On the day of graduation, I was dragged by my rich father to get the certificate

"Wanwan, the account book..." Si Yehan's voice was unusually calm, almost distorted.

Gu Wan's nails dug into his palm and interrupted, "What's written on it?"

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the line, followed by a barely audible sigh: "Let's talk when we meet."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wan realized her back was soaking wet. She mechanically carried Nian Nian to the children's room, pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead, and then stood in the middle of the living room, suddenly unsure of what to do. The dark clouds outside the window finally gave way, and the first raindrops hit the glass like a faint whimper.

The dock's searchlights blurred into a blur in the rain. Si Yehan sat in the car, the account book on the passenger seat. His fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Special Assistant Wu stood outside the car holding a black umbrella, the rain flowing down the ribs in a curtain of water. "Master Si, the Mu family has left."

Si Yehan didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the dark red fingerprint on the cover of the account book—a mark he'd accidentally placed when he'd turned to a crucial page. The words "Si Yan" on the page pierced his eyes like a knife.

"On May 2001, 5, the Si Group invested 17 million yuan in cash to upgrade the braking system of the Nangong family's ocean-going freighter..."

Every word screamed in his mind. Grandpa's face suddenly appeared on the windshield, the old man who always smiled and bought him candy, overlapping with the cold words on the account book.

"Mr. Si?" Assistant Wu knocked on the car window. "The rain is too heavy. Do you want to..."

Si Yehan suddenly opened the car door, and the rain immediately soaked the front of his suit. He grabbed the account book and stuffed it into his inner pocket, his movements so rough that it seemed as if he were trying to hide it inside his body. "Don't tell anyone a word about what happened tonight."

Assistant Wu tilted his umbrella toward him: "But if Miss Gu Wan asks..."

"Especially Wanwan!" Si Yehan's voice broke over the sound of rain. "If she knew..." He didn't finish because his cell phone suddenly rang. The sight of the word "Wanwan" on the screen gave him a shudder, as if he had been electrocuted.

Assistant Wu tactfully stepped back. Si Yehan took three deep breaths before answering the phone. An unnatural smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Hello, Wanwan..."

"Ye Han...why hasn't he come back yet? Is it..." Gu Wan's voice was filled with cautious expectation.

"No!" Si Yehan almost shouted, then realized his mistake and lowered his voice, "Sorry, Wanwan, I messed up tonight's deal. The Mu family suddenly changed their minds. We may need to find another way."

There was a noticeable exhalation from the other end of the phone, followed by Gu Wan's relieved voice: "It's okay, I'll find another way. Come back soon, I've prepared your favorite noodle soup."

In the background, Nian Nian's clear voice came: "Dad, come back for dinner!"

Si Yehan's vision suddenly blurred, and he couldn't tell if it was the rain or something else. He held onto the account book tightly, as if it were bleeding. "Okay, I'll be right back."

After hanging up the phone, he turned to Assistant Wu, his eyes more panicked than ever before: "Go check the Mu family, I want to know where the missing page of the account book is. And..." His voice was so low that it was almost inaudible, "If you dare to reveal a single word about the account book to the Mu family, I will make them disappear from Hai City."

"clear."

The rain intensified. The lights at the dock cast a long shadow behind Si Yehan, like a wound that would never heal.

Murray stood in front of the French window, tapping the red wine glass impatiently with his fingertips.

Ever since the deal at the docks, she'd been waiting for news of Si Yehan and Gu Wan's falling out. But two weeks had passed, and the photos sent back by the people she'd been sent to spy on them showed them as loving as ever—Si Yehan with his arm around Gu Wan's waist at a charity dinner, the three of them laughing heartily at an amusement park.

"How could Nangong Xuan tolerate her daughter being with the grandson of her enemy?" Mu Rui slammed her wine glass onto the coffee table, splashing amber liquid onto the newly transmitted photo, blurring Si Yehan's gentle gaze as he gazed at Gu Wan. She suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Gu Wan can so calmly accompany Si Yehan to various events, unless... she has no idea what's in the account book."

The thought made her shudder. Si Yehan threatened them with the future of the Mu family to keep their mouths shut. If the news leaked out of the Mu family... Mu Rui looked at the neon-lit nightscape of Haicheng outside the glass curtain wall and suddenly curled her lips into a cold smile.

"Since the Mu family can't reveal it, let him speak for himself."

At 7:25 that evening, the crystal chandeliers of the Hai City Pearl Hotel cast a warm glow on the VIP seats by the window. Si Yehan was carefully carving steak for his daughter. The little girl swung her legs and recounted interesting stories from kindergarten. Gu Wan listened, her large eyes twinkling with happiness under the light.

The piercing ring of a cell phone suddenly shattered the warm atmosphere. Si Yehan's pupils constricted when he saw the name "Mu Rui" on the caller ID. He quickly hung up, but the other party kept calling, causing Nian Nian to pout and cover her ears.

"Take it." Gu Wan took a sip of milk, leaving a faint lip mark on the rim of the glass.

Si Yehan quickly walked to the French window and lowered his voice, "I told you to contact Special Assistant Wu about the work."

"Don't you want that page of the account book?" Murray's voice was like a venomous snake. "Penthouse suite, no more waiting."

“Are you looking for death?”

"Forget it..." Murui pretended to hang up.

"Wait!" Si Yehan's jaw tightened. "Half an hour later..."

"Ten minutes." Murray interrupted.

“Twenty minutes…”

"good!"

Back at the dining table, Si Yehan acted as if nothing had happened. After slicing his daughter's steak, he also sliced Gu Wan's.

Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the damn cell phone rang again.

Seeing Mu Rui's name, Si Yehan's knife and fork suddenly clinked against the porcelain plate. He quickly finished off the cold steak and gulped down the red wine. "It's an urgent matter at the company," he wiped his lips, and under Gu Wan's inquiring gaze, he added, "Special Assistant Wu will come to pick you up."

"Goodbye, Dad!" Nian Nian waved, holding up a ketchup-stained fork. Gu Wan watched her husband's hurried departure in silence, her knuckles unconsciously rubbing the dark lines on the napkin.

Si Yehan pushed open the door to the penthouse suite. Mu Rui was standing in front of the French window with her back to him, a glass of red wine in her hand.

The night scene of the sea city spread out behind her, and the neon lights flickered like an inverted galaxy.

"You're three minutes and twelve seconds late." Murray didn't turn around, his voice full of a confident smile. "It seems the account book issue isn't important enough to you."

"Stop talking nonsense." Si Yehan closed the door with his backhand, his muscles tensing beneath his suit jacket. "Where's that page?"