The next morning, the sound of waves remained, and the sea was calm and tranquil.

With the rising of the sun, all the nightmares seemed to recede with the tide, the blue sea water reflecting tiny golden glimmers, and the scenery remained picturesque.

If it weren’t for the occasional police helicopter flying by, no one would even remember what happened here last night.

After exchanging a few words with Officer Lu, Xiao Zong prepared to return to Lin City with his secretary and the legal team.

With such a major incident, even the Old Master Xiao at Xian Yun¹ Villa had been alarmed. Fang Runjin had bombarded Assistant Wei throughout the night. One could only imagine the scene waiting for them upon their return.

The helicopter’s blades whirred through the air, and the rooftop was bustling with noise.

Liu Jian had anxiously waited in the hall all night, but there was no summons from the boss. Finally, when he saw Xiao Zong emerge from the building, he rushed over quickly, his steps almost tripping over themselves, and immediately started apologizing, “Second Young Master, I’m sorry. This was truly my failure. I promise it won’t happen again…”

Xiao Zong said, “Wei Mian will contact you.”

Xiao Zong rarely lost his temper with subordinates. First, it solved nothing. Second, he had long learned that the only person he could truly rely on was himself.

If one person could handle the work of 200,000 employees, perhaps the company would consist of just him.

Aside from the board of directors, most of Henghua’s employees were young. Although Xiao Zong was young himself, his work carried the demeanor of a much older person. He never hesitated to mentor those with potential and was extremely generous to loyal subordinates.

But that didn’t mean he was easy to appease.

Liu Jian’s face froze as Xiao Zong walked past him. Liu Jian hurriedly followed behind, “No, Second Young Master, please listen to me—”

The helipad was on the top floor, and the surrounding area, including the sea, was sealed off. Only police and military helicopters were permitted to enter or exit, and everything was in perfect order.

Lawyer Wang extended his hand to stop Liu Jian and said, “The Second Young Master is still upset. Don’t shout.”

“Xiao Liu, let me give you a word of advice,” Lawyer Wang, out of camaraderie, said, “Your focus shouldn’t be on saving your job right now. What you really need to think about is how you’re going to explain this to Old Master Xiao.”

The bodyguards around Xiao Zong were all assigned by Old Master Xiao Yan. However, after Old Master Xiao had transferred them, he no longer involved himself. Xiao Zong’s leadership style was different from the Old Master’s. He didn’t emphasize “military dedication” but instead spoke often about “competition” with his subordinates.

And with competition comes elimination. In Xiao Zong’s eyes, ability was more important than relationships, a principle he held firm to.

There were plenty of people in the security team, and in the past, Liu Jian had blended in well. But now, with Liu Ye in front and Gu Yin behind, Liu Jian’s shortcomings as an interim leader were fully exposed—arrogance, cowardice, and a tendency to shirk responsibility when problems arose.

Hearing this, Liu Jian’s face turned pale.

Xiao Zong was, after all, a businessman and was unlikely to be ruthless. But Old Master Xiao Yan, who had been on the battlefield, had a certain toughness about him. If Liu Jian truly angered this “supreme ruler” his future in this circle would be bleak.

Why did he have to be so unlucky? Liu Jian thought bitterly. Why could his brother enjoy the Xiao Family’s medical care and be paid for an entire year while recovering, while he had to work tirelessly, living in fear, only to be overshadowed by an Omega?

Seeing the slender figure beside his boss only made Liu Jian more agitated.

His sharp gaze fixed on the two figures, fists clenched, veins bulging on his arms.

And all of this was noticed by a keen observer.

Ye Yumeng stood by the glass window, watching the activity on the helipad.

As a child, he had suffered from heart disease, and intense emotional swings were not advisable. During the years he and Xiao Zong had been together, he had fallen ill several times, and Xiao Zong had even learned to cook just to care for him.

Ye Yumeng had thought that after such a major incident, even if Xiao Zong didn’t come himself, he would at least send someone to check on him out of old affection. But after waiting all night, all Ye Yumeng received were rumors.

[Overnight, the elite circles were abuzz with gossip that Xiao Zong’s secretary had climbed into the boss’s bed and was now about to become Mrs. Xiao.]

But at the banquet, these two had seemed unfamiliar.

Gu Yin’s gaze had been the kind that only someone harboring a secret crush would have. As for Xiao Zong…

He must be doing this to spite me, Ye Yumeng thought. That’s the only reason he had Gu Yin send him back.

Ye Yumeng’s face turned pale as he tightly clenched his palms, only loosening his grip after a long time.

That’s right. Xiao Sinian’s reputation was already well-known. What kind of romantic could his son possibly be? If one person could climb into his bed, there would be a second and a third…

The world of the wealthy was not easy to enter. If one wanted to be Mrs. Xiao, they had to learn to tolerate these things.

The more Ye Yumeng thought about Xiao Zong’s former attentiveness and the way he always put him first, the more suffocated he felt in his chest.

His gaze shifted to the reflection in the glass.

Time waits for no one. He had been too weak back then. It was only after many years of struggle in these circles that he realized what kind of person he had let slip away.

Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he had to fight for it.

The hacking attack had little impact on Henghua Group.

This was thanks to Xiao Sinian’s insistence years ago on developing independent communication equipment—Xiao Zong’s far-reaching strategic vision was not something Xiao Zong at his age could yet fully grasp.

When the entire federation was hit by the attack, Henghua quickly severed its connections, so only a few subsidiary branches were affected.

As soon as Xiao Zong boarded the helicopter, he immediately got back to work. Fang Chi sighed quietly to himself; as expected, no one could tame this workaholic.

Gu Yin, on the other hand, looked exhausted and fell asleep soon after getting on the helicopter.

The cabin was relatively quiet, with the muffled, rhythmic sound of the helicopter blades outside. After a while, Xiao Zong asked, “How’s the investigation progressing?”

Lawyer Wang replied, “The police haven’t disclosed many details. Around 4:15 AM, the gun was found.”

“Where?”

“Near the stretch of road where the car crash occurred,” Lawyer Wang said, flipping through his notebook. Since no electronic devices were allowed during negotiations with the police, everything had been written down. “The ballistics results are out too. The bullet marks near the glass greenhouse match the gun that killed the person attacking you. The bullets show signs of being reloaded.”

Gu Yin’s breathing was steady, his eyelashes fluttering slightly.

“There are a few hypotheses,” Lawyer Wang continued. “Visibility wasn’t great at the time, and you were only two meters away from the attacker. The bullet was fired from a 200-meter hillside…”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Xiao Zong said decisively.

The precision of that headshot—if the shooter had noticed something wrong, there would have been plenty of time to fire a second shot.

Xiao Zong had been stunned by the gruesome scene at the time. Later, the police helicopter caused so much commotion that he had assumed the police fired the shot. By the time both sides realized what had happened and sealed off the mountain for a search, the shooter had long disappeared.

The hotel was the only one along the coastline for several kilometers, and it was so chaotic inside that no one had time to pay attention to anyone else.

“Internal conflict among the killers can’t be ruled out, but we won’t know the interrogation results for now,” the lawyer said. “The police believe you’re still in danger.”

Xiao Zong thought of the negotiation request from the other side.

His work phone had an automatic recording function. After uninstalling the company’s intranet program, the phone was submitted as evidence.

When Xiao Sinian was involved in a car crash, Xiao Zong, only four years old at the time, was in the car with him. The trauma left him with a blank memory of the incident for a long time.

Xiao Zong often had nightmares as a child, dreaming of the violent impact of the car flipping over. Xiao Sinian had cradled him, with blood trickling from his forehead onto Xiao Zong’s face.

The burning heat of the flames around them made it impossible to keep their eyes open. Little Xiao Zong clung tightly to his father’s clothes, curling up in a ball.

Xiao Sinian had patted his head, soothing him with a gentle voice, “In the future, you’ll have to take care of your mother.”

Xiao Zong had always wanted to reopen the investigation into the car crash, but the biggest obstacle had been Old Master Xiao Yan.

“Why are you so stubborn after all these years?” Old Master Xiao had said sternly. “He was your father, but he was also my son! Do you think I don’t want to protect him?”

“Reopening the investigation will only dredge up old scandals for others to gossip about. What else could possibly come from it?”

The “old scandals” Old Master Xiao referred to were Second Master Xiao’s past romantic entanglements.

Growing up, Xiao Zong had learned to view things from both perspectives. But whenever he thought of Fang Runjin being driven to tears by the paparazzi, his desire to pursue the truth would diminish.

Especially since he didn’t have much time to think about matters outside of the company.

Xiao Zong had dreamt all night, but surprisingly, he felt quite refreshed today.

In the dream, amidst the blazing fire, someone had reached out a hand toward him, and Xiao Zong, in a daze, had grabbed it. Then the dream ended.

This dream, different from the others, intrigued him. But Xiao Zong didn’t think much of it. Maybe he really did need a break. Otherwise, his health would continue to deteriorate, and even his dreams would start to get out of hand.

While Xiao Zong was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

Lawyer Wang abruptly stopped talking.

Gu Yin had fallen asleep. His slender body shifted under the seat belt, and eventually, his head tilted to rest on Xiao Zong’s shoulder.

Morning sunlight poured through the window, as if all the danger had been left behind. Gu Yin’s side profile was bathed in the light, his lips a tempting pale pink, and he mumbled something while frowning:

“Pull the curtains, you fat pig.”

An imperative, commanding tone.

Lawyer Wang glanced around the cabin—the helicopter pilot, Fang Chi, Xiao Zong, and… himself.

“…”

The poor lawyer reluctantly accepted this title and pulled down the window shade next to Gu Yin.

The bold secretary, meanwhile, found a more comfortable position and snuggled closer to Xiao Zong under everyone’s gaze.

Getting bolder by the minute.

Xiao Zong chuckled, about to push him awake and tell him to sit properly, but as soon as he touched Gu Yin, he felt that his body was unusually warm.

Gu Yin had a fever.

The flush on his face was from the fever.

Xiao Zong’s gaze fell on Gu Yin’s hands resting on his lap. There was a noticeable bruise on the back of his right hand, which was half-covered by his left hand.

It seemed like he hadn’t noticed the injury last night.

“Such a delicate one.”

Xiao Zong muttered softly but didn’t push him away.

1. Xian Yun – Leisure Cloud ↩︎