Tang Yan Yi understood that she couldn’t just ask Guan Liang to help her investigate without telling him anything.

She looked up at him, "I just saw George."

"You saw him?!" Guan Liang was also taken aback. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Earlier when he searched for George’s information, he found very little online, indicating that George was quite reclusive even in China. Even when Tang Yan Yi went to China, she might not have had the chance to truly meet him. Unexpectedly, Tang Yan Yi managed to find him, showing her dedication and effort these past few days in China.

Tang Yan Yi nodded simply, "I couldn’t find his residence before, with no records of him buying or renting properties. I imagined where he could be staying."

"With his need to live nowhere permanently, hotels were the only option left. But now, major hotels in China have strict identity checks for guests, it’s impossible not to record his stay. Given his family background, he would definitely have high demands for living conditions and wouldn’t just stay in some low-grade hotels."

"With these criteria overlapping, I thought of the hotels owned by the Ford Group under their own brand. Huang Xi is the highest-tier international hotel among them; he must have kept a room for himself there, and a home-owned hotel wouldn’t necessarily need to register his stay information. So I’ve been waiting these days in Huang Xi Hotel, and finally, my patience paid off, today I saw him."

Of course, more importantly, she knew their brothers’ appearances, so she could recognize him at a glance. Otherwise, others who only knew him by name might not realize that the person who walked in was George Ford.

"But after all, they are half-brothers, and Huangfu Huazhang’s mother is Chinese, so the resemblance between them might be at most sixty to seventy percent. However, I saw with my own eyes that George and Huangfu Huazhang looked almost ninety percent alike... I suspect George might have had plastic surgery to resemble Huangfu Huazhang."

Tang Yan Yi spoke nonchalantly, but Guan Liang listened with apprehension.

Though she was an outstanding policewoman, and Tang Mingxiang’s daughter, she was ultimately on Chinese soil and alone. If she encountered any danger, she had no backup!

He stared at her tightly, "Xiao Yi, I’m really worried about you, do you know that?"

Tang Yan Yi hastily nodded, "I’m fine."

Guan Liang could only collect his thoughts and look back at his computer.

"It’s troubling, there’s no medical plastic surgery content in George’s credit card records. Perhaps this is related to the consumption habits in China, where cash is more commonly used..."

If cash was used for transactions, it would be difficult to find direct evidence related to George from the data.

Tang Yan Yi bit her lip, "If you can’t find it, it’s okay. I believe their appearances have absolutely no reason to be so similar for no reason; and since I saw with my own eyes how similar they are, then the only explanation is George intentionally had plastic surgery!"

"But George should hate Huangfu Huazhang this half-brother of his, so why would he want to have surgery to look like Huangfu Huazhang?"

It might sound contradictory, but if you delve into human psychology, it’s not hard to understand.

Tang Yan Yi bowed her head, avoiding Guan Liang’s gaze.

"To hate someone, the instinctive thought is to wish that person no longer exists; but if the opponent is too strong, so strong that no matter how you try you can’t defeat them, you start to question yourself, deny yourself, hate yourself. Then, you can’t help but hope to become that person—this way, you’ll become that strong person and no longer be the weaker you."

"Moreover, George and Huangfu Huazhang have at least half the same genes, which means they are naturally half of each other. With slight adjustments to their facial features, they can naturally become the other."

Guan Liang exclaimed in surprise.

Tang Yan Yi glanced at Guan Liang, "Haven’t you ever had an opponent you hated deeply but couldn’t do anything about?"

Guan Liang shrugged, "At least in the hacker field, I haven’t encountered one."

Tang Yan Yi bowed her head. Guan Liang was a guy, and that was his luck; but for girls, from the time they’re young, they’ll encounter a few. Especially after puberty, girls in middle school would unconsciously try the hairstyle, clothing, or even makeup of that most hated opponent, just to prove if the reason that person is more popular is simply because of how they dress. If she also changes to that look, would she herself be ten times more popular?

She couldn’t help but think of Shi Nian, thinking about how she would unconsciously mimic Shi Nian’s expressions and actions in front of the mirror... Feeling both unwilling yet expectantly wondering, would this make the guy look at her one more time?

"And if it can really be proven that George did undergo plastic surgery to resemble Huangfu Huazhang, then many of the issues we have at hand would take a new direction—George’s deep hatred for Huangfu Huazhang might have led to the possibility of him committing crimes and framing Huangfu Huazhang."

Guan Liang also understood the significance of the matter, so he nodded, "Although there’s nothing apparent in the credit card records right now, I believe if he really did it, he would definitely leave some traces. Don’t worry, give me a few more days, I’ll find a way to trace it!"

.

Tang Yan Yi logged off, leaving Guan Liang to gaze at the empty pad with a sigh of sadness.

The door of the computer room softly clicked, and Guan Liang rose to open it, only to find Shi Nian standing at the door.

These days, due to Xiong Jie’s death, Shi Nian has been going to the police station as well.

Guan Liang invited Shi Nian in and poured him a cup of coffee: "Has Zhang San given any new testimony?"

Shi Nian held the coffee, taking a couple of big sips: "Nothing substantial yet. I’m feeling so conflicted right now, I want him to say more, but at the same time, I wish he’d say less."

Guan Liang understood, so he also reached out and clinked his coffee cup against Shi Nian’s, both swallowing the bitterness together.

After all, Zhang San is a supporter of Tang Mingyi, and the election campaign gathering that night was known to Tang Mingyi’s team, and they provided some promotional materials. So the more Zhang San talks, the more likely Xiong Jie’s death will be connected to Tang Mingyi’s team.

Conversely, if Zhang San keeps his lips sealed, though he may protect Tang Mingyi to some extent, it will make it even harder for the police to find out the true cause of Xiong Jie’s death.

From this perspective, the interests of Tang Mingyi and his son Tang Yanqing are conflicting.

Shi Nian finished the coffee in his cup and looked up at Guan Liang: "I came to find you because I want to hear more about the story of Huangfu Xi’an and Yifan. Mr. Guan, could you please help me with the details?"

Half an hour later, Shi Nian walked out of Guan Liang’s computer room and asked Ye He in the corridor: "Do you remember the story you told me before we went to Yanwu Square?"

Ye He blinked: "Which story?"

Shi Nian lowered his head and saw that he was still holding the coffee cup from earlier. Although the coffee was finished, she hadn’t noticed and hadn’t put it down.

"It’s about the old house at Yanwu Square. You said it once belonged to an Old Earl, who later married a foreign woman. But that woman ended up killing the Old Earl, took all his money, and vanished without a trace... So that house became a place of bad luck and was sold."

Ye He nodded: "I told you. That’s how everyone tells the story."

Shi Nian quietly raised her eyes: "I think I’ve found the real-life story behind the Old Earl and Black Widow."

"Ah? Who is it?" Ye He exclaimed in surprise.

Shi Nian took a deep breath: "You know, you’ve done a great job. I’ve always wanted to link Yanwu Square with Kangchuan University, but I’ve never had any valuable clues. But now, you’ve helped me solve it."

Ye He was still puzzled: "What’s the connection between that story and Kangchuan University?"

Tang Yanqing had just finished another round of conversation with Zhang San and, upon seeing the two chatting, strolled over.

Shi Nian was standing with her back to him, speaking so intently that she hadn’t noticed his arrival.

He overheard her words and couldn’t help but squint his eyes.

Ye He was facing his direction, curious about what the boss was saying, but seeing Mr. Tang’s serious expression, she made a face and excused herself: "Boss, you talk to Mr. Tang first, and after you’re done, come find me so we can continue our earlier conversation!"

Shi Nian quickly turned to look.

Tang Yanqing gave Ye He a playful wink before turning his gaze back to Shi Nian.

But with this look, the playfulness faded, replaced by a solemn silence.

"Go on, what did you think of?"

Shi Nian took a deep breath: "...Regarding the story of the old house at Yanwu Square, the real-life inspiration for the Old Earl and Black Widow are Yifan and Huangfu Xi’an, meaning Yanwu Square was once owned by the Ford family, and it was likely the love nest they once built."

"The story says the Black Widow killed the Old Earl and took all his assets, which implies that Huangfu Xi’an’s son, as an illegitimate child, became the heir to the Fude Group."

－

Thanks to the following people:

times: Rou Tuanzi Mie

times: Yan Ran Qian Xi

times: cljtszy2012

time: Shui Ge Jia Yi, 1318978083

tianzhubaby123, walgzy100’s red envelopes; 15007275749’s flowers