Yancy Shaw set a chair down in front of Lauren Shaw and spoke in a gentle tone. “Shengsheng, have a seat.”
Obediently, Lauren Shaw sat down, meeting his gaze with soft affection.
The couple exchanged loving looks, utterly unconcerned about the others in the room.
Lu Chaoran scratched his head and couldn’t help but interject, “Hey, could you two maybe spare a thought for the rest of us?”
Only then did Yancy Shaw remember there was still this ‘irrelevant bystander’ in his office.
Lauren Shaw shifted her eyes away, pretending to be distracted as she took out her phone to play a mini-game.
The tenderness faded from Yancy Shaw’s eyes, replaced by a distant coolness. “So, what brings you here?”
Lu Chaoran fell silent for a moment. Honestly, Yancy Shaw could change his expression faster than flipping a page.
He glanced at Lauren Shaw, but Yancy Shaw didn’t make any move to avoid her. “Just say whatever you have to. She can hear it.”
Lauren Shaw was his wife, not an outsider.
Lu Chaoran began to explain what had happened during his interrogation of Uncle Lu at the police station. “He refuses to say anything, except whenever the Snow family is mentioned—his reaction is very intense.”
“He’s the Snow family’s steward; he's spent his whole life working for Xue Wenchang.”
Yancy Shaw handed Qian Peng’s recording to Lu Chaoran. Lu Chaoran pressed play, and the conversation between Qian Peng and Yancy Shaw played from the recorder.
Lauren Shaw listened closely. No wonder Yancy Shaw had lost his composure recently on the rooftop.
Once Lu Chaoran finished listening, a knowing smile tugged at his lips. “With this recording, as long as Uncle Lu cooperates, we’ll have enough to pin everything on Xue Wenchang.”
At the Xue residence.
After finding out Uncle Lu had been arrested, Xue Wenchang was restless, unable to sit or stand still.
Old Master Xue sat on the sofa, eyes closed. Hearing Wenchang pacing, he snapped, “Will you just calm down? All that pacing is getting on my nerves.”
Wenchang was beside himself with anxiety. “Dad, what are we going to do? Uncle Lu’s been arrested! How am I supposed to stay calm?”
He’d just meant to have Uncle Lu go check out the situation—not expecting they’d walk right into a trap. Now Uncle Lu had been caught; who knew what damaging secrets he might spill? If he said anything that harmed the Snow family, it would be over.
His nerves were shot, but Old Master Xue sat perfectly composed, unruffled. Wenchang couldn’t understand it.
“Dad, how can you be so unfazed? Disaster is about to hit the Snow family…”
“Enough! Don’t talk nonsense!” The old man’s voice cut through the room with undeniable authority.
Wenchang quickly shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.
After a moment of thought, Old Master Xue asked, “Is Zeyang in Ancheng these days?”
“That troublemaker only ever hangs around with those worthless friends of his. Who knows where he’s off drinking today.”
Just the mention of Sean Snow gave Wenchang a headache. Any free time, and the boy was out of the house. He had no interest in the family business, even though he was their only heir—he hadn’t inherited any of his father’s strengths.
A flash of ruthlessness passed through Old Master Xue’s eyes. “Can you be sure of your people’s silence?”
Wenchang stared at the old man. He knew Uncle Lu well; the man had been loyal for years.
“The only truly silent mouth is a dead one,” Old Master Xue declared coldly. Wenchang understood what he meant, but hesitated. “Dad, is that really a good idea…?”
Uncle Lu had helped cover up more than a few illegal deeds for them over the years.
“Or would you rather go to prison yourself?”
Wenchang wavered, struggled internally, and in the end decided to follow the old man’s lead.
The Snow family hired a legal team for Uncle Lu.
Lu Chaoran couldn’t help but scoff. “Let’s see what they’re up to now.”
That afternoon, the lawyers met with Uncle Lu privately.
As evening approached, Uncle Lu suddenly collapsed. Lu Chaoran and his team rushed him to the hospital, but on the way, their car was forced off the road.
Uncle Lu’s eyes lit up at first, thinking someone had come to rescue him—but to his horror, they were there to kill him.
Luckily, Lu Chaoran reacted fast enough to save him from the attackers, though he ended up with a shallow cut on his arm during the scuffle.
After some quick bandaging, Lu Chaoran looked across at Uncle Lu, who now sat motionless, staring at the wall, lost in thought.
“Have you thought it through?” Lu Chaoran rapped the table.
Uncle Lu’s face was stoic, resigned to his fate. He gave a bitter smile. “There’s no point in prying—I don’t know anything.”
“I’m not here to fish for confessions,” Lu Chaoran said. “But these days, there aren’t many as loyal as you left. Yet it seems your masters didn’t hesitate to turn on you.” His tone was half-mocking, half-pitying.
“Looks like they don’t trust you at all. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone this far, risking everything just to silence you.”
“After all these years of loyalty—was it really worth it? They toss you aside without a second thought. If I were you, I’d start living for myself for once…”
Lu Chaoran kept talking, unconcerned whether his words got through. He just said whatever came to mind.
At last, a trace of emotion stirred on Uncle Lu’s face.
“Did you find out who hired the thug that tried to kill me?” His voice sounded defeated—maybe somewhere deep inside, he still hoped Xue Wenchang wouldn’t be so ruthless.
“He was shot dead on the spot. But we found this on him.” Lu Chaoran placed a photo in front of him. “Recognize this tattoo?”
The tattoo looked familiar—he'd seen it before. It was the same one the Snow family’s own men bore on their arms—he had one himself.
He looked up, sighing deeply, struggling internally.
“I’ll talk.”
—
“What? You failed?” Old Master Xue jumped up with his cane, shock written all over his face.
The person reporting in described what happened. Xue Wenchang collapsed onto the sofa, completely disheartened. “It's over... It's all over now.”
Before anyone could process what was happening, the sound of police cars grew louder outside. A nervous servant burst in. “Sir, something’s wrong! The police have surrounded the house!”
The couple from the Snow family’s second branch rushed in as well, their faces white with fear.
“Dad, Brother—it’s bad! The police are here!” Xue Qiang ran over in a panic.
Seeing his cowardly brother, Wenchang lost his temper and kicked him. “Look at you! Scared of the police? Useless!”
Seconds later, Lu Chaoran led a team of officers inside.
Mandy Snow shot him a dark scowl, voice haughty. “Who do you people think you are, barging in here without permission? Do you have any respect for the law?”
Lu Chaoran presented his badge. “Xue Wenchang, you have been reported for involvement in a murder-for-hire case. We are placing you under arrest.”