The Shen Family’s circumstances were, in reality, far more complicated than Rong Qian had imagined.

The internal corporate dynamics and upper management factors involved were enough to make Rong Qian’s head spin. All she understood was that although Shen Yi was Shen Chi’s eldest son, and the designated heir to the conglomerate, he held no actual authority in practice.

After all, there was still the Board of Directors to contend with.

Shen Yi’s role was primarily administrative — he didn’t even hold a significant share of the stock, making him little more than a figurehead Group President in name.

But if he truly were just a figurehead, things wouldn’t be so exhausting for him. The conglomerate’s dire situation of years past had been turned around entirely by him alone.

Shen Yi was enormously capable — whatever he set his mind to, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish, and the conglomerate needed him for exactly that reason.

In simple terms, those people were using him as free labor. All the dirty, grueling work fell to him, while the upper management simply sat back and reaped the rewards.

Xu Mo also told Rong Qian: “Meng Yuxin has very close ties with the Board of Directors, and every one of those people stands firmly on Meng Yuxin’s side. So rather than saying the boss is revitalizing the family’s legacy, it’s more accurate to say he’s working for someone else’s benefit.”

It suddenly dawned on Rong Qian that Shen Yi was, in effect, completely alone in the world right now. He had no parents, and even that place they called home — it wasn’t truly his either.

Where, then, was the place that truly belonged to him?

“For the boss, wherever he happens to be right now — that’s his home.”

Xu Mo had always felt a deep ache of sympathy for Shen Yi. He was no different from an orphan these days — drifting without anchor, with no sense of belonging anywhere.

But Xu Mo quietly shared one more thing with Rong Qian: “The boss has actually always wanted to return to China. He was brought to America when he was six years old. He wants to find out exactly where he’s from — which city he was born in — because in his heart, he is Chinese, and China is his home.”

“So that’s why he came to Hong Kong, isn’t it?” Rong Qian ventured.

Xu Mo nodded. “Hong Kong is only the boss’s first step. His true destination is China. That’s why he’s already opened three companies here in Hong Kong.”

“He opened three companies?” Rong Qian was astonished.

Xu Mo couldn’t help but admire it himself. “That’s right. He put all of that together precisely because he refuses to keep working for American interests. But to break free entirely, he first has to build up his own financial foundation and strength.”

“Can he even keep up with it all?” Rong Qian’s only concern was his health.

Xu Mo gave a rueful smile. “He has to keep up with it whether he can or not. Though the three companies aren’t entirely managed by him alone — he’s hired people to help carry the load. Right now it’s mainly the American affairs that are piling up, which is why the boss works until very late almost every day.”

“Isn’t he still filming as well? How does he balance his work as an actor?” Rong Qian hadn’t forgotten his primary profession.

Xu Mo explained: “It doesn’t actually conflict, because the boss’s core business is in the film and media industry. He has real estate holdings as well, though those are still in the investment phase for now.”

Having heard everything Xu Mo said, Rong Qian realized that she actually knew far less about Shen Yi than she’d thought.

She had believed she understood the story of his life — yet it turned out that the scattered fragments captured in words barely even grazed the tip of the iceberg that was him.

The most foolish thing a person can do is believe they can truly know someone from the brief summary of a biography.

“Miss Rong, knowing the boss as I do — when he said he was stepping out to make a phone call, he likely won’t come back down at all. I’m worried he’ll skip breakfast and set off his stomach problems again. Could you bring breakfast up to him?”

Xu Mo felt that Rong Qian was better suited to this task than he was, because the boss would at least listen to what she had to say.

Rong Qian carried the breakfast upstairs and found that his bedroom door was not fully closed. She peered inside and, just as Xu Mo had predicted, he was already deep in work.

He was on the phone, speaking flawless French. As soon as that call ended, he dialed another — and switched to yet another language entirely.

Rong Qian stood waiting by the doorway until he finally ended his calls, then stepped inside.

“Are you this busy every single day?”

She set the breakfast down in front of him, then smoothly slipped the fountain pen from his hand without a word. She shot him a meaningful look — the message couldn’t have been clearer: eat first, work later.

Shen Yi couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, and dutifully picked up his chopsticks.

Rong Qian leaned against the edge of the desk, idly twirling the pen in one hand. She picked up a document from the desk and glanced at it — it was entirely in English, and even if she translated it she wouldn’t understand it — so she set it back down.

Shen Yi said to her: “I’m planning to hire a few people.”

“Is it because you’re worried something like what just happened might occur again?”

“More or less. I’ll be switching housekeeping agencies as well. On top of that, I’m planning to hire a few bodyguards, and we’ll need two drivers as well — to take some of the pressure off Xu Mo.” Shen Yi had actually been considering bringing on more staff for quite some time.

As his fame had surged, so too had the complications that followed. When he was staying at hotels there was always security in place, but now that he was living here, he couldn’t rest easy without having people looking after things.

Rong Qian agreed that there was a genuine need for it.

“There’s one more thing.” Shen Yi set down his chopsticks and looked at Rong Qian. “Meng Yuxin has already boarded a flight to Hong Kong.”

Rong Qian raised an eyebrow. That woman had come chasing after him? What sort of trouble was she planning to stir up?

“You don’t want her to see me, do you?” Rong Qian guessed.

Shen Yi gave a small nod. “I won’t let her see you. And it’s not just her — no one else can know of your existence either.”

“Why?” Rong Qian could understand why Meng Yuxin couldn’t see her, but keeping her existence hidden from everyone else was a different matter entirely.

Shen Yi considered for a moment before telling her. “In truth, my situation is far from safe. That’s why, when you told me Thomas might move against me, the reason I didn’t panic was because around me, there isn’t just one Thomas.”

Rong Qian’s brow furrowed. Did that not mean he was essentially surrounded by danger on all sides?

The timing of Rong Qian’s arrival was actually quite significant.

Because this particular moment was precisely when Shen Yi was just starting out. The challenges he faced were endless.

Within the industry, he was a newcomer who had just burst onto the scene. Every person who envied him represented another person who wanted to tear him down.

Shen Yi’s future was boundless. If those people didn’t move to suppress him now, by the time he had grown and established a position that could no longer be shaken, no one would dare cross him anymore.

Outside the industry, he had his own companies — he had effectively signed himself, keeping the power of his own voice firmly in his own hands.

In the eyes of those capitalists, he was no longer simply an actor. He was a competitor who stood in the way of their interests.

After all, the pie was only so large — there was never quite enough to go around. Adding yet another person to the table meant no one was willing to slice off even the smallest portion of their own share and hand it to him.

So the most efficient solution was simply to push this person out entirely.

“Both inside and outside the industry, I know quite a few people — but very few are worth cultivating close ties with. At this stage I’m still evaluating everyone. Those who prove themselves trustworthy, I’ll bring into my circle. So as a precaution, the fewer people who know about you, the better.”

Rong Qian felt a dull ache forming behind her temples. It seemed like this time around, things weren’t going to be any easier for her than before. This man — was it really impossible for him to live a single day of peace?

When she had first seen this villa, she had assumed Shen Yi was living a life of glamour and indulgence, and had even worried whether fame and power might cause him to lose himself.

In the end, she discovered that not only was such a lavish life out of the question — he couldn’t even afford a quiet and peaceful one.