When Xu Chengfeng returned ho, he noticed his eldest daughter’s car parked in the garage. After searching the living room for a while and not finding her, he knew she must be upstairs in the study.
"Sir, you’re back?"
"Mm, Aunt Zhang, wash so fruit and then head to the supermarket to prepare a few extra dishes for dinner."
"Alright, sir. Are we expecting guests tonight?"
"..."
Xu Chengfeng did not answer but instead asked, "Has Madam returned yet?"
"No, Madam is over at Madam Shang’s place."
"You may go ahead."
Xu Chengfeng took off his coat and hung it by the entryway before heading straight to the staircase. Not long after, he knocked on the study door.
"Dad, didn’t you say you’d be visiting Uncle Cen today?"
"Already returned."
Xu Chengfeng glanced at his daughter and noticed sothing in her furrowed brows.
"Have the company matters been resolved?"
"Resolved. Don’t worry, Dad. The company will be fine."
"How are you handling the public gossip?"
Xu Qianyu froze. "You know about it?"
"Fluctuations in Xu’s stock are not unusual, but this is the first ti it’s fallen for three consecutive days because of entertainnt gossip."
Xu Chengfeng was rely stating facts, yet his expression carried not a trace of dissatisfaction. On the contrary, there was a hint of amusent in his eyes. This made the always-proud Xu Qianyu feel completely out of her depth, as if she utterly lacked the acun to be Xu’s helmsman in her father’s presence.
This was the crushing dominance of her father, sothing she had faced more than once over the years.
"Dad..."
Xu Qianyu was silent for a long mont before finally speaking, her gaze towards her father complex. "Did you know about Aunt Lin’s past?"
If you knew, why did you never tell ? Why did you never talk about the Tang family?
As soon as the words left her mouth, the study fell into sudden silence.
After a mont, Xu Chengfeng seed to sigh. The smile in his eyes disappeared as he looked at his daughter.
"What kind of answer are you looking for?"
"..."
"If I say I knew, do you think I should have told you about the Tang family?"
"..."
"If I say I didn’t know, then do you believe Aunt Lin deliberately kept it from and the rest of you?"
"At the very least, she should have been honest!"
"Qianyu!"
By now, Xu Chengfeng’s tone had entirely lost its usual gentleness, his gaze stern and faintly tinged with disappointnt.
"Does it even matter whether it’s said or not? It’s all in the past. The mont Aunt Lin decided to be with , her past ceased to matter."
"But..."
"Do you still not understand?"
Xu Chengfeng looked at the daughter he had grood, disappointnt evident in his gaze. "You dwell too much on gains and losses. Whether Xiao Shu is General Tang’s granddaughter or not, she deserves our respect. And your attitude toward her should not depend solely on who her grandfather is."
Xu Qianyu bit her lip tightly, holding onto the last shred of stubbornness.
"But the business world has always been ruthless. She has shown no value worth my esteem. I can’t spare my limited energy for soone who hasn’t demonstrated any worth. This was sothing you taught ."
She had been able to take over Xu Corporation and subdue the seasoned veterans on the board of directors through her decisive tactics and the enormous profits she brought to the group.
"She is family. You..."
Xu Chengfeng closed his eyes. "Qianyu, I never taught you to treat family this way. Even in the business world, I always told you not to underestimate anyone. True, I said you should analyze the profits and value of sothing in the shortest possible ti— but that doesn’t apply to... people."
He stood up and quietly stared at his daughter for a few monts before turning and leaving the study.
"Think it over carefully."
"Dad."
Xu Qianyu called out to him just as his hand touched the doorknob. "Are you disappointed in ?"
"Every decision you’ve made at the company has made proud. You’ve t every expectation I had for you. You’ve always been my pride."
But pride does not an everything you do is right, especially outside the realm of the company.
Xu Chengfeng did not look back. "How long has it been since you had a proper conversation with Xiao An? Have you ever considered whether, if you weren’t the Xu family’s daughter, Xiao An would still want you as his fiancée?"
"..."
Xu Qianyu stood in stunned silence, unable to react for a long ti, even after Xu Chengfeng had left the study.
***
Collar Village.
Wen Nuan and Tang Shu split into two groups to investigate the entire village. The first place the pair arrived at was the ho of the village chief, who had a perpetually deathly pale face.
The two were swift and efficient, moving through the village as if it were completely deserted, and soon arrived without much effort.
Oddly enough, there was no one around.
"Why isn’t there a single person here? The village chief? His son? His daughter-in-law?"
Wen Nuan rechecked the area carefully again through the wooden window, but neither inside nor outside the house showed any trace of human presence—except for the chickens and ducks in the yard, rendered unconscious by so powder Tang Shu had scattered and lying quietly still.
"Captain Song, are you sure the villagers are each ho?"
"Sure. Trust a sniper’s vision, Captain Wen."
Alright then.
Wen Nuan gave Tang Shu a knowing look. "Fascinating. They’ve vanished into thin air."
Now this was getting interesting.
"I love escape room gas the most."
The two were clearly intrigued. After confirming that the other group hadn’t seen any villagers either, the situation beca even stranger.
"So apart from the three people outside our living quarters, the entire village is empty?"
And those three were obviously there to keep an eye on them.
Wen Nuan pulled out a tool and fiddled with it for a while, ultimately confirming there were no surveillance devices at the village chief’s house. She then hopped in through the window. The pair began to carefully survey the house yet found no hidden passageways.
"Hold on."
Tang Shu took a few steps back, retreating three or four ters. "Don’t you think this room... feels a bit small?"
Wen Nuan imdiately grasped her aning and scrutinized the bedroom once more, finally nodding decisively.
"It is smaller. I recall estimating that this room was about five ters long when we entered, but now it’s roughly four ters... It’s that painting!"
The two simultaneously turned their gaze toward the wedding portrait hanging on the east wall—a photo of the village chief’s son and daughter-in-law, looking like the perfect couple.
Tang Shu carefully removed the fra, revealing a door just large enough for an adult to pass through.
The wall was hollow, concealing a passageway.
"What a... clever idea. I can’t help but admire their ingenuity."
Underground rooms are easily detected due to the difference between solid and hollow walls when tapped. It’s sothing even soone inexperienced can hear.
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