Ruan Bei looked at the reply from his eldest nephew on his phone, saying that Jiang Ran had volunteered to pick him up from the airport, and Ji Weilan, considering that they had met before and were already familiar with each other, had asked him to come.

Ruan Bei slumped in his chair and sighed dejectedly, "I feel like you're taking revenge on me."

Sitting opposite him, Jiang Ran hugged the arrival sign to his chest, then glanced cautiously at Qin Gu, who had almost slapped the sign at his face earlier, and said awkwardly, "How could that be..."

Okay, he did want to play a prank, which is why he wrote their code names on the airport sign...

The hot milk on the table had cooled down a bit, and the temperature was just right. Ruan Bei picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. He patted Qin Gu, who was sitting next to him with a cold face, and said, "Forget it, why are you angry with him? He's our junior in terms of seniority. Elders should be tolerant of juniors."

Although Jiang Ran was not a member of the sect, he was a member of Ji Weilan's team, and was of the same generation as his captain, so he was naturally a generation below Ruan Bei and Qin Gu.

Jiang Ran didn't dare to object to the sudden appearance of two uncles, so he stood up with his head down and helped Ruan Bei pull his suitcase.

"The boss told me to take you to the big boss's house. The organizers of the exchange competition have already informed them. If you need a car, just call me. I'll be there anytime."

Ruan Bei found the very corporate title amusing and chuckled, "Big Boss?"

Jiang Ran: "Our bureau chief, the boss's mentor."

Qin Gu raised an eyebrow: "I remember that Senior Brother is the deputy director, and he's a big boss. What about the director?"

Jiang Ran really wanted to say, "You've been with the Special Affairs Bureau for two or three years now, don't you even know anything about your top boss?"

But he dared not, and could only honestly answer Qin Gu's question: "The director doesn't really manage things, and we rarely see him. I heard he has other jobs."

There are also two deputy directors in the bureau, but their power is nothing compared to that of the big boss; they are simply there to handle internal affairs.

Jiang Ran probably asked around about these kinds of gossip quite often, and told Ruan Bei and the other person everything, whether it was true or not.

It is said that this Director has a powerful background; he was the one who spearheaded the cooperation between the state and the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) to establish the Special Affairs Bureau.

Later, some friction arose over management rights, and the authorities also realized that this newly formed force was not to be underestimated, and everyone wanted to control it.

However, this was bound to cause conflict with the representatives of the Xuanmen. When they first joined forces, they agreed to cooperate, but now it has turned into working for the powerful and wealthy. Which of the proud sons of the Xuanmen would be willing to do that? The newly established Special Affairs Bureau almost fell apart because of this.

After negotiations, the person who initiated the proposal was appointed as the head of the bureau, and Xuan Ningcheng from the Xuanmen sect was appointed as the deputy head, which barely stabilized the situation.

"So what is our bureau chief's surname?" Ruan Bei became somewhat curious about this bureau chief; surely his surname couldn't be Zheng (正).

Jiang Ran thought about it carefully and realized that everyone usually called him "Director Zheng" and no one had ever mentioned his surname.

After thinking for a while, I finally had a clue: "It seems the surname is... Fu, that's right, Director Fu."

After saying that, Ruan Bei laughed. No wonder everyone calls him Director Zheng.

Jiang Ran said, "Hey, we're not going to run into each other anyway. You guys can go to the Special Affairs Bureau when you have time and take a look at the good stuff displayed in the warehouse. It'll give you more motivation to do missions."

Their Special Affairs Bureau has a dedicated app. Ruan Bei downloaded one, and how should I put it? It has the characteristics of official software: simple and elegant, not flashy at all.

Registration and login require a special invitation code; each person has only one account, and the nickname is the code name.

It includes a chat area, a task area, an exchange area, and so on.

Although it has all the necessary functions, it looks very rudimentary. For example, in the exchange area, the redeemable items only have a name, some have a description and some don't, and even those that do have no more than fifty characters, which is very brief.

So Ruanbei downloaded it for the first time, browsed it for a while during registration and login, and then put it away, never opening it except to accept tasks.

The task system is also unreliable; it's slow to respond and refresh. Sometimes, when you accept a task, you tap on it for ages without any response, and when you refresh it after ten minutes, someone else has already accepted it.

Every time Ruan Bei uses this software, he wants to throw his phone away. He also finally understands why he has been a lazy bum for two years. This particularly unusable app definitely deserves a large part of the credit.

When the app was mentioned, Ruan Bei's urge to complain exploded, and Jiang Ran felt the same way. Part-time workers like Ruan Bei and Qin Gu were fine, but Jiang Ran had to use it every day, and he hated it as soon as he saw that green icon.

The two complained to each other the whole way, and afterwards they actually felt a bit closer. It turns out that if you want to build a relationship, having a common target for complaining is worse than having a common hobby.

Jiang Ran drove them directly to Xuan Ning to settle down. The car stopped at the entrance of the small courtyard house. Ruan Bei, holding onto the handle of his suitcase, looked up at the antique gate and sighed with difficulty: "Is this a house allocated by the company? The benefits are really good."

Could it be that his senior brother embezzled the courtyard house in the capital?

Jiang Ran and Ruan Bei remained in the same position, their faces full of envy: "Impossible, there's no such thing as a free lunch."

"It's the ancestral property of my eldest brother's family." Qin Gu had heard his fourth brother talk about the families of several of his senior brothers, including his eldest nephew's family, which had been a powerful clan in the past.

Xuan Ningcheng had the house prepared well in advance after he learned that Ruan Bei and Qin Gu were coming.

As soon as Ruan Bei and Qin Gu entered, someone led them to their respective rooms to rest, saying that the master would return later and that they should let him know if they needed anything.

It was almost dinner time when Ruan Bei finally met his senior brother, Xuan Zicheng.

According to the previous introductions from his master and fellow disciples, the eldest disciple is now in his fifties, but his hair is jet black and his eyes are bright and spirited, making him look no more than forty years old.

Xuan Ningcheng never married or had children. It's said that he had a relationship when he was young, but something went wrong, and he's been single ever since.

However, since this was their senior brother's private matter, neither Ruan Bei nor Qin Gu were tactless enough to ask any further questions.

The eldest disciple seemed to be a rather serious person, but he was very gentle with Ruan Bei and Qin Guo. He even gave Ruan Bei a gift because he wasn't there when Ruan Bei became his disciple, and he hoped Ruan Bei wouldn't mind.

Although Qin Gu hadn't met him often, he had, and wasn't as reserved as Ruan Bei. They exchanged a few words and the two brothers started chatting.

Xuan Ningcheng hadn't seen Ruan Bei's Yin-Yang Eyes yet, but after asking about his past experiences, he had a pretty good understanding of his junior brother's personality, which was much more obedient than Qin Kunkun's.

As they chatted more, their relationship seemed to become more familiar. Thinking about the topics he had discussed with Jiang Ran today, Ruan Bei couldn't help but make a request to the big boss of the Special Affairs Bureau: "Senior Brother, how about we find someone to fix that app?"

It's so hard to use!

Xuan Ningcheng doesn't use this kind of thing, and people who have contact with him wouldn't dare to bother him with such trivial matters.

After listening to Ruan Bei's complaints, he was about to make a joke when he suddenly paused, seemingly lost in thought: "Is it really that bad?"

Ruan Bei nodded vigorously. He thought the problem might be with the icon colors; the two green apps on his phone weren't working properly.

Xuan Ningcheng frowned and said, "I'm afraid we won't have enough time now."

Qin Gu immediately sensed something was wrong: "What do you mean, 'too late'?"

Xuan Ningcheng coughed lightly: "Isn't the exchange competition about to begin? This exchange competition is jointly organized by the Special Affairs Bureau and Ling'an Temple, and the scores will be calculated in the form of mission points. The source of the missions is..."

"A backlog of tasks from the Special Affairs Bureau?" Qin Gu understood instantly, and after understanding, he didn't want to say anything more.

Those backlogged tasks are either poorly paid, difficult to complete, or have some other problems. In short, they are all unprofitable, otherwise why would they be piling up?

Ruan Bei's eyes were also wide open, and just thinking about the days to come made him feel terrible.

After a moment of confusion, he whispered, "Is it okay to tell us?"

Senior brother, you've leaked the questions ahead of time, haven't you?

"It's okay." Xuan Ningcheng waved his hand dismissively: "According to the rules of this exchange competition, teams can be formed, so we will inform you of the competition format in advance. It will be over in the next day or two."

The participants in the exchange competition were all young people, some of whom had just started their apprenticeships and could barely hold their peach wood swords steadily. They had never even seen a real evil spirit.

Among the backlog of tasks released this time, some are quite difficult and may be dangerous to complete alone; it is more appropriate to complete them in a team.

Of course, there are detailed rules regarding individual participation and team formation, which will be announced by the organizers later. Xuan Ningcheng gave them a general overview.

When Ruan Bei heard the word "team up," his heart leaped with excitement. With his family member Kunkun on the team, this competition was a sure thing!

Hugging someone's leg feels good for a while, and it feels good to keep doing it.

Qin Gu, however, was not as relaxed as him, his expression showing no sign of apprehension: "Are there any restrictions?"

Xuan Ningcheng chuckled: "You're the shrewd one. Fellow disciples shouldn't team up."

Ruan Bei: "..."

This rule is completely unreasonable!

He pouted, and Qin Gu chuckled as he rubbed his reddened ears. Xuan Ningcheng, watching with envy, also reached out and ruffled his soft, fluffy hair: "It's okay, you're still young. Just take care of yourself. The competition isn't important; participation is what matters."

Ruan Bei curled his fingers and rubbed his burning cheeks shyly: "Senior Brother, why do you say the same thing as Master?"

Xuan Ningcheng was taken aback. His master would say such a thing? It seems that whether it's a father or a master, the youngest child is always the most favored.

However, at his age, he certainly wouldn't be jealous of his junior brother. He reassured Ruan Bei a few more times, telling him to relax and just consider it an opportunity to broaden his horizons.

The eldest brother's house was big enough that he arranged a room for each of them, so Ruan Bei had no reason to insist on sleeping with Qin Gu.

After taking a shower that night, I lay on my bed chatting with my roommates in our group chat. Bai Miaomiao and Zeng Peng were very interested in our trip and kept asking me questions.

In the next room, Qin Gu glanced at the messages on his phone, too lazy to change his clothes, so he put on a coat and went to knock on the study door.

Hearing that he was being told to come in, he pushed the door open and went in: "Senior Brother, you were looking for me?"

"Sit down." Xuan Ningcheng raised his chin, gesturing for him to sit down.

After he was seated, Xuan Ningcheng tapped the armrest lightly with his knuckles, pondered for a moment, and looked up at the silent Qin Gu: "Aren't you curious why I came to see you?"

Qin Gu raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "You are my senior brother, you would never harm me."

The fact that he went to see Xiao Bei alone suggests that he has some private business to discuss.

“You sly little brat.” Xuan Ningcheng pointed at him, no longer holding back, and asked directly, “What do you know about your… parents’ situation?”

Qin Gu was stunned for a moment, and the first thing that flashed through his mind was Ruan's parents. He had grown up eating Ruan's food since he was a child, so it was no wonder that he could call them "Mom and Dad" so smoothly later on. It was because Ruan's parents really treated him like their own child.

However, he knew that his senior brother was definitely not talking about them, but about his biological parents.

"I heard some things from my maternal grandfather," Qin Gu said hesitantly.

As a child, he was easily distracted and always drowsy, lacking the energy of other children, and rarely cried for his parents.

When he grew a little older and became more sensible, and asked about his parents again, his grandfather would tell him the parts he could.

"How much do you know?" Xuan Ningcheng asked.

Qin Gu had never said these words to anyone, not because he couldn't say them, but because no one asked him.

He knew his senior brother must have a reason for suddenly bringing up his parents, so he didn't hide anything and told him everything he knew: "My maternal grandfather said that my father's family is powerful and influential, and they look down on my mother, but my father treats her fairly well—"

For Grandpa He, who lost his daughter in middle age, to say such a thing, there are two possibilities: first, the old man is an upright person who would not speak ill of his father to his grandson; second, that person might really be a good person.

He said my parents divorced amicably and that my mother's death had nothing to do with him, and told me not to hold a grudge.

These were words from Grandpa He, who was worried that his grandson, being orphaned, would grow up with a distorted mindset. In reality, Qin Gu didn't even remember such a person, so he had no reason to hate him.

"He also said that if I wanted, I could go and reunite with my father, but that his family was not peaceful, and I should be careful not to be bullied."

Xuan Ningcheng didn't expect that the old man would really tell him everything. After all, he was only a teenager when Qin Gu's maternal grandfather passed away.

"Did he give you your dad's contact information?"

Qin Gu nodded nonchalantly: "I left an address and a phone number."

At this point, he frowned: "It seems to be in the capital."

When he contacted his senior brother again, who inexplicably wanted to talk to him, he had a sudden inspiration: "Senior brother, you know him."

Xuan Ningcheng didn't answer but asked in return: "Haven't you thought about acknowledging your father? I can tell you, he's incredibly rich, richer than you can imagine. How about this courtyard house of mine? Do you like it? You can ask him for it, he has one, even bigger than mine."

Qin Gu slowly smiled: "Senior brother, if I remember correctly, my own father is now..."

He estimated his age and gave a rough estimate: "At most forty or fifty!"

His mother didn't heed the national call to marry and have children early. She was only 21 when she gave birth to him. The man she was with probably wasn't much older than her. His mother lacked maternal love, but not paternal love.

“Forty-three.” Xuan Ningcheng gave him a precise number, clearly indicating that he did indeed know his biological father.

“Look, he’s only forty-three. According to you, he’s also very rich. If he spends more money to take good care of himself, he could easily live to be seventy. If I go and find someone I’ve never met to take care of me, so what if he’s rich? He’s not mine. If I ask someone for money, I’ll have to be subservient. If I want to spend his inheritance, I’ll have to wait thirty years. What’s the point?”

He didn't know exactly what happened between his parents, but since they were divorced, something must have gone wrong.

Besides, they've been divorced for over a decade. Maybe she's already remarried. Why should he go back and interfere? It would only make things awkward for her family and him.

Xuan Ningcheng was so angry at his reckless words that he choked and coughed several times before he recovered: "Don't talk nonsense. That person has a bad temper. If you really meet him, don't say anything carelessly."

Qin Gu was even more unwilling: "You said he has a bad temper, but I have a bad temper too. What if I upset him and he hits me? Even if I accept it, I can't fight back. My mother and grandfather are gone. Who can I complain to?"

Xuan Ningcheng was so angry with him that he had a headache and didn't want to talk to him anymore. He even wanted to kick him out.

Qin Gu refused to leave; instead, he stayed there, his interest piqued: "Senior Brother, are you very familiar with that man? Did he hire you as an intermediary to persuade me to go back and be his son?"

"We're not close. What do I have to be close to him about?"

"Then why bother with all this trouble..."

Xuan Ningcheng had no intention of getting involved in such matters. Although Old Master He had a good personal relationship with his master, He Cong'an was more than ten years younger than him. He treated her like a little sister, so the two of them had nothing to talk about and were not very familiar with each other.

Back then, he was the last to find out that she was dating Qin Zhengze. He was even scolded by his master, who said that she had followed him to the capital, only to be tricked away, and that he was sorry to his old friend. In short, he was the one who got scolded.

Later, He Cong'an died young. His master called him for half a month in a row and scolded him. He couldn't just ignore the calls. The old man almost came to Beijing with a stick to find him.

More than ten years later, he still had to take care of their son's affairs. Xuan Ningcheng felt that he really owed them a debt from his past life.

If he hadn't owed someone a favor, he would have quit.

“It wasn’t your father who contacted me,” Xuan Ningcheng said.

"Who is that?" Qin Gu couldn't think of anyone else who cared about him. It couldn't be his grandfather, could it? His maternal grandfather hated that old man. He had heard that the old man was the one who led the way in looking down on his mother back then.

"Do you know who our Special Affairs Bureau Chief is?"

I heard Jiang Ran mention it today, how could I not know? Qin Gu nodded: "Yes, Director Fu, right?"

Xuan Ningcheng said, "That's your great-uncle, your father's great-uncle, the Fu family, do you know them? The most famous ones in the capital."

Even with Qin Gu's composure, he couldn't help but gasp: "Is it the one on TV?"

Xuan Ningcheng nodded heavily. Fu Zhao was his friend of many years. They had established the Special Affairs Bureau together back then. Over the years, it was thanks to Fu Zhao that the Special Affairs Bureau was able to remain as it is today, instead of becoming a tool of certain people.

Qin Gu was momentarily dazed. At that moment, his brainwaves strangely aligned with Ruan Bei's. Ruan Bei's backing must be incredibly strong; he could probably do whatever he wanted in the Special Affairs Bureau.

Xuan Ningcheng rarely saw him like this, and joked, "Not only are you rich, but you also have power, and you still insist on not acknowledging your father?"