At a red light intersection, Li Lang's car was stopped, waiting for the light to change. After Xu Ke left the West Sea Café, Li Lang had gotten into his own car and driven off.

On the way back, his expression had already morphed from the smugness of learning a secret to one of hesitation and struggle. The glare of oncoming headlights cast his face in flickering light and shadow.

Honestly, under the weight of Xu Ke's evidence, he had come to believe that the Ye Family was indeed out to get the Li Family. He understood why the Ye Family would sacrifice them. Firstly, the Ye Family had the much more powerful Dapeng Corporation. Secondly, it was perhaps because Li Jun had once brought great humiliation to Xu Ke; to get Xu Ke to accept a partnership with the Ye Family, Wong Qifu had forcefully demanded the Li Family be sacrificed as an apology.

However, that son-in-law who coasted on his wife's influence, Xu Ke, was far too greedy. There was no way he would just stand by and watch the humiliating spectacle of the Wang and Ye Families cooperating. Therefore, to prevent his enemies from joining forces with the Wang Family, sabotaging their strategy was his only choice.

Besides, although he and Xu Ke had clashed before, he had always been the one to lose out. Xu Ke held no deep-seated hatred for him. So, it made perfect sense for Xu Ke to seek a partnership with someone who wasn't a true enemy.

But... even after figuring all this out, Li Lang was still apprehensive.

Even if Xu Ke claimed that revealing the evidence now could let them seize the initiative and ensure the Li Family's success, the Ye Family was immensely powerful. If he betrayed them now, wouldn't he provoke their fury and bring about the Li Family's premature destruction? Li Lang refused to become the man who doomed his family over a single impulse.

Just then, his phone started to ring—RING, RING...

Startled, Li Lang hurriedly fished it out.

The caller ID read: Dad.

Li Lang's eyes widened slightly as he answered. "Dad, what's up?"

"When are you coming back? Have dinner with me."

Hearing this, Li Lang nodded. "I'm on my way back now."

"Good."

Li Shichuan hung up.

Staring at the phone, Li Lang let out a deep sigh. Ever since his older brother, Li Jun, had passed away, his father often insisted he eat with him. Li Lang knew that while his father showed no outward grief, the fact that his hair had turned white overnight spoke volumes.

If I act recklessly and cause Father to lose me, his only remaining son, what would he do?

Li Lang hesitated for a long time before finally coming to a decision.

I have to tell Father about this.

***

At the Li Family's villa, a large dining table beside the living room was sparsely set with three dishes and a soup.

"Dad, I'm back."

Li Shichuan, his hair completely white, wore a polo shirt and a stern expression. "Where were you today?"

Li Lang sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "Xu Ke came to see me."

At his words, Li Shichuan's pupils shrank, and his free hand instantly clenched into a fist. "What did he want with you?"

"He wants to partner with me." With no one else around, Li Lang spoke bluntly.

Rage flickered across Li Shichuan's face. "What does he mean by that?!"

The feud for a murdered son is irreconcilable. I want to tear Xu Ke limb from limb, and now he has the audacity to approach my younger son for a partnership? What utter nonsense!

Li Lang took a deep breath, looking at his father's increasingly savage expression. "Xu Ke showed me evidence proving that the Ye and Wang Families are planning to cooperate. We're the price the Ye Family will pay as an apology." He paused, then added, "They're planning to sacrifice us!"

The moment the words left his lips, Li Shichuan's expression changed drastically. "What did you say?!"

"It's like this..." Li Lang slowly recounted everything Xu Ke had told him that evening, finally asking, "Dad, what do you think? What should we do?"

After he finished, a long, heavy silence fell over Li Shichuan. The news was a bombshell for Li Lang, but for Li Shichuan, it was a bolt from the blue.

I served the Ye Family my entire life, only for them to cast me aside in the end?! Impossible!

Li Shichuan looked up. "This is too absurd."

"I think it's absurd too, but I'm worried..." Li Lang gave a bitter smile.

Li Shichuan cut him off. "Don't worry. This is definitely Xu Ke's attempt to sow discord."

"The Dapeng Corporation has always been independent; one phone call doesn't prove it will cooperate with the Ye Family. If it really dared to jump into the fray against the Ye Family, it would surely face public wrath."

"As for the detailed records between you and Yuk Dalong, Xu Ke could have easily obtained those from Yuk Dalong through his own means."

A contemplative look crossed Li Shichuan's face as he eliminated the possibilities one by one.

Li Lang couldn't help but protest, "What about the recording? That voice... it was absolutely, undeniably Young Master Chong."

"...Can't recordings be faked?" Li Shichuan retorted.

"Ye Chong's voice was too natural," Li Lang said with another bitter smile.

Li Shichuan fell silent. He couldn't explain that.

Li Lang's bitter smile deepened. "And the bug? I doubt Ye Chong planted it to use against Ye Fan, right?"

His heart sank.

Is the Ye Family really going to abandon us? He still couldn't refute it. No matter how he thought about it, the bug had to be for Li Lang and Yuk Dalong!

At that moment, Li Lang changed the subject. "Then there's what happened at Jin K last night. The place was inexplicably cleared out right after the Second Lady Wang arrived."

"A lot of people think that because the Ye and Wang Families have a long-standing feud, Ye Chong cleared the place to deal with Wang Qiya."

"But on my way back just now, I asked around... Today, Wang Qiya showed up for work at the Wang Family Corporation right on time."

Li Shichuan said nothing, and a deathly silence fell over the dinner table.

After a long moment, Li Lang suddenly said, "Dad, I have an idea."

Li Shichuan looked up. "What is it?"

"We call Ye Chong and ask him what happened at Jin K last night. If he's willing to tell us, it probably means Xu Ke was lying." Li Lang moved to his father's side.

Li Shichuan was taken aback. "If we ask so directly, you think he'd actually tell us?"

Li Lang explained, "I'll just say I saw on social media that Young Master Chong was offering half-price drinks, but when I went over, the bar suddenly closed. It was strange, so it's only natural for me to ask about it out of concern, right? If he has a clear conscience, he'll answer me candidly."

Li Shichuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Go on, ask."

But after another thought, he added, "Call Young Master Fan. Our Li Family has always stood with Ye Fan. If you call Ye Chong, he might get the wrong idea and think we're planning to switch sides. That would be troublesome!"

As his father spoke, Li Lang's expression stiffened. Even now, Dad subconsciously sees me as one of Ye Fan's men!

He then nodded. "Okay, I'll call Ye Fan."

***

A moment later, Li Lang got through to Ye Fan and put the call on speaker. "Young Master Fan."

"What's up?" Ye Fan's voice revealed no particular emotion.

"Haha, well, it's like this..." Li Lang began with a fawning tone. "Wasn't Jin K offering half-price drinks yesterday? I went over, but it had suddenly closed. I was just wondering if there was a problem, or if there's anything I can do to help."

Li Lang felt his words were filled with nothing but concern and shouldn't cause any problems.

But Ye Fan exploded. "Why are you prying into this? Don't you have anything better to do? Can't you focus on actual business instead of drinking all day? Haven't you had enough booze?"

"Jin K is my younger brother's territory. Don't you dare overstep your bounds and meddle, got it?"

"Dammit!"

Hearing this, Li Shichuan's face turned utterly grim...

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