Jiang Xiu was quite familiar with the coach to Ninghai City as he had traveled there once in the previous timeline, filled with apprehension and final hope to look for Cheng Lingsu. He remembered it quite clearly. It was the end of the year then, and the weather was quite cold with snow falling heavily. He spoke out his feeling from the bottom of his heart which he had practiced thousands of time on the way, but he was replied by Cheng Lingsu's heartless refusal.
His emotions fluctuated when he remembered this and his gaze towards Cheng Lingsu turned colder.
The current Cheng Lingsu was different. Though she had a refined appearance, she was still young and inexperienced, a 17-year-old girl. She didn't know what he was thinking about but knew his cold gaze must have been due to the grudge he held in his heart. She believed that Jiang Xiu was provoked by her parents, but the truth was that it was due to her in the previous timeline.
She pursed her lips tightly, "Are you thirsty? Here's some water."
Jiang Xiu took the bottle from her and was about to unscrew it with force but discovered that he had relaxed already, "Are your parents returning to borrow money?"
"It seems like it!"
"You think they'll be able to borrow money?"
Cheng Lingsu discovered the malicious intent in Jiang Xiu's eyes and felt her heart skip a beat, "Y-You aren't going to… Jiang Xiu, let them go, okay? They are already quite miserable. My father looks older all of a sudden, and my mother already has gray hair. Even if they had offended you before for anything, the debt should've been paid back in full."
"If you absolutely want to vent your anger on someone then torment me."
"You're misunderstanding my words."
"This Deity intended to ask whether anyone would be willing to lend money?"
Cheng Lingsu was dazed. The world was indeed filled with hypocrisy. Her father had worked in the business for so many years and had nice social relationships, but none of them were willing to lend money to him after the Cheng family met with misfortune. She didn't dare to say for sure that someone in their native place would give money to them, but she wasn't willing to say this, "Someone will surely lend it. My father is a business genius… or else no one would have had confidence in him."
"I hope that's the case."
After they arrived at Ninghai City, they went right to the company of Cheng Hanlin's cousin.
"Let's try going to Wu Jun first."
He had a good relationship with Wu Jun before, and his power after development was the strongest too. He had assets worth around 40-50 million and was considered a top figure in Ninghai City where the economy had fallen behind. It was also because he had a patron like Cheng Hanlin behind him.
It was an elite construction company!
When they arrived in front of the company, they saw a Porsche standing there in the yard. A youth stood near the car, and it seemed as if the car was newly bought. He was surrounded by a group of people.
"Kid, you're bad at all other things but an expert at spending money. You spent a few millions of your father's to buy this damn toy." A herculean middle-aged man scolded the youth while smiling. Though it sounded like he was scolding, he wore a dazzling smile on his face.
"Dad, this toy is called a Porsche, it's a top grade car."
"It's worth spending that money to buy it lest the money catch dust."
The middle-aged man nodded, "That's indeed true! We can't fall back on his. Businessmen often have grand styles and would be looked down on if we are unpresentable. Only, kid, you really know how to make friends. All of them are quite wealthy. Father has high expectations from you."
At this moment, a voice came through from behind, "A'Jun!"
Wu Jun was somewhat astonished. There weren't many who called him A'Jun in these days. They mostly called him Director Wu as he had been their boss for several years already. He turned back to look and found Cheng Hanlin's family stand there at the company's entrance.
"Hanlin!"
Astonishment flashed through his eyes followed by worry, but it was covered up with a smile very quickly.
"How come you're here?"
He had heard about Cheng Hanlin's matter. Cheng Hanlin had supported him a lot before, and it could even be said that his family had accomplished to such a level due to him. After finding out that the Cheng family had gone bankrupt, he was anxious that Cheng Hanlin would come to him and what he feared had finally happened.
"Stinky brat, quickly greet your Uncle."
Wu Jun's son, Wu Xiaojun, greeted him awkwardly. Cheng Hanlin felt a bad premonition when he saw this. Wu Jun had come to him for help on different occasions all for his son, but this youngster was acting in such a way now, unwilling to even greet properly.
"Little Jun, you've become taller, even taller than your uncle."
"It must've been a hard journey. Quickly come inside."
Wu Jun still acted politely on the surface and invited Cheng Hanlin's entire family inside, including that son-in-law, to his office. He prepared tea to recept them.
"This is?"
He knew everyone in Cheng Hanlin's family, but he didn't recognize Jiang Xiu alone.
"Oh, this is…"
Sun Xiaohong replied before he could, "He's a friend's son who came over to help."
Cheng Lingsu hung her head down in sadness. Seeing that her mother was unwilling to say Jiang Xiu's identity even after they had degenerated to such a stage, she really felt disgusted by her mother's actions. She couldn't help but gaze towards Jiang Xiu but saw that he was the same as before, acting indifferent to everything.
So this is how he viewed me before.
Cheng Hanlin explained it, "He's Jiang Xiu, Jiang Yi's son…"
Wu Jun's expression morphed after hearing this, "Jiang Yi?"
Jiang Xiu's gaze swept past him, "You know my father?"
Wu Jun sized up Jiang Xiu again. He felt that this youngster's demeanor was pretty good before, but after observing carefully, he noticed that Jiang Xiu possessed a very unique temperament. Especially his eyes which seemed as deep as the abyss. His couldn't match this with the visage of that refined yet intelligent man he knew of, "I know him. I did something for your father before. Your appearance is quite different from your parents."
He had already awakened 31 divine regalia which meant that this divine race bloodline had transformed 31 times. It was inevitable that there would be some changes in his appearance. It was just that since he was undergoing puberty, the difference in appearance didn't fall into other's attention.
"Maybe."
Wu Jun sighed. In those days, he used to admire two men. One of them, Jiang Yi, had fallen and gone to prison, while the other, Cheng Hanlin had gone bankrupt now. On the other hand, he was doing pretty well, but he didn't feel proud at all. Feeling pride over such a thing was impossible for him.
"I'll set up a banquet to invite a few of our sworn brothers."
"Mhm!"
"I have many empty rooms here. I'll let someone tidy them up so you can take rest there as you must be tired from the journey." The time right now in summer was just around the time people slept.
He arranged everything properly but only did the bare minimum.
After settling everything, Wu Jun returned to his office alone. A voice came through from behind at this moment, "Uncle Wu!"
Wu Jun turned back to discover Jiang Xiu standing behind him, "Oh, it's you. Is there anything you need?"
"Let's talk in the office!"
Wu Jun nodded.
He entered the office along with Jiang Xiu. His office was quite big and fitting to be among the rich locally. A few paintings and calligraphy were hung on the wall, and the tables, as well as the chairs, were carved out of wood. A huge tea table was placed in the middle which seemed to be made of cedar. It looked quite extravagant.
Wu Jun sat on his seat then asked, "What's up? What did you need me for?" He stretched his hand out to indicate Jiang Xiu to sit down.
Jiang Xiu sat opposite to him, "I want to ask you about something."
"What?"
"Were you close with my father and father-in-law in those days?" He deliberately pulled a relation close to Cheng Hanlin after thinking it over, "You must surely know the reason why my father got imprisoned."
Wu Jun's expression changed, "You don't know?"
Jiang Xiu shook his head, "These are the scars of adults. It wouldn't look good for me to ask as it would only add to their pain, but I really want to know the reason. That's why I came to dispel my doubts through Uncle Wu."
Wu Jun replied awkwardly, "It wouldn't look good if I leaked it out when your father and father-in-law haven't."
"Uncle Wu can consider it as helping me once."
"A long time has passed. The matter always can't stay within the coffin, right?"
Wu Jun pondered over it for a bit then replied, "There's nothing much to say here. Your father and father-in-law offended a person. This person wasn't someone they could afford to offend. Your father was okay, but your father-in-law was in dire straits and couldn't hold on anymore. That's when your father took risks to violate the rules but got caught, and the two of them faced imprisonment then."
"As it was better for one to serve a sentence instead of two, your father took responsibility for the entire matter."
Jiang Xiu nodded as this matched what he knew, "Who's the person my father had offended?"
"Your father's former political enemy, and the current Secretary of Ninghai City's municipal committee, Tang Zhengping."
"Tang family is one of the four influential families of Jiangnan and a colossal existence."
"Since we can't afford to offend them, isn't it better to forget this matter, nephew? The reason your father and father-in-law didn't wish to tell you this must be because they were worried you would take rash action."
"The Tang family, huh?" Jiang Xiu commented.