"Brother, brother!" Lu Sibai was startled by Lu Siyuan's sudden voice. He jumped up like a rabbit and instinctively hid his phone behind his back.

"It's nothing, I just casually looked at my WeChat Moments." Lu Sibai had calmed down and smiled as she handed her phone to Lu Siyuan, appearing quite composed.

Fortunately, by the time Lu Siyuan came in, he had already deleted the call logs.

Thinking of the message that the person had just told him—that the operation had failed and that he should lie low and not make any rash moves—Lu Sibai felt a surge of unease.

In the past, Lu Siyuan would never have suspected his younger brother, nor would he have pried into his privacy.

However, after what happened with Chu Tianze, this trust was shattered by Lu Sibai himself. He was able to approach his friend under his own name and make ambiguous remarks to another man while having a boyfriend. The innocent filter that Lu Sibai had lost most of its effectiveness in Lu Sibai's eyes.

Especially since the recording incident triggered a subsequent crisis for the Haiming Group, forcing Lu Siyuan to betray his marriage, it made it difficult for him to maintain his previous attitude towards Lu Sibai.

So Lu Siyuan glanced down at the phone Lu Sibai handed him. It was indeed a WeChat interface, with Qin Shen pinned to the top, followed by his family members and a family group chat.

Seeing nothing wrong at first glance, Lu Siyuan didn't ask any more questions. He nodded, looked away, and picked up the box to leave.

When Lu Sibai saw him carrying such a large storage box, she offered to help him and casually asked, "Brother, where did you go? Are these books? Why are there so many?"

"I went back to school and packed up some old textbooks and notebooks." There was no point in hiding it, Lu Siyuan said casually.

Lu Sibai's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly masked it, though he was quite alarmed inside.

He knew that Ruan Bei's dormitory was in the same building as Lu Siyuan's dormitory, but Lu Siyuan had hardly been to the school since the start of his senior year, let alone his dormitory.

Moreover, Lu Siyuan used to shuttle between the company and the school, and he was extremely impatient with gossip, so Lu Sibai was relatively at ease.

However, he had just received a message from that person, telling him to keep a low profile, as revealing his identity at this time would do him no good.

Upon hearing Lu Siyuan say that he had gone to school, Lu Sibai immediately thought of Ruan Bei. How could he not be afraid?

"Then, I'll help you move these books. Where do you want to put them, brother? In the study?" Lu Sibai offered his hand solicitously.

Judging from Lu Siyuan's expression, he probably hasn't noticed Ruan Bei yet.

"No need, it's a bit heavy, I can handle it." It wasn't that Lu Siyuan was wary of him over such a small matter; he was just used to taking care of Lu Sibai.

When Lu Sibai asked about his schedule, Lu Siyuan immediately thought of the boy he had seen in the dormitory building that day when the school was mentioned.

As if possessed, he stopped and carefully examined Lu Sibai standing in front of him.

Come to think of it... Si Bai really doesn't look much like her family members.

His eyebrows were too light, and his eyes were neither like his father's nor his mother's. Other parts of his face were not exactly the same, but they were also somewhat similar.

Of course, he is good-looking too. At least when the Lu family goes out together, they don't look out of place.

But what if he compares him to Ruan Bei, whom he met today? No, let alone Si Bai, even he himself is not as much like his parents' child as Ruan Bei.

Lu Siyuan shook his head, dismissing the strange thought from his mind.

Lu Sibai was terrified by his scrutinizing gaze and asked cautiously, "Brother, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with my face?"

"It's nothing, I just haven't looked at you closely in a long time," Lu Siyuan replied casually, but Ruan Bei's face kept lingering in his mind.

We still need to investigate, but he doesn't have the manpower for it. If those spoiled brats who are watching him and waiting for him to make a mistake and embarrass himself find out, they'll cause trouble even if nothing's wrong.

Lu Siyuan thought it over and over and decided that he couldn't just do something recklessly.

"Is Dad home?" he asked Lu Sibai.

Since it's difficult for him to find out himself, he might as well ask his father directly. If his father knows and finds out that he has already met someone, he probably won't hide it from him anymore.

If his father doesn't know the situation either, it's a good opportunity for him to arrange for someone to investigate.

"No, I went to the company early this morning," Lu Sibai said.

Lu Minghai is not too old, and he was taken to the hospital in time. He received timely treatment and recovered quite well. At least he doesn't have any particularly serious sequelae.

The doctor advised him to avoid emotional ups and downs when he experiences further stress, in other words, to keep a calm mindset.

However, Lu Minghai was very career-oriented, and it was impossible for him to just give up his job. Moreover, given the situation at Haiming Group at the time, he had to step in and take charge.

However, he has experienced a lot. The time he was so angry before was because all the bad things piled up at once. Lu Minghai never expected that a scandal involving his youngest son's private life could implicate the company to that extent.

Caught off guard and having been pampered for too long, he couldn't withstand the strain and collapsed.

Lu Siyuan thought about it and realized that this matter wasn't so urgent. He could wait until his father came back to discuss it, so he picked up the storage box and left.

Lu Sibai, left in the living room, watched his retreating figure, a sense of anxiety slowly rising in his heart. Lu Siyuan's gaze had been strange just now, as if he were comparing something.

Why is he comparing himself to anyone? Who is he comparing himself to?

Lu Sibai's fingers trembled with fear, but he dared not ask anything.

He stood frozen in place for a moment, then, not daring to stay any longer, he ran back to his room, locked the door, and continued sending messages to that person.

[What should we do?! I think Lu Siyuan might have seen Ruan Bei.]

Are you sure? What did he tell you?

He didn't say anything, but the way he looked at me was strange...

[I'm too busy to deal with your baseless and unfounded speculations.]

“But…” Lu Sibai had just typed those two words when the other party sent a new message.

[As I just told you, your identity cannot be revealed right now. I can only help you resolve other problems. The Lu family has to rely on itself. If you can't even handle this, then don't contact me again.]

Lu Sibai deleted the content he had just edited and asked tremblingly:

[What if they actually find out?]

A while later, I received a new message:

[You are not allowed to reveal my existence.]

Lu Sibai smiled bitterly. So if he were discovered, he would be a pawn to be discarded, right?

He really wanted to ask that question back, but thinking about the man's cold and hard heart, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and deleted the conversation.

When Lu Minghai used to work, he usually ate lunch at the company.

However, he has just recovered from a serious illness and still values ​​his health, so he won't be like before, wanting to live at the company.

He worked half a day today, and seeing that he only had two meetings in the afternoon, he figured he could hold video conferences at home, so he simply packed up and went home.

After the family finished lunch together, they rested for a while. Feng Zhihui had a habit of taking a nap, so she went upstairs to take one.

Lu Minghai had a meeting soon after, and went to his study after sitting for only a short while.

Lu Siyuan hesitated for a moment, then caught up with him and asked, "Dad, are you free now? I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up? I have half an hour free."

"It's nothing serious." Lu Siyuan thought it would only take about ten minutes to explain Ruan Bei's situation and show his father the photos.

"Then come with me." Lu Minghai led his eldest son toward the study.

"Young Master?"

The maid's sudden voice startled Lu Sibai, causing him to look away: "What's wrong?"

"Do you still want this fruit? Or should I get you a different one?" The fruit bowl in Lu Sibai's hand had been smashed to pieces by him.

"I'm not eating anymore." Lu Sibai put down the bowl, and the maid immediately took it away.

Lu Sibai sat on the sofa for a while, but felt like there were needles pricking his bottom, making it impossible for him to sit still.

He was torn between his options when a servant came in and asked, "Young master, would you like some tea?"

Lu Sibai had a sudden inspiration: "Make a few more cups and send some to Dad and my brother too."

The maid hesitated and said, "When the master is in his study, he doesn't allow anyone to go in and disturb him."

"It's okay, you guys soak, I'll take it upstairs." Lu Sibai urged, "Hurry up, Dad's going to have a meeting soon."

Upon hearing this, the maid quickly brewed a pot of hot tea, and Lu Sibai, carrying the tray, walked nervously toward the study.

In the study, Lu Minghai had already finished looking at the photos of Ruan Bei that Lu Siyuan had saved, and listened to him tell him what he knew about Ruan Bei.

"When I first saw him, he looked very familiar. My roommates said he looked like me, but after seeing his photos, I realized that rather than saying he looked like me, it would be more accurate to say that he looked like my dad and mom."

“I really can’t let it go, so I brought it to show my dad.”

Lu Minghai stared at the clearest frontal photo on his phone and asked in a deep voice, "Have you seen him? Does he look like the person in the photo?"

"They look alike, incredibly alike." If they weren't so alike, he wouldn't be so concerned.

"Are you a local from Jincheng?"

"Yes, I heard he was the top scorer in this year's provincial college entrance examination, a very outstanding boy." This is what Lu Siyuan saw on the post and didn't hesitate to say it.

Lu Minghai continued looking at the photos in silence. When he saw a group photo of Ruan Bei's dormitory, he frowned and stopped, carefully examining the small face next to it for a while: "This is... Bai Miaomiao?"

Lu Siyuan was annoyed, but he still honestly said, "It's him. This Ruan Bei is Bai Miaomiao's roommate."

Lu Minghai's expression was not good.

Just as his eldest son suspected, he certainly wouldn't pay so much attention to people who only resembled him or his wife.

But the child resembles both of them, and he can't feel at ease without investigating.

Now, he's inexplicably entangled with the Bai family again. Whether it was an accident or not, it makes Lu Minghai feel frustrated and he dares not act rashly.

"Alright, I understand. Don't worry about this. I'll have someone investigate."

"Okay, then I'll be going now." After saying that, Lu Siyuan turned around and left.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Lu Siyuan went over and opened the door. Lu Sibai, carrying a tea tray, looked up at him and smiled, "Brother, I had someone make tea for you. Have some hot tea while you talk to Dad."

"I've finished speaking." Lu Siyuan took the tea tray and handed it to Lu Minghai.

Lu Sibai said a few flattering words, and seeing that it was almost time and Lu Minghai had to go to a meeting, he left.

Leaving the study, he walked briskly toward his room. The servants who passed by greeted him, and he smiled and nodded.

Back in his room, the moment he closed the door, the smile on his face vanished completely.

He frantically pulled out his phone, typing and sending a message with trembling hands:

[Lu Siyuan saw Ruan Bei and became suspicious. He has already told Lu Minghai, who said he would arrange for someone to investigate!]

[What should I do? I can't stop him, what should I do?]

[Say something! Help me! Please help me!!!]

[What happened?]

[Lu Siyuan probably ran into Ruan Bei at school today.]

[A direct encounter? Did Ruan Bei see him?]

[I don't know, but Lu Minghai and the others have already started to suspect something. He sent people to investigate, and I can't hide it from them anymore!]

There was no further news from the other end. Lu Sibai waited for a while, but he was really scared, so he kept sending messages to urge them on, wanting to get some advice.

Annoyed, the man snapped, "[I told you, if you can't hide it well, you're on your own. You're utterly useless. Tell me, what can you even do?]"

Lu Sibai didn't even care about being angry; he was trembling with fear, and tears were almost streaming down his face.

[Help……]

[Where's Qin Shen? How are you all doing now?]

[He's softened! Give me a little more time, and I'm sure I can win him back.]

Lu Sibai quickly typed.

He grew up with Qin Shen and knew him better than anyone else, and he also knew how to touch Qin Shen's heart and soften his heart.

[This is an opportunity. If Ruan Bei is brought back, act pitiful, and Qin Shen will pity you more, and you two can get back together sooner.]

Lu Sibai panicked: "[But Qin Zhengping never liked me to begin with. If I weren't the young master of the Lu family, he would never allow me to be with A-Shen.]"

[Qin Zhengping's disdain for you has little to do with whether you're a young master of the Lu family. Your ambitions are sky-high, but your fate is as fragile as paper. He comes from a humble background and desperately wants his son to marry into a wealthy family and change his social standing—what a pipe dream!]

Lu Sibai didn't care whether Qin Zhengping was dreaming or not, but he didn't want to lose his identity as the young master of the Lu family. Even if he had to be exposed, it couldn't be now, otherwise he would be in the most difficult situation.

He pleaded incessantly, saying all the nice things he could think of.

But that person was truly heartless. He had never softened his heart towards her more than a few times since he was a child. Lu Sibai never understood whether this woman had a heart or not, and what kind of person would make her soften her heart.

Finally, he couldn't hold back anymore, and tears streamed down his face, dripping onto his phone screen.

He hesitated, but finally typed out the word: "[Mom, please, please help me one more time...]"

Don't call me Mom!

From those black and white characters alone, Lu Sibai could almost feel the man's fury and madness: [I told you, you're not allowed to call me Mom! If you dare call me that again, I'll make sure you never speak again!]

[I was wrong, please don't be angry.]

Lu Sibai trembled at the overwhelming aura of anger and apologized cautiously.

After a while, he still hadn't received any new messages.

Just when he thought the call was over, he received a final message:

This is the last time I'll clean up your mess.

Lu Sibai stared at the message for a long time, then his eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. His tense body relaxed abruptly, and he lay down on the bed with a smile.

Although she wasn't good to him, she always kept her word.

With her intervention...

Ha, Ruan Bei, go to hell!

Meanwhile, Ruan Bei and Qin Gu had just finished lunch and returned home.

Ruan Bei has to keep watch at night and probably won't be able to get a good night's sleep, so he rested for a while in the afternoon.

After waking up, he packed up the things his father would need for his hospital stay, calling his mother as he packed to check for any omissions or missing items.

After packing up a bag, around 5 or 6 pm, Ruan Bei ate dinner early and headed to the hospital.

Qin Gu helped him carry his things downstairs and suggested again, "Why don't I go with you?"

"What are you going to do?" Ruan Bei refused without hesitation: "You saw that bed too, it's so crowded. If you go too, one of us will have to sleep on the floor tonight."

Qin Gu laughed: "It's okay, I'll hold you. If you fall to the ground, I'll cushion your fall."

"Get lost!" Ruan Bei laughed and cursed, took the things from his hands, and urged him to go upstairs.

Qin Gu stood there for a while longer, watching him get into the taxi before turning back.

The hospital wasn't far from his home, about a 20-minute drive. When Ruan Bei arrived at the hospital, it was already past six o'clock.

Winter days are short and dark. It's already dark outside, but in a big city like Jincheng, the lights are on everywhere, and the hospital entrance is bustling with people.

Ruan Bei, carrying his luggage, stopped in the lobby in surprise.

He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, walked calmly to the wall in the lobby where the distribution map was hanging, and said softly, "What brings you here?"

Niu Niu, who was standing on tiptoe and looking up at the large distribution map, turned around in surprise: "Brother!"

Pudding barked once, and without Niu Niu translating, Ruan Bei knew that Pudding was greeting him, so he gently stroked Pudding's head.

"We've come to see Papa Ruan!" Niu Niu was wearing the new clothes that Ruan Bei had just made for her. The little red cape with a big hat on the back of the sweater swung back and forth with her movements.

The little girl carefully took out a colorful paper flower from her small bag; it was one that Ruan Bei had taught her to fold.

“When my mom used to take me to visit sick people in the hospital, we would always bring them flowers. This is the one I folded for Dad Ruan, and it’s the prettiest one!”

She folded them all day, and this one is the prettiest.

Pudding barked twice, and Niu Niu quickly picked up the bag hanging on Pudding's body and took out a flower from it: "This is Pudding's. It asked me to fold it for it, and it also wants to give it to Daddy Ruan!"

Ruan Bei touched the little girl's hair with emotion: "Niu Niu and Pudding are so well-behaved."

Niu Niu chuckled twice and twisted her fingers, saying, "Because Pudding and I ate so much delicious food that Papa Ruan made."

Previously, Ruan Bei made an excuse about having a little sister he knew, and slightly changed Niu Niu's situation, saying that she lived with her mother.

He asked his father to make some food that little girls like, and Ruan's father remembered it and made a lot of delicious food for Niu Niu, and Ruan Bei also got to eat a lot of it.

Pudding chirped softly in agreement, and Ruan Bei's heart softened. Although there were people like Lu Sibai, there were also good children like Niu Niu.

"Come on, I'll take you to see him."

With one person, one dog, and two ghosts with him, and at this time of year when there were many people and all the elevators were crowded, Ruan Bei had no choice but to take them up the stairs.

When they reached the ward door, Niu Niu stopped. Ruan Bei asked in confusion, "Why did you stop?"

Niu Niu lowered her head and said, "Daddy Ruan is sick. Niu Niu and Pudding can't be too close to him, it's not good for his health. Brother, can you help us give him the flowers?"

Ruan Bei unconsciously softened her voice: "It's okay, Dad wears a wild peach pit bracelet, which can prevent yin energy from entering the body. Sending you a flower will be fine."

He wouldn't bring Niu Niu and Pudding home if it would hurt his family.

Hearing him say that, Niu Niu happily went inside with him. Although her father couldn't see them, she still obediently greeted him as he lay on the hospital bed, and then put the flowers she had folded on the bedside table.

Pudding also took its flower and placed it next to Niu Niu's.

After releasing the flowers, the little girl, afraid that she might hurt her father, took Pudding outside.

Ruan Bei arrived, and Ruan's mother and Ruan Xi, who had spent the day at the hospital, could leave first. Ruan's mother gave Ruan Bei some instructions on trivial matters, telling him to call if anything happened, and then went home with Ruan Xi.

Ruan Bei stayed in the ward talking to her father. Ruan's father was in a double room with another patient.

She was an elderly woman, with poor eyesight and hearing. She was being cared for by a middle-aged woman, who I heard was a hired caregiver. Her children hadn't appeared all day.

Although the old man was quite old, Mr. Ruan felt awkward having a female caregiver in the same ward at night, so he asked Ruan Bei to draw the curtain between the beds.

Ruan Bei talked with her father for a while, and took the opportunity to go out and take a look. Niu Niu and Pudding hadn't left. The little girl was sitting on a chair outside the ward, playing happily with Pudding.

That evening, his mother called to ask how things were going and how his father was. Ruan Bei replied that everything was fine.

Afterwards, Qin Gu also called. Ruan's father was watching the cooking competition that Ruan Bei had set up for him and didn't have time to talk to him. So Ruan Bei chatted on the phone with Kun Kun for a long time. The two of them talked about random things and always had something to say.

After he hung up the phone, it was so hot that his father shook his head and said, "Your mother told me that if you were a girl, she would let you live with Kunkun. You two big boys can talk so much."

As if someone had exposed a secret in his heart, Ruan Bei suddenly blushed with embarrassment.

However, Mr. Ruan was just saying it casually, and then went back to watching his TV program.

Qin Gu, who had just hung up the phone, was alone in his bedroom when he suddenly felt that the room was too empty and too quiet.

"I might as well squeeze in with Xiao Bei." He muttered to himself, intending to find something to do, like drawing talismans, but then he realized he had brought his usual tools to school.

However, he had backups. Qin Gu got up and walked towards his maternal grandfather's room, where he had kept all those things.

He hadn't used the tools in a long time and forgot where he put them, so he simply dragged out the two large boxes that contained the items.

In the process of searching for the hidden items, it is easy to find some things that you have forgotten. As Qin Gu searched, he deviated from the main topic and found some materials and magical artifacts that he thought might be useful.

Finally, when he found a stack of bound books at the bottom of a box, he subconsciously opened them and took a look.

Oh, it's his maternal grandfather's notes from when he did fortune telling.

Qin Gu had no talent for physiognomy and no interest in such matters. Just as he was about to put the bound book away again, it fell apart, probably because of the passage of time.

Qin Gu reached out and grabbed a handful of papers, managing to catch only the last few; the rest were scattered all over the floor.

He frowned and straightened the few remaining sheets of paper in his hand. Just as he was about to pick up the ones on the ground, his gaze suddenly fell on the page in his hand that recorded the names of the people.