The Cycle of Heaven

"Dad, I don't mind competing with other women for Wu Wei, and I've accepted that I might have to compete with other men for him too, but you absolutely cannot act your age and go after him yourself. Ethics and morality matter. Go find your internet celebrity instead. I promise I won't talk back anymore."

Lan Meng wasn't scared by Zhao Xin. She was scared by her own dad.

You can't play like that.

Lan Tian burst out laughing.

"Look at you getting all worked up, Mengmeng. What are you thinking? I just meant that Xiao Wei really does appeal to both men and women. Want your dad to teach you a few tricks so you can win him over sooner?"

Lan Meng thought of what Wu Wei had said, then curled her lip and went straight for the jugular. "Forget it. If you were really that good at pursuing women, you wouldn't have failed to win over Aunt Lin."

KO!

Lan Tian's expression gradually stiffened.

You can hit someone, but don't hit them in the face. You can't do that.

Lan Meng couldn't be bothered to say more. She waved her hand and shooed Lan Tian away like a fly.

"Okay, I know how things turned out. Go take care of your own business, Dad. I'll get a little treatment and then head back to school."

The moment she was done with him, she tossed him aside. Lan Meng had put the saying "burn the bridge after crossing the river" into practice to perfection.

Lan Tian felt a pang in his chest.

Though he was a womanizer, Lan Meng was still his only daughter.

Realizing that the cabbage he'd raised for twenty years had now given her heart to someone else was pretty upsetting.

Lan Meng completely ignored his heartache. As soon as she ran upstairs, she immediately sent Wu Wei a message:

"Wu Wei, what do you think of my dad?"

After a while, Wu Wei replied: "I don't like him. He's too pretentious."

"Don't like him? He seems pretty popular with young people."

"That has nothing to do with why I don't like him."

After replying, Wu Wei didn't send anything else.

He was busy absorbing all the new information.

Lan Meng hugged her phone and grinned foolishly in her room.

The night grew cooler.

With the moon high overhead, Lan Meng invited Wu Wei to dinner, saying the report was ready.

Wu Wei happily accepted, then felt a little pain in his wallet.

"Did we really have to come somewhere this fancy?"

"I always come here. But if you prefer, I can totally go eat street food with you." Lan Meng sounded completely casual.

Wu Wei waved a hand. "Just do whatever feels natural to you. I don't mind."

Different living environments shaped people's tastes. There was nothing to criticize about that, and no one's tastes were better or worse than anyone else's.

Insisting you were above it all, or looking down on someone else as low-class, was just stupid.

Wu Wei was dressed in ordinary clothes, and his entire outfit cost less than a thousand Qin Coins. Still, no clueless waiter came over to give him a hard time.

Only after Wu Wei sat down across from her did Lan Meng ask, "Wu Wei, I remember Aunt Lin makes a good living. Why does it feel like you're short on spending money?"

"My mom is definitely rich, but she spends it all on herself. You said it yourself—her research costs a lot."

"She didn't leave you anything at all?" Lan Meng was surprised.

She knew Aunt Lin was a research fanatic, but this was taking it a bit far, wasn't it?

Wu Wei shook his head. "According to my mom, the greatest wealth she could leave me was her ability to learn and her methods for learning. Knowledge is wealth, and boys should be raised with less."

Lan Meng: "...I feel like Aunt Lin is pulling one over on you."

"I realized that a long time ago, but it didn't do me any good. What can I do? She's my mom. Besides, she wasn't wrong about one thing. She's already left me her greatest wealth."

If Wu Wei weren't so exceptional, how could Lan Meng have fallen for him?

There was no such thing as love being pure or impure. There had to be something about the other person that attracted you before you could like them.

For example, Wu Tian was handsome.

And Wu Wei wasn't just handsome; he was also a top student.

Those were all points in their favor, and things that made them attractive to the opposite sex—and even the same sex.

"You can pay for this meal, and I'll treat you next time. Or you can ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Wu Wei ate without a hint of awkwardness.

When men and women were together, men got nervous because they kept trying to show off things they didn't have.

Wu Wei was confident enough not to lie or hide anything. He was completely at ease, which only earned him more points.

Lan Meng didn't think anything of it either. Having grown up in the family of the richest person around, she cared least about little details like money.

The rich kids who tried to show off in front of her seemed like a bunch of idiots. Could any of them possibly be richer than her family?

Wu Wei's straightforwardness was just right.

"Let's eat first. I'm worried you won't be able to stomach your food after reading Zhao Xin's investigation report."

Wu Wei's hands froze, and his expression changed.

"No way?"

Lan Meng: "...What's with that look? Did you guess?"

"If it's something that'd disgust me so much I couldn't eat, there are only a few possibilities. Is Zhao Xin after me? Does he want to pursue me?"

Lan Meng: "..."

My Wei, you're incredible.

It's a real shame you're not a detective.

"Am I your shield?"

"Is he your rival in love?"

Wu Wei felt a little sick.

Lan Meng did too.

Though women all had a tendency to pair men up in their heads, they also had high standards when it came to looks.

Zhao Xin clearly didn't meet them.

Lan Meng looked at Wu Wei and said very seriously, "Wu Wei, you should reflect on yourself too. What did you do to make Zhao Xin think he could win you over?"

Lan Meng's counterattack struck Wu Wei right in the heart.

The cycle of heaven had come around, and payback never missed.

He'd taken a shot at Ji Xiang last time. Today, it was his turn.

"Let's not talk about it for now. Eat, eat."

"Wu Wei, I'm under so much pressure. Not only do I have to compete with women, I even have a male rival in love."

Wu Wei forcibly suppressed his nausea and said seriously, "Don't talk while you eat or sleep."

Lan Meng giggled and stopped launching any more suicidal attacks.

After all, even talking about Zhao Xin made her uncomfortable now.

The two of them finished their meal with their own thoughts on their minds. While Lan Meng went to pay, Wu Wei picked up the investigation report and read it carefully.

He had to admit, the report's analysis was well-supported, and it had even assigned precise percentages to all the possibilities. Wu Wei couldn't find anything wrong with it.

He trusted the power of technology. Human nature wasn't impossible to calculate; technology just hadn't advanced far enough yet.

Still, looking at Zhao Xin's information, Wu Wei felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He began searching his memories carefully for the source of that feeling.

A moment later, his eyes narrowed.

He remembered seeing a report in his mother's drawer a long time ago, too.

The name on it had seemed to be Zhao Liang.

Wu Wei hadn't finished reading that report because Lin Shen had caught him.

At the time, Lin Shen had smiled and said, "Who would've thought that six years ago, when he was fourteen, he was a girl?"