Chapter 159: A Little Concerned About Him

Chu Yuxuan continued with a serious tone, "You see, you shouldn't have such a strong desire for revenge. The people in power are the most dangerous to deal with. Sometimes, you need to be flexible. For example, dealing with Ye Yongsheng, there was no need for a fight; just some maneuvering could put him behind bars. Though I didn't take his life, he's probably suffering more now, haha."

Chu Yuxuan took a puff of his cigarette, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "What's the situation with the main house and the second house now?"

"They all want to prove themselves to the old man. For that foreign project, they're about to come to blows openly, which has really angered the old man," Chu Zhijing replied. Chu Yuxuan then asked, "What about your acquisition of the Ye family? Did the old man say anything?"

"What could he say?" Chu Zhijing smiled, "He's the one who told me to stay out of the foreign project. I've gone ahead and acquired the Ye family, so he should be praising me." Chu Yuxuan responded, "Once you've acquired the Ye family, your power will grow significantly. The old man might reconsider his stance."

Chu Zhijing nodded, "So, you need to stay low and not draw his attention."

Chu Yuxuan: ...

After finishing a cigarette, Chu Yuxuan reminded Chu Zhijing to be careful and then got out of the car. On his way back to the Emerald Lake with his brothers, he called Zhao Yanan. He was nervous about whether she would answer, but shortly after, Zhao Yanan picked up the phone.

"Hmm?"

"Nanan, are you, um, asleep?"

"Hm."

Hearing the coldness in his wife's voice, Chu Yuxuan felt frustrated. If Zhao Yanan had been angry enough to hang up on him, he might have been happier.

After a brief silence, Chu Yuxuan tried to lighten the mood, "Nanan, aren't you going to ask what happened earlier? Aren't you worried that someone might be interested in your husband? Let me explain, I really was just eating earlier. Don't misunderstand me."

Zhao Yanan interrupted, "There's nothing to misunderstand. We were never real to begin with. I don't care what you do."

This response left Chu Yuxuan thoroughly disheartened. After all the effort to make Zhao Yanan start accepting him, it felt like everything was ruined by Situ Jingyao so easily.

Zhao Yanan said, "I'm tired."

Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath and reluctantly said, "Well, good night."

At this point, any further explanation would be futile. The more he explained, the more guilty it seemed.

Chu Yuxuan held his phone, pondering for a long time before sending Zhao Yanan a text: "I won't do anything to hurt you. Trust me."

He received no reply...

As Chu Yuxuan felt despondent, Lao Si suddenly spoke up, "Big Brother, the person who fired the gun tonight is quite something."

"Hey! I was going to say that!" Lao Wu added, "He glanced at me, and it felt like how Lao Si looks at me. Although he didn't show any emotion, it made people feel uneasy."

Chu Yuxuan had noticed this too and had observed the bodyguard several times. However, he had been preoccupied with other matters earlier and had pushed it to the back of his mind. Now, being reminded by his brothers, he recalled the bodyguard—a man around forty with a noticeable scar on his jaw, a lean physique, and a stance that clearly indicated military experience. Moreover, his right hand had thick calluses.

"Be careful for the time being," Chu Yuxuan advised.

A few days later, on Saturday evening, Zhao Yanan was dining with Xiao Qing when Zhou Ruo suddenly sent her several photos of Chu Yuxuan taken by paparazzi. The photos showed Chu Yuxuan at a bar, embracing different women, shopping with socialites, and entering and exiting hotels with female celebrities, all suggesting he was living it up.

Zhao Yanan didn't bother examining them closely, quickly scrolling through the images. At the end was a voice message from Zhou Ruo: "I haven't followed entertainment news for a few days, but I just saw that your dog of a husband is in the limelight again! I said he couldn't be trusted. He pretended to be a model husband, swearing he wouldn't hurt you. He's just a dog that can't change its nature. Don't trust him!"

Zhao Yanan remained unruffled, placing her phone on the table and continuing her meal.

Xiao Qing lifted her eyelids timidly and said, "Madam, Young Master isn't really a playboy. When he's at home, he doesn't drink at all and always loves reading…"

Zhao Yanan replied, "I've told you not to call me Madam. You're not much younger than me. Just call me Jie (Sister)."

Xiao Qing nodded, "Okay… Nanan Jie, Young Master isn't as bad as people say."

"Let's eat," Zhao Yanan smiled and said, lowering her head to pick up some food.

After dinner, Xiao Qing went to wash the dishes in the kitchen. Zhao Yanan leaned back on the sofa, picked up her phone, hesitated for a moment, then opened Chu Yuxuan's chat. She scrolled down through the numerous photos and videos Chu Yuxuan had sent her.

In fact, Chu Yuxuan had sent her a report the first time he went out with someone, claiming it was all for the old man's sake, and kept sending her videos and photos to prove he wasn't fooling around. Particularly the night before, Chu Yuxuan took a new actress from his company to a hotel, but spent the entire hour video chatting with her about work.

Despite countless attempts to prove his innocence, Zhao Yanan had not replied to any of them. But looking back at them now made her almost laugh, murmuring, "What a mess…"

However, when she recalled the words "You hurt me" from their phone conversation that night, the faint smile on her face suddenly vanished.

She didn't understand why she kept thinking of those words or why they made her feel suddenly unhappy.

She just had a vague sense that she might be a bit concerned about him.

At the same time, Chu Yuxuan was also sitting on the sofa with his phone, staring at Zhao Yanan's chat screen.

Apart from work, Zhao Yanan had ignored him completely, returning to her distant attitude. This left him feeling uneasy and somewhat lost.

Chu Yuxuan thought about going to see her in person to explain, but first, the mark left by Situ Jingyao's bite was still quite visible. Secondly, he had been using himself as bait while also needing to watch out for Xue Can, so there might already be people watching him. The more distant he was from Zhao Yanan, the safer she would be, preventing her from getting caught up in his troubles.

After a while of daydreaming, Chu Yuxuan typed out a heartfelt message but ended up deleting it.

Words on a screen are always cold and lacking warmth; it's better to resolve the current issue quickly and personally reassure her.

But the bait wasn't biting, and no matter how anxious he was, it was all in vain.

There was also the problem that if the delay continued, people would likely figure out that Liu Jun was dead, and that lead would probably be cut off. Chu Yuxuan pinched his brow and closed his eyes in thought. After a moment, an idea struck him. He suddenly opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and called Wang Long.