Chapter 19

“Mr. Fang,” Ming Ke stepped forward and extended his hand to Fang Shimian.

Fang Shimian, not quite understanding, quickly shook his hand, “Hello, Mr. Ke.”

“In that case, we’ll take Mr. Fang with us first. Thank you, Manager Yang,” Ming Ke nodded at Manager Yang with a polite smile.

Manager Yang wiped his forehead and quickly glanced at the area manager beside him, who was also smiling, “No trouble at all, let me see you off.”

“Manager, please stay,” said the man in the black suit at the back, extending his hand to stop them. His expression was neutral, but his tone was firm.

Both managers stopped simultaneously, exchanging glances in silence as the group left.

Larger real estate companies usually have a subsidiary responsible for property management. Jiangzhou used to have one, but an incident occurred.

During a sewer inspection, the property management didn’t supervise the construction team to set up barriers, and a child playing nearby accidentally fell in. Despite the family’s immediate rescue efforts, the child ended up with a disabled right leg.

The incident caused a huge uproar. The residents of Yunjin, who were all influential families, spared no expense to sue both the property management and the construction company, not for compensation, but to hold someone accountable.

Later, the residents collectively demanded a change in property management. Jiangzhou Group was troubled, and Qihe was recommended internally by the residents, so they quickly agreed.

Qihe Property Company operates independently, focusing on service, and has done well in property management, growing to a considerable size.

Now that Jiangzhou has collapsed, it shouldn’t have affected their property management much, but everyone only noticed Hengshi’s acquisition of Jiangzhou, unaware that Hengshi also invested in Qihe.

And the first time the investors came, it wasn’t for an inspection but to take away an unnoticed surveillance operator.

Recently, Haishi has been mostly sunny. Although it’s still cold, more people are going out, probably because the year-end is approaching. Specialty stores are bustling, and you can occasionally see queues when passing by.

Sitting in the car, Fang Shimian didn’t know why he was suddenly taken from his cat-searching mission to the office and then into a car, just like the inexplicable dreams he had at night.

There were three people in the car: him, Ming Ke, and the driver.

The car was spacious, but Fang Shimian felt very constrained.

The driver didn’t speak at all, like a robot executing a program. Ming Ke sat in the front passenger seat and wouldn’t speak unless Fang Shimian asked him a question, then he would turn around to answer, smiling at Fang Shimian.

After being looked at with such an expression a few times, Fang Shimian felt embarrassed to speak. He wondered if the Huo family suddenly remembered that Huo Zhongshan had contact with someone before he died and wanted to ask about his last words…

But he probably couldn’t help much because Huo Zhongshan was in a coma afterward and didn’t communicate with him.

Even someone who seemed so strong could have their life taken so easily.

Fang Shimian didn’t consider himself a pessimistic person, but he still sighed at the unpredictability of life.

Now, when the car accident and death are mentioned again, Fang Shimian no longer reacts as intensely as he did at the pizza place.

The intense pain and emotional breakdown from that time have become blurred, and recalling it feels more like an observer’s perspective.

Fang Shimian thought he might be a very cold person, with a hard heart, so he could accept such things quickly.

If someone like him were buried in that mountain forest, would the gentle deity lift his soul and take him to his grandparents?

Or would he fall into the abyss of hell because of his indifference, never to see those he wanted to see again?

He didn’t know, he was always confused about many things.

The car arrived at Hengshi Building, and Ming Ke took Fang Shimian to the 42nd floor, leading him into an exceptionally spacious office to wait.

“What would Mr. Fang like to drink?” Ming Ke asked.

Hearing this, Fang Shimian looked up at Ming Ke, a bit unaccustomed to being looked at so intently. He didn’t dare to meet Ming Ke’s eyes, so he lowered his head, pretending to be interested in the floor, “Just a glass of warm water, please. Thank you.”

“It’s my duty, Mr. Fang, no need to thank me.”

Only after the figure in his peripheral vision disappeared did Fang Shimian relax from his tense state. He looked around the office, which was somewhat similar to Zhu Ze’s, only larger and more luxurious.

When Ming Ke returned, he not only brought warm water but also a bag of snacks, with Hengshi’s logo printed on it, labeled as a snack replenishment bag.

Fang Shimian’s eyes immediately fell on the snack bag, which contained his favorite flavor of chips and spicy marinated duck neck. He knew the brand was said to be delicious but a bit expensive, and he hadn’t been willing to buy it yet.

Ming Ke probably noticed Fang Shimian’s discomfort, so he thoughtfully opened the snack bag, placed the items, and quietly left.

Fang Shimian took a sip of the warm water, wondering if it was a rich person’s illusion, as he thought he could taste a hint of sweetness in the water.

After a few more minutes, Fang Shimian licked his lips, his gaze unconsciously falling on the jelly that had fallen out when Ming Ke opened the bag.

The fruit inside looked delicious, and he hadn’t tried this brand of jelly before.

In the end, Fang Shimian reached out and picked up the jelly, examining it for a while, gently squeezing it, and finally placing it back where it had fallen, even adjusting its position.

Just then, the office door opened, and Fang Shimian’s hand trembled, causing the little thing to roll off the table with a slight thud.

“Little lamb, long time no see.” Huo Jun casually tossed the documents in his hand onto the desk and walked over to the sofa, sitting down next to Fang Shimian with a carefree attitude.

Fang Shimian awkwardly bent down to pick up the jelly, carefully placing it back on the table, then curled his fingers and placed them neatly on his knees, speaking softly, “Mr. Huo, my name is Fang Shimian.”

Huo Jun chuckled, leaning back on the sofa, lazily propping his head up to look at Fang Shimian, “No need to be so formal between us, right? You call me Mr. Huo, but what about calling me brother?”

This question… Fang Shimian thought for a moment and answered steadily, “Maybe, I won’t have the chance to call you that again.”

“What do you mean?” Huo Jun was a bit puzzled, “You don’t plan to see him again?”

Hearing this, Fang Shimian suddenly looked up at Huo Jun, “He’s still alive?”

Huo Jun was even more surprised, but after thinking it over, he quickly understood the twists and turns, and he laughed, “Where did you see the news about the Hengshi president’s death?”

Fang Shimian shook his head; he generally didn’t pay attention to these things, and his information about the outside world mostly came from Xu Long’s chatter.

“Thanks to your timely rescue, Huo Zhongshan is doing well now,” Huo Jun crossed his legs, speaking in a casual tone, “It’s just that we had to clean up some pests recently, which was troublesome, so it was hard to contact you. Now that most of the issues are resolved, I really missed you, so I had to invite you over for a chat.”

Recently, the Huo family had kept the attack on Huo Zhongshan tightly under wraps, causing Jiangzhou to become restless and reveal their hand.

This time, Jiangzhou was really going for broke, deploying over a hundred people, all mercenaries from the battlefield, and even fugitives on global wanted lists, attacking in the city. Huo Zhongshan was cautious enough, changing cars several times, but they were repeatedly tracked, showing the other party’s determination.

The modified car Huo Zhongshan switched to was later found to have an unexploded time bomb under the hood.

Honestly, this was clearly a meticulously planned assassination, with even snipers caught, yet Huo Zhongshan survived, saved by this seemingly harmless little guy in front of him. Huo Jun had to put aside any other thoughts.

It was truly fate.

Before those fugitives were dealt with, it was hard to contact Fang Shimian, fearing they would notice him and drag this innocent guy into it.

The Huo family had sealed all information about the informant, and the traces of the car accident scene were cleaned up. Fang Shimian had been under the protection of plainclothes bodyguards these past few days.

Yet this rabbit caused trouble without realizing it, still daring to ride his electric scooter all over the place, oblivious to the fact that even the color of his underwear was almost known.

So oblivious… it made one’s heart itch.

Huo Jun stared at Fang Shimian, genuinely unable to see how this guy had the courage to save someone.

He had seen a bit of the surveillance video from Huo Zhongshan, and they were only minutes away from the car explosion. If they had been any slower, both would have perished.

Now that everything had settled, Huo Zhongshan was busy with the final cleanup after regaining consciousness.

It allowed Huo Jun to take advantage of the situation, as the Huo family’s bodyguards wouldn’t guard against him.

“Tell me, if it were me in the car at that time, would you have saved me?” Huo Jun asked, though in a joking tone, his gaze was deep as he looked at Fang Shimian.

Fang Shimian didn’t need to think, nodding without hesitation, “If it were you, I would save you too.”

After all, the 120,000 was given by the Huo family, and for Fang Shimian, whether it was Huo Zhongshan or Huo Jun, it wasn’t a significant matter.

In fact, whoever was in that car, as long as they were someone he could recall from memory and still alive, Fang Shimian felt he couldn’t just ride away.

Huo Jun received an answer that made him extremely satisfied, and his mood was indescribably wonderful.

Fang Shimian pondered how to ask Huo Jun to let him go back. Knowing that the person he saved was alive was enough; he didn’t want any further involvement.

“Did you tell Zhu Ze about saving someone?” Huo Jun asked again.

Fang Shimian shook his head; to him, it wasn’t something worth boasting about. Fang Shimian sought the safety of anonymity in the crowd, and he always kept a distance from things that would draw attention and discussion.

Huo Jun picked up the lone jelly on the table, “Then don’t tell him in the future either.”

Fang Shimian nodded, not questioning why, but his eyes inadvertently glanced at the delicately packaged yogurt jelly.

He watched as the hand easily opened the jelly lid, slowly peeled off the last layer of plastic, and then placed the jelly aside, taking out the individually wrapped small spoon from the lid.

Fang Shimian was engrossed, but suddenly the opened jelly was pushed in front of him. He looked up in a panic, meeting Huo Jun’s smiling eyes.

“Eat it,” Huo Jun leaned back, watching Fang Shimian with an ambiguous smile, “You call Zhu Ze ‘brother,’ so why not call me ‘Brother Huo’?”

Fang Shimian hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t resist the temptation, picking up the spoon to eat.

“You only heard the first part, huh?” Huo Jun chuckled, squinting at Fang Shimian, “I really like you, kid, but unfortunately…” Huo Jun clicked his tongue, not continuing.

Just then, Ming Ke suddenly knocked and entered, smiling at the two, “Third Young Master, Mr. Fang.”

“The person sent by Mr. Huo to pick up Mr. Fang has arrived. Can we leave now?”