In the surveillance footage, Zhou Fang had just been handcuffed when the man's gaze flickered subtly at the phone in her hand. Then, a playful smile appeared on his lips. "In that case, let's say hello to my variable first."

He casually picked up his phone, found Zhou Fang in the contact list, and sent the first message.

As the first message was sent, the man stared at the monitor screen with anticipation and curiosity. What delightful expression would his unexpected friend make?

But to his disappointment, Lu An'an's expression only slightly darkened in the surveillance footage; she did not show any panic or fear.

The man frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he sent a second message.

The man looked at Lu An'an on the monitor, his face showing nothing but curiosity and confusion. His expression turned gloomy in that instant.

"Has she forgotten me?"

Just then, he saw Lu An'an turn her face toward the monitor, as if looking at him across the lens. The man's breath caught in his throat. He understood Lu An'an's lip movements, his tense body relaxed, and he gave an ambiguous laugh, murmuring softly, "I'm also looking forward to our next meeting."

Then a teacup flew into the camera's view, and the surveillance camera went completely dark.

The man smiled faintly, tossed the tablet he was holding onto the table, and tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, clearly pleased with himself.

The subordinates standing to the side, though puzzled, dared not disturb the tranquility.

After a long silence, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Master, if we don't save Zhou Fang, what should we do next?"

The man closed his eyes and slowly said, "Zhou Fang is already a useless pawn. Since he has been captured, there's no need to worry about him anymore."

Upon hearing this, the subordinate seemed to understand something, and then, remembering something else, reported, "Master, Lu Yanhua just came here seeking help, saying that Lu Rongyu and Lu Yixuan have been detained in the police station."

The man asked curiously, "What did they do?"

"Lu Yanhua said that Lu An'an framed them," the subordinate replied meticulously.

Upon hearing this, the man couldn't help but chuckle, his voice laced with disdain and mockery: "That old woman is really stupid. No wonder she noticed their secret as soon as she got home."

After saying that, he slowly stood up, gently straightened the wrinkles on his clothes, and walked out, his movements showing composure. "Go find someone to get them out, and then send them back to the Lu family to add some trouble to my plans."

"Oh, right."

As he approached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and glanced indifferently at the quiet and elegant teahouse. His tone was somewhat nonchalant: "Burn this teahouse down, consider it a gift to an old friend."

*

This is Zhou Fang's residence.

Seeing that Zhou Fang was stammering and unable to say anything, and after confirming that Lu An'an had nothing to do with the matter, Officer Chen escorted Zhou Fang back to the police station.

As Zhou Fang left, Lu An'an and her group slowly walked out of the mansion gate, said goodbye to the others, and returned to the Lu family.

As soon as he stepped across the threshold, Lu Wenjing's phone rang. The words "Lu Xunran" appeared on the screen. A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart. He quickly answered the phone, and Lu Xunran's deep and serious voice came from the other end.

"Brother, have you seen the news? Something happened."

Lu Wenjing frowned slightly. He immediately turned around, picked up the remote control, and the TV screen lit up instantly. The news channel was broadcasting the latest current events. While staring intently at the screen, he asked in a deep voice, "I just got home and was watching. Tell me what's wrong?"

Lu Xunran said gravely, "Brother, Yue Man Lou has been burned down."

Lu Wenjing's expression suddenly darkened, and at the same time, a news broadcast on the television screen pierced the silence of the room like ice.

"A fire broke out in Yuncheng, and the Yuemanlou Teahouse was tragically destroyed. The fire was raging, but fortunately no one was inside the store at the time of the incident, and no one was injured."

The anchor's voice was calm and heavy, yet every word struck like a hammer blow to everyone's heart.

The scene slowly zooms in, and the outline of the teahouse gradually blurs in the raging flames, but the signboard, glowing red in the firelight—"Moonlight Pavilion"—is clearly visible to everyone.

Lu An'an immediately thought of the second message that appeared on Zhou Fang's phone. Her heart sank, her face remained expressionless, only her eyes were deep and unfathomable: "He did this. He knows we found out about Yue Man Lou."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingqian's expression changed drastically, and he asked in astonishment, "So the gift he was talking about was burning down the teahouse?"

Lu An'an nodded slightly, her tone carrying an indescribable heaviness: "I didn't expect him to be so ruthless. He burned down a building just because of a suspicion."

Lu Wenjing pondered for a moment, his gaze lingering on Lu An'an's thoughtful face for a moment, and asked softly, "An'an, did you remember this person before you went home?"

Upon hearing this, Lu An'an began to carefully recall the original plot.

[In the original novel, everything after the original owner turned three is blank; the novel begins from the perspective of the female protagonist, Lu Rongyu.]

From the female protagonist's perspective, the first time she saw the original owner was at the Lu family's old mansion. From then until the original owner's tragic death, the events between the original owner's disappearance and her return to the Lu family were never mentioned in the original novel, even until the finale.

[So whether the original owner met this master before returning to the Lu family, I really have no clue, but I feel that he probably didn't.]

What confuses her now is that she has no idea whether the text message was referring to the original owner of this body or to her.

What troubled her even more was that she inexplicably felt that the unexpected text message was sent to her, not the original owner of the body. But why did she have this feeling?

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