Saving the male protagonist in the dungeon only resulted in him becoming cannon fodder.

Meanwhile, the Li family had received news that Li Ming had been kidnapped by Bai Mengmeng. The Li family was extremely anxious, but dared not act rashly. Finally, they decided to send Li Yan to gather information.

Li Yan was secretly pleased, but on the surface he pretended to be worried and agreed to the Li family's request.

Several days passed, and one night, while everyone was fast asleep, Li Yan quietly sneaked into the abandoned warehouse where Li Ming was being held.

When Li Ming saw Li Yan, he burst into tears.

Li Ming: "Brother, save me!"

Li Yan: "Don't worry, little brother, I will definitely get you out of here."

However, all of this was arranged in advance by Bai Mengmeng.

Li Yan quickly untied the ropes, helped Li Ming to his feet, and asked with concern, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Li Ming rubbed his wrist and said helplessly, "Grandpa said you're unreliable, so he doesn't want me to contact you."

Li Yan frowned, already guessing the answer, but still pressed on, "Then what are you doing here alone?"

Li Ming scratched his head and replied with a silly grin, "Someone went to see Grandpa, and then Grandpa sent me here. As for what I'm supposed to do, I'm not really sure."

Li Yan was somewhat suspicious after hearing this, but feeling that Li Ming didn't seem to be lying, he didn't ask any further questions. He took Li Ming's hand, preparing to lead him away from this dangerous place. However, just as the two reached the door, a group of armed men suddenly appeared and surrounded them.

Li Yan's heart tightened; he knew something was wrong. These people had clearly come prepared and didn't seem friendly. They quickly separated Li Yan and Li Ming and locked them up. In reality, they didn't do anything to Li Ming, just kept him locked up, and they were deliberately putting on a show to make sure Li Ming saw that Li Yan had also been locked up.

Li Yan returned to Bai Mengmeng's residence. He gritted his teeth in anger, silently cursing the treachery and cunning of these people. They were far too wary, trusting no one, not even their own grandson. If this continued, their relationship would only become increasingly strained, potentially leading to irreversible consequences.

Bai Mengmeng overheard Li Yan and Li Ming's conversation and thoughtfully remarked, "He's faking it." She then worked through the night to retrieve the video recording of the birthday party and, after careful examination, discovered that Li Ming was indeed present. This indicated that Li Yuan wasn't the true mastermind, but merely a scapegoat.

Upon learning the truth, Li Yan was even more furious. He had originally thought Li Yuan was the grandfather's most favored person, but it turned out he had been used as a stepping stone for Li Ming all along, and now he discovered he had been kept in the dark. He was filled with resentment towards those people, feeling they had gone too far.

Looking at Li Yan's expression, Lu Ze knew he was in a very bad mood. He comforted him, "Since we can't get any useful information from Li Ming, why don't we think of a way to stage a self-inflicted injury? Maybe we can get more clues that way."

Li Yan's heart stirred upon hearing Lu Ze's words. He nodded, indicating his agreement to the plan. Although he was reluctant to deceive others in this way, he was willing to pay any price to uncover the truth. Thus, they began discussing how to carry out this elaborate scheme, hoping to find the real culprit as soon as possible.

The following night, Li Yan applied special effects makeup to make himself look like he'd been beaten, and under the cover of darkness, he quietly slipped into the place where his younger brother was being held. When Li Ming saw the injuries on his brother, he couldn't help but exclaim, "They really went all out!" However, Li Yan didn't offer much explanation, simply pulling Li Ming along as they ran. Along the way, the guards seemed to cooperate, not only drinking alcohol but also pretending they couldn't catch them. And so, the two successfully escaped.

Meanwhile, Bai Mengmeng, seeing that the plan had been successfully completed, immediately instructed her subordinates to keep a close watch on Li Ming. At this time, Li Yan pretended to be seriously injured and went to the hospital for treatment. All of this gave Li Ming the wrong impression that his brother needed to rest, so he decided to act alone.

Li Ming was extremely vigilant and did not stay in City A for long, but returned directly to the United States. Bai Mengmeng and Lu Ze had anticipated this, so they had arranged for people to continue monitoring Li Ming.

Upon learning that Li Ming had safely returned to China, Li Yan was filled with mixed emotions. There was nothing left in this home worth cherishing.

Finally, when the bidding results were announced, everyone realized that the so-called "substitution" wasn't a true swap, but rather a mistake by the organizers' staff who sent the wrong project information for another plot of land, leading to differences in the bidding details. In reality, the two plots of land were adjacent to each other, which explained the misunderstanding.

The unsuspecting investor who paid a hefty price for the land only received a frustrating response: the company had dismissed the employee involved and blacklisted them from the industry. It was a complete loss, leaving them utterly heartbroken!

Bai Mengmeng now fully understood the whole story. Initially, everything proceeded according to normal procedures, but due to the intense competition among them, someone took advantage of the situation.

As the matter gradually subsided, Bai Mengmeng and Lu Ze could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They had been under immense pressure for some time, and now they could finally relax and get some rest.

Seeing Bai Mengmeng busy all day, working during the day and still thinking about various problems even when she closes her eyes at night, Lu Ze felt sorry for her and suggested, "Mengmeng, why don't we take advantage of this weekend to go out and relax?"

Hearing Lu Ze say that we should relax, Bai Mengmeng immediately felt exhausted, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She immediately agreed: "Okay, let's invite everyone to come along, so we can all relax together."

Before leaving, Faye Wong specifically asked if she could bring her family. Everyone immediately understood that Faye Wong must have something going on.

Actually, Bai Meng wanted to invite Li Yan to come along, but considering his special status, it might not be convenient. So she ultimately decided not to invite him.

The group arrived at Bai Mengmeng's private residence in a grand procession. The environment was beautiful, with a swimming pool, barbecue grills, and other recreational facilities in the yard. Since the incident at the lake, although the misunderstanding had been cleared up, everyone still harbored some lingering psychological trauma. This time, they chose to gather in their own yard, which was both safe and comfortable.