What if a teammate betrays you?

5:30 a.m.

Jiang Chuan bought some things online, such as common flowers and fruits... but flowers are not very common, and flower wrapping paper is also not very common.

The flowers were delicate and vibrant, with a few drops of dew on them, making them look exceptionally fresh, yet they were paired with plain white wrapping paper.

It looks like they're going to pay respects to someone.

His attire was also very formal. Although he usually wore formal wear, this was the first time he had dressed so plainly without any accessories.

If you change the face, it will feel monotonous.

The Earl noticed that today's date was the same date that had been marked in red on Jiang Chuan's schedule.

Jiang Chuan put the flowers and fruit in the back seat of the car and set off by himself. His destination was a cemetery an hour away. Fortunately, he traveled during off-peak hours and there was not much traffic.

The cemetery was naturally deserted.

Jiang Chuan handed the fruit he had brought to the old man guarding the gate. The two had probably met many times before and were considered acquaintances, but they did not exchange any words.

After registering his identity, Jiang Chuan went inside carrying the flowers.

Two bunches of flowers, one large and one small.

The larger one was a gift for his parents. He didn't play a significant role in his life either, but Jiang Chuan was very grateful for what they had left him.

In addition to material abundance, there is also the spiritual transcendence that comes from material abundance.

Because he wasn't close to his parents and didn't have time to get closer to them, plus the fact that it was so long ago, and because Jiang Chuan was naturally reserved, he would just sit quietly for a while each time he came, quietly cleaning the tombstones, the whole process was done in silence.

I don't know what to say, and there's nothing to say.

The distance is too far.

When facing people they should be close to, their words become inadequate, and there seems to be a thick, high wall in their hearts that they cannot cross.

Parents is a collection of two abstract nouns.

"If you don't feel uncomfortable or depressed, then this is probably the best state for you. There's no need to force yourself to be a normal person."

"The standard for a normal person is set by others."

"You only need to abide by universal moral rules, and the rest of the space is yours."

That's what the doctor said.

—The doctor I consulted in this life is the one who saved me in my past life.

The tombstone was much neater and cleaner.

The smooth surface of the monument reflected Jiang Chuan's expressionless face, like looking into a not-so-clear mirror.

The entire worship process lacked the usual atmosphere of sadness.

It was just a very ordinary visit, like meeting an old friend.

The weather was lovely today, and since I came out early, the sun was shining but not scorching. There was a gentle breeze, and the air was crisp and clear, as this place is secluded and rarely visited.

The count remained still, simply curious as it was his first time visiting a human cemetery.

Since there was really nothing else to do, he looked at the surrounding tombstones and wondered who Jiang Chuan's parents' neighbors were, treating it as a background check.

He noticed that of the two bouquets of flowers Jiang Chuan brought, only one was placed in front of his parents' gravestone.

Who is the other bouquet for?

The person and the cat only stayed there for about twenty minutes.

Jiang Chuan stood up, politely said goodbye to his parents, and still held the small bouquet of flowers he hadn't given away—flowers that most people wouldn't give as a gift.

The count followed closely behind and discovered that as Jiang Chuan walked further to the edge of the cemetery, in a certain corner, even in a corner, there were quite a few residents, as cemeteries in big cities are in short supply.

At the very edge of this area, there is a dusty, untouched tombstone that looks like it hasn't been tended to in a long time.

Jiang Chuan's destination is there.

The count sensed that this human seemed more relaxed than he had been just there.

Who could be the owner of this tombstone?

A small bouquet of dandelions, the main flower, was laid down and leaned against the monument. The fluffy seeds touched the side of the monument, and a gentle breeze carried away the loosened seeds.

The count examined the surface of the monument, which was not easily discernible.

River……

River…?

He tilted his head and looked at Jiang Chuan standing against the light, his head lowered and the shadows around his eyes obscuring his emotions, but it was no longer a blank face.

Her hair wasn't styled as meticulously as usual; stray strands fluttered gently in the breeze, their edges tinged with a pale gold by the sunlight.

It softened the aggressive feeling he usually exuded when he had a cold expression.

Her lips were slightly pursed.

Sensing Jiang Chuan's aura, the Earl didn't dare to use his paw to clean the inscription on the tombstone. He figured Jiang Chuan would be cleaning it soon, so he just needed to find a good angle to see it as soon as possible.

As a result, Jiang Chuan only stood there for a short while, probably less than five minutes, before deciding to leave.

The count was taken aback. Why wasn't he playing by the rules?

Just as He was about to take a step to follow, His small, uncontrollable paws, still burning with a bit of gossip, grazed the surface of the monument.

However, being smaller, he only erased the last word.

That was the character "行" (xíng).

Jiang... Xing?

Bao De was dreaming. He had become so numb to dreaming lately that he was even quite adept at sitting down and listening to the lecture.

And then I discovered, wow, finally one day I don't have to prepare for the bar exam anymore?

Bao De slowly calmed down, his dream was bizarre and fantastical.

Without a fixed prison location, he could dream whatever he wanted.

It's like having a lucid dream, as they say.

Before he could even celebrate for long, he saw his circle of cronies and good brothers, including Hu Qizhi and others.

If he hadn't seen anyone, it would have been fine, but now that he had, Bao De became inexplicably wary, because there was nothing in this dream that he could believe.

The two sat down and talked, and nothing unexpected happened.

It was just the usual reminiscing about past glories, looking to the future, and discussing the international situation. Everything felt incredibly real, not like a dream at all, which drove Bao De somewhat insane.

In the blink of an eye, I don't know what they talked about again.

Quite suddenly, the anti-French alliance's grand scheme was exposed by the reporter, leaving the group speechless and in a scene of blame-shifting and infighting.

Of course, he wasn't comparing himself to a dog here.

Hu Qizhi and his group of followers were immediately pushed out to take the blame by Bao De.

"We are just following Boss Bao's instructions."

“I didn’t interfere, I just watched. I even advised him not to do such a thing.”

Bao De was completely dumbfounded. Before he could react, the other party had shifted the blame so quickly. In the end, all he could remember was Hu Qizhi and the group of people behind him, with their guilty yet self-righteous expressions.

What a terrible teammate!

Bao Deqi woke up immediately—that was quite rare.

While "preparing for the bar exam," no matter how much he pinched or hit himself, or imagined other frightening scenarios, he couldn't wake himself up from his daze. A mere betrayal...

He himself is a veteran in the business world with decades of experience, and being stabbed in the back is quite common in business.

What's so scary about waking you up?

Something's been off tonight.

He was startled awake in the middle of the night, yet he was full of energy and couldn't fall back asleep. This was completely different from the usual feeling of being exhausted the next morning after a night of dreaming, as if he hadn't rested at all.

To avoid waking his wife who was still fast asleep, Bao De quietly got out of bed and went to the balcony to light a cigarette.

These dreams are strange, as are the recent dreams of being locked up and forced to study the law.

Is this foreshadowing something?

Baudelaire was a staunch materialist, but these kinds of things were really hard to explain from a scientific perspective.

Do you dream about things you have absolutely no knowledge about?

Moreover, the content was so detailed and credible that when Bao Degang dreamed about these legal topics, he would still extract keywords from the few words that remained in his memory and search for them.

Then it was confirmed that all of these legal provisions were true and accurate, without missing a single word.

And it just so happens to happen at this particular time. Having a dream like this makes it really hard to trust your teammates like you used to.

A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Regardless of whether your teammates are good or not, or whether they will betray you, you must first find a way to extricate yourself from the situation.

Finally, dawn broke. Seeing that it was his usual time to get up, Bao De went to WeChat and sent messages to a few of his less fortunate buddies to test him.

Did you have a dream last night?

The answers were invariably filled with ecstatic joy: "I didn't dream about it, Mr. Bao, did you too? Is this weird dream finally over?!" "I didn't dream about it! I didn't even dream about it. I can finally get a good night's sleep. I really don't want to get up, but I can't help it. In the end, my biological clock just won't wake me up."

The eerie chain of dreams suddenly stops, and that's what makes it truly terrifying.

Bao De secretly kept this in mind, and without caring what time it was, he made a phone call directly to his subordinate's home.

—As everyone knows, Jiang Chuan was the one who orchestrated the chain of dreams, and the slight changes in the dream content this time are naturally also due to him.

"Now that you've noticed it, why not just eliminate this internal threat directly?" The Earl was somewhat puzzled; he could never quite understand why humans had to go through all that trouble.

Jiang Chuan quietly sipped his tea: "I can't exist forever in this pilot policy. It's destined to face a lot of resistance from the moment it's born. If it's just a flower in a greenhouse, it might collapse if I'm protecting it and I don't pay attention to anything."

"Whether it's the people who introduced this policy, the people who implemented it, or those whose interests have been protected or damaged by it, they all need time to adapt to and adjust to these policies."

"Make it more realistic."

"If I do it all at once now, wouldn't that leave less room for optimization?"

Knowing that the Earl was always puzzled by this, Jiang Chuan offered a few more explanations.

Why do I get the feeling that you're quite pessimistic about this policy?

"I'm just used to always planning for the worst."

“That sounds like a very rational choice,” the count affirmed, then hesitated for a moment before asking shyly, “Could you teach me?”

"What will I teach you?"

"It's...it's that kind of big shot, and mysterious feeling." The count looked eager to learn, finding it hard to imagine that a cat's face could make such a human-like expression.

Jiang Chuan silently shifted his gaze, not telling the Earl directly that he might not be suitable for this role. He thought for a moment and said, "Haven't you always wanted to know what Bao De and the others did?"

"I think it's about time, you can probably start browsing online now."

When it comes to Bao De, Jiang Chuan only thought of him as a clever person who liked to add fuel to the fire and considered himself smart during the Xiao Tianqi incident. He never expected that he would be so good at creating trouble.

They even established some kind of "Legal Ignorance Alliance"...

The main text won't mention President Jiang's past much; it will be placed in the side stories.

The currently planned side stories are: [A Ruthless Boss's Team Ventures into a Horror-Infinite Flow: A New Chinese-Style Cthulhu Story] and [Jiang Chuan: The Protagonist's Confession].

I'm not very good at or used to writing side stories, so I'll see what kind of side stories people want to see, and I'll write those if they match.

[This clause remains in effect until it is finalized.]