Na Amo never expected that this Zhou Rong was the very same Zhou Rong from back then.

What shocked her even more was the undisguised guilty look on Zhou Rong’s face the instant she saw her.

Why did she turn around and run.

She practically had the word "guilty" carved on her forehead.

Na Amo wasn’t stupid. She’d already been suspicious for a while; now she was almost certain of her guess, so she immediately took off after her without stopping.

Na Amo was chasing hard, and Zhou Rong was running in a panic as well. On the way downstairs she twisted her ankle, and was about to pitch headfirst down the stairs when Rong Xianning reacted quickly, grabbing her arm and yanking her back.

And by then, Na Amo had already caught up.

Na Amo came up and grabbed Zhou Rong by the collar. "Go on, keep running."

In Rong Xianning’s impression, Na Amo was a gentle, dignified scholar; he had never seen this sharp, harsh side of her, and he was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Rong didn’t dare look into Na Amo’s eyes at all. She reached out and clutched Rong Xianning’s arm, urgently saying, "Hurry, get me out of here."

Na Amo didn’t give her the chance, pressing her step by step: "Why don’t you dare answer me? Look me in the eyes."

When she raised her voice like that, she was truly terrifying.

Zhou Rong shivered at her shout, curling up like a quail.

Seeing more and more people stopping to watch, in order to avoid bringing Rong Xianning bad publicity, Na Amo said to him, "Support her and come with me." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Rong Xianning pressed his lips together, supported the limping Zhou Rong, and followed behind Na Amo downstairs.

The staff who had come to the dinner were forced to watch this scene, and were even more baffled than Rong Xianning, the person involved.

But they didn’t read too much into it; maybe they’d known each other before and had some kind of grudge or something.

These staff members were all very professional, and after working with Rong Xianning their fondness and admiration for him had only grown. They only wished they could protect him; they would never use him as clickbait online. Besides, the group would never allow it—everyone had signed confidentiality agreements, and nothing was more important than work.

Shen You’an and Xiao Hu quickly chased after them.

When they walked out of the barbecue place, Na Amo was about to hail a cab, and just then a taxi stopped not far away.

Zhou Rong gritted her teeth, forced herself to endure the pain in her ankle, grabbed Rong Xianning, and dashed toward the taxi. She then urged the driver to start the car, leaving Na Amo standing there alone.

Na Amo let out a furious laugh.

If Zhou Rong hadn’t been so desperate to avoid her, she might still not be sure.

Now there was almost no doubt that Zhou Rong was hiding something from her, and her guilty conscience was making her try every way she could to dodge her.

Fortunately, she already knew who Zhou Rong was, so she wasn’t in a hurry. You can run, but you can’t hide.

Shen You’an caught up. "Aunt Mo."

Na Amo glanced at Shen You’an and sighed. "You’ve had it tough."

For her to have reached her current position, she was no fool; on the contrary, she was very smart.

With just a little thought she realized that running into Zhou Rong tonight was no coincidence at all.

It couldn’t have happened without An’an giving things a little push.

She thought of what An’an had said before about "sample confusion"—a huge cloud of doubt once again settled over her heart, only this time that fog seemed to be slowly taking on a shape.

Often the one caught up in things can’t see clearly, while the bystander can. She wasn’t arrogant enough to think she was always right. This time, she chose to trust An’an.

Shen You’an said softly, "Aunt Mo, are you going to blame me for keeping this from you?"

"Of course not."

Na Amo fondly patted her on the head. "I know you were respecting me, so you used this tactful way to remind me. I understand."

In fact, what puzzled Na Amo deep down was how An’an knew about the grudge between her and Zhou Rong, and had pushed what happened back then in an even more terrifying direction.

Her instinct told her An’an knew everything.

Just then Lin Hui came running out. "Professor Na, you left so fast... good thing I caught up."

Na Amo’s gaze fell calmly on Lin Hui’s face. "Take me to see Yao Huia."

Lin Hui froze for a second, then hurriedly said, "Isn’t it a bit too late now? How about tomorrow?"

Na Amo said firmly, "Right now."

Her tone was strong and brooked no refusal.

Lin Hui had no choice but to agree.

Na Amo took Shen You’an’s hand. "An’an, come with me."

Shen You’an naturally didn’t refuse.

Xiao Hu had already gone after Rong Xianning.

Just as they were about to get in the car, Na Amo’s phone rang.

She took it out and glanced at it—it was Gu Bichen calling.

Na Amo frowned on reflex.

After a moment’s thought, she answered and put the phone to her ear.

"Mom, when are you coming home? Grandma... Grandma’s sick."

Na Amo paused. "If Grandma’s sick, then call Doctor Wu. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done here."

In the darkness across the street where no light reached, the boy’s deep eyes quietly watched Na Amo talking on the phone on the other side of the road, a strange, sinister glint flickering in them, melding perfectly with the night.

"But Doctor Wu’s on vacation. I can’t get hold of him."

Na Amo took a deep breath. "Then call 120."

"Mom, I’m a little scared. Grandma’s not doing too well. Can you come back quickly?"

The boy’s voice held a hint of pitifulness.

Na Amo rubbed her brow helplessly and said to Lin Hui, "Sorry, let’s make it tomorrow. Something urgent came up at home; I have to go back immediately."

Lin Hui said, "I’ll drive you back. It’s hard to get a cab at this hour."

Na Amo was indeed anxious and didn’t decline.

"I’ll go with you." The timing of this call was suspicious, but Shen You’an was more worried about Elder Mrs. Gu’s health.

The boy stepped out of the shadows and into a sedan by the curb, telling the driver to go and take the elevated road as a shortcut.

His eyes were dark as he stared at the scenery flashing past the window, his mood as heavy as if he’d fallen into an abyss.

Rong Xianning was silent the whole way. Only when they got out of the taxi did he glance around. The security at this apartment complex was already quite strict, and on top of that it was a cold late night, making the surroundings eerily quiet. Aside from the guard on duty not far away, there wasn’t another figure in sight.

Zhou Rong walked ahead with her head down.

Rong Xianning strode forward and blocked her path, his cold eyes fixed on her face.

"You know Professor Na?"

Lost in her thoughts, Zhou Rong was suddenly interrogated by Rong Xianning and snapped first. "You call her Professor Na? You’ve known her for a while?"

Rong Xianning let out a cold laugh. "If you’d cared the slightest bit more about me, you’d know that in the think tank show I was on, the guest for the final episode was Professor Na."

Rong Xianning pressed her step by step. "So you and Professor Na have known each other all along? What kind of grudge is there between you two?"

Zhou Rong shook her head. "I don’t know her. She mistook me for someone else."

With that, she moved to brush past him and leave.

Rong Xianning said icily, "Fine, then I’ll go ask Professor Na tomorrow. Professor Na would never hide anything from me."

Zhou Rong whipped her head around. "You’re not allowed to go!"