Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 117: Going to Find the Eldest Son

Yet Qin Nianran’s expression didn’t change much; she simply said calmly, “You’ve won!”
Ouyang Ziyi put away her smile and, looking into Qin Nianran’s eyes, said calmly as well, “Victory, in essence, aims to gain something, achieve something, or get rid of something. But what have I gained from my ‘victory’? Would I be happy if I distributed Chu Tianyu’s possessions one by one?”
“The Black Dragon Energy was an accident; no one could have predicted its consequences. And now, faced with this reality, I have to do things I myself don’t want to do. To whom can I complain about my suffering? The essence of life is to seek happiness, not to compete. Since I chose to like Chu Tianyu and to be with him, I must accept everything about him—even if it means giving up many things. But so far, I can say with certainty that I’ve gained more!” Ouyang Ziyi continued firmly.
Qin Nianran said nothing, nor did she refute anything; she just listened quietly…
“With your wisdom, you understand better than I do what I do or what tricks I use. So why are you still disturbed by me? Perhaps you doubt my motives or the absurdity of this situation, but I think we’re both smart people, so I won’t beat around the bush…” With that, Ouyang Ziyi frankly repeated word for word the words of “shared suffering” she had said to Chu Tianyu.
When it came to her evaluation of Qin Nianran, every word and sentence seemed to pierce straight into Qin Nianran’s heart—sharp and precise.
After finishing speaking, Ouyang Ziyi stared intently at Qin Nianran, observing every move she made. Although her final reaction was still unknown, the situation somewhat resembled the message she had sent to Chu Tianyu—developing in an increasingly interesting direction.
“Did you hold Chu Tianyu’s hand that night?” Ouyang Ziyi suddenly asked, deciding to stir things up further.
“How did it feel? Warm, right? Chu Tianyu’s hand gives people a sense of dependence no matter how it’s held—comforting, right?” Ouyang Ziyi didn’t give Qin Nianran a chance to respond and kept talking.

Ouyang Ziyi’s words instantly brought Qin Nianran back to that night, to the moment when Chu Tianyu grabbed her. Besides the feelings she had described, she also experienced a jolt, as if shocked by electricity. Her own explanation and comfort at the time was that, aside from her father and grandfather, she had never held a third man’s hand before—even her useless brother didn’t have the courage! So, what she felt back then was simply discomfort, nothing more.

But today, Ouyang Ziyi’s description seemed to pinpoint exactly what she had felt, forcing her to recall that sudden electric shock once again…

Just as both of them fell into silence, there was a gentle knock at the door, accompanied by a very charming voice: “Excuse me, is Ouyang Ziyi in this room?”

Ouyang Ziyi opened the door to find none other than Wu Susu from the second-year journalism department. Ouyang Ziyi had a wide network of acquaintances, so she recognized her at first glance and smiled, saying, “Oh, isn’t this Senior Sister Wu? What a rare visit! Come in, come in! I just moved here today, and it’s still a bit messy. Please sit. Is there something you need from me, Senior Sister?”

Even Qin Nianran had to admire Ouyang Ziyi’s social skills. In just a few words, she conveyed warmth and friendliness, making everyone feel at ease while quickly building a rapport.

Yet Wu Susu, who was usually good at interacting with people, seemed preoccupied today. Instead of being polite or trying to get close, she sat down and asked directly, “I’m sorry to bother you today, but this matter might be quite important, so please forgive my rudeness, Senior Sister!”

Ouyang Ziyi glanced at Qin Nianran before turning to smile and saying, “Senior Sister, go ahead and speak plainly. There are no ‘strangers’ here!”

“Well, it’s like this. Once, when I went to interview President Xin at your company, I happened to meet you and Chu Tianyu there as well. So I thought you might have Chu Tianyu’s phone number or some other way to contact him…” Wu Susu asked anxiously.

Both Ouyang Ziyi and Qin Nianran were shocked. They never expected Wu Susu’s sudden visit to be related to Chu Tianyu!

Ouyang Ziyi inwardly cursed Chu Tianyu harshly—before even resolving Qin Nianran’s issue, he had already caused trouble elsewhere!

Though thinking this, Ouyang Ziyi still maintained a smile and asked, “What does Senior Sister need from Tianyu?”

“I left something with him. I gave him my number before, but he still hasn’t gotten in touch with me!”

“How did Senior Sister get to know Tianyu?” Ouyang Ziyi asked instead of answering.
Hearing Ouyang Ziyi’s question, Wu Susu realized she had indeed shown up abruptly and caused misunderstandings, so she quickly explained her relationship with Chu Tianyu.
Ouyang Ziyi laughed upon hearing this and said, “What a coincidence! Chu Tianyu has only been to Peking University a few times, yet he met up with you twice. Hehe…”
Wu Susu ignored Ouyang Ziyi’s teasing and said, “I did it on purpose the second time. The situation was urgent, and I was afraid… Never mind, let’s not talk about it for now. So I took the chance to slip the item into his pocket, but he still hasn’t contacted me since!”
Ouyang Ziyi didn’t ask what the item was or what the urgent situation was. After saying “Oh~~”, she surprisingly said, “I thought it was another rumor about Chu Tianyu. Since it’s a serious matter, as his girlfriend, I can’t interfere. If you want to talk to him, go to his fiancée. There she is—she’s the one in charge. Talk to her for a decision!”
With that, Ouyang Ziyi stepped aside and pointed, pushing Qin Nianran forward!
Qin Nianran’s nose was twisted from anger. Seeing Wu Susu looking at her with confusion and bewilderment, clearly puzzled by the complicated relationships between these two top girls from Peking University!
“Why are Chu Tianyu’s relationships with them so complicated? It seems my intuition was right—Chu Tianyu is definitely not ordinary. I must interview him properly if I get the chance…” Wu Susu thought, as if her “professional instinct” had kicked in again.
As a result, Qin Nianran didn’t know whether to explain or not—explaining would only make things worse, and not explaining would leave everything even more unclear!
Ouyang Ziyi, after shoving the trouble onto her, went back to packing her things. Qin Nianran suppressed her anger and coldly gave a series of phone numbers to Ouyang Ziyi instead of Wu Susu, then turned away and started looking at documents on her own.
The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing point. The remaining Wu Susu looked around confusedly, opened her mouth as if to say something to ease the tension, but ultimately stayed silent. After writing down the numbers, she simply said straight ahead, “Thank you, sorry for the disturbance…”

Qin Nianran watched Wu Susu’s back and caught a glimpse of Ouyang Ziyi’s sly smile out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, she understood the crux of the problem—she was at a disadvantage everywhere because her relationship with Chu Tianyu was nominal, while Ouyang Ziyi, on the contrary, had a real relationship but no official status. Everything revolved around Chu Tianyu. Thinking back to every awkward situation she created or advantage she seized, which one didn’t involve the name “Chu Tianyu” as a factor?

……

“A Qiu~~” Chu Tianyu, who was reviewing documents, kept hearing calls from A Qiu that night, which left him puzzled. Could there really be so many people missing him?

Just then, he finally received a call from Wu Susu. In his opinion, this Wu must have found a way to contact Ouyang Ziyi for him—after all, he had destroyed her note out of fear of rumors! Otherwise, he would have informed her long ago.

As for Wu Susu’s call, no matter what her intentions were, Chu Tianyu could only repeat a few simple sentences: “I’m sorry. I accidentally lost your thing. As for compensation, ask the person who gave you my number!”

After reviewing the recent Qianfeng Investigation reports and the clues from this video, Chu Tianyu realized that the “big news” for Wu Susu was beyond her control. Whatever the outcome, even if she handed it over to the police, it might end up unresolved at best, or there could even be life-threatening consequences.

Those ninjas were clearly following her. Although she was vigilant and noticed them, it was difficult for them to act in public. Once they reached their destination, killing her naturally or violently would be a piece of cake for them.

That’s why Chu Tianyu preferred to deny responsibility rather than involve innocent people. But obviously, he miscalculated a bit—he never expected that due to Ouyang Ziyi’s mischief, it would be Qin Nianran, the “head wife,” who gave Wu Susu his number!

However, Chu Tianyu now had the documents of Fudu Industrial in hand. Seeing how it was being eroded just like other companies, his expression gradually turned cold.

From the information gathered from various sources, the true nature of this economic crisis was slowly coming to light. Domestically, it was led by some Tianxing Group, with strong support from several major conglomerates in Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

The companies they selected were all basic industries with slow capital turnover. For example, Fudu Group focused on real estate, and the large amount of land it held was exactly what they coveted. Other companies were involved in areas such as raw material production, large-scale equipment, and basic manufacturing. After reading everything, Chutianyu closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. Finally, when he opened his eyes again, he said coldly to himself, “This isn’t some ordinary economic turmoil—it’s outright economic aggression!!!”