\”President, we are ready.\” Secretary Go nodded as he finished his call with Bei Tian. \”They saw Jack in the castle. But… they were not able to confirm if the madam was there.\”
\”All right.\” Zhou Jingren said as they walked towards their private plane.
\”Excuse me, President Zhou?\”
Zhou Jingren stopped walking and turned towards the woman approaching them. \”I am Demi Liang, from the Lee Group. Is it possible to have a short conversation with you?\”
\”No,\” he frowned and started walking. However, the woman walked in front of her, blocking his way.
\”President Zhuo, It is very important that I — we talked to you.\”
\”Lady, my boss still has a flight. Can you move?\” Secretary Go glared at the woman a few inches shorter than him. He immediately wondered if the woman was a model sent by the enemies to try to seduce Zhou Jingren.
\”We?\” Zhou Jingren asked as he lifted an eyebrow.
\”Director Lee is in the VIP Lounge of the airport. He is waiting for you.\”
\”Are you going to move? Or…\”
\”Please… the Director is sick. He just wanted to have five minutes of your time.\” She begged. In response, Zhou Jingren looked at Secretary Go.
\”How many minutes do we have?\”
\”Twenty-two minutes and three seconds.\” Secretary Go answered as he glared at the woman.
\”Then let’s go.\” Zhou Jingren said. He then eyed Secretary Go as if telling him not to say anything. The woman gave Zhou Jingren a polite smile before he led them into the VIP lounge of the airport.
\”Ah… I already told you. He will come and see me!\” Isaac Lee immediately beamed when he saw Zhou Jingren. He stood from his velvet chair and eyed the younger man sitting next to him. \”I knew he will see me.\” He then walked towards Zhou Jingren and attempted to give him a hug.
\”Who are you?\”
Isaac’s face immediately darkened. He stopped in his tracks and stared at Zhou Jingren, wondering as if he was telling a joke. Seeing his serious expression, Isaac knitted his brows. \”Is that how you talk to your grandfather?\” Bitterness laced his words as he watched Zhou Jingren sat on the vacant seat.
\”You talk as if… we know each other, Director Lee. I only have five minutes to spare. Get to the point.\”
It was as if there was a lump in Isaac’s throat. He stared in disbelief at Zhou Jingren.
\”Four minutes and fifty-five seconds.\” Secretary Go added, waking up the old man from his stupor.
\”I believe you have something important to say to me?\” Zhou Jingren asked, amused at the older man’s reaction. The only reason why he agreed to see the old man is that he does not want anyone to suspect him. Zhou Jingren wanted to make it look as if he is doing something normal. He wanted everyone watching him see that he does not have any plans aside from going back to Hong Kong after visiting Shanghai.
\”I…\” the old man stuttered.
\”Well… you can’t really pretend that you don’t know my father.\” The younger man said as lines appeared in the middle of his brows. \”He is Isaac Lee, your grandfather and I am Thomas Lee, your uncle.\” The man added, his tone stern.
\”And?\” Zhou Jingren raised an eyebrow. Of course, he already knew them. Thomas was adopted by Isaac and he was the current CEO of Lee Group. However, he is not planning to acknowledge them. \”I already said that I am not interested in any business cooperation. Did you want to see me because of my late wife’s properties in Singapore?\”
An awkward silence permeated the place as both Isaac, Thomas and the woman named Demi stared at Zhou Jingren, dumbstruck. Was he playing dumb? Was he intentionally saying nonsense? All these questions swirled in their minds, making them confused at Zhou Jingren’s behavior.
\”Listen,\” Thomas grunted. \”If you can’t respect your grandfather then…\”
\”And who are you to demand respect?\” Zhou Jingren interrupted him. \”That is such a shameless thing to ask, Mr. Lee. Now… I finally see what kind of businessman you are.\”
\”You—\”
\”Thomas, enough!\” Isaac suddenly blurted, silencing Thomas. \”Apologize.\” He uttered. A smug smile instantly appeared on Thomas’ face as he stared at Zhou Jingren. In response, Zhou Jingren scoffed. \”Apologize to Zhou Jingren, now.\” Isaac continued.
Thomas’ face immediately contorted. \”Father… what do you…\”
\”You disrespected our guest. Apologize.\” The old man said.
Seeing the old man’s serious expression, Thomas held his breath before he lowered his head. \”I apologize for disrespecting you.\” He said as he balled his hand into a fist. \”I hope you can forgive me.\”
\”Good,\” Isaac said before he turned his gaze to Zhou Jingren. \”My son is in the wrong here. Forgive him. He is quite impulsive, even until now.\”
\”Does my forgiveness matter?\” Zhou Jingren countered. \”I can’t …\”
\”I am dying,\” Isaac interrupted him. His face stern as he met Zhou Jingren’s eyes. \”I wanted to have a relationship with my daughter and grandson before I die.\”
\”Then… why talk to me?\” Zhou Jingren remained unfazed. \”By now, you already know that my mother is back. Why don’t you go ahead and find her?\”
\”I tried.\” He avoided Zhou Jingren’s gaze as he sigh. \”She won’t see me.\”
\”Well… she has a reason not to. Me and my mother are not close enough. I can’t convince her to change her mind. \” Zhou Jingren then rose from his seat, only to see a bulky man wearing a suit approached Thomas. He whispered a few words at Thomas before he went to stand next to him.
\”But I am sure she would listen to you. She loves you. If you tell her to…\” Isaac continued talking. Unbeknownst to him, Zhou Jingren was already in a daze.
Zhou Jingren pretended to look at Isaac. But his mind was already running rampant as he thought of all the possibilities that would explain why the man who just entered have a red snake tattoo on his neck.
Was it possible that Thomas was somehow involved in the kidnapping of his wife?
