—

Several overcast days in a row, and on the weekend, Wen Ran went to Wen Ningyuan's grave.

The gentle face with a faint smile in the black-and-white photo was always the first image that came to mind when he thought of Wen Ningyuan, and it was also the last time they'd seen each other.

"Dad." Wen Ran set a bouquet of lilies in front of the Headstone, knelt down, and looked into Wen Ningyuan's eyes. "I don't believe you'd do something like that."

"Mom wouldn't either." Wen Ran lowered his head. "But I still haven't found her."

Now that he knew Chen Shuhui and Gu Chongze might have already been in cahoots back when he was adopted, he could start piecing together Li Qingwan's trail.

Eleven years ago, Li Qingwan had arrived at the Orphanage one step too late and missed him. After that she'd kept searching, until four years ago when she came back to Capital City—maybe she'd found out he was taken in by the Wen Family.

By then, "Wen Ran" had already become a critical piece of the plan. Without Chen Shuhui needing to step in, Gu Chongze could just snap his fingers and manufacture endless obstacles and pressure to force Li Qingwan out of Capital City, running and hiding.

Wen Ran understood he could never find her, never wait her out. As long as Gu Chongze was around, as long as their plan wasn't finished, he and Li Qingwan would never meet.

But once the plan ended, as someone who knew and participated, would "Wen Ran" still exist? And if not, how would he be made to disappear?

A dead end with no solution. Wen Ran wasn't planning to solve it either, but before the ending came, he couldn't just sit and wait for it.

He'd expected that after Gu Peiwen gave the order, Wen Rui would be just as busy for Boqing Group as Chen Shuhui and nowhere to be seen. Instead, Wen Rui was taking what could only be called a slack attitude, spending more and more time at home, not even putting in one percent of the energy and focus he'd once given Shengdian Group.

Maybe it was the blow of Fang Yisen's disappearance, maybe he was deliberately opposing Chen Shuhui. Luckily Chen Shuhui was too swamped with work to come home and fight with him—she could only curse him out over the phone at most.

Coming home from school, Wen Ran pushed open the door and again saw Wen Rui lounging on the sofa, military news playing on the TV.

"The old guard's retiring." Wen Rui watched the screen, not turning his head as he spoke. "In a few years, the whole military's going to get a blood transfusion."

The topic came out of nowhere. Wen Ran stood at the foot of the stairs with his Backpack, asking: "What's going on?"

"Nothing, just chatting." The remote spun in his hand. Wen Rui said, "A lot of things have been put on fast-forward. Nobody knows when karma's gonna land on their own head. Heard old man Gu already drafted his will. Same thing I keep saying—hold onto Gu Yunchi tight. In the end, he's the only one who'll protect you, the only one who can."

"Doesn't matter." Wen Ran said flatly. "I'll take whatever karma comes."

Wen Rui laughed once. "With you and me as sons, this family's done for. But whatever—she's already gotten what she wanted, and she doesn't care anymore. Too bad standing too high makes you a target. Plays chess so well, wonder how good she is at dodging bullets."

Saying that, he stood up and stretched. "It's getting dark. Off to work."

"Going to Boqing Group?"

"Going to Shengdian Group." Wen Rui grabbed his Mobile Phone and headed for the door. "I don't wanna catch a bullet. Better look after our family business, or Dad up in heaven'll be heartbroken."

Wen Ran watched his back. As an adopted son who'd only spent six years with Wen Ningyuan but grown deeply attached, he could only imagine what it meant for Wen Rui, who'd grown up by Wen Ningyuan's side from birth. For him, that father who always made time to play ball and games with him must be one of the most precious parts of his life.

Fate is a machine of countless turning gears—the more precise, the less it can tolerate any error. Sometimes a single small screw can cause it to jam and slip. Wen Ran thought: he's that wrong screw.

Whether it was true or not, without him—the so-called illegitimate son—maybe everyone could have been happy.

Just as Wen Rui said, standing too high makes you a target.

Half a month after Gu Chongze took over Boqing Group, an old photo caused an uproar in Capital City.

The photo was taken in a private room at some club. Three people in it: the dead Tang Hua, the pilot who'd caused the plane crash back then, and a blurred figure outside the focal point of the lens—who looked a lot like Gu Chongze.

Suddenly, the Air Disaster from over a decade ago, long buried, was dragged into public view without warning. The old rumors and speculation about an illegitimate son murdering the heir and his wife surged to the center of media and public discussion as if confirmed.

Soon, Boqing Group issued a clarification, saying the third person in the photo wasn't Gu Chongze. Gu Chongze also stated he'd cooperate fully with any police investigation and get to the bottom of the source of the rumors as soon as possible.

Of course, all that was just surface. Wen Ran knew Gu Chongze had already been called to Luan Mountain and hadn't returned to Boqing Group yet. And Chen Shuhui, who'd rise and fall with him, had been on edge these past couple of days, extra cautious.

Gu Chongze dared accept the police investigation for two reasons: first, Tang Hua and the pilot were long dead, no witnesses to contradict; second, Wen Ran guessed Gu Chongze hadn't been too deeply involved back then, just played matchmaker, keeping himself as far from it as possible.

Wen Ran wanted to message Gu Yunchi, ask if he was abroad or in Capital City, if he'd seen the photo. But thinking about it, he must have known the moment it broke. Wen Ran stared at the screen a long time, then backed out of the chat.

Depression and despair outweighed shock and daze. Wen Ran sat in the noisy classroom during break, thinking that for the past eleven years he'd been manipulated by Gu Chongze—one of the suspected accomplices in Gu Yunchi's parents' deaths. For nearly half a minute, he struggled to draw a single breath.

"I seriously think you're sick. You've looked dead inside for ages now." Tao Susu asked, "What kind of trouble are you actually in?"

Wen Ran looked at her: "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"If Gu Chongze goes to your grandpa's tea house, is there any way you could get a heads-up?"

"Normally his assistant books the room in advance, and that's guest privacy—confidentiality's always tight." Tao Susu thought for a moment. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Wait for my message!"

A few days later, Monday evening, Wen Ran had finished dinner and was checking parts sent from the workshop when Tao Susu's message popped up: 9:30 tonight, he'll be in Tea Room 4.

Then immediately: Are you going? I'll come pick you up. Whatever you're doing, I'm volunteering!

Wen Ran didn't refuse: Okay, have your driver park at the intersection.

He pulled a small box out of his Backpack and set it aside, kept checking parts, until Tao Susu called to tell him to head out.

Arriving at the tea house, Tao Susu took Wen Ran straight to a tea room as soon as they got out of the car. All the private rooms were nestled against the mountain and water, with a transparent terrace overlooking a vast, pleasant mountain view. Wen Ran had no mood to enjoy it. He took out a fingernail-sized listening device from the small box and asked: "Can we plant it?"

"So exciting, oh my god." Tao Susu clutched her chest and took a deep breath, thrilled. "Let me think—his bodyguards are definitely gonna sweep the room first. We need to find somewhere absolutely hidden."

Wen Ran glanced at the table. "Can we tuck it into a tea pet?"

"Isn't that a bit bold? What if he pours tea over it?"

"They're here to talk business, not drink tea. Probably not in the mood." Wen Ran pulled a small round piece of foam double-sided tape from his pocket. "Once it's in and stuck down, even if it gets shaken, it won't make noise or fall out."

He picked up each tea pet on the table one by one, chose the most suitable one—a golden toad—removed the coin from its mouth, carefully pushed the taped listening device through that slot, found a toothpick to press it in and make sure the other side stuck to the inside of the tea pet, then put the coin back in the toad's mouth.

Tao Susu grabbed it and shook it—no sound. She gave an OK sign, took the tea pet and ran out of the room. Wen Ran heard her ask: "Auntie, this room has a guest coming?"

"Oh, Susu's here! Yeah, the guest's coming in a bit, let me get things ready first."

"Oh, let me take a look too, learn something!"

She went into the room, voices gradually fading. A few minutes later Tao Susu came back, confident: "All set!"

Wen Ran nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Tao Susu sat down next to him. "I really used to think Gu Chongze was a good guy. Who knew this photo would suddenly blow up, and we still don't even know if that's really him in it."

"Are you doing this for Gu Yunchi?" she asked Wen Ran. "Are you gonna give him the recording? Then we need to make sure Gu Chongze actually says something today that can be used as evidence."

Wen Ran replied: "I just want to know what they're planning to do next."

"They? You know who Gu Chongze is meeting?"

"It's my mom." Wen Ran said, eyes lowered.

Tao Susu froze for a moment, then suddenly went quiet.

They waited over twenty minutes. Faint footsteps sounded in the hallway, then quickly faded. A moment later, Wen Ran heard the click of high heels. He checked the time: 9:26.

Wen Ran opened an app on his phone, turned the volume down, and conversation from Tea Room 4 began to play.

"Did you find out who did it? Tang Feiyi or Wei Lingzhou?"

"Does it matter?"

"What did Gu Peiwen say when he called you to Luan Mountain?"

"Just a photo made to frame me. The people who should be dead are already dead. Over ten years—who could possibly figure it out now, hold anyone accountable?"

Chen Shuhui paused: "Is it really a frame-up?"

"What, you don't believe me either?"

"I can't read you at all — how am I supposed to trust you? We finally got this close to pulling it off, and then something like this happens. I told you a long time ago, the Tang-Wei Clan and the Wei Family won't just let it go. No telling what day they'll stir up trouble again."

"But some things are easier done through other people's hands. Everything they did before looked like revenge against the Gu Family and the Wen Family, but who actually benefited in the end? Us, right?"

Wen Ran thought of the time he'd been kidnapped. Just as Gu Yunchi had said, they wanted to stir up conflict between the Tang-Wei Clan and Gu Yunchi and reap the rewards. As for the fire on the Island, he suspected Gu Chongze had seen it coming all along but pretended not to know, going with the flow and using the fire as cover to grab that land.

"And this time? What benefit do you think we'll get?"

"Gu Peiwen and Gu Yunchi's stance, and who's in the group trying to use this photo to push me out—all future targets to deal with. Too important. Besides, we've still got several cards to play. No need to lose sleep over one photo."

The continuous sound of tea being poured. Gu Chongze continued: "Everything has pros and cons. When you can't tell which outweighs which, don't jump to conclusions. You always let your emotions get to you—that's why you hate Wen Ran so much. But he's such a useful tool for us. Don't forget, what matters most right now is figuring out the contents of the will. Wen Ran might come in handy."

"Can't I hate him? No matter how badly I treat him, he still obeys, doesn't he? He's just gotten a taste of the good life now and is dreaming of climbing up to Gu Yunchi. He doesn't even think—if he didn't have such a high match rate, if he were just a Beta, would Gu Yunchi even look at him?"

Feeling Tao Susu's incredulous gaze, Wen Ran just stared at his phone, expression unchanged.

Gu Chongze seemed to laugh: "In the end, you still hate Betas."

"Yes. If a Beta hadn't broken up my marriage and left behind an illegitimate son, if he were just an ordinary orphan, I wouldn't have treated him that way." Chen Shuhui scoffed. "Of course, that's useful for you again, right? Like back then when you used my hatred to force me to choose: either let Wen Ningyuan know Wen Ran was his son and face a Shengdian Group in trouble, or cooperate with you, use Gu Yunchi's illness to get me and Wen Rui into the Gu Family."

"Do you regret your choice?"

Chen Shuhui took a deep breath: "Wen Ningyuan betrayed me. He deserved to die."

Gu Chongze said: "Good. I was always worried you'd think I was the one who killed Wen Ningyuan, but he just paid the price for his affair. Glad you can see that clearly."

"I've always known that." After a brief silence, Chen Shuhui said, "If there's nothing else, I'll head out first."

"Mm. Be careful on the way."

A soft rustle of sounds. Chen Shuhui left the tea room. No more sound came from the phone.

"Wen Ran..." Tao Susu leaned in carefully. "Are you okay?"

Wen Ran's body moved slightly. Then he saved the complete recording, exited the app, and turned off his phone.

After a long moment, he turned his head very slowly, his eyes unfocused, and asked softly: "Did you hear it? Gu Chongze killed my dad."

It was nearly midnight, and Wen Ran got home a step behind Chen Shuhui — he'd had to wait for Gu Chongze to leave so he could retrieve the bug from the Shi'er Point Bar.

When he pushed open the door, Chen Shuhui, who'd only just emerged from her anxiety, was sitting on the sofa drinking bird's nest. Seeing Wen Ran come in, she glanced at him: "Gu Yunchi's not in the country. Whose house were you at again, staying out this late?"

"A friend. Omega." Wen Ran walked over to the coffee table, looked at her, and asked: "Anything else you need me to do?"

Chen Shuhui's movement paused, her gaze slowly dropping to his face: "What do you mean?"

"You've already achieved your goal." Wen Ran stared straight at her. "My usefulness is probably about up, isn't it? Anything else you need from me?"

"Since when are you this proactive? Could it be Gu Yunchi's gotten tired of you, so now you want to come back to the Wen Family?"

"I just want to make a trade."

Chen Shuhui laughed once, finding it absurd and novel: "You make demands too? I'd love to hear—what are your terms?"

"Let me go." Wen Ran said calmly.