Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Haizhou City, Tianhai Central Business District, Haizhou International Building.

An Zhehao sat on the sofa, looking at the skyscrapers outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, swirling the red wine in his glass. He had been in this position for over an hour.

The sound of high heels rang out, so alluring, yet so familiar.

An Zhehao looked up at the stunningly beautiful woman in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly.

This woman was acting very strangely today. Instead of wearing her usual red dress, which she loved to the extreme, she wore a standard black business suit, looking capable and elegant.

This is very unusual.

The woman was actually very beautiful, even bearing a striking resemblance to the Hong Kong and Taiwanese star who played Aunt Thirteen. However, An Zhehao's wariness of her overshadowed all other feelings.

"Jiang Ting, what's gotten into you today?"

"Just trying to change my mood!" Jiang Ting spread her hands and shrugged slightly, her long, wavy hair swaying gently with her movements, captivating everyone.

An Cheol-ho's brows furrowed even more.

Jiang Ting has been here for over two hours now, but she hasn't shown any interest in flirting with me at all, which is really strange!

That's just how people are. They instinctively resist things they get easily, but when they actually lose them, they always feel a little disappointed.

"Don't look at me like that, it's making me a little uncomfortable. Can I borrow your lighter? I didn't bring it with me."

Jiang Ting walked to An Zhehao's executive chair, skillfully took out a pack of cigarettes from the suit pocket on the back of the chair, lit one, and put it in her mouth before speaking to An Zhehao.

An Zhehao picked up the lighter beside him and threw it with a flick of his wrist. The speed and force were quite strong; if you didn't know better, you'd think he was hitting someone with the lighter.

Jiang Ting remained calm and caught the lighter with precision. With a flick of her slender fingers, the cover opened with a crisp snap.

A flame shot up, and Jiang Ting lit a cigarette, but instead of returning the lighter, she held it in her hand, waved it at An Zhehao, and then stuffed it into her pocket.

An Zhehao ignored her. Although the lighter was a limited edition and quite valuable, he didn't care that Jiang Ting had taken it.

At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by the voice of An Zhehao's secretary.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Song is here. Are you available now?"

"It's convenient, please come in, Mr. Song!" An Zhehao and Jiang Ting exchanged a glance, quickly straightened their clothes, and their expressions became serious.

The door opened, and President Song was standing in the doorway. Without waiting for An Zhehao to greet him, he walked straight in.

This person seemed to be enveloped in a layer of icy coldness; his arrival seemed to lower the temperature in the room slightly.

The secretary glanced curiously into the room, but quickly closed the door. This job paid well, and she didn't want to lose it because of her curiosity.

Mr. Song was a lean, middle-aged man wearing reflective sunglasses that covered half of his face. His entire body was wrapped in a loose trench coat, and he was also wearing gloves, as if he wanted to wrap himself up tightly.

President Song walked to the sofa and sat down, as if he were at home, without glancing at An Zhehao and Jiang Ting once throughout the entire process.

An Zhehao and Jiang Ting exchanged another glance, then walked to the sofa opposite President Song and sat down. They sat very close together, almost touching, a stark contrast to their usual antagonistic relationship.

Mr. Song took out a cigar from his trench coat, then took out a cigar cutter and snipped it for a while before putting the cigar in his mouth.

"Where's the fire? I didn't bring any. Does either of you have any?"

An Zhehao shook his head and looked at Jiang Ting, who also shook her head, indicating that she was not angry.

"Not even a fire? What are you two doing?!"

Suddenly, President Song erupted, grabbed the ashtray on the table, and smashed it down hard. After a loud crack, the glass coffee table shattered, and the ashtray rolled onto the carpet, spinning many times before finally coming to a stop.

Jiang Ting was clearly startled and subconsciously leaned closer to An Zhehao, while An Zhehao remained calm, seemingly already used to it all.

The commotion inside naturally caught the secretary's attention. She gently opened the door and peeked inside, only to catch a glimpse of An Zhehao's gaze signaling her to look away. The secretary quickly closed the door.

"This is terrifying!..." An Cheol-ho's secretary thought, patting his chest.

Haizhou International Building is the tallest and most luxurious building in Tianhai Central Business District, and the companies located there are all extremely powerful.

Outsiders would imagine that the people inside are all refined, knowledgeable, and sophisticated individuals.

But the truth is quite the opposite!

Many of the bosses here use foul language and it's not uncommon for them to get into fights. The secretary has seen this kind of thing many times, but this is the first time it has happened in An Zhehao's office.

"Go lay low for a while and come back when things calm down. It's a business networking event; the invitation is on its way and should arrive soon. Get ready."

Mr. Song couldn't find a lighter, so he put his cigar away before speaking. His voice was calm and low, devoid of any emotion, as if the person who had smashed the coffee table in a fit of rage just moments before was not him at all.

"Why would I need to go out and lay low? I don't think it's necessary at all!" Ahn Cheol-ho said, still fiddling with his wine glass, his tone still somewhat absent-minded.

"Tell me why you wanted to go away to avoid the limelight?! Don't you know why?!"

"Just for that?"

"What do you think?!" Mr. Song's voice finally showed some emotion.

"There shouldn't be any problems. I handled this very cleanly and didn't leave any loose ends."

"Hehe! If you don't want people to know, then don't do it! It's not like a few years ago anymore. People aren't dead. They've made progress too!" President Song's voice rose eight octaves.

"Let's go. Someone must have noticed. Someone has accessed your information in the system."

At this point, President Song's voice returned to its calm and low tone. This drastic and illogical change was particularly unpleasant to listen to, but it also left a very deep impression.

"Has someone noticed? Is it our old rival?"

"It's hard to say, but it shouldn't be them. If it were them, we'd be in big trouble now!" President Song shook his head. "But regardless, just to be safe, you should all go out and hide for a while."

"I'm not going!" An Cheol-ho answered decisively.

"Get this straight! I'm not discussing this with you, this is an order from above!"

"So what if it's an order from above? I'm not An Zhehao, I'm Chen Diming now, the president of Starry International! Since I'm Chen Diming, why should I hide?"

-------

Meanwhile, the office of the director of the Shenhai Municipal Public Security Bureau

Wang Tiejun frowned as he looked at the gloomy man in front of him. He had given Zhou Zhengguo countless meaningful glances, but Zhou Zhengguo seemed not to see them and simply ignored him.

"Director Zhou, I have a few questions I'd like to ask Comrade Wang Tiejun privately. Could you please excuse me?"

That's a bit too much!

This is Zhou Zhengguo's office, after all. Zhou Zhengguo is the director of the Shenhai Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Shenhai is a sub-provincial level unit. Zhou Zhengguo's official position cannot be considered small.

Just when Wang Tiejun thought Zhou Zhengguo would definitely react, Zhou Zhengguo stood up with a smile.

"Okay, Tie Jun, cooperate well with this comrade. Answer whatever he asks, don't hide anything, understand?"

"Do I have to answer every question he asks?" Wang Tiejun frowned deeply.

"In principle, yes!" Zhou Zhengguo nodded again, which surprised everyone, and then turned and left, gently closing the door behind him as he left.

Only then did the newcomer raise his head and look at Wang Tiejun, whose face was full of astonishment.