Nianyang spoke earnestly, but still no one agreed. She insisted on going, and Li Tingyan, fearing trouble, pretended to agree at first, then secretly drugged Nianyang, causing her to fall asleep without realizing it.

"Nini, wait for me obediently."

Li Tingyan caressed Nianyang’s face. "I’ll be back in at most two days. This time, I will definitely help you take revenge. Don’t be upset, I’m not deliberately leaving you behind. I just don’t want you to be caught up in danger again."

★

Two days later, Li Tingyan and Chu Zhan returned victorious. They successfully breached the opponent’s headquarters firewall, uncovering various small companies this family had distributed outside over the years, capturing them all in one go.

However, they brought back some very sad news.

Wen Qingmu was dead.

Because when Li Tingyan was preparing to breach the firewall, Wen Qingmu somehow entered the office, telling Li Tingyan there was movement in the secret room on the second floor, and to let Wen Qingmu handle the firewall.

Li Tingyan didn’t think much at the time and let Wen Qingmu breach the firewall.

Soon after, the firewall was breached, and the documented processes and recordings of Phoenix and her chairman’s misdeeds over the years were automatically transferred to Li Tingyan’s computer.

But when Li Tingyan went to find Wen Qingmu again, the office contained Wen Qingmu and Phoenix, along with Phoenix’s chairman, the son of the hidden family’s patriarch back then, all dead.

It turned out Wen Qingmu had released toxic gas into the air, dying together with the culprit who harmed Chu Lan back then.

With a pained expression, Old Master Chu slumped into his chair,

"I knew it; he’d been waiting for this day. He wouldn’t let Phoenix go; he’d been waiting to die with Phoenix..."

"But I didn’t expect that he never blamed the Chu Family; he always hated himself, just unwilling to face us, choosing avoidance..."

A man, watching his beloved woman tortured to death, could hardly escape self-blame and guilt.

He spent eighteen years, almost masochistically.

Facing the Chu Family with resentment, but ultimately, he used the most explosive death to tell the Chu Family.

He never resented them; he only ever hated himself.

Hating that he couldn’t protect his love, so he sought solace in death.

Old Master Chu covered his face, tears silently streaming down.

Everyone fell silent; the success was undeniable, but the cost was too heavy.

There would be no more Wen Qingmu in this world.

★

Nianyang woke up again three days later.

She opened her eyes on Li Tingyan’s bed, initially angry, but calmed down upon hearing that they had succeeded and Phoenix was destroyed.

Thinking of the dreams she had over the past two days, Nianyang looked at everyone and squeezed Li Tingyan’s hand tightly. "Beauty Master, I dreamed of Beauty Master. Did he go to help you too? Is he alright? I dreamed he died!"

Upon hearing Nianyang’s words, everyone’s facial expressions simultaneously became unnatural.

Li Tingyan squeezed Nianyang’s hand, coughed slightly, and said, "Nini, do you know, we were very successful this time; that company has completely closed down, so the Chu Family won’t fear being plotted against anymore. And it was Elder Wen who helped us breach the firewall!"

Chu Zhan chimed in, "Yes, yes, sister, and because Elder Wen found those materials after breaching the firewall, we captured everyone of that family who had been scattered outside over the years, including Phoenix!"

★