Yu Lian was on the phone on the street, unaware that someone was approaching from behind. She was just focused on the pebbles under her feet, fiddling with them with the tip of her shoe.

Finally, after a long time, the call was connected, and a familiar voice came from the other end.

"Li Yanshen, look what you've done!!"

Yu Lian sounded a little anxious, but you could tell that the person on the phone was someone she had a very good relationship with, like a close friend.

Upon hearing the slightly reproachful yet affectionate tone in the voice, Li Yanshen on the other end of the phone immediately guessed the current situation.

"You know? Did those two help you properly? If they didn't, I'll go and give them a good talking-to right now."

Even at this point, Li Yanshen was still joking around. Yu Lian couldn't help but raise her voice: "Really, could you please not give me such a big surprise next time? Or you could at least tell me in advance. I'm worried that I might not be able to entertain you properly and ruin your good intentions."

Li Yanshen told her not to be too reserved: "Just treat these two elderly people like any other elders. Don't try to be special or appear nervous in front of them. That will only make them uncomfortable, understand?"

"Oh, but isn't this a bit much? How did you even get to know such a remarkable person? And I see that Dr. Wang lives in the mountains on the outskirts of the city, and he seems to be planning to stay there for life. What skills did you use to persuade him to come down?"

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. Alright, I have other matters to attend to. We can talk more when I return to Hong Kong."

Li Yanshen urged her to hang up the phone, and after Yu Lian said goodbye, she urgently called for a halt.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! By the way, you haven't given me the investigation report yet?"

Speaking of the investigation report, Li Yanshen sighed almost imperceptibly, then said in a spirited tone to the person on the other end of the phone, "Oh dear, I was too busy filming those two days, and then I forgot about it. I'll give it to you when you get back to Hong Kong."

Yu Lian agreed and then hung up the phone.

Li Yanshen held the brown paper bag in his hand; the edges were frayed from repeated rubbing. He had originally intended to give the investigation report to Yu Lian at the agreed time, but so much had happened during that period that he couldn't bear to hand it over.

With Yu Lian's permission, he investigated his past in great detail, even finding out which child he was close to in elementary school, not to mention his involvement with Cai Guizhi in marrying into the He family to pay for his sister's medical treatment.

But it was precisely because of this incident that Li Yanshen was forced to make a change. If being kidnapped was harmful, and the company's problems were harmful, then the truth of this matter was an even greater harm. As a friend, he didn't want to see her get hurt again and again.

"Li, why did you call us over so late?"

Two men dressed in black appeared beside Li Yanshen by the river. Li Yanshen had been waiting for them at the door since he left his house.

"It's nothing, I just asked you to help me find someone."

"You need us to handle something as simple as finding someone?"

It wasn't originally necessary, but who told Jiang Qing to scheme against someone he cared about? He held a brand-new leather document bag in his hand, which he handed to one of the people.

"I have all the information, photos, and her last known location. I need you to find her within a month."

"Alright, we've got your back. It's rare for you to ask us for help; we thought you'd really retired. Consider this a comeback gift from us."

Li Yanshen's lips curled slightly: "No, we'll settle it however we see fit. I don't like owing favors."

The leader sighed deeply, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You're still as indifferent as ever."

The three stood by the river for a while, chatting about recent events. However, they didn't stay long before parting ways. Li Yanshen returned home, slamming the door shut behind him.

On the other side...

Yu Lian had just hung up the phone when she turned around and saw someone who shouldn't be in Yuncheng.

She remembered clearly that He Lin succeeded in her dream in late autumn, when a very important festival was being celebrated abroad. Logically speaking, He Lin should still be abroad at that time, and he should have returned at least after that festival.

"He... Lin?"

He Lin stared blankly at the person in front of him, expressionless. After asking her question, Yu Lian also stared at him without saying a word.

"Are you a human or a ghost?"

His wife asked him a soul-searching question, not because she no longer loved He Lin, but because the person in front of her was ashen-faced.

"Not saying anything? Have you gone mute?" Yu Lian had a vague feeling that this person was being jealous again—maybe he had overheard her talking to Li Yanshen on the phone. But her phone call was just a normal conversation; she hadn't done anything inappropriate or said anything.

"Really not going to tell me? Then come back when you want to." She has a temper too.

As he made to leave, He Lin spoke up: "Tell me, when did you become so close to him?"

"What? We've always been pretty close, you know that, and I haven't been hiding anything from you."

"His tone. Was he trying to take advantage of my absence to secretly curry favor with you?"

Hearing this elementary school student's comment, Yu Lian was both amused and exasperated. She said helplessly, "You, you really think your wife is some hot commodity that everyone wants a bite of? Can you please stop having such wild thoughts for a day?"

He Lin, however, didn't believe it: "Don't underestimate yourself. You're highly sought after. I know that Li Yanshen is still up to no good."

Yu Lian didn't want to continue arguing, as it was pointless.

"Okay, okay. Why did you suddenly come back? Didn't you say that project with that company overseas failed and went bankrupt? How come you're in a financial magazine after just a few days?"

Yu Lian's frankness made He Lin temporarily forget about his grudge against Li Yanshen.

"You...know?!"

"I've always known. But I don't understand why you lied to me. He Lin, this kind of behavior is really despicable."

He stepped forward and took her hand, saying, "Actually, it wasn't intentional. It's just that our relationship was pretty tense that day, right? I wanted you to feel sorry for me. You know you're more easily swayed by gentle persuasion than force, so I tried to portray myself as more pitiful so you'd feel sorry for me. Later, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was afraid you'd get angry and ignore me..."

At this moment, the cautiousness and grievance in her words were completely different from the jealous person she had been just moments before.

Yu Lian was at a loss with the person in front of her: "Alright, I'll say it again, you can't lie to me for this kind of reason in the future. Otherwise, I'll really get angry, and the consequences will be severe."

He Lin nodded repeatedly, a smile playing on his lips: "Yes, it won't happen again!"

At this moment, He Lin hurriedly returned from outside, eager to share with her the joy of achieving his life goal. A week ago, he officially took over Financial Street, becoming its new leader. This meant that in terms of wealth and status, he had already reached the top of the world's pyramid.

At that moment, all he wanted to do was share this good news with his loved ones immediately, but he was stopped by the young girl at the pharmacy, who gave him a disdainful look: "You're An'an's father?"

"Is there a hidden meaning in what you're saying, little one?"

"Of course. If you can't protect Auntie, then let her find a new uncle to protect her!"

Faced with the sudden accusations, he was more interested in figuring out the reasons behind them than getting angry.

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