Three Years and Three Years

Chapter 25: Godfather

Five years later in Zhou Family house.

Zhou Mushi haven’t sat at his own dining table for four or five years. Looking at the home-cooked dishes on the table, as he took his chopsticks, a wave of emotions rushed over him.

It’s strange to say that Zhou’s father, who usually loves new things, has managed to keep their home unchanged for these past few years.

All the furnishings in the house remained the way Zhou Mushi’s mother liked before she passed away.

Wooden-colored floorboards, a blue-and-white porcelain vase in the corner, and Chinese-style vintage ornaments.

It’s somewhat funny – it was originally a business marriage, a relationship of getting along by accommodating each other, but now that someone has passed away, a few traces of nostalgic affection have arisen.

After more than ten hours of turbulence on the plane from the United States to Z city, and the exhaustion of sitting for so long, all of it was finally swept away in an instant upon facing the delicious and aromatic food.

Zhou Mushi held his chopsticks and picked up a piece of sour and spicy shredded potatoes, just as he was about to put it into his mouth. His father spoke in an unusually gentle tone and said, “Son, let’s talk about something.”

Chewing on the sour and spicy shredded potatoes in his mouth, Zhou Mushi said while picking at his rice, “Go ahead and speak.”

The CEO of Yucheng Company has an adopted son who is now somewhat famous in the industry and a few years older than you. You should get to know him.

Zhou Mushi bit down on the chopstick and winced as his teeth throbbed with pain.

“What do you mean? We haven’t been busy with work-related matters these days, have we?”

Zhou Qingwen took a sip of the wine in front of him and said, “Don’t Pretend to be confused with me.”

Zhou Mushi showed a humble and respectful smile and said, “If you want to arrange work for me now, I’ll be at my post immediately.”

Zhou Qingwen’s face turned cold and he didn’t want to pretend to be friendly with Zhou Mushi anymore. He had made his decision and there was no room for discussion. The so-called “discussion” was just a polite lie commonly used by Chinese parents.

Initially, he transferred directly to a university in the United States to study and later took over the family’s business in the United States. He lived a comfortable life, but it was really uncomfortable. Zhou Mushi had long understood that after returning to China, he would be directly pressed by his authoritarian father to do things his way, without any room for discussion or objection.

At least he was his biological son, and his father wouldn’t harm him out of the bond of flesh and blood.

Zhou Mushi took comfort in the authentic flavors of Chinese cuisine, which was the greatest consolation for him upon his return to China.

After returning to China, attending social gatherings and dinner parties became unavoidable. Although he would often sleep during the day to adjust to the time difference, he made sure to make time to meet up with old friends in the evenings.

The first priority was his college roommate, Lin Shucheng, who was the same age as him. Zhou Mushi had been single for several years now, but Lin Shucheng had done well for himself and had a partner, as well as a son and a daughter.

After graduating from the first semester of his junior year, Zhou Mushi only saw him a few times. When they met at the dinner table this time, Zhou Mushi was really taken aback.

Although it had been four or five years, there was a clear difference between someone who had been loved and cared for by a partner and a rough single guy. His roommate clearly looked as youthful and sprightly as ever, and didn’t seem like someone who had two children.

As for Zhou Mushi himself, to use a nicer word to describe him, he had become mature. In other words, he was no longer a youth radiating youthful vitality from head to toe.

Lin Shucheng was somewhat different from before. When he spoke, there was always a smile on his face. He was no longer the cold and aloof academic tyrant who always seemed unapproachable to others.

He exudes a scent of milk fragrance, which he said from sprinkling the milk bottle while feeding his daughter.

Zhou Mushi had not yet met the little girl, but he had seen his son Huoguo’er once, who was a particularly cute little boy.

The two of them chatted incessantly about some things from their school days and talked for a few more sentences about their lives in recent years. After they were full and had their fill of wine, Zhou Mushi couldn’t help but ask his friend about someone.

“Do you know a company called Yucheng?”

Lin Shucheng fiddled with his phone, replied to his partner’s message, and also looked up and said, “It’s actually quite a coincidence. I do know them. Shen Qirun talked to them about cooperation last year.”

Zhou Mushi hesitated a bit. As a rule of thumb, it’s best not to inquire about things that involve industry interests without good reason.

“What’s up? Does your family have any cooperation with Yucheng?” Lin Shucheng said nonchalantly.

Zhou Mushi shook his head and said, “I’m not sure. My dad told me to get to know the godson of the Yucheng Group’s boss. It’s funny how it’s still popular to recognize godsons these days, isn’t it?”

Lin Shucheng stuffed a fruit plate into his mouth. Although he didn’t drink much at the dinner table, he ate quite a bit of fruits and vegetables.

“That person? Oh, I know him,” Lin Shucheng said with a look of understanding. “The boss of Yucheng Group was originally the father-in-law of the current CEO. His family only had one daughter who married the current CEO and inherited the family business. His wife has always been low-key, and the boss of Yucheng Group is a sentimental person who has never caused any trouble outside. I heard that he accidentally discovered a young man with great potential and who happened to have the same surname. He was deeply favored by the CEO, so he simply adopted him as his godson. Jin is quite an uncommon surname, and I haven’t met many people with that surname since I was a kid.”

Almost instantly, a frown appeared on Zhou Mushis face. “Jin?” he said.

“Right, the owner of Yucheng Group is surnamed Jin, Jin Liansheng. His godson is now also a very important project manager in their company. I think his name is… Jin Yang,” replied Lin Shucheng, still munching on fruit.

Zhou Mushi : …..

Lin Shucheng didn’t know Jin Yang, even though he lived under the same roof as Zhou Mushi.

At the time, the person that Zhou Mushi was in love with was very secretive, and Lin Shucheng only knew that he was in love, but didn’t know who the other person was.

Zhou Mushi never talked about it, and Lin Shucheng never pried, so much so that now he only knows that he has an ex-boyfriend whose name seems to be Yang Ge or Qiang Ge.

Are you kidding me?

Zhou Mushi smiled bitterly, if Lin Shucheng were to say that this Jin Yang was the biological son of the CEO of Yucheng Group, he would believe that it was just a case of a common name, but as for the job he held, that was hard to say.

In the past, one could climb up the ranks by relying on women, now it’s by relying on godfathers. He wondered how he was so blind in the past to end up with this kind of person.

“I heard that this Director Jin has exceptional abilities and didn’t rely on his godfather’s influence to reach his current position. Your dad has a sharp eye, letting you get to know him more, he must have seen his talent.”

Zhou Mushi yawned and lifted the corners of his mouth, “Let’s not talk about work. It’s annoying. By the way, what’s keeping Zhou Hang busy? He canceled our gathering with the three of us?”

“Did you not know? He’s currently in Hengdian, investing in a TV drama production.” replied Lin Shucheng.

“He’s filming a TV drama. What kind of drama is it? He has nothing to do with the entertainment industry. Is he interested in some celebrity?”

Lin Shucheng smiled: “It has nothing to do with a celebrity. Do you remember his ex-girlfriend, Li Lingling, who cheated on him? That TV series was written by her.”