Chapter 447: I Must Have Seen Him!

Entering the castle's interior, they followed the butler through a long corridor and arrived at the main living room.

The decoration here was extremely luxurious and extravagant, like the golden splendor found in a palace.

At this moment, a man was standing before a wall in the living room, staring blankly at a painting on it.

It was a portrait.

The young girl in the painting had an exquisitely beautiful face, her smile blooming like a flower.

Seeing people arrive, he slowly turned around and looked at Qu Tuotuo and the others:

"You're here, come sit."

The moment the man faced them, Yu Dazhang suddenly froze.

I've seen this person!

But where he had seen him, he couldn't recall.

At this moment, his brain spun rapidly, various images and scenes flashing through his mind.

What's going on?

He had clearly seen him, yet he just couldn't remember the specific place and time of their meeting.

It was like a blackout from drinking; the memory had been forcibly cut off.

This feeling made one go crazy, yet one was powerless.

Yu Dazhang mechanically followed Qu Tuotuo over, then sat beside her on the sofa, but his gaze never left that man.

"This must be your boyfriend, right."

The man looked quite casual; he merely glanced lightly at Yu Dazhang:

"Handsome and talented, you really know how to choose."

Qu Tuotuo was also beaming with a smile:

"My taste has always been very good."

Yu Dazhang gazed at the man before him.

Steady, restrained, as if everything was under his control, yet without the slightest show of arrogance.

Such a person, for some reason, made him feel very close, yet also felt very dangerous.

That danger stemmed from humanity's fear of the unknown.

It was as if before him lay an abyss bottomless; the closer one got, the stronger the sense of fear became.

Also, when the man spoke just now, Yu Dazhang saw no trace of lying on his face.

Meeting for the first time, judging only by appearance, his body type and weight could in no way match "handsome and talented."

But the other party seemed to appreciate him very much.

This appreciation was not faked.

The man's gaze, seemingly a casual glance over him, was permeated with intense emotion.

He wouldn't have some special fetish, right... Yu Dazhang thought more and more wildly, until his hair stood on end.

"Won't you introduce us?"

The man looked at Qu Tuotuo and said with a smile:

"We can't have your Uncle Zhou introduce himself, can we."

His smile was very warm, like a beam of sunlight shining on the body.

Hearing this, Qu Tuotuo quickly introduced:

"This is my boyfriend..."

She had just started when Yu Dazhang interrupted:

"My name is Yu Dazhang, Yu as in 'dry hook'."

Speaking, he actively extended his hand to the other party.

"Zhou Dong." The man also extended his hand, clasping it with his:

"Just call me Uncle Zhou like Tuotuo does; my age should be about the same as your father's. Calling me 'Uncle' won't be a loss for you."

Yu Dazhang didn't reply, only nodding lightly.

When shaking hands just now, he discovered the other party's hand was very soft; it was the softest hand he had touched so far, excluding women's.

There is a saying: "A man's hand should be soft; even without money, there is money."

Actually, it describes men whose palms are soft as brocade, who are naturally born with the aura of a noble person.

Before, Yu Dazhang didn't believe it; today he finally saw it with his own eyes.

"I am very sorry about your brother's matter."

This middle-aged man named Zhou Dong turned his gaze back to Qu Tuotuo:

"Back then, when he called me saying he lacked investment for starting a business, I didn't take it too seriously, just casually introduced him to an investment firm. I didn't expect it would harm him."

He looked very regretful, and guilt was on his face while speaking:

"If I had known it would turn out this way, I should have investigated that investment firm first before introducing it to him."

"This matter is all my fault; now I have no face to see your father." Impressive... Yu Dazhang silently evaluated in his heart.

Before Qu Tuotuo could open her mouth to ask, the other party proactively explained.

Just this point gave Qu Tuotuo enough respect.

Seemingly he took all the blame upon himself, but in reality, he cleared himself of all responsibility.

In just a few short sentences, Zhou Dong both explained the ins and outs of the matter and expressed his helplessness and grievance.

Finally, he didn't forget to bring in Qu Wannian to show the close relationship between the two families.

"Uncle Zhou, you don't need to blame yourself too much; this matter can't be entirely your fault; after all, back then you acted out of good intentions."

Sure enough, Qu Tuotuo had been pulled into the other party's rhythm.

But from her tone, she still felt Zhou Dong bore some responsibility in this matter.

"I've told the police everything I know."

Zhou Dong continued explaining:

"I've also had someone organize the materials on that investment firm and submit them. I trust the police will be able to get to the bottom of it very soon."

Quite the precise introduction... Yu Dazhang muttered to himself.

Out of so many investment firms abroad, this Zhou Dong just happened to introduce the one with problems to the Qu family's adopted son.

Was it really a coincidence?

The interesting thing was, the economic-crimes division really hadn't found any problems.

He was too relaxed... Yu Dazhang noticed that the Zhou Dong across from him showed not a trace of tension when bringing up the matter.

As if it were a trivial little thing, and had nothing to do with him at all.

"Haven't we met before?" Yu Dazhang suddenly asked.

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Dong visibly froze, an expression of disbelief crossing his face, but it quickly shifted to surprise, as if he hadn't expected Yu Dazhang to ask that.

"I don't think so," he replied in an uncertain tone:

"At least in my memory, this is the first time we've met."

His first expression was the real one... Yu Dazhang quickly made his judgment.

It was an instinctive reaction, without any thought or pretense.

But why would it be that kind of expression?

As if he and the other party really did know each other, but shouldn't remember the other party to begin with.

This contradictory feeling sent all sorts of possibilities flashing through Yu Dazhang's mind, but none could fully explain the meaning behind that expression.

Although Zhou Dong reacted quickly, immediately using a look of surprise to cover his initial true reaction, he was still too late.

"No, we've met."

Yu Dazhang stared at Zhou Dong, his expression turning dark:

"Why won't you admit it?"

This was both a probe and a threat, but either way, it wasn't appropriate to say in this setting — after all, this was the other man's home.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Zhou Dong's face also darkened, and he replied stiffly:

"I think you must have mistaken me for someone else."

The two of them stared at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy and solemn.

"Dazhang, what are you saying?" Qu Tuotuo couldn't help but interject:

"You've met Uncle Zhou? Where?"

That question seemed to remind Zhou Dong as well, and he immediately chimed in:

"That's right, where did we meet? You tell me."

That was exactly what Yu Dazhang was afraid the other party would ask.

If he knew where they'd met, he wouldn't have needed to probe the other man.

"I must be mistaken."

Yu Dazhang suddenly laughed, looking a bit awkward:

"Look at this mess — I mistook you for a distant relative of mine. Tuotuo knows, I hurt my head a while back, it might be affecting my memory."

It was just an excuse, but Qu Tuotuo took it seriously.

She immediately stood up, looked at the top of Yu Dazhang's head, and even reached out to push his hair aside:

"I said at the time that the doctors over there were no good. Did it leave aftereffects?"

Yu Dazhang paid no attention to Qu Tuotuo; instead, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He had clearly seen the Zhou Dong across from him stretch his leg a little and relax his shoulders, as if finally letting out a sigh of relief.

(End of chapter)