After driving into the apartment building’s underground parking garage, Zhou Ruo An parked, turned off the engine, rolled down the window, and lit a cigarette.
Resting his wrist on the window frame, he let the cigarette hang between his fingers. Smoke drifted upward, gradually obscuring the exhausted, lonely face reflected in the rearview mirror.
Suddenly, faint footsteps echoed nearby. A moment later, someone knocked on the opposite window. A tall figure bent down to look inside the car, then opened the passenger door and sat down.
“Fu Chun Shen?” Zhou Ruo An asked in mild surprise. Holding the cigarette between his lips, he said casually, “So, you’re out of detention already?”
Fu Chun Shen looked perfectly composed, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. “I was never detained. I just received a formal warning.” As he spoke, he calmly pulled a photograph from his pocket and handed it over. “You can destroy the evidence now.”
Zhou Ruo An accepted the photograph instinctively. Looking down, he saw the faded image of the teenage Zhang Jin eating a sweet potato. It was the very photograph that Shi Rui Yu had supposedly lost—the crucial piece of evidence.
“You took the photograph?” Zhou Ruo An asked.
“Gao Fan’s grandmother was admitted to the highest-tier care ward in one of my family’s hospitals a few days ago.”
One sentence was enough. The explanation spoke for itself.
Zhou Ruo An asked no further questions. Carefully, he slipped the photograph into his pocket. Then he removed the cigarette from his lips and said, “Even though I know you didn’t do this for me, I owe you one. Thanks.”
Fu Chun Shen’s gaze lingered on Zhou Ruo An’s face for a moment. “But from the looks of it, you still lost, didn’t you?”
Exhaling smoke, Zhou Ruo An laughed softly. “Is it really that obvious? You figured it out at a glance?”
Fu Chun Shen answered bluntly. “Your entire face says, ‘I’m finished.’”
Zhou Ruo An laughed and cursed. “You’re not wrong.” His tone was full of helplessness. “You know as well as I do that your former boss’s mind works like a scorpion hiding in the shadows, constantly plotting how to ruin me. Losing Zhang Jin’s photograph only kept him from killing me on the spot today. My execution date has merely been postponed for a few days.”
After a brief silence, Fu Chun Shen asked, “Then what about Ren Yu…?”
Zhou Ruo An waved his cigarette casually. “Even if I’m completely finished, he won’t be dragged down with me. He doesn’t know I’m a fake. All this time, he’s simply been doing the job of an assistant.”
“He works very hard,” Fu Chun Shen said. “If he ends up with nothing to show for it, he’ll be upset.”
Turning his gaze toward the empty parking garage, Zhou Ruo An replied calmly, “I’ve always made sure he understood every aspect of Jinggui Electronics. With his current knowledge of the company and the industry, he’s more than qualified to be a general manager, let alone an executive assistant. Don’t worry. If I fall, whoever takes control of Jinggui Electronics will have to rely on him. He’ll shine sooner or later.”
Apparently satisfied with the answer, Fu Chun Shen offered not a single word of comfort. He simply pushed open the car door and prepared to leave.
Zhou Ruo An, however, had more to say. His voice drifted over from behind. “Stop bothering Ren Yu. The two of you are impossible.”
Fu Chun Shen paused halfway out of the car. Then he sat back down and turned toward Zhou Ruo An.
“Ren Yu and I are dating now. He likes me quite a bit.”
Zhou Ruo An frowned around his cigarette, skepticism written all over his face.
“How exactly did you come to the conclusion that Ren Yu likes you?”
Fu Chun Shen answered seriously. “Every time I go to greet him, he opens the door for me, even when he clearly doesn’t want to.”
Seeing Zhou Ruo An’s expression, Secretary Fu added another point.
“When we first met, he always opened the door fully dressed and impeccably groomed. Now he opens the door wearing loungewear. That proves our relationship has become more intimate.”
Zhou Ruo An stared at him as though looking at an idiot.
“You really graduated from Columbia University?”
Fu Chun Shen clearly had no interest in answering such a meaningless question.
So Zhou Ruo An asked another.
“Then tell me. What does Ren Yu do after opening the door in his loungewear?”
The man in the passenger seat paused. After a long moment, he answered:
“He curses at me.”
Turning his face away, he added quietly:
“That’s his way of expressing affection.”
Standing with one foot already at the gates of hell, Zhou Ruo An had not expected someone could still make him laugh.
Shaking his head, he sighed.
“Ren Yu really has terrible luck to get picked by you.”
As he spoke, he reached into the storage compartment and pulled out a book. It was the same book Elder Jin had previously given Lin Yi: How Teenagers Can Develop Healthy Romantic Values.
A few days ago, after Lin Yi had behaved like an animal and the two of them had completely fallen out, Zhou Ruo An had taken the book with him when he left Lin Yi’s apartment.
Now, running a long finger down the table of contents, he found the chapter titled How to Properly Express Affection, flipped to the correct page, and read aloud:
“The best way to pursue someone is to create shared happy memories.”
After reading it, Zhou Ruo An looked up at Fu Chun Shen.
“You should talk more with Ren Yu about the wonderful memories you shared in high school.”
Fu Chun Shen said nothing.
Zhou Ruo An smirked.
“You don’t have any, do you?”
He flipped another page and continued reading.
“You can strengthen your relationship through mutual friends.”
Fu Chun Shen turned his gaze back toward the car window.
“I don’t have any.”
“You two don’t have any mutual friends?”
Fu Chun Shen corrected him.
“I don’t have any friends.”
Zhou Ruo An froze for a second before laughing.
“You didn’t have a single friend in high school?” Then he answered his own question. “Actually, that’s not surprising when it comes to Secretary Fu. The real mystery is what Ren Yu ever did to deserve being targeted by an intermittently functioning paramecium.”
While Zhou Ruo An continued insulting him, Fu Chun Shen appeared not to hear a word. His eyes remained fixed on the book in Zhou Ruo An’s hands.
“Gao Fan’s grandmother’s medical expenses at our hospital are very high,” he suddenly said.
Zhou Ruo An clicked his tongue and immediately held the book out toward him.
“Take it. Take it.”
A few days later, they were once again in that study filled with the lingering fragrance of tea.
Standing before the desk, Zhou Ruo An felt his fingertips growing cold while a thin layer of sweat formed in his palms.
Moments earlier, Zhou Ran Ming had smashed a teacup.
Beside the winding trail of spilled tea across the desk lay a DNA test report.
“Zhou Ruo An, you’ve got some nerve.”
A broad palm slammed onto the desk, making the fountain pen bounce slightly. He suddenly leaned forward, and Zhou Ruo An’s pale face was reflected in the lenses of his reading glasses.
“You dared to pass off an imitation of the Zhou family bloodline as the real thing and walk right into this family? You’ve become utterly lawless. You even dared to deceive me.”
Zhou Ruo An’s gaze slowly dropped to the report lying on the desk. The words printed on it came into focus:
The alleles of Zhou Jing Tao and Zhou Ruo An do not conform to the laws of inheritance. A biological father-son relationship between Zhou Jing Tao and Zhou Ruo An is excluded.
“Fraud.”
Zhou Ran Ming’s voice suddenly rose, making Zhou Ruo An’s ears ring.
“You impersonated a member of the Zhou family, infiltrated this family, and deceived everyone. That is fraud. The Zhou family will never tolerate such behavior. I will report this to the police and have it handled severely.”
The taut string of Zhou Ruo An’s nerves had already been stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment. Countless thoughts and strategies roared through his mind, yet none of them offered a path to survival.
Then Zhou Ran Ming’s next words left him completely stunned.
“However…”
The graying man suddenly straightened. The hem of his suit brushed the edge of the desk, picking up a stain from the spilled tea.
“Before that, I’d like you to take a look at this.”
He pulled out another DNA report from the drawer and placed it beside the first one.
98.73% probability of paternity. The results support a biological father-son relationship between Zhou Jing Tao and Zhou Ruo An.
Only when he heard heavy breathing did Zhou Ruo An realize the sound was coming from himself. He clenched his hands tightly, yet could not stop his fingers from trembling.
The two contradictory reports had both been stained by tea, like two venomous snakes tearing at each other. No one could tell which would emerge victorious. The entire scene was chaotic and grotesque.
Slowly, Zhou Ruo An raised his eyes toward Zhou Ran Ming.
At last, he found his voice.
“Uncle… what exactly do you mean by this?”
“Xiao An, the truth is, I don’t care what your real identity is.”
Zhou Ran Ming suddenly changed his tone. Sitting down slowly, he tapped the desk lightly with his fingers.
“Whose son you are, whether or not you’re my nephew—it doesn’t matter to me.”
He pushed the two tainted reports toward Zhou Ruo An.
“Whichever one of these reports I choose to present, your father and Zhou Zhe will have no choice but to accept it. If I say you’re a member of the Zhou family, then you will remain a member of this family forever.”
When all roads had seemed blocked, a path to survival suddenly appeared.
Yet Zhou Ruo An felt no relief whatsoever.
After a long silence, he finally asked:
“What do you need me to do?”
Zhou Ran Ming suddenly smiled.
“I heard Elder Jin’s health has been getting better and better lately. He even goes to the community center every day to play cards.”
Tea flowed into a cup, producing a soft clinking sound.
His words drifted through the rising steam, but the chill within them was unmistakable.
“I don’t want him to be that healthy.”
The unfinished sentence struck Zhou Ruo An like an ice pick driven straight through his spine.
His brows furrowed instantly.
“Jin Hui holds a significant amount of Shengkai Foreign Trade’s shares. There are also quite a few old men on the board who blindly follow his lead. Because of them, I’m constantly forced to restrain myself. I can never obtain absolute decision-making authority.”
His eyes settled on Zhou Ruo An.
“You’re close to him. He trusts you. I want you to obtain his authorization for board decisions. Then I want you to use medication to make him senile.”
The teacup crossed over the two reports and came to rest before Zhou Ruo An.
“If you do that, you can firmly secure your position as the Zhou family’s young master. I’ll also make you the head of the Third Branch and allow you to enter the board in your father’s place.”
Zhou Ruo An had expected whatever Zhou Ran Ming asked of him to be difficult.
But he had never imagined he would be ordered to target Elder Jin.
“Chairman,” he said, “that’s a crime.”
The smile thrown back at him was full of contempt.
“A crime? Zhou Ruo An, which one of the things you’ve done has been lawful? Impersonating a member of the Zhou family. Forging an identity. Spending the Zhou family’s money. Do you really think your hands are clean?”
Zhou Ruo An’s throat tightened.
His voice was barely audible.
“I’ve never taken another person’s life.”
Zhou Ran Ming’s smile vanished instantly.
His gaze stabbed directly into Zhou Ruo An.
“Then start now.”
He paused.
“Or do you want to take off the skin of a Zhou family young master?”
Slowly, he rose and walked over.
His eyes traveled up and down Zhou Ruo An’s body.
“A custom-tailored suit. Italian calfskin shoes. A limited-edition Vacheron Constantin watch…” His tone carried a trace of mockery. “Xiao An, are you really willing to give up everything you have now?”
Zhou Ruo An lowered his head and looked at what he was wearing.
He had always thought these were merely luxurious clothes used to maintain appearances.
Only now did he realize they were chains—heavy shackles binding his hands and feet.
“Xiao An, stop being naïve. Do you really think you still have a choice?”
Zhou Ran Ming placed both reports directly in front of him.
“I can make you one of the true rulers of the Zhou family, instead of a fraudster rotting away in prison.”
Opportunity and an abyss were both laid before him.
Yet he could no longer tell which hand of Zhou Ran Ming held which.
“Uncle, I need time to think.”
At last, that was all Zhou Ruo An could say.
Zhou Ran Ming nodded.
His eyes were deep and unreadable.
“Very well. I’ll give you time. But remember—there will only ever be one opportunity to stand beside me and share control of Shengkai.”
Author’s Notes: All right, tomorrow it’s Brother Lin’s turn to make an appearance.
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Futile Devices Scans 
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