Rebirth: CEO's Sweetheart Reaches the Life Pinnacle!-Chapter 740 - 657: Jin Jiachao’s Old Friend (Four More)
Qi Yayun contacted that person, asking them to wait for her instructions for now.
Li Si, who was following behind, saw them get out of the car and walk toward the entrance of the club.
After they were fully inside, Li Si made arrangements. On the surface, Jiang Tong entered with her, while the bodyguards behind them entered in several groups and regrouped inside.
Jin Yichen had just gotten the exact address through Jin Jiachao’s driver and texted it to her, even thoughtfully reserving a neighboring private room for her.
Li Si breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for Jin Yichen’s quick actions.
She didn’t have a membership card for this club, and getting one now would draw too much attention. If she ran into Liu Yuanqing or Peng Wanru inside, she certainly wouldn’t want to face those people.
Last time she dined here, Liu Manlian had tried to give her a membership card, but she had firmly declined.
If she had to disturb Wang Ruotong to get in, that would be something she was unwilling to do.
Although she didn’t know if her efforts were overthinking matters, faced with Jin Jiachao—a senior she both respected and admired, and also Leng Ning’s father-in-law—she couldn’t just stand by after noticing something suspicious.
If something were to happen, she would truly regret it.
Moreover, with Jin Yichen’s request, she had to help him keep Jin Jiachao safe.
Li Si strolled leisurely with Jiang Tong into the club.
Just as they entered, a smiling staff member warmly asked if she had a reservation.
Li Si didn’t see Qi Yayun or He Qingchi in the lobby, and secretly sighed in relief.
If she met them directly, certain things would indeed be difficult to handle.
"I have a reservation!" She gently provided the name of a room.
The staff led her and Jiang Tong straight toward that private room.
Along the way, Li Si noticed the club seemed to have excellent business, with quite a few guests moving back and forth.
They finally reached the private room door, and the server politely ushered her and Jiang Tong inside.
Before entering, Li Si discreetly kept observing Jin Jiachao’s private room and gave it another quick glance before stepping in confidently.
After ordering some dishes, and once the staff had left, Li Si told Jiang Tong to secure the door and keep an ear out for any activity next door.
The private room wasn’t large, around 30 square meters, with an attached restroom. Its interior décor leaned toward an antiquated aesthetic, featuring Chinese-style wallpaper and, based on Li Si’s sharp eye, what appeared to be antique furniture.
It was completely different from the private room she dined in during her last visit.
Perhaps this design catered to different tastes.
The room’s soundproofing seemed exceptional, as Li Si couldn’t hear a thing.
Jiang Tong, however, resourcefully placed an upside-down teacup against the wall and searched for the best spot.
Li Si couldn’t help but chuckle; it felt straight out of a crime thriller.
For a moment, some of her anxious urgency subsided.
A while later, Jiang Tong quietly gestured for her to come over.
Li Si’s eyes lit up. Had she found the spot?
She quickly walked over and carefully pressed her ear to the wall, listening for a while, but could hardly make sense of anything intermittent or faint.
Still, she faintly caught Jin Jiachao’s laughter—he seemed genuinely happy.
Li Si’s curiosity was piqued. Who could this old friend Jin Jiachao was meeting be, that he would mention they hadn’t seen each other in years? Perhaps it was a friend from his youth.
After a while, Li Si gave up; eavesdropping was definitely a skill, and she was clearly unsuited for it.
At that moment, the room’s door was lightly knocked. Jiang Tong knew it was the bodyguards.
After letting them in, Li Si had them sit down and wait quietly to see how things unfolded...
...
Inside Jin Jiachao’s private room, he was conversing enthusiastically with a distinguished man whose hair was streaked with gray at the temples.
If Li Si had X-ray vision, she would’ve been utterly shocked.
Because this man was none other than Lu Qilin—Lu the Sixth—whom she had met at Bai Shasha’s wedding in North City with Leng Mochen, and who was also his father in a previous life.
Each time they reminisced about their younger days, Jin Jiachao would clap his hands, laughing heartily with nostalgia and delight.
"I still remember back then, you were daring enough to trade anything! I always wondered how you could be so gutsy! There were times I secretly broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about you!"
Jin Jiachao admired this old friend greatly.
Lu the Sixth took a sip of tea and waved his hand with a chuckle: "It wasn’t guts but desperation! You had a privileged upbringing, so you can’t understand the ferocity bred by hardship.
How could I hold back? Without food on the table and a wife and kids to feed, I had no choice but to rely on myself.
I was basically putting my life on the line to make a living!"
Reflecting on the past, Jin Jiachao was deeply moved: "Yes, those were good times! People say fortune favors the bold and famine strikes the timid, but how many once-prosperous folks have vanished without a trace? By the way, why don’t you dye your hair anymore?"
Lu the Sixth teased him: "Who says I haven’t? But now I think this feels right—natural! Unlike you, always trying to make yourself look younger!"
Jin Jiachao laughed: "You’re just jealous of my youthful look, trying to poke fun at me! By the way, have you stayed up north all this time, never returning south?"
Lu the Sixth’s eyes flickered as he shook his head: "No, I spent those years as a trader in the south, went through a lot, and grew tired. I just wanted to live a stable life after that.
Jin Jiachao nodded understandingly: "I remember you had two sons. Are you a grandfather yet?"
This question brought a flash of pain to Lu the Sixth’s eyes as he sighed deeply: "Don’t even mention it. A grandfather? My eldest son passed away in a car accident years ago. Thankfully, I still have a younger son, but a few years ago, he was imprisoned for economic crimes. He won’t be out for another eight years. Do you see why I’ve aged?"
Jin Jiachao hadn’t expected his casual question would touch upon his friend’s sorrow: "Ah, I’m sorry—I didn’t know..."
Lu the Sixth waved his hand nonchalantly: "It’s fine! Third Brother, it’s all in the past; I’ll endure. But looking back, I truly regret it! You know my first wife passed away young, shortly after I became wealthy.
Then, I remarried and had a younger son with my new wife.
People say stepmothers can be cruel. As a man busy with work every day, I feared she’d treat my child poorly in my absence, so I sent my eldest son overseas when he was very young.
Back then, I wanted him to go abroad, polish his status. If he became an Oxford graduate, I could hold my head high as Lu the Sixth!"
"Old Six, wasn’t that a bit heartless?"
Jin Jiachao felt somewhat uneasy hearing this. Thinking of a young child losing his mother and being left alone in a foreign country, he couldn’t help but feel his friend had been too harsh!
Lu the Sixth sighed: "Looking back now, yes, it was heartless! But at the time, I didn’t give it much thought. I figured he must hate me for it, as he’s never been close to me since. Our calls were rare and brief, mostly updates from his assistant.
Later, he graduated from Oxford and returned home—a point of pride for me! But who would’ve expected a car accident to take his life instantly?
The pain I felt... Third Brother, I won’t lie; that was truly a case of a parent burying a child with white hair and a broken heart!
