He sighed softly and said, "This whole thing is really all my fault."

"I believed in Zhao Qingtian and then didn't act against him with you."

"I also trusted him too much, thinking that he would definitely give up his previous prejudices for the greater good."

"But now, it seems I was wrong about everything."

Hearing Zhao Xuan's words, Chen Yan was startled for a moment, then his mind clicked, and he understood Zhao Xuan's meaning.

In that instant, Chen Yan had only one thought: Huh? Did I actually guess all this correctly?

Before the New Year, Chen Yan had discussed Zhao Qingtian with Zhao Xuan. During that conversation, Chen Yan told Zhao Xuan he suspected Zhang Yonghao's recent incident involved Zhao Qingtian.

At that time, Zhao Xuan didn't believe him and thought Chen Yan was overthinking.

In fact, Chen Yan wasn't really thinking that way; he was merely using a small stratagem.

He thought about slinging some mud at Zhao Qingtian a few more times, deepening Zhao Xuan's prejudice against him, and then later dragging Zhao Xuan into dealing with Zhao Qingtian together.

Little did he know… the random accusations Chen Yan threw at Zhao Qingtian turned out to be true.

For a moment, Chen Yan didn't know whether he was too clever or if Zhao Qingtian was just too careless…

Thinking thus, Chen Yan asked Zhao Xuan, "Uncle Zhao, did you discover something?"

Zhao Xuan was obviously in a bad mood.

Clearly, being deceived by an enemy and believing in him had dealt him a considerable blow.

He hummed in acknowledgment and said, "Zhao Qingtian has actually been very cautious."

"But no matter how cautious he is, he still leaves some clues."

"I've had someone monitor all of Zhao Qingtian's phone records for a while, and although I couldn't access the content of his calls, I at least knew who contacted him."

"Then, half a month ago, one call was made to Zhao Qingtian. It lasted about a minute."

"At first, we didn't take this call seriously."

"But upon investigation, we found… this phone number belongs to a second-tier celebrity."

"That celebrity was implicated in the tax evasion issue you reported four or five months ago and has been out of work since."

After listening, Chen Yan couldn't help but interject, "She's Zhao Qingtian's lover?"

Zhao Xuan: ...

Zhao Xuan hesitated for a moment before denying it, "No, she's not."

Chen Yan was a bit disappointed. He thought he had heard some interesting gossip…

Then he heard Zhao Xuan continue, "However, that celebrity is someone else's lover."

Zhao Xuan paused, then said, "That person has a lot of power in Tiandu and was very close to Zhao Qingtian when they were younger; they've been friends for decades."

"I didn't know about this before. It was only through investigating that celebrity that I found this person."

"Later, I continued chasing the leads and discovered that this person was the mastermind behind Zhang Yonghao's recent actions."

"I investigated further and found that the court employee introduced to Zhang Yonghao by Xu Zhaorong is also an old subordinate of his from many years ago."

After listening, Chen Yan suddenly realized everything seemed to connect...

Sensing that Chen Yan had understood everything, Zhao Xuan sighed and then apologized again, "Xiao Chen, this is my fault."

"It was my excessive trust in Zhao Qingtian that caused us to miss the best time for revenge."

"It even allowed him to continue targeting you."

"Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation for this. I won't let you suffer in vain."

"No matter what, I will seek justice for you."

This result actually made Chen Yan very happy.

He followed Zhao Xuan's words, "Uncle Zhao, don't be upset. I tell you, Zhao Qingtian is inherently untrustworthy. This incident, I almost had no surprises."

"But don't alert the enemy prematurely. Let's plan for the long term and see how we can regain control."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Zhao Xuan hesitated slightly, but eventually said, "Xiao Chen. You're not from a major family; you don't understand our difficulties."

He sighed and said, "Ah. Let me handle this matter first."

"Trust me, I will give you a satisfactory answer."

At this point, he paused, then added, "However, don't think that Uncle Zhao has always stood by Zhao Qingtian. Actually… I've had a backup plan for you for a long time."

"It's just that it hasn't been time to use it, so you didn't know about it."

With that, he hung up the call.

Listening to the dial tone, Chen Yan felt bewildered for a moment.

A backup plan for himself?

What did that mean?

Had Zhao Xuan planted someone by his side?

Who could it be?

It couldn't be Zhao Ying, right?

With Brother Ying's brains, serving as a backup plan, wasn't that underestimating Zhao Qingtian...

Chen Yan thought about the people around him and felt that none of them seemed like Zhao Xuan's backup.

Could it be… not a person, but some object?

Chen Yan thought hard for a moment and still couldn't recall any object that Zhao Xuan had left for him.

So, at a loss, he could only press this matter to the back of his mind...

...

After the call, Chen Yan returned to the clay sculpture studio, where Yu Qiao Qiao was still earnestly sculpting.

Chen Yan found that this young girl seemed to possess a unique charm.

In such a restless society, she was like a gentle stream, a breath of cool air, so special and so tranquil that she could make people unwittingly quiet down and engage in simple, yet comfortable activities.

Perhaps because Chen Yan had watched her for a bit too long, Yu Qiao Qiao seemed to sense his gaze.

She couldn't help but lift her head and look over.

Seeing that it was Chen Yan, a beautiful smile instantly appeared on her face, "You're back?"

Her question sounded just like a wife who had been waiting at home, calling to her husband who had just returned.

Chen Yan felt both warm and comfortable, so he smiled and responded, "Back."

After saying that, he walked over and sat down next to Yu Qiao Qiao.

Seeing Chen Yan sit down, Yu Qiao Qiao quietly advised, "Chen Yan, if you're busy, you can go ahead. I'm fine."

Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao's words, Chen Yan smiled and said, "Not busy. Besides… no matter how busy, it's not as important as you."

With that, Chen Yan ignored Yu Qiao Qiao's protests and picked up the clay again.

Just a few minutes after Chen Yan had sat down, he was called away by a phone call, so they hadn't started chatting.

Now that Chen Yan had returned, Yu Qiao Qiao couldn't help but ask about Sister Man Man while molding the clay figure, "Chen Yan, is everything settled with Sister Man Man?"

Chen Yan scoffed and said, "What's there to settle?"

"She got herself so overweight, Sister Mei Li was almost going crazy. So she arranged a lot of exercise tasks for her."

"I went to check it out, and it's all pretty scientific. And with several instructors around, there's no worry."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Yu Qiao Qiao glanced at him with her big eyes and asked, "Then… can I join the exercises too?"

Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao's words, Chen Yan was taken aback, then questioned, "What for?"

Yu Qiao Qiao said, "To lose weight."

Chen Yan: ???

Chen Yan looked at Yu Qiao Qiao, then recalled how she had been in bed these past days.

These past two years, through Chen Yan's careful feeding, attentive care, and diligent watering, this young girl's figure had blossomed and become more enticing.

A bit heavier than Sister Man used to be, a bit thinner than Sister Man now, Chen Yan felt that Yu Qiao Qiao currently had the most beautiful weight a girl could have.

Moreover, since she wasn't a celebrity and didn't need to appear on camera, Chen Yan sincerely said, "But, Qiao Qiao, you're not fat."

Listening to Chen Yan, Yu Qiao Qiao took off her gloves, slightly aggrieved, and pinched her belly, then said, "But I've gained 20 pounds compared to two years ago."

Chen Yan: ...

"You were 90 pounds at 1.7 meters tall two years ago. You were almost sickly skinny."

"This weight is just perfect."

Yu Qiao Qiao argued, "But I heard Sister Mei Li and Sister Man say that women celebrities don't weigh more than 100."

Chen Yan said, "You're not a celebrity. And… they don't have your breasts."

"Your breasts must weigh about four or five pounds!"

Hearing Chen Yan's blunt words, Yu Qiao Qiao's face turned red all at once.

She was slightly annoyed and said, "You, you, you… how can you suddenly say this? So annoying!"

After saying that, she put on her gloves in a huff and continued working on her little clay figure.

Perhaps because her charity work had really brought Yu Qiao Qiao a lot of confidence, helping people also made her heart stronger.

At any rate, the former her never dared to act coy or ignore Chen Yan when annoyed.

But this time, she did.

Seeing her like that, Chen Yan thought she was incredibly cute and voluntarily moved closer to make amends.

But the little rogue actually still blushing, pouting, and holding the clay figure, ran to the other side of the table, continuing to ignore Chen Yan.

Chen Yan saw her adorable actions, his face showing a "sad" look, but inside, he was overjoyed.

It wasn't that he had masochistic tendencies, but he thought that his Boss Qiao Qiao was finally starting to act more like a normal girl.

He felt that before long, the always-smiling Boss Qiao Qiao would truly appear in the real world...

Chen Yan played with Yu Qiao Qiao for a day.

In the evening, they had dinner together.

Yu Qiao Qiao invited Chen Yan to stay over, but Chen Yan was planning to meet Yang Rou that night, so he declined.

Of course, he had a much more legitimate reason for his refusal. He said he hadn't been home in a long time and needed to tidy up.

Moreover, today was his first day back to work after the New Year, and he had a lot of work to deal with, so he needed to go home to handle it.

Even though she was becoming more cheerful and normal, Yu Qiao Qiao was still fundamentally that considerate and sweet girl at heart.

So she simply agreed.

Before leaving, she cautioned Chen Yan not to stay up too late and to remember to rest early.

Chen Yan kissed the lovely girl on her forehead, then took her home.

After taking Yu Qiao Qiao home, Chen Yan also drove back to his house.

He parked the car, took the elevator, and returned to his apartment.

Because he hadn't lived there for over half a month, a thin layer of dust had settled, and the air in the room was a bit murky.

To welcome Yang Rou, Chen Yan first opened the windows to ventilate, then briefly cleaned the room.

After doing all this, Chen Yan went back to his study and started dealing with company matters.

While he was dealing with business affairs, two things kept lingering in Chen Yan's mind.

One was about meeting Lu Man's parents.

The other was about Zhao Xuan and Zhao Qingtian.

It was Chen Yan's first time meeting Lu Man's parents, and he took it very seriously.

After all, he had abducted their daughter and might not be able to provide her with a complete family.

Thus, Chen Yan always felt a bit guilty.

Moreover, he had never formally met the parents of any other girl before, so he was particularly worried about facing difficulties or tricky questions.

As for the matter with Zhao Xuan, Chen Yan felt that something was off.

His sixth sense seemed to have sensed something, but he had not paid much attention.

So he thought of discussing it with Yang Rou after her arrival to help analyze the situation.

After all... Yang Rou was the smartest woman by Chen Yan's side.

...

Chen Yan ended up waiting until midnight.

At 12 a.m., his door was loudly knocked on.

Chen Yan went to the door and opened it, finding Yang Rou standing there in sportswear...

Since the time Yang Rou had cuddled up in his warm bed without Yang Nuan Nuan's knowledge, she seemed to have grown fond of these moments.

Every night or early morning, she would sneak out while Yang Nuan Nuan slept deeply and had some indescribable encounters with Chen Yan.

This caused Chen Yan's schedule to get increasingly late.

He used to sleep at 11 p.m. every day. Now, he couldn't sleep until 2 or 3 a.m....

And tonight was no exception.

Perhaps due to not having seen each other for a long time, their reunion didn't have the excitement of a brief parting feeling like a new marriage or fire meeting tinder; rather, it was just as natural as a lover after work, sharing a late-night snack and watching some TV together.

During the TV watching, it's unclear who triggered it, but they suddenly started doing shameless things.

The charm of a mature woman cannot be compared to that of a naïve girl.

As one position unlocked after another, their coordination in bed improved...

After the storm, Chen Yan sat on the bed holding Yang Rou...

He gently stroked her smooth and fair back, then quietly mentioned the matter about Zhao Xuan and Zhao Qingtian.

For an ordinary woman, discussing such matters after passion might ruin the mood.

But Yang Rou was no ordinary woman.

She was a workaholic.

Even though their relationship was so close now, Chen Yan inexplicably still felt that in Yang Rou's heart, he was just a seasoning, her true love was her work.

Thus, discussing work after their moments of passion had become their favorite thing to do.

After recounting his conversation with Zhao Xuan to Yang Rou, Chen Yan smiled and said, "I initially wanted to just lay the groundwork to conveniently coax Zhao Xuan onto our 'pirate ship,' but who knew it would actually hit the mark."

When Chen Yan finished speaking, he expected Yang Rou to joke around a bit too.

However, surprisingly, after he finished, Yang Rou didn't say anything and just lay in his arms without moving.

Chen Yan curiously looked down to see what was up with Yang Rou.

Then he noticed that her face showed neither pleasure nor happiness, but a look of solemnity.

Chen Yan couldn't help asking, "What's wrong, Sister Rou?"

Yang Rou sat up, her bare chest unabashedly displayed before Chen Yan, yet she herself didn't mind.

She frowned and said coldly, "Chen Yan, you haven't dealt much with Zhao Qingtian, so you don't know what kind of person he is. Thus you think there's no problem."

"But, I've been investigating him for decades, so I feel something is wrong here."

"Something's wrong?" Chen Yan was a bit puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Yang Rou replied coldly, "I can't put my finger on it. It just doesn't seem like Zhao Qingtian's style."

"He is a very merciless, restrained person. What he likes most is to endure silently for years, then strike with a sure hit, enjoying the disbelieving faces of his enemies."

"But now, he's using petty tactics secretly, employing things that don't stand much chance of directly overthrowing you to target you."

"Don't you find that odd?"

Chen Yan disagreed, "Maybe he thinks these things are fatal for me?"

"After all, anyone can see the potential of Headline Technology, it's bound to be my future pillar."

"Cutting off this supporting pillar while I'm still growing just makes sense—it's like hitting a snake at its seven inches."

"Moreover, all this is done by him through someone else, keeping himself well-hidden."

"If it weren't for Zhao Xuan's investigation, nobody would have known."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Yang Rou just silently shook her head.

She said, "It still doesn't fit."

"I always feel that these actions are too simple. It doesn't seem like something he would do."

Chen Yan asked, "Do you think Zhao Xuan investigated incorrectly?"

Yang Rou shook her head seriously this time, "No, that's not it."

"I trust the investigations of these big family heads."

"Since it was traced back to Zhao Qingtian, it's very likely true."

"I feel like... this issue... might not be so simple..."

As she spoke, she seemed to realize something, her voice getting lower.

Suddenly, her body jerked as an incredible light emerged in her eyes.

She hurriedly looked at Chen Yan and said, "Chen Yan, have you ever considered this possibility!"

"These actions indeed come from Zhao Qingtian."

"But his target might not be you. He might just want to create some troubles for you, lay some smokescreens, and delay time, your time, the time for his real target."

Chen Yan slowly also realized the implication.

His eyes widened, then goosebumps covered his body, "Are you saying... Zhao Xuan?"

Yang Rou quickly nodded.

Then, frowning deeply, she said, "If that's the case, everything makes sense."

"After all, you're continuously having issues on your side, so Zhao Xuan and your focus must be entirely on you."

"Meanwhile, he actually has other plans secretly, preparing to take down Zhao Xuan."

"That fits his restrained, merciless style of conduct!"

"And..." Yang Rou continued, "I suspect Zhao Xuan might have guessed these things too."

Chen Yan looked at Yang Rou.

Yang Rou added, "Think about it. You just said Zhao Xuan kept apologizing to you, saying he's going to try one last time, and said he had left you a backup plan."

"Don't you think these words are a bit peculiar?"

Chen Yan responded, "It's somewhat like fighting with one's back to the river."

Yang Rou nodded, "'The winds are bleak and waters chill, the brave will never return once gone…'"

"He clearly guessed Zhao Qingtian's target."

Hearing Yang Rou's words, Chen Yan became somewhat restless.

He put on his clothes and picked up his phone, saying, "I'll give Zhao Xuan a call."

As a mature woman, she knew when to persuade and when to remain silent.

So although it was already three in the morning, Zhao Xuan was likely asleep or perhaps wouldn't even hear the phone, she didn't say anything but just nodded.

Chen Yan picked up the phone, went outside, and made the call.

The ringing echoed in the silent and empty night.

One ring, two rings, three rings… till it cut off automatically, no one answered.

Chen Yan stubbornly continued to call, still with no answer.

Then, Yang Rou spoke, "It's too late now, Zhao Xuan is not young, he might have already gone to bed."

Hearing Yang Rou's words, Chen Yan only then realized how late it had gotten.

He laughed and replied, "Makes sense. Let's talk about it tomorrow. We should sleep first,"

Saying this, he went back to the room, got into bed, turned off the light, and lay down with Yang Rou to sleep.

But in the darkness, neither he nor Yang Rou could close their eyes for a long time...

...

The next morning, Chen Yan took the initiative to make breakfast for Yang Rou.

While making breakfast, Chen Yan hadn't forgotten to call Zhao Xuan.

But it was unclear whether Zhao Xuan hadn't gotten up or something else.

All of Chen Yan's calls were like a stone thrown into the sea, with no response.

Chen Yan couldn't shake a vague unease, but he couldn't show it.

Not until Yang Rou got up, had breakfast, and left did Chen Yan finally become a bit restless.

He sent Zhao Xuan a few messages and WeChats, asking him to call back, then hesitated over contacting Zhao Ying.

But before he could make the call, Zhao Ying called him first.

Picking up the phone, Chen Yan asked, "What's up, Brother Ying?"

On the other end, Zhao Ying sounded a bit upset, a rarity for her typically cheerful disposition.

She told Chen Yan, "Chen Yan. My dad's been arrested."

"Arrested?" Chen Yan was momentarily stunned, then asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Ying explained, "I received a call from the police station this morning, saying my dad is suspected of murder and has been summoned for questioning, and they asked me to come and proceed with the formalities."

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