Shen Tingfeng leaned back against his wheelchair, tilting his head with a light chuckle.
"Go ahead, try me?" He laughed recklessly, utterly dismissive of Tang Beiqiu. "Your little life is as easy for me to crush as an ant."
"That depends on whether you can walk out of here safely."
Tang Beiqiu released him coldly. Getting angry at scum like this wasn't worth it—he'd been having too many troubles lately and lost his temper for a moment.
The man pulled a cigarette from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and slowly exhaled a thick plume of smoke. "Second Young Master Shen likes it here, does he? Fine, I'll go notify the Shen family right now that you're not willing to leave and plan to stay forever."
"..."
Tang Beiqiu paused. "Oh, and I have plenty of evidence to put you away, so don't count on getting out."
After all, his final destination could only be a prison cell!
Now it was Shen Tingfeng's turn to roar in fury: "Tang Beiqiu, you son of a bitch, let me go!"
"I'll fucking kill you when I get out!"
Tang Beiqiu ignored his outburst, walked out of the room, and ordered someone to keep a close watch on him. Honestly, it didn't require such a fuss—with his legs in that state, how far could he run?
Shen Xiaoxing planned to lock him up for a year, though he didn't know why. But judging by the situation, a few months in custody was already a stretch.
Yesterday, Shen Yu had come to the station to pressure him, offering bribes and promising promotions and raises, with whatever conditions he wanted.
But Tang Beiqiu—Shen Tingfeng had called it right—was upright and unyielding, not the type to bow for a few crumbs.
...
In the study, French velvet drapes were tied high, with pressed vine-patterned edges outlined in gold thread and tassels hanging down.
Warm sunlight streamed through the lattice window, and outside, the greenery was lush, a scene full of vitality.
The man frowned as he flipped through the documents in his hand. They detailed An Ruo's experiences: wandering at age twelve, being sent to an orphanage, and then being taken away by Grandma An two years later.
When he first met her, he'd had Han Chong investigate, just to confirm she wasn't a spy sent by the second branch. He hadn't cared about her past back then.
But now, as he had Han Chong dig into every detail of her life, reading about how she'd gone hungry and cold while wandering, been bullied in the orphanage, and then been constantly pushed around by An Qing after arriving at the An family...
He'd once thought his own life was miserable enough, until he met this girl. She'd had it even worse than him, and his cold, bitter heart had gradually melted because of her.
No wonder she was so aloof, always bottling everything up inside.
Shen Xiaoxing's eyes darkened. He really hadn't realized that his girl had suffered so much in this world before meeting him!
If only he'd met her sooner...
The records showed she'd wandered for a while before being sent to the orphanage, but there was no documentation of what came before that.
It was as if she'd been abandoned at birth, with no background or records—just like she'd said herself, like Sun Wukong popping out of a stone.
Han Chong tapped his iPad. "There's no record of the young mistress online."
As a top hacker, if she were from Shen City, her birth certificate would be in the system. Using her blood type, appearance, and the areas where she'd wandered, the search range had narrowed significantly.
"Only these few families match." Han Chong copied the content to the man's computer.
Shen Xiaoxing clicked the mouse to open it. He'd wanted to have Tang Beiqiu use the police database to investigate, but he was afraid of making it public. After all, the girl was pregnant now and couldn't afford any risk.
Her biological parents might not be from Shen City, but for convenience, they decided to start the search there.
Only nine families met the criteria. Shen Xiaoxing verified the backgrounds of each family and the identities of the parents who'd lost their daughters, narrowing it down to a few promising ones, which he jotted down with a pen.
Suddenly, he remembered the strange tattoo on the girl's right shoulder...
Shen Xiaoxing bent over the desk, drawing the tattoo from memory, then handed it to Han Chong. "Look into this tattoo design."
It had to be connected to An Ruo's origins.
The tattoo on her right shoulder blade only appeared when her skin temperature was high, so she'd never known it existed since she could remember.
He'd asked the girl—her memories only went back to age twelve, when she was wandering. That meant the tattoo had been there since she was very young.
"By the way, what's the situation with Shen Tingfeng?"
"Ever since the old man got angry last time and had the second young master taken away, no one's dared to plead for him. But..." Han Chong frowned slightly. "But Second Master bribed some connections. Although the second young master is still in the police station, they can't convict him. And lately, Second Master has been making moves to get him out."
The man tapped his bony fingers on the desk. He had to keep Shen Tingfeng locked up for at least a year, or else he'd cause trouble while An Ruo was pregnant—he had to be prepared.
"Shen Tingfeng has done plenty of shady things bordering on illegal over the years, hasn't he?" He curled his thin lips. "Find someone reliable to look into the tattoo. You need to expose his scandals as soon as possible—ideally, get him a few more years."
"Ever since we handed over the evidence of his attempted murder to Officer Tang, Second Master suspected your growing power over the years and had someone scrub away the second young master's scandals..."
"Who said we need real evidence to expose him?"
"..."
The man narrowed his dangerous eyes, a heavy calculation flickering in his gaze. "If there's no evidence, we can create it."
"..."
"If there are no scandals, we'll manufacture them."
He had to ruin Shen Tingfeng. Using petty tricks to finish him off wouldn't work—the old man would definitely step in to protect him.
But temporarily locking him up would reduce one threat, giving his girl a little more safety.
Besides, imprisoning Shen Tingfeng would deal a blow to Shen Yu. He could then press his advantage and easily seize the position of CEO of the Shen Group.
He also instructed Han Chong to assign more people to secretly follow An Ruo, ensuring she and the baby in her womb faced no danger at all.
Also, the fewer people who knew about her pregnancy, the better. The servants assigned to take care of her had to keep their mouths shut!
...
After following the filming progress on set for a while, An Ruo got to enjoy the daily lives of the male and female stars and behind-the-scenes footage—for free, no less.
Chen Keqiao showed off her food, drinks, and fun, posting clips of her work on set, which made her cry every day, begging to visit.
It wasn't appropriate for An Ruo to bring her in directly, since actors and some crew had to sign confidentiality agreements not to leak filming content. She came up with a plan: have Chen Keqiao pose as her assistant.
She deliberately sent Yang Sisi away and handed Chen Keqiao a new badge.
"Here, this way you can come and go freely on set. But you have to promise not to take random photos or record videos to post online."
Chen Keqiao made a zipping motion over her mouth and slung an arm around An Ruo like a good buddy. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I won't breathe a word to anyone! I promise!"
"..." An Ruo wasn't so sure—Chen Keqiao was notorious for being a big mouth!
When they entered the set, they happened to catch Song Weiwei filming a scene with the second female lead. The two were going head-to-head in acting, captivating the crew.