After returning, Rong Qian did not go to sleep right away. Instead, she planned to wait for Shen Yi to come back — she had some things she wanted to say to him.

As it turned out, Rong Qian sat in a chair watching fireworks all night, and Shen Yi never came back.

Did he go home with Shen Chi?

Rong Qian stood up and stretched lazily, tidied up the two empty beer bottles by her feet, went to the bathroom to wash her face, and then, yawning repeatedly, she flopped down on the sofa and prepared to catch up on some sleep.

She was not worried that something bad had happened to Shen Yi — because no one wanted him safe and sound more than Shen Chi did.

Knock knock —

But she had barely fallen asleep when she heard someone knocking at the door.

Rong Qian pulled the blanket over her head, unwilling to respond. If it were Shen Yi, he would use his key to open the door and move with deliberate care so as not to wake her.

So, since the person outside was clearly not Shen Yi, she was not going to bother.

But the person outside was very patient — knocking for a while, waiting for a while, then knocking again. Rong Qian was nearly driven mad with annoyance!

Just as Rong Qian jumped up to go open the door, she heard Fu Bozhong’s voice coming from outside. “Mr. Xu, there is no need to keep knocking. The young master is not home.”

Rong Qian paused. Fu Bozhong? What was he doing here so early in the morning? And who was this “Mr. Xu” he was referring to?

“Butler Fu, what a coincidence — you’re here too.”

Another man’s voice drifted in, warm and mild in tone. Rong Qian found it somewhat familiar, as though she had heard it somewhere before.

Then she heard Fu Bozhong speak plainly without mincing words: “It is no coincidence. I came specifically because I knew you would come looking for the young master. Mr. Xu, I will be direct — I do not know what you want with him, but I hope you will refrain from disturbing him.”

“You’re afraid I’ll hurt him?”

Fu Bozhong let out a sigh. “The matter concerning Yan Qingyao is already in the past.”

Upon hearing those words, Rong Qian finally remembered — the person who had been knocking at the door was Xu Zhiwei!

Xu Zhiwei had indeed mentioned that he had used Shen Yi before, and that Shen Yi had even lived with him for a period of time. Could it be that because of Xu Zhiwei’s interference, Shen Yi had failed to reach an agreement with Shen Chi? Otherwise, why would Shen Yi not have gone back, and instead be living with Xu Zhiwei?

And if an agreement had not been reached, would that also affect Lin Feng’s chances of clearing his name?

“Butler Fu, you’ve misunderstood me. Never mind — since Shen Yi isn’t here, I’ll be on my way.” Xu Zhiwei did not press the matter. He said he would leave, and he left.

Rong Qian waited until the sound of his footsteps had faded before opening the door, finding only Fu Bozhong standing outside.

“Miss Rong, did we wake you?” Fu Bozhong greeted her with a smile.

Rong Qian was just about to say something when a gust of cold wind made her shudder. She waved Fu Bozhong inside, then ran to grab the jacket draped over the sofa and put it on.

Fu Bozhong considerately closed the door behind him, walked over, and said to Rong Qian, “I imagine you overheard our conversation just now. Xu Zhiwei somehow got word that Shen Yi is staying here and came looking for him.”

“Do you know what he wants with Shen Yi?” Rong Qian asked.

Fu Bozhong shook his head. “I’m not sure. All I know is that the master has been targeting him for some time. I’m afraid he might redirect his resentment onto Shen Yi.”

“Don’t worry — that’s one thing you need not concern yourself with. His only enemy, from beginning to end, has always been Shen Chi. That said, it doesn’t mean he won’t try to use Shen Yi.” Xu Zhiwei had said as much to her directly, and Rong Qian was inclined to believe it.

Fu Bozhong murmured quietly, “Use him, you say? That’s quite plausible.”

“That aside — Shen Yi didn’t come back last night. Did he go home with Shen Chi?” More than anything else, Rong Qian wanted to know first where Shen Yi was.

Fu Bozhong shook his head. “I don’t know. Neither the master nor the young master returned last night. Perhaps they went somewhere?”

Neither of them went back? Rong Qian furrowed her brow. Nothing should go wrong — she had already made everything clear to Shen Chi, and he had better not go back on his word.

Rong Qian turned and walked to the balcony, watching as Xu Zhiwei got into his car and drove away. She turned over in her mind the things Xu Zhiwei had said to her.

In Xu Zhiwei’s recollection, after the incident involving Yan Qingyao, he had not seen her again.

So in truth, Rong Qian had met him again — he simply did not know it.

Watching Xu Zhiwei drive off, Rong Qian couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of unease. She leaned back against the balcony railing with her arms folded across her chest, her expression quite serious.

Rong Qian suddenly regretted not having pressed Xu Zhiwei for more details at the time — exactly how had he used Shen Yi afterward?

Had Lin Feng managed to get out of jail without incident? Surely nothing unexpected had happened in between?

But then, thinking about the world decades from now where there was no trace of Lin Feng’s existence, Rong Qian grew deeply worried that Lin Feng’s final fate might be to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

If that truly turned out to be the case, no matter what it cost her, she would stop it!

For now, though, she needed to find Shen Yi first and tell him all of this important information.

Rong Qian had been mentally running through everything she needed to do — and just as she was about to take action, the very next second she heard a sharp click. The sound of a shutter being pressed!

Oh no!

“Wait! Not now —”

Rong Qian tried to stop it, but it was already too late. The blinding flash of white light before her eyes seemed to swallow her whole. Rong Qian was forced to squeeze her eyes shut, and then Zhang Hao’s voice reached her ears: “Rong jie, are you all right? Why did you suddenly close your eyes?”

Rong Qian’s eyes snapped open. Before her was still the same back alley in Beijing’s Second Ring Road, still broad daylight, still summer. Damn it — she was back!

“Rong jie, we just need to cut through this alley and we’ll be there!”

Zhang Hao walked ahead, eagerly running forward to point out the way. Rong Qian remembered now — last time she had been walking slowly, which caused Zhang Hao to round the corner ahead of her and get ambushed and knocked unconscious.

Why would she make the same mistake twice?

This time, Rong Qian acted swiftly — she grabbed the back of Zhang Hao’s collar and yanked him back.

Zhang Hao was caught completely off guard and stumbled several steps before steadying himself. He turned around with a puzzled look. “Rong jie, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t move yet. I’m getting a gun.” As Rong Qian said this, she pulled out a pistol. Zhang Hao was stunned. How had she gotten a gun through?

Wait — that wasn’t even the point. What did she need a gun for?

With the gun in her hand, Rong Qian finally felt a measure of security. She asked Zhang Hao to keep watch on the surroundings, then took out her phone to make a call.

“Rong jie, who are you calling?”

Zhang Hao was still completely bewildered, with no idea what had suddenly come over Rong Qian.

Rong Qian answered him, “The Public Security Bureau.”

“What? Why are you calling the Public Security Bureau?”

Rong Qian shot him a sideways glance and replied, “To have them monitor me.”

Zhang Hao was completely dumbfounded.

Rong Qian contacted the municipal Public Security Bureau, reported her police rank and badge number, and provided every piece of information about herself that could be found in the public security system.

Once her identity was confirmed, Rong Qian requested that the authorities monitor her location — ideally, that they be able to see her on their surveillance feeds.

When the other party asked why she was making this request, Rong Qian took a deep breath and said, “We have been targeted by an armed criminal organization. The suspects are in the vicinity. We are requesting immediate support.”

“Understood. We will begin monitoring your location right away.”

After hanging up, Rong Qian looked up to find Zhang Hao staring at her with the kind of eyes one reserves for someone who has lost their mind. He even reached out to feel her forehead — Rong Qian swatted his hand away. “What are you doing?”

“Rong jie, are you all right? You seemed perfectly fine, and then all of a sudden your head stopped working properly?” Zhang Hao was being entirely sincere — he absolutely did not mean it as an insult.

Rong Qian had no time to get into all of this with him right now. She kept her eyes fixed on the entrance of the alley. Whether or not the person who had attacked her was still there, Rong Qian could not afford to rush headlong into danger.

If the other side still had accomplices, then if she was caught off guard again this time, there would be no “going back to start over.”

And so, Rong Qian chose to withdraw.

“Let’s go.” Rong Qian tucked the gun away and pulled Zhang Hao out of the area.

She had already contacted the Public Security Bureau to monitor her, and the coverage included all the streets and alleyways in her vicinity. If any suspicious individuals were spotted, local police would be dispatched immediately to ensure her safety.

So Rong Qian was not particularly worried. Although she very much wanted to make the arrest herself, now was not yet the right moment to act.

Because she still had not figured out who was trying to harm her.

The mastermind lurking in the shadows — just who was it?