The ability to investigate vicious murders and the luck of blindly guessing the killer in a TV drama cannot be compared in the slightest.
But Chu Huainan still gave an "Mm."
Seeing that he didn't object, Shen Ting enthusiastically continued in one breath: "Let me organize the case details for you first. The killer murdered a cop, then used an errand boy and an express courier to dump the body on the pedestrian street funded and built by your Yuannan Group..."
Chu Huainan served him a bowl of lily bulb and gorgon nut soup. "Eat first. We can talk about the case at my place after we finish." The eyes hidden behind the gold-rimmed glasses carried a hook, like a canary attempting to tease its admirer by poking its sharp beak out of the birdcage.
Feeling as though he had been pecked by that gaze, Shen Ting couldn't help but dodge slightly.
Chu Huainan's subtext was originally: There are too many people in the restaurant; it's not the best place to analyze a murder case.
But sitting across from him, Shen Ting clearly misunderstood his meaning. After a brief moment of stunned silence, his dodging gaze shifted away from his face, but a smirk hooked the corners of his lips: "Oh, going to your place?" Having only evaded for a moment, those bright eyes looked back at him again, blinking with pointed implication: "President Chu is so efficient even when it comes to dating..."
The ambiguous, frivolous blink did not garner much of Chu Huainan's attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the young man before him, who wore a slick and suggestive expression, had slightly and unnaturally clenched his fist.
Misunderstood, Chu Huainan was in no rush to explain. Instead, he said ambiguously, "I have always been a highly efficient person."
During this dinner, both men had ulterior motives; the drinker's heart was not in the cup.
Not long after all the dishes were served, Shen Ting put down his chopsticks. For the sake of realism, he even let out a small burp.
Chu Huainan smiled knowingly, called the waiter over, and quickly paid the bill. Standing up, he said to Shen Ting, who was still looking down, lost in thought: "Let's go."
Yet the other man remained seated without moving. Instead, he picked up the towel next to him, slowly and forcefully wiped his hands, then looked up and asked: "We both drank. Who's driving?"
Chu Huainan glanced at those inherently very clean hands and said leisurely, "The driver has already arrived."
Shen Ting unconsciously ground his teeth. Left with no choice, he grabbed his jacket and followed behind Chu Huainan. The two walked out of the restaurant shoulder-to-shoulder in an intimate manner.
The iron-gray convertible Bentley Chu Huainan had driven to the restaurant earlier was already gone. Under the streetlights, a black Mercedes Sprinter gleaming with a faint luster had been waiting at the entrance for quite some time.
Inside the vehicle, a soundproof and lightproof TV partition wall was raised between the back cabin and the front seats. The surrounding windows were tightly covered by automated light-khaki curtains.
The car was equipped with a pantry and a bar. Next to the coffee machine sat a pair of minimalist, beautifully contoured bone china cups. In the hidden wine cabinet rested a row of vintage-unidentifiable red wines, and beside it was a moderately sized built-in car refrigerator.
The privacy and comfort of this luxury van were truly top-tier. Even conversations between the driver and the owner required using the vehicle's built-in intercom system.
In a relatively inconspicuous spot next to the rear seats, there was even a safe with a fingerprint lock.
But to Shen Ting, this excellently equipped commercial vehicle felt like an airtight iron cage. —And the kind of cage used in ancient times to transport death row inmates to the execution grounds at the vegetable market, no less.
This trip was a case of burning one's boats to cross the river, yet he had to pretend to be an Ah Dou indulging in pleasure.
Just as he was smiling so hard the muscles in his face were about to cramp, the driver in the front finally made an internal call to the owner's seat in the back.
They had arrived at their destination.
Chu Huainan's residence was located in Tangcheng Riverside, developed by his own conglomerate, in the building directly facing the river.
Tangcheng Riverside had two units per floor, adopting a design of two elevators serving a single unit. Not only did residents not have to share elevators with their neighbors, but the developers had also thoughtfully completely separated the owner's elevator from the service elevator during the initial design phase.
This separation of dynamic and static flows not only guaranteed the privacy of the residents but also greatly satisfied the superiority complex of the "distinction between master and servant" harbored by the chosen ones who could afford properties here.
Obviously, as the helmsman of Yuannan, Chu Huainan did not need to rely on expensive real estate to flaunt his superior material conditions.
The reason he chose this massive, single-floor penthouse in Tangcheng Riverside was entirely because the complex was very close to Yuannan Group's headquarters. For the vast majority of his time during workdays, he lived here.
On a certain well-known Q&A platform, a thread with the above title sparked a lot of discussion. The vast majority of the answers beneath it were merely the so-called lives of the rich that the melon-eating masses had tried hard to fantasize about.
However, there was one answer that was quite close to reality, which read:
Beneath this answer, aside from a few expressing "real-name envy," was a flood of bitter, sarcastic mockery.
In the imagination of the mediocre masses, the ultra-rich must spend all day bustling about for their careers, guarding against arrogance and impatience, devoid of desires and demands, lacking any vanity, and absolutely never showing off the wealth they possess to anyone. In short, talking and laughing with great scholars, with no commoners among their associates—every single one of them a saint or sage.
But the reality is, rich people also possess the inherent base traits of being human. Following trends and comparing oneself to others—these practices were particularly prevalent in the circles of the powerful and wealthy.
Just as common folk love to compare annual salaries, electronics, and necessity housing, or compare whose boyfriend is more handsome and whose girlfriend is prettier... the nouveau riche compare cars, houses, and the number of male and female celebrities they've each conquered.
And the mutual comparisons among the ultra-wealthy couldn't escape luxury cars, mansions, yachts, private jets, or the hundreds- and thousands-fold returns in their investment reports.
After learning that Chu Huainan himself lived in Tangcheng Riverside, the complex became the absolute, undisputed first choice for wealthy people who loved flocking together when selecting real estate.
A newly moved-in commercial nouveau riche, while chatting casually with his property manager, laughed exuberantly with dancing eyebrows: "I worked hard for so many years just to become a master of this 'Dream Complex'."
Chosen as a long-term residence by a massive number of top-tier elites, Tangcheng Riverside naturally and continuously occupied the top spot on Jianghu City's luxury mansion rankings.
The average price per square meter in Tangcheng Riverside was as high as hundreds of thousands. Before handing over the houses, the developers would fully decorate the interiors in a unified style according to a standard of thirty thousand yuan per square meter, so the owners could move in with just their bags.
But even among the wealthiest small fraction of people, the rich still dedicated themselves to using their financial power to draw a clear, distinct "38th parallel" line between themselves and other rich people.
Cunning businessmen were best at utilizing this "self-aggrandizing" mentality—common to all humanity—to bewitch these target clients possessing massive wealth into falling into one consumption trap after another.
At Tangcheng Riverside, owners holding the basic four-to-five-hundred-square-meter layouts could only choose their desired design style from a few fixed templates.
However, any extra-large unit located on the top floors of the complex exceeded one thousand square meters each.
To please this group of super-owners, the developers would provide additional, individualized designs according to their preferences during decoration. This was to ensure that all interior details perfectly matched the aesthetic tastes of the owners.
For example, Chu Huainan's best friend and neighbor, Lin Youfei, favored a "Hong Kong light luxury" style.
His apartment balanced the differing aesthetics of Chinese and Western cultures. While modern and fashionable, the entire house also exuded an aura of low-key luxury.
But the inherently noble-looking Chu Huainan was not a fan of luxurious styles.
The styles he favored were mostly minimalist and clean. Therefore, the decoration style of his residence was also a minimalist style that suited his preferences.
Upon entering the door, Shen Ting was somewhat surprised.
In his imagination, the residence of this Chu Huainan—who radiated hormones at every waking moment—should be a resplendent, extravagant palace swarming with servants.
Yet this apartment before him, although massive, had a color scheme of either black or white. The overall gray-toned decoration exuded a coldness that kept people a thousand miles away.
This "capitalist's lair" was simply far too icy.
If it weren't for the few neatly placed delivery packages he saw by the door upon entering, Shen Ting would have even suspected that this place was merely a temporary apartment Chu Huainan specifically used for "dates."
Chu Huainan had never brought anyone home before; even the slippers had to be found on the spot.
His parents died early, and his grandfather had also passed away. The old family estate in the suburbs, which covered over a dozen acres of land alone, was now solely occupied by his grandmother, Xu Jingping.
The old lady said that with so few people living in the old estate, they didn't need so many hands. Thus, she assigned the most thoughtful Auntie Zhao to manage his household affairs and take care of his daily life.
This Auntie Zhao had begun serving the Chu family in her thirties. Now over fifty, she was a trusted confidant of the Chu family matriarch. Under her, Auntie Zhao also led several nimble, tight-lipped middle-aged aunties.
But compared to having outsiders in the house, Chu Huainan preferred staying alone.
Therefore, Auntie Zhao and her "subordinates," who had been sent by Xu Jingping to act as full-time nannies, read the room and automatically turned themselves into "hourly workers."
Having worked at the old estate for over twenty years, Auntie Zhao had deep insights into how to cater to the living habits of the Chu family. In the very first cabinet he casually opened, Chu Huainan found the several pairs of unopened guest slippers she had prepared well in advance.
Shen Ting changed his shoes and followed Chu Huainan into the house.
In the most prominent position in the living room, a four-seater long sofa sat against the wall. Not wanting to sit together with Chu Huainan, Shen Ting very naturally walked toward the single sofa on the far left.
Chu Huainan handed him a glass of warm water: "I won't offer you tea at night; I'm afraid it will affect your sleep."
Perhaps it was because the interior was brightly lit...
That Chu Huainan—who, inside the dimly lit car, had exuded an all-encompassing masculine magnetism, as if ready to invite him to do something together at any moment—was, at this moment, actually so dignified he almost seemed ascetic.
From entering the door until now, Chu Huainan had only taken off his suit jacket; he hadn't even unbuttoned the collar of his shirt.
That dark shirt, which he had clearly worn all day yet still had very few wrinkles, featured a romantic button-down point collar. The ends likely had custom-made hidden snaps.
The tips of the collar rested rigorously within the slight hollows of his collarbones. Tied in the center of the collar was a light silver-gray tie—still sporting a perfectly equilateral half-Windsor knot.
After handing him the water, Chu Huainan disappeared again for a few minutes. When he returned, he held a thin, light laptop in his hand.
Shen Ting had noticed the footsteps early on, but deliberately didn't look up. With downcast eyes, he held the water glass and feigned taking a small sip.
While looking down to drink, the thumb holding the glass unconsciously and gently rubbed the smooth handle.
Chu Huainan watched those two very full, plump lips lightly hold the rim of the glass, only barely touching the surface of the water like a dragonfly skimming a pond.
From his angle, this deep-thinking young man who always deliberately acted like a wanton rogue actually looked somewhat pitifully obedient.
The wicked desires at the bottom of his heart, which had finally been suppressed with great difficulty, instantly intensified wildly once more.
Chu Huainan silently chose the seat closest to Shen Ting on the left side of the long sofa and sat down.
Although he thirsted for this young man, he knew he couldn't act too hastily.
Sitting here, they wouldn't be too far apart, yet could still maintain a reassuring small distance. Only this way would he not scare off this little scoundrel—who claimed to have "abundant experience dating the same sex," yet had remained silent the entire ride over, secretly swallowing his saliva.
Shen Ting, who had sat very cautiously on the only single sofa in the room, only lifted his eyes when Chu Huainan got close.
The capitalist who was suspected of getting "handsy" in the car earlier was currently smiling like an absolute gentleman: "I brought you home because I felt that discussing a murder case in broad daylight, in front of the public, is not very friendly to the other diners."
Placing the laptop in his hand onto the coffee table, he added: "And openly discussing intel that even the police haven't grasped yet is also not very ethical."
Male fox spirits understand ethics? Shen Ting shot him a suspicious look.
The righteous capitalist genuinely wore an exceptionally serious expression. Pressing the power button on the laptop, he said: "Continue your analysis. Let me witness your intuition as well."
Confirming that the other party had no other intentions, Shen Ting breathed a slight sigh of relief. Yet verbally, he sighed with boundless regret: "Just chatting, huh?" Shrugging and spreading his hands, he added: "How boring."
This little brat, getting an advantage and still acting cute?
Staring at the screen, Chu Huainan cast a deep glance at Shen Ting, who talked a very big game. "I want to have a serious, long-term relationship with you, and I also hope after we understand each other more, we can have further, more intimate contact."
Capitalists truly spoke differently; even their threats were highly tactful: "But if you find the progress too slow, I certainly wouldn't mind... speeding things up a bit."
A warning to Ear: Don't play with fire.
A piece of advice for the Capitalist: Don't be 'too hasty' (or: don't 'act' too soon).
We’ve reached my favorite part—the romantic (driving) storyline! I'm in a great mood writing this every day, and I hope you all enjoy reading it too~
Continuing tomorrow at midnight—see you in the comments, cuties!
Title: 操之过急 (cāo zhī guò jí): An idiom meaning to act with undue haste or to be too impatient. In a romance context, it usually refers to a relationship moving toward physical intimacy too quickly. 开车 (kāi chē): Literally "to drive a car."On the Chinese internet, this specifically refers to "starting the engine" on adult or suggestive topics.
The drinker's heart is not in the cup (醉翁之意不在酒): An idiom meaning someone has an ulterior motive.
Burning one's boats (破釜沉舟): An idiom meaning to cut off all routes of retreat, showing determination to fight to the end.
Ah Dou indulging in pleasure (乐不思蜀): As mentioned previously, referring to someone incompetent who forgets their duties in the face of pleasure.
Talking and laughing with great scholars, with no commoners among their associates (谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁): A quote from the famous classical poem "A Humble Cot" by Liu Yuxi, describing an idealized, refined, and scholarly lifestyle free from vulgarity.
38th parallel (三八线): A colloquial term used in China to describe a clear dividing line or boundary drawn between two parties (originally referring to the 38th parallel north dividing Korea).
A dragonfly skimming a pond (浅尝辄止): An idiom meaning to only dabble in something or barely touch the surface without going deep.