Chapter 113 - Li Ling Can't Be Here

Zhihao's mother saw him from afar and instantly rushed up to him as she called out, "A-Zhi, you're here." 

Zhihao was searching through the crowd when he heard his mother calling him. He turned his head towards her and smiled in acknowledgment before his eyes wandered the party once again in search of the man who he had just met in the elevator. 

Huang Zhi Juan walked up to him and lightly hugged him. 

"Sorry, I was late, mom. The traffic was really a headache," Zhihao lied like a pro, and his mother wasn't born yesterday so she could naturally see through it. 

The streets today weren't as busy as they always were which was also one of the reasons why he wasn't as late as he would've guessed and he was able to drive a bit fast without getting into an accident. 

Huang Zhi Juan smacked his head not too hard as she spoke, "You're so grown up. You have learned to lie to your mother now?" 

Zhihao cheekily grinned as he rubbed his head and didn't dare say anything to that.. 

"Let's go. Your father is waiting for you." 

Zhihao sighed, "Can we not tell him that I was late?" 

"Doesn't matter. He won't say anything." 

"Oh!" Zhihao instantly understood what the situation was. If Zhihao was late to the party, he would surely be scolded by his father, but if his father was busy talking to someone, he would never scold Zhihao in front of them. This was something Zhihao really liked about his father. The man would always praise him in front of others and would never say anything bad about him even if Zhihao did something that his father didn't like. 

It was as if his father wanted to show the world how perfect their family was and how proud they were of their son. Zhihao was sure that his father would boast about him from the bottom of his heart. Every word he'd say would be something he truly believed and if there was a second thing Zhihao loved about parties it would be the fact that he would get to hear his father talking nicely about him. Everyone loved to be complimented and Zhihao was no different. 

"Then let's go," Zhihao beamed.

Huang Zhi Juan led her son to the place where her husband was sitting and talking to some of his business partners. 

When Zhihao saw a small crowd gathering around his father, his eyes instantly searched through the crowd to find a particular someone. Didn't the mystery man from the elevator say that he works with Zhihao's father? If that were the case, shouldn't he be here?

Zhihao frowned as a sudden thought went through his mind. 

Had he been conned? 

He immediately looked at the watch that was wrapped around his wrist and analyzed it. Could this watch be a fake copy?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like the scenario would make perfect sense. The man switched watches like a magician and disappeared soon after. If he's not a magician, he could only be a thief who had successfully tricked Zhihao and stole his watch away. His watch cost a hefty amount so it would make perfect sense why the thief would trick Zhihao and steal his watch. 

Huang Zhi Juan seemed to sense the change in Zhihao's facial expression as she immediately reacted with worry laced along with her facial expressions, "Is something wrong, A-Zhi?" 

Zhihao shook his head and sighed, "I think I was conned." 

"What?! When? How?" His mother looked at him up and down as if trying to find clues on what he was talking about. 

Zhihao didn't want to talk about it since it was still his suspicions so he simply smiled and answered, "Don't worry about it. It's not something important." 

"You don't look like it's not important." Huang Zhi Juan's eyes trailed down to Zhihao's wrist and she seemed shocked as she asked, "I thought you weren't able to get that watch." 

Zhihao held his wrist up as he spoke, "This is... Probably fake." 

His mother pulled his hand and twisted the watch to show him the backside of it. 

"This is definitely not fake!" Huang Zhi Juan was an expert at detecting fake products so when Zhihao heard this, he immediately believed her as he knew that if she said it was real, it was probably as real as it can get. 

Zhihao looked at the watch in surprise as he muttered, "It's real?"

Huang Zhi Juan nodded her head as she answered, "Definitely real. Who gave you this watch?" 

"I... Don't know..." Zhihao had not even got the man's name so how could he answer her?

Huang Zhi Juan was thoroughly shocked and a bit confused to hear this. "What do you mean you don't know? Did some stranger just come up to you and give you such an expensive watch?" 

Zhihao chuckled awkwardly as he heard her. How could he tell her that her suspicions were right? That was indeed what happened! 

A stranger did come up to him and traded watches with him! 

Zhihao was sure that if he told this to his mother, his mother would make him throw the watch away thinking it was some kind of trick. Maybe there was a bomb inside or something like that. She would never let him keep a watch that was suddenly given to him by a stranger and so, Zhihao couldn't tell her the truth. 

"Oh! Look, he's here." Zhihao heard a familiar voice calling out and when he looked up, he found his father smiling as he invited him over. 

Zhihao was suddenly the center of attention as the little crowd turned their eyes towards him with a curious and friendly expression. 

"I haven't seen this kid in so long." Zhihao heard a man speak up as he laughed. The man was a long-time business partner and friend of his father so Zhihao had naturally seen him before this, but he had never bothered to remember the man's name. 

Zhihao smiled as he walked towards his father, pushing all the thoughts about the watch and the mystery elevator man aside, he spoke up, "Nice to see you again, uncle." 

The old man laughed as he nodded, "You have grown up so much." 

Zhihao chuckled as he heard this. The last time he remembered, he had met the man a few years ago and Zhihao hadn't really grown much after that so he knew that the man was just trying to make small talks. 

Zhihao's father laughed as he spoke, "He's so big now. If it weren't for his stubbornness, I would've certainly given the company to him. It is time I get some rest too." 

"I'm sure your son can manage the company well." Another man who was standing beside his father spoke as he looked at Zhihao. 

Zhihao only chuckled nervously as he heard this. It was never his ambition to look after his father's company. All he wanted to do was play games. 

"I'm sure he would do a wonderful job," His father beamed, "But I want to support him in his current career." 

"Oh! I heard about that!" A middle-aged looking man wearing a blue colored suit spoke up, "Your son is a professional gamer, right?" 

Huang Zhi Qiang nodded his head as he answered, "He's the best pro-gamer in the country." 

The middle-aged man smiled as he heard this, "I heard all about it. Isn't he also the top player in that new game your company released?" 

When Huang Zhi Qiang heard this, his face that was full of smiles turned complicated and Zhihao could not understand why. 

"Indeed. He's the top player in TIAD." 

Zhihao didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like his father who was always supportive of him and would love to boast about him suddenly sounded displeased as he said this. Being the top player was a good rank so he could not understand why his father didn't like it. 

"Little Zhihao is certainly very talented. You must be very proud." 

Zhihao's father nodded as he pushed back his unhappiness and answered, "God has blessed me with two perfect sons." 

When Zhihao heard this, he instantly remembered that his brother was also going to be here, but he was yet to see him so he leaned closer to his mother's side and asked, "Where is A-Zhen?"

Huang Zhi Juan, "He's with his friends."

Zhihao was surprised. Whenever his brother had come to such parties before this, he would always stick to their father's side or would follow Zhihao around. The boy hardly had any friends so it came as a shock to him to hear that A-Zhen was hanging out with his friends. 

He looked around to find his brother but he didn't even know what A-Zhen was wearing. With everyone covering their faces behind a mask, finding his brother was harder than he expected, so he could only give up and sigh. It seemed that everyone in this party would magically be able to disappear from sight. 

The middle-aged man laughed as he nodded, "I'm a bit jealous of you. A perfect wife and two perfect sons. God is certainly biased towards you." 

Huang Zhi Qiang nodded in agreement, "What more could I ask?" 

Another man looked at Zhihao and then back at Huang Zhi Qiang as he spoke, "If Zhihao has children, I'm sure you'll make us jealous even more."

Zhihao choked on air as he heard this.