Chapter 444 382: This Is My Husband, Qian Shujun

"Huh?!" Xiaoliu was surprised. She recognized the young, handsome man—it was Wu Yun, a huge online sensation.

Glancing furtively at the photograph in Yu Min's hand, Xiaoliu was stunned. 'No wonder! No wonder I felt like I'd seen Wu Yun somewhere before but couldn't place him!'

He bore a strong resemblance to the person in the photograph Yu Min was holding!

'No wonder! No wonder President Yu reacted that way!' Most of Xiaoliu's confusion instantly vanished.

"President Yu!"

"President Yu!" At Xiaoliu's call, Yu Min finally reacted.

Taking the tissue from Xiaoliu, Yu Min carefully set the photograph on the table. Only then did she take the tissue in both hands and wipe the tears from her eyes and cheeks.

After drying her face, Yu Min said, "Xiaoliu, please, have a seat."

Xiaoliu did as she was told and sat down. She glanced toward Wu Yun, then turned back and asked hesitantly, "President Yu, do you know Wu Yun?"

Yu Min was a seasoned businesswoman, after all, and quickly regained her composure. However, her slightly reddened eyes and the hand that trembled as it held the photo betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

"Wu Yun!? You know him?"

Xiaoliu nodded. "Wu Yun is a very famous tycoon in our country. You could say he's the wealthiest man of the younger generation!"

"But what he's most famous for are the stories about him. When it comes to making donations or giving back to society, Wu Yun is a paragon!"

"President Yu, you just got back from South Africa, so it's perfectly normal that you wouldn't know about him."

As she spoke, Xiaoliu pulled up some articles about Wu Yun that she had saved and handed her phone to Yu Min.

Yu Min read meticulously, poring over every word as if afraid of missing the slightest detail.

More than half an hour later, as she learned more, a faint smile gradually spread across Yu Min's face. It was an exceptionally beautiful sight, which greatly surprised Xiaoliu, who was sitting across from her. 'Is this really my stern President?!'

But after comparing him to the photograph, Xiaoliu started to piece things together.

"Not bad at all! He's a good kid," Yu Min murmured, handing the phone back to Xiaoliu. She immediately gave an order, "Xiaoliu! Go and invite Wu Yun to come over and join us!"

The words were barely out of her mouth when she decided against it. "Wait, never mind!" she said, stopping her. "I'll go myself."

...

"HAHAHAHA!"

An international joke Da Xiong had just told sent the whole table into a fit of laughter.

A smile crept onto Wu Yun's face as well.

Just then, a gentle, slightly trembling voice came from beside them. "Young man, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Hawkeye's laughter died in his throat as he turned to look at the two people behind him.

Wu Yun also turned to look at the woman next to him. It was the same elegant woman in her thirties who had been staring at him earlier. Now, up close, he found her vaguely familiar.

Wei Wu and Wang Hao stood up in surprise, looking at the woman who bore a slight resemblance to their boss.

"Ma'am, can I help you with something?" Wu Yun asked, standing up. He hesitated for a moment before settling on the formal address.

It was always hard to guess the right term of address for a woman of her age.

"Wu Yun! Could I speak with you privately?" Yu Min asked, her tone pleading.

Wu Yun glanced at the freshly served dry pot on their table, then at the hopeful expression in Yu Min's eyes, and finally agreed. "Alright."

"Should we go outside?"

Yu Min smiled. "No, let's go to my table. Xiaoliu, you can wait here."

Wu Yun glanced at the untouched chopsticks at her table and gestured. "Miss Liu, please, sit here and eat with my friends. Don't be shy! I'll take your seat."

Xiaoliu nodded, her face turning red. Seeing her flushed cheeks, Wang Hao suddenly felt a heartstring stir.

Wu Yun followed Yu Min to her table and sat down. Suppressing her excitement, Yu Min collected her thoughts and gestured to the untouched dry pot. "Let's eat while we talk."

Wu Yun didn't stand on ceremony and picked up his chopsticks.

"Wu Yun... My name is Yu Min. Would you be interested in hearing a story?" Before Wu Yun could even reply, Yu Min seemed to drift away, lost in her memories.

"June 3rd, 1996. It was a bright, sunny day."

"A young couple brought their six-month-old baby to Sichuan."

"The husband was an active-duty soldier. He missed his wife and child, so he took an early leave to come home. He took them on a trip, starting from Rongcheng."

As Yu Min spoke, her voice calm but threaded with emotion, Wu Yun felt himself transported back to that hot summer in June of 1996.

"Minmin! I hear the dry pot in Jingyang is famous. Let's head over this afternoon and spend the night there! What do you think?" The man picked up his six-month-old son and tickled him, making the baby giggle happily.

The woman looked at her husband, a little worried. "Shujun, I've heard it's not very safe over in Jingyang. Should we still go?"

The man smiled and patted the holstered pistol hidden at his waist. "It's fine! I'm armed."

"Besides, we'll go this afternoon, have dinner, and stay at a guesthouse. We'll head back to Rongcheng first thing tomorrow morning."

The woman opened her mouth to object but stopped when he added, "I've heard so much about the famous Yongji Dry Pot! Since we're already in Sichuan, we have to go try it!"

Back then, the expressway from Rongcheng to Mountain City had only recently opened, so it took the man just over an hour to drive from Rongcheng to Jingyang.

The couple first checked into a room at a guesthouse. After a short rest, they got back in the car and headed for Yongji Dry Pot.

There was no GPS back then, and the maps were pitifully basic. The man had to ask several pedestrians for directions before he finally found the old location of Yongji Dry Pot.

Just as the rumors claimed, the dry pot in Jingyang lived up to its name. Even the woman, who rarely ate spicy food, had several helpings.

The dry pot was delicious, but it was also very oily and salty, leaving them both incredibly thirsty.

As they were getting back into the car, the man, already in his seat, spoke to the woman who was opening the back door. "Minmin! Could you go buy a couple of bottles of water? I'm so thirsty! Actually, grab two extra. They might not have any this cold back at the guesthouse."

The woman replied, "Our son is sleeping in the back seat, so keep an eye on him!" With that, she closed the car door.

The woman was standing at the entrance of a small shop nearby. She had just gotten four bottles of ice-cold mineral water and was about to pay when disaster struck.

She heard the sharp CRACK of a gunshot.

The woman's face paled as she whipped her head toward the car. She saw two big, masked men standing beside it. One of them yanked open the driver's door and dragged a man out—a man with blood gushing from his chest.

The man was still conscious. His right hand reached weakly for his waist, but the carjacker was faster. The assailant got into the car and, without a second thought, fired another shot at the man writhing on the ground.

The point-blank shot sent a spray of blood and brain matter from the back of the man's head. His hand, which had been reaching for his pistol, fell limply to the ground.

The woman screamed and ran toward the car, but it was too fast. In the blink of an eye, it vanished around a corner.

Her husband lay on the ground on one side, her child was in the car on the other. The woman was thrown into a complete panic.

"Shujun! Shujun!"

"Please, somebody save him! Save my child! My child is still in the car!"

Kneeling beside her unmoving husband, the woman wailed, begging the onlookers for help. She grabbed the pistol from her husband's hand and tried to run in the direction the car had gone.

She hadn't taken two steps before police, alerted by the commotion, arrived and restrained her, taking the weapon.

Overcome with grief and shock, the woman fainted.

Wu Yun looked at the elegant woman before him, her eyes bloodshot and her face streaming with tears. His own heart ached with a nervous tension. Hearing her story and connecting it with his own past, a faint suspicion began to form in his mind.

Yu Min choked back a sob, accepting the tissue Wu Yun offered her. After composing herself slightly, she took the photograph from her wallet and handed it to him. "This was my husband, Qian Shujun."