He Zhen wondered how he had tracked down Sara Zhuo.
He felt there was something odd about Zhao Dong and the He family suddenly becoming so close.
When he asked his father He Zhinian, he was instead lectured by his mother Dai Chenglan.
Parents thought a scolding could block their child’s curiosity. Little did they know this only confirmed the parents’ guilt!
If everything was above board, what could not be said?
If it could not be said, then there must be a problem.
He Zhen could not investigate Zhao Dong’s background.
After reading “The Zhao Family Letters”, He Zhen still found no answers.
The persona Zhao Dong built in his autobiography differed from reality. From afar, it was not noticeable. But He Zhen had dealt with Zhao Dong a lot over the “Slan Biology” matter. Reading the autobiography only made the discrepancies feel more pronounced!
The He Zhen of 2006, as Wen Ying had said, had not yet evolved into the “little President He” who could fully take over the He family business. But no one could deny He Zhen’s intelligence.
He was not as mature as in 2019, yet more mature than in the same period of his previous life. The early registration of “Slan Biology”, the efforts He Zhen made to protect his first love, all pushed He Zhen towards greater maturity.
The current He Zhen was gradually maturing, yet still retained a young person’s sincerity and clear sense of right and wrong.
To uncover the truth, He Zhen pursued two lines of inquiry.
On one hand, he contacted two friends he had met while studying in the UK. These friends’ families were in Shu province. He Zhen asked them to look into Zhao Dong’s experiences in Rong City.
On the other hand, he approached Zhao Dong’s younger sister Zhao Qian.
Zhao Dong was shrewd, but Zhao Qian was not.
In Zhao Qian’s eyes, He Zhen was operating “Slan Biology” together with Zhao Dong. They were allies. Speaking to an ally did not require so many reservations.
When He Zhen contacted Zhao Qian, the matter of her hiring someone to disrupt Wen Ying’s signing event had already been discovered by Zhao Dong. Zhao Dong flew into a rage. Under pressure, Zhao Qian said she had thought it through. In truth, she had been pampered since childhood. How could she willingly humble herself to curry favour with the Zhuo siblings?
With He Zhen approaching at this time, Zhao Qian saw him as a confidant.
Zhao Qian badmouthed the Zhuo siblings. He Zhen played the role of a faithful listener. After she had vented several times, He Zhen asked her: since she disliked the Zhuo family so much, why not return to the country?
Living under someone else’s roof always had its inconveniences. With Zhao Qian’s privileged family background, why be a little follower for others!
These words truly struck at Zhao Qian’s sore spot. She blurted out:
“You think I want to? My brother’s business needs the Zhuo family’s support. Your investment needs the Zhuo family’s support too. I am sacrificing for everyone’s benefit!”
Zhao Qian was full of grievances.
He Zhen, however, was stunned.
Whose support Zhao Dong’s business needed was none of He Zhen’s concern.
But the He family’s business was invested by the “Jin Hu” Group. What did it have to do with anyone surnamed Zhuo?
This was a legitimate capital injection. The He family had not deliberately hidden it. Pulling in such a large investment showed the He family business had prospects. He Zhinian and Dai Chenglan were willing to let their partners know about it.
He Zhen naturally knew too.
The boss of Jin Hu Group was called Xie Jinghu.
President Xie had even personally led a team to inspect the He family’s factory in Zhangjiang.
He Zhen had not been present at the time, but he had channels to learn these details.
From this moment, the Zhuo family surfaced before He Zhen. He thought of the unseen shareholder in “Slan Biology”, holding 20% of the shares… Could it be someone from the Zhuo family?
Zhao Qian was an excellent source for extracting information. He Zhen’s doubts were all resolved by her.
The 20% shares in “Slan Biology” belonged to the Zhuo family’s eldest son, Zhuo Chen.
Who was Zhuo Chen?
Zhao Qian did not say.
But He Zhen already had a direction for his investigation.
In this regard, He Zhen’s luck was much better than Wen Ying’s. Wen Ying still did not know that Xie Jinghu’s illegitimate son was called Zhuo Chen. He Zhen went straight to the heart of the matter, sparing himself many detours.
Zhao Dong.
Jinghu Group.
The Zhuo family.
There must be a thread connecting these three!
Zhao Qian’s daily venting targets were the Zhuo siblings. She occasionally mentioned Sara Zhuo. This Zhuo family, which could help Zhao Dong and allow the eldest son to hold 20% shares in “Slan” without showing his face, seemed to lack a male head of household.
The two children both took their mother’s surname Sara Zhuo. This was actually normal, for example, children from a divorce changing to follow their mother’s surname.
But Zhao Qian was the type who could not hold back her words.
He Zhen did not even want to ask anymore. Zhao Qian volunteered the information. He Zhen asked Zhao Qian why she was so resentful of the Zhuo siblings. Since Zhao Dong needed the Zhuo family’s support, and Zhao Qian had agreed to help her brother maintain connections, being so hostile towards the Zhuo siblings, they would surely notice.
If the Zhuo siblings noticed Zhao Qian’s attitude, they would not like her. But to say the siblings deliberately bullied Zhao Qian, based on what she described, He Zhen felt it was not that bad.
He Zhen instead felt that Zhao Qian had a one-sided grudge against the Zhuo siblings. Relying on the Zhuo family’s help while looking down on their children was truly contradictory!
Zhao Qian could not tolerate the questioning.
She could not say she was jealous of Zhuo Yue. She said she looked down on the Zhuo siblings because they were both illegitimate children!
Illegitimate offspring.
Following the mother’s surname.
No male head in the family.
Zhao Qian dug up Sara Zhuo’s background. The missing logical thread was filled in.
The He family’s business and Jin Hu Group’s investment.
Zhao Dong’s inconsistent persona and the Zhuo family’s support.
Zhao Dong suddenly entering the He family’s social circle and cooperating deeply with his parents, with such mutual trust between both sides, was because both had an “intermediary”.
Peeling away the superfluous surface information bit by bit, what remained was the truth.
Zhao Dong and the He family were not actually close, nor should they have any social ties. Someone needed Zhao Dong and the He family to cooperate!
Whether Zhao Dong or the He family, both were shields for each other. What was truly bound tightly together was not Zhao Dong and the He family, but the Zhuo family and Jin Hu Group!
A wave of disgust surged straight to He Zhen’s head.
He was different from Zhao Qian. Zhao Qian said she looked down on illegitimate children out of jealousy. He Zhen truly did look down on them!
Dai Chenglan had accompanied her husband He Zhinian in starting from scratch. The couple built their business together. After succeeding, He Zhinian did not stray. He remained a good man responsible to his family and children.
But from what He Zhen knew, among his father He Zhinian’s friends of many years, seven out of ten had situations outside.
Not counting fleeting affairs, long-term mistresses and children born from them were not uncommon.
The most disgusting “uncle” He Zhen knew had, after succeeding, gotten involved with his female secretary. He had fathered more than one child with her.
The female secretary came and went with the “uncle” as if she were the principal wife. The “uncle’s” original wife was very timid and could not control her husband’s philandering. Yet she relied on her husband’s living expenses to get by, so she endured it in silence.
He Zhen was very familiar with this “uncle’s” son. The two were about the same age and had grown up together, counting as childhood friends.
As He Zhen’s childhood friend grew older, with the female secretary being so arrogant, the friend also learned of the matter.
The friend encouraged his mother to divorce. The original wife refused to the death, saying it was for her son’s good.
How was it for the son’s good?
The man became even more brazen. During Chinese New Year, he brought the female secretary back to his hometown. Instead, the original wife had to make way!
Because the man favoured the mistress, the hometown relatives all fawned over the mistress.
He Zhen’s childhood friend could not swallow this anger. Emboldened by drink as a young man, he took a knife and stabbed the female secretary.
The female secretary did not die. She insisted on suing He Zhen’s childhood friend. At that time, the friend had already received an acceptance letter from a foreign university. Because of this, his future was completely ruined.
