Chapter 5:

Shen Qingzhou sat in the front passenger seat of the car—it was Lin Qiao’s car, but she wasn’t here right now. Her father had called, so she stepped aside to take the call.

It was because Shen Qingzhou suddenly mentioned he wanted to try authentic Beijing duck that Lin Qiao had decided to take him elsewhere for dinner. They wouldn’t be dining at the Regent Hotel today.

Shen Qingzhou waited in the car for about three minutes. Lin Qiao still hadn’t returned, and although she hadn’t come back, someone else had arrived.

Another car pulled up in front of the hotel. A woman in business attire stepped out, holding a folder. She approached Shen’s open car window and handed it to him.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Shen said politely, showing no curiosity about how this person had known he was here or why she had brought him this item.

After taking the folder, he casually glanced toward Lin Qiao, who was still on the steps, absorbed in her phone call, completely unaware of what was happening above her. He leaned toward the window, his long fingers grazing his lips before he slowly redirected his gaze.

The woman bent down slightly and said to him, “This is from President Fang. It contains all the information on Lin Qiao, including details about other members of the Lin family and the Lin Group. President Fang hopes this will be of help to you.”

Shen Qingzhou looked at the woman and said sincerely, “Please thank your ever-thoughtful President Fang for me.”

The woman appeared slightly awkward but pressed on, “President Fang also said not to be formal, and that if you need similar help in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact him. You’ve done him a huge favor, and besides, you’re still his…”

Before she could finish, Shen Qingzhou raised his hand to cut her off with a cold, indifferent “Oh.”

The woman sensed his distance but didn’t leave immediately. She continued, “President Fang also asked me to tell you, Mr. Shen, that he hopes you can meet up sometime. He really misses you, and Miss Wang also misses you dearly.”

Shen Qingzhou looked at her, speaking softly, “I don’t know any Miss Wang.”

The woman’s expression darkened slightly, but she inhaled deeply and said, “She’s President Fang’s wife’s younger sister.”

“Oh, his sister-in-law. What does that have to do with me?” Shen Qingzhou handed the folder back to her, slowly rolling up the window. His voice remained gentle but carried a chilling edge, “You can go back now. I don’t need this. Please also give your President Fang a message from me—ask him when his next divorce will be, and I hope it lasts longer than three months this time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the window was completely closed. The woman glanced toward Lin Qiao, who had just finished her call and was walking over, then reluctantly turned and left.

After getting into the car, Lin Qiao apologized sincerely, “I made you wait so long, I’m really sorry. My father was afraid I’d neglect you, so he kept reminding me. If you really want to try Peking duck, I know a great place. Quanjude might be famous, but their duck isn’t necessarily the best. I know someone who makes the best duck I’ve ever tasted—I can take you there.”

After finishing her words, Lin Qiao excitedly fastened her seatbelt and started the engine. The silver Buick merged into the traffic flow. Shen Qingzhou glanced at her and said in a flat tone, “Miss Lin, if you have something else to do, you don’t need to accompany me. I can manage on my own.”

Lin Qiao immediately replied, “No way, you’re my guest. I can’t afford to neglect you, and besides, you’re unfamiliar with Beijing and don’t even have a car. It’s really inconvenient to get around.”

Shen Qingzhou looked out the window and said, “I think taking a taxi would be more convenient given the traffic.”

Lin Qiao glanced at the long line of traffic ahead and sweatdropped, “You have a point, but I still can’t be impolite to a guest.”

Shen Qingzhou remained unmoved, “Pull over for a moment later.”

Lin Qiao was taken aback but, since they were stuck in traffic anyway, decided to chat with him, “You’re not going to dinner with me anymore?”

Shen Qingzhou replied, “You were on the phone for a long time. It must have been more than just what you told me. I don’t want to interfere with your important matters.”

“No, really, having dinner with you is important to me, maybe even more important.” Lin Qiao gave him a very insincere smile.

Shen Qingzhou looked at her, his eyes clear but cold, “So entertaining someone pretending to be a spiritual medium is part of your duties as a host?”

“…”

She knew it. She had thought he was being unusually generous, but now he suddenly brought it up—she had no idea what his intentions were. Would he leave her in the lurch tomorrow and make her look bad in front of her father?

Shen Qingzhou naturally guessed Lin Qiao’s thoughts. He looked straight into her eyes and said, “Miss Lin, I know you don’t like me.”

Lin Qiao wanted to object, but Shen Qingzhou continued, “Actually, I don’t like you either.”

“…”

She decided it was better to stay quiet.

“Therefore, Miss Lin, there’s no need to pretend to be polite to me anymore. It’s tiring for you, and annoying for me to watch.”

With that, there was nothing more Lin Qiao could say. She nodded and apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Qingzhou gave a slight nod, accepting her apology. He lowered his eyes and pretended to rest, his perfect profile serene and composed.

His appearance wasn’t just conventionally handsome; there was a charm about him that became more captivating the more you looked. He had a graceful and refined demeanor, exuding a comfortable and mature aura. Broad-shouldered and slim-waisted, he carried himself with a timeless elegance that made him extremely appealing.

Once the traffic cleared, Lin Qiao quietly pulled over to the side of the road. Shen Qingzhou opened the door, got out, took his belongings, and left. Lin Qiao watched his tall figure recede in the rearview mirror, feeling a strange unease in her heart.

They parted on bad terms, and Lin Qiao assumed she’d have to apologize profusely the next day to get Shen Qingzhou to accept her invitation again. However, early the next morning, she received a call from him—he no longer needed her to invite him and had already arrived outside her house.

Lin Qiao hurried out of bed, still half-asleep, quickly washed up and changed clothes, and hastily combed her hair before rushing downstairs. She quickly said something to her father as she passed the dining room.

Her father was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized and ordered the servants to tidy up the house while he ran upstairs to change.

Lin Qiao panted as she ran through the garden to open the gate. The closer she got, the clearer she saw the tall figure waiting outside the iron gate. He wore a black modernized Zhongshan suit, a talisman around his neck, holding a compass in his right hand. When he saw her running over, he turned to face her.

“Why did you come by yourself?” Lin Qiao gasped, immediately realizing her words sounded harsh. She quickly explained, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just feel a bit guilty. I should have come to pick you up myself.”

Shen Qingzhou simply replied, “How long have you lived here?”

Lin Qiao was taken aback, “Why?”

Shen Qingzhou frowned, “Tell me.”

“…We moved here five years ago when my mom got seriously ill. The previous place was too noisy and the air was bad, so we sold our house and moved here. But not long after, she passed away,” Lin Qiao answered softly, her face pale.

“This house is not suitable for living,” Shen Qingzhou said seriously.

“No way! Don’t say such things. Even jokes have limits. This house is the most valuable asset our family has now,” Lin Qiao frowned.

Shen Qingzhou said calmly, “Oh, then you might as well blow up this house and die together with it.”

Lin Qiao was getting angry but before she could say anything, her father’s voice came from behind.

Her father pushed her aside and warmly said to Shen Qingzhou, “You must be Master Shen, right? Why did you come yourself! You should have waited for us to pick you up! Please come in, don’t stand at the door.”

Shen Qingzhou looked at Lin Qiao, who looked constipated, his narrow eyes gleaming. Then he walked inside with Lin’s father.

Lin Qiao sighed in relief and followed the two back. Once inside the house, her father asked the question that had been puzzling him for a while, “Master Shen, do you think there’s something wrong with our house? Ever since my wife passed away, our business has been getting worse and worse. We’ve been working hard all along, and my daughter has been so busy she doesn’t even have time to date. Where exactly is the problem?”

Hearing this, Shen Qingzhou looked at Lin Qiao for a moment without any clear expression. When Lin Qiao looked at him, he quickly turned away and said to her father, “Let me start from the entrance. The big tree to the south of your gate is swollen and withered, its shade blocking the light, which is very inauspicious. Then the garden—planting so many fruit trees there drains the land’s energy, greatly harming the fortune of the house.” As he spoke, he walked out again, approaching the nearest tree and carefully examining the trunk. Lin Qiao and her father stood behind him, watching with puzzled expressions, both feeling uneasy.

“Master Shen, what’s wrong with this tree?” Her father finally couldn’t help but ask.

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him and said, “There’s an ant nest on the tree. It will cause trouble.”

Lin Qiao stepped forward on tiptoe to take a closer look and indeed saw ants crawling up the tree. His eyesight was really sharp…

Her father’s face had already turned dark, but Shen Qingzhou wasn’t done yet. He pointed to the opposite wall and said, “This wall is wide in front and narrow behind, known as ‘Mars dragging the tail.’ People living here are prone to illness. Mr. Lin, your health should not be very good.”

Lin Qiao’s lips twitched. Not only was her father unwell, but she herself wasn’t in great shape either. He was right again.

Perhaps frustrated with the outside, Shen Qingzhou turned back into the house directly. As soon as he entered, he said, “The staircase is too close to the front door, making it impossible to retain the house’s energy. And this staircase, why did you choose a spiral one?” He turned back to ask, his expression unpleasant.

Lin Qiao weakly raised her hand and said, “Uh, that was my idea. I thought it looked beautiful…”

Shen Qingzhou looked at her for a while, then turned away, his voice low and mocking, “It does look beautiful, but beauty comes at a price. Spiral staircases are prone to the ‘grinding plate’ curse. Be careful of unexpected disasters.”

Lin Qiao thought of her father’s car accident and immediately felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

Shen Qingzhou passed by Lin Qiao, looked around, and pushed open the study door to go inside. His eyes immediately caught the fluttering curtains by the window and the pages of a book being blown open on the desk. His previously relaxed eyebrows furrowed again.

He directly grabbed Lin Qiao’s sleeve and pulled her beside him, turning to ask her, “Putting the desk in front of the window, that was your idea too, right?”

Lin Qiao curiously asked, “Why do you think it’s my idea?”

“The books on the desk are mostly business management and romance novels. It’s obvious who usually uses this place.”

Lin Qiao felt awkward and said, “Yes, it was my idea. I thought the air here was better…”

“Oh,” Shen Qingzhou said coldly and turned to walk out.

Lin Qiao looked at her father, who looked worried, and quickly chased after Shen Qingzhou, asking, “What’s wrong with the study? What’s the problem?”

Without turning around, Shen Qingzhou’s deep voice replied, “There’s a window behind the seat with no support—this is a major feng shui taboo!”

A chill ran down Lin Qiao’s back. Although she hadn’t known Shen Qingzhou for long, he had always appeared calm, rarely changing his tone no matter what happened. This was the first time he had spoken so seriously, indicating the problem was indeed grave.

Lin’s father sighed deeply and followed Shen Qingzhou, asking, “Master Shen, if there are so many problems on just the first floor, how can we resolve them?”

Shen Qingzhou turned around, standing tall by the door. The wind from the window blew the curtains, brushing past him. His short black hair slightly moved, and his pale, jade-like face showed no expression. He spoke to the elder in a deep, polite tone, exuding an authoritative and sharp aura that inspired trust.

He said only two words: “Move out.”