Mo Chen entered the teahouse alone. As soon as he entered, he saw Xuan Tiandao, protected by bodyguards, looking like an elderly man, making tea.

Upon seeing that the person who entered was Mo Chen, Xuan Tiandao couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Oh, isn't this the strategist? What brings you here?"

Xuan Tiandao then smiled and said, "Thinking about it, it makes sense. As that fox's strategist, investigating my whereabouts would be a piece of cake. What, you've come here to interrogate me?"

Mo Chen looked around the teahouse. There wasn't much decoration; everything was in the style of ancient architecture. The most eye-catching thing was the white jade tea set on the table.

Mo Chen sat directly in front of Xuan Tiandao, sitting upright and speaking seriously, "In this life, I am Mo Chen. As for the strategist you mentioned, that was my identity in my previous life, and there are our grudges—I no longer want to inherit it."

Xuan Tiandao seemed to have heard something very funny. "Military Advisor Mo Chen is really good at taking things in stride. Given your relationship with that fox, I would be grateful if you didn't come to kill me. Why are you here today as a mediator?"

“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not here as a lobbyist. I’m here today to discuss cooperation with you.” Mo Chen picked up the teacup on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then continued, “I’m sure you’re aware of the latest news about Mo Li.”

"Hehe, little fox, you've had a tough life! You were born with a bad constitution, and after I tricked you, you still couldn't get away with it. You were even assassinated by your fans. You must have a hard time!" Xuan Tiandao said with a chuckle.

"It was my men who assassinated him," Mo Chen said calmly.

Xuan Tiandao squinted at Mo Chen and asked suspiciously, "What? When did you and him become enemies? As far as I know, you two are brothers!"

"I have no blood relation with him. With him around, I won't get my hands on the Mo Group's assets. We're just competitors now! Plus, the woman I like likes him, so I have no choice but to get rid of him!" Mo Chen put down his cup and said coldly, "We'll cooperate. I'll ruin his career, and you can take his life!"

Seeing Mo Chen's serious attitude, Xuan Tiandao was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter.

Mo Chen frowned, unsure what was so funny, and coldly asked, "What? You don't believe me?"

Xuan Tiandao waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's not that I don't believe you, but you're a step too late. Someone has already approached me for cooperation!"

Mo Chen looked at Xuan Tiandao in surprise, only to see his gaze turn to the second floor. Following his gaze, Mo Chen stared in astonishment at the figure on the second floor and exclaimed, "Hua Yuxian!"

Hua Yuxian squinted at Mo Chen, stepped downstairs and stood in front of him, chuckling, "I didn't expect to run into you here!"

Mo Chen's gaze darted away. If she knew he wanted Gu Liyan dead, wouldn't that be...?

Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the two, Xuan Tiandao smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, "We've all known each other for a long time, so let's sit down and have a good talk."

Hua Yuxian sat down, and Xuan Tiandao said with a smile, "Why don't you two discuss this? After all, your goal is to ruin Mo Li's career..."

Hua Yuxian glanced at Mo Chen and sneered, "No need to discuss it. Since we share the same goal, let's work together. As for Master Mo wanting to kill Mo Li, that's up to his own abilities!"

Mo Chen remained silent, his face grim.

Xuan Tiandao laughed heartily, slapping the table as he said, "Good! Since the three of us share the same goal, let's cooperate happily!"

The three sat together and plotted a grand scheme—

At the Third Hospital, Gu Liyan had just finished changing his dressing and lay down to rest when Hua Baixian called. Curious, he answered the phone, only to be met with an uncontrollable roar from the other end.

"Hua Baixian, do you and Mo Li still want to film? It's been days! Don't you have any professional ethics?!"

Hua Baixian was taken aback, then remembered that she and Gu Liyan had a scene together. She immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, Mo Li is injured and hasn't recovered yet. We may have to wait..."

"Wait?! Time is money, who's waiting for you?!" With that, the phone was hung up.

Hua Baixian pouted and said irritably, "This director was begging me to participate before, but now he's like this!"

Gu Liyan smiled and said, "In this circle, interests and connections come first; everything else is worthless."

Hua Baixian looked at Gu Liyan with heartache and said, "You've been in this industry for so long, have you suffered a lot of grievances?"

"I wouldn't say I feel wronged, but I've seen the coldness of the world. Many people choose this path, but only a handful become truly famous, and even then, not in a very glamorous way—" Gu Liyan said with a wry smile. "But thankfully, I have Mo Chen to help me; he takes care of everything for me."

Hua Baixian smiled and said, "You two are good brothers. Sometimes I really envy you."

Gu Liyan nodded. "Yes, if one day I get tired of this industry and want to leave, we'll find a bamboo forest to go back to and retire. Then we'll transfer all our shares to Mo Chen..."

Hua Baixian nodded. "Yes! I think it's a good idea!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hua Baixian's phone rang with a notification from Toutiao News.

Hua Baixian opened it with great interest, but her expression suddenly changed and she exclaimed, "This, this can't be!!"

Gu Liyan looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Hua Baixian looked up at Gu Liyan, hurriedly hid her phone behind her back, and said awkwardly, "Xiao Li, you, you'd better not look."

Gu Liyan became even more curious and said with a serious expression, "If it's something that concerns me, it's better not to hide it from me."

Hua Baixian, with a bitter face, reluctantly handed the phone to Gu Liyan. Gu Liyan looked down and stared in astonishment at the news statement: The Mo family declared that Mo Li was their illegitimate son and would reclaim all of Mo Li's shares... In addition, it stated that the Hua Group arranged for Mo Li to participate in an escape room activity, but Mo Li violated regulations by live-streaming the leak and deliberately injured himself to defraud insurance money...

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!