Every afternoon at three, during the lull when the Japanese restaurant temporarily closed, Fu Chun Shen would push open the door to the café next door.
“Americano. No sugar.”
In the past, he drank hand-brewed Geisha coffee that cost three hundred yuan a pot. Now, even instant coffee that cost a little over ten yuan had to be carefully budgeted, and in the end, he always refilled it with three cups of hot water before considering it finished.
When he returned from the restroom, the bone china cup had already been placed at his old seat by the window. He unfolded the financial newspaper, sipping his coffee in small mouthfuls while reading, when his ears inadvertently caught the murmured conversation from the booth behind him.
Two voices. One of them was very familiar.
A few days ago, that same voice had been sitting cross-legged on the tatami, smiling as it said to him, “Another day, I’ll persuade Ren Yu. If it’s her husband’s debt, she should still help pay it off.”
Zhou Ruo An?
Fu Chun Shen frowned instinctively. The coffee in his mouth suddenly tasted even worse.
Zhou Ruo An’s voice was neither deep nor coarse. Even when saying cruel things, his tone always carried a lazy trace of amusement. But now it sounded cold and sharp as he asked in a low voice, “How is it?”
The café bar was decorated with dark amber mirror fragments. Every jagged shard distorted Zhou Ruo An’s reflection into warped pieces.
Within those fragments, Fu Chun Shen saw another young face seated opposite Zhou Ruo An, wearing a patterned jacket as he slammed a medical report onto the table.
“You’re fine. You didn’t catch anything.”
The man’s voice was low and heavy, some endings dropping so quietly they were nearly impossible to catch.
“The two guys in the park have already been dealt with for you. That thing’s rubbed raw now. They probably won’t ever think about doing this kind of thing again.”
Even through the murky amber reflections, Fu Chun Shen could see the abrupt change in Zhou Ruo An’s expression. He seemed to grit his teeth, enduring some sort of discomfort.
“You came to me because you want revenge on that math teacher?” the deep voice asked again.
“Even Zhou Ran Ming didn’t touch him. How could I possibly move against him?”
“Then what are you trying to do?”
Zhou Ruo An pushed the untouched pastry in front of the man.
“He cares about Fang Fei that much, right? Then let his heart hurt one more time.”
The man glanced at the pastry without touching it. He flipped the report to the next page and pushed it back toward Zhou Ruo An, asking slowly, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll retaliate against you again?”
Zhou Ruo An lowered his eyes to the page.
A sentence had been abruptly scrawled across the medical report:
I’ll handle revenge against Zhang Xu Yao. I’ll take the fall for this. You leave the country. Otherwise, find someone else to act in this play with you.
The handwriting was ugly and rough, the pressure of the pen so heavy it nearly tore through the paper.
It was Lin Yi’s handwriting.
Zhou Ruo An’s expression froze instantly, as though struck hard by a sudden wave of emotion. He steadied himself, reached into his pocket, and slowly pulled out a cigarette. The lighter flickered on and off. After a long silence, he finally moved his dry lips.
“Me?” he said softly. “I’m about to go to America to discuss a project. I don’t know when I’ll come back. The plane ticket’s already booked. Before leaving, I’ll finish this job. Even if he wants revenge, he won’t be able to find me.”
“You’re leaving?”
The man showed slight surprise before quickly returning to calm mockery.
“Makes sense. You’re no longer the Zhou Ruo An who used to trail behind me, surviving on scams and petty tricks. Sitting in front of me now is the glamorous young master of the Zhou family’s third branch, the one who’s acknowledged his ancestry and returned home.”
“If you want me to help you get revenge on Zhang Xu Yao, fine.”
The man pushed aside the untouched pastry and looked across at him.
“But if you’re giving benefits, make them practical. The money you gave me last time is already gone.”
Holding his cigarette, Zhou Ruo An laughed self-mockingly.
“You know my situation better than anyone. On the surface, things look decent enough, but Zhou Ran Ming controls all the company accounts. The money and resources I can actually move are very limited.”
Hearing that, the man stood up. Bracing one hand against the table, he lowered himself closer to Zhou Ruo An.
“I do know your background best. You’re just a counterfeit replacement after all.”
He let out a soft scoff.
“No wonder Young Master Zhou still needs an old friend like me to help him. Turns out nobody else is willing to help you.”
The beautifully decorated macaron cake was crushed apart beneath his fork.
“No money? Then there’s nothing left to discuss.”
Throwing down the fork, the man turned and pushed open the café door.
⸻
After Lin Yi left, Zhou Ruo An sat alone for a long while, his gaze fixed on the second page of the medical report.
His long fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the paper. His eyes were dark and deep, lingering motionlessly on those crooked ugly words for a very long time…
The coffee beside his hand had already gone cold when Zhou Ruo An finally came back to himself. He put away the report and was just about to stand when the chair across from him was suddenly pulled out.
Fu Chun Shen sat down, tapping the table with his index finger.
“Give me back my phone.”
He still wore that cold, dead-faced expression, his tone calm and unquestionable.
Zhou Ruo An froze briefly before smiling without revealing anything.
“What a coincidence. Secretary Fu’s here too.”
“My phone.”
Zhou Ruo An feigned surprise.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Fu Chun Shen’s gaze shot straight toward him, without the slightest detour, cleanly tearing away Zhou Ruo An’s façade.
“You staged this entire performance to test me? You deliberately exposed your identity, but were afraid I’d secretly record evidence, so you had my phone stolen beforehand?”
His eyes swept toward the corridor leading to the restroom.
“Fifteen minutes ago, someone in a hoodie bumped into me in the restroom. I assume that’s when my phone was stolen.”
Zhou Ruo An clicked his tongue and laughed.
“As expected, nothing can be hidden from Secretary Fu.”
He picked up his own phone and dialed a number.
A few minutes later, Lin Yi pushed open the café door and wandered back in along the same route he had left. Resting in his black-gloved palm was a silver phone.
Zhou Ruo An pushed the phone toward Fu Chun Shen.
“Since Secretary Fu chose to sit across from me now, that’s enough to prove you had no intention of secretly informing anyone. You and Zhou Zhe are no longer connected.”
“So why not come work for me? Give Ren Yu a hand. He’s so busy these days he’s losing his mind.”
The frivolous-looking man leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice teasingly.
“That way the two of you can see each other every day. Working while dating. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Fu Chun Shen’s brow twitched faintly. Instead of responding, he called over the waiter.
“One Blue Mountain.”
Then he pointed at Zhou Ruo An.
“He’s paying.”
Only after that did he ruthlessly refuse.
“I’m not doing it. Your odds of winning are too low. No matter how well you do or how high you climb, the moment your identity is exposed, it’s game over. One of us is already trapped in this mess. There’s no need for both of us to be buried alongside you.”
Zhou Ruo An nodded in acknowledgment.
“That’s fair.”
Then he smoothly changed direction.
“But Secretary Fu has always claimed to act openly and honestly, yet you haven’t exactly lived up to that yourself. How about I tell Ren Yu your real identity?”
Slowly leaning back into his chair, he left the next words to Lin Yi.
Lin Yi dragged over the macaron cake that had just been destroyed with a fork. Without much elegance, he speared a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. His voice slid lazily out between the sweetness.
“Fu Chun Shen. Second young master of Dingsheng Group. The Fu family’s roots are in Guangdong and Guangxi. They’re involved in the medical and healthcare industry and have invested in numerous medical institutions. Their performance has always ranked at the top of the industry.”
The moment he finished speaking, the coffee Fu Chun Shen had ordered arrived.
Zhou Ruo An smiled.
“Young Master Fu doesn’t need to pretend to be poor in front of me. It’s enough to fool Ren Yu.”
Fu Chun Shen took a sip of coffee. The slight irritation and embarrassment of having his identity exposed dissolved into the rich flavor on his tongue.
Setting down the cup, he said, “Right now, the balance in my account is 42,372.6 yuan. The consequence of refusing to take over the family business is paying monthly support fees to parents worth hundreds of millions. That amount was nearly my entire monthly salary before. Now I’m unemployed, blacklisted from the industry, and unwilling to leave this city. My savings won’t last much longer.”
Zhou Ruo An laughed in disbelief.
“So if you can’t afford the support payments, you have to crawl back home and inherit the family fortune?”
Fu Chun Shen didn’t answer. He only silently took another sip of coffee, which counted as confirmation.
Zhou Ruo An cursed softly and turned to Lin Yi with a grin.
“Feel like beating him up?”
Lin Yi crushed the last macaron with his fork and said only one word.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s do this,” Zhou Ruo An said, returning to the main topic. “I’ll lend you money and keep your secret for you. You don’t even have to help me with anything.”
Fu Chun Shen shook his head slightly.
“I can’t accept rewards without merit.”
Zhou Ruo An continued, “If one day I really fall from grace and end up in prison for fraud, all I ask is that you say a few good words for me in front of Ren Yu. Since he followed me once, I don’t want him thinking I was nothing more than a worthless fraud.”
Fu Chun Shen paused for a moment. After considering it, he slowly replied with a single “Okay.”
Then he added:
“Then you’ll have to lend me a little more money.”
Next
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment