Chapter 85.1

The entire matter traced back to more than ten years ago, when the Qin family encountered a major crisis.

Back then, the Qin Group was flourishing at its peak. Yet one day, it was suddenly exposed that a massive loophole existed in the company’s finances. Overnight, losses soared to over ten billion. Apart from the Qin family, the interests of all other shareholders were impacted. They jointly submitted a petition requesting a thorough investigation.

Caught off guard, the Qin family fell into panic, repeatedly exposing its flaws. Before long, the investigation concluded. It was revealed that the Qin family had signed dual contracts and secretly diverted all the funds, resulting in the financial void.

The incident stirred a great uproar that year. Initially, it was merely a matter within the business circle and should not have spread widely, yet for unknown reasons, it escalated rapidly. The Qin family became the target of public scorn, condemned by the masses. Public opinion overwhelmingly criticized and cursed them.

Such a shortfall of over ten billion was not something a single family could repay overnight. Even if the funds had been embezzled, they had all been diverted for other purposes. Once the incident came to light, under mounting public pressure and worsening financial conditions, the Qin family declared bankruptcy.

At the height of the Qin family’s crisis, when they were forced to sell off all their assets to gather funds, Yan Buwei emerged. He covered the group’s financial gap, took on heavy debts, and started his business from scratch, ultimately establishing the Yan Group.

Throughout the entire incident, Yan Buwei’s actions were impeccable, earning him universal praise.

He helped his late wife’s family settle their debts, honored her, and never remarried afterward.

—But why did the group even have the opportunity to sign dual contracts?

Those who attain such status are not fools. What kind of enterprise would overlook the loopholes in a contract?

Why was the matter exposed with such speed? A group capable of embezzling over ten billion through dual contracts—how could they have allowed the evidence to surface one after another?

At that time, the internet had only appeared and had yet to become widespread. Most people’s perspectives remained confined within the small circles they could observe. So why did this matter stir such a tremendous wave of public opinion?

What was even more baffling was how Yan Buwei managed to secure such a large sum of money at that critical moment. As the son-in-law of the Qin family, who would have been willing to lend him money at that time?

Yet back then, no one took the time to examine the details. All the public knew, and all they could know, was that the Qin Group had engaged in malicious competition and misappropriated over ten billion through dual contracts. Meanwhile, Yan Buwei took on the debt to cover the losses, embodying both loyalty and exceptional capability.

Looking further back along the timeline.

Before marrying Qin Shi, Yan Buwei had nothing to his name—no wealth or status, only grand talk of love, the future, dreams, and distant ideals.

Even so, Qin Shi chose to marry him.

At the time, Qin Shi was still young, just past twenty, and was won over by Yan Buwei’s persuasion.

The Qin family had long been wealthy, so they did not concern themselves with what Yan Buwei could offer. After some time spent together, they realized that Yan Buwei was indeed highly capable. As a result, the two elders of the Qin family gladly accepted their daughter’s choice.

Qin Shi married for love. At her wedding, she did not accept even a single coin of betrothal gifts, choosing instead to share everything she had with her husband.

—She truly loved this man deeply.

After their marriage, Yan Buwei protected Qin Shi with utmost care, never allowing her to appear in public. He took on all the responsibilities and bore all the pressure. Even after becoming his wife, Qin Shi continued to be pampered like a cherished young lady.

Later, Qin Shi became pregnant and gave birth to their child.

Some time after, she fell from the staircase on the second floor of their home. Her head struck the ground heavily, and due to excessive blood loss, she died in an unexpected accident.

Less than a year after Qin Shi’s death, the Qin Group completely collapsed.

Yan Buwei swept everything off the table, sending the photo frame crashing onto the tiled floor. He sat quietly at his desk for a while, then rose and picked up the frame.

It remained completely intact.

He gently brushed his fingers along the edge of the wooden frame.

In the portrait, Qin Shi wore a radiant smile, looking as though she were still in her twenties. Clad in a snow-white dress, she faced the camera with a gentle expression. Behind her, a clear blue sky stretched, while lush green leaves formed a canopy overhead. Warm sunlight filtered through the foliage, casting dappled light across her face and her fair, delicate neck.

—She was an omega, yet she had never been marked.

“The shareholders have all arrived,” the butler reminded from the doorway.

“Very well.” Yan Buwei let out a cold sneer. With a twisted expression, he slammed the photo frame down hard in front of the butler. The glass shattered, sending tiny shards scattering in all directions.

He had never truly loved this woman, yet he was forced to keep the photo on his desk, feigning deep attachment.

This omega utterly repulsed him.

“Let’s go.” Yan Buwei composed his expression, fastened his cufflinks, smoothed out the creases in his clothes, and stepped out of the study.

His polished, custom-made leather shoes ground down hard on the photo beneath them.

“President Yan, do you think this is how things should be? Back then, we partnered with you on this project because we trusted you. And now? What are we supposed to make of this?”

“Everyone had a clear understanding when the contract was signed—shared glory in success, shared loss in failure. So, why are all the shareholders now suffering heavy losses, while you alone remain untouched? How do you explain that?”

“This loss has far exceeded expectations. I don’t believe I’m incapable of bearing my share of the debt. Once the contract is signed, each party bears its profits and losses. But isn’t the current situation a bit too suspicious? President Yan, you haven’t offered a single explanation. Does it feel good to take everything for yourself?”

The atmosphere in the room was tense. One middle-aged man clenched his fists tightly, struggling to restrain his temper. Du Zhe gently patted his back and said in a soft voice, “Dad, please calm down. The doctor said you can’t afford to get worked up right now.”

Seated around them were influential figures, each exuding an imposing presence. Du Zhe had no idea why he was even here. That afternoon, his father had been resting peacefully, already worn out and ill from the strain of business. Then, a sudden phone call jolted him awake, insisting he had to come out, no matter what.

Worried something might go wrong, Du Zhe had no choice but to accompany him.

And now, he found himself witnessing Uncle Yan, who had shared a warm meal and pleasant conversation with them days before, seated at the head of the room with a cold, detached expression, silently watching as several men voiced their sharp accusations.

After everyone had taken turns voicing their complaints, Yan Buwei finally lifted his eyelids, impatience written clearly all over his face. “You came all the way here only to say this? The fund recovery date is set for after March. The project reports are available for you to view at any time. Don’t you have any thoughts on the current progress? A loss is a loss. When has there ever been a business that guarantees profit? If you lack capability, must you blame others? How did you even reach your current positions?”

The atmosphere instantly fell silent following Yan Buwei’s remarks. The powerful figures in the room exchanged glances, while Du Zhe, sitting among them, did not dare utter a single word.

Afterward, those men resumed their exchange, speaking back and forth in dense business jargon. Du Zhe couldn’t understand a word of it. His head was spinning, and after a while, he decided to seek help from someone outside the conversation.

Since he was in Yan Buwei’s home, the first person that came to mind was Yan Mu.

He opened the chat window with Yan Mu and had only begun to form his question when a previously quiet man in the room spoke up, “Wait, everyone.”

He stood up. “These are the loss records from the past six months. Everyone, pay attention to the data. Things started becoming suspicious around October of last year.”

He distributed the documents to each person, pointing out key inconsistencies with clear logic and sound reasoning. The expressions of those present grew increasingly grim. Yan Buwei locked eyes on the man, a flicker of menace flashing in his pupils.

“In conclusion,” the man walked to the front of the table, placing both hands on its surface and meeting Yan Buwei’s gaze directly, “I have reasonable grounds to suspect, President Yan, that you have been using dual contracts.”

That single sentence cast an unprecedented heaviness over the room. The shareholders continued to flip through the evidence presented, while Du Zhe curled up in a corner, trembling with fear.

Yan Buwei’s expression remained unchanged. He even lifted the corner of his lips and let out a cold sneer.

This scene was all too familiar to him.

It was exactly the same as back then, when the Qin Group’s shareholders advanced step by step, forcing out the group’s leadership at the time: Qin Shi’s parents.

A powerful sense of foreboding surged within Yan Buwei.

His intuition had always been sharp. Many of his decisions were made based on instinctive judgment.

After seeing the shareholders off, Yan Buwei instructed his assistant to book a plane ticket immediately.

The evidence provided by that shareholder was far too thorough, almost as if it had been prepared long ago, waiting precisely for this moment.

He stood too high. Any slight misstep would bring the walls crashing down, and the crowd would turn on him in an instant.

Yan Buwei was well aware of what would happen next. Back then, during the Qin family’s investigation, Qin Shi’s parents were detained. Even if they had any evidence in their favor, they had no way of presenting it. Now, though there were no overt signs yet, he needed to leave the country. As long as he was not within national borders, no one could restrict his personal freedom. Everything would remain under his control.

The assistant had booked a flight for 9 PM.

However, Yan Buwei’s car never made it to the airport. It was intercepted midway by a worn-out, unlicensed van.

The airport was located in a remote area, with little foot traffic nearby. Yan Buwei was forcibly dragged from the back seat, a sack thrown over his head, and pulled into a narrow alley.

“Who are you? What do you want?!”

Blinded by the sack, Yan Buwei could see nothing. The group that had seized him didn’t say a word and immediately began to beat him, fists and kicks landing without restraint. They pummeled him until he could no longer get up, his body wracked with pain and his consciousness fading. Only then did someone roughly haul him to his feet and tear the sack from his head.

Yan Buwei was dazed and dizzy from the beating. When his vision finally returned, it took a while for things to become clear.

The alley was dimly lit.

“It’s you.” He saw Yan Mu, his son.

Yan Buwei’s eyes were filled with hostility. “What do you want?”

“I’m not doing anything, just waiting for someone,” Yan Mu spread his hands, showing no marks of injury. After all, he couldn’t touch anyone’s skin, signaling to Yan Buwei that he hadn’t done anything just now.

He leaned against the brick wall, half of his figure shrouded in shadow, his head slightly lowered. Stray strands of hair fell across his brows and eyes, revealing only his sharply defined nose and tightly pressed lips.

Yan Mu’s presence was cold and oppressive. He was unwilling to see Yan Buwei, never wanting to face him, especially after witnessing that scene from years ago.

“Deliberately signing dual contracts, pressuring for profit, colluding with shareholders to fabricate evidence, bypassing the leadership, illegal detention, manipulating public opinion…” Yan Mu listed each of Yan Buwei’s actions from that time.

The dual contracts were false accusations, the financial loopholes were traps, and public opinion had been deliberately guided; each incident was manipulated from behind the scenes.

But when these events occurred, Yan Mu was still very young. Even now, he had no interest in these events.

The Qin family would handle their own arrangements, and he would cooperate. As for other matters, Yan Mu’s methods were rather simple and brutal.

There were no grand business wars, just digging and burying pits, guiding the opponent step by step into the trap, and then exposing them one day.

It would be easiest to tie him up, give him a beating, and send him to the police station.

As for the reason for sending him to the police station…

“I saw it,” Yan Mu said in a low voice. “It was you who pushed my mom down.”

Jiang Zhihuo sat alone on the sofa.

He gripped the mind map tightly in his hand, surrounded by a pile of scattered documents.

He didn’t know how to face the truth that was about to unfold.

The Qin family company was only one part of the events.

Everyone believed that Qin Shi died in an accident, falling down the stairs from her home’s second floor, suffering multiple contusions and a fatal blow to the back of her head.

But that was not the reality.

Qin’s parents had only one daughter, and in their grief, they had someone preserve their daughter’s blood sample, something Yan Buwei was unaware of.

The technology from over a decade ago had been unable to detect other abnormalities in the blood, but years later, when someone revisited the suspicions surrounding the accident, they surprisingly found substances in the samples that had never been identified before.

Qin Shi had been a pampered young lady for over twenty years, but after becoming pregnant, her health declined drastically. She experienced severe pregnancy reactions, unable to eat or sleep well. Even when she went to the hospital for check-ups, she was told there were no issues.

Yan Buwei could do nothing but find ways to prepare meals for his wife every day, serving them to her respectfully.

—However, these meals were mixed with a certain drug.

This drug would not cause other physical discomfort but would affect the glands, leading to pheromone stress symptoms.

In milder cases, it would prevent any form of physical contact; everyone has pheromones, even betas have extremely weak pheromones.

In severe cases, it could lead to death.