"They did it?"

"Who else could it be besides them?" Ji Ou continued, "You and your friends want to clean up the entire HDA. I don't think that's possible."

Ouyang didn't like the way he spoke, at least she didn't allow Dongya's labor to be belittled in this way.

"Don't be angry," Ji Ou explained when she didn't say anything. "It's a simple truth. If the water is clear, there will be no fish. The same is true for HDA. In fact, it is full of cunning. People like you are no longer the majority."

The person next door seemed drunk, and the sound of their footsteps was irregular. She fell into deep thought. What Ji Ou said was not without reason. The various factions within HDA were already competing with each other. No matter who betrayed whom, it was very normal for them. "If that's the case, why did you come to me to talk about this?"

"Because you're the only one among us who's different," he said, sipping his tea as if it were wine. "From the first day we met, I felt you were different."

She stared at his hands, which were slender and clean, reminding her of Jin Lu's hands that he used to play the piano. "They are indeed different, and I don't want to be like you."

"I'm leaving in a few days," he said, lowering his head. "I don't know why, but I just wanted to meet you. Don't think I'm interested in you. I just think you're a bit stubborn when it comes to doing things, and you're a bit like me in the past."

Ouyang looked at him. This man who was about ten years older than her was indeed qualified to say such words: "Really?" But she didn't think she would become the same person as him, so greedy and casual.

"The last word," he said, "you still have a long way to go to subdue Shengda and Tanghe and the others."

Ouyang studied him, trying to detect any falsehood in his eyes, but she saw none. This man, perhaps, was a combination of success and failure. Among the others, he had his own dignity, yet he was also bound by their debts.

After she left, Ji Ou took a flight that night and left. As for which country he went to, she didn't know.

When she returned to the basement, Dongya was already asleep. She carefully walked through the living room and returned to her room, pretending that nothing had happened tonight.