Forge a path to success.

Chapter 287 A Girl as Soft as Velvet (3)

The following night, the weather was overcast, and it was expected to rain soon.

Chu Hengkong threw his suit jacket onto the bed, recalling the Russians who had fought a life-or-death battle with the old man, and cursed, "I told you, Russians all have some problems with their brains."

“I agree,” Wilbert said wearily.

The Russians—the Ivanenko family—practice secrecy, still playing the blindfolded guide trick in the 21st century. Their patriarch is arrogant, rude, and neurotic, completely unworthy of his Orthodox priest robes, a bald man who shouts at the negotiating table.

Chu Hengkong repeatedly gave the impression that he wanted to shove a pistol into the other man's mouth. To maintain basic order in the negotiations, Vilbert had to repeatedly step on his foot under the table to remind him to control his emotions. But even someone as patient as Vilbert could not bear it any longer at the very end of the negotiations: Ivanrenko brought in a blazing bronze pillar, demanding that both sides brand each other physically to "prove their burning friendship."

In front of everyone, Chu Hengkong smashed that multi-ton contraption into a pile of rubble, then picked up the largest piece and slapped the Russians across the face. Velbert jumped onto the negotiating table and said, "Okay, friendship is proof of strength." Velus stood there; whoever was qualified could come forward.

Only then did the Russians finally back down, and Velbert seized the opportunity to drastically reduce their demands, declaring after the negotiations that the friendship between the two sides would last forever. This farce had wasted most of their day, and they didn't return to Pittsburgh until late at night.

"A bunch of bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. They're just trying to take advantage of you because you're a little girl. They have no shame whatsoever." Chu Hengkong sneered. "Would your father have acted this way? Would they dare make such unreasonable demands of him?"

They certainly wouldn't dare; their father's snake would snap their necks.

“They didn’t do anything wrong; they were just trying to secure benefits for their family,” Wilbert said. “The world has always been a place where the strong prey on the weak. Without you, I wouldn’t even have had the chance to sit at the negotiating table; I would have died long ago at Lucas’s hands.”

Chu Hengkong was flipping through the hotel menu when he heard this and laughed, "Boss, that's no fun. Following this line of thought, you could also say, 'If your dad hadn't died, if your uncle were a good person...' What's the use of saying 'what if' all the time? Just focus on the present, isn't that enough?"

He called himself "boss" again; he seemed to enjoy this kind of flattery, but Violet didn't dislike the boy's tone. He thought he was amusing himself by talking to a child, unaware that this made him inherently inferior. With this connection, she could more subtly influence Chu Hengkong's thinking and slightly control his actions…

These naturally arising thoughts disgusted Wilbert and filled her with deep self-loathing.

“I was just too focused on the present,” she said. “I’m sorry. You saved my life, but all I could think about was how to take advantage of you.”

Chu Hengkong looked at her with great interest.

"You paid a high price to hire me to work, shouldn't you be thinking about how to make the best use of me?"

"People are not props."

“Vilbert, you can’t do this. You’re a wealthy head of the family now, how can you still be so kind?” Chu Hengkong urged her vigorously, “You should be like those Russians—greedy, ruthless, tyrannical, and shrewd, so that they tremble at the mere mention of your name, so that they fear and dread you!”

Wilbert waited quietly for his impromptu speech to end, then said, "Yesterday someone wanted me to be a lively, pretty, and lovely young girl."

Chu Hengkong was speechless.

"You can't take every word a man says seriously..." he tried to brush it off.

"So you're actually a frivolous man who just talks for show and doesn't take any of your words seriously," Wilbert pressed on.

"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill!" Chu Hengkong was a little angry, and his reaction was exactly as she expected.

Vilbert slowly added the second half of the sentence: "Or perhaps you always keep your word, but sometimes you just speak without thinking."

Chu Hengkong raised his hand as if to say something, but his fingertips hovered in mid-air for a long time without uttering a single word. He plopped down on the sofa: "Little girl, you're something else. You win this round."

Violet laughed triumphantly, completely unaware of how childish she seemed. She pressed her advantage: "So, what's the real opinion?"

"what?"

"A young girl or a cold-blooded head of the family."

Chu Hengkong patted her head and said seriously, "For your own sake, I hope you can still be a simple little girl."

Wilber nodded: "I will become a cruel and ruthless head of the family."

Chu Hengkong poked her forehead repeatedly: "Do you think it's fun to piss me off?"

"correct."

Violet went into the bathroom, leaving him alone at the table listening to the sound of water filling the bathtub. Chu Hengkong felt a surge of anger, wanting to rip open the wooden door and scare the smug little girl, making her tremble in the bathtub, and then teach her not to easily provoke people she couldn't handle... He covered his face with the magazine, extinguishing the anger in his mind like pouring out cigarette ash.

Why get angry with a little girl? You know very well how much she relies on you. She carefully observes your every move, trying to figure out your moods, all to avoid upsetting you. Yesterday, her hands were trembling when she straightened your collar, afraid that her actions might anger you.

It's not that she disrespects you; it's just that little girls are like that—they get fixated on inexplicable little details and become smug because of verbal gains, just like those single-minded top students in school.

“A good man doesn’t fight with a woman…” Chu Hengkong muttered a few times, then turned and instructed, “Don’t soak for too long, it’s not safe.”

"I thought you were capable of protecting a girl taking a bath."

"Miss Vilbert, if you say another word, I'll go in and help you wash."

"please."

He knew perfectly well that Violet was chuckling in the bathtub, but he was utterly helpless about it. Of all the people he had rescued on a whim, this girl was especially difficult to deal with, and he really disliked this feeling of being out of control.

Being able to handle any situation, no matter how it unfolds, that's true strength. But if you lose confidence because of the other party's choices, or feel conflicted because of their responses, then you lose control of the situation, and that's weakness. Violet is very adept at using means other than force to manipulate the shift between strength and weakness; perhaps that's her true talent.

People like that are always difficult to deal with. After this deal is done, it's best to keep your distance from Verus.

Violet finally finished washing up when thunder rumbled in the sky. Chu Hengkong lay on the sofa and said irritably, "I'll go to bed early after I'm done washing up."

The girl's reply came a little slower than he expected: "...Okay."

Chu Hengkong took the magazine down and tossed his suit jacket over as soon as he stood up. Violet leaned against the wall, her dark hair damp and draped over her shoulders. She wore a thin white nightgown, her bare wrists and cheeks flushed an unusual red. She had soaked in the bathtub for too long out of spite, and the lingering heat had caused her to sweat profusely after wiping herself; the semi-transparent nightgown clung tightly to her, revealing almost everything.

The suit jacket fell onto the girl's head, and Chu Hengkong then wrapped her in a bathrobe: "Hehehe, mind your image."

Violet looked back, puzzled, her thoughts slowing. She wrapped herself in her bathrobe, then laughed after a few seconds: "You're interested in a body like this."

"No interest. I like curvy girls." Chu Hengkong ruffled her hair in annoyance. "But whether I'm interested or not, you can't be so careless. You always need to protect yourself, you know?"

Wilbert nodded, pulled back the covers, tossed the little girl in, covered himself up, lay down on the other bed, turned off the light, and announced sternly, "Lights out, go to sleep!"

"Good night."

"How did my image change so quickly?" Chu Hengkong thought sullenly. Two months ago, she looked at him like he was watching Superman, so why could she say "goodnight" so naturally after spending just a couple more days together?
The rain outside the window grew heavier, mingling with thunder. He leaned against the headboard, listening to the rain and monitoring Vilbert's breathing. After all, this was a guard duty, and he dared not sleep too soundly, so he decided to stay up for two nights in a row and catch up on sleep when he got back.

But for some reason, Vilbert couldn't sleep all day. He dozed off for a moment, then saw a flash of white light outside the window, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Vilbert's heart skipped a beat; she took several deep breaths, but her heart continued to beat slightly faster than usual.

Another clap of thunder sounded, and Chu Hengkong opened his eyes to see the small shoulders trembling in the blankets.

She was afraid of thunder.

Why would she be afraid of thunder? She could deceive the Spanish without batting an eye, she didn't even care about the roaring Russians, and she even dared to joke about Chu Hengkong.

This might be related to Lucas's threats during thunderstorms. Perhaps it was on such a night that she heard the news of her father's death. But in any case, people's reactions cannot be faked; Wilbert was afraid of thunder, just like any ordinary child is afraid of ghost stories.

It was only then that he truly realized that Wilbert was just over ten years old. She had performed so well in negotiations that even he thought she was a strong and aloof adult. But she was, after all, still a little girl. Little girls are afraid of thunderclouds, typhoons, ghost stories—afraid of the things they should be afraid of. On sleepless nights, they would hug their pillows and knock on their parents' doors, begging their parents to sleep with them.

Her parents are both dead.

Chu Hengkong got up and drew the curtains tighter. He hesitated for a moment, then lay down beside Vilbert's bed.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here," he said.

Wilbert didn't say anything, but just gripped his arm tightly. After a while, he heard steady breathing.

Vilbert is asleep.

(End of this chapter)