Chapter 311: Liancheng Moves To The Huang Family
Lian Cheng had no such intention. “Is it dangerous? We’ve been pressuring Mo Shifu too hard recently, and he’s retreating step by step. Europe is probably accumulating strength for a final blow. If he finds out, I’m afraid he’ll go mad.”
Liang Chaosu was unhurried. The twilight colored his hair, white turning orange-red, black also tinged red, warming his calm demeanor, giving an illusion of gentle serenity.
“In this world, high returns always come with high risks. I can’t give a guarantee; it depends on your mother’s abilities.”
Lian Cheng couldn’t help but look at Lin Xianzi.
Her expression hadn’t been good the whole time. “I’ve always been able to bear risks, but I don’t feel at ease about Lian Cheng.”
Lian Cheng understood Lin Xianzi’s meaning. If she took Lian Cheng to Europe, Mo Shifu would pose double the danger if he found out. If she didn’t take her, leaving her at the villa would be no different from a lamb entering a tiger’s den, and this tiger’s den referred to both Mo Shifu and Liang Chaosu.
“Shall I go?” Liang Chaosu sat on the sofa, his posture always tense, back straight, ready to act. It was as if he was just waiting for a decision, and as soon as Lin Xianzi agreed, he would get up and leave.
“No.”
Lin Xianzi was frustrated by this. Liang Chaosu’s information in Europe was limited, and his connections relied solely on cash and established businesses. If his purpose didn’t need to be kept secret from others, he would make grand gestures and big moves, and she couldn’t control him.
If the goal was to gather evidence discreetly and have a legitimate reason without alerting Mo Shifu, then no one was more suitable or sufficient than her, who could respond to any changes in the European Union at any time.
“You can go back now.” Lin Xianzi dismissed him without further discussion of Lian Cheng’s arrangements.
Liang Chaosu got up without asking, his voice even and indifferent, “If there’s any progress, contact Huang Shengnan.”
By the time his figure reached the doorway, Lian Cheng, out of politeness and not wanting to see him off, still uttered a word of caution about his safety.
The man’s steps paused, and he gave a faint, almost imperceptible nod.
Secretary Huang, looking dishevelled, brought in a lunchbox. Glancing at Lin Xianzi’s expression, he lowered his head and admitted his mistake, “It was my dereliction of duty to let Miss see Liang Chaosu.”
Lian Cheng clarified things as soon as she came in.
Aunt Wang was considered a distinguished guest, and she insisted on keeping her company. Secretary Huang was a man, so he couldn’t make physical contact or call security to apprehend her by force.
With a delay of two minutes, Lian Cheng had already entered the room. It was too late for him to take off his coat and come up.
Lin Xianzi waved her hand, letting the matter go. “Where is Aunt Wang?”
“Ms. Wang bumped into Liang Chaosu going downstairs, and they were catching up.”
Lian Cheng froze, placing her chopsticks down slowly. Lin Xianzi’s outstretched hand paused for two seconds, a delay she couldn’t hide.
“Do you really believe him?”
Lian Cheng sat down and served her food. “The country is strong, and the judiciary is impartial. He won’t escape justice. Even with poor health, six or seven years have passed… I believe him.”
Lin Xianzi held her chopsticks and ate in silence.
“I’ll have Shi En come back. It was right of you not to agree rashly before you’d thought it through, as it shows responsibility towards your feelings. But if I go to Europe, you must stay at the Huang family’s residence. With Shi En there, your mother will be at ease.”
Lian Cheng was a bit bewildered. “Stay at the Huang family’s residence?”
Not only Lian Cheng was bewildered, but Bai Ying was too.
Hearing the news in the evening, she was so shocked her jaw dropped. “How could Aunt Lin?”
“Why not?” Lian Cheng lowered her head and packed her luggage. “My mother is not someone who stubbornly insists on her own way and holds grudges with narrow-mindedness.”
Liang Chaosu had an attitude and took action. In the future, if coercion were impossible due to time constraints, being far from trouble would lead to close worries that would entangle half a lifetime. What kind of feelings could last forever in the endless gloom of persistent rain?
“But if we move into the Huang family’s residence, we’ll be in close contact with Liang Chaosu every day.”
“I’ll move in, and he’ll move out.”
Lian Cheng only packed her personal belongings; the rest would be handled by the servants. She got up and pushed open the small balcony window.
Bai Ying followed her. “How do you know? Did he explain?”
It was raining in Singapore. The humid, stifling air mixed with the salty smell of the sea, not fresh at all, not comfortable at all. Lian Cheng stood there, motionless.
“Aunt Wang knows.”
“Ah?”
Lian Cheng, enveloped by the dampness, gazed at the coastline. “In the evening, Liang Chaosu was going downstairs and happened to run into her. The Liang family is crumbling, and Aunt Wang is concerned about the butler and the familiar servants.”
Bai Ying found it strange. “With advanced communication, Aunt Wang could have directly asked the butler. Liang Chaosu isn’t in the country, so how would he know?”
Lian Cheng glanced at her, and Bai Ying realized. “She asked about assurances, fearing Liang Zhengping’s petty revenge?”
The Liang family had indeed been glorious once. Liang Zhengping’s chances of a turnaround were hopeless. He couldn’t kill anyone, but he could certainly cause endless trouble and unrest in the household.
Lian Cheng nodded.
Bai Ying became interested. “Then will Liang Chaosu manage it? If he returns to the country now, he won’t be able to leave.”
Lian Cheng’s eyes reflected the misty streetlights in the fine rain. After a long gaze, she finally spoke.
“Before he went to Europe, he had already dismissed Zhang An and arranged for the butler to return to his hometown. Zhang An received his compensation and bought several mountains in the Northeast, opening a farm and a guesthouse. He’s also doing live broadcasts online; the popularity is high. If Liang Zhengping dares to make a move, Zhang An will expose him online.”
“The butler is enjoying his retirement at home, doing live streams with Zhang An every day. The comments call them the ‘brainless, unhappy father-son CP’.”
Bai Ying paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Xiao Da said Liang Chaosu is very responsible, and he’s like someone with a stable government job, yet he even offers career transitions. Is he in a state-owned enterprise?”
Lian Cheng faced the deep night, a faint smile on her lips. “Zhang An says the same thing.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang contacted Zhang An on the way back.
The man, nearing forty, was full of energy. Unaware that she was nearby, his immense gratitude was mixed with profound sympathy.
“Liang Zhengping sent people to clear out Mr. Liang’s room and only then discovered that his study was never allowed to be entered. It was filled with psychology books and plans. I bribed the people who cleaned it, and I brought everything back.”
“…The pages of those books were all dog-eared, filled with annotations stacked so densely they were illegible. What could be read was profound, with German and English terms I couldn’t understand.”
“The plan sheet weighed three catties. What if he was discovered? What if he couldn’t resist? How to ensure Miss Lian Cheng’s living standard if they eloped overseas? His overseas assets were not a trump card, but a fallback.”
“I also found a transfer of all assets agreement, drafted four years ago, seemingly waiting for the day of the proposal… The most recent one was before Miss Lian Cheng went to Iceland. He had prepared to talk with Miss Lian Cheng at his manor in Provence after he took office as chairman at the end of the year. He wrote many things, but they were all crossed out. I saw the date indicated it was after the Iceland trip; there were no plans, only one sentence.”
“‘Worldly customs and ethics are in her heart; without exception, all are excuses.’ This sentence was written so forcefully it could pierce paper, but it was in Chinese, so I understood it.”
Lian Cheng understood at that moment.
It was his four years of resisting external pressures from the mundane world, believing he was an exception, that they were one, waiting for her feelings to transform from familial affection to romantic love.
After Iceland, he finally confirmed there were no exceptions. She hated him, just like any person with normal values, hating immorality from the bottom of her heart. His explanations, his reasons, based on wishful thinking and self-indulgent pride, were all pale and merely excuses.
However, if he realized this so early, why was he still so persistent upon returning to the country?
His return to Europe, arranging fallback plans for everyone, indicated he had foreseen the outcome long ago, persisting towards destruction.
The next day, the parade in Europe gained momentum, and the EMA recalled the investigation team from Singapore.
At the Far East office building, Mo Shifu personally witnessed Lin Xianzi, disregarding her dignity, begging desperately, citing the Jin Tonghai case as evidence, but the EMA firmly refused to leave.
Lin Xianzi had no choice but to pursue them to Europe, and Lian Cheng moved into the Huang family’s residence that afternoon.
