Fang Yongnian looked as though he had been standing there for a long time. After making eye contact with her, he hung up the phone but still leaned against the wall in that same position.

Because there was a no smoking sign in the corridor, the cigarette between his fingers had never been lit. In his other hand, he held a lighter, the flame flickering on and off with a pa-da pa-da.

Amidst the gaudy gold and red background, he was dressed entirely in black. A black trench coat, a black turtleneck sweater, and black jeans. Only his scarf was a smoky gray.

He was tall and lean, so the way he leaned against the wall looked especially handsome. Half his face, which had somewhat delicate features like a girl’s, was hidden in the shadow. The cigarette between his fingers and the lighter in his hand made the entire scene complete and mysterious.

Lu Yixin absentmindedly swung her arm twice while holding her phone.

Her man was too handsome…

As a seasoned fangirl, out of sheer professional instinct, she swung her arm again and, entirely by habit, raised her phone to take a picture of Fang Yongnian with a click.

The soundproofing in the upscale hotel was excellent, so the click of her phone in the private corridor was especially loud. So loud that even the corner of Fang Yongnian’s lips couldn’t help but twitch.

For him to feel an impulse to hit her at a time like this was truly not an easy thing.

Lu Yixin clutched her phone and took a step back, laughing dryly twice. “Why haven’t you gone in yet?”

Everyone at that table looked either suited up or like her father, some kind of expert. The banquet was already halfway through, yet Fang Yongnian, the key figure Aunt Zhang had mentioned, was standing in the corridor playing with his lighter.

“I’m waiting for someone.” Fang Yongnian shoved the lighter into the pocket of his jeans and beckoned at Lu Yixin.

“Got any candy?” His long arm reached out and snatched the phone she was trying to hide, found the photo, and tapped delete.

This girl’s phone was full of his photos, even her lock screen was him.

He had always just laughed it off before, but for some reason, today it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

After all, she was already a grown girl.

“Delete them all.” Too lazy to delete them one by one, he tossed the phone back to her and gave a direct order.

Lu Yixin’s response was to make a hideous grimace and shove the phone into the back pocket of her jeans right in front of him.

“Delete my ass.” It was impressive that she could pull such a grotesque face and still talk, “I already uploaded all your photos to the cloud album the moment I took them.”

Deleting them was useless.

Grinning at him proudly, she bared her teeth and at the same time handed him a piece of chocolate.

His health had been poor these past two years; he had chronic low blood sugar. If he missed a meal, he’d start searching for candy everywhere. Lu Yixin always carried chocolate with her, the super sweet kind.

He would rather risk hypoglycemia than go into the private room.

Her man was really handsome.

Through the thick, one-meter-thick filter of a fangirl, Lu Yixin also unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it into her mouth, squinting her eyes at the sweetness.

“You go in first.” Seeing that Lu Yixin actually looked like she planned to stand there and chat with him, Fang Yongnian swallowed the chocolate in his mouth, fished another piece from her coat pocket, and nudged her.

Use it and toss it away…

Lu Yixin puffed out her cheeks. “I got lost.”

She didn’t want to go in. The dishes inside were expensive, but none of them tasted good.

Even though the atmosphere was harmonious, she couldn’t help but feel there was a kind of fake-smiling vibe that made her stomach ache.

It was better to squat here and chat with Fang Yongnian.

He was really handsome today, so handsome that she wanted to take a photo from every angle: up, down, left, and right.

“Second intersection on the left, turn right at the fifth room.” Fang Yongnian pointed with his chin.

Lu Yixin: “……”

Unwillingly, she moved two steps to the left, then turned back. “You’ll come in later, right?”

If you run away, my dad will explode.

“I will.” Fang Yongnian nodded at her while chewing on the chocolate.

Lu Yixin moved two more steps.

She couldn’t help but feel that when Fang Yongnian said “I will,” the expression on his face was awfully resolute. Why did he need that kind of determined expression just to go into a private room for dinner?

She turned around again.

This time, Fang Yongnian ignored her and waved his hand like shooing away a fly.

There was this strange, ominous feeling—like her father was about to blow up from anger.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧

Facts proved that ominous feelings never disappoint.

Fang Yongnian did go in at last—when the banquet was in full swing, everyone laughing and toasting. But when he came in, he wasn’t alone.

The door was flung open. Behind it came a flustered waiter, and four or five law enforcement officers in police uniforms burst in first, followed closely by two reporters carrying cameras to record the operation.

The entire arrest process was swift. The chubby middle-aged man at the table, called “President Li,” was taken away almost before he could process what was happening. Other than confirming his identity, the officers said almost nothing unnecessary.

The incident happened too suddenly. Everyone froze, and all eyes turned toward the tall, slender man in black standing at the doorway—Fang Yongnian, leaning casually against the wall.

“Yongnian, what on earth is going on?” Professor Wu was the first to speak. Lu Yixin thought his voice sounded very different from usual—trembling, and full of shock.

“The Musheng Pharmaceuticals case.” Fang Yongnian straightened his posture and stepped into the private room. “President Li is suspected of illegal capital operations. I’m the whistleblower.”

The way he walked looked, to Lu Yixin, overly proper.

As if he didn’t want the people inside to notice his prosthetic limb, or as if he were defending himself.

“So, does anyone here still want to stay and finish this meal with me?” He walked to where President Li had been sitting and gestured at the dishes on the table toward the waiter. “Bring me a new set of tableware.”

Dead silence.

Lu Yixin felt that Lu Boyuan was practically frozen mid-anger. He had been holding his chopsticks up since the police entered, and still hadn’t put them down.

Everyone’s eyes were on Fang Yongnian—watching him slowly take off his scarf and coat, slowly replace the tableware with a new set, and slowly roll up the sleeves of his sweater.

Every movement carried his trademark sluggishness, yet to Lu Yixin, Fang Yongnian at that moment seemed utterly unrestrained.

The kind of unrestrained that was fierce and exhilarating.

The kind of unrestrained that came with revenge fulfilled.

After a brief silence, people at the banquet began to stand up one after another. They no longer looked at Fang Yongnian, and when leaving, they didn’t even greet Professor Wu or Lu Boyuan.

Only Aunt Zhang patted Fang Yongnian on the shoulder before she left.

“Yongnian ah…” She let out a long sigh, but in the end said nothing.

The people in the private room quickly dispersed, leaving only the four of them in that lavishly decorated space.

Lu Boyuan finally snapped out of his frozen state. He was about to slam the table hard, but after glancing at the paper-thin bone china on it, he changed direction and smacked the back of his chair instead.

“You think this makes you some kind of hero?!” His lips were trembling from anger.

Fang Yongnian ignored him, poured himself a cup of strong tea, and took a sip.

He had eaten two pieces of extremely sweet chocolate just now, and now had no desire to touch the delicacies spread across the table.

“You’re ruining yourself!” Lu Yixin thought that if her father had a beard, it would be trembling like a sieve right now.

As his biological daughter, she was currently very worried about her father’s blood pressure.

Would they start fighting again… Lu Yixin looked around.

Everything in the private room looked like solid wood, heavy, and the tableware looked expensive.

Chances of a fight breaking out weren’t high.

Knowing exactly how much savings her family had, Lu Yixin felt relieved. While the adults were silent, she spun the lazy Susan and picked up the chicken wing she hadn’t managed to get earlier.

“Yongnian ah…” Professor Wu finally spoke. His tone sounded even more melancholy than Aunt Zhang’s earlier. “Too much hardness leads to breaking…”

Fang Yongnian’s hand paused mid-drink. Lu Yixin saw his brows slightly furrow. He set the cup down, still without saying anything.

That exhilarating satisfaction from before seemed to have been cleanly drawn out of him by that one sentence from the old professor.

“You think we all didn’t know about President Li’s dirty dealings?” With Professor Wu backing him up, Lu Boyuan’s voice grew harsher, full of disappointment. “You think that whole table of people weren’t as smart or as perceptive as you?”

“Yes, his company has a pile of messy accounts—bribes, illegal capital operations—everyone here, and even those who aren’t, have heard something about it.”

“But their asset restructuring is still proceeding normally! That’s a huge matter concerning whether we can secure the next round of investment. That issue has nothing to do with his filth!”

“If you wanted to report him, fine!” Lu Boyuan grew angrier with each word. “Even if you didn’t wait for the investment to go through, reporting him privately now wouldn’t have caused much impact on the entire restructuring.”

“But why did you have to choose this moment?!”

“Everyone at that table, those were elders! Benefactors!”

“Why did you have to report him right now? And even have him arrested in front of them!”

“What are you trying to prove, huh?!” Lu Boyuan slammed his hand on the table. The pots and plates clattered with a clear ding-dang, startling him so much that he froze and didn’t dare move again.

He really couldn’t afford to break anything, the cost of this meal alone had eaten up his project bonus. If anything else got damaged, his wife at home would definitely unleash a roar from the east side of the river.

Fang Yongnian looked at Lu Boyuan.

His eyes were long and narrow, the corners slightly upturned. On a woman, they would’ve been a pair of enchanting peach-blossom eyes.

But now, those same peach-blossom eyes looked at Lu Boyuan coldly. Unlike the gaze that usually made Lu Yixin’s heart race, this one carried the chill of unfamiliarity, as though he had never known him at all.

How could he have the face to stand here and talk to him about this.

“It’s not our project,” Fang Yongnian said quietly, calmly, each word distinct. “I never intended to join the project.”

“Everyone sitting here is smarter than me, sees clearer than me, understands the rules better than me.”

Fang Yongnian smiled faintly, this time turning his gaze toward Professor Wu.

“So that’s why you all, even knowing President Li has problems, still bow and scrape to him for money.”

“Don’t tell me their company’s asset restructuring has nothing to do with his dirty dealings. Without those dirty dealings, how could their restructuring possibly have gone so smoothly?”

Fang Yongnian wiped his mouth and stood up.

He still moved at his usual unhurried pace, straightening his clothes before slightly bowing to Professor Wu. “I’m not like you. I don’t like deceiving myself.”

“Sorry for ruining this meal.” His expression, however, showed little trace of apology. As he stepped out of the private room, he bowed again to Professor Wu. “This meal is on me.”

His tone was polite and humble. He bowed twice, then slowly closed the door behind him. When he left, he didn’t look at Lu Yixin.

Lu Yixin stared at her father, whose mouth hung half open, his face flushed red.

Professor Wu gripped his wine glass tightly; the veins stood out on his aged fingers from the force.

“What the hell did he do right?!” Lu Boyuan finally roared.

“If he’s so clean, then what about that fake leg, that pharmacy, that lousy company of his—and the money he’s spending on this dinner?! Did all that fall from the sky?!”