"Wen Lan?"
Upon seeing Wen Wenlan, Hong Lu's expression of mockery and arrogance vanished instantly, replaced by panic and guilt. "Wen Lan, what are you doing here?"
Quickly, she seemed to recall something. "Did Wen Zhiyan force you to come? Wen Lan, Wen Zhiyan is a bad person. He's slandering me and even trying to sow discord between us."
"Mother," Wen Wenlan said with a complex expression, "I'm not a child anymore."
"How are you not a child? Moreover, you haven't handled Wen's industries, so you naturally don't understand the complexities. You don't know how cruel your so-called 'little uncle' is at heart. He just wants to monopolize Wen's and drive our entire family, even your grandparents, out of Wen's."
Hong Lu looked at Wen Wenlan with disappointment, saying, "Wen Lan, you mustn't be fooled by that ruthless Wen Zhiyan."
"Mother."
Seeing no one stopping her, Hong Lu cautiously pulled Wen Wenlan to her side. "I am your mother, do you think I would lie to you? Wen Zhiyan and Fang Zhihuan have joined forces to seize over 20% of Wen's shares. He wants to kill us."
"Mom, admit your guilt," Wen Wenlan said, his eyes slightly red, looking at the woman who seemed to be falling into a trance. "I'll support you later."
"Shut up." Hong Lu slapped Wen Wenlan across the face. "Which side are you on? You don't even listen to your mother anymore, do you?"
Under the light, the slap mark on Wen Wenlan's cheek looked exceptionally stark.
"Mom!" Wen Wenlan's voice was hoarse. He didn't understand when his mother had become like this, or perhaps she had hidden her true self so well between him and his father that he was only seeing it now.
"Don't call me Mom. If you really consider me your mother, you should take me away from this godforsaken place."
"I can have my little uncle help you leave," Wen Wenlan interrupted Hong Lu. "But you have to tell me where Fang YanHuan is, and your relationship with the Ran family."
Hong Lu's eyes darted around. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know any Ran family. As for Fang YanHuan, you should know I never liked her. If it weren't for you, I might not have even seen her. She came to me a while ago and took five million from me, with the condition that she break up with you."
"After taking the five million, she left with her parents. I don't know anything else."
"Where did you meet Fang YanHuan?"
"The tea garden."
"Speaking of the tea garden, Mother, what do you do at the tea garden every month?"
"Drink tea," Hong Lu said, reaching up to touch Wen Wenlan's flushed cheek. "Good boy, did it hurt? I'm sorry, Mom was just so angry with you just now, I lost control of my emotions for a moment. But you must know, no parents don't love their children. I truly, just worried you were going astray."
"Drinking tea? Is it drinking tea with the bodyguards of Ran Qiu?" Xin Xuan chuckled and directly asked Da Chen to bring in the photos. "Here, Madam, do you recognize this person?"
Hong Lu's hands stiffened, and she quickly regained her composure, looking at Wen Wenlan with cold eyes. "You started following me then? You stopped trusting your mother from that moment on?"
"How could I trust you?" Wen Wenlan met her eyes, which were filled with hate, and felt a tightness in his chest. "Trust that you married Dad, and even gave birth to me, just to secure your position in Wen's and control Wen's?"
"Mother, how come I didn't know you had such deep feelings for the Ran family, so deep that you didn't care about letting your own husband fall into a mire, so deep that you were willing to give Wen's, to give your own son, to Wen's."
"Five years ago, your brother hit my little uncle. Five years later, you arranged for Ran family members to abduct An'an and my little aunt."
Towards the end, Wen Wenlan almost gritted his teeth, roaring out each word. "What did our Wen family do to deserve so much from you?"
"Shut up."
Hong Lu raised her hand to slap him, but when she met his eyes, her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles. The raised hand could not fall.
"Do you still want to hit me?" Wen Wenlan said calmly. "Then hit me. After you hit me, tell us, what exactly does the Ran family want? Where is Ran Qiu, and what evidence of his crimes do you have?"
Hong Lu's body trembled, and finally, she closed her eyes and slumped to the ground. "Wen Lan, you must understand, no one wants to live like this, neither human nor ghost."
"So, Mom, come out of it," Wen Wenlan knelt down and looked at Hong Lu, who seemed to have aged several years. "Your father and I will wait for you."
In the room, there was silence.
Wen Wenlan's gaze shifted slightly, and just as he was about to say something, Hong Lu opened her eyes. "There is a hidden compartment in the office of the tea garden. What you want is inside."
Wen Wenlan nodded slightly at Wen Zhiyan. "Little uncle, I'll leave the rest to you. I want to stay here with Mother for a while."
"Okay, thank you."
Wen Wenlan shook his head. It was their third branch that should apologize.
After giving the information to Xu Lin and the others, Wen Zhiyan went to find Fang Zhihuan.
"Is the matter there resolved?" Fang Zhihuan asked, looking at the boundless sea ahead, his tone calm.
"Mm, Hong Lu confessed."
Fang Zhihuan raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you had some tricks up your sleeve to get Hong Lu to talk."
He had met with that woman Hong Lu a few times, and she was known to be incredibly smooth and leak-proof in her dealings. He was a bit worried that Wen Zhiyan wouldn't be able to handle that woman.
Wen Zhiyan's lips curved slightly. "It wasn't me, it was Wen Wenlan."
Fang Zhihuan was silent for a moment. "This kid, not bad."
"Enough about that, have the things been prepared?"
"Don't worry, everything is almost ready," Fang Zhihuan stretched. "It's all under control. We can head to the island anytime."
"Thank you."
Fang Zhihuan scoffed. "No need to thank me. Consider it me saving my brother from five years ago."
Wen Zhiyan looked into the distance, remaining silent.
...
"Mom, you're bleeding."
"It's okay, Mom doesn't hurt," Fang Miaomiao comforted Wen Yan'an. "Don't cry, or those bad people will find us. We believe Dad, they will come."
Wen Yan'an nodded heavily, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. "Mom, I saw a lot of children in here. They were all kidnapped."
Fang Miaomiao looked around. It was a small wooden house with a window. Sunlight streamed in through the glass. Several children were huddled around, looking at her eagerly.
"Mom, there are no cameras around."
"No cameras?" Fang Miaomiao endured the pain and got up from the ground. "An'an, be good. Wait here for a moment, I'll check the surroundings."