After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 116 Li Yubai's Scars Reappear

After dinner, Ning Yunzhan and Jiang Shu continued to review various typical real estate analysis materials.

I stayed up until 2 a.m.

During this time, the assistant went in once to deliver hot milk, once to deliver a late-night snack, and once to deliver a fruit platter—to be precise, it was seven or eight kinds of fresh fruit, which the chairman himself arranged. The assistant even saw him remove the strawberry and watermelon seeds one by one, showing a level of care that even surpassed that of design drawings.

But if you're talking about deep love...

The chairman's gaze towards the girl was clear and innocent, without the slightest hint of ambiguity.

But if one didn't love someone, how could one go to such lengths?
Completely baffled, the assistant inexplicably delivered another fish tank at 2 AM. Then, his boss finally let him off the hook:

"It's late, you should go and get some rest. I'll bring you breakfast at seven tomorrow morning. I'll send the breakfast list to your phone later."

The assistant felt like he had been granted a pardon. After several long hours of hard work, his gossipy nature had long been worn down by exhaustion. He simply lay down on the beanbag chair in the secretary's office and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The last bit of breath I had left was swallowed back down after seeing the long list of breakfast options.

In the chairman's office.

The lights in the main hall finally went out, and the lights in the lounge came on.

"It's really strange." Jiang Shu looked at Ning Yunzhan's radiant face. "Li Yubai and you both seem to be able to stay up late. You stay up with me until the wee hours and you're still refreshed, unlike Yan Yu and the others, whose eyes are bloodshot and who walk unsteadily."

“I’ve always been in good health,” Ning Yunzhan said softly. “Does our patron still remember the contract signed in Xinghua Village? I’d like to honor it tonight.”

"You mean... sleeping with someone?" Jiang Shu paused for a moment.

Ning Yunzhan gave a soft "hmm".

Jiang Shu was a little resigned: "Although it's a bit strange to sleep hugging a fish tank, oh well, what can I do when I can't handle you little drama queens!"

"Is your sugar daddy watching another melodramatic soap opera lately?" Ning Yunzhan coughed lightly. "Don't use the term 'little drama queen' carelessly."

"Let's put it in the fish tank," Jiang Shu reminded her. "Remember not to sway too much in the water, or you'll wet the bed."

As a result, Ning Yunzhan stayed in the fish tank without daring to move, while Jiang Shu, who had a terrible sleeping posture, kicked the fish tank over.

While hurriedly getting out of the damp bed, she accidentally stepped on the platinum arowana that had fallen off the bed.

The oxygen-deprived platinum arowana bounced a few times on the ground...

Jiang Shu guiltily picked up the fish: "...You, with so many things to choose from, why did you have to pick fish? I really didn't mean to."

Then she looked at the large, water-soaked bed and sighed softly, "Actually, I don't feel sleepy even if I don't sleep—the moonlight outside the window is so beautiful. Why don't we admire the moon until dawn tonight?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the capital, Li Yubai was also admiring the moon.

Riverside villas.

This time, Li Yubai did not go to the secret room, but sat on the rooftop terrace, gazing at the moonlight over the mountains with gentle eyes.

Behind him, Uncle Fu chatted casually while preparing the medicine: "Sir, your face has been adjusted several times, and now you look no different from a twenty-one or twenty-two-year-old man. After four or five more adjustments, you can appear with your original appearance."

Li Yubai: "Mm."

Uncle Fu sighed, "At that time, I wonder how many socialites in the capital will go crazy for you. I remember when you first appeared in public as Li Yubai, you were truly famous throughout the capital! Many of the socialites in the capital who saw you back then are still not over it even after twelve years."

Li Yubai said softly, "It's nothing but superficial looks."

Uncle Fu shook his head and chuckled: "Sir, you say it's superficial, but after following you for so many years, you didn't care before, but starting nineteen years ago, you became particularly concerned about this appearance..."

"There's no way around it. Although it's superficial, it's a powerful weapon for those who are obsessed with male beauty," Li Yubai joked.

Uncle Fu smiled and said, "Then I wish you great success, sir."

Then, he dipped a cotton ball in the medicinal paste and used it to lift Li Yubai's clothes from behind: "This old servant will repair the scars on your back for the last time today, sir."

Li Yu's eyelids drooped slightly: "Can you guarantee that there won't be any trace left?"

"Yes, it's possible. When I treated it for you last time, there was only a very faint trace left. After this time, there won't be any trace left."

As Fu Bo spoke, he shakily lifted Li Yubai's clothes to the top, his cloudy eyes looking at the X-shaped scar on his back.

Immediately afterwards, his expression changed slightly.

His hand trembled slightly as he took the medicine, and he couldn't utter a single word!

Li Yubai keenly sensed that something was wrong: "What's wrong?"

Uncle Fu opened his mouth, his voice a little dry: "Sir, your scar has reappeared."

Li Yubai suddenly fell silent.

Uncle Fu brought over two mirrors. Using the principle of reflection, Li Yubai looked at the X-shaped scar on his back, which was clearly the same as it had been a few months ago, and closed his eyes slightly.

Uncle Fu was somewhat alarmed: "This old servant has been in this business for decades, and this is the first time I've encountered such a strange scar. It was almost gone when I saw it last time, but this..."

"It's not your fault." Li Yubai slowly put down his clothes. "You can go now. I need to be alone for a while."

Uncle Fu retreated in shame.

Li Yubai gently stroked the ring on his ring finger, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his delusions.

Is it ultimately impossible to eradicate...?

“This scar…” he murmured, “makes every day I spend with you feel like stolen time…”

That pale face gradually revealed a profound sense of fragility...

The next day.

The Chairman's Office of Yunduan Group.

While her assistant delivered a pile of breakfasts on time, Jiang Shu was already preparing her artwork.

"Don't go yet, come here." Ning Yunzhan was making the bed and folding the blankets when he beckoned to his assistant.

The assistant, not daring to look away, stood nervously at the door of the lounge: "Chairman, is there anything else you need?"

"Get rid of the sheets." Ning Yunzhan casually stuffed a pile of sheets into his arms. "Go arrange for a new set of bedding to be delivered."

The assistant, feeling dizzy, carried the bed sheet out the door. As she walked towards the trash can, she glanced down casually...

Holy crap! That's incredible! The chairman last night... cough cough! Such a refined person, so crazy?
Lobby on the first floor of the Cloud Headquarters.

At nine o'clock in the morning, company employees started to clock in one after another.

The receptionist was compiling the day's guest list when a wealthy woman dressed in jewels walked in with a cold expression.

The receptionist's expression changed drastically: "Madam, what brings you here?"

"I heard Yun Zhan is back?"

The receptionist paused for a moment: "Yes, I just arrived last night and worked half the night. I'm busy again this morning! If you'd like to see me, Madam, why don't you have a cup of tea in the lounge first? I'll let you know as soon as the chairman is done."

The wealthy woman sneered, "When did I need to wait in line like ordinary customers just to see my son?" "Madam, please don't misunderstand." The receptionist's face turned pale. "The chairman is really busy. His secretary's office issued a notice early this morning that no matter how important the matter is, it cannot be brought to the chairman's attention."

The wealthy woman's eyes turned cold as she raised an eyebrow: "I heard he brought a girl back yesterday?"

The receptionist was inwardly cursing: "I...I don't know either..."

"Is he with that girl now?"

The receptionist forced a smile: "We lower-level employees dare not inquire about matters concerning the chairman's floor."

"He's turned down all work and spends all his time with one woman. I want to see what kind of vixen has bewitched my son into this state!"

After the lady finished speaking, she ignored the group of security guards who wanted to stop her but dared not, and forcefully pushed her way to the elevator entrance and entered the chairman's private elevator.

The receptionist frantically dialed the landline in the secretary's office on the 52nd floor: "Madam, Madam, she's gone up to see the chairman!"

52th floor.

Jiang Shu has already started painting.

Ning Yunzhan walked to Jiang Shu's side and leaned over from behind to look at her painting: "It seems that my patron is still a bit lacking in the art of painting."

“Aside from drawing posters, I’ve never held a paintbrush in my life.” Jiang Shu pointed to the drawing with frustration. “You asked me to draw my dream house, and after thinking about it in my mind for a long time, I realized that the easiest thing to draw is a grave cave…”

Ning Yunzhan sighed helplessly: "My sugar daddy is definitely the Waterloo of my teaching career."

Then, he took Jiang Shu's hand and guided her to write on the new paper: "Feel carefully the pressure I'm using to guide your grip on the pen, and the strokes of these lines..."

The assistant pushed open the door and entered, only to be greeted by this heartwarming scene.

The chairman of the company gently placed his hand on the back of the girl's hand and guided her to sketch on the paper little by little.

Sunlight streamed in slanted in, and the chairman's eyes, out of the girl's sight, gazed intently at her profile, his gaze slightly unfocused...

However, that moment of confusion lasted only a moment.

The next moment, he looked at his assistant with his usual indifference: "Is there something you need?"

The assistant hurriedly said, "Madam has forced her way in."

Ning Yunzhan's expression was slightly cold.

"Madam?" Jiang Shu asked curiously.

“My mom,” Ning Yunzhan sighed softly, “is a bit difficult to get along with. I’ll introduce you to her later. You continue drawing, I’ll go out and deal with her.”

At the elevator entrance, Ning's mother stormed out of the elevator and strode toward the chairman's office.

Ning Yunzhan gently reached out and closed the door, then stood in the doorway and nodded politely: "Mom, what brings you here?"

"Why can't I come?" Ning's mother said sarcastically. "You haven't bothered to come home for months. If I don't come, have you forgotten that you even have a mother like me?"

Ning Yunzhan was silent for a moment: "I send you money every month."

"Do I need your few coins?" Ning's mother said with a gloomy face. "We rarely see him, and even when we do, he seems to be aloof from us. If you didn't know better, you'd think we weren't mother and son, but enemies!"

Ning Yunzhan: "I will try to spend more time going home in the future."

"We'll talk about the future later!" Ning's mother pointed to the door. "Open the door, let me see what kind of vixen is hiding inside."

Ning Yunzhan's eyes turned cold: "Mom, that's my friend, not one of those women outside who you can smear at will."

"Friends? I heard you two even sleep together at night?" Ning's mother sneered. "I can't control how many women you keep outside, but this is Yunduan Group! This is the Ning family's legitimate workplace! You can play around if you want, but are you bringing them back to cause chaos in the family?"

Ning Yunzhan looked at his mother with deep eyes: "Yun Duan was founded by me and does not belong to the Ning family. Moreover, the Ning family is now supported by me, and my private life is none of anyone's business."

"Yes! You've made something of yourself! You're now the pride of the entire Ning family!" Mother Ning's eyes reddened with anger. "But you're not close to us anymore!"

Ning Yunzhan turned his head slightly, avoiding eye contact with his mother.

Ning's mother clutched her chest, her tone sarcastic, "Many times, I really wish you were still that spoiled brat from years ago, the one who fought and was so badly behaved, yet could still cuddle in my arms every day..."

Ning Yunzhan said softly, "Mom, everyone has to grow up. If you're so worried about losing her, why don't you and Dad have another one?"

"You're just trying to provoke me!" Mother Ning was so angry her heart ached. "I don't care, I have to see that vixen today! Open the door right now!"

Ning Yunzhan, expressionless, instructed his assistant, "Call security up here."

"You bastard! How dare you have security kick me out!" Ning's mother was so angry she jumped up and down!
“Mom, I can be a loving mother and a filial son,” Ning Yunzhan said, emphasizing each word. “On the condition that you don’t try to interfere in my private life.”

"You're just going to protect that little bitch!" Ning's mother said with a dark face. "Don't forget, you have a fiancée! In a month, it's the day our two families are supposed to discuss the marriage! The other party is from a prestigious family in the capital. No matter how much of a playboy you are, you still have to give me the respect I deserve! If you ruin this marriage, I will disown you as my son!"

"Regarding the marriage alliance," Ning Yunzhan sighed softly, "I have never agreed to it. If Mother insists on doing so, I will have the legal department draft a separation agreement."

Ning's mother staggered a couple of times: "A severance agreement? How could I have given birth to such a cold-blooded and heartless son! Listen to me carefully, we'll discuss this in a month. If you don't go, I'll hang myself in your Cloud Hall!"

After saying that, he pushed aside the security guard who rushed over and left with a grim expression.

Ning Yunzhan stood there, watching his mother's back, lost in thought.

The assistant asked nervously, "Should I go and pick out a gift for Madam to appease her anger?"

"No need," Ning Yunzhan said calmly. "Strengthen security. From now on, unless there is an appointment, even my parents cannot disturb me."

"……Yes."

Back in the office, Jiang Shu had finished a painting and was fiddling with an architectural model.

Seeing that Ning Yunzhan seemed completely unaffected, she raised an eyebrow: "You and your mother don't seem to have a very good relationship?"

"It's just a difference in perspectives, we're not really close," Ning Yunzhan explained gently. "We usually get along quite peacefully."

Although there was a door between them, Jiang Shu's hearing must have been quite good, and she had overheard most of the conversation outside.

She asked curiously, "You have a fiancée?"

“No.” Ning Yunzhan chuckled. “It was a marriage she arranged without my consent more than ten years ago. I didn’t acknowledge it.”

"Actually, you could go and meet him. My Ning Yunzhan is so wonderful, every girl in the world would want to marry him. Maybe your fiancée is also a fan of yours?"

Ning Yunzhan took the architectural model from her and helped her build it: "Has my sugar daddy forgotten that during the contract period, I can't have affairs with other women? But I'm quite satisfied with how I've been with my sugar daddy these past few months, and I'm even planning to renew the contract for another five or ten years when it expires..."

“Speaking of this, there’s something I don’t understand.” Jiang Shu blinked, somewhat confused. “The spiritual energy space I created is good for healing the body, but it can’t cure emotional illnesses. Yet, these past few months, I’ve clearly felt that your emotions are the most stable among everyone, which doesn’t seem like depression…”

Ning Yunzhan seemed not to have heard her last sentence.

He avoided answering and naturally changed the subject: "This afternoon, shall I take you to see the Beiming Mansion? There are many life-size models of fantastical buildings there, you should like them."

Jiang Shu exclaimed, "I remember that was handed over to the auction house during the last live PK?"

"I did pay for it, but because it's quite valuable, most people can't afford it. The auction association plans to use it as the grand finale item for the year-end auction in the capital, so it's still considered my private property..."

"Okay, let's go take a look."

(End of this chapter)