131: The author of this chapter will not use a title.

Yan Qinghe suddenly laughed at the words in his ear.

"What are you laughing at? Aren't my melancholic musings and life insights worth listening to?"

"No, I was just thinking about how lucky I must be to have landed someone as fortunate as you."

Yan Zhuohua was amused. "Well, you are pretty lucky. So lucky you could go out and brag, teaching others how to manage their wives."

"..." That didn't sound quite right. "How did you know about that?"

As soon as he asked, Yan Qinghe realized. "Sheng Xulin, really, telling his brother everything!"

"If you didn't go looking for him, he wouldn't have anything to say," Yan Zhuohua retorted lazily.

"You're not angry, are you?"

"Am I that petty?" Yan Zhuohua scoffed. "If I had to bicker with you about things like that every day, I'd have probably died of anger long ago."

"Don't be so pessimistic. I haven't told that many people," Yan Qinghe kept trying to make amends.

"You'd better not have."

As the car turned into the residential complex, their conversation finally came to an end. It was already very late, and they had work the next day. Yan Qinghe hurriedly urged the other to the bathroom, planning to apply medicine for him after washing up so they could rest early.

What they didn't expect was for Yan Zhuoyang to call late at night. At the time, Yan Zhuohua happened to be taking a shower, so Yan Qinghe casually answered for him.

"Big Brother? What's the matter so late?"

"Why are you answering the phone?"

"Zhuohua is showering."

"Oh." Yan Zhuoyang got straight to the point. "Wen Hengtang wants to see Zhuohua."

"Is he ready to confess?"

"Yes. For the past two weeks, he's barely slept at all. He finally couldn't take it anymore and just proposed that he'd confess if he could see Zhuohua once."

"So, what's your thought?"

"We can't let him sleep now, or all our previous efforts might be wasted. But since he's made this his only condition, it's hard to refuse. So, how about you two come over now?"

"No way! Let him hold on for one more night. We're tired today too!"

Good grief, this younger brother is a living Yama King, isn't he? There's definitely some personal grudge mixed into those words.

Forget it, Yan Zhuoyang thought, switching gears. His younger brothers were more important.

"Fine, tomorrow then. But come early tomorrow. Don't let him actually die of exhaustion; that would make further investigation difficult."

"Got it! We'll go early tomorrow," Yan Qinghe replied, his tone still reluctant.

"Go where early?"

Yan Qinghe looked up at the sound and saw Yan Zhuohua had just finished showering and come out. He exchanged a few more words with Yan Zhuoyang before hanging up.

"Big Brother called. Said Wen Hengtang wants to see you and asked us to go early tomorrow."

Yan Zhuohua sat on the edge of the bed, letting Yan Qinghe apply medicine for him.

"Can't it be postponed? We have work tomorrow. Next weekend won't do?"

You're even more ruthless than I am!

Yan Qinghe couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Better go early. I'm afraid he might die in his cell if we delay another hour."

Out of respect for Wen Hengtang's life, the two skipped a day of work and rushed to the Military Camp early in the morning. However, because it was indeed far away, it was already past ten by the time they arrived.

Yan Zhuoyang was waiting for them outside.

"You might as well not have come, and wait for him to visit you in a dream tonight."

Yan Zhuohua followed him inside, muttering discontentedly, "But you can't expect us to set out in the middle of the night either!"

Yan Zhuoyang stopped walking and fixed his younger brother with a calm stare.

"Talking back?"

"...N-no, I'm not..." The injuries from that beating weren't fully healed yet; just thinking about it made his body ache faintly.

"Hurry up and keep up. Be careful, or I might send you back for another two days of training."

"Oh."

The now docile Yan Zhuohua and Yan Qinghe followed their eldest brother through the heavily guarded building, winding through corridors for a long time before finally reaching their destination.

Before them was a door with a small window. Peering inside, they could see Wen Hengtang dozing off.

"This is it. You can go right in."

Yan Zhuohua looked at his big brother in confusion. "Wait, don't we need to go to an interrogation room or something?"

"Can't you beat him?"

"I can."

"Then hurry up."

Yan Zhuohua was handed a small earpiece and practically shoved inside, while Yan Qinghe waited outside. It wasn't that he didn't want to go in with him, but mainly because there was only one empty chair inside, and Yan Zhuohua definitely wouldn't agree to sit on his lap while talking to Wen Hengtang.

Tsk, what a pity.

Yan Zhuohua had no time to care about how eagerly Yan Qinghe was watching from outside or his sighs of regret. Once pushed in, he stood there somewhat awkwardly, unsure what to do.

Wen Hengtang was truly on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, his mind a complete fog. He didn't hear anyone enter and was currently sleeping deeply.

Yan Zhuohua had genuinely never encountered a situation like this. After a moment of stunned silence, he decided to first move the chair and sit down. Unexpectedly, the moment he set the chair down, Wen Hengtang, seated in the other chair, jolted awake.

For a moment, the two stared at each other, both eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

"...Did I disturb your sleep?" Yan Zhuohua attempted to break the awkward silence.

Wen Hengtang closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"It's fine. I'm just a bit sensitive to the sound of chairs being moved." As he spoke, Wen Hengtang suddenly laughed. "But I'm a prisoner now. Are you really going to chat with me so politely?"

It was just a habit he hadn't shaken off yet.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Better get straight to the point, or he feared his scalp would start tingling from the awkwardness.

Wen Hengtang smiled gently. "How the tables have turned. Last time, I was the one answering your questions. Now it's finally your turn to answer mine."

"I can't say anything involving classified information."

"I know. Don't worry, my questions are all things you can talk about." Wen Hengtang, utterly weary, pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed it. "And actually, it's just one question. When did you start suspecting me?"

Yan Zhuohua leaned back in his chair, his expression inscrutable. "Last year, when I went back to school to submit materials, I accidentally heard that you tried to get close to me as soon as you entered the university, and even said you were a fan of my Esports career."

During their first meeting, Wen Hengtang had acted almost like a stranger towards him, which didn't fit the 'fan' persona. Moreover, throughout their entire friendship, Wen Hengtang had never once discussed games with him.

"Just that?"

"Of course not. That was just the beginning of the suspicion." Yan Zhuohua looked up. "I simply took the hypothesis that you might be problematic and applied it to every action you took around me, every word you said. And, incidentally, compared how much these behavioral patterns resembled those of the shadowy organization behind it all. Then, you were full of holes everywhere."

"Not long after I got married, when all these troubles started, you suddenly transformed from an ordinary friend into someone overly concerned about my personal state. You even tried to drive a wedge between Qinghe and me. Later, you came to City A and directly joined the Zhao Corporation, which is one of the masterminds behind the scenes. Even later, one of our Researchers was kidnapped once, based on information provided by a familiar contact who had been planted years ago."

"I see." Wen Hengtang had a sudden realization. "You're quite tolerant then. You acted completely normal around me afterwards."

"I learned from you."

Wen Hengtang laughed heartily. "Well, that's an honor for me."