Rivals of Rebirth

Chapter 54: Persuasion

The two of them entered Zheng Jue's office, and there was still some awkwardness in the air. Zheng Jue could only smile and say, "Young Master Zhou, please have a seat."

Zhou Cheng'an sat down with a somewhat stiff expression.

"Aaron, please don't blame me for being meddlesome. I've always treated Han Jin like a brother, and I genuinely feel sorry for him," Zhou Cheng'an said sincerely.

Naturally, Zheng Jue understood Zhou Cheng'an's standpoint, so he just smiled and replied, "Young Master Zhou, I understand what you mean. I admit I didn't handle this matter properly. If you have something to say, go ahead."

He didn't believe that Zhou Cheng'an came to him in such a hurry just for a small matter.

Zhou Cheng'an sighed bitterly upon hearing this and said, "Aaron, it's not that you left Han Jin that bothers me. It's that your departure has caused him great distress. He's completely lost himself, working desperately, becoming more and more isolated, and he's turned into a completely different person."

Zheng Jue frowned slightly and said, "With the size of Han Corporation, it's only natural for Han to work hard. Isn't Young Master Zhou making a big fuss over something trivial?"

Hearing this, Zhou Cheng'an couldn't suppress his anger any longer. "Zheng Jue! You don't understand Han Jin! He's not like you, someone who treats work as their life. His current state is not normal! You can't just do what you did and walk away! You have to take responsibility for his current condition!"

Zheng Jue had never seen Zhou Cheng'an lose his temper before, and he didn't know that the always confident Young Master Zhou had such a side to him.

Seeing Zheng Jue's somewhat surprised expression, Zhou Cheng'an finally realized that he had lost his composure. However, given the current situation, he couldn't find the words to speak gently, so he sat back with some frustration.

In truth, Zheng Jue felt a bit uncomfortable too. Faced with Zhou Cheng'an's questioning, he could hardly find any words to refute. While it was true that Han Jin had provoked him at first, he had also given Han Jin hope and then ruthlessly shattered it.

Before this, he had been unconsciously avoiding the topic of Han Jin, but now, looking at Zhou Cheng'an's angry face, he couldn't find any more excuses.

Zheng Jue lowered his head and looked at the fading scar on his palm, feeling a faint ache for some reason. He tightly clenched his fist and looked up at Zhou Cheng'an, speaking in a solemn tone, "I will go see him."

Zhou Cheng'an couldn't help but feel relieved. He was most afraid of Zheng Jue's stubbornness, and now that Zheng Jue was willing to listen, it meant that he still cared about Han Jin to some extent.

"It would be best if you could talk to him. Han Jin... He's not in a good state right now," Zhou Cheng'an looked somewhat uneasy. "He's really not doing well."

Zheng Jue furrowed his brows slightly, unsure of what exactly was troubling Zhou Cheng'an. To be honest, he was most afraid that Han Jin's obsession with him would never fade away. However, seeing Han Jin throw himself into work suggested that he had shifted his focus to some extent. Zheng Jue couldn't fully understand why Zhou Cheng'an was so worried.

But since he couldn't fully grasp Zhou Cheng'an's perspective, he didn't inquire further. This matter was something they would have to face sooner or later. Sometimes it was better to endure a brief intense pain than a prolonged one, so he decided to go meet Han Jin.

Today, Zhou Cheng'an had achieved his preliminary goal, so he left decisively. However, before departing, he repeatedly urged Zheng Jue to have a serious talk with Han Jin, as he felt that Han Jin's current condition was extremely precarious.

Zheng Jue responded with some puzzlement, but he didn't dwell on it. From his point of view, Han Jin was already dangerous enough before.

**

While Zhou Cheng'an had settled matters with Zheng Jue, the situation with Han Jin was entirely different.

Han Jin's assistant stood respectfully behind him, his back soaked in cold sweat, yet he didn't dare to move and simply stood there, waiting.

After a long silence, Han Jin finally spoke, "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

The assistant breathed a sigh of relief internally and replied, "No, I'm sure it was Mr. Zheng. He returned to the Zheng family today, and Susie personally went to the airport to pick him up."

Upon hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Han Jin's face, a mix of sorrow and joy, with a hint of madness. He gazed at the dark night sky outside the window, his lips curling into a terrifying grin, murmuring, "It's good that he's back. It's good that he's back. This time, I won't let him leave."

The assistant trembled with fear, cold sweat continuing to trickle down his neck. Ever since Mr. Zheng left, Han Jin had been acting abnormal, leaving the assistant on edge all the time.

But despite his anxiety, the assistant still had to fulfill his boss's orders. He could only steel himself and say, "Han, Master Han said that tomorrow there will be a young lady from the Sun family, and he wants you to meet her."

Han Jin grew impatient and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I've already met enough people these days. I don't want to see anyone else!"

You've indeed met many people, but the key is that you haven't found anyone you like among them, the assistant thought to himself, but he dared not complain about his boss. He could only persuade with sincerity, "Han, Master Han said this young lady will be the last one. If you don't like her either, you'll have to find someone on your own from now on."

Han Jin didn't believe in Han Zizhang's nonsense, but since it had come to this, he didn't want to outright refuse. With Han Zizhang's help and guidance in the past few days, Han Jin's position within the Han family had become considerably stable. However, he still couldn't rival Han Zizhang. So, for the time being, he didn't want to create conflict over this trivial matter, nor did he want to immediately approach Zheng Jue. He decided to put off the matter of finding Zheng Jue for a while. That was what Han Jin thought in his heart.

"I only have the morning; I have other things in the afternoon," Han Jin said coldly.

The secretary felt relieved upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "The morning will do. As long as Mr. Han can meet her."

Han Jin sneered, a mocking curve forming at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't say a word.

**

Han Jin and Miss Sun met at a café next to the Han Corporation building. Han Jin didn't want to waste time on this matter, so he didn't bother selecting a fancier location.

Miss Sun seemed indifferent about the place. She was quite pretty but had a slightly childish look, wearing a pink floral dress that made her resemble a doll. She was petite, at least two heads shorter than Han Jin, and looked like a child.

Han Jin almost turned around and left at first sight. The assistant quickly intercepted him, "Mr. Han, what's the matter?"

Han Jin was infuriated. "Has the old man gone mad, sending an underage girl here!" He was about to leave again.

The assistant hastily intervened, "Mr. Han, please, don't leave. She's not underage. She's twenty-three years old, just looks a bit young. Please bear with it."

Han Jin furrowed his brows and took a closer look. Indeed, she looked like an adult. Wanting to give an explanation to the old man, he reluctantly went over.

The assistant felt relieved that Han Jin changed his mind; otherwise, his job as an assistant might have come to an end.

To be honest, Han Jin and Miss Sun didn't have much to talk about. She was interested in clothes and cosmetics, and discussed music and painting, things Han Jin didn't take seriously and found amusing. He couldn't engage in a meaningful conversation with Miss Sun, who was only a mediocre critic in these areas.

They sat there, with Miss Sun chattering away while Han Jin impatiently listened, occasionally throwing in a few words to keep the conversation going and prevent her from feeling awkward.

Surprisingly, these two individuals from entirely different worlds managed to get along relatively well.

The assistant watched from the side and couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. Han Jin's temper was terrible in other aspects, but he did show some gentlemanly demeanor towards women. Otherwise, as a "assistant" who was, in reality, more like a matchmaker, he would have been driven crazy by both sides.

They chatted aimlessly for a while until Miss Sun felt hungry and ordered a cake. She asked Han Jin if he wanted one too, but he wrinkled his brow at the sweet and sticky dessert, showing no interest in it at all.

Miss Sun looked at him disliking her but suddenly became mischievous. She reached out to feed Han Jin a bite of cake, but he calmly dodged her attempt.

Though Miss Sun appeared somewhat childish, she was not actually a child. She noticed Han Jin's unwillingness and felt a bit awkward. She smiled and asked, "Mr. Han, don't you like it?"

Han Jin tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, "Miss Sun, I won't lie to you. I came here for this blind date under my father's request, and I didn't mean to offend you."

Han Jin had thought that even if Miss Sun wouldn't leave in anger like the previous girls, she would at least show some signs of displeasure. To his surprise, her expression eased upon hearing his words, and she even let out a relieved smile. "Mr. Han, to be honest, my father forced me to come here too. Actually, I... I already have someone I love, but my father doesn't approve of him."

Han Jin's demeanor softened after hearing this. He looked at the gentle girl in front of him and seemed to see a reflection of himself. He reached out and gently stroked Miss Sun's head, saying in a warm voice, "It's alright. Your father will understand in the future."

He didn't know if he was saying this to Miss Sun or to himself.

**

Outside the glass window, Zheng Jue watched the scene of the two young people like a pair of lovers. His eyes narrowed as a mix of anxiety and anger welled up inside him. What on earth... was going on?

Liang Shao, who happened to meet Zheng Jue, noticed his unusual expression and followed his gaze to the scene inside the café. He couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Oh, it's our playboy turning over a new leaf, Zheng Jue. He's been busy with blind dates these past few months, and now, it seems he's finally found his destined goddess."

A faint change flickered across Zheng Jue's face.

Blind dates?

Was Han Jin on a blind date?

Zheng Jue was left dumbfounded, feeling somewhat awkward. He turned around and returned to his car, ignoring Liang Shao's call from behind. He quickly left the place.