Chapter 85: Backed by Someone Powerful

"Go ahead, tell me what you want me to do."

Zhao Mingjie, seeing that Zhou Qingfei had something rather interesting in her hands, for once felt a spark of interest. He sat down, lit a cigarette, and asked slowly, "Our great celebrity comes to find me in her busy schedule—is it just to tell me this one thing?"

"Of course not," Zhou Qingfei replied carelessly, walking over to sit beside Zhao Mingjie. "In a few days, Shen Ruizhang will surely hold a grand banquet to announce his marriage to that little vixen. I want you to slip in and help me with something."

"Oh? The Shen family’s territory—is someone like me allowed to just walk in?" Before Zhou Qingfei could say what exactly she wanted, Zhao Mingjie raised his brows and interrupted. "Last time, I already spent so much effort just to get onto that wretched yacht of yours. This time, their security will be airtight. How am I supposed to find another loophole?"

"If I could get you safely out of Shen Ruizhang’s grasp and settled here, I can get you inside," Zhou Qingfei’s face radiated confidence.

The last yacht incident—Shen Ruizhang had at least shown her some old affection and let his bodyguards protect her, which gave her a slim opportunity. Those privileged sons of fortune would never have guessed that she had a hand in that terrifying attack. Cleaning up afterward was troublesome, though. She bore the brunt of the pressure and spent God knows how much to arrange for Zhao Mingjie to have a safe place in M Country.

Not that she wanted to help him. If she weren’t afraid of getting implicated—if Shen Ruizhang and Shen Tingxiao traced things back—she would have wished Zhao Mingjie dead and gone.

Hearing Zhou Qingfei’s words, Zhao Mingjie’s interest grew. "After it’s done, how much hush money is the famous Zhou going to give me?"

"As much as you want," Zhou Qingfei answered without hesitation.

Seeing how quickly she replied, Zhao Mingjie grew suspicious. "Zhou Qingfei, you’re not planning to trick me again like last time, are you?"

"This time, I absolutely won’t." Zhou Qingfei’s face bloomed with a bright, dazzling smile as she spoke slowly. "If I dare to have any thoughts, you can go ahead and expose every secret you have on me."

Zhao Mingjie wasn’t foolish; the terms before him were all gain, no loss. "Alright, deal!"

...

Ge Xingjing acted fast. The next morning, Shen Tingxiao had just stepped into his office when he saw a sealed dossier on his desk.

"Sir Shen, everything you asked for is in here. I also sent a copy to your email," Ge Xingjing reported.

Shen Tingxiao glanced over the contents, then nodded, showing approval for Ge Xingjing’s efficiency.

"By the way, Sir Shen, you received an invitation this morning—it’s..." Ge Xingjing paused, not daring to continue, and handed over a beautifully packaged invitation.

Shen Tingxiao raised his eyebrows, needing no guess to know what it was.

Wedding Invitation

Those five bold words stood in the center, signed by Shen Enterprises below.

Shen Ruizhang, that audacious man, had dared to send the invitation right to Shen Tingxiao himself.

Watching his boss’s expression grow darker, Ge Xingjing swallowed nervously. "Sir Shen, there’s no harm in skipping such an event. I’ll arrange someone to decline."

"Attend. How could I not?" Shen Tingxiao waved a hand, a chilling smile curling his lips. "My uncle has extended such a warm invitation—how could I not go in person?"

Besides, the heroine of this so-called 'wedding' was the one closest to his heart.

Ge Xingjing couldn’t guess his boss’s intentions, but he did as instructed. After reporting today’s schedule, he prepared to leave the office.

"Wait," Shen Tingxiao suddenly called out, as if remembering something. "The gift for Miss Jiang—send it to her immediately."

He had expected an important instruction, but it turned out his boss was only intent on showering affection. Ge Xingjing felt a bit embarrassed but went to carry out the task.

Elsewhere, Jiang Yunzhou was awakened by the ringing phone.

"Yunzhou, how could you not tell your mother when something so big happened?" As soon as she picked up, Chen Li’s voice came through.

Not long ago, Jiang Yunzhou used her earnings to buy tickets to Bali for Jiang Zhen and Chen Li, saying she wanted to spend her first real income on giving her parents a vacation.

She hadn’t expected such trouble to arise after only a few days.

"Mom, don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. I’ll handle it," Jiang Yunzhou mumbled sleepily.

But Chen Li on the other end was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. "How can you call this nothing! Marriage is a huge deal—and why is it Shen Ruizhang?"

Chen Li had just come to terms with her precious daughter’s plan to marry Shen Tingxiao in a flash wedding, and now another Shen Ruizhang had appeared. Moreover, Shen Ruizhang was technically Jiang Yunzhou’s uncle by name, which was utterly improper.

"Your father and I are looking at tickets to come back today. We’ll discuss everything together as a family."

"No! You both finally have a break—just enjoy your holiday!" Hearing that her parents wanted to return, Jiang Yunzhou immediately woke up, sat up in bed, and said, "I’ll handle this myself, don’t worry."

Chen Li was still uneasy, asking repeatedly. Only then did Jiang Yunzhou explain in detail how Old Madam Shen had fallen gravely ill, and how she had inexplicably ended up with another marriage contract.

"That’s how things are. I never agreed to marry Shen Ruizhang. Last night, I was simply told there was another engagement."

"Utter nonsense!" Jiang Zhen’s voice came through the phone—it was clear the speaker had turned on.

"That Shen Ruizhang, I used to keep quiet because he looked after Yunzhou, but now Old Madam Shen is ill, and instead of caring for his mother, he’s thinking about—" Jiang Zhen broke off, sighing in exasperation, then asked, "Does Shen Tingxiao know about all this?"

Jiang Yunzhou replied softly, "Yes, I spent yesterday with Tingxiao and explained everything."

Even after hearing the whole story, Jiang Zhen was still uneasy. "Yunzhou, do you really not need your parents to come help?"

"No need!" Jiang Yunzhou’s voice was full of laughter, as if she had nothing to do with the matter. "I’m no longer a child needing protection, and besides—"

She paused, then added, "I have someone who will stand up for me."

As she said this, last night’s sweet date flashed through her mind, and a blush colored her cheeks.

On the other end, Jiang Zhen and Chen Li immediately understood who she meant.

Shen Tingxiao.

Chen Li understood her daughter’s feelings, smiled gently, and said, "We’ll leave young people’s matters to you. But Yunzhou, if anything happens again, promise you’ll tell us first, alright?"

Jiang Yunzhou agreed playfully, listening to a few more words of advice.

Just as she hung up, the bedroom door was knocked on by a servant.

"Miss, Sir Shen has sent you a gift."