Li Chen, still perturbed by the previous night’s attack, began his morning routine with a jog in the park. There, he met Xu Zhonghao, and they immediately delved into their usual stretching exercises. However, Li Chen’s mind was preoccupied by the dangers that Zhang Mei had faced, fueling a desire for vengeance within him.

Amid his training, a voice within his head spoke to him. "I think you should intensify your training," it advised.

Li Chen was puzzled and inquired, "Why?"

The God of War continued, "I’ve been sensing a sinister energy, one that feels strangely familiar. Something significant is on the horizon, and you must be exceptionally strong to confront it."

Unaware of this internal dialogue, Xu Zhonghao noticed Li Chen’s distracted demeanor. Concerned, he asked, "Li Chen, is something bothering you today?"

Li Chen replied, "Nothing major, just a lot on my mind."

Not pressing the matter, Xu Zhonghao and Li Chen continued their training and jogged back to Li Chen’s home. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by a delightful aroma, which piqued Xu Zhonghao’s curiosity. He commented, "You’ve got a chef now?"

Li Chen chuckled and clarified, "No, that’s my new housemate."

Zhang Mei emerged from the kitchen, meeting Li Chen and Xu Zhonghao as they headed to the room dedicated to their training. Xu Zhonghao couldn’t help but express his admiration, remarking, "Wow, who is this beauty, Li Chen? I was here yesterday morning, but I didn’t see her."

Li Chen introduced them, saying, "This is my friend and housemate, Zhang Mei. Zhang Mei, this is Xu Zhonghao."

Zhang Mei graciously replied, "Pleasure meeting you."

However, her attention soon shifted back to Li Chen as she informed him, "I made breakfast. I tried knocking on your door, but there was no answer."

Li Chen explained, "Sorry, I jog and train before breakfast. Would you mind keeping it in the microwave?"

Zhang Mei was taken aback, not expecting that Li Chen was so dedicated to his morning routine. She agreed, saying, "Okay, let me not keep you."

With that, she returned to the kitchen, leaving Li Chen and Xu Zhonghao to enter the training room. Xu Zhonghao couldn’t resist jokingly prodding Li Chen, "Are you sure you two are just friends?"

Li Chen affirmed, "Yes, we are just friends." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Xu Zhonghao continued, "Such a beautiful woman, and you’re just friends? It doesn’t make sense to me."

Li Chen, slightly annoyed, replied, "It’s none of your business, anyway."

Xu Zhonghao rolled his eyes, and they commenced their training.

After their intense training, Li Chen invited Xu Zhonghao to join them for breakfast, and they all proceeded to the dining table. Zhang Mei, who had prepared the meal, dished out the food. Li Chen, ever considerate, told her, "You don’t have to prepare breakfast, Zhang Mei."

Zhang Mei, still holding onto her love for cooking and wanting to contribute, responded, "It’s the least I can do, and besides, I love cooking."

Li Chen acknowledged her gesture but reassured her, "Well, I won’t stop you, but just know it’s not necessary."

Zhang Mei smiled and said, "Thank you."

However, Xu Zhonghao decided to playfully tease them. He commented, "You two would make a perfect couple."

This unexpected remark caused both Li Chen and Zhang Mei to choke on their food, and Xu Zhonghao couldn’t help but laugh at their reactions. Li Chen attempted to steer the conversation away from this topic by asking, "Zhang Mei, when will you be seeing your mother?"

Zhang Mei, who was still a little embarrassed and had ears reddened by the teasing, replied, "I will go to the hospital after we’re done with office searching."

Xu Zhonghao then inquired, "What office searching? Li Chen, what is going on?."

Li Chen then decided to brief Xu Zhonghao about his business plan, and Xu Zhonghao seemed interested. He even expressed his desire to apply for a job, revealing his computer skills and the fact that he didn’t want to depend on his parents at his age. Li Chen couldn’t help but chuckle and said, "You were depending on your parents at this age?" Xu Zhonghao replied, "Don’t judge me, okay? I’m willing to change."

Their conversation took a lighter tone, and they shared a heartfelt laugh. Xu Zhonghao remained serious about wanting to help. He offered to assist in finding an office, mentioning that he had connections in real estate. Li Chen responded, "Well, let’s see how serious you are." Xu Zhonghao confidently claimed, "Wait and see." He then took out his phone and made a call, while Li Chen and Zhang Mei watched with eagerness.

The call was quickly answered, and Xu Zhonghao said, "My friend needs office space. Do you have any?" The person on the other end immediately understood and replied, "Give me a few minutes; I’ll call Ma’am." Xu Zhonghao agreed, saying, "Sure."

After making the call, Xu Zhonghao informed Li Chen that he would get back to them shortly with an update. Li Chen replied, "We’ll be waiting." They continued with their breakfast, and when they had finished, Xu Zhonghao stood up, saying he needed to go home to shower. He suggested that they meet at his place when he had an update. Li Chen bid him farewell.

Once Xu Zhonghao left, Li Chen took a shower and then waited for the repairmen to arrive and fix the broken window in his bedroom.

Meanwhile Sun Fang, with the DNA results file in hand, had been pondering for days on whether he should first inform his father, Sun Weilong, or his grandfather, Sun Weijie. The weight of the truth was heavy, and Sun Fang was concerned about how his father would react to the revelation of his sister’s death. Yet, he hoped that introducing his father to his sister’s son might bring some closure.

On this particular day, Sun Fang made up his mind to approach his father first. His car quickly arrived at his father’s residence, and he entered the house with a heavy heart. As was the case every day, he found his father seated in a room, tears visible on his cheeks. Sun Fang patiently waited for his father to open his eyes. When he did, he spoke softly, "Dad, I need to talk to you about something."

Sun Weilong rose from his seat without uttering a word, and Sun Fang followed him as they made their way to the garden, their chosen place for this serious conversation.

As Sun Weilong and Sun Fang settled down in the garden, Sun Fang handed over the test results. Sun Weilong was initially puzzled but proceeded to open the envelope and read the contents carefully. His face showed signs of confusion as he reviewed the document, and then he asked, "What is this?"

Sun Fang replied, "It’s the test result between you and your nephew."

Suddenly, it felt as though time had frozen for Sun Weilong. His heart raced, and he stammered, "My nephew?" He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

Sun Fang confirmed, "Yes, Dad. I found her... I found information about Aunt, but unfortunately, she and her husband have passed away, leaving behind their two-month-old son."

Sun Weilong was overcome with shock and felt a searing pain in his chest, almost as if his heart were about to stop. He struggled to grasp the gravity of the revelation. In a quivering voice, he asked, "How did she die?"

Sun Fang gently responded, "In a car accident."

Sun Weilong inquired, "Was she happily married?"

Sun Fang answered, "From the information I gathered, yes."

As Sun Weilong digested this startling information, he requested to see the details. Sun Fang handed him another file containing information about Wang Mengying and Li Xiaojun. Sun Weilong read through the file, and after reviewing it multiple times, he muttered, "Wang Mengying... that was the name she was given. The woman who raised her?."

Sun Fang added, "The file states that the old woman who raised her passed away."

Sun Weilong absorbed this information and then inquired further, "Tell me more about her son... my nephew." Sun Fang provided his father with a file containing details about Li Chen. Sun Weilong was astonished to learn that his sister’s son had been living nearby for a considerable length of time, right under their noses.

As Sun Weilong finished reading the file, tears welled up in his eyes. He was overwhelmed with guilt and remorse. In a shaky voice, he said, "I failed as a brother. My nephew lost his parents as a baby, and I wasn’t there as an uncle. He suffered abuse in the Gu family, and I was still absent."

Sun Fang tried to console his father, saying, "Dad, you can’t blame yourself for this. You had no way of knowing."

Sun Weilong continued, "My sister got married, and I wasn’t there... Did she know her true identity?"

Sun Fang responded, "I don’t think she did, Dad. If she did, she might have tried to contact us when she came to the city for her studies."

Sun Weilong then inquired, "Have you told your grandfather?"

Sun Fang admitted, "No, I haven’t."

Sun Weilong asked about Sun Fang’s brother, and he replied, "I don’t trust him, Dad."

Sun Weilong sighed and said, "I understand. He has always been the greedy one."

As they contemplated their next steps, Sun Weilong concluded, "I need to meet him... my nephew."

Sun Fang offered, "I haven’t made any contact with him, but I can arrange something."

Concerned about whether Li Chen would believe them, Sun Weilong posed the question, and Sun Fang admitted, "I don’t know, but we have to try."

Sun Weilong’s face broke into a genuine smile, surprising Sun Fang. It was the first time he had seen his father smile so genuinely since their mother had passed away.