The entire day, Jiang Jia never left Chu Shangluo’s side, afraid that Ren Jiaoming might return to take revenge. Even when he went home that night, Jiang Jia begged Chu Shangluo to drive him back. Chu Shangluo, thinking that he had already made Jiang Jia unhappy during the day, decided to give him some face and agreed to personally drive Young Master Jiang home.

On the way back, Jiang Jia sat in the passenger seat, feeling uneasy. “Something’s not right. Why didn’t Ren Jiaoming come out to hit me? This isn’t like him. Could it be that my idea really worked? Has he given up on you?” Chu Shangluo gazed at the deep night ahead, replying indifferently, “Whatever.”

Jiang Jia, with a smile on his face, looked at Chu Shangluo and said, “Chu Shangluo, have you thought about me?” Chu Shangluo glanced at Jiang Jia and shook his head. If he had to think about a response when rejecting Lu Wen’s confession, there was no need to think at all when facing Jiang Jia. Perhaps it was because Jiang Jia was so young, with his creamy white face, single eyelids, and eyes like a little puppy—round and sparkling—just like the puppy he had raised before. The puppy was warm, open, and forgiving, so he felt relaxed around Jiang Jia. His rejection was straightforward, without hesitation.

He glanced at Jiang Jia. “I don’t like your type. I like beautiful people.”

Although Jiang Jia had guessed that Chu Shangluo would say this, he was still slightly hurt by such a direct answer. “I’m not a beauty, but I’m not ugly either! I think I look pretty good!” He suddenly sighed deeply. “Actually, it’s not about beauty. It’s because you still have Ren Jiaoming in your heart, right?”

Chu Shangluo was silent for a moment before replying, “It doesn’t matter anymore. We can never be together.”

“But Chu Shangluo, I think you’re soft-hearted! You’ll forgive him sooner or later because you still love him. Love makes you unwilling to let go, it gnaws at you, and it keeps you up at night!” Jiang Jia spoke with certainty, as though the next moment Chu Shangluo and Ren Jiaoming would reconcile.

Chu Shangluo reached out and lightly patted Jiang Jia’s head. “I’m not losing sleep. I’m almost thirty; I can’t handle staying up all night. So I treat you like a child. Relationships between people are complicated. They’re not just black or white, and it’s not about love being enough to solve everything. There are too many obstacles between me and Ren Jiaoming. It’s not just love that can overcome them. And I have my own struggles, like a thorn stuck in my throat—can’t spit it out, can’t swallow it down. But every time I see that thorn, it hurts me, making me too scared to eat fish again.”

This was the first time Jiang Jia heard Chu Shangluo’s inner thoughts, but he didn’t understand the complexities of love and hate. All he knew was that love could torment someone to the point of life and death.

He gazed at Chu Shangluo’s calm face, thought for a moment, and then asked, “Do you regret it? Do you regret truly loving someone?”

At this point, the car had already arrived in front of Jiang Jia’s house. Chu Shangluo stopped the car, rolled down the window to let in some fresh air. The cold winter wind slowly seeped into the car. Chu Shangluo lazily leaned back against the side of the bed, watching Jiang Jia who was craning his neck, waiting seriously for his response. He slowly extended his hand and stopped it in front of Jiang Jia’s forehead.

Jiang Jia obediently lowered his head, thinking that Chu Shangluo was going to pat his head. Chu Shangluo’s lips curled into a smile. He pressed his thumb against his middle finger and flicked it hard. Jiang Jia yelped, covering his forehead. “Why did you flick my head? It made a sound!”

Only then did Chu Shangluo speak. “I wouldn’t regret truly loving someone. Isn’t that what everyone seeks in love? To receive that kind of sincerity? If no one gives their true heart and everyone regrets it, then love has no value.”

Jiang Jia looked at Chu Shangluo’s serious eyes, deeply moved. “In this circle, very few people have a true heart. Chu Shangluo, you’re really rare.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Chu Shangluo straightened up, leaned over to open the car door next to Jiang Jia, and suddenly said, “But I regret giving my true heart to someone I shouldn’t have loved. A person’s true heart is limited in this life. If you give it to the wrong person, when you meet the one you truly want to love and treat well, you’ll realize that you no longer have that initial abundance of love to offer. Then, you’ll regret it.”

In the cold night, Chu Shangluo’s face was hidden in the darkness. Jiang Jia couldn’t clearly see his face and didn’t know if Chu Shangluo was sad when saying these words, but just listening to them made him feel sad. Only someone who had truly been hurt, someone whose heart had been worn down, could say something like this. He reached out, wanting to comfort Chu Shangluo, but his body was suddenly pushed back. He was shoved out of the car.

The cold air suddenly enveloped Jiang Jia. He stood there dazed. Chu Shangluo closed the car door, leaned out, and smiled at Jiang Jia, who had a foolish look on his face. “I don’t like you, so I can’t give you all my true heart. You’re still young, and the people you’ve met are limited. You should experience more. Keep a complete, passionate, loving heart for the one you truly want to love. I’m not some playboy, but I’m also not someone who will stay pure for someone I know I’ll never be with again. I’m almost thirty now, and I’m more practical. I want someone capable and good-looking, someone not too hard to handle. But if I meet someone who suits me, I’m willing to move on to the next stage. What we have between us can only be considered a fleeting romance. You’ve treated me well, and I don’t want to ruin you.”

After finishing, Chu Shangluo saw that Jiang Jia was still in a daze. He reached out and patted his shoulder, then drove away.

Everything Chu Shangluo said to Jiang Jia today had been said on a whim. On the way back, he slowly mulled over the words, and then suddenly laughed. He really did sound like the grand, romantic type now.

The next morning, Ren Jiaoming didn’t show up again.

Chu Shangluo was still the same as before—irritable and restless. When he was upset, he would yell at people; when he was happy, he would send red envelopes to Lin Zhi and Lu Wen, and take them out to eat. Everything seemed unchanged from before. But in the afternoon, something happened that made everyone uncomfortable.

Due to the high sales of strawberries over the past two days, Chu Shangluo’s strawberries were of great quality and affordable prices, selling out as soon as they hit the shelves. The younger generation of the Chen family benefited from this business and started placing larger orders. However, a few customers who had bought strawberries from Chen Ke in the morning came forward, claiming that after eating the strawberries, they had suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and they suspected the strawberries came from dishonest sellers.

Chen Ke naturally denied it and showed them his business license. The customers insisted that the strawberries lacked the proper certification. Chen Ke, who had a short temper, immediately took the complaining customers to the strawberry farm. At the farm, only Chu Zong was present. Chu Zong was also impulsive and showed the customers various legal certificates, but they insisted that one of the certificates was fake.

Chen Ke didn’t believe it and, easily provoked, started an argument with the customers. They ended up going to the certification agency for verification. The result: the certificate was fake.

Now Chen Ke was panicking and called Chu Shangluo. When Chu Shangluo found out, he was furious—he had never encountered such presumptuous people before. This scheme seemed to be similar to the one used to sabotage Chu’s seafood market. It was clear that the Wen family was intentionally causing trouble. They had even bribed the certification agency to provide a fake certificate, but the customers refused to admit it and were insisting on framing Chu Shangluo.

When Chu Shangluo arrived to resolve the situation, the group was already arguing loudly, each one yelling their side. The leader of the group saw Chu Shangluo and immediately charged at him, shouting, “Apologize!”

It was clear they were prepared for this. If Chu Shangluo apologized, it would make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

“Why should I apologize?” Chu Shangluo sneered.

“Because you’re guilty!”

“I’m not,” Chu Shangluo took out a certificate and slapped it in the face of the person, with a sarcastic smile. “You’d better take a good look at what this is!”

The other party opened the certificate and froze for a moment. The resolute staff member next to him took a look and was also slightly confused. “Is this real?”

Chu Shangluo coldly stared at them, grabbed the leader of the group, and sent these troublemakers to the police station. The troublemakers quieted down, and after more than half an hour of apologies, Chu Shangluo didn’t let them off easily. He had a lawyer amplify their actions, ensuring they wouldn’t be able to get out anytime soon. Within less than two hours, he had managed to get the troublemakers into the police station. Chen Ke had to admire Chu Shangluo.

When Chu Shangluo saw Chen Ke, he was furious. He didn’t explain anything to Chen Ke and just tossed him in front of the police station and went back. Actually, Chu Shangluo had already known the certificate was fake. He had deliberately played along and pretended to be unaware, but he had already gotten the real certificate. Originally, he had planned to bring out the real one when the Wen family couldn’t hold up their scheme anymore and pull out a few more troublemakers. However, Chen Ke and Chu Zong had messed up his plans with their impulsiveness.

He was so angry that he couldn’t contain himself, wishing he could throw the two of them on the ground and give them a good kick. Even though he had dealt with the troublemakers, the Wen family’s attacks on the strawberries, claiming they were unlicensed and of poor quality, spread like wildfire, leading to a sales slump in the supermarkets.

Although the strawberries had already been signed over to the Chen family, it was no longer Chu Shangluo’s concern, but he didn’t want the younger generation of the Chen family, who trusted him, to suffer. So, he hired a professional team to clear things up online. Once the clarification was effective and sales resumed, Chu Shangluo received news that Wen Yan’s investigation was almost finished.

When Chu Shangluo heard the news, he frowned. Wen Yan had actually been allowed to leave without any problems?! At that moment, the office door was suddenly and forcefully pushed open by several men in black suits. Lin Zhi jumped in shock, his face turning pale as he looked at Chu Shangluo.

Chu Shangluo coldly glared at them, pulling Lin Zhi behind him. His aura was not weaker than that of the brawny men in black suits. “What’s the matter?”

The leader of the group stepped in front of Chu Shangluo and said, “Mr. Chu, our chairman wants to see you.”

The group came in aggressively, showing no courtesy or respect.

Chu Shangluo, who hated being threatened, immediately became angry. “Who the hell is your chairman? Why should I go?”

The man replied, “Our chairman is Wen Zhengyang. He said he will tell you the truth about what happened years ago, such as whether your father was really a murderer.”

Chu Shangluo furrowed his brows.

The man continued, “Our chairman also wanted me to deliver a message. He said, ‘You pretend to be righteous, sending this person and that person to jail, yet you have one person in your own family who should be sent in, but you turn a blind eye, pretending not to see. You shouldn’t be so double-standard.’“