Chapter 16: Incontinence of Tears 1

He Qiuting quickly turned his face away, swiftly wiping away that inexplicable tear.

What’s this? Crying over something like this?

He thought despairingly. Just as he wiped away a bit, fresh tears welled up again. Fortunately, it wasn’t much, and after roughly rubbing his eyes with his fingers a few times, it stopped.

Only then did He Qiuting turn his face out from the shadows. His beautiful eyes sparkled like stars, the corners tinged with a faint red. His slightly upturned eyelashes, dampened, clung together in small clusters.

Clearly, these were traces of crying, but such marks seemed out of place on his cold face, making it impossible to associate them with crying in the slightest.

Are your eyes uncomfortable? I have eye drops in my car.

Lu Shun glanced at him, then bent down to rummage through the compartment, not considering any other possibility at all.

Don’t bother. He Qiuting pulled him back, his voice still carrying its usual cool tone. Help me get my clothes.

Oh. Lu Shun leaned through the gap between the seats, reached out to grab the shirt from the air vent, and reluctantly returned it to He Qiuting.

The shirt was completely dry and felt warm when worn. He Qiuting lowered his eyes, buttoning it up one by one, sensing a lingering gaze from beside him—blatant and completely unabashed.

Not gonna lie, President He, your daily workouts are paying off. Lu Shun stared at his waist, narrowing his eyes slightly, not stinting on praise. Really nice.

He Qiuting silently rolled his eyes. After neatly fastening the buttons, he meticulously tucked the shirt hem into his belt.

The waistline abruptly tightened, outlining a sharp, clean contour. In Lu Shun’s eyes, it was even more striking than when bare.

As He Qiuting lowered his head to adjust his clothes, he casually asked, Why did you come?

I felt terribly uneasy today, worried something might happen to you.He Qiuting responded perfunctorily with an Mm, slowly raising his eyes. His gaze was calm, his pupils dark and translucent. Just that?

What else could it be?

Lu Shun shrugged, sighing with a tone of grave concern. I told you at noon there was a red typhoon warning, to halt work. I know Project Three’s timeline is tight, but there’s no need to push the employees so hard. Now that this has happened, Cloud Horizon will undoubtedly bear full responsibility.

Lu Shun also found it puzzling. Given He Qiuting’s nature, he would never do such a thing, yet the facts were right before them.

Now, the videos online have been taken down, but rumors are already spreading. They say Cloud Horizon disregards employees’ lives, refusing to halt work during a typhoon. Not only has it led to a loss of life, but there are also rumors about construction material quality issues.

He Qiuting sat quietly beside him, listening without a word throughout.

Until Lu Shun reached out and nudged his arm. Say something. How do you plan to handle the PR?

Before the typhoon made landfall, I had Xiao Lin notify the engineering department to issue work stoppage orders to all site managers.

He Qiuting turned to look at him. The manager at Site Three confirmed receipt and did notify the workers to stop. But unexpectedly, the foreman led the team back to work, continuing through the typhoon, which resulted in the accident.

Lu Shun showed a surprised expression but quickly composed himself, analyzing, So it was an accident caused by the foreman acting on his own? Could it be that the foreman accepted money from someone, deliberately trying to stir up the workers’ emotions and create negative news for Cloud Horizon?

Didn’t you go ask the foreman? Lu Shun inquired.

The foreman is dead.

He Qiuting took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, Tell me, was this an accident?

Otherwise? Do you think he was silenced?

Lu Shun finished speaking but quickly shook his head, dismissing the absurd assumption himself, I don’t think it’s that extreme.

He Qiuting had many rivals recently, but everything was just beginning, and no one had yet revealed their trump cards. It was unlikely anyone would play such a high-stakes move right from the start.

Lu Shun thought for a moment and speculated, The economic environment has been tough lately. Maybe the foreman rushed to finish the project quickly to get paid sooner, but unfortunately, an accident occurred?

But the foreman’s phone is missing, He Qiuting said. From the surveillance footage, it looked like he was filming something with his phone while on the scaffolding, but after he fell, the phone vanished. I had the driver and Lin Xu search for it, but they couldn’t find it.

The disappearance of the phone, a key piece of evidence, at such a time strongly suggested that this was likely not an accident.

Whoever took the phone to destroy the evidence might be the true mastermind behind the incident.

Lu Shun also realized the seriousness of the situation but didn’t want He Qiuting to overthink it. He comforted him, Don’t dwell on it. Leave the investigation to the police. Anyway, you have evidence of the work stoppage notice—that’s enough to help you avoid a lot of legal liability. At most, you’ll be faulted for insufficient oversight, and your stock won’t drop too severely.

He was just stating the facts, objectively analyzing the situation for He Qiuting, but somehow, it ended up igniting the other’s anger.

My stocks plummeting—you must be thrilled deep down, President Lu. He Qiuting’s words instantly froze the air in the car to an icy chill.

Lu Shun stiffened, frowning, Can you speak properly? What’s the point of being so sarcastic?

Am I wrong? The worse I fall, the more net profit President Lu makes, isn’t that right?

Lu Shun had shorted Cloud Horizon’s stock.

He Qiuting naturally knew.

The concept of shorting was easy to understand: Lu Shun borrowed Cloud Horizon shares from others, sold them at a high price, and then bought them back at a lower price after the stock fell, pocketing the substantial difference.

Before the accident, you completed the sell-off in the secondary market. I want to know the reason. He Qiuting’s gaze cooled, sharp as a blade, drawing blood the moment it met Lu Shun’s eyes.

Lu Shun’s heart felt pierced, his eyes darkening, his tone turning harsh, What do you mean? You can’t possibly think the construction site accident has anything to do with me?You haven’t publicly released any reports unfavorable to Cloud Horizon, nor have you incited any negative public opinion. Why were you so certain the stock price would fall? He Qiuting stared unblinkingly into his eyes, a flicker of confusion appearing in his own.

I indeed haven’t released any information detrimental to Cloud Horizon, and I had no intention to, because my decision was based entirely on publicly available information.

Lu Shun’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke, his anger so intense that the veins on the back of his hand bulged. Your company’s financial reports, Sky Dome Port’s policies, the data and trends of the entire real estate industry—which of these isn’t publicly available information? I have my own algorithms and assessments.

Alright.

He Qiuting was not one for intense personal conflicts and instinctively wanted to retreat. He pressed his hand against the car door and said calmly, You’re right. I forgot you’re a genius.

Geniuses could always dig fatal flaws out of publicly available information, seeing things ordinary people couldn’t.

Hmm… This explanation didn’t seem unreasonable.

He Qiuting quickly reconciled with the thought. After speaking, he moved to exit the car, intending to re-examine the crime scene and surveillance footage.

But Lu Shun suddenly leaned over, pressing down on He Qiuting’s hand as it reached for the door, forcibly turning his body toward him. He Qiuting, explain yourself clearly.

Lu Shun’s throat moved, his eyes burning with obvious fury as he suppressed his anger and asked, What kind of person do you think I am? Do you really believe I’d stoop so low as to scheme to profit from you?

He Qiuting shook his head. That’s not it…

I was just curious about your methods. After all, the timing of this incident is too coincidental. He Qiuting didn’t know how to explain further, only offering a weak reply, But I truly didn’t mean it that way.

He was straightforward by nature, especially when it came to work. Once doubts arose in his mind, he would voice them without hesitation. Setting aside the issue itself, he would never associate Lu Shun with lawless criminals who disregarded human life.

Then what did you mean?

The matter had struck a nerve in Lu Shun, who refused to let it go, gripping He Qiuting’s wrist tightly. Tell me right now—what did you mean?

…

Watching Lu Shun’s distraught expression, He Qiuting felt increasingly distressed. His breathing grew heavier as he began to reflect on his words and actions, realizing he often unintentionally hurt others’ feelings.

Lu Shun’s outburst was terrifying, his words sharp and piercing. What do you think I came to the construction site in a typhoon for, Director He? Huh? He Qiuting, do you suspect I picked up that missing phone?

Want to search me and see? Lu Shun grew more agitated, pulling He Qiuting’s hand toward his own pocket. See if it’s in…

His words cut off abruptly.

The world fell into sudden silence.

Lu Shun seemed drained of his soul, staring motionlessly at the person before him, forgetting to blink, his breath halting mid-air.

He Qiuting froze for a moment before slowly raising a hand to touch his own face, feeling as if the sky had collapsed.

It was damp.

That unfamiliar warmth surged into his eyes again, and he began to cry—glistening tears falling in front of Lu Shun.

The fingers gripping He Qiuting’s wrist instantly loosened. Lu Shun glanced around helplessly, momentarily unable to recall where he had put the tissues.

He Qiuting… He clumsily raised his hand, moving toward that tear-streaked face, but hesitated mid-air, not daring to touch it.

He Qiuting’s face remained as pale and composed as ever, still carrying the chill from their earlier argument, but the corners of his eyes were dangerously red.

There was no sobbing, no trembling, not a trace of weakness—only large teardrops like broken strings of pearls, pattering down her cheeks.

Don’t cry, don’t cry… Lu Shun’s throat struggled to form words. Though he wasn’t at fault, he felt as if he’d committed an unforgivable sin, his guilt peaking in that moment.

When his thumb touched her tears, Lu Shun felt as if his entire body had been struck by lightning, thunder crashing through his core.

He fumbled to wipe He Qiuting’s tears, only to see them flow more abundantly.

His heart aching with self-blame, Lu Shun bowed his head to hold her hand, gently massaging her wrist as his voice cracked. Did I… did I hurt you just now, He Qiuting? Please don’t cry…

I was wrong, I’m an idiot—don’t mind me, please stop crying.

Lu Shun seemed to be coaxing a small child.

He Qiuting didn’t know how to describe her current state of mind. She wanted to bang her head against the car door until she lost consciousness, thinking it might block her uncontrollable tear ducts.

Withdrawing her hand from Lu Shun’s grasp, she fabricated a reason with a straight face: I just… suddenly remembered my grandma.

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