The stack of cards on the rosewood card table trembled slightly. The jade ring on Old Master Jin’s middle finger gleamed with an oily sheen beneath the chandelier. Unhurriedly, he played a pair of eights. As his sleeve brushed past the deck, a King of Hearts silently slipped into his cuff.
Sitting across from him with one leg crossed over the other, Zhou Ruo An did not even lift his eyelids as he said softly, “Cheating is fine, but your technique needs to be cleaner.” Bending down, he picked up two cards from the floor. “Your sleeve caught the cards on the table.”
Tossing the cards back, the young man narrowed his eyes at the old man and delivered his verdict. “You’re the worst student I’ve ever taught.”
Old Master Jin had weathered countless storms throughout his life and had long forgotten what embarrassment felt like. Throwing down his cards, he gave up entirely. “So what? It’s not like you can expel me.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Zhou Ruo An humored him. “You’re my final disciple.”
He glanced at his watch.
“It’s time for your medicine.”
Getting to his feet, he slowly walked into the kitchen. Zhou Ruo An stood quietly before the stove, his eyes fixed on the medicinal brew simmering inside the clay pot. The thick, ink-dark liquid bubbled with deep brown blisters that swelled, struggled, expanded little by little, then suddenly burst apart, splattering scalding drops of medicine across the stovetop and leaving behind mottled stains. The process of creation and destruction lasted only a moment, much like the countless unpredictable turns of fate in this world.
Another two coughs came from the living room. Snapping out of his daze, Zhou Ruo An strained the medicine, removed the dregs, poured it into a bowl, and carefully carried it over to Old Master Jin.
The fragrance of medicine filled the air. The old man and the young man stared at the thick medicinal soup in silence for a long while.
In the end, Zhou Ruo An was the first to break the silence.
“One bowl of medicine, half a bowl of poison. I never imagined Zhou Ran Ming could be this vicious.”
Old Master Jin casually picked up a joker from the table and placed it on top of the little joker.
“Looks like, all these years, I’ve always been a stumbling block in his eyes.”
The old, withered hand lifted the bowl and slowly poured the medicine into the flowerpot beside him.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Can you play the role of a senile old man?” Zhou Ruo An asked with a smile.
Old Master Jin slammed the empty bowl onto the tea table.
“When I was in school, the drama club put on Thunderstorm. I played Zhou Pu Yuan and performed the role eighteen times.”
One brow rose slightly.
“My apologies for underestimating you.”
Then he slid a gold-embossed power-of-attorney document across the table toward the old man.
“The paperwork is ready. Are you really going to sign it?”
Old Master Jin picked up a pen and signed his name at the bottom of the document.
Amid the scratching sound of the pen moving across the paper, Zhou Ruo An suddenly pressed down on the final stroke of the character Hui before it could be completed.
“Are you really not afraid that I’m working together with Zhou Ran Ming to deceive you?”
The old man brushed away Zhou Ruo An’s hand, finished the final stroke, capped the pen, and carefully set it aside.
“Do you remember something you once said to me?”
Imitating Zhou Ruo An’s lazy tone, the old man said,
“You’re already this old. If you’re not going to go crazy now, then when will you?”
Slowly leaning his hunched back against the velvet chair, he resumed his normal voice. The faint rasp of phlegm in his throat somehow carried calm composure.
“I’ve spent my entire life pursuing stability. Now that I’m old, I want to try something unpredictable for once. I know how to judge people, so I trust you. As for where all of this will eventually lead, none of us can guarantee that.”
Perhaps because he had spoken too much, Old Master Jin began coughing quietly. Zhou Ruo An quickly handed him a cup of warm tea.
After drinking half a cup and calming the cough, the old man grew tired.
Zhou Ruo An placed the signed authorization document into his briefcase. Lowering his eyes, he noticed that the remaining half-cup of tea on the table had gradually cooled. Picking it up, he looked into the bottom of the cup. The tea was clear, with nothing floating inside. Zhou Ran Ming had been right after all. The pill dissolved instantly in water. One cup of tea, half a cup of poison.
Watching the old man’s heavy figure disappear into the bedroom, Zhou Ruo An poured the tea into the same flowerpot.
Then he lightly pressed the fountain pen clipped inside his breast pocket and ended the recording.
…
A fork tapped lightly against a wineglass, and the crisp, lingering sound instantly cut through the noise of the banquet.
At the dinner party, Zhou Ran Ming, the man at the helm of Shengkai, slowly rose to his feet and addressed the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Shengkai Foreign Trade has spent decades cultivating its expertise in the import and export of electronic software, overcoming countless obstacles and achieving remarkable success. However, if a company wishes to thrive over the long term, it cannot rely upon a single business model forever. Over the years, I have constantly searched for new industries with greater potential, industries that could help us stand out amid fierce market competition.”
“Unfortunately, deeply entrenched conservative ideas within the company became invisible shackles that prevented new concepts from taking root. Many of my bold and innovative plans were shelved.” At this point, Zhou Ran Ming paused briefly, a trace of regret flashing through his eyes.
“But fate often turns when least expected. Everything changed when I met him—Zhou Ruo An, my nephew.” His tone instantly became lighter and more proud. Turning toward Zhou Ruo An, he looked at him with obvious approval. “This young man is talented and ambitious. He possesses extraordinary courage and refuses to be bound by conventional thinking. He always seems able to grasp the pulse of the times and make the right decisions for the future.”
“This time, during the crucial board vote concerning the ski resort project, Ruo An cast the decisive vote on behalf of the highly respected Old Master Jin. That single vote was like the first light of dawn, opening the door to an entirely new field for Shengkai Foreign Trade and allowing us to take the first step toward a historic milestone.”
This was the first time Zhou Ran Ming—and the Zhou family—had formally introduced Zhou Ruo An to the outside world.
Introducing the illegitimate son whose existence was hardly a source of pride.
As Zhou Ran Ming finished speaking, warm applause erupted throughout the banquet hall.
Under the focus of countless eyes, Zhou Ruo An slowly rose to his feet. Standing tall with a humble smile, he raised his wineglass.
His voice was bright and firm.
“To Shengkai—to all of us!”
…
In the private reception room connected to the banquet hall, traces of the lively celebration outside still filtered faintly through the thick soundproof doors.
Zhou Ran Ming sat comfortably on a soft leather sofa. Beside him rested the half-finished glass of red wine he had casually brought from the banquet hall. Raising a hand, he summoned his secretary and quietly gave a few instructions. Not long afterward, the secretary returned carrying an exquisite gift box and respectfully placed it beside Zhou Ruo An.
“I finally managed to win this at an auction last month. Take it and give it to your girlfriend. You have to be generous with young ladies.” Zhou Ran Ming wore the concerned smile of an elder. “Shanshan keeps coming to me and complaining that you’re too cold toward her.”
Pulling at the corner of his mouth, Zhou Ruo An produced a perfectly appropriate smile. Politely accepting the gift, he thanked him before replying at an unhurried pace.
“If she only wanted to be my girlfriend, I’d happily spoil her. But right now she’s determined to become my wife. How could I not avoid her a little?”
Zhou Ran Ming raised his eyes. Beneath them lingered a subtle sense of control.
“What? Do you think the woman your uncle introduced isn’t good enough for you?”
Hearing that, Zhou Ruo An immediately put on a flustered expression.
“How could someone introduced by Uncle possibly be beneath me? I was simply thinking that if my future spouse came from a prominent family, it would only strengthen Shengkai and bring us many advantages.”
After considering those words for a moment, Zhou Ran Ming broke into a smile.
“You make a good point, Xiao An. You’re becoming one of the Zhou family’s rising pillars. Making a secretary your wife would indeed be inappropriate. Leave your marriage arrangements to your uncle. I’ll definitely find you a family of equal standing, one that will greatly benefit your future development.”
Suppressing his disgust beneath lowered lashes, Zhou Ruo An raised his wineglass respectfully.
“I’ll leave everything to Uncle’s judgment.”
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Ran Ming’s secretary quietly left the reception room. Once the door closed, only uncle and nephew remained inside.
The atmosphere immediately became somewhat delicate.
Changing the subject, Zhou Ran Ming asked directly,
“How are things progressing on Jin Hui’s side?”
Zhou Ruo An hesitated briefly before replying,
“The old man’s speech and thinking have become noticeably slower lately. He spends most of his day asleep and has little interest in anything. Otherwise, today’s project wouldn’t have advanced so smoothly.”
Reaching across the coffee table between them, Zhou Ran Ming smiled and patted Zhou Ruo An’s shoulder.
“Xiao An, I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you. When it comes to manipulating people, you’re truly talented. You actually told the old man about our plan first, making him believe the two of you were working together against me. Little does he know that the bowl of medicine he poured out was harmless, while the tea you’ve been giving him every day is what’s really turning him into a fool.”
Zhou Ran Ming looked Zhou Ruo An up and down, smiling in a way that was not quite a smile.
“I heard that before returning to the Zhou family, you made a living as a con artist. You really do have some ability. You were born for this sort of work.”
Seeing Zhou Ruo An’s expression tighten, he immediately broke into another smile.
“Your uncle is only joking, Xiao An. Don’t take it to heart.”
Zhou Ruo An smiled as well.
“Why would I mind? Uncle isn’t wrong. I really am a con artist. But someone like me could never accomplish anything significant on my own. It’s all thanks to Uncle’s excellent guidance.”
That single sentence dragged Zhou Ran Ming, who had been deliberately trying to stay out of it, onto the pirate ship as well.
The man whose temples were beginning to turn white swallowed the remaining half glass of wine, his expression dark and sinister. “True enough. We’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. If one prospers, both prosper; if one falls, both fall. Xiao An, as long as you keep hold of that authorization letter, then Shengkai will belong to the two of us—uncle and nephew.”
Zhou Ruo An rose and walked to the small bar inside the private room, picking up a bottle of decanted red wine before returning to refill Zhou Ran Ming’s glass. Amid the aroma of wine, he said slowly, “Uncle keeps saying that we’re united as one, but the deed to the land for the ski resort project is still firmly in your hands. I’m the person in charge of the project, yet every time I need it for project procedures, I have to come to you and submit a request. It’s quite troublesome. People outside are already gossiping, saying it’s because Uncle doesn’t trust me.”
Zhou Ran Ming lifted his eyes and looked at the young man standing before him with a slight bend at the waist. After considering the matter for a moment, he said, “Then transfer the deed to the new project division for safekeeping. However, the parent company sends people every month to inspect the company’s assets. That’s company policy, and it can’t be ignored.”
Zhou Ruo An grinned, once again displaying the arrogant confidence of a young man flushed with success. “Naturally.” He raised his wineglass and lightly clinked it against Zhou Ran Ming’s. Smiling, he added, “Uncle really does dote on me.”
…
Ten hours later, that same land deed was lying on the table in front of Jiao Chen and Wang Zhi Ping.
Zhou Ruo An tapped the coordinates of the three thousand mu of wasteland on the outskirts of the city with his index finger and said, “Using this land as collateral should be more than enough to demonstrate both my sincerity and Lin Yi’s. I believe it also proves that what Lin Yi said is true—this isn’t a trap. We all want the same thing.”
“To kill Bai Jiu.”
Next
Futile Devices Scans 
Leave a comment