Chapter 34
In this clash, Sheng Guang, the second young master of the Sheng family, and Sheng Wei, the third young master of the Sheng family, were killed, and more than two hundred people died. The fifth young master, Sheng Ming, went missing.
In J City, the military and political leader, Mr. Shen, suddenly fell ill, and his grandson, Shen Mo, took over. Sheng Weiyong was arrested for economic crimes, including smuggling and possession of guns, and his eldest son, Sheng Kai, was detained for murder. Shengjing Group’s stock price plummeted. The influence of the Sheng family was shattered like a tall building that came crashing down.
The officials classified the incident as a gang rumble and cleverly left the Chu family out of the picture, only announcing to the public that the Chu family was an innocent victim “accidentally” caught in the rumble between two gangs.
In this clash, the Black Hawk Club lost forty-three people and more than 240 were wounded. Chu Qin’s former subordinates who came to pay their respects at the cemetery that day suffered the most casualties. In Qinglan Mansion, except for Aunt Song, the gardener, and several servants who were absent that day as well as Bai Yang and three bodyguards who were seriously injured, Feng Tai, Lan Xin and everybody else were killed.
Chu Yunhan stubbornly insisted on visiting the crime scene. He didn’t say a word from beginning to end. He just picked up Feng Tai’s pocket watch and put it in his hands, fixed Lan Xin’s blood-stained hair a bit and then stood motionless, looking at her pale peaceful face for a long time. Finally, he closed his reddened eyes and let them put the bodies in black body bags and transport them to the morgue.
After returning from the cemetery, he locked himself in his room in the old house and never came out. There were still many fish in the Sheng family that slipped through the net, so Chu Yichen asked him to stay in the old house for the time being. However, everyone knew that he was afraid of the emotional impact the empty Qinglan Mansion would have on Chu Yunhan.
In the afternoon of the next day, the door of the room was forcibly opened, and Hei Yu led a little girl with a haggard face to Chu Yunhan.
There was finally a gleam of light in his hollow eyes. He squatted down half-kneeling and said slowly in a hoarse voice, “Yuanyuan, your mother… is gone.”
“…Where did Mommy go?” There was uneasiness in her soft voice.
“… She went to a very beautiful place. She wants to stay there, but she is worried about you, afraid you would be lonely…” Facing the child, he tried his best to get his emotions under control and pull himself together. “Uncle will accompany you instead of her in the future. Let her stay there without worries, okay?”
Yuanyuan looked at him and nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was a sensitive and attentive child. Her mother did not come back, Uncle Feng did not come back, many people did not come back. She could see pity and sorrow in the eyes of the adults looking at her. She knew that her mother would not come back, and from now on she had no shoulder to lean on except for the person before her.
Chu Yunhan hugged her and comforted her softly, “Don’t cry, don’t cry… Uncle will always be with you and protect you. Are you hungry? Let’s go eat something together, okay?”
He had to cheer up, because someone needed him and depended on him.
The incident involved several major forces and brought with it a lot of aftermath work. There were piles of work that had to be dealt with quickly, both officially and in the shadows. Political negotiations, business operations, internal management, compensations for the deceased, tracking down the remnant party, treating the wounded… In addition, the casualties among the employees were numerous. Chu Yichen was very busy, Minran was in J City and couldn’t clone himself, so even the elders in the face of Chu Yu and Chu Xuan had to help. Chu Yunhan took the initiative to take over many of the group’s operations and was also very busy.
The funeral of the deceased was held a week later. The tombstones were erected in the cemetery owned by the Black Hawk Club. Although some of the ashes had been taken away by the families, their names were engraved here in eternal mourning.
It was an extremely grand funeral. The black convoy with huge white flowers on the car fronts slowly moved along the main road of K City and passed by the Golden Eagle Group’s headquarters. Under the gaze of the Golden Eagle from the top of the building, the deceased were sent to their final resting place. The long convoy attracted countless passers-by, and everyone knew that it was a guard of honor arranged by the Chu family to see off the deceased.
Black Hawk Club’s cadres and high-rank members rushed back from all directions, and the cemetery was crowded and solemn. Dressed in a black suit, Chu Yichen stood at the front, while Chu Yunhan and the others stood behind him. They bowed deeply to the tombstones together. Yuanyuan, who was wearing a little black skirt, held his hand tightly and sobbed. After the ceremony was over, he took her little hand and led her to Lan Xin’s tombstone. Yuanyuan cried and said softly “Mommy, don’t worry, I will listen to Uncle Chu and I will visit you often…”
Witnessing this scene, Chu Yunhan’s heart felt unbearably heavy. He turned his face and met the gaze of that person, who stood not far away.
Chu Yichen was looking at him. Both of them had been very busy during this period of time. Even though they both lived in the old house, they went out early and returned late. At this moment, they were separated by the crowd, and just kept staring at each other calmly, none of them looking away. It was not until Yuanyuan grabbed Chu Yunhan’s hand again that he lowered his head, hugged her, and left the cemetery first.
When people are busy, time flies. Until all transactions were dealt with and the structures stabilized, a month and a half passed. Winter came, it rained a few times and the weather was getting colder by the day.
Chu Yunhan, who was woken up by the alarm early in the morning, yawned and went downstairs with messy hair. Since Lan Xin’s death, no matter how busy he was, he would find the time to have breakfast with Yuanyuan every day and then send her to kindergarten. He walked in the dining room drowsily. Seeing the people sitting at the round table and eating, he halted his steps and his eyes widened.
Yuanyuan, who was wearing a small red sweater, reached out to the cakes on the plate, but her arm was too short to reach them and she withdrew it silently. At this moment, a big hand stretched out from the side and pushed the plate directly in front of her. The girl whispered, “Thank you,” picked up a small cake and took a bite. The jam filling flowed out. The man sitting next to her wiped it away with a napkin and said, “Eat slowly.”
This scene was both novel and harmonious, leaving Chu Yunhan dumbfounded, wondering if he should walk over. A while ago, Chu Yichen went to J City to expand his contacts. The two hadn’t seen each other for half a month. At this moment, seeing him sitting at the table felt unreal. Yuanyuan raised her eyes and, seeing him, called out “Uncle Chu” in a familiar manner.
Chu Yunhan felt a soft tickle as if a kitten’s tail had brushed his face. He gave a light cough, said softly, “Good morning, you are back,” and sat down on the other side of Yuanyuan.
“I just got back.”
Somewhat cautious for no apparent reason, Chu Yunhan asked, “Are you… done over there?”
“Yes.”
“No need to go again?”
“No.”
“Minran is still staying there?”
“Shen Mo’s position is not stable yet, there are still some matters that need to be dealt with.”
“Oh.”
Each question and each answer was very brief.
Chu Yunhan distractedly scooped up some porridge into his mouth. Unexpectedly, it was so hot that he spit it out instead of swallowing it with an extremely embarrassed look. While sucking in air, he secretly glanced at the other party.
The man raised the corners of his lips, drank the milk in his glass, and remained silent. Next to him, Yuanyuan looked at him sympathetically and said, “Uncle, eat slowly, it’s hot.”
“Yeah.” His face flushed, he stirred the porridge in the bowl with the spoon and said, “I will bring Yuanyuan back in two days.”
Chu Yichen was silent for a while, before replying softly, “Okay, I’ll let someone arrange it.”
Chu Yunhan didn’t know why he suddenly felt somewhat dejected, as if there was a heavy weight on his chest, making him feel uneasy, and said. “I will arrange it myself.”
Du Chuan, who was standing to the side, glanced at the person sitting in the main seat.
The man’s expression didn’t change. He slowly took a sip of the milk in his glass and replied, “Okay.”
Obviously he was the one to propose it first, and the other party agreed, yet he was unhappy. What was the matter? Even he himself felt that he was being unreasonable.
Probably he had been constantly suppressing his emotions recently and was a little overcharged…
This should be it…
Chu Yunhan’s mood plummeted and he didn’t feel like eating anymore. After Yuanyuan finished eating, he dropped the sentence, “I will bring her to kindergarten,” and left with her.
He was gloomy during the drive. Not until he heard Yuanyuan ask shyly from the back seat, “Is Uncle unhappy?” did he realize he had a dark face all along, and said somewhat ashamed, “No, it’s just the traffic. After school in the afternoon, Aunt Jingjing will come to pick you up, okay? Uncle has a meeting and doesn’t know how long it will take.”
“Good.” The little girl was always very obedient.
After sending Yuanyuan to kindergarten, Chu Yunhan realized that he had been absent-minded just now and had forgotten all the materials in the folder at home.
He wanted to call Du Chuan to find someone to bring it to the company. On a second thought, the folder contained some business secrets, so he simply went back to get it himself.
He stepped into the Chinese-style building with white walls and black tiles, glanced over at the study on the second floor, stopped, and turned back.
Sunlight came in through the wooden lattice window and cast the pattern on the window on the ground in gray shadows. On the tall bookshelf, the neatly arranged books were stacked next to each other, like a three-dimensional picture composed of different elements. Within this picture, a figure leaned back on the large sofa, his head tilted to one side. The hand holding the pen was softly resting on the armrest and the pen fell on the carpet.
The eyes were closed tightly, and the thick black eyelashes cast small shadows under the eyes.
Chu Yichen just… fell asleep.
Chu Yunhan stood to the side and watched for a moment, before sighing faintly. This was the first time he observed the other person’s sleeping face up close. In his impression, the grown up Chu Yichen was always strong and cold, awake and calm at all times like a machine, so that sometimes he even forgot that he was also just an ordinary person who needed to rest.
His gaze landed on the thick pile of documents on the side table and he frowned.
Racking one’s brains to successfully deal with the officials in J City must have been exhausting. That person had caught the early morning flight and didn’t even get a good night’s sleep. Now there was another pile of work he had to deal with. It was really…
By the way, it seemed that he only drank a glass of milk in the morning.
Looking at the other person’s sleeping face, a soft, sour like a green plum emotion slowly built up in his heart and filled his chest. He quickly took a soft thin blanket from the neighboring room and gently covered Chu Yichen. Then he walked out and closed the door of the study. When he turned around, he saw Du Chuan holding a teapot and Hei Yu carrying a stack of documents standing behind him. Chu Yunhan raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you want to torment him with now? Can’t you let him sleep for a while?”
This was the first time the eldest young master intervened in Chu Yichen’s affairs. Both of them were shocked and looked at each other. Hei Yu lowered his head and said, “I will report in half an hour.”
After taking a few steps, Chu Yunhan turned around and whispered to Du Chuan, “Don’t tell him I came back.”
“I won’t,” replied the butler.
***Many thanks to angelmal for the coffee! 😊😊😊***
Translator: Taalia
