Night Rose

Zhou Zheng and his grandfather returned home. As soon as the door closed, his grandfather's expression changed. He pointed to the sofa and said, "Sit over there and have a chat with your grandfather."

Since Zhou Zheng grew up, his maternal grandfather rarely spoke to him in such a stern tone. Zhou Zheng was tall and strong, and his presence was very imposing, but in front of his maternal grandfather, he was just like when he was a child, obediently sitting down and even leaving a seat for his maternal grandfather.

Grandpa didn't sit down; he went to water his flowers and plants first.

During the time he didn't live here, he entrusted the flowers and plants to his neighbors. Every day when the neighbors watered their plants, they would also water his plants. But since he wasn't watering them himself, he didn't put in as much care, and some of the leaves became slightly curled and withered.

Grandpa carefully smoothed out the leaves, sprayed them with water, and watched them regain their vitality before slowly straightening up.

People tend to get dizzy when they squat for too long. He swayed for a moment, and Zhou Zheng rushed over to support him.

Grandpa glared at him. "Sit down!"

"Alright." Zhou Zheng sat back down, keeping his hands and feet together, and stayed put obediently.

"Why were you looking for me everywhere before the competition?" Grandpa stood on the balcony, looking at him from a distance across the coffee table.

Zhou Zheng lowered his head, his expression unreadable. "I..."

"Don't try to fool me! I can tell what you're going to say the moment you open your mouth. Aren't you ashamed to lie to me?"

Zhou Zheng smiled helplessly, "I didn't mean to lie to you, I was just worried because I couldn't get through on the phone."

"Why weren't you this anxious before we got through? I heard you were even planning to withdraw from the competition back then. Is withdrawing from a competition something you can just do so easily? You don't care about the investment so many people have made?"

"If I were in Nanyuan, I would have come straight to you. But I'm not here, and I'm worried because I can't get through on the phone. Even if I have to give up the competition, I'll come back even if it means losing money. After my grandmother passed away, you're my only family member left," Zhou Zheng shouted.

His voice was loud, almost shouting.

Grandpa didn't know what to say to him for a moment. Should he blame him for being too filial?

"Don't bring that up. Did someone say something to you? Your call was so sudden. I still don't quite believe you."

"No one called, so what could they say?" Zhou Zheng lowered his head, then suddenly realized something and looked up sharply at his grandfather. "Grandpa, who contacted you?"

Grandpa turned his head away, "That's not true!"

"Look, you're lying even more obviously than I am. Isn't that Zhou Ruian?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"No, why did he contact me? Is he sick?" Grandpa looked away, refusing to meet Zhou Zheng's gaze.

Zhou Zheng knew what was going on and slowly nodded, "Okay, then it's Zhou Ruian. I'll go find him!"

With that, Zhou Zheng was about to leave.

Zhou Ruian is definitely still in Nanyuan, and Zhou Chengzhuo is in such a terrible state that he still needs to recuperate. Liao Yun is probably with them in Nanyuan.

"Stop! What do you want with him? Do you want to reason with him?" Grandpa said in shock, grabbing his grandson and pulling him back without much effort.

Zhou Zheng looked stubborn, as if he would seize any opportunity to go.

Grandpa knew his grandson too well. He pointed at him and sighed for a long time, but couldn't find a way to deal with him. He then turned around and went to his room to find something.

Zhou Zheng was worried that his grandfather would get tired, so he went to his room to help.

"Just stand there," Grandpa said without turning his head.

Grandpa took a document from a locked drawer in the wardrobe, walked to the door with a huff, and threw it into his arms.

"The things your mother left you weren't originally intended for you, but Zhou Ruian came looking for them, and he was bound to come after you sooner or later. You were originally his son, and the Zhou Group should have been yours! Without you, the youngest son of the Zhou family wouldn't have gotten anything in its entirety!"

Zhou Zheng was confused until he opened the document and stared at the black and white text, and suddenly froze.

This is what his mother left him; it's his bargaining chip for the future.

"I hesitated for a long time before sending it to you on your twentieth birthday. Since Zhou Ruian is still up to his old tricks, it's time to give it to you. You're all grown up now, you're capable of handling things. What's yours is yours, just take it, don't worry about anything else." Grandpa patted his shoulder and went outside to make tea.

"Xiao Zheng, would you like some tea? It's something good that your Uncle Wang gave me."

Zhou Zheng flipped through the documents page by page, his eyes reddening. He clenched his fists so tightly that the papers were crumpled.

He understood his grandfather's words; his grandfather was right.

What's rightfully his should be his!

"Grandpa, I'm not drinking tea anymore, I have something to do." Zhou Zheng walked to the door to put on his shoes.

This time, his grandfather didn't stop him. "Don't worry about what he does; he wouldn't dare."

"understood."

"Also, drive more carefully next time. You damaged Xiao Su's car, and she cried all night while watching over you. Her eyes are all swollen."

Zhou Zheng paused, recalling the dejected figure of Su Jin as she left alone. In Nanyuan, she had no other friends or relatives. After they dispersed, Su Jin was left alone at home, feeling sad.

"Okay, I won't be back tonight."

"It's best if you don't come back, I won't leave the door open for you," Grandpa snorted.

Zhou Zheng arrived at the villa area alone without bringing anything with him.

The villa area requires verification of identity and license plate number. He arrived on a shared electric scooter, and his demeanor certainly didn't seem like that of someone who could afford to live in a villa area.

"Identity?" the security guard asked in a businesslike manner.

Zhou Zheng didn't reply, but instead made a video call to Wu Ting.

Wu Ting was in a meeting with Zhou Ruian at the time. He looked puzzled when he saw the video call. He excused himself to leave for a while and went to the corridor to answer the call. When he saw Zhou Zheng, who had long arms and legs, riding a shared electric scooter, he laughed in exasperation.

"Young Master, what's wrong now?"

"I want to go in and tell him who I am." Zhou Zheng pointed the camera at the bewildered security guard.

The security guard recognized Wu Ting; he was President Zhou's secretary. Who wouldn't recognize him?

"Secretary Wu, hello."

Wu Ting sighed and said, "Hello, please let him in. He's Mr. Zhou's guest."

"Oh, so you're Mr. Zhou's guest! Please come in!"

"Next time he comes, just let him in."

"Okay, okay!"

The phone was handed back to Zhou Zheng, and the security guard's attitude changed completely; he smiled and escorted him inside.

"How about we leave the electric scooter aside for now, and I'll have someone take you inside?"

"No need, I know the way." Zhou Zheng twisted the accelerator, and the shared electric bike disappeared in front of the security guard, leaving only a mess on the ground.

The security guard's expression hardened. He waved away the exhaust fumes in front of him. "What I meant was, sharing isn't allowed in the community!"

A high-end villa area paired with a speeding electric car just lowers the overall class.

Zhou Zheng didn't care about any of that. He drove to the villa, and before he even hung up the phone, he asked Wu Ting, "Is Zhou Ruian home?"

Wu Ting remained silent for a while before slowly speaking.

"I'm in a meeting with President Zhou, young master. Don't tell me anything, I can't take the responsibility."