EIP 56

Zhou Jun seemed to not have heard anything, still smiling calmly with an almost annoyingly smug expression. He sat next to Miss Yang, making the sofa dip slightly under his weight. The sound of leather creaking followed as Miss Yang leaned just a little toward him. Whether intentional or not, the two ended up sitting close together, appearing quite intimate.

Zhou Jun called for the servant who had brought the wine and asked them to prepare some tea. With a guest around, it would not be right to just drink wine. The servant soon brought out two cups of red tea. Zhou Jun handed one cup to Miss Yang, inviting her to drink. Miss Yang turned her face slightly, refusing with a faint, almost sorrowful expression.

Zhou Jun did not answer her, leaving her feeling uneasy. She had been entangled in an ambiguous relationship with him for years, initially holding onto the thought that she did not want to commit. Zhou Jun was undeniably charming, but she was scared. She was scared of falling too deeply, of becoming a woman who lived solely for a man, ignoring everything else. She feared being the one left heartbroken by his countless flings and scandals.

She understood her family background and knew that her marriage might not be something she could decide on her own. But the Zhou family was well-off, and if Zhou Jun was willing, they could marry. She was ready to give herself to him, yet it never crossed her mind that Zhou Jun did not want her. Back in Germany, she always felt they were just one step away, as if the thin paper separating them only needed a gentle push to break.

When had things started to change? Perhaps it was after returning home, or maybe it was the result of their drawn-out ambiguity. In the end, his heart belonged to someone else, and she was too late.

Zhou Jun set the teacup down on the table and noticed Miss Yang’s hands tightly clenched together. Gently, he reached out and separated her fingers, which had turned pale from pinching each other so hard. Lowering his head, he softly asked, “Why are you squeezing your hands like that? Doesn’t it hurt?”

Miss Yang’s eyes were slightly wet. Zhou Jun had no right to be this gentle with her. If he did not care for her, he should stop giving her false hope. She shook her head and said quietly, “You told me last time it was impossible. I just didn’t want to give up.”

Zhou Jun stayed silent for a moment before standing up. He grabbed his jacket, glanced at Miss Yang, and then picked up a scarf. He handed it to her but did not help her put it on. Things were different now. He was deliberately keeping his distance. A bitter thought crossed his mind, mocking himself. He had once believed he would never change.

He led Miss Yang downstairs and drove her in his car. He had planned to take her out for a meal, but it was not until they were seated that he finally asked, “What made you come to see me today?”

Miss Yang stared out the car window, avoiding Zhou Jun’s gaze. Her voice was soft and faint as she said, “Your brother called me. He said you haven’t been home in a while. He mentioned having an argument with you and asked me to check on you.”

Zhou Jun felt a flicker of irritation. His older brother’s actions, almost as if he were deliberately pushing Miss Yang toward him, rubbed him the wrong way. It felt like his brother was saying, I like you and want you to marry my little brother so we can all be one family.

He dropped Miss Yang off at her home, and before getting out of the car, she asked to meet again in a week. Zhou Jun did not refuse. A week later, Zhou Jun took her to a well-known local restaurant. The place was small, but the food was authentic. After the meal, Miss Yang declined Zhou Jun’s offer to drive her home. She seemed to have recovered quickly, no longer showing the same sadness as before. At least her expression was calm when she told Zhou Jun, “I’ll be going to Hong Kong in a while. This might be our last time meeting.”

She touched the scarf around her neck and smiled at Zhou Jun. “The scarf is really warm, thank you.”

A faint sadness filled Zhou Jun’s heart as he looked at her. The thought of parting with her left him feeling melancholic. He reached out and gave her a gentle hug, not too tight, just a soft embrace. After helping her into the car, he did not leave right away but sat quietly, lost in thought, as he watched the people passing by outside.

Not far away, a rickshaw came to a stop, and a figure in a long, flowing cloak stepped out. Zhou Jun’s gaze lingered on the person. The cloak, trimmed with white fur and delicately embroidered with fine threads, was an uncommon sight, especially on a man. The figure turned slightly in his direction, revealing a sharp chin and familiar brows. It was Mu Liqing.

Zhou Jun sat up straighter, his attention fixed on him as he entered a teahouse. His eyes stayed on the building, his thoughts racing. Was Mu Liqing meeting someone? Could it be Yong Jin? Was their meeting at the theater not enough that they needed to see each other again?

His heart pounded, torn between hoping it was Yong Jin and wishing it was not. He wanted to let go, but a small part of him still clung to hope. Rolling down the car window, he stretched his neck out for a better view, nearly looking foolish as he craned to see outside. Time seemed to crawl. Every second felt like an eternity, his patience wearing thin.

After what felt like forever, a small sedan finally pulled up. It was not the car Zhou Jun had expected, but it was still one he recognized. His eyes widened in shock, as if caught off guard. He watched as the person stepped out, his mind racing to make sense of it. This should not be happening.

The man who exited the car wore a long coat and held a hand warmer. It was the same rare porcelain hand warmer that Zhou Jun had once brought from abroad. Standing on the street, the man glanced around cautiously. His features resembled Zhou Jun’s, but his expression was colder, more detached. Zhou Jun stared, and as if sensing his gaze, the man, Zhou Yan, turned and looked directly at Zhou Jun’s car.

This could not be hidden. There were plenty of cars around, but a license plate was not something that could be easily concealed. What caught Zhou Jun off guard, however, was Zhou Yan’s reaction. He only glanced briefly in his direction, his expression calm and indifferent, as though he was not surprised or simply did not care. With a steady demeanor, Zhou Yan turned away and led the person beside him into the building where Mu Liqing had entered.

Zhou Jun slouched in the driver’s seat, his thoughts racing. He recalled what he had seen and heard at the Yong Mansion, where Yong Jin had clearly said that Mu Liqing was connected to the Yong family. Why was his older brother now involved with Mu Liqing? Did Zhou Yan know about Mu Liqing’s ties to the Yong family? If he did not, was Zhou Yan in a very dangerous situation right now? But if Zhou Yan did know, what exactly was his relationship with the Yong family?

Yong Jin hated opium so much. How could he possibly cooperate with Zhou Yan? It did not add up. Zhou Yan had always seemed to oppose Yong Jin. If he was working with the Yong family in secret, did Yong Jin know? Zhou Jun lit a cigarette and took a slow drag, his hands trembling slightly as he tried to piece things together.

Last time, in the room, Yong Jin had told Mu Liqing that the Yong family would protect him. Later, when Zhou Jun discovered the military code in his brother’s room, he realized that even though Zhou Yan repeatedly told him not to associate with Yong Jin, he never truly stopped him. If Zhou Yan had been secretly cooperating with someone from the Yong family, it would likely be the current head of the family, Governor Yong, not Yong Jin. Opium was linked to military operations, and where there was profit, there were always those who sought control. The military, with its vast expenses, would naturally want to regulate such a lucrative trade. Zhou Jun could not deny the logic, yet the thought left him uneasy.

Yong Jin’s crusade against opium suddenly seemed naive, almost futile. Did he realize how little chance he had? Zhou Jun sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. His brother’s involvement with the Yong family, if true, meant Governor Yong likely knew everything about the tangled web of relationships between him and Yong Jin.

He thought back to the cold, calculating man he had seen at the Yong residence, the one who had mercilessly ordered action against Yong Jin even as he bled from his wounds. That had been the breaking point, the moment Yong Jin had decided to end everything between them, walking away without a second glance.

Zhou Jun exhaled slowly, his cigarette burning down to the filter. No matter how much he tried to convince himself to let it go, the threads of this mystery tightened around him, refusing to release their hold.