"Get out!"
Su Zhiyuan’s roar echoed through the villa’s grand hall. The crystal chandelier swayed slightly with the force of his outburst, casting mottled shadows across Lin Mo’s pale face. He stood in the entryway, a suitcase at his feet with a few shirts spilling out like abandoned flags.
"Father!" Su Yuqing grabbed her father’s arm. "You can't do this—"
"Shut up!" Su Zhiyuan shook her off. "From today on, there is no place for him in this family." He turned to Lin Mo, his eyes gleaming with the triumph of a victor. "Take your spy games and get out of the Su Family."
Lin Mo bent down to pick up the fallen shirt. As his fingertips touched the cold silk fabric, a system notification suddenly detonated in his mind:
【Warning: User emotional volatility exceeds threshold】
【Protection mode activated】
【All functions temporarily frozen】
He looked up, meeting Su Yuqing’s complex gaze. Those eyes, usually so cold, were now brimming with an emotion he couldn't decipher—was it anger, or perhaps... guilt?
"I'll go," Lin Mo said calmly, his voice so soft it was barely audible. "But some things will come to light eventually."
The moment the door closed behind him, he heard the sound of porcelain shattering.
***
Rain poured down without warning.
Lin Mo dragged his suitcase along the sidewalk, puddles reflecting his distorted silhouette. His suit trousers were quickly soaked, sticking clammily to his skin. His phone vibrated in his pocket; it was a message from a real estate agent regarding a one-bedroom apartment on the edge of the financial district, with a monthly rent equivalent to three months of his pocket money.
"System?" he called out in his mind, but received only dead silence.
Under the awning of a coffee shop, he wrung out the hem of his shirt and pulled out his laptop. The moment the screen lit up, financial news alerts popped up one after another:
*Su Group suspected of financial fraud; share price plunges 15%*
*Exclusive: Chen Capital shorts Su Group, claims to possess internal documents*
In the accompanying photo, Chen Hao stood among the reporters, his smile as polished and precise as a sharpened dagger.
Lin Mo’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. Without the system’s assistance, he had to rely on his own judgment to find the cracks in Chen Hao’s scheme. A ring of water sat on the tabletop from his coffee cup; he stared at the dark, expanding stain, then suddenly grabbed his phone.
"Hello, old classmate," he said into the receiver. "I need you to help me check an account."
***
The lightbulb in the rental unit had a loose connection, flickering over the mold stains on the walls. Lin Mo spread the financial reports across the folding table, the abnormal figures circled in red forming a bizarre pattern. Outside the window, the neon sign for "Su Tower" blurred into a bloody halo through the curtain of rain.
That was when the knocking started.
Three taps, a pause, then two more—the secret code they had agreed upon during their first year of marriage.
Lin Mo pulled the door open. Su Yuqing stood in the hallway, water dripping from her hair, clutching a brown paper bag to her chest. She wasn't wearing any makeup, and dark shadows hung heavily beneath her eyes.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked, her voice raspy.
The space in front of the folding table was so cramped he could barely turn around. Su Yuqing’s gaze swept over the documents covering the table, and she suddenly laughed. "You really are investigating this."
She pulled a stack of papers from the bag. "Photocopies of the original vouchers that the finance department destroyed yesterday." Her fingernail tapped on a specific figure. "Chen Hao bribed the deputy head of the audit team."
Lin Mo took the documents, his fingertips accidentally brushing the back of her hand. Both of them froze; some invisible current crackled in the damp air.
"Why help me?" he asked.
Su Yuqing turned to look out the window; the lights of Su Tower flickered in her pupils. "At the Board of Directors meeting this morning, Father said he wanted to marry me to Chen Hao."
The sound of the rain intensified.
Lin Mo slammed his fist onto the table, making his pencil jump and fall. The system notification suddenly pierced his mind:
【Protection mode disengaged】
【New mission: Prevent Su Group’s hostile takeover within 72 hours】
【Reward: Access to Chen Hao’s private server】
Su Yuqing looked back in surprise, seeing the fire igniting in his eyes.
"Listen," Lin Mo grabbed a pen and scribbled furiously on a sticky note. "Before the market opens tomorrow, you need to do three things."
Halfway through handing her the note, his wrist was grabbed. Su Yuqing’s palm was burning hot, and raindrops still clung to her eyelashes. "You still haven't answered me."
"Answer what?"
"Why 72 hours?" She stepped closer. "How do you know Chen Hao’s deadline?"
The lightbulb "popped" and went out. In the darkness, their breathing was clearly audible. A siren wailed in the distance, and blue light filtered through the gap in the curtains, carving a fleeting, jagged line across Su Yuqing’s face.
Lin Mo took a deep breath. "If I told you the truth, would you believe me?"
Outside the window, the rain had stopped. Something heavier than the darkness hung between them.