CHAPTER 252: 8.39

"He asked you to go?"

Fu Yanchen hung up the phone.

Jiang Jiamian, who was sitting beside him holding the dog and rambling nonsense, had clearly overheard the conversation.

Seeing the golden retriever in his arms, Fu Yanchen frowned and moved to tug it away. "Jiamian, dogs can carry parasites. You really shouldn’t be holding it like that."

It wasn’t that he was being petty, jealous even of a dog.

It’s just... this dog was weird.

Its expressions, its behavior, there were moments when it looked at him with something too human.

Sometimes, when it silently exchanged glances with Jiang Jiamian, it genuinely felt like they were having a silent conversation.

So no, it wasn’t about jealousy. This dog was just creepy.

Jiang Jiamian raised an eyebrow and hugged the dog tighter, smirking. "I vaccinate him regularly. He’s been with me for years. Many, many, many years."

Too many to count.

From the very first day he started quick transmigrating between worlds, the system had been with him. In the cruelest worlds, where time dragged on for centuries, the system was his only companion.

And now... maybe someone else had joined him. Someone equally strange and inexplicable.

He sounded so confident, but the poor system in his arms was already trembling. It buried its eyes in Jiang Jiamian’s chest and whimpered, "Host! If you keep hugging me like this, I’m afraid Fu Yanchen will get up at night and secretly kill me. Stew me into soup!"

Jiang Jiamian snorted. "If he dares, I’ll stew you before he gets the chance."

System: "..."

Damn it. What did it ever do to deserve this?

Still, after so many worlds, the system could tell he was just teasing.

It peeked out and nudged him. "Host, can I come with you to the hospital too? I want to see it!"

Jiang Jiamian hissed, "Dogs aren’t allowed in hospitals."

The system pressed a paw against his chest. "Then can I temporarily return to your sea of consciousness?"

Jiang Jiamian narrowed his eyes. "You were the one who came back on your own, so don’t blame me for always keeping you locked up."

With ’bystander mode’ practically stamped on its furry forehead, the dog wagged its tail wildly. "No, no! The host’s been traveling these past few days, I was so bored! That old housekeeper won’t even talk to me. I must go this time!"

"Fine."

Jiang Jiamian turned to head back into the room with the dog in his arms, waving at Fu Yanchen, "Wait for me. I’ll put Lele back and then we’ll leave."

Fu Yanchen raised an eyebrow. "Where are we going?"

"To the hospital. To see your dad. Something this juicy, you’re not actually planning to leave me out, are you? I heard the whole conversation."

Fu Yanchen chuckled. "Of course I wouldn’t leave you."

Still, he was curious. His phone hadn’t been on speaker, and Jiang Jiamian wasn’t that close, how had he heard the conversation?

This wasn’t the first time. From the moment he healed his legs, Fu Yanchen had sensed Jiang Jiamian wasn’t just strange, he was hiding a lot.

And the more time passed, the deeper the mystery grew.

"You’re here."

In the hospital ward, Mr. Fu looked worse than ever, frail, sickly, like death was hovering near.

First, his second son had tried to poison him. Then he found out his third son wasn’t even biologically his. Now the Fu company was on the verge of collapse.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how wrecked he felt.

Hearing the door open, he tried to sit up and project some authority, but his voice was feeble no matter how hard he tried.

Then he looked up, and saw both Fu Yanchen and Jiang Jiamian walking in.

His face twisted. "This is a family matter. I asked you here to speak as father and son. He’s no longer a son-in-law of the Fu family. Why did you bring him?"

Jiang Jiamian gave him a professional smile. "As you can see, I’m Mr. Fu’s private rehabilitation therapist. I help him with mobility, including wheelchair support."

Mr. Fu scowled. "He can push the wheelchair himself. We need to talk. You, leave."

Fu Yanchen’s face turned cold.

"He may not be the Fu family’s son-in-law anymore, after all, someone like Fu Xiaoyuan doesn’t deserve him, but now, he’s my lover. I’ve recognized him. So if you want to talk, you talk while he’s here. If not, we’ll leave."

"You, what did you just say!?"

Mr. Fu’s eyes bulged. He pointed at Jiang Jiamian, hand trembling. "You’re with him? He used to be engaged to your younger brother! Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"Laugh at me?"

Fu Yanchen’s gaze was ice cold. "You’re so worried about outsiders laughing at the Fu family, but have you looked at who’s actually giving them something to laugh at? Fu Xiaoyuan. Fu Xiaotian. You. Not me. Not Jiamian."

Everything he had done was only to expose what already existed.

Mr. Fu gasped, clutching his chest, and fell silent for a while. Fu Yanchen watched him coldly, unmoved, seated far away in his wheelchair.

"You make me this angry, and still expect to inherit the Fu company?" Mr. Fu finally snapped, pulling out his usual card.

"Fu company?"

Fu Yanchen smiled faintly. "Are you sure there’s even anything left of the Fu company?"

Mr. Fu’s expression froze.

"Have you ever wondered..." Fu Yanchen continued softly, "Why Jinsheng has been attacking Fu company from every direction for months, except for your biggest project in the northwest?"

Mr. Fu stared at him, a sense of dread settling in.

Those familiar, calculating eyes, it felt just like three years ago.

"Why?" He asked, voice hoarse.

Fu Yanchen lifted his hand to his chin, looking almost lazy. "Because most of the key people involved in that project already work for Jinsheng Group. They’re doing the work for the Fu company, but the real benefit flows to me. Why would Jinsheng sabotage their own people’s project?"

A chill seeped into Mr. Fu’s heart.

He didn’t fully understand, but the cold confidence in Fu Yanchen’s voice made his instincts scream that the truth was worse than he imagined.

He didn’t ask.

And Fu Yanchen didn’t offer more.

The room went silent, three people, three breaths, tension thick in the air.

Until Jiang Jiamian finally couldn’t stand it, "What are you saying? That your people are working inside the Fu company? That you leaked company secret information to Jinsheng!?"

He sounded shocked. Accusing.

Mr. Fu’s face turned white. "Those people are the backbone of the company! You’re saying you betrayed us?! You’d go that far to get revenge, give everything to your enemy?!"

"Hahaha..."

Fu Yanchen laughed. The sound was cold, mocking, like a blade slicing through the air.

"You think I’m that dumb? That petty? That I’d let someone else benefit from my revenge, just to spite you?"

"You!"

Mr. Fu’s whole body shook. "Then what are you saying!?"

Something was wrong.

Fu Yanchen... was off today.

Something terrible was coming, something he didn’t want to hear.

And then...

Fu Yanchen’s words dropped like a bomb, "It’s simple. I’m the owner of Jinsheng."

Silence.

As if that weren’t enough, he went on, calm as ever, "Three years ago, I won over most of the project leads in the northwest branch. After I lost the title of heir, they didn’t leave. They stayed, worked hard, for Fu company on the surface, but truly for me. Waiting for the day I would say the word, and they would tear you apart from the inside."