Three days after the gala, the buzz still hadn't died down.
"Li Zeyan's mysterious wife stuns at charity event!"
"Ex-fiancée of Jiang Renshu returns from the dead?"
"Feng Lixue avoids comment after confrontation with lookalike!"
Every corner of Imperial City was whispering the same name again — Feng Yuxi.
But in a quiet alpine villa far from the chaos, another name echoed through encrypted signals, secret satellite channels, and firewalled networks.
Fenghao.
Inside a minimalist high-tech room, a boy sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by humming screens and blinking servers. His tablet glowed with a holographic blueprint of Li Group's corporate web, a spiderweb of influence and assets.
He stuffed a piece of candy into his mouth and murmured, "Li Group's central vault… triple encrypted. Predictable. But this guy's using outdated firewall protocols in the finance division. Tsk. Sloppy."
His tiny fingers flew across the virtual keyboard. The screen flickered once. Access granted.
He grinned. "Gotcha, Ice Dad."
But he didn't download anything. Not yet. He wasn't here to steal.
He was here to learn.
Who was this man his mother was pretending to marry? What were his intentions?
He pulled up a confidential personnel dossier — the kind buried behind six firewalls.
Li Zeyan. Age 30. CEO. Record: Impeccable. Personality: Glacial. Weakness: Unknown.
He snorted. "What kind of robot has no weakness?"
But as he scrolled, something made him pause.
There was an old photo of Zeyan in his twenties — black and white, blurry — and next to it, another scan.
A biometric facial match algorithm.
Percentage match: 78.6%
Fenghao blinked.
78.6% to his own face.
He looked at the screen, then slowly opened the front-facing camera on his tablet. He tilted his head, mimicked the angle.
Same sharp nose.
Same arc of the brows.
Same stare when focused.
"…Are you really my dad?" he whispered.
His tiny hands clenched for a moment.
Then he frowned.
"Nope. Doesn't matter. You hurt Mommy once, and I'll erase your entire financial empire before breakfast."
With that, he clicked the screen off.
Then leaned back, chewing another candy.
"But I'll give you a chance first, Ice Dad."
Back in Imperial City, Feng Yuxi stood on the balcony of Li Manor, staring out at the gray skyline.
The city had changed.
So had she.
A light knock on her door pulled her back.
"Come in."
Li Zeyan stepped inside, dressed in a charcoal suit and holding two mugs. He handed her one.
"Chamomile. You didn't eat dinner."
She blinked, surprised. "You pay attention to things like that?"
"I live with you. It's hard not to notice."
She sipped the tea. Warm. Calming. "Thanks."
He stood beside her, gaze focused on the horizon.
After a pause, he spoke. "Jiang Renshu requested a meeting."
She didn't flinch. "You told him no?"
"I asked what he wanted. He said he was concerned about you. That you might be... unwell."
Yuxi scoffed. "Typical. The moment I stop being buried, he worries I've lost my mind."
Zeyan looked at her. "What happened between you two?"
For a moment, she debated how much to tell him. But something about the quiet night, the weight of the tea in her hands, and the way his voice lacked judgment made her answer honestly.
"I was engaged to him. For three years. My cousin Feng Lixue was supposed to be my maid of honor." She took a breath. "Instead, she pushed me off a cliff."
Silence stretched between them.
Zeyan said nothing. His jaw tightened, but his eyes never left hers.
"I survived," she continued softly. "But not as Feng Yuxi. I became someone else. Disappeared. I've spent the last six years building something far from here — a different life. I came back for one reason."
"To take revenge," he finished.
She met his eyes. "To take back everything."
He nodded once, like a general acknowledging another.
"I can help," he said.
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because I don't believe in coincidence. You came back for a reason, and that reason benefits me too."
She gave him a sideways glance. "How?"
"The Feng family has their claws in more than just your past. They've been circling my company through third-party holdings. If you want to burn their empire, I'll hand you the matches."
Her lips curled. "And what do you want in return?"
His voice was low. "Loyalty. In front of the world, you're my wife. I need a woman who won't betray me — even if it's all a game."
She considered his offer.
"Loyalty is easy," she said. "Love is dangerous."
"Good," he replied. "I'm not looking for love."
She chuckled. "Liar."
But neither of them pushed the subject further.
That night, while Li Zeyan worked in his study and Yuxi reviewed files of Feng Corp's illicit transactions, a secure alert pinged from Zeyan's server.
Unknown intrusion attempt. Signature: encrypted. Origin: Switzerland.
Zeyan paused, analyzing the packet.
His eyes narrowed.
Then, slowly, he began tracing the path back.
Across the world, Fenghao leaned back on his chair with a triumphant smile.
He'd left just enough trace for Zeyan to find. A little breadcrumb. Nothing damaging. Just a tease.
A message.
A warning.
I see you.