The next day, Ou Yunchen found Fan Zhijie again.
Fan Zhijie showed Ou Yunchen the photos the paparazzi had taken.
Yes, the girl in the photos was the same one seen by the entrance of Xie's Media yesterday.
Fan Zhijie: "This girl used to frequent the Xie residence. She seemed to be a guest of Mrs. Xie. I've seen them going out and coming home together these days."
Ou Yunchen: "Is she not the Xie family's nanny or something?"
Fan Zhijie: "Definitely not. She's still in school. We tracked her for a day, and it seems she's studying nursing."
Ou Yunchen immediately took the photos and went to find Sister Lan.
Sister Lan looked at the photos and also said she had seen her, the girl who had a blind date with Xie Youlin.
Sister Lan: "It's her. I initially thought Xie Hongtian would arrange a girl of comparable family background for his son. The moment I met her that day, I was certain she was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family."
Ou Yunchen: "Do you remember her name?"
Sister Lan: "How could I remember? Xie Hongtian arranged the initial meeting. He never mentioned the girl's name."
Ou Yunchen: "She's living with the Xie family now, and her relationship with Mrs. Xie is very close. My people have been watching for days; they eat and sleep together."
Sister Lan: "Xie Youlin still has some conscience, leaving someone to take care of his mother."
Ou Yunchen: "I don't think Xie Youlin intentionally left her. It was this girl who volunteered to stay, or perhaps she stayed out of respect for Mrs. Xie."
Sister Lan: "Why do you say that?"
Ou Yunchen: "I happened to see this girl looking for Xie Youlin yesterday, but it seemed like Xie Youlin was avoiding her. If Xie Youlin had left the girl to take care of his mother, why would he avoid her?"
Sister Lan: "This..."
Sister Lan: "Oh, right. I also saw you with another girl yesterday. She looked quite young too."
Sister Lan smiled, not maliciously, but more like teasing that men are all fickle.
Ou Yunchen: "Where?"
Sister Lan: "The night market. I was driving by and saw you holding a stick for candied hawthorn, and she was chasing you from behind."
Ou Yunchen: "Oh."
Sister Lan: "What? Embarrassed? I understand. You're tired of Su Ruiyi and looking for something new. You men are all like that."
Ou Yunchen: "She's Xie Youlin's employee."
Sister Lan: "Oh, your trick is quite something. Playing with his employee right under Xie Youlin's nose. Are you trying to get information? Is she your informant?"
Ou Yunchen coughed lightly. He neither denied nor confirmed, simply not wanting to involve Mo Qingyun. If Sister Lan became interested in Mo Qingyun and started investigating her background, Colin might also use Mo Qingyun against Axe.
Sister Lan: "Don't worry, I won't say anything. I just want to advise you, don't play too big."
"Your Miss Su is no docile kitten. If she gets angry, you'll be in for a tough time!"
Ou Yunchen: "I know."
Sister Lan looked at the somewhat awkward Ou Yunchen again and clicked her tongue, sighing. Whether old or young, men couldn't resist pure, innocent girls with a "first love" face... Look, even Ou Yunchen could make mistakes.
Sister Lan: "By the way, I helped you inquire about the Xie family's background. But I still think you should talk to my good sister yourself."
Ou Yunchen: "Sister Hong?"
Sister Lan: "Yes, I asked her. I know about the last decade, but if it's before that, Sister Hong knows more."
Ou Yunchen nodded and coughed lightly again.
Ou Yunchen: "I'll take my leave then."
Sister Lan: "Go ahead."
Ou Yunchen reconfirmed if Sister Lan was interested in Mo Qingyun, but he couldn't tell. He couldn't warn her either, so he could only be cautious about everything.
***
By the time Ou Yunchen arrived at Athena, Sister Hong was leisurely playing cards next door.
Four madam bosses were sitting together playing cards, chatting about recent business, all lamenting that things were not what they used to be and that running a bar was getting harder and harder.
Ou Yunchen quietly walked behind Sister Hong. Just as Sister Hong was about to discard a card, a beautiful hand grabbed it and played a different one.
Sister Hong: "Oh dear, you ruined my pair."
Player on the right: "Pong!"
Sister Hong: "See? I kept that for so long for nothing."
Sister Hong: "Eat, eat, eat! Nobody move!"
After a round, Sister Hong actually got a winning hand.
Sister Hong: "Let me draw... Treasure!"
Sister Hong excitedly played her cards. She won!
Sister Hong: "Money, money! I've lost all afternoon, and I finally won one!"
The other madam bosses kept saying: "No more playing, no more playing. Your God of Wealth is here, and we can't afford to play against you anymore."
Sister Hong listened to the jingling sound of income in her phone and happily kissed Ou Yunchen's face repeatedly.
Sister Hong: "What God of Wealth? This is my son!"
Other madam bosses: "Alright, alright, take your precious son back. We need to go prepare for tonight's opening."
Sister Hong: "I'm leaving, see you tomorrow."
Back in Athena, Sister Hong led Ou Yunchen into the office.
Sister Hong: "Why haven't you visited me in so long?"
Ou Yunchen: "Busy."
Sister Hong: "It's good to be busy. When you weren't busy, I worried about your career, waiting for you to ask me for help. When you get busy, I'm happy, but I do miss you when I don't see you for a while."
Ou Yunchen took the wine Sister Hong poured but dared not drink it.
Sister Hong: "Didn't bring a driver?"
Ou Yunchen nodded.
Sister Hong: "I have plenty of drivers here."
Only then did Ou Yunchen lift his glass, clink it, and drink it down in one gulp.
Ou Yunchen: "Perhaps I drank too much here. After leaving, I falsely claimed I couldn't drink."
Sister Hong laughed heartily. Many employees had come and gone through her place. Some returned shortly after leaving to find work, while others disappeared completely. But to return successfully like Ou Yunchen, he was truly the only one.
Sister Hong: "I heard you're dealing with Xie Youlin?"
Ou Yunchen softly hummed in agreement and then went back to playing with his rolling coin.
Sister Hong: "If I had known earlier that you were at odds with him, I would have advised you against it. But I see, I probably couldn't have stopped you."
Ou Yunchen: "He provoked me first."
Sister Hong: "If you weren't emotionally invested, how could your competitive spirit be stirred?"
The coin in Ou Yunchen's hand paused, and he smiled faintly, continuing to play.
Sister Hong: "Mo Qingyun is someone you picked up. You should treat her well, but she also has her own path to walk. If you insist on dragging her along with you, you'll have to cut off her past and her desires."
Ou Yunchen: "I've always believed in not offending others unless offended."
Sister Hong: "But you let Wang Ziran off the hook many times, yet you won't let go of Xie Youlin. Tell me, hasn't your scale tipped?"
Ou Yunchen smiled and shook his head, knowing he couldn't escape Sister Hong's insight.
Sister Hong: "When Feng Lan came to me to inquire about the Xie family, I knew it was for you."
Ou Yunchen: "So, the Xie family really has a connection to the higher-ups?"
Sister Hong: "Yes, and they are all so tangled up that no one can escape. They can all control each other."
Ou Yunchen: "What does that mean?"
Sister Hong: "More than ten years ago, Xie's Media was a privileged entity of the higher-ups. All news was disseminated through that newspaper."
"So, Xie Hongtian was like the emperor's inner court. Although he didn't create the news, he could decide how it was released, to whom, and what news was prohibited from being transmitted back."
Ou Yunchen: "Indeed. No wonder Song Yuandong said they would definitely protect the education center."
Sister Hong: "You've met Song Yuandong?"
Ou Yunchen: "Once, at the banquet announcing the nuclear power plant. But she wouldn't reveal more."
"Her implied meaning was probably a warning not to touch Xie's Media, as the education center is tied to the big tree of Xie's Media."
Sister Hong: "I do have a piece of gossip, but it has never been confirmed."
Ou Yunchen's eyes lit up. He was very sensitive to Sister Hong's gossip because her information wasn't 100% accurate but never deviated from the actual outcome!
Sister Hong: "There are rumors that Xie Hongtian's son died long ago, and the current son might be adopted."
Ou Yunchen: "Is there really such talk?"
Sister Hong: "What? Judging by your tone..."
Ou Yunchen: "I also suspect that the current Xie Youlin is not Xie Hongtian's biological son, because..."
Ou Yunchen repeated to Sister Hong the sentence Xie Youlin let slip, a secret he had never shared with anyone, not even Sister Lan knew.
Sister Hong: "No wonder he knows Mo Qingyun. I was wondering how a young master of the Xie family would know a child raised in an orphanage and even know sign language. That's too unbelievable!"
Ou Yunchen: "But this is all speculation. After all, once Xie Hongtian is dead, it will be impossible to verify if he's his biological son."
Sister Hong: "What I'm thinking now is, regardless of whether Xie Youlin is real or fake, he inherited Xie's Media. Did he also inherit those documents that can restrain each other?"
Cold sweat broke out on Ou Yunchen. If Song Yuandong helped Xie Youlin so much because she was wary of the documents Xie Youlin held, didn't that mean that the vast network above was full of people Ou Yunchen couldn't touch? With those documents, Xie Youlin could blackmail those people. Crushing Ou Yunchen would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Because Ou Yunchen was lost in thought, the coin in his hand suddenly fell to the ground, rolling into a dark corner.