Chapter 49

"Do you want to go home tonight? It's gotten colder recently, so I made some nourishing soup." Wen Sixue grabbed Yun Zhan's sleeve and tugged at it gently.

Wen Sixue lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly, afraid of being rejected, and therefore dared not even make eye contact.

She had never liked anyone, and she never knew how to compete for anything. Whenever she saw Pei Yanxi and Shi Mingyue walking beside Yun Zhan, she would feel so sad that she could hardly breathe, and she would hide in the shadows, feeling ashamed and inferior.

She wasn't as pretty as Pei Yanxi, nor as rich as Shi Mingyue.

She used to tell herself that love wasn't a bidding process, and Yun Zhan wasn't the kind of person who would marry for money or power.

But now, Pei Yanxi's rise to power makes her increasingly uneasy... Emotions will eventually be defeated by reason, and she begins to feel anxious and impatient.

How should Wen Sixue pursue Yun Zhan?

She cried all night, frantically scrolling through various love-related posts on her phone, unable to sleep a wink. As large tears fell onto the screen, she felt a profound, unforgettable pain for the first time.

The next second, Yun Zhan's words dragged her even deeper into the abyss.

"I'm sorry, Wen Sixue, it might have to be next time. I have something very important to do." Yun Zhan paused, a look of guilt flashing in his eyes.

Tonight, she still wanted to study the account books, so she couldn't go back with Wen Sixue.

Yun Zhan had a vague sense of unease about the ledger. Both her intuition and reason told her that she should quickly decipher the intricacies in it in order to bring the facts and the truth behind it to light.

Wen Sixue stood in the shade of the sycamore tree, her eyes still red, her voice so low it was almost carried away by the wind: "Okay... then next time."

"I'll definitely do it another day." Yun Zhan nodded.

The phrase "another time" acted like a soft wall, blocking all of Wen Sixue's expectations.

After school that evening, Yun Zhan escorted Wen Sixue to the school gate.

Wen Sixue forced a smile and managed to say "See you tomorrow," but as she turned to take her first step, tears fell onto the tips of her shoes.

It was very light, yet so hot that she trembled.

The school path was bathed in a dim yellow light at dusk, and fallen leaves swirled around my feet.

Wen Sixue walked ahead of Yun Zhan. She didn't dare to turn around to look at Yun Zhan, afraid that if she did, her tears would burst forth.

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, but she didn't dare to raise her hand to wipe them away. She simply straightened her back and strode into the twilight. Her tears formed thin lines in the wind, and her back looked as thin as a piece of paper that would break at the slightest touch.

She walked faster and faster, as if she could escape the unbearable pain once she stepped out of this street. But every step felt like walking on a knife's edge; she could hear the sound of her heels hitting the ground, each sound like a hammer blow to her heart, causing a sharp pain in her chest.

This scene was witnessed by the owner of the clothing customization shop next to the school.

The woman, in her fifties, still clutching a measuring tape in her hand, sighed as she gazed at that thin, frail figure.

Yun Zhan casually bought some food, still chatting with 21 in his mind, planning where to go to check the accounts.

"How about we watch it secretly in bed?"

"It's so hot in bed, and Jiang Yanmo is still in the dorm..."

As Yun Zhan passed by the store, the auntie in the clothing store couldn't help but lean out and say, "Young man, wait a moment, I have something to tell you."

Yun Zhan turned around, his eyes filled with confusion.

The aunt at the door specializes in custom-making clothes and accessories for aristocratic ladies. I heard she's probably in her fifties, but Yun Zhan has never patronized her. Why is she calling me?

The aunt's voice was gentle, but it carried a deep-seated heartache: "Wen Sixue came to my shop a few days ago and picked out the most expensive yarn, saying she wanted to knit a sweater for herself. She even bought a black one. I could tell she wasn't knitting it for herself."

Yun Zhan paused for a moment, and a guess surfaced in his mind.

The aunt pulled Yun Zhan along and continued, "I know what her family's financial situation is, but she still bought the best yarn. Sometimes the best camel hair yarn here is more expensive than designer clothes. She knitted it stitch by stitch until her fingers were swollen from the pain."

Her gaze passed over Yun Zhan's shoulder and looked in the direction where Wen Sixue had disappeared: "This child is good-looking, has a good figure, and sings opera well. It's a pity that she has such a bad fate."

Bad luck...

Yun Zhan stood there, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the strap of his backpack.

The words Wen Sixue had said before flashed through her mind—Yun Zhan, what I want most is a home.

For Wen Sixue, having a home is a wish.

Yun Zhan glanced back at the darkening street corner, the place where Wen Sixue had left. A suffocating feeling washed over him like waves, yet Yun Zhan couldn't bring himself to make a decision.

"She knitted it for you."

"Why me...?"

This wasn't a doubt, it was a question... Yun Zhan felt he wasn't worthy.

The aunt, however, thought Yun Zhan was questioning her words, and hurriedly took out the photos from the drawer: "She showed me your photos, compared several colors, and even asked me which color I thought looked best on you. I saw that you have fair skin, so I asked her to buy black yarn balls."

"Thank you. I understand."

Yun Zhan took the photo and glanced at it briefly. It was a picture of himself in his school uniform.

She herself doesn't remember ever having such a photo.

21 reminded Yun Zhan: "It's the hand you took with her when you went to school together before. She took the picture of it with her phone."

Guilt overwhelmed Yun Zhan like a tidal wave, her throat tightened, and even her breath tasted bitter.

She was sorry to Pei Yanxi, and she also failed Wen Sixue.

As they were leaving the clothing store, Yun Zhan suddenly asked 21 a seemingly nonsensical question: "Do you think I'll let down a lot of people in this world?"

I don't know, but if you're indecisive, I guess so...

21 remained silent, ultimately not uttering what was on her mind.

...

At one o'clock in the morning, all the dormitory lights were turned off. After Jiang Yanmo was completely asleep, Yun Zhan folded the desk lamp to its smallest angle, so that the light could only illuminate a single sheet of paper.

She first borrowed "A Study of the Genealogy of the Nine Provinces" from the school library, and found a line of small print in the entry for the surname "Shi": "The Shi family of Yuedu migrated from the south during the Mingluo era. The generation names of the direct line are 'Ke Zhong Ji Yuan, Wen Guang Zhao Zheng'."

She wrote down these eight characters, opened the ledger, and wrote down the names of all the big shots with the surname "Shi".

The character "伯" is not a generational name used by the direct descendants of the Shi family, so Yun Zhan's guess was correct; Shi Boshan was from a collateral branch of the Shi family.

The fact that Shi Ke's direct lineage name matches up, and that it's at the top of the list, indicates that Shi Mingyue's father's generation was indeed the direct line of this generation, and held a very high position.

Next, Yun Zhan logged onto the internet and searched for "Shi Boshan".

A news item from several years ago popped up:

"Shi Boshan, the heir of the Shi family branch in Yuedu, founded 'Boshan Technology' and received a high-tech special fund from the provincial government."

Separation of family property.

Keyword locking.

Yun Zhan confirmed Shi Boshan's identity once again.

She scrolled down further and found the company registration information. Legal representative: Shi Boshan; Shareholder list: Shi Boshan holds 68% of the shares, the remainder are venture capital firms. There are no shareholders with names like "Ke×" or "Yuan×" belonging to any direct lineage.

To verify this, Yun Zhan then accessed the business registration information disclosure system and retrieved the equity change records of "Boshan Technology". Since its inception, there has never been a single instance involving "direct descendants" (those with the surname Boshan).

Even the board of directors list did not include any members of the direct lineage.

"It seems the internal strife within the Shi family is quite severe." The blue light from the screen reflected on Yun Zhan's face as she clicked the mouse very lightly, each click corresponding to a logical chain in her mind.

“In a family, if uncles and aunts have a good relationship, they should have some kind of cooperation. But I searched the entire internet and couldn’t find any projects they had worked on together.” Yun Zhan leaned back in his chair.

"Moreover, the things under Shi Boshan's name are all quite unappealing. What wealthy and powerful families value most is cultural heritage, and they don't engage in those low-class industries. It's clear that Shi Ke doesn't think much of him either, and he hasn't even let him get involved in the family's core industries." Yun Zhan's voice was so soft that only he could hear it. There was no joy in his tone of seeing through the truth, only the calmness after confirming the facts.

Finally, Yun Zhan searched for "Shi Boshan" on social media platforms. The verified information was: CEO of Boshan Technology, self-made, with 300,000 followers, and the latest post was about attending the provincial government's science and technology summit.

In the photo, he is standing on a podium, with the words "Struggling alone for twenty years" prominently displayed on the backdrop.

Yun Zhan closed the photo and let out a long sigh: "It's really strange. His actions are really damaging to the relationship. He's not even maintaining a superficial relationship anymore."

In the darkness, Yun Zhan's pupils reflected the scattered lights outside the window, like a calm sea with a tranquil surface but turbulent waves raging beneath.

"I have a feeling that something is not right. I need to think about the relationship between Shi Boshan and the principal."

"Why are you investigating so thoroughly? Maybe it's just like you think, he wanted to win over the principal, but the principal stepped down." 21 was confused by all this convoluted information.

Sometimes, it really admired Yun Zhan's information processing ability.

"I think Shi Boshan is probably connected to Mington School. Secondly, I'm worried he might do something detrimental to Shi Ke..."

"Why are you worried about Shi Ke?"

"It's not Shi Ke, it's Shi Mingyue." Yun Zhan frowned and quickly corrected 21's statement.

It's getting late, this is all the information I can find tonight.

However, Yun Zhan was certain of one thing: Shi Boshan was not a direct descendant of the Shi family of Yuedu, but rather a member of a branch family, while Shi Mingyue was the true eldest daughter of the direct line.

If Shi Boshan makes any move, it will more or less affect Shi Mingyue...

If you hate someone, you'll hate their children too.

She had just closed the business information page when her mouse accidentally clicked on the banner of the technology channel.

"Boshan Technology Spring New Product Launch - Three Days Later - City Convention and Exhibition Center"

The words flashed, Yun Zhan paused, the cursor hovered over "Registration" for three seconds, and then clicked it with a soft "tap".

"What a coincidence, I was just worried about not having a chance to meet him." Yun Zhan carefully checked the guest list on the pop-up page.

Speaker: Shi Boshan (Founder of Boshan Technology)

Location: Hall A, Lingchuan Convention and Exhibition Center

Time: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Yun Zhan narrowed her eyes and tapped her fingertips three times on the table, a rhythm she used when making decisions.

After the technology press conference, those interested in investing in Boshan Technology can have a one-on-one chat with Shi Boshan.

"If it's free communication, it means that we can get close to Shi Boshan."

Next, Yun Zhan opened the floor plan of the convention center and marked the entrance to Hall A, the backstage passage, and the VIP lounge on the memo.

I switched back to the Minton School Forum, found the "Science Enthusiasts Association" registration post, filled out the application with my student ID, and gave a concise reason:

"I have a passion for science and technology and hope to participate in this exchange meeting. I hope the school will approve my application."