A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 220: He did not hesitate for a second

「EMEAP Financial Summit, two hours later.」

It still hadn’t ended.

Zhuang Ming didn’t go in to listen, as it was irrelevant to his duties.

After the discussion, the president of United Bank would serve as the chairman of the World Trade and Economic Cooperation meeting in five months.

Zhuang Ming heard those people say, "Thank you, Chairman Zhou, for handling everything."

Zhuang Ming followed him out. Watching his back, Zhuang Ming said, "It’s the clothes."

That was all he whispered in Zhou Luchen’s ear.

Zhuang Ming couldn’t bring himself to state the truth. After all, if it came from his lips, it would tarnish the girl’s reputation. He chose to forget everything and just remember it was about the clothes. He really shouldn’t have overstepped. If the Second Young Master ever found out the truth, he could end Zhuang Ming with a single shot. Saying it was the clothes, the Second Young Master might actually believe it; it was probably the first time he’d been deceived. Look at him—his emotions showed no hint of fluctuation.

However, the next second, Zhuang Ming was proven wrong as he heard the distinguished young man ahead ask in a hoarse voice, "What brand?"

Zhuang Ming hesitated for a few seconds. "I don’t know."

Zhuang Ming had been with him for ten years, and the hesitation was enough for Zhou Luchen to see Zhuang Ming’s reluctance to speak.

"Can’t say?"

"That’s right." Zhuang Ming nodded. "I am very sorry."

Zhou Luchen smiled faintly, as if he suddenly understood her. He had lived with her and knew her preferences, knew how she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

"Miss Shen is playing at the foot of the Alps Mountains. Will you go to see her?"

Zhou Luchen glanced at the agreement papers in his hand, one in a foreign language, one in Chinese. These papers reflected the great importance various countries placed on financial and economic strategies.

Right now, he had more important things to do, and he didn’t hesitate. "No time."

Zhuang Ming actually wanted to say, Why bother inquiring about her? She already knows you’re in Zurich, yet you insist on being busy and not meeting her. Won’t she dislike you even more? But he didn’t dare to say it.

Regarding the clothes shopping incident, Zhuang Ming hadn’t intentionally investigated. At the time, he had simply sent Shen Jing a text message with just two words: Sorry.

Shen Jing easily understood its meaning. "You are also in Zurich?"

Zhuang Ming replied, "Yes."

"What are you doing there?" she asked.

The red-liveried observation car of the train traveled all the way from Eiger Peak to the Aletsch Glacier in the Alps.

It was a rare chance for Shen Jing to see the beautiful scenery of Switzerland.

After a while, Zhuang Ming replied, "EMEAP."

The sleepy Xing Fei leaned against Shen Jing’s shoulder, glancing at her typing fingers. "Who are you chatting with, someone from Zhou Luchen’s team?"

Shen Jing hit send and turned off her phone. "His bodyguard suddenly apologized to me."

Xing Fei yawned. "Buying underwear? And he wanted to know the details? If he doesn’t apologize, who should? If you ask me, you two are still in touch."

The mountain scenery was unending. Shen Jing looked out the window. "Sort of, but not really. He probably has a girlfriend by now. Word on the internet is that he’s been dating a young model for about a year now; Joanna has never left his side."

Xing Fei hadn’t heard, not since she stopped dating Chen Yao.

The private affairs of the Second Young Master of the Zhou Family were not for outsiders like her to know.

"We actually thought back then that he was going to marry Wenxin. I even saw the Zhou and Wei families hosting a banquet together, but in the end, it was all a farce," Xing Fei added. "Oh, your cat went to New York. He’s taking care of it."

Shen Jing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. "Handing it over to Joanna to take care of? Wouldn’t he just buy a new one?"

She felt soft, and Xing Fei leaned more comfortably against her. "Apparently, he had the vet neuter the cat. Your precious cat is rather pitiable."

A dangerous glint flashed in Shen Jing’s eyes. "Scumbag! Taking it to a pet service to manage its heat cycles would have been enough. Did he think neutering it wouldn’t make it cry?"

Xing Fei laughed out loud completely.

Finally, she’s acting like a normal person, getting angry and showing her temper. It still takes stories about the Second Young Master of the Zhou Family for her to display such a rich range of emotions.

"Alright, if he’s really dating Joanna, the Zhou Family definitely wouldn’t allow it. Noble scions like him just keep girls like her around for amusement, you know. Don’t you understand him yet? His secretary still hasn’t been fired to this day and was even transferred to headquarters to be by his side."

What Shen Jing currently cared about wasn’t this. It was her little sister; her little sister could no longer become a mother. That heartless and ruthless man. He always goes for a clean sweep, never hesitating.

"Would you bear to let your sister be bullied by other cats?" Xing Fei asked.

Shen Jing couldn’t bear it.

「Just a floor apart in the hotel.」

Zhou Luchen was meeting visitors and working in the suite upstairs.

Shen Jing and Xing Fei were in a twin room downstairs, putting on face masks and binge-watching shows until late into the night.

Xing Fei glanced at the beauty sleeping beside her. Shen Jing seemed to have a somewhat clingy nature; whenever someone was beside her in bed, she had an irresistible habit of snuggling into their embrace to sleep. Probably a bad habit. Luckily for her, I’m a woman.

Xing Fei carefully moved Shen Jing’s head away. Shen Jing woke up, abruptly letting go of Xing Fei, and recalling how tightly she had been hugging her, asked, "Have I been holding you like this the whole time I was asleep?"

"What else?" Xing Fei spread her shoulders slightly and smiled.

"Oh my God." Shen Jing leaned against the headboard. "What time is it?"

"Four o’clock in the morning," Xing Fei said.

Shen Jing looked over. "And you haven’t slept?"

Xing Fei took a pillow and went to sleep in the other bed.

"I’ve been here with Chen Yao before. He bought a ski resort as a gift for me, and we even had a fight."

Shen Jing smiled faintly. It seems this old place is making one reminisce.

"At least Young Master Chen genuinely loved you. Let’s not dwell on it. We’re here to shop and have fun."

After that, Xing Fei didn’t say anything else and lay down to sleep.

Shen Jing rubbed the back of her neck and walked out to the balcony for some air.

The streets of Zurich were empty at this time. The buildings were low-rise but exuded the charm of last-century European architecture, like houses from a fairy tale.

A night this lonely and empty was perfect for taking out a cigarette and a match, striking it, and lighting up.

「Meanwhile.」

Zhou Luchen had just finished his work and was leaning on the balcony, drinking iced water to soothe his throat.

Upstairs and downstairs were merely 2.8 meters apart.

He caught the scent of nicotine from Swiss-brand cigarettes. He wasn’t smoking at that moment—in fact, he hadn’t touched a cigarette in the last 24 hours. Where was this smell coming from? Probably from downstairs.

It was intermittently mixed with a sweet perfume, a faint, milky fragrance that was subtly intoxicating, lingering, and pervasive.

He’d encountered all sorts of people, but only Shen Jing carried this particular scent.

With such speculation, Zhou Luchen looked down.

The young woman wore a burgundy silk nightgown, her tall figure swaying in the wind. The V-neck stretched taut over her chest, making it appear even fuller.

Perhaps thinking no one would see her at night, she was dressed thinly. She didn’t seem to mind the wind gently prying open her collar, just letting it be, unconcerned. Patches of her snow-white skin were revealed in a captivating display as her attention remained solely on lighting the cigarette in her mouth.

A soft scoff escaped Zhou Luchen’s nostrils, then he chuckled.

No wonder she ran off to Switzerland.

He used to keep Shen Jing in Jinwu, merely having the housekeeper order high-end luxury brands for her—as long as they were expensive, that was enough. He truly never bothered to remember the brand names, yet it seemed she had developed a taste for them.

After two or three puffs, she skillfully brought the cigarette held between her fingertips to her lips, took a slow, deep drag, and then finally removed it, tapping the ash into an ashtray.

When had she learned to be so adept?