Rong Qian thought she must be seeing things. She rubbed her eyes and looked again carefully, several more times.

She had no idea what Shen Yi would look like in old age, of course — but if she had to describe it, she supposed it might look something like this man in the photo. Even at this age, he remained a strikingly handsome old gentleman.

Rong Qian felt her mind going a little foggy. She asked Zhang Hao, “Do you know who this elderly man is?”

“We’ve already looked into it.”

Rong Qian’s throat felt dry. She moistened her lips slightly, and with a touch of tension and apprehension in her voice, asked, “What… is his name?”

“Mu Zhaoxue.”

Rong Qian had already mentally braced herself for the answer — but then she heard Zhang Hao say a name that had absolutely nothing to do with Shen Yi, a name entirely foreign to her.

Rong Qian’s expression went peculiar, her whole face scrunching up into a knot. “Mu Zhaoxue?”

“That’s right.” Zhang Hao nodded and went on to brief her. “We’ve already confirmed that this Mu Zhaoxue lives in Canada. He’s extremely wealthy — a billionaire — but has no children. His past is a mystery as well. Reportedly he suffered some form of amnesia, and we can’t find any leads.”

“Lives in Canada, changed his name, wealthy, no past…” Rong Qian murmured to herself. It seemed, more or less, to line up with everything Shen Fenran had said.

Could the man in this photo — this person called Mu Zhaoxue — really be Shen Yi?

“Because this Mu Zhaoxue has had recent dealings with Thomas, we contacted him at the earliest opportunity.”

At that, Rong Qian asked at once, “Were you able to reach him?”

“No.” Zhang Hao’s expression was grave. “After Mu Zhaoxue’s last meeting with Thomas, he went completely off the grid.”

Off the grid. Rong Qian’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper. In that moment, the entire case felt tangled and impossible to unravel — and Rong Qian had the unsettling sensation of having lost her direction entirely.

That evening, after returning home, Rong Qian lay on her bed in a daze. She stared at the photograph she had retrieved from Shen Shuhuai, and no matter how many times she looked at it, the image of herself within it felt at once unfamiliar and achingly familiar.

Unfamiliar, because she had no memory whatsoever of when this photo had been taken.

She placed the photograph face-down over her face and muttered, “Well, the photo’s in my hands now anyway. Maybe I should just go find Shen Yi and ask him directly.”

“But ask him what, exactly?”

Rong Qian sat bolt upright from her listless sprawl, staring at the photo, head aching with the weight of it all.

First of all — she had no way of knowing which point in time she would land when she traveled back. If Shen Yi had no knowledge of any of this, wouldn’t she have gone for nothing? And on top of that, she would have wasted a photograph.

“I suppose the right move is still to go to Hong Kong first.” Rong Qian’s gaze drifted to the stack of newspapers piled up in the corner.

When she had returned, she had gone back through those newspapers again. The article that had reported on Shen Yi attending Yao Zhengxing’s funeral was gone — it no longer existed.

Their future had been changed by Shen Yi. And although Yao Zhengxing had passed away, his daughter Yao Na was still alive. Whatever Shen Yi had done afterward, whatever had happened — Yao Na would certainly know.

With that in mind, Rong Qian knew she had to make a trip to Hong Kong to see this Yao Na. The only uncertainty was whether Yao Na still remembered her.

And so, after spending a day wrapping up her leave requests and arranging everything that needed arranging, Rong Qian packed her luggage, booked a flight, and headed to the airport.

However…

“You lot — what exactly is going on here?”

In the departure lounge, Rong Qian found herself staring at Zhang Hao, Xu Yang, and Lu Huaiyi — each of them wearing a backpack and standing in a row in front of her.

These three people, who normally had nothing to do with each other, knowing one another at all was already strange enough. The fact that all three had shown up simultaneously was downright uncanny.

“Sister Rong, I’m worried about you! The captain said I should follow you and not let you go off on your own.” Zhang Hao was righteous and full of confidence.

Rong Qian gave him a look that saw right through him. “I’m on leave right now — not on official duty. What business do you have following me?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s leave — wherever you go on a long trip, I’m coming with you!” Zhang Hao had made up his mind.

Rong Qian couldn’t be bothered with him. She turned her gaze to Xu Yang, who was dressed in a casual suit. “And you? What are you following me to Hong Kong for?”

Xu Yang smiled and said, “Auntie called me. She said she didn’t feel comfortable with you going alone. I happen to be free for the next couple of days, so I figured I’d treat it as a relaxing little trip.”

Rong Qian pressed her hand to her forehead. Surely her mother hadn’t gotten the idea, after she’d asked for Xu Yang’s number last time, that she was romantically interested in him and was now trying to play matchmaker?

“And you?” She turned to Lu Huaiyi. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

Zhang Hao and Xu Yang were one thing — but Lu Huaiyi, a university student still in school, turning up here was truly something she hadn’t anticipated.

Could it be that yesterday, when she had called Lu Xuan and casually mentioned she was heading to Hong Kong today, he had sent Lu Huaiyi to accompany her?

Lu Huaiyi could tell exactly what she was thinking. He grinned cheekily. “Heh, Officer Sister, I just happened to be there when you called my grandfather yesterday.”

“So your grandfather sent you?” Rong Qian thought — if that were the case, she wouldn’t be in a good position to refuse.

But then she heard Lu Huaiyi say, “No, no — I was just bored out of my mind, so I used the excuse that it wasn’t safe for you to travel alone and that having someone along would be better. Then Grandpa said I could go!”

“Stay right there. I’m calling your grandfather to have him send you back to class.”

Rong Qian pulled out her phone. Lu Huaiyi clung to her arm, wailing dramatically, “Noooo! Officer Sister, please just let me come! I really, truly want to get out and play — I mean, protect you! I genuinely want to protect you!”

“Let go of my arm!”

In the end, they all got on the plane. This gave Rong Qian a considerable headache — she would have to find a way to shake them off when the time came for her to do what she needed to do.

That said, while Zhang Hao and Lu Huaiyi weren’t much practical use, Xu Yang was someone who could be counted on when it mattered. The hotel, food, accommodation, transport — he handled it all single-handedly.

So, after landing at Hong Kong International Airport, Xu Yang’s arranged private car ferried them to the hotel. He had originally booked two rooms, but now that two additional people had joined them, he opened two more.

Zhang Hao and Lu Huaiyi showed absolutely no sense of restraint — all the way there, they ate and drank at Xu Yang’s expense and treated him like a personal tour guide.

Fortunately Xu Yang had a mild temperament. Had it been Rong Qian in his place, she would have kicked those two straight back home long ago!

What Rong Qian didn’t know was that from the moment they stepped off the plane, someone had been following her in secret, photographing her every move, capturing her each and every action…