Thin silver threads were wrapped around the wooden bolt door, and unless pushed open by external force, the wind would not have any effect on it.

Tan Yuchen went to check the other doors, and found the same thing.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing his solemn expression, Meng Jiuyi realized that he was no longer the frivolous person he had been just moments before.

Tan Yuchen asked, "Zhou Ting came back?"

"No."

Meng Jiuyi had made a promise with her that once she had taken revenge on a target, she would have to go out for a walk.

Go see the mountains, listen to the sea, and feel the traces of nature's tenacious growth.

If a person's mind is only filled with revenge, it will ruin her. Meng Jiuyi doesn't want to see her like that.

She tried to go in, but Tan Yuchen stopped her and told her to wait in the courtyard first.

He inspected each room one by one; the rooms were spotless and meticulous.

However, the locker door latch was made of antique jade, and years of use had worn grooves into the inner bolt. Before leaving, Tan Yuchen had specifically moved the damaged part closer to the joint, but it has now been repositioned.

This means someone has already looked through it.

"Has someone been here?" Meng Jiuyi suddenly asked from behind.

Tan Yuchen turned to look at her. The room was dark, with only their faces visible in the dim light.

I didn't want her to know, but she was too perceptive.

Meng Jiuyi pointed to the zipper on the bag, "I usually zip up my bag up to the fourth zipper, but now I zip them all up tightly."

Not just one, but all of them.

Someone ransacked the house while she was abroad. If it were a theft, they wouldn't have bothered to restore it.

Unless you don't want to alert the enemy.

Instantly, a chill crept up Meng Jiuyi's spine, and his whole body felt goosebumps.

Suddenly, someone put their arm around her shoulder, and the warmth of his chest was enough to dispel the stiffness and coldness in her back.

Tan Yuchen looked down at her, "Where are Gao Xianyue's belongings?"

Meng Jiuyi suddenly looked at him: "Is it because of Gao Xianyue—"

The two almost left.

When she saw Gao Xian Yue for the last time, she entrusted her affairs after her death to Meng Jiu Yi. Meng Jiu Yi was not the kind of person who would repay kindness with enmity, and he would never go to great lengths for her. Little did she know that Gao Xian Yue had already foreseen her fate and had sent over a complete list of all her needs in advance.

"The way they looked at each other seemed to be able to see into each other's thoughts," Meng Jiuyi said.

"I had Xu Yanzhi help me deal with her things."

Tan Yuchen hummed in agreement. "What did you and she talk about on the mountain back then?"

"He didn't say anything."

Her face was cupped up, and Tan Yuchen made her look at him, "He told me every word, every detail."

The man shed his nonchalant attitude, and his imposing presence became obvious; Meng Jiuyi was infected by his seriousness.

What he said still echoes clearly in Meng Jiuyi's ears.

Her eyes were somewhat unfocused. "She talked a lot back then, and I thought she was just lamenting about life, so I didn't think much of it. But now I feel like some of her words were telling me something."

"She said she once met a man in his forties with a very high social status. He treated her differently than the other men she had met. He respected her and even tutored her. It wasn't until later that she realized that he expected something in return for everything he did."

“I asked her if she was Xu Yungan, and she didn’t actually answer at the time, but I tacitly agreed.”

If not, then who is it?

What kind of reward does she want? Does she want Gao Xianyue to kill her?

At first, Meng Jiuyi only thought that she wanted to confide in someone, and because he was eager for revenge, he did not think about the other meanings in her words.

In your forties...

Tan Yuchen's eyelids drooped, and his eyes were as unfathomable as the rocks at the bottom of a river.

Based on Gao Xianyue's age at that time, this man should now be in his fifties, holding a high position and great power.

He was far more capable of taking the lead from behind the scenes than a girl in her teens.

He used the crescent moon as a bow and Zhu Lijian as a sword, yet this person remained hidden behind the scenes from beginning to end, never revealing his face.

She lowered her head and fell silent after speaking. Tan Yuchen carried her to the stone bench, where the sunlight streamed down, and the chill she felt in the room earlier immediately subsided.

Tan Yuchen asked, "Think carefully, have you offended anyone?"

For the first twenty years of her life, her social circle was extremely narrow, and she spent most of her time at school. Apart from Gao Xianyue, she couldn't recall ever having any enemies with anyone, let alone a man of such status.

"....No."

Meng Jiuyi couldn't help but say, "If it weren't for the age difference, I would almost think that person was you."

Originally, she had offended him deeply by secretly taking photos of him, so if he wanted to deal with her like this, it would be a piece of cake.

Tan Yuchen pinched her cheek and said lazily.

"If I really wanted to get revenge on you, I'd go to all this trouble. A good beating would be enough."

Meng Jiuyi pursed her lips, feeling a heavy weight pressing on her chest.

Unwrapping a gift, layer upon layer of wrapping paper, brings a sense of joy, an anticipation of what's inside. But revenge is different. All her scheming and plotting throughout her life has led her to discover, in the end, that there are others behind it all, whose motives and identities she knew nothing about.

Tan Yuchen lifted her chin and looked at her intently.

Are you scared?

Meng Jiuyi shook his head.

"It used to be a little bit, but it's okay now."

She looked up at him, her expression serious. "There's only one person on the other side, while we have at least two. If he dares to hurt me again, I'll let Tan Yuchen bite him to death."

Tan Yuchen chuckled softly, his voice low and tender, as his nose was suddenly bitten.

"Mr. Meng, how many people do you think Tan Yuchen can kill?"

Meng Jiuyi suddenly burst into laughter. All the suffocation and blockage she felt vanished completely. She had only gone halfway through what she cared about, and life had taught her to cherish the present.

All she wants to do right now is kiss him.

Thinking this way, Meng Jiuyi did just that, pressing her lips close to his.

"You're still a bit short. Let me teach you."

After saying that, she bit his lower lip. Tan Yuchen's eyes darkened, but she still grabbed his collar and clumsily stuck her tongue into his mouth.

He didn't take the initiative at all, looking down at her and letting her tongue swirl around in his mouth, his pupils as dark as ink.

Meng Jiuyi was furious and refused to kiss him. Just as she was about to back off, he pulled her back by the waist.

When the kiss ended, she was already panting in his arms. Meng Jiuyi's head was spinning, and she naturally didn't notice that the man's chin was resting on her forehead, and his thick black eyelashes concealed the fierceness in his eyes.

He asked her if she was scared, a question that seemed more like a question to himself, asking if he could still accept it, just like that night on the rooftop, when he almost lost her.

Tan Yuchen kissed her ear deeply, "Move in with me."

"don't want."

She became awkward again, saying, "I can move back and live with Wen Qi!"

Tan Yuchen casually asked, "After something like this happened, is President Meng planning to bring his friends into the picture?"

"Of course not!"

She just didn't want to move in with him. Meng Jiuyi always felt that he was digging a sweet trap for her. Before she knew it, the newspapers were all talking about them, even though she was wearing a mask. Then his father found out about them, and later everyone in the family knew about it too.

Meng Jiuyi hadn't considered taking this step yet.

He bent his neck, his eyes level with hers.

"We've kissed, we've seen what we shouldn't have seen. Shouldn't the one who's worried about me, who's powerless, under the same roof?"

Meng Jiuyi was so angry she wanted to pinch him, but he pecked her on the lips.

"Move, then go find Xu Yanzhi to get your things."

--

The war between the Xu father and son temporarily ended with Xu Yanzhi's suspension from his post, but this was not a battle between the two companies, but rather a dispute over personal feelings between the two men. Other senior executives dared not say a word.

Xu Yungan has taken on more overseas deals, and most of the automotive mergers and acquisitions were handled by Xu Yanzhi. Even now, senior executives still seek him out.

Xu Yanzhi offered a few words of advice, but said no more, dismissing everyone with a simple "taking a vacation."

When Meng Jiuyi saw him again, he was much thinner than before. The blue sweater softened his usual aloofness, and his demeanor remained elegant.

His gaze lingered on her face, more intense than the sunlight outside, for so long that Meng Jiuyi couldn't bear to look away.

Xu Yanzhi lowered his eyes, a fleeting tenderness appearing on his face.

"You're the girl who's been making headlines in the newspapers for your scandal with Tan Yuchen?"

---

good evening