As soon as Lin Xi sent the message, Jiang Ran called her back immediately.

“Xixi, explain yourself clearly—what exactly did Xiao Yang do to you?” Jiang Ran’s voice was filled with agitation.

Lin Xi recounted the events of that day over the phone. Even though two or three days had passed, her voice still trembled as she spoke.

Song Xu pulled Lin Xi closer, whispering comfort into her ear: “It’s alright, Xixi. I’m right here.”

Jiang Ran remained silent on the other end for a long time, as if struggling to process the harsh reality of what she’d heard.

“Ran Ran, are you still there?” Lin Xi asked, noticing the silence. “Don’t you believe me?”

“Of course I believe you,” Jiang Ran responded quickly. She took a deep breath. “I’m just shocked—I never imagined Xiao Yang could do something so depraved.”

“Xixi, don’t worry. I won’t let him walk away from this.”

“Ran Ran, what are you planning to do?” Lin Xi asked, worried. “You’re in the Police Academy—you absolutely must not interfere with this case.”

Lin Xi didn’t want Jiang Ran to make a mistake out of impulsivity, which could ruin her future career.

“Xixi, trust me. I won’t do anything illegal,” Jiang Ran said, her voice cold and sharp. “I’m just going to make sure Xiao Yang gets the punishment he deserves.”

Lin Xi didn’t know much about Jiang Ran’s family background, but after meeting her older brother, Zhou Jingming, she could sense that Jiang Ran’s situation wasn’t exactly ordinary.

“However, I do have a question,” Jiang Ran continued. “How did Xiao Yang even contact those people to help him? This kind of thing is illegal; even if they were paid, no one would just do it, especially since they showed their faces.”

“And the date-rape drug—you can’t just buy that in regular places. Xiao Yang might be twisted, but he’s just a college student—and one from a strict family at that. Where would he get something like that?”

Lin Xi was stumped. She hadn’t thought that deeply into it; she had been too busy trying to block the memory out. She looked up at Song Xu. “What do you think?”

Song Xu had heard everything Jiang Ran said. He had originally pegged Jiang Ran as an impulsive, scatterbrained person, but he was surprised to find her so level-headed.

He had already identified these suspicious points and had Lu Yunzhou helping him track the culprits down. “I’m investigating it on my end, and the police are questioning him as well, though it’s unclear if he’ll actually talk.”

“Leave the police side to me,” Jiang Ran said. “You focus on getting Song Xu to find those accomplices.”

After hanging up, Lin Xi leaned into Song Xu’s embrace. “Is there someone else out there trying to hurt me?”

Song Xu stroked her long hair. “Don’t worry. Anyone who wants to harm you will only find a dead end.”

—

Lu Yunzhou stared coldly at the middle-aged man kneeling at his feet. “Changgui, who ordered you to target Lin Xi?”

Changgui was the very man who had tried to drag Lin Xi off the street. He kept his back straight, showing no hint of fear. “It was arranged by Director Lu.”

“My father?” Lu Yunzhou leaned back against the sofa, lit a cigarette, and took a slow drag, watching Changgui in silence.

“Young Master Lu,” Changgui said, his knees aching as he tried to stand, only to be shoved back down by a subordinate. “You’d best let me go. I have business to report to Director Lu.”

Lu Yunzhou laughed. Nice. It had been a long time since anyone dared to speak to him like that. “Are you using my father to pressure me?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Changgui frowned. “I am Director Lu’s man. You shouldn’t be treating me like this, Young Master Lu.”

“Director Lu, Young Master Lu…” Lu Yunzhou mused. “I don’t care whose man you are. If you’re eating the Lu family’s food, you answer to me, Lu Yunzhou.”

The Lu family business would be his sooner or later. He was the one running most of the operations now; if not for him, the family’s business wouldn’t have expanded to its current scale.

The Lu family started in the underworld, doing anything for profit. As the government began cracking down, they slowly pivoted, pouring most of their energy into legitimate industries. Lu Yunzhou was sharp-minded, showing incredible business talent from a young age. He took over the company at fifteen and doubled their revenue by eighteen.

Without him, where would the Lu family be today?

“Young Master Lu,” Changgui scoffed. “Don’t forget, you only hold twenty percent of the company’s equity. Director Lu is still the majority shareholder.”

Lu Yunzhou sat up straight and kicked the man directly in the face. “Trying to drive a wedge between my father and me?”

“As long as people like you exist, the Lu family will never thrive,” Lu Yunzhou sneered. “Take him out and chop him up to feed the dogs.”

“Young Master Lu, you can’t do this to me!” Changgui panicked. “I demand to see Director Lu!”

“You want to see my father? Hmph!”

Before Lu Yunzhou could finish, a confidant leaned in and whispered: “Boss, Director Lu is here. He’s already at the main gate.”

Lu Yunzhou frowned and tilted his chin. “Quick, help Uncle Changgui up. Look how dirty his face is—wipe it off.”

The subordinates moved quickly, untying Changgui and scrubbing the footprint off his face with a wet wipe.

As soon as they finished, the door swung open. Lu Zhentao strode in, wearing a long-sleeved floral shirt, sunglasses, and a entourage of bodyguards.

Even with his greying temples, Lu Zhentao still exuded the aura of a mob boss—a giant gold watch, a thick gold chain, and four or five gemstone-encrusted rings on his fingers.

Lu Yunzhou’s eye twitched. No matter how many years passed, he couldn’t get used to his father’s fashion sense.

“Dad!” He stood up to greet him. “What brings you here?”

Lu Zhentao removed his sunglasses, revealing a face that didn’t quite match his terrifying reputation—at fifty, he still looked remarkably delicate.

“I heard you locked Changgui up, so I came to take a look,” Lu Zhentao sat in the head seat. He looked at the standing Changgui. “What did he do wrong?”

Seeing Lu Zhentao, Changgui immediately crawled over and knelt before him. “Director Lu, it was my incompetence. I failed the mission. Song’s young master appeared and ruined our plans.”

“Song Xu?” Lu Zhentao toyed with his gold watch. “He’s quite infatuated with that little harlot, Lin Xi.”

“No matter. If it didn’t work this time, there’s always next time. I don’t believe that little brat has nine lives. If she dares to compete with my daughter for a man, she deserves to die.”

“Dad!” Lu Yunzhou said, his expression grave. “We’ve had a relationship with the Song family for years. Doing this is inappropriate.”

“What’s inappropriate about it?” Lu Zhentao glared at him. “I haven’t even scolded you yet. Xiaoqi tells me you’ve been taking sides, giving that little harlot Lin Xi special treatment.”

“What? You’ve got your eye on her, too?”

“Dad, Lin Xi is just a girl. There’s no need to take things to such an extreme.” Lu Yunzhou tried to reason with him.

His father and his sister were two of a kind—never considering the consequences of their actions. He’d spent all these years cleaning up their messes. He genuinely didn’t know how his father had built the company in the first place; it was a miracle it hadn’t gone bankrupt before he took over.