Earlier in the week, Shen Yiqiao had analyzed potential buffers and found QINGWEI which was Qin Yuwei's father's firm both influential enough to absorb scrutiny yet sufficiently external to prevent immediate suspicion from regulators. Yuwei herself, oblivious to the danger, made the firm a convenient scapegoat.
Lu Wenjing woke up later that week with restless urgency, replaying the fragments he had seen and heard. The name "Yuwei" had lodged itself like a splinter in his mind, and though he had no concrete evidence of Shen Yiqiao's intentions, suspicion gnawed at him. He poured over his family's private databases and financial monitoring tools, quietly tracing intercompany transfers, shell entities, and auditing filings connected to Qin Yuwei's father's firm. Each new lead seemed to confirm a pattern: someone was orchestrating a diversion, and it led back to Shen Yiqiao. He could feel the weight of the situation pressing on him, a sense of responsibility he couldn't ignore.
Using his limited but significant family resources, Lu Wenjing began contacting old acquaintances in compliance and corporate legal circles, framing inquiries as routine due diligence. He had no authority to demand documents, no position to compel testimony, yet his family name and quiet persistence opened doors, allowed subtle observations, and provided glimpses into transactions that otherwise would have been invisible. He cross-referenced these findings with publicly available filings, noting the unusual timing of transfers between Qin Yuwei's father's company and multiple shell companies tied to the parent conglomerate. It became clear: Shen Yiqiao was maneuvering to make the subsidiary appear culpable while the parent company remained untouchable.
Emotionally, Lu Wenjing wrestled with outrage and betrayal. Every discovery felt like a double-edged sword: on one hand, it gave him tools to protect Yuwei; on the other, it confirmed that the woman he had become acquainted with was cold, precise, and mercilessly effective and was willing to use the very people he cared about as pawns. He felt powerless in the moral sense, yet he clung to the sliver of control he could exercise through his family's resources.
By mid-afternoon, he had gathered enough evidence to see the breadth of the operation. Shen Yiqiao had structured the scheme with layers of misdirection: some transfers were legitimate but delayed, some shell companies existed solely to create confusing audit trails, and intercompany loans were disguised as routine asset reallocations. Each layer served to obscure responsibility and redirect attention from the mother company's discrepancies. The complexity was staggering, and it became evident why authorities were focusing on the wrong targets.
Their confrontation occurred later that evening, in a quiet, sparsely populated hallway of the hospital. Lu Wenjing's voice carried a mix of urgency and disbelief. "I know what you're doing. You're using her family to shield Ruyan and the parent company. You're manipulating everything behind the scenes."
Shen Yiqiao didn't look up, her expression unchanging, her posture relaxed. "Observation noted. Your concern is unnecessary. Step aside."
"I can't just step aside! I may not have your connections or influence, but I can act. I can track transactions, monitor shell companies, even reroute investigations discreetly to protect her!" he said, fists tightening. "You're putting people I care about in danger, and I won't let that happen!"
Her eyes briefly flicked toward him, cool and detached, as if regarding an insect. "Then do what you must. The consequences are yours to bear if you make mistakes."
A wave of anger and betrayal crashed over him. "You know how I feel about Yuwei, and you're still going after her family? That's… that's...you're cruel!"
She didn't respond. Her indifference was a wall, and each word of his ricocheted off it, leaving him raw and unsettled. The silent gap between them carried more weight than any argument. Her moral calculation left no room for his emotional reasoning; in her mind, sentiment was irrelevant, and he was merely a minor, inconsequential player in her larger plan.
Internally, Lu Wenjing felt both frustrated and ashamed. frustrated at her cold efficiency and the immorality of the scheme, ashamed that his emotional reaction rendered him vulnerable and ineffective in her presence. But he also felt a growing resolve: even if powerless in the corporate sense, he could shield Yuwei from collateral damage. Every subtle transaction he traced, every quiet legal maneuver he initiated, was a step toward protecting her, even if it meant working in the shadows against someone as calculated as Shen Yiqiao.
Late that night, Lu Wenjing received a subtle alert: a newly registered shell company connected to Qin Yuwei's father was already moving assets in line with Shen Yiqiao's plan. As he realized the sophistication of her operation, he understood that any misstep any accidental exposure could endanger everyone involved, including himself. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Shen Yiqiao continued her work in the shadows, completely indifferent, and entirely unaware of the storm brewing around her meticulous web.