He was prepared to face sharp questioning—though objectively speaking, Shen Zhengning was a rational and tactful person. His questions were usually ordinary and rarely showed any clear emotional bias. But because of Zhuang Mingqi's subconscious resistance, even the mildest questions grew poisonous barbs. So, he first put up a high mental barrier, as if that could lessen the pain when a sore spot was poked.

However, Shen Zhengning had a lifelong love for unconventional approaches, never playing by the book: "In this 'choice' you mentioned, does it include breaking the law and committing crimes?"

Zhuang Mingqi was bewildered. "What?"

Where was this coming from?

"Let's first assume this 'I'm sorry' came from Ye Tongsheng himself. Based on that, we can deduce he committed suicide out of guilt, a motive that is somewhat plausible," Shen Zhengning said. "Then the next question is, what exactly did Ye Tongsheng do wrong that was so extreme he felt only death could atone for it?"

After an incredibly long second of silence, Zhuang Mingqi understood his underlying meaning. "You have other clues?"

Shen Zhengning said concisely, "He might be involved in our company's software customer information leak incident."

"Suspecting he's the mastermind behind the information leak?" This option seemed to have never entered Zhuang Mingqi's scope of consideration. It was so absurd that he didn't have the spare capacity to get angry. "How should I put this..."

"I can't guarantee that I completely understand Ye Tongsheng as a person, but he should be able to distinguish right from wrong and possess a common sense of justice... I remember he was quite fond of Sherlock Holmes. We met once in London in August, and he mentioned wanting to visit The Sherlock Holmes Museum."

Shen Zhengning didn't respond, but his tactful gaze said it all—liking detectives doesn't prove a person's moral high ground; Hitler, after all, once had a fine taste for the art of painting.

"Indeed, what a person becomes isn't up to them, but depends on how heavily fate deals its hand." Zhuang Mingqi sighed softly. "I can't guarantee you that Ye Tongsheng is absolutely innocent. It's more that I wishfully believe he is."

Shen Zhengning glanced sideways. If wariness could be visualized as sharp spines, Zhuang Mingqi would be a walking sea urchin. For him to give this kind of unconditional trust was a testament to the profound bond between him and Ye Tongsheng.

"If he ended up becoming a villain..."

People are independent individuals. Their life trajectories are different, their fates are not intertwined, and no one becomes another's prophecy.

But knowing this, even so—

"I would probably be very sad."

His expression remained largely unruffled as he said this, as if that "sadness" was nothing more than a polite pleasantry, not expecting anyone to take it to heart, not even taking it too seriously himself.

The Samoyed seemed to sense something and pricked up its ears. Zhuang Mingqi suddenly felt a weight on his lap. Silver pawed at his leg, forcefully squeezing into the narrow gap between the wicker chair and his body, and burrowed its head into his arms with a whimper.

Zhuang Mingqi hugged the big cotton ball and ruffled its fur, then suddenly looked up at the thoughtful Shen Zhengning and said, out of the blue but with great conviction, "He held on until today without relying on any external things. At least he's braver than I am."

"Mm." Shen Zhengning nodded, as if he had really taken it in, posing no follow-up questions or doubts about the statement. "When you two met in the United Kingdom in August, did he say anything special, or anything that you found strange?"

Zhuang Mingqi's expression flickered. This subtle instant did not escape Shen Zhengning's eyes. He said knowingly, "It seems there was."

"No." Zhuang Mingqi shot him an 'you're so annoying' look. "Just friends catching up. We hadn't seen each other in years."

"And for this old friend you 'hadn't seen in years,' you made a special trip back to the country to attend his funeral, and you're even planning to stay long-term?"

"...Forget it. I can't be bothered to ask." The light in Zhuang Mingqi's eyes gradually faded, and his tone dragged into a lazy drawl. "Anyway, he didn't express any hatred for society, nor did he show any suicidal or world-weary tendencies. He even asked about my mental state."

"After so many years, what was the reason he suddenly contacted you?"

"Because it was on the way."

Seeing Zhuang Mingqi's patience run out, Shen Zhengning had more or less figured out his temperament, knowing that if he continued to press, Zhuang would just give up and start giving nonsensical replies. He sighed helplessly in his heart and tactfully ended the topic. "Have you rested enough? The weather's nice, let's walk some more."

The gains from this autumn outing were considerable, though filled with vague statements, concealments, and subjective deductions.

Zhuang Mingqi was cautiously guarding a long-held secret like a dragon protecting its treasure. With his tail, he had circled himself, Ye Tongsheng, and perhaps that lady they had encountered in the park. He couldn't offer much information, but Shen Zhengning wasn't a police officer who needed a complete chain of evidence for submission. The logical loopholes and the attitude of the person in the know were enough for him to put an X on route one: the conflict with his family was not necessarily the main reason for Ye Tongsheng's death.

Riddles of all sizes floated up in his mind like a swarm of jellyfish. Shen Zhengning intentionally skipped over the biggest and brightest one. Out of a strong sense of self-preservation and a faint humanitarian concern, he didn't want to provoke Zhuang Mingqi's sorest spot unprepared. Instead, he reached for another possibility, one that was closer and hazier.

Shen Zhengning found the name of a former colleague who had already resigned in his WeChat contacts. With a slight movement of his fingers, he quickly sent a WeChat message: Brother Shao, are you free to meet up sometime soon? There's something I'd like to talk about in person.

During his lunch break on a weekday, Shao Jixing sat in a Western restaurant called "GENTIAN," not far from his office building.

This was the first time he had set foot in this restaurant in the several months since he started his new job. "GENTIAN" had prices and flavors that matched its considerable rent. Although it was close to his workplace and highly rated, he wouldn't choose such a "flashy but not substantive" restaurant unless it was an important occasion. And during those moments that required seriousness, he didn't want to turn his head and see the office building where he toiled away every day.

But sitting at an elegant and quiet table in the dimly lit restaurant, even though he insisted that "a man's romance is drinking and eating skewers at a food stall," the ambiance created by money still appealed to his vanity slightly. The pleasure of being treated with decency made his tone patient as he spoke to the guest opposite him: "It's not easy to find a job right now, but you're from a prestigious university, you have project experience, and you're so young. Let's not even talk about a higher position than your previous company; there are plenty of jobs out there with better pay at least. If you're interested in our company, send me your resume later, and I'll help you with an internal referral."

"Thanks, Brother Shao," Shen Zhengning said with a modest smile that held a trace of realistic hesitation. "I'm considering it too, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I've been in my comfort zone for too long. Sometimes, without an external push, it's hard to force yourself to jump out."

As someone who had been through it, Shao Jixing laughed in empathy. "That's true. If I were to happily receive an n+1 severance package right now, it'd be like someone handing you a pillow when you're sleepy."

"Brother Shao, your decisive resignation back then was the right move. I see you're living much more comfortably now than before." Shen Zhengning glanced at the new phone on the table and sighed softly. "The company's momentum isn't as good as it was a few years ago. It's almost the end of the year, and rumors are starting to spread again that business is bad and there won't be year-end bonuses. On top of that, with what happened to Ye Tongsheng, everyone's feeling a bit uneasy."

"Sigh, Old Ye." Shao Jixing took a sip of coffee, smacking his lips at the rich bitterness, and lamented, "If he had just decisively resigned and found a new job back then, maybe none of this mess would have happened later... Sigh, in the end, it's all fate."

"Ye Tongsheng had conflicts with his family, and he had depression, so he had a mental breakdown and committed suicide. I heard from his family that this was the police's conclusion. If it had even the slightest thing to do with work, wouldn't the family have come to the company to raise hell?" Shen Zhengning deliberately refuted, trying to bait him into saying more. "There are some rumors in the company, saying he committed suicide to escape punishment, which is pure fabrication. But this matter hasn't been figured out at all, and the leadership isn't doing anything about it, so the rumors are starting to sound more and more true."

Shao Jixing's expression changed several times. He was nervous but found it hard to suppress the desire to share. After hesitating repeatedly, he said ambiguously, "His timing of death was too coincidental. Pinning the blame on him is the safest option. True or false, who can say for sure?"

"Is there some hidden story here?" Shen Zhengning asked curiously. "Who did he take the fall for?"

"We can't just say things like that. There's no evidence. The internal investigation didn't find any security leaks in the first place." Shao Jixing was vague. "But think about it, you can guard against outsiders day and night, but it's hard to guard against a thief in your own house. No matter how hard we investigate, what if the person is right in your home, you know? The GM has entered the game, what can we possibly do?"

Shen Zhengning was startled. "You guys didn't continue the investigation later because...?"

Shao Jixing said meaningfully, "Why else would I say Ye Tongsheng should have resigned with me? Old Xu and I took a bit of the blame, but it didn't really affect us, did it? At least we got away smoothly. Only Old Ye refused to believe it was hopeless. Don't just see that he's gone now and others are using him as a scapegoat. If he were still alive, with his personality of not tolerating any wrongdoing, he would have raised hell."

Shen Zhengning: "So Ye Tongsheng wasn't the mole."

"If he didn't even have that basic professional ethic, why would he be in network security? Wouldn't being a hacker make money faster?" Shao Jixing downed the rest of his cold coffee in one go, his words involuntarily taking on a grim tone. "He was the one hunting the ghost, but no matter how tough Zhong Kui is, when he runs into King Yama, an arm can't win against a thigh. There's nothing anyone can do."

For the first time, Shen Zhengning didn't smoothly and appropriately continue the conversation, falling into a silence that was long enough to be slightly abrupt.

He rapidly connected the cause and effect in his mind, distilling the known information, trying his best to restrain himself from making any moral judgments.

Shao Jixing's hint was almost as good as spelling it out. The Information Security Department had found, or was about to find, the real mastermind, but someone in the company's upper management had silently suppressed the matter. Two key members of the department proactively resigned, taking the blame for "inefficiency," allowing them to smoothly extract themselves from the whole affair. And as a reward, they received better positions than they had before.

What remained was an isolated and powerless Ye Tongsheng. Regardless of whether he was willing to submit, the entire Information Security Department was cut down. He had no backing, and his words carried no weight. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't make any waves.

Not to mention the pressure from reality. Ye Tongsheng was adrift and alone, with no family support. Once he offended the company and lost his job, "starting over" for an adult was no less difficult than a second puberty.

Life seems full of choices, but when most people make decisions, there is often only one barely viable path before them.

"Selling citizens' information... is illegal."

This was a sentence he managed to squeeze out after a long hesitation, in a tone so weak and powerless that even Shen Zhengning himself found it laughable. Perhaps because he lacked conviction, Shao Jixing wasn't even annoyed by him. He just gave a dry laugh to cover up the subtle awkwardness. "Everyone has to make a living... Besides, it's not like anything bad happened."

[I'm sorry]

That solitary and ominous Moments post unexpectedly surfaced in Shen Zhengning's mind.

Who was he saying it to?