Chapter 123: Change

Lin Wanbai lay in bed, unable to sleep for a while. She picked up her phone and began fiddling with it.

She opened Weibo to find a new account that followed only one person—herself. It was real-name verified and held a V-status.

Curious, she tapped on it and was astonished by the follower count, which surprisingly exceeded ten million.

However, the posts were locked, and aside from the bio, nothing was visible. Immediately afterward, she thought that having over ten million followers meant she must be somewhat of a half-celebrity. That being the case, searching Baidu would surely yield information about her.

She searched Weibo first, but the results were sparse—practically nonexistent—consisting only of some earlier flattering remarks from fans. She looked around but could find nothing more.

The situation on Baidu was much the same, though it provided slightly more information than Weibo. Several topic titles were there, but when clicked, the contents inside had been entirely scrubbed clean. Still, the headlines alone summarized everything.

She took screenshots of all the headlines that looked sensational.

For the entire night, she kept searching for her name across various forums and websites, and sure enough, she managed to unearth quite a bit of information.

All of it was negative—accusations of infidelity, playing with innocent young men under the guise of sponsorship, and so on. The posts were from three years ago and lacked high popularity, presumably left behind because the person deleting the threads had temporarily overlooked them.

One post was relatively intact, complete with photos claiming she was keeping a certain university campus hunk. The accompanying pictures of the two of them together looked genuinely ambiguous.

It appeared her past truly was wonderfully colorful.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She scrambled out from under the covers, only to realize that dawn had already broken.

The maid outside called out, "Miss Lin, are you awake? Breakfast is ready."

"Alright, I'll be down in a moment," she replied.

She answered, still lying in bed, rubbed her aching forehead, and yawned. Her phone was already flashing a low battery warning. She plugged it in, washed up simply, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Having not slept all night, her complexion was terrible, framed by heavy dark circles.

The housekeeper here was a fairly young woman with a baby face and a strong sense of approachability.

When she arrived yesterday, they had only crossed paths briefly before the housekeeper hurried out, and by the time she returned, Lin Wanbai had already fallen asleep.

Only now could she get a clear look at the woman.

"Hello, I am Ji Jie, the housekeeper here. Mr. Fu has already briefed me on your situation. Feel free to settle in comfortably for the next couple of days; the company documents will be sent over. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me. I am not only the housekeeper here but also your assistant. Another special assistant will be arriving shortly."

Lin Wanbai sat up straight at the dining table and nodded.

Ji Jie stared at her face and smiled, "You didn't sleep last night?"

"That's right," Lin Wanbai nodded.

"Was the bed uncomfortable? Or was there some other issue?"

"The bed is very comfortable. It was just my own problem."

"Then after you finish breakfast, you should go rest first. Without sleep, you won't make it through the day."

Feeling dizzy and dazed, Lin Wanbai nodded repeatedly.

Shortly after finishing breakfast, she returned to her room to catch up on sleep. This time, she fell asleep the moment she lay down, leaving her phone behind.

Yet, because her mind was preoccupied, the sleep was restless. Half-dreaming and half-awake, she felt as though she were still scrolling through her phone, repeatedly looking at those "surviving" pieces of information.

Her head was a chaotic mess, like a knotted ball of yarn that had wound itself to death.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Ji Jie came upstairs to wake her. Her assistant happened to be there as well—another young woman with short hair and an extremely capable appearance, named Ye Qiu. Both of them were people Fu Yanchuan had arranged for her.

Ji Jie said, "You can completely trust us. You can trust every single person in this house."

Lin Wanbai nodded. "Have you both eaten lunch?"

The two of them nodded.

"Why don't you keep me company while I eat a little? Eating alone is quite boring." She waved the two over and said, "We're actually all the same. From now on, you can just call me Xiaobai directly, without all the 'Miss Lin' formalities. We are all working for the same person after all, so we should trust each other to build a tacit understanding in our work."

"However, I am still at the rookie level, so you two really will need to help me out a lot."

"Miss Lin, you're too modest. Mr. Fu showed us your resume. Most people could never reach your level; you just lack a bit of experience. Once you get the hang of it, the most we'll be able to do is act as your assistants."

Lin Wanbai asked, "Is that so? Mr. Fu even made a resume for me? Can I see it?" She thought for a moment and added, "Or, you can just tell me what's in it. As you know, I have amnesia, and I'm extremely curious about my past. Anything related to me, I want to know."

Subsequently, Ji Jie gave her a brief overview of the resume's contents.

The content was indeed very rich. There were no issues whatsoever regarding her education, with work experience being the only area close to zero. However, in the realm of self-media, she had shown outstanding performance and was moderately well-known in the fashion circle, alongside some modest achievements in public relations and planning.

She had organized and hosted two to three charity banquets and small-scale evening galas.

This was sufficient proof of her crowd-control abilities and communication skills.

However, all of this belonged to her pre-amnesia days, and her network of resources was also from before she lost her memory. With a gap of two or three years in between, her previous interpersonal relationships had likely largely dispersed. Everything needed to be rebuilt from scratch.

Even so, the knowledge she had acquired would never be lost.

Lin Wanbai listened attentively. Put this way, prior to her amnesia, she was nothing like Aunt Rong and Fu Quzhi claimed—she wasn't someone without any friends. She should have had many friends and a very wide social circle.

It was incomprehensible why they had lied to her.

After the meal, Ye Qiu brought over the documentation for an engineering project and said, "Mr. Fu specifically designated you to be in charge of this. The project isn't large; it's designing a private residence. Here is the client's basic information and the location of the plot. Of course, before that, we still need to have a further discussion with the client."

Lin Wanbai flipped through the documents, and the basic structural concepts quickly took shape in her mind—they emerged as naturally as breathing. She believed it now: she definitely had an interest in architectural design beforehand, and her professional knowledge was rock solid.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Ji Jie took her to the third-floor practice room.

That's right, a practice room.

Ji Jie first had her do some warm-up stretches, then tested her physical stamina and constitution. "You're far too weak like this. Starting tomorrow morning, you're going to join me for a one-hour morning jog. Only once your physical fitness improves will I be able to teach you anything else."

With her slender arms and legs, Lin Wanbai rarely exercised in daily life, having spent the past two years recuperating her body. Naturally, her physical stamina was subpar. Just from a simple test, she collapsed onto the floor, unable to move.

Ji Jie sat down beside her. "You studied all sorts of things, yet you never learned women's self-defense."

"Maybe I just wasn't interested."

Ye Qiu brought water upstairs, handing a bottle to each of them. Looking at Lin Wanbai's state, she remarked, "The Long March has only just begun."

Ji Jie chimed in, "A woman must have some combat skills so she doesn't get bullied by men. If you encounter a scumbag, you can snap his arm in a split second and crush his third leg."

As soon as these words left her mouth, Lin Wanbai spat out the water she had just taken into her mouth and burst into a fit of laughter that left her breathless.

Ye Qiu timely handed her a tissue. Coughing until her face turned bright red, Lin Wanbai muttered a word of thanks.

Ji Jie put on a serious expression and asked, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that the phrasing was a bit off. Can we kick it instead of crushing it, please?"

"Fine, you can explode it however you like."

Lin Wanbai was left unable to laugh or cry by her deadpan earnestness.

She found these two women quite interesting. True to being elites, they had everything they needed, and she liked it.

Lin Wanbai asked, "So, you're going to teach me how to fight?"

"Pretty much."

Ye Qiu said, "In the days ahead, you'd better brace yourself. Coach Ji is extremely strict and formidable, but she can also rapidly improve your skills in a short time and find the best fighting style for you."

"Don't worry, I will definitely cooperate fully."

Raising her sore, aching hand, Lin Wanbai high-fived her.

Just as the three of them were chatting happily, Ji Jie instantly sensed an abnormality at the doorway. Turning her head, she saw Pei Cang wheeling Fu Yanchuan to the entrance.

She immediately收起 smiles, stood up, and casually pulled Lin Wanbai up as well. The three of them stood straight and in unison called out, "Hello, Mr. Fu."

Fu Yanchuan nodded, his gaze landing on Lin Wanbai's face. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and beads of sweat dotted her forehead; she looked like she had just finished exercising.

Ji Jie and Ye Qiu were tactful and immediately found an excuse to step outside, with Pei Cang walking downstairs alongside them.

Lin Wanbai put down her water bottle, walked over, and said, "Thank you."

"It's a bit too early for that." He raised his chin slightly and said, "Push me over there."

"Alright." She wheeled him to the adjacent tea room. Following his instructions, Lin Wanbai brewed Pu'er tea, and the two sat facing each other. Lin Wanbai's hands were trembling slightly; although the exercise intensity was very low, her physical foundation was weak, making even that level of exertion quite difficult.

The hand tremors made brewing the tea somewhat challenging.

Fu Yanchuan said, "It's fine, no need to rush. We can do it later."

She looked at him, smiled faintly, and said sincerely, "Thank you."

Don't thank me too early. In case I end up disappointing you in the end, you won't even be able to take those words back."

Lin Wanbai smiled and said, "From my current perspective, you've given me a great deal of help, and I should thank you. Besides, you're a bit different from what I imagined."

"How am I different?"

She lowered her gaze, bit her lip with a smile, shook her head, and said, "Anyway, you're better than I thought."

Fu Yanchuan smiled without a word. After a long moment, he said, "Then I hope you won't be disappointed later on."

"Rest assured, I won't hold out overly high hopes either."

"That's good."

Once her hands stopped shaking so much, Lin Wanbai resumed brewing the tea and asked, "I used my phone yesterday to search for information about myself. Can you find a way to get my Weibo account back?"

"No." Fu Yanchuan accepted the cup of tea she handed him and said, "Your communication accounts are personally managed by Fu Quzhi. If I make a move, he'll know immediately. Do you want him to find you right away?"

"It seems he really doesn't want me to remember anything. The information about me online is so scarce because he scrubbed it clean over and over again, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, he had everyone delete all information concerning you. Were you actually able to find anything?"

"I only found a tiny bit, but it was enough. It was enough to let me know that everything he told me was fake. By the way, what about my parents? You can at least tell me that much, right?"

His gaze deepened, appearing somewhat hesitant and conflicted. A moment later, he said, "I brought you back not to help you recover your memories. I see you're really mistaken; if you want to find your past, go look for it yourself. Don't ask me."

He seemed somewhat displeased, his face turning dark.

Lin Wanbai immediately shut her mouth, nodded, and said, "I understand."

She would figure out a way to find out eventually; it was only a matter of time. His evasion regarding her parents already spoke volumes. It was highly likely her mother had met with an unfortunate end, and her memories probably contained many bad things—things that would cause her pain.

Fu Yanchuan drank a pot of tea and left.

Over the next few days, Lin Wanbai's schedule was packed full by Ji Jie. Following three consecutive days of devilish training, her physical stamina improved slightly.

A week later, Ji Jie brought back a stylist who allegedly possessed magical hands capable of a complete makeover.

Ji Jie announced, "No other requirements—just sculpt her into a man."

Hearing this, Lin Wanbai froze, turned to look at her, and said, "And you call that having no requirements? What kind of bizarre demand is that?"

How could that even be possible?

"Why wouldn't it be possible? But you'll have to cut this hair of yours. Are you willing to part with it?"

Lin Wanbai's hair was quite long, and more importantly, well-maintained with a wonderful texture. A beauty was a beauty; regardless of which part you looked at, it met the standards of perfection.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lin Wanbai was silent for a moment before smiling and saying, "There's nothing hard to part with. It's just hair; it'll grow back."

"That settles it." Ji Jie turned her head, smiled brightly at the master stylist, and said, "From here on out, it's all up to you, Master Ni."

Ni Yu flashed an OK gesture, told Lin Wanbai to sit down, laid out all his tools, and began cutting her hair.

Styling the hair took nearly the entire day. After the cut, it was given a slight perm. They originally considered adding color, but decided against it to avoid looking overly effeminate.

The cut was relatively short, falling into the category of a men's hairstyle.

Surveying herself in the mirror, Lin Wanbai acknowledged that it was indeed a complete transformation, imbuing her with a sense of bold heroism. With a bit of simple subsequent styling—a suit and tie—the overall look would be drastically different.

Ye Qiu had already prepared the clothes, tailored precisely to her measurements, and they fit impeccably.

Ye Qiu accompanied her into the cloakroom to help wrap her chest.

With a slightly full figure, it needed to be bound securely. Once everything was adjusted and she put on her tie, Lin Wanbai looked at herself in the mirror and almost fell in love with herself. It was simply too dashing.

"I actually have a side like this."

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Ye Qiu. That soul-stirring gaze, born with alluring eyes—just a simple glance like that felt like she was flirting with a young girl.

Ye Qiu clicked her tongue and said, "Cut it out with the looks. Falling for a woman is more than I can handle."

Lin Wanbai burst into giggles, then rapidly reined in her laughter, putting on a serious expression and deliberately faking sternness to pull off a domineering CEO vibe.

Her frame was still a bit too delicate, though; if she could gain a bit of weight, it might be even better.

Emerging from the cloakroom, Ji Jie and Ni Yu looked over, both wearing expressions of satisfaction.

Following that, Ni Yu applied a few subtle strokes to her face, deepening her facial features and adding a sharper edge.

Ni Yu imparted the key points of the makeup to her, and the transformation was practically complete.

Lin Wanbai looked at Ji Jie and asked, "Do you think we should go out for a spin?"

"Sure, why not."

Taking the initiative, Lin Wanbai called Fu Yanchuan to invite him out for a meal.

Fu Yanchuan declined, citing a busy schedule and no time, telling her to go out and eat on her own.

Armed with those words, Lin Wanbai packed up and headed out with Ji Jie and Ye Qiu.

Before leaving, she had Ji Jie take a full-body photo of her and sent it to Fu Yanchuan with the caption: [How is it?]

Fu Yanchuan had Pei Cang enlarge the photo. She truly looked striking and bold. He had Pei Cang reply with two words: [Very handsome.]

Pei Cang took an extra look at the photo and muttered softly, "She really can pull off being both a man and a woman."

"What?"

"No, nothing." He forced a laugh, feeling an inexplicable chill in his heart and a hint of fear.

"Save the photo."

"Yes."

...

Ultimately, the three of them decided to dine in a bustling downtown district. Consequently, Lin Wanbai changed out of her suit jacket and slipped into a casual overcoat. Ji Jie disapproved of her physique—her height was fine, standing around 1.7 meters, and with height-increasing insoles she could pass muster—it was just that her frame was a bit too slender, leaning slightly towards effeminate.

Still, she could pull off the bishounen (pretty boy) style.

On this outing, Lin Wanbai turned heads everywhere she went, successfully capturing contact info from several young girls who took the initiative to ask.

Only at this moment did Lin Wanbai truly experience genuine freedom—even the air she breathed felt free.

Having experienced it, she realized this was the lifestyle she actually enjoyed; she liked the hustle and bustle. Previously, Aunt Rong had claimed she liked quietness and being alone, but that was a complete lie. What broke her heart was that she had trusted Aunt Rong so much, only to be deceived in the end.

From then on, whether at home or outside, Lin Wanbai wore men's clothing. Under Ji Jie's training, her physical fitness gradually improved. She gained a few pounds, but her physique only grew better: lean in clothes and muscular out of them, with curves and contours that remained remarkably proud.

Now, her suited appearance looked even more polished, blindingly handsome.

She practiced her vocalizations daily, learning techniques from a voice coach to make her voice sound more masculine. Except when facing Fu Yanchuan, where she reverted to her true self, she adopted a masculine vocal tone in front of everyone else.

As time passed, the resemblance grew stronger and stronger.

On multiple occasions when she called out from behind, Ye Qiu and Ji Jie failed to recognize her voice.

Lin Wanbai naturally possessed a cheerful disposition, and Fu Yanchuan did not restrict her freedom, letting her go wherever she pleased. While she had some reservations back when she dressed as a woman, transformed as Lin Qin, she could freely enter and leave any place.

Once her physical fitness caught up, Ji Jie began teaching her boxing, freestyle kickboxing, and other close-quarters combat techniques.

While practicing, her work didn't stagnate either. She combed through all the company's hidden accounts and thoroughly memorized the higher-ups and business partners. With her strong memory, she could retain everything after reading it a few times over, and with her 100% dedication now, her efficiency was even higher.

The client for the private residence finally had free time, and since the location was in Hong Kong, they had to go over to discuss it.

Hong Kong and Macau were close by, and a day trip back and forth was more than enough.

However, Lin Wanbai also wanted to inspect the actual site, so she budgeted two days.

Fu Yanchuan approved.

Before leaving, Fu Yanchuan invited her to have a meal at the Mid-Levels villa.

Lin Wanbai made simple preparations and drove there herself. At the gate, Uncle Fang opened it, his eyes failing to recognize her. Suppressing a smile, Lin Wanbai switched her vocal tone and said, "Mr. Fu asked me to come."

"You must be Lin Qin?"

"Mhm."

"Go on in." Uncle Fang led her into the house.

In the living room, Yuan Yujun was present.

After Lin Wanbai left, Yuan Yujun had returned, joining forces with Fu Miao in a pincer movement to persuade Fu Yanchuan.

Initially unmoved, he had eventually agreed rather quickly.

As for this Lin Qin, she had heard of him; Fu Yanchuan claimed he was brought in from the outside to help manage the company.

Seeing him, Yuan Yujun found him somewhat familiar no matter how she looked at it, and he possessed quite a handsome appearance.

Noticing that she didn't recognize her, Lin Wanbai bowed respectfully and said, "Hello, Elder Madam Yuan."

"Mhm." Yuan Yujun straightened her posture, gave a slight nod, and said to Uncle Fang, "Yanchuan is upstairs. Uncle Fang, take him up first."

"Yes."

Lin Wanbai gave her a faint smile and followed Uncle Fang upstairs.

Fu Yanchuan was handling matters in the study. Reaching the door, Uncle Fang knocked first, and upon hearing a response from within, pushed the door open. "Eldest Young Master, Mr. Lin Qin is here."

As Lin Wanbai entered, Uncle Fang retreated outside.

Only Fu Yanchuan and Pei Cang were in the study. A computer sat before Fu Yanchuan, appearing to be in the middle of a video call.

Lin Wanbai stood off to the side without approaching or making a sound.

From the moment she stepped through the door, Pei Cang had been staring at her. Lin Wanbai didn't evade his gaze or show the slightest panic, meeting his look head-on. This threw Pei Cang slightly off-balance, and he twitched the corner of his mouth in response.

That reaction clearly showed he hadn't recognized her.

Lin Wanbai had tanned slightly over the recent period, her skin taking on a wheat tone, and a fake mole had been placed near her nose, altering her previous appearance quite significantly.

Concluding his call, Fu Yanchuan looked toward Lin Wanbai and commanded, "Come here."

Obeying, she walked directly behind him, flashed a row of white teeth at Pei Cang, and spoke in her altered voice, "Pei Cang."

The moment the voice dropped, Pei Cang's expression cracked in astonishment, his mouth agape wide enough to fit an ostrich egg. "Y-Y-You're Lin Wanbai?"

She pressed a finger to her lips in a hush gesture. "I am Lin Qin."

She wheeled Fu Yanchuan over to the sofa, sat down opposite him, and said, "Elder Madam Yuan is downstairs too. She didn't recognize me just now. Do I really look that different?"

"You've tanned," Fu Yanchuan noted.

"A bit, but it makes me look more MAN this way."

"What's that on your nose?"

"A mole."

"It wasn't there before."

"Got it later. Can't wash it off, don't worry."

"Careful you can't change back."

Lin Wanbai touched her face and said, "I think this is pretty good."

Pei Cang immediately refuted, "No, no, not good. A woman should look like a woman." Transforming such a great beauty into a man—wasn't that a terrible waste of natural gifts?

Ignoring him, Lin Wanbai looked solely at Fu Yanchuan. "What about you? Did you recognize me at first glance?"

It was as if Fu Yanchuan could see right through her thoughts. "It shouldn't be able to fool Fu Quzhi."

Lin Wanbai rubbed her nose. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

Without answering, he simply stated, "He should be out of that village you mentioned. I had people inquire in City A, and they tracked him entering the People's Hospital of City A."

"Why?"

"His leg is crippled."

Lin Wanbai paused. Before she left, his leg was still fine—aside from being unable to engage in strenuous exercise, his walking was relatively normal, though walking for too long would result in a limp. How could it suddenly be crippled?

Could something have happened after she left?

A trace of worry flickered in the depths of her eyes, which Fu Yanchuan captured. "Are you still worried about him?"

His voice was icy. Snapping back to reality instantly, Lin Wanbai shook her head and instinctively denied it, "No."

"No?" His gaze turned frosty as well. "Pei Cang, get out."

Receiving the order, Pei Cang bolted out of the study.

Swallowing hard, Lin Wanbai remained seated on the sofa without moving. She licked her lips and confessed, "Fine, I admit it. When you said he went to the hospital, I felt a twinge of worry. It wasn't something I could control; it just popped up on its own."

"So you still fell in love with him, didn't you?"

"I..." Looking into his eyes, Lin Wanbai couldn't deny it. She might be able to fool herself, but she apparently couldn't fool him.

Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and gave a slight nod. "I admit it, I did develop feelings for him. But I haven't lost my sense of right and wrong to that extent. If I had, I wouldn't have ended up in your hands and become your subordinate. I know how you want to use me, but if he really did hurt me in the past, I will never let him off either."

Fu Yanchuan let out a cold snort. That wasn't what he cared about; what disgusted him was why Lin Wanbai still fell in love with Fu Quzhi even after losing her memory? Why couldn't it be him?

Let her love him. Once she recovered all her memories, she would understand how wrong she truly was!

The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred. When the time came, the spectacle of them tearing each other apart would surely be magnificent.

A trace of mockery surfaced in his eyes. "You don't need to say so much. Whether you let him off or not is your business. But I certainly won't let him off. By the same token, I might not let you off either."

Naturally, the implications of the two instances of "letting off" were entirely different.

Remaining silent, Lin Wanbai thought: when one is the chopping board and the other is the fish, there's nothing left to say. When the day came that she became the cleaver, it wouldn't be too late to speak then.

"Alright, let's go downstairs to eat."

"Mhm."

Nodding, she managed a smile at him, then stood up to wheel him out of the study.

Downstairs, Fu Miao happened to be returning. Fu Yanchuan's intelligent wheelchair had arrived, and she was directing the servants to carry it inside.

Catching sight of Fu Yanchuan coming down, Fu Miao hurried over. "The custom wheelchair has arrived. Do you want to try it out?"

She hadn't noticed Lin Wanbai standing behind Fu Yanchuan.

"Leave it for now, I'm hungry."

"Fine too, we can try it after eating."

Throwing a glance at Fu Miao, Lin Wanbai wheeled Fu Yanchuan toward the dining room.

Once seated, Fu Miao noticed an extra person at the table and turned her gaze toward Lin Wanbai. For some reason, Lin Wanbai felt an involuntary tightening in her chest. Fu Miao had known her for a long time, and the two could be considered as having grown up competing against each other—such a relationship meant they were bound to be intimately familiar with one another.

Meeting her gaze, Lin Wanbai took the initiative to introduce herself, "Hello, Miss Fu, my name is Lin Qin."

Fu Miao didn't speak right away, instead looking her up and down. She felt a vague sense of familiarity, especially about the eyes, but ultimately couldn't place it. Turning to Fu Yanchuan, she asked, "The person you hired?"

Fu Yanchuan acknowledged it with a hum. "Let's eat."

Walking over to sit beside him, Fu Miao said, "I'll feed you today."

Fu Yanchuan didn't refuse. Fu Miao was in a rather good mood today, making the dining table exceptionally lively. Being a chatterbox herself, coupled with Yuan Yujun chiming in from the side, the atmosphere felt quite warm.

From time to time, Fu Miao glanced back at Lin Wanbai, seemingly still harboring doubts. Fortunately, Lin Wanbai was a detail-oriented person; since she wanted to masquerade as a man, she had to maintain a masculine facade down to every single detail.

Her current persona was completely different from when she was dressed as a woman, right down to her altered demeanor.

When Fu Miao glanced at her for the third time, she said to Yuan Yujun, "Mom, doesn't he look a bit like Lin Wanbai?"

Hearing this, Yuan Yujun immediately looked over. Both pairs of eyes landed on Lin Wanbai, causing her inevitable tension.

Wearing a detached smile, she asked, "Who is Lin Wanbai?"

Ignoring her question, Fu Miao looked straight at Fu Yanchuan and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"

"A bit."

"I knew it. You have so many assistants, why bring in another one? Since the real person is already by your side, why bother looking for a copy—and a male one at that?" Fu Miao gave a cold hum and remarked, "What? Did Lin Wanbai refuse to yield?"

"Mom and I were thinking, since you like her so much, why not just marry her and let her wait on you for the rest of your life? You ended up like this because of Fu Quzhi on her account, so she ought to keep you company for life."

Yuan Yujun chimed in, "That's right, Mom and Miao just want to see you happy."

"Less talking at the table."

"Alright, alright, listening to you."

Afterward, Fu Miao said nothing more and quietly fed him his meal.

Post-meal, right in front of Fu Miao and Yuan Yujun, Fu Yanchuan gave Lin Wanbai a couple of instructions and told her to head back.

Stepping out of the villa, she let out a massive sigh of relief, wondering if Fu Miao genuinely hadn't recognized her or was just pretending.

Once she drove out of the Mid-Levels, she noticed a car trailing behind her. Hitting the downtown area, she took an extra loop to buy some egg tarts.

Noticing that the car was still tailing her, she dialed Ji Jie's number to apprise her of the situation.

Two hours later, she finally shook off the vehicle completely.

And smoothly returned to the villa.

Ji Jie met her at the entrance. "Don't worry, it was Miss Fu's people. They probably weren't at ease and wanted to conduct a deeper investigation. Mr. Fu will handle it."

"Mhm."

With all of Lin Wanbai's new identification documents fully processed, Ji Jie found her an apartment close to the company. As everything prepared to step onto the right track, she felt a lingering sense of apprehension.

...

City A, a certain residential district.

Fu Quzhi was wheeling a stroller around the neighborhood. Reaching the children's play area, the little one sitting inside the stroller grew restless, kicking his little legs as if trying to climb out, then looked back at him and pointed at the slide. "Daddy, play this, this."

Smiling, Fu Quzhi bent down to lift him out. "Play by yourself, but be careful not to fall. If you fall, nobody is going to pick you up. Understand?"

With eyes full of smiles, the little one nodded and babbled in a baby voice, "Understand."

As if he actually understood.

Not five minutes later, the little one took a tumble and sat on the ground crying his eyes out.