“Shen Fengran is absolutely a madman!”

This was the conclusion Rong Qian arrived at after finishing the story for Shen Yi. She was incensed, still fuming — and noticing that Shen Yi had been quiet for a while, she asked: “Shen Yi, what are you thinking?”

From the moment she’d started talking, Shen Yi had been holding a small knife, head bowed, peeling an apple in silence and deep in thought. By now, the entire apple was peeled. He held it out to her. “Do you want some?”

Rong Qian took it and bit off a large piece with a hearty appetite.

Seeing that she wasn’t emotionally affected, Shen Yi felt considerably better. She really was always this positive and resilient.

“A’Qian, I already knew.”

Rong Qian was briefly taken aback. He already knew? No wonder he hadn’t seemed the least bit surprised.

Shen Yi said: “Shen Fengran is no ordinary threat. He has the backing of a powerful criminal organization — one that has grown nearly powerful enough to blot out the sky with one hand. Shen Fengran’s own ambitions are no small thing either. Thomas has been running errands for him, and recently, Thomas has come onto the radar of the domestic police.”

“There’s already a lead on Thomas?” Rong Qian suddenly felt as though the clouds were beginning to part.

Shen Yi told her he had already been in contact with the police — anonymously, without revealing his identity, passing information along to them quietly.

In recent days, however, the police had wanted to arrange a meeting with him in person. They had already come to Hong Kong.

Rong Qian quickly asked: “Have you met with them yet?”

“Not yet. It’s arranged — two days from now.”

Rong Qian eagerly put herself forward: “Can I come with you?”

Shen Yi smiled softly and nodded. “Of course you can.”

Rong Qian had also come to see it clearly by now — Shen Yi had been keeping a close watch on Shen Fengran for some time. Though she still didn’t know the full details of his plan, Rong Qian trusted him completely.

After closing the topic of Shen Fengran, Shen Yi told Rong Qian that the men at the hotel had been sent by Meng Yuxin. Rong Qian nodded to show she had already known.

“Did you figure it out?” Shen Yi asked, curious.

Rong Qian smiled. “No — one of them let something slip. I overheard it.”

“I see. Don’t worry — I will give you a satisfying resolution to this matter. Meng Yuxin dared to come after you. I won’t let it go easily.” Shen Yi’s tone carried no particular menace, yet Rong Qian knew: the more understated he sounded, the more seriously he took it.

After that, Rong Qian left the clinic with Shen Yi and went home.

Rong Qian went to sleep early that night — she was already out before ten o’clock.

Shen Yi sat at the edge of the bed, watching her in silence, until a soft knock came from outside the door. He rose and went out.

At the door was Fu Bozhong. Sensing he had something to say, Shen Yi brought him to his own room.

Fu Bozhong didn’t beat around the bush. He said what he had come to say directly: “Young Master, I’ve heard that the one who sent men to attack Miss Rong is Madam Meng?”

“Yes. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

Fu Bozhong considered for a moment before speaking. “I think the likelihood that there was no accomplice involved is fairly low.”

“Who do you suspect?” Shen Yi looked up at him.

Fu Bozhong said: “Earlier today, Shen Shuhuai came by — found you both out and left. But before he went, he mentioned that while at the company, he had happened to notice Secretary Sheng and Madam Meng whispering together.”

“So you suspect Sheng Wanqing,” Shen Yi concluded.

Fu Bozhong nodded. “Yes. Certain details, when you think back on them, feel a little too coincidental.”

Shen Yi said nothing. Seeing him fall silent, Fu Bozhong couldn’t help but ask: “Young Master, what are you thinking?”

“Fu Bozhong — Rong Qian being by my side isn’t safe for her, is it?”

This was something Shen Yi had actually been thinking about for a long time. After today’s incident, his concern was only reinforced.

“Young Master, are you thinking of sending Miss Rong back?” Fu Bozhong ventured carefully.

Shen Yi pressed his long index finger to his temple with a troubled frown. After a prolonged silence, he said: “The problem is, even if she goes back, it’s no safer for her over there.”

“Young Master…” Fu Bozhong felt a deep ache for him. He could sense the conflict in Shen Yi — their current situation was deeply unfavorable, and he was caught between two impossible choices.

“Fu Bozhong.” Shen Yi closed his eyes. He let out a long, slow breath, and sank back against the sofa. Beneath his eyes, faint violet shadows had taken up residence.

Fu Bozhong did not interrupt. He waited a long time before finally hearing Shen Yi say: “I suspect Shen Fengran’s target is not me.”

Fu Bozhong was briefly confused. If not him, then who?

Shen Yi, reading his thoughts, said quietly: “Rong Qian. The person Shen Fengran wants — is Rong Qian.”

In that moment, it finally became clear to Shen Yi…

Two days later, Shen Yi brought Rong Qian to the meeting as planned.

The location was a Cantonese restaurant. When Rong Qian walked in, she found it completely empty — not a single other customer, every table bare.

Rong Qian couldn’t help muttering: “Is the business here really this bad? It’s mealtime and there’s not a single customer.”

Xu Mo, who was following behind them, heard this and suppressed a laugh. “Miss Rong, have you never heard of renting out an entire venue?”

Rong Qian felt a flicker of embarrassment. Fair enough — she had just revealed her humble origins.

Though she wasn’t the only one to have that thought.

Upstairs, at a window-side table, Rong Xiren was flipping through the menu. He glanced up at the surrounding tables, every one of them empty as far as the eye could see.

He muttered quietly: “Is business really that bad here? Not a single person — how terrible must the food be?”

A nearby server overheard and struggled to keep a straight face. “Sir, the Mr. Shen who invited you here has already reserved the entire venue.”

“He reserved the whole place?” Rong Xiren was surprised — and grew even more curious about this anonymous, mysterious figure.

Xie Yan, meanwhile, asked the server: “Do you know what this Mr. Shen’s first name is?”

“When he arrives, you’ll both know,” the server replied, not giving away too much.

Seeing that, Xie Yan didn’t press further. He had come on this trip with only Rong Xiren — this was a quick detour squeezed into a busy schedule, intended just to scout things out ahead of time. Xie Yan preferred to keep a low profile whenever possible.

Though he did wonder what kind of coal tycoon this Mr. Shen was, to be so extravagant as to reserve an entire restaurant just to meet with them.

Right as Xie Yan was thinking this, a young man and woman came up the stairs. Rong Xiren saw them and said: “Didn’t they reserve the whole place? Why are there still other customers?”

Xie Yan gave him a withering look. “Can’t you tell? That’s the Mr. Shen who arranged to meet us here.”

Rong Xiren: !!

This young?! He had imagined that whoever had been contacting them all this time would be a distinguished, venerable elder.

The moment Rong Qian reached the top of the stairs, she spotted two men seated at the window table. One was tall and broad-shouldered, seemingly in his thirties, and clearly a seasoned and experienced detective.

The other was considerably younger — clear-featured and delicate-looking, with a slightly guileless air, probably around twenty years old.

Walking closer, Rong Qian noticed the younger one looked oddly familiar.

Just as she was thinking this, the young man stood up to introduce himself: “Hello, my name is Rong Xiren. I am —”

“Dad!”

Before he could finish, Rong Qian cried out in shock.

The entire room went deathly silent.