring a dance team? Now it's fine, the two million didn't buy him safety, it bought him a death warrant.

The music on stage stopped, and Chu Lingxi was saying something to the girls, smiling gently.

Su Qingyu looked at her, feeling even more suffocated—this naive mayor's wife probably had no idea that his casual invitation had put him on the fire.

"Mr. Su, how did it look?" Chu Lingxi walked over, holding a bottle of mineral water: "Here, thanks for your hard work."

"Not hard, not hard." Su Qingyu hurriedly stood to take it, squeezing out a smile uglier than a cry: "You danced really well, you'll definitely win abroad."

"I'll take those words as a blessing."

Chu Lingxi smiled, eyes crinkling: "By the way, Mr. Su, we're leaving next Wednesday; do you want to come see us off? We'll hold a simple send-off ceremony then."

"I'll definitely come, I'll definitely come."

Su Qingyu agreed verbally, but inside he was cursing—seeing them off? He wasn't even sure he'd live to next week.

After a few more pleasantries, Su Qingyu almost fled the rehearsal hall.

He got into his own Mercedes S-Class, didn't rush to start it, but turned the AC to max and blasted the vent.

Cold sweat soaked his shirt back, sticking uncomfortably to his skin, making him miserable.

The phone rang.

Su Qingyu jumped, picked it up—it was his wife Zhao Linlin.

He stared at the name flashing on the screen, took two deep breaths, then answered: "Hey, honey."

"Where are you?" Zhao Linlin's voice was as bossy as ever: "Mom called for dinner at six thirty, don't be late."

"I'm at Jianglan Daxue, just..."

"Again off doing those artsy sponsorships?" Zhao Linlin cut him off, tone full of disdain: "Su Qingyu, can't you do something proper? You ignore the messes at the company, running around all day—does having money just mean you burn it?"

Su Qingyu tightened his grip on the steering wheel, but his voice was apologetic: "This is also to broaden my network, Chu Lingxi is the mayor's wife—good relations benefit us."

"The mayor's wife?"

Zhao Linlin snorted: "Her mayor husband is practically driving my brother to death, and you're still cozying up to him? Su Qingyu, have you got water in your brain?!"

"I..."

"Cut the nonsense, six thirty at the old residence—if you're late you explain it to Mom yourself."

The other party finished and hung up.

Su Qingyu threw the phone onto the passenger seat and slammed the steering wheel hard.

"Damn it!"

He cursed once, still feeling unsatisfied, so he cursed three more times. After that he still had to drive honestly to the Zhao Family Old Residence, not daring to delay even a moment.

The Zhao Family Old Residence is in the western suburbs of Wuzhou, a standalone villa with a large yard.

When Su Qingyu arrived, several cars were already parked in the yard, including Zhao Tianyu's Bentley.

He took a deep breath, composed his expression, and pushed the door open.

The dining room already had a table set with dishes; Grandma Zhao sat at the head, Zhao Tianyu to her left, Zhao Linlin to her right.

Seeing him enter, Grandma Zhao lifted her eyelids: "You're here? Have a seat."

Her tone was as flat as greeting a servant.

Su Qingyu answered and sat down beside Zhao Linlin.

The meal was eaten in heavy silence.

Grandma Zhao asked a few questions about the company; Zhao Tianyu answered intermittently, while Zhao Linlin occasionally interjected.

Su Qingyu kept his head down eating, trying to minimize his presence.

Midway through the meal, Zhao Tianyu suddenly put down his chopsticks and looked at Su Qingyu: "Qingyu, I heard you went to watch the dance team's rehearsal today?"

Su Qingyu's heart gave a thump, the bite of rice in his mouth almost choking him.

"Yes, it's true." Su Qingyu steadied himself: "Chu Lingxi invited me, saying it was the final rehearsal before going abroad, and she wanted the sponsors to take a look."

"The mayor's wife personally invited you—no small face." Zhao Tianyu gave a half-smile: "What did you talk about?"

"We just... talked about dance, talked about the competition..." Su Qingyu's palms started sweating again: "We didn't talk about anything else."

"You didn't talk about me?"

Zhao Tianyu stared at him.

"We did." Su Qingyu forced himself to say: "Chu Lingxi asked about wage distribution; I said the group had already settled it, she praised me a few times, saying big brother is responsible."

That statement was half true, half false.

Chu Lingxi did indeed ask, but she only mentioned it in passing, far from actually praising him.

Zhao Tianyu looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled: "Fine, being responsible is good. Nowadays there are countless eyes watching the Zhao family; as the Zhao family's son-in-law, you have to mind your words and deeds, keep things in proportion. Don't go blurting everything out, understand?"

"I understand, I understand." Su Qingyu nodded repeatedly.

Old Madam Zhao spoke up then: "Qingyu, it's not that Mom's blaming you. Our Zhao Family is in a tough spot right now—you need to help Tianyu more, stop running around all the time. Those cultural activities—just cancel them if you can. What's the point of neither eating nor drinking?"

"Mom's right." Su Qingyu could only agree.

This meal gave Su Qingyu a stomachache.

With great difficulty they made it to the end; Zhao Linlin was called upstairs by her mother to talk, and Zhao Tianyu said he had something to handle and left first.

Su Qingyu sat alone on the living-room sofa, feeling like a superfluous decoration.

The nanny came over to clear the table, glanced at him, her eyes full of sympathy.

Su Qingyu felt even more suffocated inside.

Even the nanny looked down on him.

He got up and left the door, not waiting for Zhao Linlin, and drove off by himself.

The car had gone halfway when the phone rang again. Su Qingyu glanced at it—an unknown number. He hadn't wanted to answer, but against his better judgment he pressed accept.

"General Manager Su, it's me."

The voice on the other end was kept low, but Su Qingyu recognized it—it was Shen Mingyang, the finance director of Zhao Group.

"Director Shen." Su Qingyu pulled the car over to the side: "So late—what's up?"

"General Manager Su, is it convenient to talk?"

Shen Mingyang's voice sounded tense.

Su Qingyu looked around, made sure no one was there, and said: "Go ahead."

"General Manager Zhao's money……the source is problematic……" Shen Mingyang spoke quickly: "When I reconciled the accounts this afternoon I found that sum had been wired from an overseas financial institution……"

Su Qingyu's heart jumped: "What do you mean?"

"It means this sum is likely a loan." Shen Mingyang paused: "I looked into the background of that overseas institution—it's linked to illicit overseas funds and specializes in high‑interest lending……"

!!!

Hearing this truth, Su Qingyu's breathing grew a little tense.

High‑interest loan!

Does this mean Zhao Tianyu is fighting a desperate battle?

Su Qingyu asked curiously: "What's the interest rate?"

"An annualized 36%, and they only gave a three‑month term." Shen Mingyang's voice trembled: "If it isn't repaid within three months, General Manager Zhao could face bankruptcy."

!!!

This terrifying dark maneuver made Su Qingyu clutch the phone, his mind in a whirl. 36% annualized, three‑month term! Damn it, this isn't a loan—it's robbery!

Zhao Tianyu has gone mad—he's absolutely a lunatic!

Su Qingyu forced himself to calm down: "Director Shen, who else knows about this?"

"For now, only I know."

Shen Mingyang said: "I'm the one who did the accounts. General Manager Zhao specifically told me to keep them clean so the auditors wouldn't notice. But the more I think about it, the more scared I get—if this is discovered, I might well end up eating prison food in Tilanqiao."

"Don't panic." Su Qingyu said: "Just pretend you know nothing, keep doing what you're supposed to do. Make the accounts look nice—don't leave any loopholes."

"But…"

"No 'buts'!" Su Qingyu said sternly: "Shen Mingyang, if you want to stay alive, listen to me. Getting all flustered only makes trouble more likely."

The other end of the line fell silent for a few seconds: "…I understand."

After hanging up, Su Qingyu leaned back in the seat, feeling as if all his strength had been drained, unable to muster a shred of spirit.

Now, although he knew Zhao Tianyu's biggest secret,

but this secret couldn't save Su Qingyu—it might even get him killed faster.

Tell Lin Dongfan? Zhao Tianyu would kill him.

Don't tell him? Lin Dongfan won't let him off either.

Su Qingyu really wanted to just drive to the riverbank right now and jump in, but thinking of his parents back home and the little livelihood he'd painstakingly built, he couldn't bring himself to die.

"Damn, how did I get into this mess?" he muttered, starting the car and driving to the entrance of a small bar.

At this time of night, the bar wasn't crowded.

Su Qingyu found a corner seat, ordered a bottle of whiskey, and drank alone to drown his sorrows.