In the eyes of Xie Jinghong and Shen Mufan, rather than worrying about He Maozhe, it was better to focus on the upcoming Qixi Festival event.
So, one using a desktop computer and the other a laptop, the two happily logged into the game and started playing together. They played right up until the Qixi event began.
The Qixi event, as the name suggests, was a couples’ activity. Pairs who had registered at the Matchmaker’s Temple formed teams to participate in a lengthy quest chain. Rankings were determined based on completion time and quest performance, with the top teams receiving exquisite and valuable prizes. Since it was a Qixi event, most rewards came in pairs.
Taking off his glasses and revealing his true, rarely seen expression—a smile brimming with aggression—Xie Jinghong exchanged a sweet kiss with the shy, soft, and blushing Shen Mufan. Then, they teamed up and headed to the Matchmaker’s Temple to receive their quest.
While the two were happily completing their tasks, Rong Haisheng, also known as “Yi Jian Hanguang” in the game, who had prepared extensively to make a name for himself with his in-game partner, now had no energy left to care about the game. Real-life matters had already overwhelmed him.
After learning that Rong Guohai intended to hand over the entire Rong family to Rong Haisheng, divorce her, and marry Jiang Meng, Rong Guohai’s wife completely lost faith in him—and even in her own family.
Rong Guohai despised her, and her birth family treated her as nothing more than a tool for political marriage, indifferent to her happiness. The woman, who regarded her son as her lifeline, decided to ally with Liu Di’er and others.
*You want to give everything to that illegitimate child and ignore my son? Fine. If the Rong family has nothing to do with my son, then let it all be destroyed!*
Through their coordinated efforts, the Rong family began to be rapidly consumed. He Maozhe, who had hoped to seize the Rong family through Jiang Meng’s influence, ultimately ended up with nothing.
In the end, Rong Guohai was imprisoned for tax evasion, fraud, and other crimes. Jiang Meng and Rong Haisheng didn’t fare well either.
The Rong family had initially cooperated with He Maozhe and later with Liu Di’er and others—all for the sake of bringing Rong Guohai, Jiang Meng, and Rong Haisheng to justice, forcing them to atone for the deaths of Rong Jiang’s mother and grandparents. Now that Rong Guohai was behind bars, the other two couldn’t be spared either.
With Fan Qiru’s strong support, the case of Jiang Yinglu’s death was reopened and thoroughly investigated. Under targeted scrutiny, Jiang Meng was unable to escape and was also imprisoned. Unlike Rong Guohai, Jiang Meng faced the death penalty for murder.
As for Rong Haisheng, Rong Jiang initially wanted to deal with him harshly or find a way to imprison him as well, but Liu Di’er stopped him.
Liu Di’er: *Look at Rong Haisheng—spoiled, lazy, arrogant, and incompetent. Without Rong Guohai and Jiang Meng, do you really think he’ll have a good ending? There’s no need to intervene. A person like him will destroy himself.*
Convinced by Liu Di’er’s reasoning, Rong Jiang ultimately left Rong Haisheng to his fate.
And just as Liu Di’er predicted, without the Rong family, Rong Guohai, Jiang Meng, or He Maozhe’s support, the talentless Rong Haisheng ended up with nothing, eventually becoming a homeless beggar and petty criminal.
Rong Haisheng sought help from Rong Guohai’s wife and legitimate son, but the mother and son were in no mood to lend a hand—if anything, they might have kicked him while he was down. He then tried to find Dong Xin, but she had long since moved on, marrying into a wealthy family and leaving her past obsession with Rong Haisheng behind.
Rong Haisheng might have survived as a beggar, but his arrogance and disdain for others eventually provoked public outrage. His legs were broken, and he froze to death on a bitterly cold winter night. Though only in his forties, he looked like a man in his sixties or seventies.
After finally avenging his mother and grandparents, Rong Jiang visited their graves with Liu Di’er and announced their official relationship.
Honestly, Liu Di’er never expected that she, who once admired tall, muscular men, would end up with a delicate, pretty-faced man like Rong Jiang—while those who fit her former ideal became her close friends and subordinates. Life truly was full of surprises.
By the time Xie Jinghong and Shen Mufan won the Qixi event, the Rong family’s affairs were mostly settled. The next target was He Maozhe.
Since He Maozhe was closely connected to Jiang Meng, he was interrogated during her investigation. However, his psychological defenses were formidable—he wasn’t an easy man to crack. It wasn’t until Xie Jinghong presented DNA evidence proving that He Maozhe and Jiang Meng were not mother and son, and that he had merely been her pawn, that He Maozhe finally broke down. He erupted into furious curses, directing his rage at Shen Mufan.
At its core, it was all just jealousy.
He Maozhe’s father and Shen Mufan’s father had both been groomed by Shen Mufan’s grandfather. Resources were distributed equally, and even the Shen family’s inheritance could have been partially given to He Ming if he proved capable. If Shen Mufan’s father had been incompetent, the grandfather would have ensured his basic livelihood and handed the rest to He Ming.
It was simply a matter of meritocracy.
Yet now, Shen Mufan lived comfortably, with enough wealth to last a lifetime, free to indulge in leisure without a care in the world. Meanwhile, He Maozhe—though perhaps happy in childhood—was abandoned by his mother, then his father, and left to grow up in an orphanage, struggling through life alone.
Their circumstances were worlds apart. He Maozhe, already envious and resentful of those better than him, couldn’t help but despise Shen Mufan.
After learning of He Ming’s failure to seize the Shen family, He Maozhe decided to pick up where his father left off—taking Shen Mufan’s inheritance for himself. But the gap between their lives was too vast, so He Maozhe planned to use Jiang Meng and the Rong family as stepping stones.
Because He Maozhe possessed evidence of Jiang Meng’s marriage to He Ming, she had no choice but to comply with his demands, fearing exposure would ruin her image in Rong Guohai’s eyes and disrupt her plans. Fortunately, He Maozhe believed they were mother and son, so their relationship, though transactional, remained stable.
Later, He Maozhe grew jealous of Rong Haisheng as well.
*Why should Rong Haisheng—a spoiled, incompetent fool—be Rong Guohai’s favorite son, living a life of luxury, while I remain in the shadows?*
Thus, He Maozhe schemed to use Rong Haisheng as a stepping stone to seize the Rong family, even planting pawns like Rong Jiang—selected specifically to take the fall if Jiang Meng and Rong Haisheng ever faced consequences.
But before He Maozhe could claim the Rong family and turn his sights on Shen Mufan, he was arrested. Years of crimes were uncovered, sealing his fate.
He Maozhe never imagined that he wasn’t even Jiang Meng’s son—let alone comparable to Shen Mufan or Rong Haisheng.
*Why does Shen Mufan have everything while I suffer? Why am I always inferior?*
Xie Jinghong scoffed. *What right do you have to compare yourself to Fanfan? Even if your roles were reversed, he would never stoop to your level. And if you had his privileges, you’d be even worse than you are now.*
Did the Shen family owe the He family anything? He Ming killed Shen Mufan’s parents, and He Maozhe sought to harm Shen Mufan. Who owed whom?
*No matter how you dress it up, your actions stem from nothing but petty jealousy.*
Xie Jinghong turned away, unwilling to engage further with such a twisted mind.
As for He Maozhe, he would never reflect on his own faults—only blame others. He even convinced himself: *If Jiang Meng hadn’t taken me away, maybe I’d be living a life like Shen Mufan’s right now.*
Lost in delusions of noble birth and wealth, He Maozhe cursed Jiang Meng endlessly, refusing to face reality. Or perhaps, he simply didn’t want to.
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