“Bang bang bang—”
At three in the morning, when Lu Boyan had just fallen asleep, knocking on the bedroom door was suddenly heard, accompanied with Uncle Xu’s anxious voice, “Young Master, Young Master!”
Lu Boyan was a light sleeper; he woke up quickly, and went to open the door.
“Yuechuan just called. Building #4-17 of Fanting Garden which had just finished construction in the fourth quarter… suddenly collapsed.” Uncle Xu was usually a composed man, but right then, the hand which was holding onto his walking stick was slightly trembling. “Many of the workers who were staying at the construction site were injured. Two of them have unfortunately… died.”
Real estate was one of three Lu Enterprises’ main business pillars. Ever since they started developing properties, business had been prospering. Now with such a major accident, Uncle Xu could not imagine… what it would do to Lu Enterprises.
For an instant, there was a turbulence inside of Lu Boyan.
But a split second later, he had calmed down, and commanded firmly, “Get Yuechuan to go to the construction site at once. Ask Uncle Qian to prepare the car for me.”
Back in the room, he just realized that Su Jianan had also woken up, looking at him cluelessly and worriedly. It was obvious that she had overheard Uncle Xu.
She lifted the blanket and got off the bed, “I’ll go with you to the construction site!”
Lu Boyan looked outside the window. Under the complete darkness of the night sky, the branches were shaking non-stop due to the cold wind. The world… was suddenly going through a raging storm.
He held both of Su Jianan’s hands, “It’s too cold outside. If this was Kang Ruicheng’s doing as well, he would definitely inform the media. It would definitely be chaotic there. Be good, don’t go, just stay at home and wait for me to come back.”
Lu Boyan was pressed for time; Su Jianan could only heed his words. She nodded, “I’ll get your clothes for you.”
Lu Boyan was soon done dressing. Su Jianan wrapped a scarf around his neck. A stream of light from the car flashed through the window. Uncle Qian was probably done preparing it.
She adjusted Lu Boyan’s clothes and said, “Go.”
Lu Boyan laid a kiss in between her brows, and turned to leave.
Just as he had expected, the scene of the accident was in utter chaos.
There were panicking construction workers, along with the police, media, contractors, and even residents of the previously constructed buildings who had come after hearing about the news standing outside the cordoned area. Everyone was discussing among themselves, making the quiet night appear especially rowdy.
As soon as Lu Boyan’s car stopped, the media rushed over like the wind, stopping him right in front of his car.
“Mr. Lu, two construction workers have died, and many were injured. Could you explain what happened?”
“Mr. Lu, this accident would likely be a huge blow to Lu Enterprises’ real estate business. How does Lu Enterprises intend to deal with it?”
“Mr. Lu…”
Lu Boyan did not answer any of the questions, but only looked at the collapsed building from a distance.
The journalist was right, Kang Ruicheng had really dealt a fatal blow to Lu Enterprises.
“Mr. Lu,” Two police officers emerged from the swarm of journalists, approaching Lu Boyan, and displayed their police identifcation. “According to the contractors’ testimony, we would need your assistance in the investigation.”
It seemed like the journalists had sensed a major news, turning their recorders to the two officers.
“Officer, officer, could you reveal what the contractor said?”
“Officer, is Lu Enterprises Real Estate the most responsible party in this accident?”
The police could not reveal contents of the testimony, and repeatedly dismissed the journalists. The journalists could only turn their attention back to Lu Boyan.
“Mr. Lu, could you say something?”
Lu Boyan’s dark black eyes looked still and calm in the company of the night sky, “Lu Enterprises will assist the police to investigate the cause of the accident carefully. We would eventually hold a press conference to explain the matter to the media and the injured workers.”
“Mr. Lu, are you responsible for this accident? Did you expect such a thing happening before you developed this residential area?” The journalist asked unrelentlessly. It was as good as implying that Lu Boyan was a murderer.
Everyone fell into silence in a moment. Tens of pairs of eyes stared at Lu Boyan closely, yet he remained unperturbed. Even his eyes had not revealed a shred of anxiety.
He said calmly, “Who would do something as stupid as ruining their own reputation?”
The media were momentarily at a loss for words. They could sense a stern warning from his calm tone of expression. Shen Yuechuan and the security guards seized the moment to dismiss the media, and let Lu Boyan get in the car.
This time, Shen Yuechuan and Lu Boyan took the same car. Uncle Qian was driving.
Once the car started driving, Shen Yuechuan said, “I’ve clarified about the accident. What should we do next?”
Lu Boyan had worked out some ideas among the chaos just then, “Pay for the casualties’ medical bills and compensation, appease their family members. Get Mu Qi to investigate the cause of the accident—put the focus on Kang Ruicheng. Also, send some people to check every building of Fanting Garden, and come up with a safety report as soon as possible.”
“You’re suspecting Kang Ruicheng too?” Shen Yuechuan shook his head. “But the media and passersby are probably assuming that it’s the fault of the contractors and Lu Enterprises—it’s also what Kang Ruicheng aimed for.”
It was precisely because of the seriousness of the accident that they did not think it was purely a problem of the contractors.
The contractors had been working with Lu Enterprises for a long time, and they had never gone wrong. Even if they had some fault of negligence in the current situation, it would not be to the extent of such a serious accident. The architects and supervisors were not that useless.
A whole level of building collapsing could only be deliberate.
Once at the police station, Lu Boyan was taken away to assist with the investigation. Shen Yuechuan asked Uncle Qian to take him to the company.
Back at home, Su Jianan was feeling uneasy. She could only restlessly watch the night sky turn to dawn. The fourth time she called Lu Boyan, there was still nobody picking up.
She went online and searched for the news. All sorts of news reports and discussions were overwhelming. Lu Enterprises had been branded as an unscrupulous developer.
First it was tax evasion involving a huge sum of money, and the following was a collapse of a building in the residential area they had been developing. Lu Enterprises had been hurt badly; its future was unclear.
What could she do? What could she do for Lu Boyan?
Su Jianan forced herself to calm down. She called Shen Yuechuan, and only knew then that Lu Boyan was at the police station undergoing investigation.
She rinsed her mouth, absentmindedly ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast, and packed a serving for Lu Boyan, then got Uncle Xu to send her to the police station.
A huge group of media journalists was already stationed at the entrance. Su Jianan was about to ask Uncle Xu to go through the back entrance instead, but some observant journalists had already recognized her car. They swarmed over, and she had no choice but to get off the car.
“Mrs. Lu, Mr. Lu has been in there for so long, was he already arrested by the police?”
“Mrs. Lu…”
“Sorry.” Su Jianan lowered her head slightly, gripping tightly on the thermal lunchbox, she pushed away the microphones which were crowding around her. “Let me pass.”
She was not a rival of those seasoned journalists, she could not get through at all. The journalists tried to make her speak up by provoking her with questions. She could only ask Uncle Xu for help.
It was only until a few bodyguards rushed in to pull away the journalists by force that Su Jianan had managed to enter the station.
She casually asked a colleague; they told her that Lu Boyan was still being questioned. When she went over, Lu Boyan was just coming out of the interrogation room.
She looked like she was almost charging towards Lu Boyan, “How is it?”
In such a situation, the first people to be interrogated should be the contractors. Lu Boyan being the one to be interrogated first could only mean one thing—someone had provided testimony or a piece of evidence which was against him.
Lu Boyan knitted his brows slightly, his fingers brushed over her darkened eyelids, “Why are you here, so early in the morning?”
Su Jianan took Lu Boyan to her office, and opened the lunchbox, “I got the chef to make porridge. You eat some and tell me what happened.”
“Jianan.” Lu Boyan said. “I must get going to the company.”
“No!” Su Jianan was so insistent that it almost felt stubborn. “You must finish your breakfast before leaving my office.” She ran over and locked the office door.
Lu Boyan helplessly took over the bowl she handed to him, and ate his porridge.
Su Jianan asked uncertainly, “Are you sure? Is it Kang Ruicheng again?”
“Other than him, who would dare to touch a property developed by Lu Enterprises?” Lu Boyan paused and looked at Su Jianan. “There will probably be journalists coming to you in the next few days. No matter what they ask you, you just have to say you don’t know. Are you clear?”
Su Jianan knew Lu Boyan did not want her to get involved.
As long as she said she did not know anything, even if the outcome of that incident would be incredibly terrible, she would be spared.
Lu Boyan had already prepared for the worst, and it made Su Jianan increasingly uneasy, “This time is more serious that when Lu Enterprises was reported previously, right?”
“Yes,” Lu Boyan did not deny. “There were casualties. Kang Ruicheng will definitely manipulate the online discussion, and now—” he smiled. “Lu Enterprises has probably turned into the unscrupulous developer in the eyes of the netizens.”
“…” Su Jianan did not dare to tell Lu Boyan about the news she saw in the morning.
Lu Boyan finished his last mouthful of porridge, and rubbed Su Jianan’s long hair, “I’ll be heading to the company.”
Su Jianan was going to speak but she paused, and quietly opened the door for Lu Boyan. Before she could push open the door, she was suddenly hugged from behind, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.
“Just concentrate on work, don’t think too much,” Lu Boyan’s comforting voice was by her ear. “We will not always be pushed around by Kang Ruicheng helplessly.”
“…I want to help you,” Su Jianan said.
Lu Boyan smiled, he turned Su Jianan around by her shoulders to face him, “It’s just a small matter. There’s no need for Mrs. Lu to deal with it personally.”
Su Jianan did not know whether to smile or laugh, she lightly pushed Lu Boyan, “Alright, off you go.”
Lu Boyan raised his eyebrows. “Are you not sending me off?”
Su Jianan held onto Lu Boyan’s hand and sent him to the entrance of the station. He did not want her to go out, citing that there were too many people of the media, and made her go back to her office.
She nodded, and watched Lu Boyan walk out. Indeed, a huge group of journalists swiftly swarmed over. Luckily, the bodyguards had reacted very quickly, and set a boundary around Lu Boyan. The journalists could not get near him.
The journalists asked the same few sharp and candid questions. Lu Boyan did not answer, only turning back to look at Su Jianan, then got on his car and left.
Su Jianan was about to return to her office when she saw Jiang Shaokai rushing over. She asked him what was the matter, and he only said, “There’s work to do.”
They were a team. Su Jianan couldn’t have been unaware if Jiang Shaokai had work.
It did not take more thinking for Su Jianan to understand, “It’s the deceased of the Fanting Garden collapse incident, right?”
Jiang Shaokai acknowledged. “You and Lu Boyan are husband and wife. According to the regulations, you… can’t take this case.”
Su Jianan nodded in understanding, “I know the rules, you go ahead.”
