Zhou Mo wondered if he and Shanshan would have been as happy as Jiang Shiyan and Tang Yang if she hadn’t left.

He had lied to Wei Changqiu and hoped Shanshan wouldn’t blame him if she ever heard about it.

But then again, what did it matter if she did?

Zhou Mo’s lips twitched. If Shanshan could hear him now, she would surely look at him with those big, clear eyes of hers, utterly bewildered…

The face he thought he had almost forgotten now floated vividly in his mind.

Zhou Mo squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard, trying to distract himself by thinking about work.

That face, that girl, was too real in his memory.

The slightest touch and he felt like a non-swimmer standing in the middle of an empty pool. Water rushed in from both sides, gradually submerging his ankles, calves, thighs, and waist. Once it reached his neck, he began to lose balance, swaying as he searched for stability. In his panic, the water covered his mouth and nose. He strained to lift his chin, but the momentum caused his feet to slip, and he fell backward into the pool.

“Glug, glug,” he couldn’t open his eyes, his eardrums vibrating… This was the suffocating sensation, akin to slow torture, that he had experienced countless times in real swimming pools.

On the way back to Wei Changqiu’s home, she asked him many more questions.

Zhou Mo answered with a mix of truth and lies.

Wei Changqiu sensed something was off with him and naturally concluded that “Zhou Mo likes Tang Yang, but Tang Yang is with Jiang Shiyan, whom Zhou Mo can’t possibly compete with.”

At the same time, she understood Zhou Mo’s awkwardness when talking about Tang Yang, as well as why Tang Yang always refused Zhou Mo’s invitations to gatherings—to avoid suspicion.

She had wondered why Tang Yang never attended their gatherings despite accepting so many gifts.

Upon arrival, Zhou Mo got out and opened the car door, extending his hand to the back seat.

Wei Changqiu placed her hand on Zhou Mo’s, using it for support as she emerged from the car.

“It’s been an exhausting day. You should go home and rest too,” Wei Changqiu said thoughtfully, “From now on, if Tang Yang doesn’t come out, you don’t need to keep inviting her. You don’t have to report her reasons to me either,” she added, “As long as Tang Yang is on our side and behaves, everything else is negotiable.”

Having anticipated this response, Zhou Mo replied with a face as calm as still water, “Mm.”

Wei Changqiu waved at Zhou Mo, who obligingly performed the customary farewell cheek kiss. Then, he stood outside the gate, watching Wei Changqiu go upstairs and enter her bedroom. Wei Changqiu stood by the window, nodding at him with a slight smile, exactly as Zhou Mo had predicted. He returned a faint smile and a nod, only leaving when Wei Changqiu closed the curtains.

The smile on his lips seemed forced, and the atmosphere around him was like the deepest part of a distant nebula.

Vague, obscure, with an unfathomable distance.

—

Tang Yang fell asleep in Jiang Shiyan’s arms in the car. Afraid of waking her if he let go, Jiang Shiyan texted the driver to come over.

The driver, being professional, ignored the couple in the front passenger seat and steadily drove them home.

Jiang Shiyan carried Tang Yang back home, gently removing her shoes and clothes. Tang Yang murmured something, causing Jiang Shiyan to freeze momentarily. Only when her breathing evened out did he continue, as careful as a thief in a TV drama.

It was almost two o’clock by the time he had settled Tang Yang. Feeling drowsy himself, Jiang Shiyan quickly washed up and lay down, pulling her into his arms. Tang Yang, seemingly sensing his scent, snuggled closer to his chest, completely unconscious.

Indeed, Tang Yang was having a dream.

A bizarre, fantastical dream.

In her dream, she went to work as usual, smiling and greeting the receptionist before entering the elevator.

As she exited the elevator, the bright, modern building suddenly transformed into an enormous tree hollow, as large as a standard football field, dark, damp, and smelling of rotting wood. Tang Yang instinctively looked back, but the elevator had vanished. Simultaneously, monsters poured in, biting the executives on the top floor. The executives turned into monsters themselves, biting their subordinates, who in turn bit each other. In an instant, Hui Shang became a hellish scene. Tang Yang called for help, but no one answered. She saw a helicopter outside the window, throwing her a rope. Without hesitation, she leaped out the window and then found herself sitting in a private room at the club.

Cheng Siran picked up an ice cube with tongs and dropped it into a mixture of ice and water. Flames shot up from the glass, startling everyone. Qin Jiao’s husband seriously explained the principle, while Cheng Siran joked, “The fire doesn’t come from the glass. These tongs can shoot flames. The tongs are close to the rim of the glass, so you think it’s coming from the glass.”

Then the scene shifted to the club’s lobby.

Police surrounded the high-level executives from Jiu Jiang and Hui Shang. Zhou Mo signaled to her that there was money in the box. The police had received a tip about someone carrying drugs. Wei Changqiu threw a tantrum, and in the end, when they opened the boxes, it turned out to be milk!

The scanner passed over the milk carton, “Beep,” a green light, passed.

Second carton, “Beep,” another green light, passed.

“Beep, beep, beep,” the sound grew faster, and Tang Yang’s heartbeat accelerated. “Beep, beep, beep,” her heart raced to its limit—

Tang Yang suddenly threw off the covers and sat up.

She was drenched in sweat, her heart still pounding.

“It’s a trick!” Tang Yang’s throat bobbed as she spoke to herself, fully alert, “Yes, it must be a trick.”

Tang Yang recalled the scene before the police opened the box. All three groups were anxious, but Zhou Mo’s anxiety didn’t seem genuine. He even managed to turn and gesture to her.

So, the milk boxes did contain money, but Zhou Mo knew that the boxes with money weren’t the ones the executives were holding, yet they needed the executives to take the milk boxes…

Therefore, the milk boxes with money had been switched to a safe place beforehand. The executives went there, put the regular milk boxes together with the ones containing money, and then left, taking the boxes with money and leaving the regular ones behind.

It was just like Cheng Siran’s visual effect with the flames!

In the bank’s strategic management course, there was a classic section on the “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”

And “Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean” was the first stratagem!

So, Zhou Mo’s gesture was real, and the police finding nothing was also real. Zhou Mo knew about the money and wasn’t worried about the milk on-site because the person who made the switch was Zhou Mo himself!

That’s it, it must be!

Everything suddenly fell into place. Tang Yang excitedly shook Jiang Shiyan, “Jiang Shiyan, I’ve figured it out! Wake up! Although I don’t know why Zhou Mo did this, I understand the process now. That money must be in the hands of the executives now!”

Tang Yang rattled off her entire deduction process, tugging at his arm, “Isn’t that right? Isn’t it? It makes perfect sense!”

Jiang Shiyan’s eyes were half-open, his voice husky and extremely lazy, “Do you know what happens when you wake someone with severe morning grumpiness from a sweet dream?”

“Huh?” Tang Yang was stunned for a moment, then belatedly looked up and noticed the clock on the wall in the dim light from outside.

Four-thirty in the morning.

If Jiang Shiyan had woken her up like this, she would have beaten him without mercy!

But she was so adorable, surely Jiang Shiyan wouldn’t have the heart to do anything, right?

Tang Yang swallowed nervously and averted her gaze. She quietly withdrew her hand from Jiang Shiyan’s wrist and began tucking him in, coaxing softly, “There, there… baby, go back to sleep. Sister will pat you…”

Jiang Shiyan watched to see how she would soothe him, feeling her small hand gently patting his abdomen.

Jiang Shiyan closed his eyes and chuckled, then swiftly caught both her wrists with one hand and rolled on top of her.

The man’s solid body pressed down with some weight, leaving Tang Yang unable to move.

Jiang Shiyan placed his thumb on her chin, his long index finger, slightly calloused, sliding back and forth across her small, dry lips… He lifted himself slightly and lowered his head to kiss her lips.

He first gently licked her lips, then lightly probed. Tang Yang also extended her tongue tip, accidentally touching his. As she tried to move past, Jiang Shiyan skillfully circled and delved deeper.

Tang Yang let out a soft “Mmm.”

Jiang Shiyan’s eyes remained closed, the wet sensation of saliva magnified in the darkness.

Like two fish beached on the shore, they greedily absorbed the moisture from each other’s lips and tongues, meticulously exploring every soft inch and breath in each other’s mouths…

A long, wet kiss.

By the latter half of the kiss, Tang Yang was embracing Jiang Shiyan’s neck, her eyes covered with a thin layer of mist. Jiang Shiyan, on the other hand, had become fully awake.

He withdrew from her mouth, brushing away the messy strands of hair on her face while lightly kissing the corner of her lips. He said softly, “Earlier, when you came back from the welfare institute, your mood seemed off, so I asked Cheng Siran to look into the Linjiang City Welfare Institute.”

“It’s one of Jiu Jiang’s shell charity organizations,” Tang Yang’s voice was soft.

“Mm,” Jiang Shiyan’s heart melted completely. He said gently, “But before Cheng Siran went to investigate, someone was already looking into the accounts from when the welfare institute was first established,” Jiang Shiyan continued, “On our way back, while you were asleep, Cheng Siran called to say he suddenly remembered that the person his friend described looked like Zhou Mo.”

“It should be him,” Tang Yang also tilted her head to kiss the corner of Jiang Shiyan’s mouth, “I want some water.”

He loved hearing his little ancestor’s imperatives.

Jiang Shiyan chuckled, rubbing his nose against hers before rolling over to grab the water glass from the bedside table. He watched her gulp it down.

“Slow down,” he couldn’t help but remind her.

Tang Yang finished the water.

Jiang Shiyan took the glass back, humming through his nose like a bad guy, “Want to report your boss?”

Before he could ask if it might be too hasty to report directly, Tang Yang shook her head.

Jiang Shiyan lay back down and turned off the light.

Tang Yang leaned against his chest, speaking rationally yet with frustration, “My dream can’t be used as evidence. I don’t know how many Fridays they’ve had like this, or whether the cash is in China or abroad. I can’t access Jiu Jiang’s internal network accounts either. Reporting directly would just be alerting the enemy and getting ourselves in trouble…”

Tang Yang became increasingly dejected as she spoke. She tugged at Jiang Shiyan’s collar, “Tell me, why can’t I be like the female leads in novels? Blessed with both beauty and eloquence, skilled in investments and stocks, able to hack into all sorts of programs with just a computer,” Tang Yang waved her small hand, “Forget about Jiu Jiang’s internal network or some overseas bank account, even breaking into the Pentagon would be a piece of cake.”

The more Tang Yang imagined, the more beautiful it seemed, her eyes sparkling like they were studded with fragments of light.

Jiang Shiyan let out a snort of laughter.

Tang Yang immediately became serious, looking up at him, “Are you laughing?”

“No,” Jiang Shiyan held back, mumbling, “Um, well, it’s good to have ideas. We can start by dreaming—”

Tang Yang’s small hands immediately grabbed both his ears, her expression playfully fierce.

Jiang Shiyan played along, pretending to be in pain, “Ouch…”

Jiang Shiyan’s skin was smooth, his ear shape was attractive. Tang Yang’s fierce demeanor lasted only a second before she couldn’t help but start caressing his ears.

“Are your ears considered hard or soft?” she asked gently.

Jiang Shiyan replied, “They’re soft under your touch, but hard at other times.”

Tang Yang, feeling as if she’d been given a piece of candy, secretly smiled.

Jiang Shiyan thought of something and shifted his body upwards a bit, whispering in her ear with a husky voice, “But there are some places… that are hard under your touch and soft at other times.”

His hot breath accompanied his words as they fell on Tang Yang’s ear.

Tang Yang, feeling the heat, shrank her neck a little, her ears turning crimson as she asked, “Do men always think about these things? How do you manage to relate everything to that…”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Shiyan’s smile deepened as he whispered in her ear, “But I do when I see you.”

As he spoke, Jiang Shiyan pulled her closer to his body.

He was too hot.

So hot that Tang Yang’s face turned red, her whole body tingling.

She verbally chided him for being “too lewd,” but her long eyelashes fluttered like fans.

Suddenly, she turned her head and stole a quick, light kiss from the very lewd Jiang Dagou.

Jiang Shiyan was stunned.

Tang Yang’s eyes curved in a mischievous smile.

Jiang Shiyan, aroused by this gesture, looked at her with a suppressed smile, grinding his teeth. One second, two seconds, then he abruptly pulled the blanket over both their heads.

The blanket bulged and shifted.

Inside, there was the man’s lowered voice making futile threats, mixed with his little girlfriend’s clear, giggling laughter.

As they laughed, she softly called out, “Jiang Shiyan, slow down, it hurts a little. Why…”

He anxiously replied, “Let me see, let me see.”

“Jiang! Shi! Yan!”

“…”

Yi Xiu’s current situation was somewhat tense, while Tang Yang’s could be described as precarious. But it seemed that as long as they were by each other’s side, and only by each other’s side, they feared nothing.

It was like having to walk through a long, dark alley. As long as that familiar light shone at the entrance, no matter how dark the path, their eyes only saw brightness.

Just like the gray-white outside the window, as it grew…

Darker, closer to dawn.

—

After the weekend, another subtle Monday arrived.

Tang Yang pretended to have forgotten about her desire to thoroughly investigate Jiu Jiang, diligently checking details and wrapping up the Jiu Jiang case with utmost propriety.

Zhou Zixing saw that she had refocused and felt quite relieved.

Reassuring Zhou Zixing was one thing, but on the other hand, without official channels, accessing Jiu Jiang’s internal network was nearly impossible for Tang Yang.

Sister Qin Yue’s sister, Qin Jiao, was Jiu Jiang’s legal advisor. Tang Yang thought of this and saw a glimmer of hope.

But two days later, Qin Yue knocked on Tang Yang’s office door and closed it behind her.

“When are you going to the department head meeting?” Qin Yue asked.

Tang Yang looked at the time. It was now two o’clock. She replied, “In an hour.”

Qin Yue sat down next to Tang Yang, moved her lips, and relayed the original message—

Qin Jiao was only Jiu Jiang’s legal advisor. Strictly speaking, her official position wasn’t with Jiu Jiang, but with the law firm she worked at before.

Although she had a Jiu Jiang internal network account, her access was limited to accidents and lawsuits. Moreover, if Qin Jiao gave her network account to Qin Yue, it wouldn’t just be participating in a business war or something similar, but a violation of the lawyer’s ethics she swore to uphold when joining the firm.

Tang Yang expressed her understanding.

“However,” Qin Yue paused, slightly changing her tone, “She told me about the few people with the highest authority on Jiu Jiang’s internal network.”

Jiu Jiang had a network management structure, and Jiu Jiang Real Estate was also intricately connected. This information was equally valuable.

Tang Yang looked at Qin Yue.

Qin Yue suddenly fell silent, looking towards the door.

People were returning from lunch, and voices could be heard outside.

Tang Yang had a sudden inspiration. She took an A4 paper and a pen from her drawer and pushed them towards Qin Yue.

Qin Yue wrote down names one by one. After writing each one, she paused to exchange a glance with Tang Yang. Only after Tang Yang nodded in confirmation did she continue to write the next one.

Wei Changqiu, He Zheng, three other executive directors, and then… Zhou Mo.

The last stroke of “Mo” was drawn by Qin Yue as a wavy line.

Tang Yang said, “I blocked Zhou Mo once before, but later added him back for work reasons. But we haven’t been in contact. No, that’s not right,” Tang Yang corrected herself, “We haven’t been in contact at all.”

His gesture that night had been sudden, and Tang Yang didn’t know if he was friend or foe. Some hostility had dissipated, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust him easily.

Qin Yue calmly put the pen cap back on: “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Jiu Jiang exploits charity loopholes, we discover their exploitation, we think we’re the oriole, but what I fear most,” Qin Yue put down the pen and continued slowly, “is that behind us, there’s still a hunter catching the oriole.”

Qin Yue couldn’t point to any specific clues; it was mostly a woman’s sixth sense.

Could the hunter be from the top floor of Hui Shang?

Or perhaps Jiu Jiang’s upper management?

Tang Yang and Qin Yue reached a consensus on not seeking Zhou Mo’s help, but the situation had reached an impasse.

They wanted to investigate thoroughly but had no path forward.

Should they just give up? That would mean all their previous efforts investigating charity organizations and obtaining recordings had been in vain.

Tang Yang and Qin Yue had always been people who sailed smoothly through life.

Except for occasionally annoying her silly Jiang Dagou, Tang Yang had never experienced nor could accept feeling helpless in other areas.

After the heavy rain, there was a brief period of cooling. The pothos on the windowsill stretched their branches and leaves, leisurely enjoying the cloudy weather.

Qin Yue looked at it, feeling a rare sense of envy.

Look, even the pothos was having a better time than them.

Qin Yue didn’t speak, and Tang Yang remained silent. The air felt heavy.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Tang Yang, resting her chin on her hand, spoke up: “I’ll go ask a friend of mine,” she said with a slight smile, “He might have a way.”

Qin Yue was skeptical: “You mean Cheng Siran?”

The know-it-all of their circle.

“No,” Tang Yang took a deep breath, “Chen Qiang.”

Ever since Chen Qiang had given Tang Yang the hotel records for Gan Yiming, she had vaguely sensed Chen Qiang’s capabilities. Later, Song Jing had also mentioned a thing or two about him. Chen Qiang had studied business management, was proficient in internet technologies, had experience in society, and had an extensive network of friends. His methods were naturally sophisticated and diverse.

Neither Tang Yang nor Qin Yue considered the “gray area” to be a negative term. As long as it didn’t cross the line, they could accept borderline methods.

If Jiu Jiang had major issues, then these gray area approaches would be a beautiful act of “executing first, reporting later.”

Qin Yue licked her lips: “I’m a bit scared.”

Tang Yang agreed: “Me too.”

Qin Yue: “So what do we do?”

Tang Yang pondered for a moment, then found her phone under a pile of documents. As she scrolled through an app, she asked, “What’s your zodiac sign?”

Qin Yue: “Capricorn.”

Tang Yang: “Me too.”

Tang Yang continued, “Do you believe in fate?”

Qin Yue thought of a certain child and coughed awkwardly: “Fifty-fifty.”

Tang Yang made an “Oh” sound and continued tapping on her phone.

Qin Yue was completely baffled, guessing that she was probably going to say something like “Capricorns are dark-hearted and generally late bloomers,” or “If we can investigate, it’s fate; if we can’t, it’s also fate,” or some karmic cycle platitude about dealing with situations.

A few seconds later, Tang Yang happily held her phone up to Qin Yue’s face: “Look, Yi Xiu’s horoscope says that Capricorn’s Mercury retrograde ends this week, ushering in a new moon with dynamic energy and unexpected joy.”

With so many horoscope accounts on Weibo, it turned out she had been scrolling for so long just to find her husband’s company’s account.

Qin Yue smiled: “I have something to—”

Tang Yang’s eyes curved: “Better left unsaid.”

Qin Yue: “Hee hee hee.”

At three in the afternoon.

Tang Yang touched up her makeup and left with her documents for the meeting.

Qin Yue walked behind Tang Yang. Despite feeling mentally exhausted, she still fed the A4 paper they had used during their discussion into the shredder beside the desk.

The shredder in Qin Yue’s office was often overflowing, but Tang Yang’s was clean.

Qin Yue glanced towards another office outside, smiling faintly.

The shredder hummed for a while.

Only after ensuring it was completely shredded did Qin Yue turn to leave.

After Tang Yang was harassed by Gan Yiming last time, although the higher-ups didn’t announce the truth of the incident, they posted a rule on the official website prohibiting locking office doors during work hours.

Not long after Tang Yang left, Fan Linlang entered Tang Yang’s office carrying a parcel box she had received at her desk that morning.

At the door, she called out, “Director Tang, your parcel.”

Naturally, there was no response.

“Oh, I forgot Director Tang went to a meeting.”

Fan Linlang muttered to herself, then looked back.

It seemed Qin Yue had gone out to buy coffee; the young lady had exacting habits and always drank coffee at specific times.

It was work hours now, and several employees and interns were busy with their tasks.

Fan Linlang turned back, leaving the door slightly ajar. She put Tang Yang’s parcel on the desk, then crouched down by the shredder next to Tang Yang’s desk.

Earlier, during lunch when no one was around, Fan Linlang had emptied the shredded paper from all the shredders in the Credit Review Department’s hall into the trash bin, including Tang Yang’s.

Now, she skillfully removed the paper box. Inside were the remnants of a single sheet of paper.

The shredder cuts paper in the order it’s fed in. If there was nothing in it before, the shredded pieces in the box would follow a certain order despite appearing chaotic.

Fan Linlang took a small notebook from Tang Yang’s desk and carefully scooped up the paper shreds in order. She quickly carried them back to her own office, then returned to Tang Yang’s office to erase any traces of her actions. Only then did she go back, first taking out a sheet of A4 paper and covering it entirely with double-sided tape. Then she began carefully adjusting and sticking the cereal-sized paper shreds in order…

Network permissions…

No, internal network permissions…

Bit by bit, she pieced it together.

Distorted but clear, the ranking of Jiu Jiang’s internal network permissions…