Back at the apartment, Secretary Qian led Zong Fei into the office.

This duplex had been rented specifically by Song Lingxi. It was just one subway stop away from Xieqiao School, making it part of the school district.

Song Lingxi pulled Xie Qiao over to the sofa, found a medical kit in the cabinet, and applied some medicine to his face.

The treatment worked wonders, turning the battle-scarred, handsome boy into a spotted cat.

A real cat. After cleaning up all his wounds, Song Lingxi, in her own quirky way, drew a little kitten on Xie Qiao’s cheek.

Xie Qiao wasn’t sure what was going on, but he didn’t resist. When he got up and looked in the mirror, he saw the tiny kitten drawn on his face.

Xie Qiao: “…What do I do with a mom who’s been acting like this for over ten years?”

He sighed, went to the bathroom, and washed the kitten off his face.

Meanwhile, in the office, Zong Fei sat in a chair, stubbornly facing the man at the desk. But under the intense pressure from the man, he eventually turned his head away, unable to keep looking at him.

The man was elegant and handsome, his deep eyes hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an aura of being untouchable. His expression was cold and indifferent, as if nothing could sway him.

Not even his biological son sitting right across from him.

Seeing Zong Xuecheng like this, the onlookers began to understand. Zong Fei was trying—whether consciously or not—to imitate his father’s aloofness and defiance. But while Zong Xuecheng’s indifference was like a glacier that never thawed, cold and unfeeling, Zong Fei’s was just a facade—one that could easily crack under the weight of his youth.

“I’m right. I know Wang Yizhi had other motives for provoking, and I know Xie Qiao didn’t say anything. It was just a fight. A stupid fight.” Zong Fei tried his best to stay calm… But did he speak first because, deep down, he couldn’t handle the pressure from his father?

Zong Xuecheng didn’t change his expression or shift his gaze. He asked, his voice even, “You’re right. Then why are you here?”

Zong Fei was caught off guard, gritting his teeth. “I don’t know.”

Zong Xuecheng’s expression finally shifted, showing a hint of impatience. “Driven by curiosity and a need to prove yourself. There are many geniuses in this world. Do you plan on fighting them all?”

Zong Fei froze at his father’s words. A mix of embarrassment and reluctance flashed across his face. Although Zong Xuecheng’s words were vague, both father and son knew exactly what he meant.

“I won’t say this again. Let go of your naivety and childishness. Even if you’re pretending, at least pretend you’re in the right.”

The slap of reality stung. Zong Fei’s face burned with shame.

…

Song Lingxi returned to her room, changed clothes, and took a shower.

When she came out, she found Zong Xuecheng in the living room. She frowned slightly.

Zong Xuecheng had his back to her, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand. When he heard the bathroom door open, he didn’t turn around but slowly and politely removed his white shirt.

From behind, the man appeared tall and lean, with a slim waist and back, his arms both delicate and strong.

The full-length mirror reflected Zong Xuecheng’s elegant, handsome face. His deep-set eyes, framed by gold-rimmed glasses, gave him an air of a refined yet untouchable scoundrel. His indifferent expression made him seem unreachable.

If Zong Fei in the novel was redeemed during his school years and grew into a powerful president with a solid sense of right and wrong, his father, Zong Xuecheng, was the complete opposite. Cold-blooded, self-serving, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, Zong Xuecheng acted purely in his own best interest, just like the previous generation of domineering presidents who only made decisions that benefited themselves.

Cold, dangerous, and magnetic.

The colder he was, the more people wanted to warm him up and gain his favor; the more dangerous he became, the more irresistible he appeared. Countless fortunes poured in, all eager to scale the heights of this rare, unattainable mountain. Many had dreamed of being Zong Fei’s stepmother, but all failed.

The more unattainable he was, the deeper the obsession became. Eventually, Zong Xuecheng became the unattainable ideal—the “white moonlight”—that women and daughters could never forget.

From her vantage point, Song Lingxi clicked her tongue inwardly. The “white moonlight” in the sky was the purest kind of moonlight. Anything else, when pulled down to the ground, was just toxic light. When would it ever kill you?

For example, in the novel, the person most obsessed with Zong Xuecheng was his sister-in-law, Wang Ruowei, who went mad trying to bring the unattainable “Bai Yueguang” down from his lofty position.

When the Zong family married into the Wang family, the Wang family had two daughters of marriageable age: the older, Wang Ruonan, and the younger, Wang Ruowei. Both sisters fell for Zong Xuecheng. In the end, Wang Ruonan triumphed, successfully marrying into the Zong family and securing the Wang family’s position.

Through her marriage to Zong Xuecheng, Wang Ruonan secured her spot as the heir to the Wang family. Wang Ruowei, unwilling to accept this, committed a series of reckless acts and was eventually exiled overseas by her sister, who was now in power.

Years later, Wang Ruonan died during childbirth. When Wang Ruowei sought to return to China, her entry was blocked once more by her brother, who had already taken the reins.

After waiting for more than a decade, Wang Ruowei’s brother died in a car accident with no heirs. Seeing that the Wang family was left with no successor, they had no choice but to recall Wang Ruowei from abroad.

After over ten years, Wang Ruowei had become consumed by paranoia. The first thing she did upon returning was to propose a second marriage to the Zong family.

When the Wang family and the Zong family first married, it was a power move. But over the course of ten years, the Zong family, under Zong Xuecheng’s leadership, thrived. While the Zong family’s wealth and influence grew, the Wang family’s fortunes began to decline. So when the families considered remarrying, it was the Wang family that stood to gain, and they fully supported Wang Ruowei’s plan.

With the Wang family backing her, Wang Ruowei wasted no time in pursuing Zong Xuecheng. She approached him under the pretense of helping Zong Fei but was continuously brushed off by him.

Frustrated and ignored, Wang Ruowei soon learned about the original owner’s existence. Paranoia set in as she became convinced that the original owner had sabotaged her chance at becoming the clan’s wife. From then on, she saw the original owner as a threat and made it her mission to humiliate her at every turn.

One night, at a party, the original owner was mysteriously locked in a bathroom and had a bucket of water dumped on her. When the waiter found her, she was unconscious and burning with a high fever.

The original owner had always been weak, and after the incident, her body shut down, and she passed away a few months later.

The perpetrators covered their tracks well, and with false testimony, the responsible parties were never punished. It wasn’t until many years later that Xie Qiao, now hardened and vengeful, took matters into his own hands to avenge his mother.

After the original owner’s death, Zong Xuecheng seemed unaffected. He expressed regret but showed no real sorrow, only adopting Xie Qiao as his son.

However, when the Wang family proposed a second marriage, Zong Xuecheng became intrigued. He began courting Wang Ruowei.

Wang Ruowei felt no guilt for what she’d done. She was solely focused on Zong Xuecheng. She even betrayed the Wang family by leaking their business secrets to him, which allowed Zong Xuecheng to destroy most of their influence.

At this point, Wang Ruowei was completely delusional. She believed that since Zong Xuecheng showed interest in the Wang family, she could use the family’s remaining power to trap him. She rushed to tell him that if he married her, the Wang family would become her dowry, and their marriage would unite the two families.

Song Lingxi: “…” Who knows when love-struck minds will end up in prison?

The title of Toxic Bai Yueguang wasn’t given to Wang Ruowei without reason. In Zong Xuecheng’s eyes, she was still a rare find. When he agreed to her proposal, he played her. He took control of most of the Wang family’s stocks, making Zong Xuecheng the largest shareholder of Wang’s company. A general meeting was held, and the proposal to have Zong acquire the Wang family was approved by vote.

Zong Xuecheng had agreed to the acquisition, but as for Wang Ruowei, he had no intentions of sparing her. He would play the game as ruthlessly as necessary.

Wang Baochuan, the one behind all the drama, had spent eighteen years in the wilderness, foraging for wild vegetables, only to finally become the Queen of the Eighteen Heavens. Wang Ruowei, on the other hand, had lost everything—the entire Wang family—and couldn’t handle the blow. She had completely lost her mind.

Wang Ruowei had been back in China for a while now, and no one knew what her next move would be.

In many ways, it was only natural for Zong Xuecheng to come off as the villain in this story.

“Are you hungry?”

Zong Xuecheng’s deep voice snapped Song Lingxi out of her thoughts. When she looked up, she saw him in a fresh shirt, his eyes meeting hers through the mirror.

“I am hungry,” she replied. Her smooth black hair framed her flawless white skin, and a few droplets of water slid down her forehead and temples, making her look even more delicate.

After dealing with the chaos at school that afternoon, Song Lingxi was starving. She noticed that Zong Xuecheng seemed like he had something to say, but she wasn’t in the mood to listen right now.

The sky outside felt vast, and with her aunt cooking up a storm, it was clear she needed to get back to reality.

Ignoring Zong Xuecheng’s intense gaze, she picked up her phone to order takeout and casually asked, “Have you eaten yet? If not, should we order together?”

A fleeting look of guilt crossed Zong Xuecheng’s face as he watched her.

The night before, he had had a strange, unsettling dream. He dreamed that Song Lingxi was pregnant.

At first, he hadn’t thought much of it. It was just a dream, after all—nothing more. He and Song Lingxi had long agreed not to have children, always being careful with contraception.

After all these years, Song Lingxi had made it clear she didn’t want another child. She was even relieved she couldn’t marry him, feeling no attachment or status in this life. She never pushed him on it.

Because of this, Zong Xuecheng hadn’t given the idea of a new relationship or lover any thought for over ten years.

But the dream… it had been so vivid, so real, that even after waking up, he couldn’t shake the details. He remembered everything clearly, including the reactions of everyone involved.

No wonder, in the dream, he’d felt disgusted by the idea of the child.

A child represented a variable, something that could disrupt the family’s inheritance rights, and those kinds of variables needed to be eliminated.

If this dream was more than just a random nightmare, maybe it was a warning—something to deal with before things started unraveling. Maybe it was time to tie up loose ends.

“Don’t order takeout yet. Grandpa wants to see you at the family dinner tonight. Do you want to go?” Zong Xuecheng suddenly spoke, his voice warm and his expression unexpectedly gentle, as though an iceberg were slowly melting.

Song Lingxi: “…”

Oh my God, is Zong Xuecheng okay? Is he serious, or is he just messing with her? Is this really what the Zong Xuecheng— the guy with an iron sense of discipline and a mind focused solely on his career—would do?

From what Song Lingxi knew about him, there was absolutely no chance he would bring a lover to a family dinner. That was about as likely as winning the lottery.

And this isn’t even in the novel. The original owner never even met Zong Xuecheng’s family before she died, let alone have the patriarch of the Zong family wanting to see her.

Is he testing her? Is this a joke?

Did she somehow piss off Zong Fei and his secretary at school today, making them think she was after power?

No, Zong Xuecheng wasn’t the petty type. This had to be some kind of reminder, or worse, a warning.

Well, she wasn’t scared. One of Song Lingxi’s biggest flaws was her tendency to overthink—she hated being pushed around by anyone.

So, the rebellious Song Lingxi stood up and immediately agreed: “Okay, what a coincidence, I also want to meet your grandfather.”

“…”

“I also want to meet your grandfather.”

Zong Xuecheng understood every word, but when they came out of Song Lingxi’s mouth, it sounded like, “I also allow your grandfather to see me.”

Zong Xuecheng gave her a strange look. It seemed like she had changed after not seeing him for months.

Although he’d known that Song Lingxi wasn’t as weak as she seemed, in the past, she was always more “chilled” around him, never one to argue or make waves.

This was the first time he’d heard such a sharp edge to her words.

If Song Lingxi knew what he was thinking, she’d definitely roll her eyes. The so-called “quiet” behavior was just her avoiding him—she didn’t want to talk, so she created a calm, non-confrontational environment for herself.

Anyway, she only saw Zong Xuecheng five or six times a month, so the chances of being exposed were super low. And even if she was exposed, so what? As long as she wasn’t embarrassed, nobody else would be.

But now, with her life hanging by a thread, she couldn’t care less whether her character fell apart in front of Zong Xuecheng. She’d do whatever she wanted.

Song Lingxi crossed her arms, watching him, curious if he would actually take her to the Zong family.

Before Zong Xuecheng could reply, there was a knock on the door. Secretary Qian’s voice came through, sounding a bit embarrassed: “Sir… three people claim to be Miss Song’s parents and younger brother.”

Song Lingxi froze, almost in shock. What? The original owner had parents?

No wonder Song Lingxi hadn’t known. She didn’t have any memories of the original owner when she took over. In the novel, the original owner was nothing more than background, so her life story or personal details were never really mentioned.

The most bizarre thing is that Song Lingxi has been here for over ten years. There’s no contact information for these so-called relatives in her phone, and she’s never seen any “family members” come looking for her. The original owner was basically an orphan.

A family member, who hadn’t been in contact for more than ten years, suddenly showed up at her door one night. It felt… off, no matter how she tried to make sense of it.

…

On the living room sofa, Zong Fei and Xie Qiao sat at one end, both with strange expressions on their faces.

Secretary Qian glanced at the scene. The post seemed to be titled, “Thank God’s mother for becoming a god in battle and the moment when Director Zhao was criticized.”

Secretary Qian: “…” Is he even in this post?

Sitting on the sofa across from them was a family of three—Song Lingxi’s parents and her younger brother. They looked nervous and a little excited.

The older man nudged the woman sitting beside him. She cleared her throat and said, “You two are my oldest grandkids, right? Don’t you see your parents are here? Why are you still acting like strangers?”

Xie Qiao gave the woman a confused look and then turned his attention back to his phone. … None of this concerned him.

Tang Hongmei immediately grew angry. She gave Xie Qiao that judgmental look—you look seriously sick—the same look her eldest daughter, who was supposed to be dead, used to give.

Tang Hongmei couldn’t hold back and snapped, “What kind of lack of discipline and education is this?”