Chapter 74

Face-Slapping the reborn CEO (9)

Editor: chesnutwhale

It was only after being pinched to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat that Nie Yuantong was able to join in Zhou Xu and Ke Tur’s plan..

After Nie Yuantong joined, Zhou Xu realized that he had missed out on a lot of this world’s knowledge. However, Nie Yuantong was not the same. He specialized in economics and finance, and understood not only its various operations and norms very well, but also its flaws. To state it simply, his participation was very beneficial for Zhou Xu.

Nie Yuantong’s participation also caused Zhou Xu’s actions to become faster. However, there was one difficult aspect of the plan. And that was the need for Zhou Qiang to sign several documents in front of four lawyers.

Zhou Xu did not plan on finding lawyers he knew. That way, even if something went wrong, they would still have witnesses.

Zhou Xu thought for a while, and his furrowed eyebrows smoothened out as he found a solution.

To be honest, Zhou Xu could forge the documents. He was not afraid of Zhou Qiang, however, he was afraid of Zhou Qiang’s teacher, Wen Zhuyao, as he might come to look for trouble.

Wen Zhuyao was also Nie Yuantong’s teacher, and he was even more knowledgeable of financial and economic affairs.

However, Zhou Qiang had always had one weakness. It was Ke Tur. Even if he was ready to divorce her, Ke Tur could still be considered his weakness.

The only point Zhou Xu needed to pay attention to and prepare for was that when Zhou Qiang signed the documents, he wasn’t in the mood to look at the documents nor pay attention to his words.

Zhou Xu worked at the head office while Zhou Xueli worked at a small branch of Zhou conglomerate as the manager of a small department. The two actually did not meet that much.

This kind of quiet life gave Zhou Xueli peace of mind, because he found that he did not actually have any high ambitions nor any particular talents. He even felt that he was better suited to have been born into a civilian family.

Besides, in this life, he hadn’t died. Before his rebirth, while in his third year of college, he’d already been sold to a nightclub by Zhou Xu, and later died in the streets.

To be able to live such an ordinary life and not provoke Zhou Xu, Zhou Xueli felt at ease.

However, just after he thought he might live like that for the rest of this life, he met Wen Chan again, or rather, Wen Chan found him.

That day after work, per his routine, Zhou Xueli locked the door of the office before walking out of the company. Not long after, he saw Wen Chan waiting at the door.

After a few years apart, Wen Chen had become even more beautiful, but had become less inclined to smile. However, as soon as the former saw Zhou Xueli, she showed a smile. Her solemn appearance added a mature vibe to her beauty.

Surprised, Zhou Xueli asked, “Xiao Chan? You’re back?”

The corners of Wen Chan’s lips rose, her smile soft and gentle, “En, so I came to see you.”

Wen Chan’s voice was still very sweet, making Zhou Xueli’s calm heart once again beat restlessly.

“Xiao Chan, that year, I. . .It was all because I wasn’t good enough, I couldn’t protect you.”

“It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. Now that I have given birth, I understand.”

Zhou Xueli was surprised. “You’re married?”

Nodding, then shaking her head, Wen Chan said, “Married, then divorced. My dad definitely hasn’t told you, right?”

“No, I didn’t know anything about it.” Zhou Xueli’s face was still full of disbelief. He’d thought the reason for Wen Chan’s reappearance was to rekindle their previous relationship. He did not think that she already had children.

“It’s as I suspected. Xueli, let’s go eat together, I want to chat with you.”

Perhaps it was because the sun was too bright, she wore dark glasses. However, she put on a mask as well.

“Sure.”

Zhou Xueli did not take heed of her action, believing it to be a new habit Wen Chan adopted after they separated.

In the car, Zhou Xueli asked Wen Chan, “Where do you want to go?”

Wen Chan’s head leaned against the window of the car. Upon hearing Zhou Xueli’s question, she thought for a while and replied, “Remember the restaurant we used to go to when we were freshman?”

Zhou Xueli said while driving, “Of course I remember, do you want to go there?”

“En.”

“Alright, I also haven’t been in that neighborhood for quite some time, and it just so happens that they have the red fruit pie you like.”

Wen Chan was quiet for a moment before asking, “You still remember?”

“Of course. At that time it was your favorite, and you loved to eat raspberries a lot, how could I forget?”

Wen Chan didn’t continue to talk, so Zhou Xueli continued to drive. What he didn’t notice was the tear slowly slipping down Wen Chan’s cheek, as if her sorrow had reached an extreme. Her gaze was unfocused and her expression sad, as though the world had abandoned her.

They went into that restaurant. Zhou Xueli asked for the same private room they liked to go to, the two-people one.

Wen Chan sat down, letting Zhou Xueli order the food. He ordered some dishes that she liked. All these years, he never forgot Wen Chan, not even once. He remembered all the good things about Wen Chan.

After the dishes came and the server left, Wen Chan locked the door to the room.

“Why did you lock the door?”

“I wanted to talk about some private matters.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Xueli did not know why, but he suddenly felt a little awkward. He thought about the fact that Wen Chan was already married. It was possible that she did not come to talk about love with him, so he coughed and said, “Cough, Xiao Chan, is your child a boy or a girl?”

“A boy.”

“Oh, what’s his name?”

Wen Chan paused before answering. “&#k2026; Baby.”

Zhou Xueli suddenly did not know what to say. Inside the small single room, it was so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard.

It was only after some time that Wen Chan opened her mouth to say, “Xueli, you used to like me a lot, right?”

Zhou Xueli lifted his head, and looked toward the mature Wen Chan. Just as he was about to say something, Wen Chan continued, “Xueli, if I killed someone, would you still like me?”

Zhou Xueli’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat because at the moment, Wen Chan was very calm, and there was no trace of a smile on her face. The peacefulness from the beginning had disappeared without a trace. At this moment, Zhou Xueli only felt that the beautiful Wen Chan was similar to a demon in human skin.

“Xiao…Xiao Chan, what are you talking about…Xiao Chan?”

Wen Chan smiled slightly, but no matter how one looked at it, the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Xueli, I killed people, two of them. My husband was chosen by my father. So, I got married. While I was pregnant, he kicked me while in a mood. I lost the child. Some time ago, I felt that my body was a lot better, and I gave him several sleeping pills before killing him.” Her tone was calm and even, as if she was only talking about how nice the weather was today.

The longer Zhou Xueli listened, the more afraid he was. He secretly muted his phone in his pocket and set the volume of the phone to zero. However the person who answered the phone could still hear the content of their conversation, while they couldn’t hear the other side.

Zhou Xueli’s phone call was made to the police. They answered rapidly and did not suspend the call. They were listening closely and did not ask any questions.

A little comforted, Zhou Xueli asked, “And the other one is?”

“The other one is my father. I killed him last night, because he told me that I’d chosen my own life. Whatever kind of crime I committed has nothing to do with him. He was wrong. My life wasn’t my own, he chose it for me. But I’ve decided to walk my own path from now on, so I killed him too. Xueli, you’re the only warm person I’ve met in my life, and I also like you a lot, I continuously liked you.”

Zhou Xueli thought about a way for the police to find this place. As he racked his brain, his forehead began to sweat and his hands and feet started to shake. To calm himself down a little, Zhou Xueli said, “Xiao Chan, I… I don’t know what to say. But right now, we’re in this little room on the third floor of the xx restaurant on xx road. This is a place we used to come to while in school, and it reminds me of the past. At that time, Xiao Chan, seeing me was enough to make you smile.”

“It’s still the same now.” Wen Chan said, revealing a slight smile.

Zhou Xueli finished giving the address to the police, and feeling a little reassured, he said, “Xiao Chan, may I ask how you handled your husband’s body? Didn’t you say that it’s been a while?”

“Oh, I cut it up anId put it in the freezer.”

“What about your father?”

“It’s still at home, I didn’t want to deal with it.”

Zhou Xueli’s hands were full of sweat. He was letting the police confirm that Wen Chan was indeed a killer and that he was in a dangerous situation. If there was no accident, the police would be here really fast.

“Xiao Chan, let’s not talk about this, let’s finish the meal first. Also, let me think about it, I haven’t seen you for so long, I’m different from the me of the past, okay?”

“Sure.”

The two ate quietly. It was the first time that Zhou Xueli truly experienced what one referred to as a minute feeling like an hour. Passing time with a murderer was simply too unbearable, because he didn’t know when this murderer would go mad again and target him.

A few minutes later, the sound of the police siren rang out and they could both hear the clamor below.

His heart jumping to his throat, Zhou Xueli asked, “What happened below?”

Wen Chan smiled softly and said, “It should be that after you reported me, they’re coming to arrest me.”

Zhou Xueli’s heart thumped once, his complexion instantly blanching. A moment later, Wen Chan’s tears fell down.

“Xueli, you thought I was going to kill you, right?”

“Xiao Chan…”

“I will turn myself in, but before that, I wanted to have a quiet meal with you. I also didn’t want to hide it from you, so I thought you would at least…”

Wen Chan could no longer continue, so she simply looked at Zhou Xueli with a face stained with tears. A slight smile on her face, Wen Chan said, “I originally didn’t want to kill you, because I thought you at least felt something for me. But now I realize that I was wrong. In this world, there is no man who has feelings for me. In that case, Xueli, let’s die together. It’s okay if you don’t like me, at least I like you.”

Slowly taking out a gun from her coat, Wen Chan pointed the muzzle at Zhou Xueli.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

When the expected pain did not come, Zhou Xueli slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was the scene of Wen Chan lying on the ground.

Dark red blood flowed from the back of Wen Chan’s head. She took one last profound look at Zhou Xueli before finally closing her eyes.

In the end, she did not kill Zhou Xueli. She had instead pointed the gun towards her own forehead.

Zhou Xueli was stupefied. The last glance that Wen Chan gave him had taken root in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to drive it away, he couldn’t.

Zhou Xueli did not talk to anyone about this matter. Zhou Qiang did not care about him at all, and Zhou Xu would also not pay him any attention. As a result, he could only bury this matter deep in his heart.

Only, every night, in his dreams, he would remember the look Wen Chan gave him before her death. Her eyes held reluctance, grief, and love.

Eventually, the grief turned to anger, the anger to hatred, and hatred to murderous intent. Zhou Xueli lived in the nightmare called “Wen Chan” every day.

A month after Wen Chan’s death, Zhou Xueli moved out of Zhou’s home. He sought a place to hide, where no one could find him.

Two months after her death, Zhou Xueli resigned from the company. No one knew the reason, only that suddenly, he never came to work again.

*****

No matter what happened to Zhou Xueli, nobody cared. Zhou Xu did not wish to fight him because he was too weak. It could be said that he was the weakest protagonist that Zhou Xu had ever met. Even after his rebirth, Zhou Xueli was still the same weak coward as his previous life.

Moreover, Zhou Xueli himself did not have the desire to fight Zhou Xu, making Zhou Xu feel even more uninterested.

Zhou Xu did not have any time to spare for Zhou Zueli, as he’d found that Zhou Qiang’s lawyer had begun to manufacture all kinds of evidence to bring against Ke Tur.

The evidence was all forged by Zhou Qiang’s lawyer. There was even one testifying that she came out of the closet. After Ke Tur learned about it, she could only smile. The last bit of gratitude she had for Zhou Qiang was wiped out.

Under the joint force of Zhou Xu, Nie Yuantong and Ke Tur, the company was pretty much already in Zhou Xu’s hands. Now, he only needed one thing: to get Zhou Qiang to sign.

Ke Tur called Zhou Qiang, just in time for the 3rd birthday of one of Zhou Qiang’s little sons. The content was really simple, “Zhou Qiang, I agree to divorce you, bring the divorce agreements, and I’ll sign them.”

Zhou Qiang, who was preparing a birthday party for his child at his lover’s house, was very upset, so he replied, “Very good. I’m busy today, so let’s do it tomorrow.”

“Zhou Qiang, what if I don’t want a divorce tomorrow?”

“It’s okay, then we’ll continue to waste time. I’m hanging up.”

Immediately after he finished talking, Zhou Qiang hung up.

At that time, Zhou Qiang’s lover came over to ask him what was going on. He answered, “My wife agreed to divorce. We’re preparing for Xiao Dong’s birthday, so I said we’ll continue to fight tomorrow.”

For the two lovers who heard it, it was the best news they’d heard all day. Who cares about his son’s birthday, if Zhou Qiang divorced, they’d have more than enough money in the future.

So the two lovers hurried to start sucking up. They said that they would wait for him to come back to start the dinner party. Zhou Qiang thought about it for a while. It was better to get it done as early as possible. So, on the same day, he drove back his car to the company to look for Ke Tur.

In the conference room, Zhou Qiang brought his own lawyer to meet Ke Tur’s lawyer, and the two rapidly signed the divorce settlement.

After signing, Zhou Qiang had a bad taste in his heart, so he said, “Ke Tur, this time, I let you down. Whatever you want to do in the future, I will not stop you, if you want to act, then act, I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you, brother Zhou.”

Before the two married, Ke Tur had always called Zhou Qiang brother Zhou. After they married, however, she stopped calling him that.

Forget it, Zhou Qiang thought. Anyway, there were still two more lovers in his house, and two children, he shouldn’t get confused.

As he prepared to leave, the conference room door suddenly opened. It was Zhou Xu, Nie Yuantong and four others behind them.

After entering the door, Zhou Xu, with a face full of surprise, asked, “Dad, why are you here?”

Zhou Qiang was a little flustered and wanted to leave, “It’s nothing, I’m going.”

“Wait, Dad, about the transfer I talked about last time, you should sign it as you are already here.”

Zhou Qiang thought about it a little, and remembered what Zhou Xu told him the day before. There was a small company whose profit was very bad. However, someone took an interest in it and wanted to purchase it. Zhou Xu had asked him about his opinion and he had thought it was okay.

“You just asked me the day before and you already have the documents prepared?”

“Dad, it’s work, of course the more efficient the better.”

“Okay, then bring it to me, I’ll sign all of them.”

“Yes, Dad.”

As he talked, Zhou Xu took out the documents and put them in front of Zhou Qiang. Afterwards, he pointed to the corner of the bottom of the document and said, “One, here.”

Zhou Qiang took a look at it, and found out that it was for the transfer of a supermarket, it was not a big deal. He then signed at the place Zhou Xu pointed at.

Standing next to Zhou Qiang, Zhou Xu opened the folder and went on to the next page, saying, “Another one here.”

Zhou Qiang nodded and signed.

Zhou Xu flipped through a few more pages, before pointing at another signature place and said, “One more here.”

Zhou Qiang did not even look, he directly signed.

Just like that, Zhou Xu had made Zhou Qiang sign some dozen times. In the end, Zhou Xu asked him if he had brought his seal.

Zhou Qiang’s seal was always on his person, so naturally, he answered positively. Zhou Xu let him put his seal on his signatures on certain 3 pages.

After all was signed and stamped, Zhou Xu asked Zhou Qiang’s and Ke Tur’s lawyers, as well as the lawyers following him, “I have something to talk about with my father, can you leave first?”

The lawyers went out, and Ke Tur also followed them out.

Zhou Qiang asked, “Xiao Xu, did you want to tell me something?”

Zhou Xu smiled slightly and replied, “I just wanted to tell you one thing. You have transferred all the shares in your hand to me. So, from now on, I am the president of Zhou conglomerate, and as for you, you are absolutely nothing now. ”

Zhou Qiang suddenly realized that he had just signed a lot of documents. He jerked up, and enraged, he asked Zhou Xu, “Xiao Xu, what are you doing?”

Zhou Xu put the document signed just now by Zhou Qiang in his hand, and dazzlingly said to Zhou Qiang, “Three copies of share transfer letters, dad, do you have any objections?”

Covering his chest, Zhou Qiang pointed his index finger at Zhou Xu, “You… you… this can’t be valid, this is fraud.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, the four who just came in with me are lawyers, and there were also your and Ke Tur’s divorce lawyers. A total of six lawyers were present. Furthermore, Nie Yuantong and Ke Tur were also present, and I also made clear it was about the matter of transfer, so Dad, this is already settled.”

“You… you bastard, I’ll beat you to death.”

As he spoke, Zhou Qiang grabbed a chair. But as he lifted it, his hands were stopped by Nie Yuantong.

Zhou Qiang used to admire Nie Yuantong, however, he now understood why Nie Yuantong was so close to Zhou Xu. It was because he had been coveting his company.

“Nie Yuantong, it was you who corrupted Xiao Xu, right? It must be you, you’re trying to usurp my Zhou conglomerate, right?”

Nie Yuantong looked very innocently at Zhou Qiang and said, “Of course not. Actually, even if I wanted to corrupt him, the key point is he’s even worse than me.”

“As the school principal, that’s what you set as an example?”

Zhou Xu took one step ahead and said to Zhou Qiang, “Dad, these three words of ‘setting an example’, you are the last one who can talk about it. Your lovers and illegitimate children are so numerous that I can’t even count them. That’s why, you can talk about anything but setting an example.”

“Zhou Xu, you bastard, I raised you until you’re so old, that’s how you treat me?”

Smiling slightly, Zhou Xu said, “You raised me? Do you even know how old I am this year?”

Zhou Qiang was taken aback, and with confidence, he replied, “Of course I do.”

“Then tell me.”

“Twenty…” Zhou Qiang did not know, so he could only elongate the sentence. He wanted to see from Zhou Xu’s face how old he was, unfortunately, he couldn’t.

“Twenty-four, Dad, my birthday is on July 14th. You should only remember that it’s in summer? What I like to eat, you don’t know, do you? What kind of club activities I participated in while I was at school, you also don’t know, do you? Right, let’s talk about your other son, Zhou Xueli. Do you know where he lives now? Do you know why he moved out? Do you know that he’s not working anymore? Right, when you personally broke his leg, did you ever think of him as your child? If I make a mistake, will you break my legs too? Dad?”

Zhou Xu’s questioning left Zhou Qiang speechless. Zhou Xu then said one last thing, that being the one thing Zhou Xu had hidden for a month, acting as if he didn’t know.

“Dad, my mother’s death was caused by you, wasn’t it? My mother was your official wife, and her family was strong, but at the time you’d already taken a fancy to a new lover, so you staged that car accident, didn’t you?”

Zhou Qiang looked at Zhou Xu, who smiled slightly and said, “Dad, I was taking revenge not only for my mother but also for myself.”

When Zhou Xu talked about taking revenge for himself, he was referring to the life where Zhou Xueli’s was reborn. Zhou Xu had been locked up by his father, and died from hunger. He of course would avenge himself.

And for the matter of Zhou Xu’s mother, it wasn’t actually discovered by him, but by Ke Tur. A month ago, because Ke Tur accidentally stumbled across a diary at home, she went through a lot of effort to follow the clues in the diary and find the truck driver of that time.

After Zhou Xu learnt about it, he did not say anything. He needed to get the company first before letting Zhou Qiang pay for the sins he had committed.

Now, it was almost time.

Turning around, Ke Tur had already reentered the room. At the same time, several police officers came in.

“You… you are…”

“Mr. Zhou, please come with us.”

Zhou Qiang looked at the police and suddenly knelt, “Can you guys wait for a day, after I finish celebrating my son’s birthday, I promise I’ll turn myself in.”

“Sorry, Mr. Zhou, please come with us first.”

The ice-cold voice brought despair to Zhou Qiang. He looked at Zhou Xu, this son. Suddenly, as if he had gone mad, he broke away from the police’s restraint and pounced towards Zhou Xu. He shouted, “I’ll kill you, you animal, you bastard. You dare rob the company of this Laozi, dare harm this Laozi, even if I die, I’ll take you with me.”

Only, before he could arrive in front of Zhou Xu, he was tripped by Nie Yuantong, falling onto the ground.

The police went to subdue Zhou Qiang and forcibly took him away.

Ke Tur brought another piece of news to Zhou Xu, “Xueli went crazy.”

“En?”

“It’s as I said.“ Finished speaking, Ke Tur turned around to leave. It was time for her life to start again.

From now on, Zhou Xu’s task in this world was considered complete. The rest of his life was now all his.

As for Zhou conglomerate, he did not want it at all. He intended to sell it and then donate the money.

Using Zhou Qiang’s money made Zhou Xu feel very disgusted.

However, at that time, Zhou Xu felt very happy.

Sticking out his index finger and making a hooking movement with it, Zhou Xu said to Nie Yuantong, “Do you want to make one to celebrate?”

Nie Yuantong walked up two steps, the corner of his mouth lifted, he answered, “I want.”

flō: I really feel bad for Wen Chan, her dad had led her to who she is now. Welp, it’s just a story~

Slowya: I actually feel bad for Zhou Xueli. In his stead, I would have called the police too. The person he loved was the previous Wen Chan, the gentle (was she?) and soft Wen Chan. Zhou Xueli doesn’t have any friends he can confide in, and the guilt slowly drove him mad. It’s so sad. He had finally chosen to live for himself and not in the past…

I don’t know what to feel about Wen Chan. She became like this because of her father… But at the same time, did she really have no other choice but to marry the one he chose for her?

Slowya: *humming a tone* I’ve built a harem! THREE editors (yeah, I know it’s a lot) joined our lazy empire: chestnutwhale, Aaghna and Nadralexe. Please give them a standing ovation! ヾ(^^ゞ)

Let me officially introduce you the members of our lazy kingdom (≧▽≦)

_Slowya, the temporary empress (translator)

_flōzen is the high princess, also known as the shadow empress (co-translator)

_ghost, the empress dowager (editor)

_chesnutwhale is the royal child (main editor)

_Aaghna and Nadralexe are the concubines (support editors)

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