The Connections You Build Through Others Will Never Be Reliable

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, exclusively produced by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and narrated by Wang Xiaomo and Lao He.

Wu Chen was driving home when his phone rang. He picked it up and smiled.

He knew that if he had done this to Li Ruobing before they met, she would never have replied. She would have had her people investigate the number and dig up everything on its owner.

Su Qingying, however, had replied directly. They were two completely different women. Apart from their beauty and business acumen, they had nothing in common.

Li Ruobing was the sort of woman who could do anything if you truly provoked her. Threaten her?

Dream on.

But Su Qingying was different. She had too much to lose.

Wu Chen could imagine how frightened and uneasy Su Qingying had been when she received the message. Her reply was no surprise.

But Wu Chen had no intention of threatening her.

Wu Chen never used threats or force to make a woman submit to him. He still had principles. Those principles had kept him from sinking into darkness, going mad, and ultimately destroying himself within Reincarnation.

If he resorted to force, winning over any woman would be too easy. He would never have to face the consequences; Reincarnation would reset everything. Where was the fun in that?

In his memories of the first two cycles, Wu Chen had killed himself hundreds of times out of sheer boredom with a meaningless life.

Boredom was what he hated most. The harder a woman was to win over, the more he enjoyed the challenge. Investigating someone was an especially good way to pass the time.

Wu Chen smiled at his phone screen. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he glanced up to check the road, then tapped out a message with remarkable speed. He could type on his phone without looking.

The message read: "Miss Su, I mean you no harm. I won't reveal your secret. Please rest easy. No need to reply."

It was meant to reassure Su Qingying. How she interpreted it was up to her.

Wu Chen had no plans to continue talking with Su Qingying today. Neither the timing nor the opportunity was right.

He had deduced that Su Qingying had something important to handle today, so she could not meet him privately for a proper conversation.

And communicating only by text would accomplish little.

Wu Chen himself did not have much time left today—less than half a day. Nothing would come of it today anyway, so there was no point wasting the hours he had left.

Today's message was just an opening move. Wu Chen knew Su Qingying would investigate him afterward and dig up every detail she could. Then she would probably ask to meet him for a discussion.

Another message arrived from Su Qingying. Wu Chen had told her not to reply, but she had ignored him.

Wu Chen glanced at it. "Who exactly are you?"

He did not answer. Another message came, also from Su Qingying: "How did you get my number?"

"Who told you?"

"What does 'When Will the Moon Be Clear?' mean?"

This time, Su Qingying was not merely questioning him. She was also trying to regain some ground by pretending not to understand the phrase and asking what he meant. Wu Chen still did not reply.

A fourth message soon arrived. It contained only three question marks. He would keep silent and let her worry.

Su Qingying finally stopped texting, but Wu Chen could guess exactly how she felt and what she would do next.

He would wait for her to ask him to meet. That was when the real show would begin, probably in just a few days.

A little over ten minutes later, still some distance from home, Wu Chen picked up his phone while driving and dialed a number. The call connected quickly.

"Brother-in-law."

The other person spoke first. It was Li Ruotai.

"What made you call me out of the blue?"

"Hah. You investigated me?" Wu Chen asked casually.

"Huh? Wait, brother-in-law, what are you talking about?"

"Why would I investigate you?"

"Do I look like that kind of person?"

"You helped me out so much yesterday. I'm counting on you to get through this in one piece."

"Is that so?"

"Then how did you know it was my number and call me 'brother-in-law' the moment you answered?"

"Have I ever called you before?"

"When did you save my number?" Wu Chen asked.

"Uh... I got it from my sister," Li Ruotai replied quickly.

"Is that so?"

Wu Chen repeated, "Is that so?" Then he asked, "How did you know I was playing games today?"

Having someone follow Wu Chen and then tattling to Li Ruobing—that was the point.

Wu Chen made it sound as though Li Ruobing told him everything, leaving Li Ruotai to explain himself.

For one thing, it would convince Li Ruotai that his sister and brother-in-law were genuinely close and told each other everything.

For another, Wu Chen knew Li Ruotai would investigate him. He wanted Li Ruotai to understand: I know you're investigating me. I know everything you do. Li Ruotai would never find anything.

And the less he found, the more mysterious and powerful Wu Chen would seem.

Wu Chen naturally took different approaches with different people.

With Li Ruobing, his plan was simple. He intended to make her his woman, and in time their bond would be unbreakable.

But Li Ruotai was different. Wu Chen's entry point into the relationships he was building in his New Life was Li Ruobing. That meant his standing with Li Ruotai currently came mostly from being Li Ruobing's brother-in-law—the man his sister had chosen—not from his own abilities.

That was a problem. Such a relationship was far from secure.

They did not even need to have some major falling-out. Suppose Wu Chen and Li Ruobing merely argued, and she became so angry that she cried.

Given how protective Li Ruotai was of his sister, he would probably turn on Wu Chen immediately.

Wu Chen would not let that happen. In Li Ruotai's mind, he needed to establish himself independently of Li Ruobing. Li Ruotai should respect him not because he was his brother-in-law, but because he was someone formidable in his own right.

He hoped that if he ever did argue with Li Ruobing, Li Ruotai would try to reconcile them—perhaps even urge his sister to give ground and apologize first—instead of turning against him.

Connections built through someone else were never secure. He had to make them his own.

Wu Chen had called on a whim, but the call had another benefit: he could see whether Wang Zhuangyuan had lied.

Under the circumstances, Li Ruotai would be eager to clear himself. If the truth favored him, he would surely say what had actually happened.

"Brother-in-law, I wasn't tattling on you. I didn't investigate you. It was Zhao Guai."

"Zhao Guai suddenly called and told me Zhuangyuan had mobilized a lot of people. So I called Zhuangyuan, and he said you'd asked him to."

Li Ruotai's account matched Wang Zhuangyuan's.

"Mm. All right, then. Nothing else. I'm hanging up," Wu Chen said.

"Hey, wait, brother-in-law!" Li Ruotai suddenly raised his voice.

"Hmm?"

"What is it?" Wu Chen asked.

"Brother-in-law, do you have time?"

"Could you come over?" Li Ruotai sounded as though something had suddenly occurred to him.

"Is it urgent?" Wu Chen frowned.

What could Li Ruotai possibly be up to now?

"Well, it's not exactly urgent."

"If you're busy, brother-in-law, we can talk another day. But if you have time, come over."

Li Ruotai's manner was strange. He seemed to have remembered something he needed to say, though it was not urgent. "I have time," Wu Chen said casually. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Are you at the Clubhouse?"

"At the Clubhouse?"

"Uh, since you have time, brother-in-law, come to East Sea Splendor. It's the residential complex near First Hospital. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the entrance."

"Sure." Wu Chen agreed readily. He had been planning to go home and exercise; he might as well have something else to do.

Wu Chen knew East Sea Splendor. Its full name was Prestige East Sea Residence, an upscale villa community developed in East Sea five years earlier by Zunrong Group, one of the country's top ten real estate companies. Though Zunrong Group only ranked among the top ten nationally, it was unusual in that it developed only high-end communities. Its projects had an excellent reputation, and its homes were naturally expensive.

But money was the one thing wealthy people did not lack. Prestige, status, taste, and security mattered more.

So East Sea Splendor had never even gone on public presale. All sixty-six villas in the community had been reserved in advance.

As far as Wu Chen knew, Li Ruotai owned a villa there.

Wu Chen made a U-turn at the next intersection and drove the Lamborghini toward East Sea Splendor.

It was not rush hour.

Half an hour later, Wu Chen arrived outside the main entrance of East Sea Splendor on Qinghai Road in the North District.

He parked by the roadside and stayed in the car. He knew Li Ruotai had not arrived yet.

The drive from Crown Entertainment Club would probably take another ten minutes or so.

A little over ten minutes later, a black Rolls-Royce appeared at the intersection and pulled up beside the blue Lamborghini. Li Ruotai lowered the rear window and gestured to Wu Chen. "Brother-in-law, let's go in."

He knew Wu Chen was driving a blue Lamborghini because Wang Zhuangyuan had told him.

There was no need to ask. Li Ruotai had called Wang Zhuangyuan today.

Presumably, Wang Zhuangyuan had given some other reason for handing over the car. He would never have said it was an apology for having Wu Chen followed.

On the night of the seventh, Wu Chen had stolen Wang Zhuangyan's car. Wang Zhuangyan had sent people to search for both the car and its driver. They had even spotted the car, pursued it, and ended up in a high-speed chase.

Giving him a car as an apology for that was not entirely unreasonable.

Of course, Li Ruotai could hardly have missed Wang Zhuangyuan's real motive. He knew Wang Zhuangyuan wanted to curry favor with his brother-in-law.

The Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini entered the community one after the other. Security was strict, but Li Ruotai owned a home there, and the guards were bound to recognize his car. Every resident was wealthy or influential; the guards would not dare be careless.

They drove into the underground garage, which provided direct access to the basement level of Li Ruotai's Villa No. 36.

The villa had an elevator, though they could also take the stairs.

Li Ruotai told his driver and bodyguards not to follow. He and Wu Chen entered the villa and went upstairs alone.

The ground-floor hall was magnificent and exquisitely furnished. Its European-style decor was luxurious without the glittering excess of Crown Entertainment Club. To put it bluntly, the club's style had the air of a gaudy nouveau riche mansion. It made a strong first impression, but its appeal soon faded; stare at it too long, and it became tiresome.

The Clubhouse was a business, and first impressions mattered. That was why it had been decorated that way.

This villa, by contrast, struck just the right balance: luxurious yet refined, with many tasteful-looking ornaments. The design fee alone had probably run into seven figures.

Wu Chen spotted a piano in the spacious ground-floor hall.

Li Ruotai could not play the piano at all. He still had not shaken his habit of putting on cultured airs.

"So, what is it?" Wu Chen asked. He glanced around and sat down on the sofa.

He gave the house a few extra looks because he had never been inside before.

Not even during his thousand years in Reincarnation.

He had known this house existed, but he had never actually visited it.

More precisely, he had never entered it.

He had spent plenty of time in the community investigating other people, but not this house. It was only one of Li Ruotai's many properties in East Sea.

The villa had been handed over three years ago, then renovated on and off for more than a year. The work had not been completed until early this year. Yet half a year later, Li Ruotai still had not moved in. Perhaps it was because Crown Entertainment Club was too far away—a drive of more than forty minutes. Making that trip every day would be inconvenient.

It was Li Ruotai's house, but he did not live there. Naturally, Wu Chen had never had a reason to see what it was like inside.

"Nice house, isn't it? What do you think?" Li Ruotai said as he sat opposite Wu Chen. Out of habit, he took out his cigarettes, tossed one to Wu Chen, and put another between his lips. Reaching for his lighter, he added with a gesture, "I paid a fortune for a designer from Europe to do this place."

"Don't smoke." Rather than answer, Wu Chen gestured toward the cigarette. "I can't have smoke on me. Your sister doesn't like the smell."

Click. Li Ruotai had already flicked the lighter. At Wu Chen's words, he paused, thought for a moment, and put it down.

Wu Chen was not saying he was afraid of Li Ruobing. He was referring to her pregnancy.

Wu Chen had an excellent memory. Naturally, he had not forgotten Li Ruobing's spur-of-the-moment decision to pretend she was pregnant.

A pregnant woman really should not be breathing in smoke.

"Right. No smoking, then."

Li Ruotai took the cigarette from his mouth and tossed it onto the table.

"The house is nice. The decor's quite tasteful," Wu Chen said. He glanced at the piano again, then looked at Li Ruotai. "But why do you always put a piano in your homes when you can't even play?"

"My sister really does tell you everything, brother-in-law," Li Ruotai said with a smile, his words carrying an implication.

"She talks to me about you all the time." Wu Chen smiled. "She may always be hitting you, but she genuinely cares about you. She worries something will happen to you."

"Isn't that normal?"

"We're brother and sister." Li Ruotai gestured toward the rest of the house. "Brother-in-law, why don't we look around upstairs and downstairs?"

"What for?" Wu Chen asked.

"Just to have a look."

"What's there to see?"

"Fine, I'll put it simply. I reserved this house five years ago. It was handed over three years ago, and renovations took more than a year. I've never lived here, though someone cleans it regularly," Li Ruotai said.

"It has three floors aboveground and one below, four in total. There's more than six hundred square meters of usable space, with courtyards in front and back. It was a lot cheaper when I bought it five years ago—less than seventy million."

"Prices have risen since then. Including the renovations, if I sold it now, it would fetch a hundred million."

"What are you getting at?" Wu Chen asked with a slight frown.

Was he showing off?

I smiled.

Li Ruotai might show off to other people, but he would never do that with his brother-in-law when he still had no idea what kind of background Wu Chen had. It would only make Wu Chen look down on him.

It meant nothing.

Li Ruotai smiled. He took a key from his pocket, set it on the coffee table, and slid it toward Wu Chen. "It's yours, brother-in-law. Thanks for helping me yesterday. I mean it!"

"The property documents are all in the car. You brought your ID, right, brother-in-law? Let's go transfer the villa into your name. It's worth a hundred million yuan."

When Li Ruotai said he was giving it away, he meant it.