Tang Beixuan looked at Zhang Jiren as if he'd just grown another head over his shoulder.

  Did he hear his cousin right? Did he just hear Zhang Jiren extending a hand to help him? But why? Zhang Jiren was really unpredictable in Tang Beixuan's opinion. There were times he wondered if the man solely works for himself and not for the Zhang family.

  Zhang Jiren raised a slender brow as Tang Beixuan remained silent. Was it too obvious that he wanted to meet Tang Moyu again? He hoped not. The need to get close with his twin sister was getting hard to ignore these days. No matter how busy he was, at the end of the day, he would wonder how she was faring.

  "Is there a problem? I thought you are in a hurry?" he questioned Tang Beixuan, breaking him out of his daze.

  "N-No. I was just surprised, CEO Zhang, but you don't have to do this…" Tang Beixuan replied, not sure what Zhang Jiren was up to.

  "CEO Zhang? Tang Beixuan, I might be your superior here in the company, but are you forgetting that we are also related to each other? I understand why you are wary of me, but I have never harmed you or any of your siblings, right? You must know what my standing within the Zhang family is by now." Zhang Jiren looked away as if he was ashamed for looking vulnerable in front of Tang Beixuan, but in fact, he was trying hard not to roll his eyes from the absurdity of his actions.

  Tang Beixuan was taken aback by Zhang Jiren's words. He didn't have any intention to offend Zhang Jiren, but the latter was right. Thinking about it, Zhang Jiren's situation was just like Tang Wanyu's and his. The three of them didn't have any place to belong to and were only taken in by the Zhang family for whatever twisted reasons they had on their minds.

  Was this the reason why Zhang Jiren kept his distance from everyone and could only rely on himself? Unlike him and Tang Wanyu, Tang Beixuan knew that Zhang Jiren had no one. He neither had a sibling to look after him nor a lover that could accompany him.

  For several weeks he had spent working alongside Zhang Jiren, Tang Beixuan never noticed the man seeing anyone. Most of his time was spent working even before everyone could clock in for the morning all the way to late nights in his office.

  For a moment, Zhang Jiren reminded Tang Beixuan of his ever workaholic older sister, Tang Moyu. From their working habits up to their facial expressions, he would have mistaken Zhang Jiren for Tang Moyu if he didn't know that Zhang Jiren was an illegitimate child of his uncle.

  "So, are we going or not?" he heard Zhang Jiren ask.

  "Uhh… if it's okay with you. Please." Tang Beixuan made up his mind. If Zhang Jiren was being used by the Zhang family, he would rather keep this man close so he would know what Zhang Jiren was up to. Sometimes, it's better to keep one's enemies closer.

  Tang Beixuan collected his things from his passenger seat and locked the doors of his car. He made a mental note to make a phone call later to the repair shop. He then followed Zhang Jiren to his silver Bentley and couldn't help but notice their difference in financial status.

  Unlike him, Zhang Jiren was already in his early thirties and had reached the peak of his career by being one of the most influential CEOs these days. Not only was he able to keep Zhang Corporation flourishing under his management, but he was also able to improve the quality of his life exponentially.

  As Tang Beixuan sat next to the driver seat, he glanced briefly at Zhang Jiren's face before turning his attention to the road. If Zhang Jiren was plotting behind their back, what would be his motive? This… Tang Beixuan couldn't think of anything at all, but he knew he could not lower his guard completely against Zhang Jiren.

  "I haven't seen Cousin Wanyu for years since she has gotten married. I wasn't even aware that she left the country," Zhang Jiren said, trying to strike a conversation with Tang Beixuan who hummed in response.

  "Yes. I heard it was quite a drama back then. Wan Jie escaped from Han Shaohui and sought Moyu Jie's help. If I was there, I would surely beat that bastard to the pulp, but he was more unfortunate that Moyu Jie was the one who dealt with him," Tang Beixuan said in annoyance.

  Both of his sisters were close to him, and he'd never approved of Han Shaohui as his Wan Jie's husband or of Feng Tianhua as his Moyu Jie's fiance. Both were losers trying to use his sisters to gain something in return.

  Zhang Jiren smirked at that. "You really love your sisters, don't you?"

  "Why, of course!" Tang Beixuan exclaimed, facing his cousin.

  "Even if we aren't truly related by blood, Wan Jie and Moyu Jie treat me better than anyone else. How can I just turn a blind eye on it?" Suddenly, he fell silent, which made Zhang Jiren wonder what was wrong this time.

  "You are troubled," Zhang Jiren said after a long silence between them. "Shouldn't you be happy that both of your sisters are faring well now? Do you know, I somewhat envy you. Although you aren't truly related to them, you have sisters with you. It must be nice to have an older sister looking out and taking care of you."

  His eyes flashed with sadness he'd been trying to ignore for years. It didn't seem like he would be able to come clean and introduce himself to Tang Moyu anytime soon.

  Was it really impossible for him to be happy in this lifetime? Was he really destined to be alone for the rest of his life? The more he thought about it, the more he hated the Zhang family.