That evening, the moment Wen Tingli finished work, she went to the Zou residence to see Principal Zou.

A’Xi greeted Wen Tingli warmly: “What bad timing — the Principal’s gone to visit a friend, but she should be back soon. Please sit, Miss Wen, I’ll go make you some tea.”

Wen Tingli smiled in response, and handed over the fruit basket she’d brought to A’Xi. Once seated, she noticed an invitation card on the coffee table, apparently newly delivered.

【Respectfully to Ms. Zou Zhiping:

Our company’s subsidiary, “Dasheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.” plans to hold an opening celebration this Friday evening, at No. 70 Fenglin Road, inside the Lu residence. Fine food and wine will be provided; we await Ms. Zou’s presence.

Respectfully, Lu Shicheng (Shouqian).】

Wen Tingli was a little surprised. She’d heard from Principal Zou that Lu Shicheng’s mother, Ms. Xi, had studied pharmacy in England in her early years — she’d chosen that field because her own father had died of tuberculosis, at a time when China’s medical conditions were extremely backward, and even patients from wealthy families couldn’t get effective treatment.

Ms. Xi had witnessed all manner of suffering as her father lay dying, and had vowed to establish a pharmaceutical industry to revitalize her homeland.

Unfortunately, before she could realize this ambition, Ms. Xi and her husband had both been murdered in Nanyang.

Dasheng Pharmaceutical — Wen Tingli silently mulled over the name. Clearly, it was one laden with deep meaning.

The two characters “Da Sheng” (great life) were naturally taken from the phrase in the I Ching: “The great virtue of heaven and earth is called life/生.”

Had Ms. Xi chosen this name back then, or had Lu Shicheng? She felt oddly moved — Lu Shicheng had only been a little over four years old when his mother was murdered, yet all these years he seemed never to have forgotten his mother’s wish.

She couldn’t help but pick up the invitation and examine it closely — it was so light in weight, yet somehow felt inexplicably heavy.

By twelve o’clock, Principal Zou still hadn’t come home. A’Xi said: “She must have gotten held up by something. Why don’t you come back tomorrow, Miss Wen? Tomorrow night Principal Zou has to attend Mr. Lu’s opening celebration anyway, so she’ll definitely stop by home at some point — I’ll be sure to tell the old lady you came by.”

Since they hadn’t yet secured an outdoor location, and the studio also had a temporary scheduling conflict, Fair Detective had to suspend filming for a day.

This gave Wen Tingli an unexpected opening — she had no classes that morning, and in the afternoon her drama course teacher happened to take leave; combined with the filming schedule, the company hadn’t arranged any other activities for her either, meaning she had an entire day free. She decided to simply sleep in comfortably at home.

While sleeping soundly, she vaguely felt an itch on her face, and opening her eyes, found Xiao Taozi’s soft, plump little face right there. She laughed and pulled her little sister into the blanket with her: “Grr, grr! A big tiger’s come to catch a little kid!”

Xiao Taozi wriggled about happily under the covers, giggling. After playing for a while, she came out and looked at the clock — it was already almost eleven. While washing up, Principal Zou called.

“Tingli, I just learned you came by yesterday. Last night, an old friend of mine had a stomach flare-up, and I had to rush her to the hospital in the middle of the night. I’m still at the hospital with her now — did you have something urgent?”

Wen Tingli hurried to say: “Sorry to trouble you…”

Principal Zou, after hearing the whole story, agreed readily: “No problem — why don’t you shoot this weekend? The students will be on break, so there’ll be less interference from all sides. It’s best to let Shicheng know in advance — as long as he nods, the school board won’t say anything more. Let me ask him where he is right now, and you can go find him directly to get his signature.”

Before long, Principal Zou called back again.

“Shicheng should be at the new pharmaceutical factory over in Zhabei. Kuang Zhilin isn’t in his office right now either — why don’t I give you his number first, and once Kuang Zhilin’s back, ask him where Shicheng is.”

Wen Tingli thanked her repeatedly. In truth, she already knew Kuang Zhilin’s office number, but not wanting to disappoint Principal Zou’s good will, she listened on the phone while pretending to write down the number with a pen on paper.

The moment she hung up, Xiao Taozi grabbed the paper from beside Wen Tingli’s hand and recited the string of numbers aloud in her babyish voice.

“3-5-9-0!”

Xiao Taozi was about to turn four soon. Earlier that spring, Wen Tingli had enrolled her little sister in the kindergarten affiliated with the Commercial Press, and — thanks to enrollment slots being limited — had specifically relied on a connection through Mrs. Pan of the Yuanmeng Company. It seemed that effort hadn’t been wasted; after one month of school, Xiao Taozi had learned quite a lot of new tricks.

“Turn the phone crank, find someone,” Xiao Taozi said, clambering excitedly onto the sofa and picking up the receiver on tiptoe, twisting her little body to one side just as her sister had just done, occasionally pursing her lips into a smile — her expression the spitting image of Wen Tingli’s.

Wen Tingli and Zhou Sao were laughing so hard they doubled over, but as they laughed, Wen Tingli’s expression froze — Xiao Taozi was actually dialing the numbers in earnest. Startled, she snatched the receiver away.

Xiao Taozi lifted her little hands, bewildered: “Xiao Taozi help sister call.”

“Sister isn’t calling anymore.” Wen Tingli kissed her little sister’s cheek. Why bother finding Kuang Zhilin again anyway — Principal Zou had already given her word, so she decided to just go directly to the Dasheng Pharmaceutical Factory’s opening celebration that evening to get her signature.

Since she rarely had free time, she was determined to spend the day properly with her little sister. After lunch, she took Xiao Taozi out to go shopping. The whole way, Xiao Taozi chattered on happily, and the newly-hired driver Old Li up front was often amused into a broad smile.

They went to a children’s bookstore on Xinmin Road to pick out books. Before going out, Wen Tingli had as usual put on Western sunglasses and a headscarf, and with a small child holding her hand, she went unrecognized inside the shop.

She bought a few newspapers to read first, and unsurprisingly, whether major papers or tabloids, the front page was all about the Lu family’s subsidiary, Dasheng Pharmaceutical Factory, opening — clearly the news had caused quite a stir in Shanghai’s industrial circles.

A few students by the newspaper stand happened to be discussing: “Wonderful! Foreign merchants have run rampant in this city for too long — we need more capable, patriotic enterprises like this to go up against those foreigners. The Lu family really kept this quiet — such a huge event, and not a whisper of it beforehand.”

“I heard this young Master Lu is different from the previous Third Master Lu — extraordinarily low-key and cautious in his conduct. By the way, do you know who all the Lu family invited to the event this time?”

“No idea, but it’s certainly not you or me.” The students laughed and walked off with their papers.

Xiao Taozi was in her literacy-obsessed phase, wanting to read this and that in the store, and whatever book her little sister took a fancy to, Wen Tingli bought without fail. Before long her arms were full of books.

After leaving, Wen Tingli took Xiao Taozi to a tailor shop to get new clothes made, ordering five new outfits in one go, and picking up two bolts of fine fabric for Zhou Sao along the way.

Having bought all this, Wen Tingli felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. Ever since the family’s troubles, every purchase had needed careful calculation — unlike now, where she was master of her own world.

Whatever Xiao Taozi liked, she could buy it on the spot.

Just a couple of days ago she’d calculated that her income over just these past two months already exceeded what the family’s Western tailor shop had earned in two years.

She no longer had to worry that the family might go without a next meal someday. She could indulge Xiao Taozi with whatever new clothes and toys she fancied.

She knew her behavior now was a bit like what people called being “nouveau riche,” but every copper coin she spent was earned by her own hands, and she’d arrange things however pleased her.

Coming out of the tailor shop, Wen Tingli took Xiao Taozi to a foreign goods store to buy toys, and upon entering, immediately asked the clerk to bring out all the top-selling deluxe toy sets currently popular among children.

“Are these all Xiao Taozi’s?” Xiao Taozi bounced with excitement.

Wen Tingli tapped Xiao Taozi’s nose: “Yes.”

When it came time to pay, however, she was told a gentleman had already settled the bill. Turning around, she saw a familiar face behind her.

“Mr. Meng?!”

Meng Qiguang looked at Xiao Taozi: “I’d guess this must be Little Miss Wen?”

It was Xiao Taozi’s first time meeting this smiling young uncle, and she looked a bit dazed.

Wen Tingli prompted Xiao Taozi: “Quick, say hello to Mr. Meng.” Curious, she glanced behind Meng Qiguang and lowered her voice to ask: “How did Mr. Meng recognize me?”

Meng Qiguang pointed out the window at Old Li by the roadside: “I spotted the two of you sisters outside the Western tailor shop — didn’t recognize you, but I recognized your company’s driver, Old Li. He used to drive for Huang Yuanshan too.”

Which meant Meng Qiguang had witnessed her whole shopping spree along the way. Wen Tingli coughed and tried to return the money to him. “How much did all these toys cost, Mr. Meng?”

Meng Qiguang gave her an odd look: “Small change, why keep tallying it up? If you don’t want me shouting out loud right now that you’re the big movie star Miss Wen, put your cash away.”

Though he said this with a smile in his voice, his expression didn’t look like he was joking. Wen Tingli had no choice but to put the money away for now. The three of them left the shop, and Meng Qiguang crouched down to look at Xiao Taozi: “So your name is Xiao Taozi? Want something to eat?”

Wen Tingli hurried to say it wasn’t necessary, but Xiao Taozi, having walked so long, was already a bit thirsty, her eyes lighting up at the café across the way, glancing up at her sister questioningly. Meng Qiguang laughed: “How can a little one out for a day not get something delicious? Let’s go.”

Once inside the café, Meng Qiguang ordered two ice creams for the sisters each, but only a black coffee for himself. Watching Xiao Taozi curiously trying to make out the shop’s sign, he patiently taught her: “This is called rainbow snow.”

Xiao Taozi mimicked it earnestly, and Meng Qiguang patted her head, then looked at Wen Tingli calmly: “Haven’t yet congratulated Miss Wen on such impressive achievements.”

Wen Tingli poked at the cream in her cup with a silver spoon: “What brings Mr. Meng out strolling the streets today?”

“A friend from out of town just had a daughter, and since there’s no department store there, he wrote asking me to buy some children’s toys here to mail over.”

He glanced at the newspaper beside Wen Tingli and asked casually: “So, are you attending the Lu family’s banquet tonight?”

Wen Tingli was already worrying over this very matter — the students’ conversation in the bookstore had reminded her that to attend the banquet, she’d first need an invitation.

She’d thought of contacting Principal Zou, but didn’t even know which hospital the old lady was at with her friend.

Suddenly caught out by Meng Qiguang hitting on her exact worry, she feigned ignorance: “The Lu family banquet? Is that in the papers? I haven’t had a chance to look yet.”

“Want to go?” Meng Qiguang pulled an invitation card from his coat and tossed it to her side. “I happen to have an extra invitation — you can have it.”

Wen Tingli didn’t take it, only asking with a smile: “Why is Mr. Meng being so eager to help today?”

“Just returning a favor, that’s all.” Meng Qiguang looked lazily out the window. “I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Baoxin’s movements for me — consider this my gift to you for it. The Lu family will have plenty of important guests tonight, and with your career on the rise like this, you really ought to network more. If you don’t go, I’d feel it’s a pity on your behalf.”

Wen Tingli mused to herself — tomorrow was already the weekend, and if she couldn’t get Principal Zou’s signature tonight, the exterior shoot would have to be pushed back further. With that thought, she resolutely took the invitation and thanked him graciously: “Very well then, I’ll go join in the fun.”

Coming out of the café, Wen Tingli said to Xiao Taozi on the street: “Say goodbye to Mr. Meng.”

But Meng Qiguang showed no sign of leaving: “There’s something I should remind you of — Qiu Dapeng isn’t dead. Gang Leader Cao secretly had someone send him to Beiping to recover.”

He still spoke in that same offhand tone, but Wen Tingli felt as if she’d heard a thunderclap.

Lately she’d been buying newspapers every day, hoping to see the Bailong Gang formally announce Qiu Dapeng’s death.

She’d never expected there to be no related news since.

No! How could Qiu Dapeng possibly not be dead?! That night, she and Lu Shicheng had struck at least seven or eight vital points on him.

“I hear this Qiu fellow has unusual bones, and his heart’s positioned differently from ordinary people. When it happened, Gang Leader Cao brought in the best surgeon too, so — Lu Shicheng, upon learning the news, has already ordered a citywide search for the whereabouts of the Qiu father and son. To protect the two of them, Gang Leader Cao mobilized his entire gang to secretly send the Qiu father and son to Beiping. After this incident, the Bailong Gang and the Lu family have essentially torn ties completely. Gang Leader Cao is quite displeased right now, but he can’t bring himself to swallow his pride and make peace with Lu Shicheng — after all, Qiu Dapeng was greatly trusted by Gang Leader Cao before, and abandoning his own trusted man just to curry favor with the Lu family would only make the brothers in the gang look down on him.”

What unsettled Wen Tingli even more was Meng Qiguang’s next remark: “You had a part in that night’s events too, didn’t you?”

“What?”

Her look of surprise was practically flawless, but Meng Qiguang studied her with amusement: “I think you might not know — that night when those two young ladies from the Ningbo Yan family lured you into shooting the advertisement, I happened to be at Fulin Company too.”

This time, Wen Tingli’s expression truly did change, though she quickly forced a wry smile: “I really don’t understand what Mr. Meng is talking about.”

Meng Qiguang was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Miss Wen always has a way. Then there’s nothing more for me to say.”

Back home, the first thing Wen Tingli did was call Li Chengying.

Li Chengying was greatly astonished: “Where did you hear this from?”

“Meng Qiguang.”

Li Chengying fell silent for a moment: “That man has connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles — this news is likely accurate. I’ll notify Beiping right away — as soon as we locate where Qiu Dapeng is recovering, we’ll finish him off immediately.”

Wen Tingli felt somewhat relieved. Li Chengying then said: “By the way, there’s something else I need to confirm with you — are you going to the Lu family’s banquet tonight?”

Wen Tingli hummed in acknowledgment.

“Be on your guard, and it’d be best to bring your gun. Third Master Lu in Beiping has been acting a bit off lately — I suspect he’s heard about the Lu family’s new pharmaceutical factory and is itching to come back to Shanghai to join in the excitement. Given his usual style, he might try something at tonight’s banquet.”

Wen Tingli tensed: “Understood.”

Zhabei, Dasheng Pharmaceutical Factory, a brand-new office.

The room was quiet and bright, with a wooden ladder standing in the corner against the wall, along with two large photo frames.

Lu Shicheng tossed his coat over the back of a chair, rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, and climbed the tall wooden ladder himself, saying to the deputy manager below: “Hand me the frame.”

The deputy manager advised: “Young Master Lu, this kind of thing should really be left to—”

“Give it to me.” Lu Shicheng’s tone was firm.

Just then, Kuang Zhilin came in, and seeing this, waved the deputy manager off, walking forward himself to lift one of the frames and hand it up to Lu Shicheng.

Lu Shicheng carefully aligned the photo with the marking on the wall.

Before long, both photos were hung.

Kuang Zhilin looked up from below, feeling somewhat dazed for a moment.

The people in the photos — the elder Master Lu and Mrs. Lu — looked so young and full of life. For an instant, he seemed to be back in Nanyang all those years ago, surrounded by lush greenery, the air thick with that peculiar tropical warmth, the Lu mansion bathed in scorching sunlight, that magnificent white building — and himself, bringing his sister, just recovered from a serious illness, to express his gratitude.

That had been the first time they’d formally met. In the photo, the young couple had walked over warmly to greet him: “Mr. Kuang, hello!”

The two of them, in the prime of their youth, had treated him with such sincerity.

Like the morning sunlight of the southern seas, unforgettable forever.

In the blink of an eye, both of them had been gone more than ten years now.

Looking at it now, father and son really didn’t resemble each other much — Young Master Cheng was practically the spitting image of his mother. That was a kind of unforgettable, breathtaking handsomeness.

People often said the men of the Lu family were all handsome — to be precise, this really referred to Third Master Lu and Young Master Cheng, uncle and nephew.

Only, Third Master Lu’s brows and eyes closely resembled his mother’s, while his nose and mouth were exactly like the old patriarch’s, whereas Young Master Cheng had inherited his mother’s looks entirely.

Kuang Zhilin still couldn’t forget the appearance of Third Master Lu’s birth mother.

That woman named Aibaya had been the most beautiful Nanyang woman he’d ever seen — slightly dark-skinned, a graceful figure, lively features, all combining into a kind of beauty that left men utterly enchanted.

That year, Old Master Lu had been forty, while Aibaya was only twenty. She was the daughter of a local translator, remarkably clever and witty, and spoke fluent Chinese.

Old Master Lu had been utterly infatuated with her at first sight — to win her favor, he’d built her a separate estate, lavished her with jewels, taken her traveling in Europe, even hired private tutors to teach her French and ballroom dancing.

Old Mrs. Lu, in a fury, had moved to another residence, and the couple had been estranged ever since. For the ten years that followed, only the eldest son, Lu Keding, remained by Old Mrs. Lu’s side.

After that, Old Master Lu never let Aibaya leave his side again, not until she died of illness.

After Aibaya passed, Old Master Lu transferred all his longing for her onto his two illegitimate sons. It was precisely because of this blatant favoritism that Second Master Lu and Third Master Lu’s ambitions had swelled day by day, eventually brewing into the disaster that followed.

To this day, Third Master Lu still acted with impunity — likely because he understood better than anyone that, for the sake of his deceased mother, his father, however furious, would never truly abandon him.

To kill Third Master Lu, one would have to eliminate Old Master Lu along with him.

But if Young Master Cheng didn’t even spare his own grandfather, it would certainly make the Lu clan’s relatives see him as a ruthless, heartless man, and their trust and reliance on him would waver as well.

Thinking this through, Kuang Zhilin couldn’t help but sigh at Lu Shicheng’s back — being the head of a household was never easy, whoever you were.

Suddenly he heard Lu Shicheng ask from above: “Is it hung properly?”

Kuang Zhilin hurriedly stepped back a few paces, studied the two photos for a moment, and nodded solemnly: “Very good. Not a hair off.”

Lu Shicheng climbed down the ladder himself, examining the frames from side to side, looking them over several times, then clapped the dust off his hands: “Uncle Kuang hasn’t eaten yet, has he? I’ll have them bring over lunch.”

Kuang Zhilin, however, turned grave and went to close the door.

Lu Shicheng’s gaze flickered: “Found out who it is?”

Kuang Zhilin shook his head: “Only know it’s a woman. She’s been lying low in Shanghai for quite some time — nothing else is known. In my view, it’s probably like that Miss Zhu Zihe last time — a young lady with both looks and talent. Our Third Master Lu really does put us through it — no telling where he digs these people up.”

Lu Shicheng picked up the guest invitation list on the desk, leaning back against the sofa, checking the names one by one, his eyes thoughtful: “If I were him, I’d arrange for the most unexpected person imaginable.”

“Do you suspect this person is mixed in among tonight’s guests? But the list is mostly political and business celebrities — there’s really no need to offend Young Master Cheng over that stray dog Lu Kejian. Why don’t we focus our investigation on any guests who show up uninvited? I’ll have Steward Xu keep a special watch — tonight, as long as anyone outside the guest list shows up, he’ll notify us immediately.”

Lu Shicheng mused: “Let me think it over a bit more.”

Just then, someone came in to report: “Young Master Gao is here.”

Before Gao Tingxin himself arrived, his laughter drifted in first: “Shouqian, don’t mind my presumption — I’m an impatient sort, couldn’t wait to come see your new factory.”

Lu Shicheng instructed the deputy manager: “Serve Mr. Gao some tea.”

After touring the place for a while, Gao Tingxin sat down eagerly to get to business: “I came today for two reasons — one, to congratulate you, and two, I wanted to ask about building the new amusement park. You’ve seen the planning documents — are you interested in joining as a shareholder with us?”

Lu Shicheng smiled apologetically: “I’ve had too much on my hands lately — haven’t had the chance to look yet.”

Gao Tingxin quickly said: “No rush, no rush. You’ve always thought things through more carefully than others — this time we’re being very patient, since you’re the shareholder we most want on board.”

“‘We’?”

“Me and Qiguang,” Gao Tingxin chuckled. “I’d meant to ask Qiguang to come along, but he wasn’t home. Funny thing is, I happened to drive past Gubei Road just now and saw him out on the street with Miss Wen. Beauty by his side — no wonder he’s put business aside.”

Lu Shicheng’s hand, mid-pour with the tea, paused.

“Could you have seen wrong?” Kuang Zhilin hurriedly laughed. “Miss Wen’s a big star everyone recognizes now — surely she wouldn’t openly stroll the street with a man like that.”

Gao Tingxin waved a hand: “No mistaking it. Wen Tingli, afraid of being recognized, had wrapped up her head with a bunch of things, but she was holding her little sister’s hand. That time we ate at Dahuchun, Wen Tingli brought her sister along too, so I recognized the little one at a glance. The two of them had clearly just come out of a café after eating ice cream, chatting intimately on the street corner — her sister was even carrying an armful of toys.”

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed Lu Shicheng hadn’t responded at all. Thinking it over, his heart gave a start, and he hurriedly changed the subject: “Oh, have you two heard about that big news over at Maoxing Shipyard?”