After messing around for a while, Shen Shuhuai finally remembered that he had actually come to tell Shen Yi something.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small transparent bag filled with a white powder, holding it out to Shen Yi. “Cousin, some guy downstairs just gave me this and asked me to bring it up to you.”

The moment Shen Yi saw what it was, his expression changed completely. Rong Qian reacted in the same instant — both of them moved at once to seize it.

Shen Yi was faster. Rong Qian turned to Shen Shuhuai and pressed both hands down on his shoulders, her expression grave. “Who gave this to you? Do you know his name? What did he look like?”

Shen Shuhuai was startled, but answered honestly: “He — he said his name was Shen Fengran.”

Rong Qian turned to look at Shen Yi. His brow was tightly furrowed; he had already placed the bag in his desk drawer.

Shen Shuhuai asked, confused: “Cousin, Sister Rong — what’s going on? Is it something bad?”

“Yes. That kind of thing — don’t touch it, not even once. It’s poisonous. Go wash your hands right now.” Rong Qian’s face made it abundantly clear she was not joking.

Shen Shuhuai was properly intimidated. He scrambled off immediately to wash his hands.

The moment he was gone, Rong Qian turned to Shen Yi. “What is Shen Fengran trying to do — is this an invitation for you to come out and see him?”

As she spoke, she leaned out of the window and glanced down at the company entrance below. So many cars — there was no telling whether Shen Fengran was among them.

Shen Yi said nothing. It was the first time he’d held back from drawing an immediate conclusion.

At that moment, Sheng Wanqing pushed the office door open without knocking.

Shen Yi’s head snapped up, his gaze sharp and cold. “Do you not know how to knock before entering?”

“I — I’m sorry, I’ll leave right away!” Sheng Wanqing faltered and hastily stepped back out.

Shen Yi’s displeasure was plain. He turned — and found Rong Qian staring at him, visibly startled. Realizing how he’d just come across, there was a brief flicker of awkwardness on his face.

It passed quickly. He curved the corner of his mouth into a smile. “Something wrong?”

“You — are you always that frightening to people?” Rong Qian pressed a hand to her chest. The air in the room had frozen solid for a moment, and she hadn’t been able to draw a breath.

Shen Yi looked genuinely puzzled. “Was I?”

Rong Qian gave up on him entirely. This man — the face he showed the outside world and the one he showed her were two completely different people.

Knock knock.

Sheng Wanqing knocked this time. Shen Yi said, “Come in.”

When she entered, her color was still pale. She could see that Shen Yi’s expression, while not warm, was no longer the sharp-edged thing it had been a moment before, and the tension in her shoulders eased a fraction.

“Mr. Shen — Madam Meng is here.”

Hearing that, Rong Qian and Shen Yi exchanged a look. They were thinking the same thing.

For mother and son to show up together at the same time — clearly, there was a purpose behind it.

Shen Yi gave permission for Meng Yuxin to come up. Sheng Wanqing withdrew to bring her.

Six years had left their mark on Meng Yuxin. There was a tiredness around the edges of her that hadn’t been there before — her color was poor, her whole bearing worn and haggard.

When Meng Yuxin walked in and saw Rong Qian, Rong Qian greeted her cheerfully. “My, my — here we are, meeting again.”

“You — again?”

Meng Yuxin looked up and the moment she caught sight of Rong Qian, a peculiar expression came over her face. This woman — how was she everywhere?

And moreover — it had been thirteen years since their first meeting. This woman should be nearing forty by now. Why did she still look exactly like someone in their mid-twenties?

Rong Qian shrugged. “Here I am. Something wrong with that?”

“When Shen Yi was a teenager, I already saw you living with him. Thirteen years have passed — and you haven’t changed at all.” Meng Yuxin made no effort to conceal the observation.

Sheng Wanqing, who had overheard this, looked up sharply at Rong Qian. Was the rumor true after all?

Shen Yi cast Sheng Wanqing a single cool look — no words necessary. That glance alone was enough. Sheng Wanqing felt it, and quickly pulled the door shut as she left.

Once outside, she pressed herself against the door, straining to catch more of the conversation from within.

She couldn’t believe that a person could go thirteen years without a single visible change. What exactly was this woman called Rong Qian?

“Why have you come?” Shen Yi smoothly redirected the conversation.

The question snapped Meng Yuxin back to the reason she’d come. Remembering that she was the one who needed something from him, a touch of discomfort crossed her face.

“I wanted to ask you… to keep a closer eye on Fengran for me…” She spoke quietly, uncertain of her footing.

Shen Yi heard her clearly. He chose to act as if he hadn’t. “I’m sorry — could you repeat that? I didn’t quite catch it.”

“I can’t take it anymore!”

Meng Yuxin’s composure broke. She lurched forward toward Shen Yi — Rong Qian immediately stepped in front of him, placing herself squarely between them.

Meng Yuxin’s voice was raw, choking on tears. “Before — I was foolish. I misjudged you. I know now that everything you did, you did for us.”

She was barely holding herself together. “Shen Yi — those Americans were exactly as unreliable as you said. I have nothing left now. Please — I’m begging you. Please help my son become a decent person again.”

“Madam Meng, I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking of me.”

Shen Yi’s voice remained cool and unmoved.

Meng Yuxin sank to the floor, exhausted and broken. “Before — when he started bringing women home, I didn’t try to stop him. But he kept going further. Later, it was two at a time, then three. And then… then he started bringing men home…”

By the time she reached those last words, Meng Yuxin was on the verge of complete collapse.

Rong Qian’s expression tightened. She only wanted to cut her losses now — after all this time turning a blind eye to her son’s self-destruction? A bit late for that, wasn’t it?

She glanced at Shen Yi. His expression hadn’t shifted.

Shen Yi’s only response to Meng Yuxin’s words was: “Madam Meng seems to have forgotten — who was it, exactly, who administered a sedative to me.”

Meng Yuxin’s face went white. “I — I didn’t know what he was planning to do with it, I swear!”

“You didn’t know? And not knowing gives you the right to drug someone?” Rong Qian’s anger broke through. She slammed her palm down on the desk, her voice rising sharply at Meng Yuxin.

Shen Yi turned to look at her. The tight line of his mouth softened just slightly. The gaze he turned on her grew warm.

“Shen Yi — I’ll apologize to you. I’ll admit I was wrong. But please — save your brother. If this continues, his entire life will be ruined!”

Meng Yuxin was truly frightened now. She had watched Shen Fengran slide deeper into ruin, step by step. By the time she’d finally seen it clearly and tried to reach for him, he’d already sunk beyond saving.

Shen Yi was the only person she could still turn to. She was certain that if anyone had the ability to pull her son back, it was him.

Listening to Meng Yuxin, Rong Qian suddenly remembered something Shen Fengran had said — that in his youth, he’d spent years opposing Shen Yi at every turn.

Could it be… that this was precisely why? Because Meng Yuxin had come to Shen Yi with this plea?

Was Shen Yi’s constant conflict with Shen Fengran — that relentless, head-to-head opposition — actually a deliberate strategy to pull him back onto the right path?