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Lianmeng Government, Chairman's Office.

Lu Chengyu sat in that supple leather office chair, the glass doors of the bookcase behind him reflecting the pointed and rounded rooftops outside the window. Above the bookcase, the wall displayed the flags of the twenty-four League Nations, leaning at an angle toward the central League flag in the middle, so neat that even every drooping fold seemed to have been calculated with meticulous precision.

Lu Heyang rarely came to Lu Chengyu's office; over the years there had only been a handful of occasions. The last time he came, Lu Chengyu was not yet Chairman.

After entering the office, Lu Heyang stood quietly for two minutes before Lu Chengyu turned a page of documents, still without raising his head, and said only: "No need to return home. Study and train here with peace of mind."

"The Preparatory Academy has periodic examinations; they need to be entered into the file," Lu Heyang said.

But even if Lu Heyang's file were a blank page, it would not prevent him from entering the best school. Lu Chengyu finally raised his head, his tone somewhere between command and warning: "Then have the school send the electronic version of the test papers."

Without waiting for Lu Heyang to answer — and Lu Heyang had no intention of answering — the internal line on the desk rang. Lu Chengyu picked it up; his secretary informed him that the meeting attendees had all arrived and the meeting could begin.

So after occupying three precious minutes of the Chairman's time, Lu Heyang emerged from the office. He took the elevator down two floors to the League Foreign Ministry, where Lu Qingmo was just walking out of the conference room with documents in hand. Lu Heyang stood in the corridor and called to her: "Jie."

Lu Qingmo turned around, paused for a moment, then realized: "Baba sent you?"

"Mm."

"Come to my office."

The assistant poured water for Lu Qingmo and Lu Heyang and then left. Lu Qingmo sat down on the sofa, rubbed her somewhat aching ankle, and began: "Was attending Military Academy your own decision?"

"Yes," Lu Heyang said, picking up the water glass but not drinking, only holding it in his hand.

"Military Academy is very hard. I'm worried you'll go around in a big circle and end up with the same result in the end."

"How would I know without going around once." Lu Heyang took a sip of water, drew a small box from his trouser pocket. "Your earrings."

"...Thank you," Lu Qingmo said softly, reaching out to take the box.

Inside the box was a pair of small pearl earrings — a Valentine's Day limited commemorative edition from a certain brand several years ago, basic and simple in style, with nothing to do with luxury or refinement, yet Lu Qingmo had worn them for five full years. From university campus to Lianmeng Government, from graduation gala to wedding ceremony — even though the small pearl earrings clashed terribly with the expensive wedding gown, Lu Qingmo had silently insisted on wearing them.

Some time ago, the clasp of one earring had broken. When Lu Qingmo returned to the country, she had sent the earrings for repair; later, because of work, she left in a hurry and did not have time to wait for them to be fixed.

After putting them back on, Lu Qingmo raised her hand to touch the pearl earrings connected to her earlobes, smiled at Lu Heyang, and said thank you again.

The Chairman's eldest daughter, the radiant Mrs. Wei, the young and outstanding diplomat — to outsiders, Lu Qingmo had a superior background, standing easily at the pinnacle of the pyramid, but they did not know that she would show such a smile for a pair of pearl earrings.

This was probably one of the reasons Lu Heyang needed to go around in a big circle.

Because he did not want, in the end, to be able to keep only a pair of pearl earrings.

When He Wei opened his eyes, Chi Jiahán was standing at his side and slightly behind him, talking to Xu Ze.

"..." He Wei turned his head as if nothing had happened, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, then straightened up, pretending he had only dozed for a moment rather than slept the entire morning. With an innocent smile: "I only slept a few minutes, and Xiao Chi's already here?"

Chi Jiahán glanced at the red mark pressed into his face, lifted the corner of his mouth in a hollow smile: "Yes, what a coincidence."

"Tired from standing?" He Wei spread his legs and patted his own knee. "Sit?"

Chi Jiahán's expression did not change, but Xu Ze's gaze moved from He Wei's leg, then lowered somewhat unnaturally to look at the book on his own desk.

Seeing Chi Jiahán say nothing, He Wei stood up with a grin: "You take my chair, I'll go to the bathroom." His hands were mischievous — he still pinched Chi Jiahán's ear, and only after being glared at fiercely did he happily scram.

When He Wei returned, Chi Jiahán had already left. Xu Ze was working on test papers again — not only the ones He Wei had given him, but also the thick stack Lu Heyang had helped him print out, much more complete than He Wei's, which had a previous page but no next.

"Last time you said you knew Xiao Chi since you were seven or eight. Did he not like talking to people even as a child?" He Wei leaned close to Xu Ze and asked.

Xu Ze paused his pen, to avoid accidentally writing on He Wei's face, and answered: "He doesn't really like to talk."

"You've known each other so long — have you ever fought?" Though He Wei felt the answer was obvious, because Xu Ze was not the type to quarrel, and neither was Chi Jiahán.

"No."

"An enviable friendship. Unlike me, fighting with Yun Chi since we were little."

The pen tip landed on the test paper and bloomed into a small black dot. Xu Ze hesitated a moment, then asked: "None of the three have ever fought?"

"No, only Yun Chi and I would fight — and it's not really fighting, it's all because Gu Yunchi talks too harshly. Anyway, with Heyang there was never any unpleasantness." He Wei suddenly thought of something and straightened up. "Oh, there was once — a very, very long time ago when we were small."

He saw Xu Ze turn his head — that 'I want to hear' look. Xu Ze rarely showed such curiosity.

Able to pique Xu Ze's interest, He Wei felt a great sense of accomplishment. He leaned back in his chair and, in an unhurried storytelling tone: "It was a warm winter. Yun Chi and I went to Heyang's house to play, and just as he opened a bag of candy, I personally saw him separate out the best flavors and tuck them into his own pocket."

"His doing that made me very sad. I asked him if he could give me a few, and was ruthlessly refused. So I went up to grab them — not for the sake of eating the candy, mainly because I was angry."

"That was the only time I fought with Heyang. Heyang was also unhappy, and said the candy was meant to be saved for his friend. Funny! Am I not his friend?" He Wei immersed himself in the memory, speaking indignantly while patting Xu Ze's shoulder. "I asked him exactly who he was saving the candy for, and Heyang told me it was a little friend I didn't know."

"I suspected on the spot that this was a cover — that he was actually saving the candy for Gu Yunchi — so I asked Gu Yunchi, was it you! Gu Yunchi said I had problems in my head." He Wei laughed coldly. "So young and already talking so harshly. If not for the arranged marriage, how would such an Alpha ever find a wife."

Xu Ze looked at the test paper, but in truth his gaze had gone elsewhere.

He still remembered that as a child, every time Lu Heyang brought him candy, the ones he produced were always the best flavors.

"That little friend... who was it?" Xu Ze asked softly.

"How would I know — Heyang never said a name. I suspect there was no such person; he just didn't want to give me candy." He Wei paused, reluctantly folding away that petty look. "But Heyang's memory seemed to have already started having problems back then."

Xu Ze was startled. He turned to look at him: "What?"

"He probably didn't mention it to you... Anyway, I had that feeling at the time. It's been too long to remember clearly, but—" He Wei crossed his arms and leaned a little toward Xu Ze, lowering his voice. "Something definitely happened. In any case, Heyang basically has no memories from childhood — anything before about ten, he doesn't remember."

Not remembering things before three or four might still be normal, but if everything before ten is gone, that is clearly a problem. He Wei had grown up with Lu Heyang since childhood; Xu Ze could not think of anything that He Wei would also be entirely unaware of.

"Why?" Xu Ze pressed, unconsciously.

"Don't know." He Wei shook his head. "For it to be kept this secret, it must be Uncle Lu's doing. Whoever dares investigate is basically prying open Uncle Lu's hand — who would be that bold? Anyway, I didn't. Isn't living good?"

Xu Ze nodded. He did not know why he nodded — it was just an unconscious response to He Wei. He thought of the eleven times he had met Lu Heyang at age seven, of how he had wondered why Lu Heyang always said the same things, did the same things. Xu Ze had thought it was a kind of emphasis; now he understood it was because Lu Heyang kept forgetting what he had said and done.

Was it illness, or had something happened — did Lu Heyang still remember the reason?

"Oh, right — did Heyang tell you why he's not coming to school?" He Wei absolutely did not mention the eight hundred question marks he had sent Lu Heyang, and said with pretended indifference: "I asked him once, and he didn't tell me."

After a few seconds, Xu Ze answered: "I don't know either."

He Wei's heart immediately found its balance, and he lay back down on the desk to sleep.

Until school let out, Xu Ze was still thinking about He Wei's words. Today was the nineteenth day Lu Heyang had not come to school — already past the one or two weeks he had mentioned before.

No phone calls, only a text on the fourteenth day: coming back a few days later.

But several more days had passed, and Lu Heyang still had not returned to the country. That text was read by Xu Ze again and again, as if each glance would give him a fulcrum to keep on waiting in silence.

Pushing his bicycle into the stairwell, Xu Ze walked up the stairs. He had self-studied in the classroom for over an hour after school; by now the sky was completely dark. Xu Ze walked absently up two floors, and vaguely heard footsteps behind him — very light, suddenly appearing — which meant the other party might have been following behind all along, and only now, accelerating closer, had let the sound escape.

Closer meant — Xu Ze half-turned his head in the dark, his peripheral vision catching that figure about to press against his back. In the last second he silently turned sideways, threw a punch at the other's cheek, and at the same time raised his leg for a knee strike.

It was a Beta — no Pheromone scent on him at all. Xu Ze's movements were too fast; the Beta could only barely dodge the punch, and then his lower abdomen was violently struck by Xu Ze's knee. The Beta let out a muffled groan, his whole body rolled backward, and tumbled into the corner of the stairwell.

The air was full of the smell of flying dust. Xu Ze stepped down several stairs, grabbed the Beta by the collar and flipped him over, then stepped on the Beta's right wrist — the one holding the knife.

Xu Ze did not immediately ask anything, because he felt something was off. The person must have been sent by Tang Feiyi, but clearly there was no need for this — Tang Feiyi could have appeared directly in front of him, rather than sending someone to follow and kidnap. This was too redundant.

Just as he was about to speak, hurried footsteps came from upstairs. An Alpha almost vaulted over the handrail jumping down, rushed to Xu Ze's side, bent over to look downstairs. Xu Ze heard him curse under his breath.

Xu Ze quickly stood up as well, and saw that a van had somehow stopped downstairs — two people were stuffing an apparently unconscious Alpha into the back seat.