QTIMP -Chapter 94 Character Persona – Money Loving (Part 4)

Si Qiu set down the tray, placed her hand over his, walked around the large desk, and sat on his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder.

“Look.”

Following his words, Si Qiu’s gaze fell on the screen. The video playing showed a premeditated murder. The man first laid the woman on a bed.

Then he began by breaking the woman’s fingers and toes one by one, and afterward slashed her face. The entire video lasted half an hour.

Si Qiu pretended to tremble in fright, but Pei Jingzhou—who was usually very gentle with her—did not let go of her. Instead, he reminded her several times to keep watching.

When she refused to open her eyes, he described the process right beside her ear. She had never known that he could tell a story with such vividness.

Whenever she screamed in fear, he would kiss her cheek to comfort her—then continue with the narration.

Only after the video finished did he softly say in her ear, “This woman betrayed her husband. Originally, the husband wanted a divorce. But all the property was in the woman’s name. If they divorced, the man would become a homeless drifter. He only wanted to reclaim part of the property to support himself afterward. But the woman refused. She even threatened to file for divorce and have him thrown out to live on the streets. So the man, unable to bear it, tortured and killed her.”

Finally, he asked quietly, “Actually, if this woman had simply lived properly with her husband and hadn’t betrayed him, none of this would have happened. Now that things ended like this, don’t you think she deserved it?”

Si Qiu seemed badly frightened and nodded along with his words.

Pei Jingzhou appeared very satisfied with her reaction. He kissed her in reassurance, then took out a lush green, captivating bracelet from the desk drawer and slowly slipped it onto her pale wrist.

“Qiuqiu’s wrist is really beautiful. It’s especially suited for wearing expensive jewelry. If it were broken, that would be such a pity, wouldn’t it?”

Si Qiu grabbed his lapel with trembling hands. “Husband… do you not love me anymore?”

Pei Jingzhou paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed. “How could that be? I love my precious Qiuqiu the most. Alright, go out and have some fun. In a while, I’ll take you to meet a few friends.”

Si Qiu drifted back to her room, muttering softly to herself.

“Has this guy been possessed lately? He never used to talk about love or liking people. And now he’s even started playing horror movies? Who knows where he picked up this weird habit.”

But when she raised her hand and saw the bracelet on her wrist, her expression immediately turned into a smile.

No matter what strange habits this man had, one thing was absolutely true—he was extremely generous. Even in her spatial rewards, she didn’t have many jade pieces of this quality.

That evening, Si Qiu wore a black one-shoulder body-hugging dress with a high slit. To match the bracelet on her wrist, she also wore a teardrop-shaped jade pendant around her neck.

Her hair was pinned up, secured at the back with a diamond hair clip. In her hand she carried a black handbag studded with diamonds. The whole look made her dazzling—instantly eye-catching.

They drove directly to a siheyuan courtyard residence. Someone led them to a small courtyard in the second section.

As soon as she entered, she saw a man in a brightly colored shirt leaning against a corridor pillar, smoking.

When he looked up and saw the two of them walking in together, he quickly tossed the cigarette away and crushed it out, opening his arms as he walked toward them.

“You brat—coming back without even telling me! If I hadn’t come back this time, I wouldn’t even have known you’d arrived in the capital.”

Although the man dressed flamboyantly, his temperament was excellent. With two buttons of his shirt undone, he looked both roguish and gentle. Even his voice sounded pleasant enough to make one’s legs go weak.

Completely different from Pei Jingzhou’s style, yet equally possessing a complexion as fair as frost and snow. However, Pei Jingzhou gave off a distinctly cold aura—the kind of detached coldness that made you feel as if chill seeped from his very bones.

His lips were thin but tinged with a rosy red, looking extremely kissable. And in fact, they truly were.

“I heard your old man threw you into the army. Doesn’t seem like it changed you much?” From that one sentence, it was clear the two men were very close.

The man casually patted his shoulder. “Ah, that’s nothing unusual. I’m used to it. Anyway, forget that—why don’t you introduce the beauty beside you?”

Si Qiu smiled and stepped forward. Pei Jingzhou wrapped an arm around her waist.

“This is my girlfriend, Si Qiu. And this is my good brother, Jian Anxu.”

The two shook hands.

“You’ve got good taste, kid. Sister-in-law is a real beauty. Sister-in-law, if you run into any trouble in the capital in the future, just mention my name.”

Si Qiu gave him a bright smile. “Then I’ll thank Brother Xu in advance.”

Seeing the two holding hands for quite a while, Pei Jingzhou’s gaze flickered slightly.

“Didn’t you say you were introducing me to some friends? Don’t keep them waiting too long.”

“Haha, Brother Pei, don’t worry. If it weren’t for you when we were abroad, I might’ve lost my life. Now that I’m back in the country, just watch how your little brother performs. This time I mainly want to introduce you to people from the Luo family, the Feng family, and the Gu family. These families all have extensive connections in both political and business circles. They’re all from families that…”

Intentionally falling a few steps behind, Si Qiu watched as Jian Anxu slung an arm around Pei Jingzhou’s shoulders while introducing him to the others. She didn’t move forward to join them.

But Pei Jingzhou, who had experienced that dream, already knew that the people Jian Anxu was introducing had wide connections and powerful family backgrounds. It was inevitable that he would need to build good relationships with them.

Although his return to the country for investment was strongly supported by the state—with active recommendations and various policy incentives—he understood that this was still a society built on personal relationships.

Having money alone didn’t mean you could do whatever you wanted. Connections were the resource he needed most right now.

And these second-generation elites only needed the capital in his hands—to achieve something impressive and bring honor to their families. That was why this dinner gathering had been arranged.

When they entered the private room, three men with different temperaments were already there, all around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. There were also two girls, both dressed beautifully and attractively.

But compared to Si Qiu, their makeup seemed a bit heavy.

As soon as they saw them enter, they quickly stood up and greeted Jian Anxu with a “Brother Xu.”

After Jian Anxu introduced everyone, they all sat down. The two girls were younger sisters from the families of the men present.

It seemed they were interested in Jian Anxu, which was why they had followed along. Their eyes sparkled whenever they looked at him.

Of course, the handsome and elegant Pei Jingzhou also caught the girls’ attention. But their resolve seemed firm—after only a brief glance at him, their eyes returned to Jian Anxu.

Si Qiu suddenly found the two girls rather adorable.

She leaned toward the girl beside her and whispered, “Do you like Jian Anxu?”

The girl immediately turned to look at her.

Si Qiu quickly pointed at Pei Jingzhou and said with a hint of pride, “My boyfriend is more handsome than Jian Anxu.”

“How is that possible? Obviously Brother Xu is more handsome!” Luo Baibai instinctively retorted.

Her voice came out a bit too loud, attracting the attention of the men at the table.

Then Gu Shimiao, sitting beside her, pinched her arm.

Only then did Luo Baibai realize everyone was looking at her. Her face instantly flushed red, and the blush quickly spread down to her neck.