As the guards stepped out of the elevator, they noticed a faint light spilling through the crack of the stairwell door. One of them pushed it open to investigate.
Gripping the handrail, he leaned forward and looked down the stairs. He could hear faint footsteps below, and the motion-sensor lights were lit all the way down for two floors.
“Suspicious person spotted in the stairwell—move to intercept immediately,” he reported into his earpiece as he rushed down.
Acknowledgments echoed over the shared channel.
The commotion was loud enough that Lei Shaoxin heard it too. She instinctively quickened her pace.
Luckily, most of the guards were patrolling the upper floors. Only two or three were close enough to chase her as she headed downward.
She soon dashed out of the Zhuosheng Group building.
But the guards were right behind her. Without thinking, she darted into a back alley. The city’s alleys twisted and connected in every direction.
She didn’t dare slow down, clutching the kraft envelope tightly as she ran, glancing back from time to time.
The guards were still on her tail. She turned onto a main road, waving desperately at passing taxis while running.
Just her luck—not a single one stopped. All were already occupied.
Her stamina was fading. She was no match for trained bodyguards and had already sprinted across two streets.
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to keep going—until she suddenly ran into Fu Haoyan, who had just finished his own outing nearby.
Even with her mask on, he recognized her instantly.
Their eyes met—hers filled with both surprise and a silent plea for help. He caught it immediately.
Glancing at the guards chasing behind her, Fu Haoyan understood everything in an instant. He grabbed her hand and turned, pulling her into a run.
As he led her forward, the wind tugged at his white shirt. Watching his back, Lei Shaoxin felt a strange sense of familiarity—it reminded her of the boy who had once saved her when she was young.
She was nearly out of breath when she spotted a tram stopping ahead. Raising the envelope in her hand, she tapped his arm to get his attention.
He slowed and looked back at her.
She gestured toward the tram. Without hesitation, he pulled her along toward it.
They jumped on just in time. She headed straight to the back of the lower deck, while the guards kept chasing until the tram’s bell rang sharply—only then did she finally relax.
The tram pulled away before the guards could catch up.
Still catching her breath, she glanced around—there were no available seats on the lower level.
She made her way upstairs. The upper deck was empty. Only then did she take off her mask, breathing deeply as she walked to a pair of seats.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Fu Haoyan listened as her breathing gradually steadied. Looking down at her, he saw she still had her head lowered.
“What’s going on?” he finally asked, glancing at the kraft envelope in her hand.
She didn’t answer.
Her mind was still replaying the image of him pulling her along just moments ago.
Suddenly, she looked up—and met his gaze.
Their eyes locked.
“You’re… the one who saved me back then, aren’t you?” she asked softly.
A smile tugged at his lips. He leaned closer and whispered by her ear,
“Only figured it out now, Ding Ding?”
There was only one person in the world who called her that—the boy who used to take her on tram rides all the time.
Her eyes widened in surprise, her expression lighting up with joy. To him, she looked incredibly endearing.
Sitting side by side—one tall, one small—the rhythmic ding ding of the tram echoed around them.
She didn’t explain what she had been doing that night. Instead, they simply shared stories of the years they had spent apart—just like they had nine years ago.
After all this time… he had saved her again.
Meanwhile, He Zhuosheng rushed back overnight.
A bodyguard stood before him, head lowered, reporting everything that had just happened. On the table sat an open box filled with disordered documents—silent evidence of the intruder’s hurried search.
He Zhuosheng’s expression remained cold.
“What was taken?”
The guards exchanged uneasy glances. None of them knew.
At that moment, the assistant stepped forward, having just finished checking the files. Leaning in, he spoke quietly:
“We reviewed the surveillance. The system was hacked—no footage of the intruder. What’s missing is the financial report from when Lei Corporation went public.”
“Leave.” He Zhuosheng raised his hand slightly. The guards immediately exited.
Seeing the assistant hesitate, He Zhuosheng turned his head.
“Anything else?”
The assistant thought of the news he had seen earlier that day. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke:
“Miss Lei also went to the records room before. I suspect—”
“Leave.”
He was cut off mid-sentence.
The anger in He Zhuosheng’s voice was unmistakable. The assistant didn’t dare say another word and quickly left, closing the door quietly behind him.
The boss had always been someone who never let grudges go—but he had never seen him like this before.
Alone in the office, He Zhuosheng took out his phone and opened an encrypted video. He played it over and over again.
Then he thought of the news from earlier that day.
A cold smile formed on his lips.
Since things had already come to this… he might as well push them further.
He dialed a number.
“Future father-in-law, it seems it’s time we discuss the wedding details between Shaoxin and me.”
On the other end, Lei Jiu responded eagerly,
“Yes, yes, Zhuosheng. Let’s find a time in the next few days and talk it through properly.”
In the Lei family home, Lei Jiu paced back and forth in the living room, his frown deepening.
It was getting on everyone’s nerves.
Gao Man sat nearby, eating fruit.
“You’re making me anxious just watching you.”
Lei Jiu sat down beside her.
“Zhuosheng wants to discuss the wedding details. We originally agreed on six months—why is it suddenly being pushed forward? The news only broke this morning, and tonight he’s already talking about moving it up.”
Lei Zhiying, hearing this, smirked proudly.
“That leak? I was the one who tipped it off.”
She glanced at her hand, still wrapped in bandages.
“She’s so annoying—serves her right to marry that cripple. Besides, it’s good for the Lei family.”
Lei Jiu stood and walked over to her.
“If the wedding is suddenly moved up like this, I’m worried there’s something unexpected we don’t know about.”
He continued,
“If Shaoxin refuses to marry, what happened back then will become a huge problem.”
Thinking of the leverage He Zhuosheng held over both him and the Lei family, his fingers began tapping anxiously against his phone.
Frowning, he resumed pacing before finally dialing a number.
“Shaoxin, it’s been a while since the family had dinner together. When are you coming home?”
“Another time,” Lei Shaoxin replied flatly before hanging up.
She stared at the two financial reports laid out in front of her, having no interest in talking to him.
Comparing them side by side, the discrepancies were obvious.
The one she had stolen from Zhuosheng Group… was the falsified financial report used to take Lei Corporation public back then.
Could her mother’s death have been connected to this?
Her brows tightened. No wonder they were forcing her to marry He Zhuosheng.
She didn’t dare dig deeper into the conspiracy.
If not for Fu Haoyan earlier, she would have already been caught. And the more she investigated, the more danger she would be in.
Right now… he was the only person she could think of who might be able to help.
But then again—she couldn’t just drag an innocent person into this.
Her gaze turned blank as she stared at the ceiling.
Reaching to the bedside, she grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills, swallowed one with water, and drifted into a hazy sleep.
By the time she woke up the next day, it was already noon.
Holding a bouquet of vivid red roses and some offerings, she hurried into a taxi.
Today… was the anniversary of her mother’s death.
As the taxi pulled away, a black van parked not far off quietly followed behind.