Fu Kai's expression darkened the moment he heard the topic being brought up. He opened his mouth, looking at Fu Luoyin with a complicated gaze, "Break up with that person of yours."

Fu Luoyin straightened from the sofa, looking at him. His posture shifted from relaxed to slightly cautious, but his eyes and expression remained calm and composed, "I haven't been home for a long time, and the first thing you do is try to break us up. You should at least give me a reason."

Fu Kai looked a bit uneasy. After clearing his throat a couple of times, he forced himself to adopt a stern demeanor, "The Ninth Bureau and the Defense Agency were involved in this incident too. During their investigation, they mentioned that Lin Shuicheng is currently dating you. If not for this informant, I wouldn't have noticed it was him. I met this kid a few years ago. You two aren't compatible, and I will never approve of your relationship."

Fu Luoyin looked at him patiently, "You've met him before—when did you meet him?"

Fu Kai replied, "Years ago, when you were still wallowing in the mud in the Eighth District! I only saw him once, but...this kid doesn't seem mentally stable. I've seen it, and your astrological signs don't match well. There'll be plenty of troubles ahead, and we can't have someone involved in scientific research entering our family. You know these researchers aren't very adept at handling social matters, and a daughter-in-law like that would never suit the Fu family."

"Oh, an informant told you." Fu Luoyin smiled. "So it's quite fated, you met your future daughter-in-law years in advance. By then, everyone won't feel awkward, right?"

He had figured out that Fu Kai didn't have the courage to directly discuss family backgrounds this time, so he resorted to indirect persuasion and even brought up astrology.

However, for some reason, Fu Kai's face turned ashen upon hearing those words.

Both father and son found this topic taboo.

With Xia Ran's incident in the past, Fu Luoyin clearly had no intention of being amiable regarding such matters and seemed ready to turn hostile at any moment.

Though Fu Kai was known for his iron-fisted authority both at home and in public, he had never been able to control this youngest son of his. Now that he was older and retired, he gradually felt a sense of guilt towards his son and often reflected on his parenting approach, no longer daring to suppress his children as he once did.

Fu Luoyin had grown up. His young son now stood taller and more imposing than the general himself, exuding a subtle sense of intimidation.

Still smiling, Fu Luoyin replied, "But I have to say, you're jumping the gun a bit. My partner and I have been together for two years, but we've probably only spent half a month actually seeing each other. It's too early to discuss such matters, let alone decide whether or not to break up. He's just a student with a humble background. How much effort can I really put into it? We're just casually dating for fun. He's head over heels for me, so it wouldn't be right for me to reject him outright. Let's just see how it goes, okay? Don't read too much into it."

Wanting to say more, Fu Kai hesitated before asking, "How long do you plan on 'seeing how it goes'?"

Fu Luoyin deflected the question slightly, "We'll see."

He looked his father in the eye with an open and innocent gaze, showing no signs of guilt or deception.

Both father and son danced around the topic, each employing tactics to avoid revealing their true intentions. However, through this exchange, they had roughly inferred each other's thoughts, yet neither chose to confront the matter directly.

After a moment of silence, Fu Kai spoke again, "That Xia... I heard he's back and plans to study hard for graduate school?"

Interrupting his father, Fu Luoyin said, "Dad."

"I owe you an apology for how I handled that situation with the child. Back then, my actions were indeed a bit extreme. To be honest, Xia's child wasn't a bad person; he just lacked ambition and drive. My intention was to let you spend two years in District 8 so you could grow into a man. Then, I would no longer interfere with whatever decision you made. But I didn't expect that child to leave first."

Fu Kai sipped his tea before setting the cup down and looking straight into his son's eyes. "Luoyin, now that he's back, if you like him, go be with that child. After all these years, you haven't had anyone by your side to take care of you. I've been..."

"Dad." Fu Luoyin emphasized his tone slightly. The mention of this topic always triggered him, igniting a nameless sense of frustration and rebellion. "Let's not dwell on the past. My current partner comes from a poor family, but he does quantum analysis himself. Honestly, he doesn't need our family's wealth. He didn't even know what our family did when he was with me. He's from a decent, respectable family. Why isn't he good enough for us?"

Fu Kai glared at him. "You, getting all worked up over a few words? Are you blinded by that Lin fellow?"

Fu Luoyin replied, "It's not about him specifically. I'm just saying there's nothing wrong with him as a person. Don't get upset with me."

Fu Kai took a deep breath. "Two months, you'll end things with him within two months. This can't drag on until New Year's."

New Year's?

During the New Year, Fu Luoyin would simply bring Lin Shuicheng home. Could Fu Kai really kick him out?

With Lin Shuicheng's likable demeanor, he would surely win the hearts of elders, and Fu Luoyin never doubted that. Fu Kai's mindset, influenced by the traditional views of their social circle, wouldn't change easily. Nonetheless, bringing Lin Shuicheng home at the right time might soften his father's stance.

He wasn't averse to compromising more with his family on matters of love, but he was even less willing to repeat his rebellious past – they had never been able to control him before, and they certainly couldn't now.

Fu Luoyin stood up. "There's one more thing, Dad."

Fu Kai looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Brother Fu's file was kept at home, right? I hope you can take it out for me to look at," Fu Luoyin said. "I've seen the one sealed in the police department, and there are issues with the data and flaws in the reasoning. This document was sealed by you personally."

Fu Kai remained silent for a long while.

Standing by his desk, Fu Luoyin noticed Fu Kai's fingers trembling slightly. He searched for the pair of reading glasses on the side of the desk, picked them up without putting them on, and instead found a cloth to clean them slowly. "Let's drop this matter. Don't investigate any further."

Fu Luoyin replied, "You're well aware of my attitude. If it's inconvenient for you to give it to me, I'll send someone over tomorrow to search our villa inch by inch. That would be a tedious and exhausting effort, not worth it, don't you think?"

He knew all too well Fu Kai's half-hearted resistance – verbally objecting but not exerting too much pressure in reality. Perhaps it was because he knew he couldn't stop him, or maybe there were other reasons.

In any case, he would surely obtain the real information.

"What are you talking about?" Fu Kai glared at him again.

The signs of aging and fatigue on his face were more evident now. After silently cleaning his glasses for a while, he softly said, "The documents are in the archive room at home. You can't enter that area. Some supplementary materials are at Site Nine; I'll have someone bring them over shortly."

Fu Luoyin replied, "Now, please. I need to head back tonight."

He watched Fu Kai make the call. Fu Kai dialed the number and directly said to the person on the other end, "Bring over the files related to Shihan's case."

"Alright, are you reassured now?" Fu Kai asked. "You can't enter my archive room, so go chat with your mother for a bit."

Relieved, Fu Luoyin left his father's study.

Under the influence of medication, Chu Jingshu was slightly more lucid. She was awake today, and her reaction to seeing Fu Luoyin was no longer as agitated as before. It seemed she had accepted this reality—that she had a son who resembled Chu Shihan so much.

The two sat politely on the sofa watching television.

Neither of them enjoyed the program, which was a cliché and tasteless primetime drama. The nanny and butler stood by, not daring to say anything.

Midway through, the front door of the Fu residence opened, and a military officer walked in, carrying several file folders towards the study without stopping to greet them.

Fu Luoyin knew his time in the living room might be up—but he and Chu Jingshu had barely spoken.

After the man entered the study, he reappeared a moment later to salute, "Deputy Director Fu, the Commander requests your presence."

Fu Luoyin shifted his gaze to Chu Jingshu—her expression was also somewhat uneasy, as if she was racking her brains to figure out how to interact with him.

Fu Luoyin said, "Mom."

Chu Jingshu was taken aback for a moment before nodding and acknowledging him.

"I have a boyfriend," Fu Luoyin continued. "He's a nice person. Due to my recent busyness, I've been coming home hastily. Next time, I'll bring him along for you to meet."

Chu Jingshu appeared somewhat flustered, taking a moment to recover before forcing a smile and nodding. "Alright, alright."

"The Director, all the documents are here," the man said.

In the archive room, Fu Kai was faced with two sets of files, his brows knitted tightly together.

Both documents were clearly labeled A and B, but surprisingly, they both indicated on their seals, "Comprehensive Investigation Report on the Attempted Assassination of Chu Shihan (Complete)."

"Director, are you really going through with this?" the man whispered. "Which set of documents do you plan to give to President Fu?"

Fu Kai was clearly deep in thought. After a moment, he whispered, "Assign him Project A."

"Keep an eye on Lin Shuicheng for me," Fu Kai continued, removing his gold-rimmed glasses. "I thought I'd never hear that name again two years ago, but now I can't help but wonder if my actions back then were wrong. There's something off about Lin Shuicheng."

The man replied, "When I spoke with him, I didn't sense anything unusual. He didn't deny investigating Young Master Chu's case, but he saw you as a working-class individual and misunderstood the entire situation. With the sudden turn of events, I still followed your previous instructions and concealed the truth from him."

Fu Kai nodded. "Well done."

He polished the lens repeatedly, muttering, "This incident can't help but make me suspect that he and Kim Li were part of the same review system. Kim Li took over Project B4 and problems immediately arose..."

"The leader, this is what I wanted to discuss." The man pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed Fu Kai a message. "I received this news during my flight. Yang Zhiwei's former PhD student, Fan Feng, and Pei Rui have both been reported, albeit falsely. However, once the investigation process starts, it will inevitably drag on for a long time. Within the next three months, these individuals might not be able to lead Project B4."

Fu Kai paused in his actions.

Yang Zhiwei was part of the core faction within Fu's Military Industries. If something happened to his few trusted students, who else could he rely on?

Fu Kai whispered, "I'll assign someone else to closely protect Luo Yin. Lin Shuicheng is very peculiar, but... considering Shihan's sake, I'll give him another chance this time."

He picked up the file labeled "A" from the desk and signaled for the man to collect the rest.

He handed the document to Fu Luoyin, who had just entered: "Everything is here."

Fu Luoyin took the file and replied, "Thank you for your hard work."

Before leaving home, he noticed that it was still early, so he called Dong Shuoye. The two of them, as usual, went to the house where Fu Luoyin and Lin Shuicheng currently lived. There, they compared the information provided by Fu Kai this time with the sealed records from the police department.

File A, labeled as such, was clearly more meticulously investigated in terms of logic.

Dong Shuoye immediately noticed the section on social connections and whispered, "This time, the social relationships are much more comprehensive. The police report only listed classmates from the same year and department, but this one includes those from different years too."

"Teacher-student relationships: Undergraduate and graduate supervisors, Yang Zhiwei. Same-year, same-department classmates, Fan Feng, Pei Rui... Different-year, same-department, Han Huang, Lin Shuicheng..."

"Romantic relationships, none."