First Time

"Wu Wei, Wu Wei, what's wrong? Are you so mesmerized by that report?"

Lan Meng waved her fair hand in front of Wu Wei, pulling him out of his memories.

"Is it that fascinating? What are you thinking about?" Lan Meng asked, feeling a bit curious.

Wu Wei's expression turned strange.

He had indeed recalled some very substantial content.

If not for this report, he would have almost forgotten about this matter.

"Zhao Xin's father—Zhao Liang—is suspicious."

"Zhao Liang? Who the hell is that?"

Lan Meng was only slightly familiar with Zhao Xin and knew nothing about Zhao Liang.

But for Wu Wei, that was enough.

He seemed to have discovered the root cause of the problem.

"I have an idea now. I'll handle the rest myself."

Since it concerned Wu Tian, Wu Wei didn't want too many people to know.

Lan Meng wasn't particularly interested anyway. Seeing that Wu Wei was keeping it a secret, she simply nodded and said, "Fine, I won't pry. Just remember, you owe me a favor."

"Of course."

Wu Wei was never someone who didn't know the score.

The two left together. When they parted ways, Lan Meng suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wu Wei, why don't you like my dad?"

She was still a bit worried.

Wu Wei didn't know what Lan Meng was overthinking; he just shrugged and said bluntly, "Your dad is too pretentious."

"Is he?"

"Of course he is. Have you forgotten his most famous interview? He said he didn't like money, that he had no interest in money."

Lan Meng: "..."

"To be that hypocritical... no wonder he became the richest man." Wu Wei's words carried a double meaning.

After parting ways with Lan Meng, Wu Wei combed through Zhao Liang's background information.

Although he discovered many hidden traces, unlike his mother who had completely vanished, information on Zhao Liang could still be found.

Since it could be found, there were no secrets for Wu Wei.

"A hermaphrodite—an intersex individual. Interesting." Wu Wei muttered to himself.

He had heard of this new species, but this was truly his first time seeing one in person.

"A beautiful woman is a disaster; the ancients never lied to me. It turns out all this trouble was caused simply because my dad is too good-looking."

For Wu Wei, threading together scattered clues to form a complete narrative was not difficult.

He didn't need evidence; he wasn't a constable of the Six Fan Gate.

He had already confirmed that this was Zhao Liang's handiwork.

Originally an intersex person, he had fallen for Wu Tian early on, only to undergo surgery during his youth to appear as a genuine man.

And then, he became twisted.

Qiao Xuenong became his "beard" wife to deceive the public, but Qiao Xuenong was no pushover either; she had backstabbed Zhao Liang and incited conflict between him and Wu Tian.

The two were forced to "become enemies."

And Zhao Liang was truly a devious snake, actually setting his sights on his own son.

Wu Wei looked at Zhao Liang's self-taught psychology certificates and his certification as a master hypnotist, feeling a wave of emotion.

They say a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but in this world, there are always some people who aren't fit to be parents.

The fact that one doesn't need to pass an exam to become a parent is, quite frankly, the most frustrating thing of all.

[Father, Zhao Liang is also one of the discordant factors. Taking down Zhao Liang will also accelerate my birth progress.]

Wu Xie's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

At this moment, Wu Xie's birth progress had reached 5/10, halfway to completion.

If he took down Zhao Liang as well, Wu Xie would be born very soon.

However, Wu Wei found it a bit strange.

"I didn't sense any strong superpowers on Zhao Liang. His learning ability is decent, though; he looks like a low-spec version of my mother."

[Zhao Liang has a strong antisocial personality. After failing to obtain the person he loved, he is now only thinking about taking revenge on society, even at the cost of sacrificing his own son.]

"You know all that?"

[Father, I was born with the ability to sense all discordant factors.]

Impressive, my little divine beast.

However, Wu Wei had never intended to let Zhao Liang off the hook to begin with.

Although the relationship between this guy and his own father was tangled and messy, Zhao Liang had done one thing that Wu Wei could never forgive:

He had attempted to assassinate Lin Shen.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Shen had discovered the hidden Zhao Liang and compiled an investigative report on him.

Clearly, after the investigation, Lin Shen might have felt a touch of pity, or perhaps the gap in their standing was simply too vast, so she had stopped paying attention to Zhao Liang.

But Zhao Liang had not given up on his revenge because of that.

Lin Shen could afford to ignore Zhao Liang's offense against her, but as a son, Wu Wei could not tolerate such behavior.

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Wei chose the most extreme method of retaliation.

He found Zhao Xin.

He laid his cards directly on the table.

"That is how things stand."

Looking at the devastated Zhao Xin, Wu Wei felt a sliver of sympathy.

But that was all.

Because the entire affair was not his fault.

Therefore, Wu Wei felt not the slightest psychological burden.

Zhao Xin collapsed.

He had truly looked upon Zhao Liang as his own father.

"This is impossible, you're lying to me, you must be lying to me. Dad is the best to me, he wouldn't plot against me like this."

Wu Wei remained calm, shattering Zhao Xin with a single sentence: "Your mother is still alive; ask her and you will know."

Zhao Xin buried his head in the table, not daring to think about anything.

"This is not my fault, nor is it yours. Some people are cold-blooded by nature; even toward their own offspring, they feel nothing. Facing such a situation, you need not feel guilty.

Do what you must. Even as a pawn, once a soldier crosses the river, it can checkmate the king."

After saying this, Wu Wei left the space to Zhao Xin.

One day later, Zhao Liang was dead.

Qiao Xuenong turned herself in to the Six Fan Gate, claiming she was the one who killed him.

Outside the Six Fan Gate, Zhao Xin knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Looking at the USB drive in his hand, Wu Wei remained silent for a long time before handing the original copy to Zhao Xin.

"The video on this drive is the original. No one else will ever know that you killed Zhao Liang. Of course, I know you could try to kill me." Wu Wei said indifferently.

Zhao Xin's sobbing paused, yet his silent tears were even more moving.

Wu Wei sighed softly, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him: "To have a father like Zhao Liang, you are indeed unfortunate. But to have a mother like Qiao Xuenong, it shows you are still lucky. The world is vast, and there are always corners where the sunlight cannot reach. But you should remember, even though you have always been deep in the darkness, there has always been a woman striving to find the light for you.

Now, she has used her life to help you dispel all that darkness. Zhao Xin, do not let her sacrifice be in vain."

Having said this, Wu Wei strode away.

Three minutes later, Wu Wei dialed Wu Tian's number.

"Dad."

"Mm."

"I'm coming home for dinner tonight."

"Good."

"Dad."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

Clang... crash...

Wu Wei heard the sound of pots and bowls falling to the floor.

"Dad, you are a good father. It's my fault; I haven't been a good son."

"I am also being a son for the first time, I have no experience, so please bear with me."

On the other end of the line, Wu Tian's eyes suddenly turned red.

They say parents take up their posts without ever having passed a certification exam.

But isn't it the same for children?