Volume One, Chapter 116: The Hawk-Eyed Man Has Been Found

Ye Sheng did not hang up on Huo Mingting intentionally; she was simply busy with important matters.

Her laptop rested on her knees. Huo Lindong stood not far behind her, watching as she expressionlessly ended the call and let her fingers dance across the keyboard. The rhythmic, crisp clicking sound was like pearls falling onto a jade plate. Lines of code flickered across the screen; Ye Sheng’s hands were elegant, and her technique was even more so.

"Cool, right?"

Wan Sandao, drinking yogurt alongside the actual child in the room, held Huo Xiaobei and said to Huo Lindong with a proud expression, "A hacker. A professional one."

Huo Xiaobei tilted his head. "Third Uncle, what’s a hacker?"

"A hacker is a guest who looks very dark."

Wan Sandao spewed nonsense with a straight face. Huo Xiaobei pouted, not buying it for a second. "You're just lying."

"Don't spout nonsense, what 'hacker'?" Ye Sheng’s typing didn't falter. Without looking up, she added, "We call ourselves programmers."

With a final, sharp strike of the Enter key, she declared, "Done."

Ye Sheng rotated her wrists. Nearby, the printer began to whir. Wan Sandao stood up, hoisted Huo Xiaobei onto his shoulder, walked over to gather the printed documents, and gave them a quick glance.

"Whoa."

Wan Sandao handed the papers to Huo Lindong. "Madam Qin’s background is quite extensive. Look at this stack."

Huo Lindong flipped through them. It was clear that the information Ye Sheng had unearthed differed significantly from the polished, curated profile of Madam Qin. This, in his hand, was the real Madam Qin—Zheng Xueyao.

Ye Sheng stared at the computer screen, her gaze deepening.

Zheng Xueyao was indeed from Sucheng Road in Shangzhou. The Zheng family were in the tourism and hospitality business. Zheng Xueyao had been a beauty since she was a girl. In the bustling travel agency, such beauty could not escape certain eyes. Shortly after coming of age, she became involved with a wealthy merchant from Yuezhou and married him.

Unfortunately, her life as a wealthy socialite was short-lived; the merchant offended the wrong people and was hacked to death on the street. That news had caused quite a sensation at the time. Zheng Xueyao disappeared for ten years, and along with her, the son she had with the merchant vanished as well. Even after scouring the entire internet, Ye Sheng could not find any trace of what happened to Zheng Xueyao during those ten years. She only managed to find a few scattered old photographs—they were harrowing.

Zheng Xueyao reappeared in the capital. Everyone knew that the current Madam Qin did not come from an elite background; she had met Chairman Qin at a nightclub while he was still married to his first wife. At that time, she was already linked to someone else. The rumors about how Chairman Qin divorced his wife to marry Zheng Xueyao were easy to find online, though whether they were true or false was anyone's guess.

"Time for bed, kiddo," Wan Sandao said, shooing Huo Xiaobei away.

"I'm not sleepy yet," Huo Xiaobei protested.

"Sleepy or not, you’re going," Wan Sandao said, carrying him back to his room. "The upcoming discussion is not for children; it’s not suitable for you to hear."

Huo Xiaobei: "Hmph."

After tucking Xiaobei in and returning, Wan Sandao said, "Don't you guys feel like this Madam Qin is a bit fake?"

Ye Sheng looked at him. "How so?"

"During our brief contact at the Qin residence today, I felt like Madam Qin was just a puppet packaged by Qin Zhicheng. Even Qin Minshu, who is fake enough, feels more real than her mother; at least her emotions are genuine. But Madam Qin… it felt like she was playing a role. A delicate wife, a stern mother, a gentle lady—like a chameleon."

Huo Lindong placed the stack of papers on the coffee table and said calmly, "That is the only way she can survive."

Ye Sheng and Wan Sandao both turned to look at him.

Huo Lindong continued, "Cover her face and look only at her eyes."

Ye Sheng and Wan Sandao simultaneously raised their hands to block the upper and lower halves of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

Huo Lindong asked, "Does it look like an eagle?"

*Boom.*

As Ye Sheng and Wan Sandao stared at Madam Qin’s eyes, their hearts skipped a beat. Huo Lindong met Ye Sheng’s gaze and asked, "Do Zheng Xueyao’s eyes resemble the eagle-like eyes of the person who attacked you?"

Ye Sheng suppressed her racing heart and nodded. "They do."

They looked exactly the same.

"There are no coincidences in this world. You said Qin Minshu doesn't seem to know about the attack, but she recognizes the attacker. That means this person is within the Qin household." Huo Lindong analyzed methodically. "Combining this with the reactions of the family of three you witnessed—Chairman Qin is oblivious, but Madam Qin knows. This implies the attacker is someone both Madam Qin and Qin Minshu know, but Chairman Qin does not. If Madam Qin is truly a puppet, there aren't many people she can command. Who would be absolutely loyal to both her and Qin Minshu?"

The answer was self-evident. Ye Sheng and Wan Sandao looked down at the screen simultaneously. It showed an old photo: a young, beautiful Zheng Xueyao standing with the wealthy merchant, holding their newborn son in her arms—the same person who had disappeared with her all those years ago.