Iceberg's Deep Love - Chapter 12

“Mengmeng, have you seen the character design for the space pirate? I think we can still adjust the later plot points.”

“I don’t think the special effects are innovative enough. Let’s brainstorm some more ideas,” Dai Meng replied casually, her eyes fixed on her phone screen.

Zhao Chenming immediately chimed in, “Mm-hmm, I agree. Ye Zi and the others just aren’t being careful enough…”

As they walked, Zhao Chenming and Dai Meng continued their conversation, with Zhao Chenming attentively guiding her to the side of the sidewalk farthest from the traffic.

Honk! A car horn blared from the vehicle closest to them, the sound deafening at such close range.

Dai Meng instinctively covered her ears and turned to glare at the car. “What kind of manners are these? Can’t they see there are people here?”

The car window rolled down, revealing half the face of the driver—a middle-aged man with a square face, thick, dark eyebrows, and a stern expression.

“Driving a Lexus and acting so arrogant…” Dai Meng muttered under her breath. Then she realized something was off. Normally, Zhao Chenming would have immediately joined her in scolding the driver, but this time he remained completely silent.

Zhao Chenming, startled for a moment, quickly regained his composure. “Mengmeng, you go back to the studio first. A friend is here to see me.”

“Your friend?” Dai Meng glanced at the square-faced middle-aged man. She knew all of Zhao Chenming’s friends, but she didn’t recognize this one.

However, Dai Meng wasn’t one to pry unnecessarily. She nodded. “I’ll head back and have a meeting with Ye Zi and the others. Hurry back.”

Only after Dai Meng entered the building did Zhao Chenming breathe a sigh of relief. He walked over to the car and said, “Brother Xu, didn’t President Lu say we should minimize contact to avoid Lu Shinian gathering evidence? Why did you come in person?”

Zhao Chenming recognized the driver as Wang Xu, Lu Chuan’s personal driver.

The car’s interior was a private space where sensitive business calls could be made, making the driver a trusted confidant.

Wang Xu’s tone remained calm and serious. “Get in. There’s something you need to know.”

As Wang Xu settled into the passenger seat, he noticed a figure in the back through the rearview mirror—a woman wearing a mask, her features obscured.

“Stop staring,” Wang Xu snapped coldly. Zhao Chenming immediately straightened up, daring not to turn around.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Wang Xu with a smile. “Brother Xu, what’s the rush? Given our relationship…”

He deliberately acted casual and relaxed, but his heart was pounding with anxiety.

His elder brother was a strict disciplinarian. If he messed up a task, he’d likely face punishment upon returning home.

Wang Xu took the cigarette and glanced instinctively at the rearview mirror. He held the cigarette in his hand but didn’t light it. “Is everything taken care of?”

“Of course,” Zhao Chenming replied hastily. “The ‘obedience water’ was purchased on the black market. I didn’t show my face, so it can’t be traced back to me. The champagne was my buddy’s private stash—we injected it through the cork with a syringe. The bottle’s been smashed to pieces; no one will ever know.”

Zhao Chenming’s voice grew urgent. “President Lu won’t blame me for the failure, will he? It was never going to be easy. Lu Shinian isn’t some naive kid who’s never seen the world. She wasn’t even planning to drink that day, and we couldn’t be too obvious.”

He added, “Brother Xu, please explain to President Lu that this isn’t my fault. If my brother finds out I messed up, he’ll beat me senseless.”

“Don’t worry,” a calm voice cut through the tense atmosphere in the car. “Your brother won’t find out—as long as you don’t want him to.”

Wang Xu pressed his lips into a tight line, his hands gripping the steering wheel. He remained silent. Zhao Chenming froze, realizing the woman in the back seat had spoken.

Lu Shinian removed his mask and baseball cap, casually smoothing his slightly disheveled hair. His deep, dark eyes met Zhao Chenming’s as the latter turned around.

“You…” Zhao Chenming’s mind went blank. “Lu Shinian? What are you doing here?”

He reached for his phone, but it was snatched away by a forceful hand. Wang Xu’s voice followed: “Don’t try anything.”

“I recorded everything you just said,” Lu Shinian said, flashing a recorder before tossing it onto the seat. “You arranged to meet me at the bar, prepared champagne laced with aphrodisiacs in advance, and then pretended to warn Dai Meng not to drink it. I was your target all along, wasn’t I?”

Lu Shinian had only been guessing. Lu Chuan always covered his tracks meticulously; even Wang Xu was unaware of the full plan.

Lu Shinian had merely used Wang Xu’s face to bluff Zhao Chenming, never expecting him to confess so readily.

But in retrospect, it made sense. Zhao Chenming was just a sheltered second-generation heir who had never handled serious matters or business, his entire world revolving around Dai Meng.

This time, Zhao Chenming’s accidental usefulness had led Lu Chuan and Zhao Chenguang to “entrust him with a crucial task,” but in reality, he was just an incompetent fool.

However, Zhao Chenming’s mind raced, and he forced himself to maintain a calm demeanor. “Lu Shinian, that was just nonsense. A private recording can’t be used as evidence. Even if you report this to the police, the recording proves nothing…”

Having reached this point, he had no other choice but to vehemently deny everything he had just said, insisting it was all just lies.

“I won’t report this to the police,” Lu Shinian said slowly, lifting his gaze to meet Zhao Chenming’s. “But I can’t guarantee the recording won’t end up on Miss Dai’s phone tomorrow.”

“No, Lu Shinian… No, President Lu…” Zhao Chenming panicked instantly.

After meeting Lu Shinian, Lost Path had received its first round of seed funding, allowing them to relocate to a better facility and upgrade their equipment. Lu Yuqiong had even intervened to resolve the false plagiarism lawsuit against them. The entire R&D team was thriving, and Dai Meng had been congratulating herself daily on her decision.

Now that Lu Shinian was withdrawing his investment, Lost Path would struggle to find another investor and would likely be forced to shut down in the short term. The company would be finished.

Lost Path was Dai Meng’s life’s work, and she would never tolerate Zhao Chenming. After pursuing this for years, he was on the verge of success, only to see it all crumble.

Torn between Lu Chuan and his elder brother on one side, and Dai Meng on the other, he found himself pleasing neither side and utterly lost.

“But as long as you don’t want it, no one will ever know the truth has been exposed,” Lu Shinian said, tossing the recorder to Zhao Chenming. “What do you think?”

The recorder lay in his hand. If he simply got out of the car and walked away, Lu Shinian would have no evidence.

Yet the thought flickered through his mind for only a moment before Zhao Chenming dismissed it. He couldn’t be sure if Lu Shinian had a second copy of the recording.

Moreover, if Lu Shinian had managed to bribe Lu Chuan’s driver, who knew what other tricks he might have up his sleeve?

Clutching the recorder tightly, Zhao Chenming asked in a low voice, “What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Nothing much. I just want to help you become stronger,” Lu Shinian replied casually. “If you had your own funds when Lost Path ran into trouble, you wouldn’t have needed Dai Meng to bring me in as an investor. Your brother never intended to help you, and the Zhao Family’s wealth will never be yours. Are you content with that?”

“I…” Zhao Chenming began, then trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.

Though he didn’t say it outright, Lu Shinian essentially confirmed the information she had uncovered and her own suspicions.

The Zhao brothers were bl00d relatives, but far from a united front. Rather than Zhao Chenming being simply pleasure-seeking, it was more accurate to say he was incapable of being anything but a spoiled playboy.

Over the years, Zhao Chenguang had meticulously molded his younger brother into a decadent, ambitionless heir, leaving Zhao Chenming with no real capital or influence of his own.

Lu Shinian continued, “If the Zhao Family were under your control, you would have married Dai Meng long ago.”

“All the shares are in my brother’s hands, and all the connections are his too,” Zhao Chenming retorted angrily. “I’m ten years younger than him. I was just a kid when the old man died. What could I possibly do? Lu Shinian, don’t try to tempt me with this. Even if I’m not the sharpest, I know I can never reclaim control of the Zhao Family.”

“Reclaiming control isn’t the only option,” Lu Shinian countered. “You could start your own venture, build something from scratch. With my funding, what’s there to fear?”

Zhao Chenming pondered for a moment before replying, “I won’t betray my brother. He’s bought me cars and houses my whole life. He hasn’t exactly treated me poorly.”

Though Zhao Chenming’s tone remained firm, Lu Shinian could sense his resolve wavering.

No one is without ambition, and Zhao Chenming was no exception. Beneath his carefree playboy facade lay deeper desires.

Lu Shinian nodded. “Naturally. The Zhao and Lu families have a strong relationship. I wouldn’t do anything that would harm us both. Cooperation is the only path to mutual benefit.”

This was the fundamental difference between Lu Shinian and Lu Chuan. Lu Chuan prioritized what he held in his grasp, while Lu Shinian always put the entire Lu Family first.

Hearing this, Zhao Chenming’s expression softened slightly, though his tone remained cautious. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Nothing much. Just be my eyes and ears around Lu Chuan,” Lu Shinian replied. “I’ll help you earn merit and gain his trust. All you need to do is tell me what he’s planning. You won’t have to do anything else.”

After a pause, Lu Shinian added, “Oh, one more thing. The drugs you used injured someone. You’ll need to pay compensation.”

As he spoke, Lu Shinian produced a contract and handed it to Zhao Chenming. “Sign this private settlement agreement, pay some compensation, and we can put this matter behind us.”

“How much?” Zhao Chenming’s eyes darkened. Businessmen were notorious for demanding exorbitant sums. If the amount was astronomical, he would be working for Lu Shinian for the rest of his life, forever unable to recover.

Zhao Chenming flipped through the agreement until the compensation figure caught his eye: five hundred thousand yuan.

He exhaled in relief, yet confusion lingered. Only five hundred thousand yuan? Was that all Lu Shinian wanted?

“Just sign here. You won’t have to pay a cent,” Lu Shinian said with a nod. Wang Xu immediately handed him a pen, clearly prepared for this.

Perplexed, Zhao Chenming scrutinized the agreement three times before finally signing. “You promised not to tell my brother or Mengmeng. Otherwise, our collaboration is off.”

“Of course,” Lu Shinian replied, tucking the agreement away with a nod.

After Zhao Chenming left, Lu Shinian pulled out his phone and texted Gu Jihuan: The bar incident is resolved. Want to meet up?

The reply came quickly: Are you free on Friday? Same old spot at Happiness Community, my treat.

Lu Shinian couldn’t help but chuckle softly. What a generous and hospitable person, he thought. Even though she’s about to borrow money, she’s still so cheerful.

After a moment’s consideration, Lu Shinian canceled his reservation at Cloudtop Restaurant and replied to Gu Jihuan: Alright, see you at the usual place.

He turned to the driver’s seat and paused before saying, “Master Wang, about the agreement…”

“I understand,” Wang Xu said with a hearty laugh. “It’s to keep Zhao Chenming in line, make sure he works properly, and prevent any future trouble. President Lu is even more thorough than I thought. President Chen will be thrilled when she hears about this.”

Lu Shinian remained silent for a moment, offering no further explanation, effectively tacitly agreeing.

It was perfect that Wang Xu had already filled in the blanks himself. Now she wouldn’t have to find a way to explain the purpose of the 500,000 yuan.

Although Chen Yuefang had agreed to hand Lu Di over to Lu Shinian, she couldn’t shake her lingering unease and had planted her own people to keep an eye on things—a fact Lu Shinian was well aware of.