Dinner had ended in an uneasy silence. The family was as tense as ever and Weijun didn’t like it. After everyone dispersed, he moved to his office in the main house, nursing a cup of chamomile tea while going over reports.

It took an hour and five cups of tea for Weifeng to show up and slump in a chair across from him. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Weijun set the cup down. "Where you are mentally."

Weifeng blinked, surprised. A mental check! He was expecting a tongue lashing or a few punches. "If you want to talk about the necklace, I have already explained. I bought it using my money. I gave it to her because I love her. People can say what they want."

Weijun’s gaze was steady. "It’s not about the necklace. It’s about you. How are you doing....mentally?"

Weifeng laughed bitterly. "Everyone is calling he a fool online. A clown. A disgrace. You heard what Yulan said over dinner. I am the foolish emperor that pampers his concubine and underpays his courtiers. Never mind the fact that the Shen group pays the highest salaries in this city. But I don’t care. I love Manman. I have waited for years for a chance to be with her. If I cannot endure this small difficulty, what was all my waiting for? She loves me. We will survive every hurdle."

Mo Xia refilled Weijun’s cup.

Weijun lifted the cup, sipping tea slowly, calm as ever. "Love is powerful. But scandals change things. Public opinion changes things. And business...business cannot survive on love alone."

Weifeng frowned. "You think I should abandon her? Put the company first?"

Weijun leaned forward, voice firm. "I think you must put the company first in all your decisions going forward. Our Shen family lost almost all its fortune years ago. It was a struggle to build ourselves back to this point. If you don’t focus on the right things, you will lose everything. Your position, your credibility, your future. And hers too."

Weifeng’s fists clenched. "I can’t put her second. You don’t understand. No...you do, because you were once close to her. Things are much harder for her now. Her beauty system has been stolen. She can’t even talk or cry loudly. She is suffering. I can’t just turn cold."

Weijun’s eyes softened briefly. He also had a woman in his life that he wanted to protect at all costs. "I understand more than you think. But listen carefully: the necklace, the stolen system, the scandals around Manman. They are not just personal problems. They are financial and political weapons. Enemies will use them against us, against the company, against our family. If you keep acting recklessly, you will drag us all down."

Weifeng’s voice cracked. "So you want me to choose between her and the company?"

Weijun shook his head. "No. I want you to choose wisely. Love her, if you must. But when you make decisions, remember the company comes first. I made the same decision when you ran off and left me as your stand in at the wedding. I put our family and company first. If Manman truly loves you, she will understand your decision. If she doesn’t....then perhaps she was never meant to stay."

Silence stretched between them. Weifeng’s eyes glistened, torn between devotion and duty. This was perhaps one of the things he hated the most about his brother. How he used reason and facts to beat down the enemy, compared to screaming and throwing punches. Finally, he whispered, "You think things are going to change, don’t you?"

Weijun’s voice was low, almost grim. "They already have. The necklace scandal is just the beginning of Manman’s slow downfall. What brand is going to touch her? All the publicity around her now is negative. The stolen system makes it worse. She cannot act anymore and she is going to lose her good looks. Slowly, she will revert back to an ordinary looking woman. Her confidence is going to shake in ways you have never seen. She is going to hate herself if she cannot adjust to the new normal. And you....if you don’t steady yourself, you will be swept away. Or worse, you will become the target of her anger."

Weifeng swallowed hard. "I believe in us. We will survive every hurdle."

Weijun sighed, setting down his cup. "Belief is good. But survival requires strategy. Take her somewhere calmer, like the Lotus Quarter district. I think she might find peace there and maybe, a way to start over." He leaned forward. "I am your brother, I only wish the best for you. We are fingers on the same hand. If even one is broken off, the hand changes how it functions and looks. Promise me, from now on, you will put the company first."

Weifeng hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I promise."

Weijun’s gaze lingered, searching for sincerity. "Good. Because if you break that promise, it won’t just be your downfall. It will be mine too. It will be our whole family."

Weifeng’s breath caught. "Brother...."

But before he could speak further, a knock echoed at the door.

Weijun looked up, frowning. "Come in."

Mo Xian hurried in, pale0faced. "Sir....there’s been a detection of a newly awakened system host. Sima Fen says that this one is powerful. Should we beat the bureau to recruitment?"

Weijun nodded and Mo Xia rushed out.

When the door closed, Weifeng looked curiously at his brother. "I thought IH had closed its doors."

"It did." Weijun said, with narrowed eyes. "But ever since the bureau arrived, they have been arresting system hosts daily for different crimes. This leaves blank spaces that I have to fill in. This city was built was a safe haven for system hosts. Innovation and technology is the promise we gave them. I will make this city the greatest in the world. To achieve that, I need system hosts. I can’t have them all being moved to Dragon mountain in Beijing."

"And what happens when your wife finds out you are hindering her job?" His brother asked.

Weijun’s eyes narrowed the weight of leadership pressing down. "Then I will buy her a billion yuan necklace." He joked.

They laughed. But deep down, Weijun dreaded that day. If his mother-in-law did not burn him to death, his wife would make a cow sit on him. And that was if she was being merciful.