Chapter 1203: Life Is Like a Play

They say life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills. In Chen Shijie's view, Sun Qian was practically acting in every move she made.

She was a true master of both acting and substance, impossible for others to detect.

Even Chen Shijie, now a seasoned undercover agent, always felt as if Sun Qian could see right through him.

Fortunately, perhaps because she too had betrayed Tong Zhenbang, Sun Qian wasn't particularly interested in Chen Shijie either, and rarely appeared before him.

But unexpectedly, today she showed up while he was lost in thought.

“Something wrong?” Chen Shijie composed himself, put on his poker face, and glanced at Sun Qian.

His personality had always come across as cold and aloof.

Sun Qian frowned but still managed a smile. “It's like this: the boss asked me to find out what Future Investment's stance is. Why did I just receive a notification that an extra 110 million US dollars appeared in our account?”

As the current public face of the group's domestic operations, Sun Qian and her club served as a money-laundering tool for Mr. Li's group. So when a transfer of over a hundred million suddenly arrived today, it startled her, and she hurriedly sought out Chen Shijie.

Chen Shijie's expression shifted slightly, then he realized it must be Zhao Fusheng's doing.

He had to admit that he never expected his old classmate, once so reserved, to have reached such heights.

That was over a hundred million US dollars, transferred directly like that. Even though a large part had been previously transferred by Tong Zhenbang, Chen Shijie still had to say that Zhao Fusheng had some nerve.

“It should be the principal and dividends from Future Investment.” Though he didn't understand why Zhao Fusheng hadn't followed his instructions, Chen Shijie knew he needed to cooperate with Zhao Fusheng.

Glancing at Sun Qian, Chen Shijie said slowly, “When I went there that day, Chairman Zhao was very unhappy and said he didn't want to continue cooperating with us.”

Sun Qian's face changed, her expression turning grim.

She knew well how much Mr. Li valued this cooperation. Now that this had happened, she was truly panicked.

More importantly, she knew that A-Jie was telling the truth, because he had a bug she had secretly planted on him.

But the more this was the case, the more flustered Sun Qian became.

“A-Jie, think of something. The boss means that although some unpleasantness occurred before, the cooperation must continue.” Sun Qian looked at Chen Shijie anxiously. “The boss has entrusted such a large domestic operation to you and me. We siblings need to work together.”

With that, she gave Chen Shijie a seductive look and said softly, “Come to my room tonight, and we'll discuss it properly.”

Chen Shijie felt a chill of disgust. He now understood this woman's ways well—she was like a public bus, open to any man she fancied.

But the problem was, he wasn't interested.

Taking two steps back to distance himself from Sun Qian, Chen Shijie said flatly, “I'll report this matter to the boss myself. As for Future Investment, sorry, I can't do anything.”

With that, Chen Shijie turned and left cleanly, not giving Sun Qian a chance to speak.

Watching his retreating figure, Sun Qian frowned and shot him a glare. She beckoned, and soon a scantily clad girl appeared before her.

“Keep an eye on him!” Sun Qian ordered the girl, then turned and left.

…

…

Sun Qian returned to her room, took out her phone, and dialed a number in the United States.

“Boss, this is what A-Jie said…”

She repeated what Chen Shijie had told her, then added, “The bug I planted on him matches his words exactly.”

“Hmph, I didn't expect Chairman Zhao to have such a temper.” Mr. Li's aged voice came through the phone, followed by a cold laugh. “It seems he gets along quite well with Tong Zhenbang.”

Sun Qian hesitated, as if wanting to say something but stopping.

“What? You have something to say?” Sensing her hesitation, Mr. Li asked slowly.

Tong Zhenbang's betrayal had indeed cost him many men, but he still trusted Sun Qian—or rather, he believed she couldn't survive without him.

Hearing Mr. Li's words, Sun Qian quickly said, “It's like this, boss. You probably don't know about Chairman Zhao's situation. He now owns one of the two major advertising companies in the northern region…”

She rattled off a long explanation, detailing Future Group's current status.

Mr. Li frowned, his tone slightly displeased. “I know all that. I don't need your report.”

Clearly, he was annoyed.

Sun Qian gave a bitter smile. “It's like this: he's only twenty-five. Don't you think that after Tong Zhenbang, who had a good partnership with him, suddenly vanished, and now you want to continue cooperating, what would he think?”

Mr. Li was taken aback; he hadn't considered that.

“You mean he's just venting his anger?” Mr. Li was silent for a moment, then asked Sun Qian.

Sun Qian nodded. “According to A-Jie, Chairman Zhao feels there's no trust between us now and doesn't want to continue. They met yesterday, and today he transferred the principal and dividends to our account. That shows he doesn't care about cooperating with us.”

She paused, then said softly, “Boss, if you have other partners, we can ignore Chairman Zhao. If not, I think we should reach out to him again.”

Silence answered her from the phone.

Mr. Li didn't speak for a long time, as if lost in thought.

From the slightly heavy breathing on the line, Sun Qian could sense that the old man, whom she regarded as a demon, was now in a very difficult dilemma.

After a long while, Mr. Li's voice slowly came through, tinged with coldness. “Sun Qian, you go meet him in person and probe his background.”

“Me?”

Sun Qian was startled, then realized that Mr. Li intended for her to seduce Zhao Fusheng to achieve their goal.

A hint of bitterness welled up inside her, but she dared not say anything more and simply agreed obediently.

Even after hanging up, Sun Qian's face grew darker. Her woman's intuition told her that this time, Mr. Li might have underestimated Zhao Fusheng.

Would a man who built a fortune of several hundred million dollars from scratch be easily swayed by beauty?

The answer was obvious, but Mr. Li, far away in the United States, couldn't see the situation clearly.

But there was no help for it; he was the boss, and her family was under his control. Sun Qian had no choice but to follow his orders.

Still, she clung to a sliver of hope: if she succeeded in seducing that Zhao, maybe everything could turn around.

…

…

“Inviting me to dinner?”

Zhao Fusheng was quite surprised when he heard the news.

“Yes, Chen Shijie called. A Ms. Sun, on behalf of Mr. Li, invites you to dinner.” Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng. “What do they mean by this?”

Clearly, she didn't understand the situation. In her view, they were obviously testing him.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. “Whatever they mean, we'll deal with it as it comes. Just accept.”

“Should I go with you?” Dong Chenxi thought for a moment and asked.

Zhao Fusheng laughed. “Better not. If you go, Zhang Qian will have to worry about your safety and be distracted protecting you. I'll go alone with Zhang Qian, plus the protection from Director Cao's men outside. What's there to fear?”

Sun Qian's place was no longer a secret. Cao Jianguo had arranged round-the-clock surveillance, ready to respond to any developments.

Dong Chenxi nodded and didn't insist further.

The next day, Zhao Fusheng, accompanied by Zhang Qian, arrived at the club where he had once met Tong Zhenbang.

At the entrance, Sun Qian and Chen Shijie stood side by side.

“Chairman Zhao, we meet again.” Seeing Zhao Fusheng get out of the car, Sun Qian smiled and extended her hand.

Zhao Fusheng smiled back. “Miss Sun is as radiant as ever.”

As he spoke, he blinked, then suddenly felt a light scratch on his palm. Looking up, he saw Sun Qian giving him a seductive smile.

Withdrawing his hand discreetly, Zhao Fusheng extended it to Chen Shijie. “Mr. Chen, hello.”

“Hello, Chairman Zhao.” Chen Shijie maintained his usual indifferent poker face, looking cold.

The group entered the club. Clearly, there were no other guests today; it seemed specially arranged for Zhao Fusheng.

“This way, please, Chairman Zhao.” Sun Qian led the way, her smile as bright as a flower, never fading.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at her impassively and returned the smile. “You're too kind, Miss Sun.”

Whatever scheme she was cooking up, it didn't matter to him. In Zhao Fusheng's view, he and Cao Jianguo had already laid their plans. Whether it was Sun Qian or Mr. Li, once they took the bait, the rest would be out of their hands.

And this was the only way Zhao Fusheng could think of to protect both Chen Shijie and himself.

In undercover work, staying alive is the most important thing.