Forge a path to success.

Chapter 310 Desires and Needs (2)

When Chu Hengkong woke up, it was just getting light, and the rain had already stopped.

Traveling with Violet had many advantages, one of which was the constant stream of fights. Over the past three years, his martial arts skills had improved, and he could even sense movement in his sleep. He knew the corridor was empty, the next room was empty as arranged, and he also knew Violet was still asleep, clinging tightly to his arm.

Chu Hengkong has always lived an upright and honest life, and there are few things he regrets, but this is one of them. After his business trip to Ohio, Wilbert developed a bad habit: she needed him to be with her to fall asleep during thunderstorms, or she would simply stay up all night until the rain stopped.

At first, he didn't think much of it; it was just taking care of a timid girl. But as they grew older, things became more complicated.

Violet was almost 15, and he was already 16—an age when he would have been married and settled long ago in ancient times. He could joke about a girl's figure verbally, but the sensations he felt on her body told him that things had changed. She was no longer a girl.

At this age, it's natural for things to go awry, and one day he might really lose control. That's why he's recently started reading Buddhist scriptures.

Occasionally, he would let his mind wander. Did Violet not know? Could such a clever girl really be indifferent to these things? She'd never cared about making jokes about these things before…

But those thoughts quickly faded away, because he knew the real reason. Violet trusted him completely; she never had any reservations about him. She depended on him and longed for him; she sought security in him.

In the girl's heart, Chu Hengkong was probably the man who could become her father.

He really should have a serious talk with Vilbert.

About an hour later, Violet woke up. She looked at him sleepily for a moment, then let go of his arms, which had gone numb from being held so tightly, and shrank to the other side of the bed.

"Sorry. Good morning."

"If you keep going like this, you might as well just book a double room when you go on business trips in the future."

"No."

"Can't you say 'no' even on rainy days?" Chu Hengkong said helplessly. "Vilbert, I'm serious. You'll be 15 in two months. Even though you said so many hurtful things last night, you'll eventually fall in love, get married, and have children... You'll have your own family and your own lover. It's not appropriate for you to keep hanging out with me like this."

Vilbert's eyes were like those of a woodpecker staring at an ironwood tree.

Chu Hengkong felt uneasy under her gaze: "So you'd better keep your distance from me... What are you doing?"

Violet looked up and bumped into him hard. She hurt herself from the impact, then hugged his arm tightly.

"You're up too early. I want to sleep a little longer."

"Children are getting harder and harder to raise," Chu Hengkong thought dejectedly.

·
Back in New York, Chu Hengkong, as usual, drove her back to the family building. He put on the courier vest he had left at the front desk and rode his motorcycle to the pizza shop. This was the "reward" he received after his trip to Egypt, when Wilbert noticed his strong interest in the local modified motorcycles.

“Excuse me, boss,” Secretary Alita knocked on the office door. “Nothing in particular, but lately the new employees have been talking about ‘why the deputy always uses his free time to deliver takeout.’”

Alita's seniority far exceeded her age; she was one of the few female gangsters to live past 40 with a happy family and well-behaved children. Violet turned her chair, gazing out the window at the bustling streets.

"Perhaps the head of the family is not capable of keeping him by his side."

“Boss, allow me to say something,” Alita’s face softened. “In my opinion, you and he share a common trait. You both want to keep your work and personal lives separate, but in your worlds, they are one.”

“I know,” Wilber nodded. “Report now.”

Alita closed the door. She hadn't brought any documents with her because her boss didn't allow important information to be left behind.

"During my exchanges with the Baiyue Chu Clan, the information I obtained was largely consistent with your account. The deputy was adopted by the former head of the Chu Clan, Chu Tongchen, when he was 7 years old. At the age of 11, he dueled with Chu Tongchen and won. He then came to the United States with him and witnessed the duel between Chu Tongchen and the former head of the Ivanlenko Clan, Leonid. Afterward, he refused to return to the Chu Clan and began living alone in New York."

"What was the result of that duel?" Velbert asked.

“Both patriarchs perished together,” Alita said. “I didn’t ask for details, but judging from their mannerisms… it must have been close combat, a fight to the death with melee weapons.”

"What was his reaction at the time?"

Alita pursed her lips, recalling the terrified looks in the Chu family's eyes, as if she were remembering a blood-soaked demon.

"They had only heard that... that the second-in-command applauded and cheered for his adoptive father until the fight to the death ended."

“Not surprising,” Vilbert said, seemingly expecting this. “Going back further, before we met the Chu family.” “Before being adopted, the deputy lived in a local social welfare institution. A clean background, a standard public institution, with no trace of a blood alliance. There haven’t been any unusual incidents in the city for nearly thirty years, so we can basically rule out any special factors,” Alita said. “I spoke with the long-time staff at the welfare institution, and they had a deep impression of the deputy… the deputy didn’t interact with the other children.”

"No communication?" Vilbert frowned.

“Yes, it’s not that they don’t get along, it’s that they don’t communicate.” Alita nodded. “He spends most of his time reading and playing with toys, and when he does speak, he only talks to the orphanage staff. But he’s not ostracized because most of the children are afraid of him.”

That's normal. Young children also have the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm; they know what danger is... In this light, Chu Hengkong understood his difference from ordinary people at a very young age. He probably didn't consider the children around him to be "the same" as himself; in his mind, only the adult employees were qualified to communicate with him.

“Tell me about books and toys.”

“My second-in-command liked Lego bricks and small transforming toys. He also liked mini 4WD cars, but the orphanage only had one at the time,” Alita replied. “Later, he stopped playing with toys much and started playing GBA games. Nobody knows where he got them from.”

Vilbert recalled the customs of foreign lands: "That game console will probably be confiscated."

“Yes, but…” Alita shrugged, “the deputy took it back the next day. The staff didn’t try a second time because they thought it would anger the deputy… to be honest, I think they were afraid of the deputy too.”

Violet could easily piece together Chu Hengkong's childhood: a naturally powerful, fearless child who absorbed information from his surroundings with exceptional intelligence and learning ability, like breathing. He would have continued to grow unchecked until he met Chu Tongchen. From then on, he received an education, learned martial arts, and also learned self-control… He became a chivalrous child…

No, Vilbert thought. It was still just a facade. She hadn't reached the deepest level.

"What books did he read when he was a child?"

“Some local pirated comics, and martial arts novels,” Alita added, “mostly Jin Yong’s. ‘The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people.’”

Vilbert seemed to have grasped something. She suddenly asked, "What kind of person is Chu Tongchen?"

Alita paused for a moment; this question was beyond the scope of her investigation. She racked her brains to recall her interactions with the Chu family.

“I think he’s a very strange person,” Alita blurted out. “As you know, although the Baiyue Chu Clan is not a direct descendant of the Blood Alliance, they still have considerable influence on the inner side. They have always been at the forefront of the fight against the aliens and have produced many famous assassins.”

However, this influence was severed after Chu Tongchen took over. He was highly skilled in martial arts, but he forbade any of his family members from practicing it. He forced his children to go into business, become civil servants, or join the army, spending decades gradually shifting the family's influence from the inside out to the outside world…

"Is he the only one still living in the inner world?"

“Yes,” Alita nodded. “That’s why even his family thinks he’s extremely strange. He lives in a world where martial arts are most useful, yet he has an extreme pessimism about them. He often tells his family that it’s meaningless.”

Velvet stopped asking questions, and Alita retreated to the door, knowing that her boss was thinking.

Meaning. Chu Hengkong wasn't as pessimistic as his adoptive father, but he also liked the word. He always hoped that his every action had meaning… therefore, he never interfered with her work arrangements; on the contrary, he admired this morbidly extreme lifestyle…

Chu Tongchen's pessimism stems from his realization that he is meaningless. Chu Hengkong's stagnation must be for the same reason.

But what exactly is the meaning they are searching for? There has never been a shortage of opportunities to use one's skills on Earth. Chu Tongchen is not the head of the Blood Alliance; he is unaware of the secret, and therefore has no reason to fall into deep pessimism. Is he worried about his place in contemporary society? Do they believe that applications like acting or being an athlete are an insult to martial arts? Perhaps that's part of it, but it doesn't seem to be the whole story…

Ultimately, a person's circumstances are constrained by their environment. Living in the 21st century, no matter how capable you are, it's still the same.

She suddenly remembered what Chu Hengkong had said in the rented room a few years ago. That's about it for the 21st century.

What if he lived in the 11th century? Or even the 1st century? In such an era, what kind of person would Chu Hengkong become?

"Any other information about Chu Tongchen." The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. "Any information."

Alita was a little flustered: "He and his deputy have a very good relationship. He doesn't read much, but he'll take his deputy to see operas and read 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'..."

"Give me a copy. A Chinese version. As soon as possible."

Alita left in a hurry. Ten minutes later, a Chinese book with a yellow cover was placed on her desk.

Velbert hastily flipped through the first volume, and what she saw was Chapter Nine of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Lü Bu, having fallen into a trap, uttered a boastful statement to Wang Yun:

—A true man is born between heaven and earth; how can he remain subservient to others for long!
For some reason, she felt a little flustered, and hurriedly skipped that section, flipping through a large section of the book. This time, she was on the Battle of Red Cliffs, where Kan Ze, ordered by Sun Quan, went to present a letter of feigned surrender, and generously said:
—A great man who cannot achieve great deeds and establish a career is no better than someone who rots away like grass and trees!
Wilbert closed the book, her heart filled with coldness.

She finally understood.

(End of this chapter)