"It's been a while, Grandfather."

Since Ai Qing went to study in London, it had been seven years since she saw her Grandfather. Yet, after seven long years, her greeting was not the warm and affectionate one others might have expected, but one of almost loathing indifference.

Yin Liangji listened calmly to her words, looking around with an air of nonchalance before finally resting his eyes on her desk.

The card encased in a crystal frame.

Even with his back to the frame, he could imagine what the image on it looked like.

"This must be your most proud masterpiece, right?" He nodded knowingly, indicating approval. "Your vision is much better than mine... After so many years away from home, Little Qing, you have indeed achieved something."

Ai Qing lowered her head to look at the radiant face in the picture and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's this? Are you regretting it now, Grandfather?"

"Ah, yes."

The old man nodded earnestly. "Had I foreseen his accomplishments, I should have raised this child myself. It's a pity that after meeting his parents, I became completely disappointed with their family... This was my biggest oversight; I should have thought more carefully.

"I shouldn't have cared so much about so-called face before and should have eradicated them root and branch... Unfortunately, I am not as clever as you, only realizing this truth now."

He sighed softly.

"Unfortunately, there's no chance now—"

Ai Qing turned her pen indifferently, enjoying the undisguised frustration and annoyance on the old man's face, as if she were watching crocodile tears. "From the moment he became third place in the rookie season—no, even before he stepped into the rookie competition, when he became a Sublimator—you should have anticipated this day.

"The death of Qi Wen alerted you, but it was already too late.

"He was already a formal member of the Astronomical Society, favored by the Four Great Legions, and a successor the Jurisdiction Bureau and the Existence Institute had already made arrangements for. Even if he left the Astronomical Society, the Dongxia Genealogy would not hesitate to back him up.

"Once he advances from the 'Ivory Tower,' one day, he will climb the ranks of the Astronomical Society and become an indispensable pillar of today's Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, casting a permanent shadow over the Yin family."

"You know, Little Qing... the way you two worked in perfect harmony truly makes me nostalgic."

Yin Liangji seemed distracted, reminiscing about the past as many elderly do. "When Huai Guang was still here, we also worked in perfect harmony, just like you two. Huai and Yin, inseparable—he executed, I planned. Our two families collaborated, always succeeding... It's a shame Huai Guang died too soon, far too soon.

"If he hadn't died, things wouldn't be like this, would they? We wouldn't have needed to wait for your generation; the resurgence of the Yin Family could have happened under my leadership. And that fool Huai Guang could certainly have realized his dream of becoming one of the most famous Hell Explorers, his name etched onto the Card of the Ages."

"..."

"So-called life is such a fragile thing, but even more fragile is everything else in this world."

Yin Liangji lifted a hand speckled with age spots, tapping his cane. "The finest things in life are not durable; rainbow clouds dissipate easily, and fine glass is brittle... This world changes too easily, so easily that in just a few short years, everything from the past can be erased.

"In the end, he became an interlude, and I achieved success."

Ai Qing remained detached and silent, but Yin Liangji looked up.

His turbid eyes were filled with solemnity and indifference. It was as if the hunched, frail old man, who seemed at risk of falling with every step, was now looking down upon Ai Qing, his willful great-granddaughter.

"You're mocking my hypocrisy, aren't you, Little Qing?"

Yin Liangji said, "You're always obsessed with the superficial, never able to grasp the big picture.

"I know what you want to say—nothing more than those inconsequential moral reproaches about me swallowing up the Huai Family's assets. Honestly, that must have been the most correct decision I made after Huai Guang's death.

"Ultimately, wasn't what I did just normal business competition? Surely, far dirtier rivalries exist in this world, don't they? What do you think I should have done?

"When two closely intertwined parties suddenly face a fatal vulnerability, should they abandon their ambitious goals and sink together, or should one sacrifice the remnants of their legacy to give the other a chance to succeed?

"Just because he used to be my friend, does that mean I couldn't acquire his properties? Just because we were friends, didn't I deserve success?

"If others had acted, they would have been colder and crueler than I was! Compared to such vast wealth, any semblance of elegance and etiquette is inconsequential. They would have been more vicious, more ugly, and wouldn't even have spared Huai Shi's life.

"Yes, I watched his parents suffer the consequences of their own actions. But you need to understand one thing clearly, Little Qing: whose mercy do you think has allowed him to live until now?"

Ai Qing snorted in derision. "You could try explaining that to him, if you think he would spare your life when the time comes."

"I will, even if he won't listen," the old man said calmly. "For the family, between an old man at death's door and a rookie with a boundless future, is there any question of who is more important?

"I could kneel before him, beg for his forgiveness, cast aside my dignity and pride, fawn like a dog, endure humiliation and disgrace. If he's still not satisfied, I could offer my neck for him to sever, to have my bones ground to dust and my ashes scattered. It wouldn't matter to me.

"But what would that achieve?"

Seeing the momentary stiffness in Ai Qing's expression, he shook his head in disappointment. "It's only the death of one person. What's all the fuss about? Little Qing, aside from your age, have you truly grown at all over these years?

"If your perspective cannot be elevated to see the bigger picture, then no matter how clever you are, you're just 'quick-witted,' not wise.

"And you are too clever, so much so that it's to your detriment... You always make the most 'appropriate' choices, but sometimes, what's appropriate isn't what's best.

"For example, you've already lost your best opportunity for revenge."

Observing the teenage girl's gloomy expression, the old man smiled regretfully. "Even without me, would today's Yin family really be unable to recover?

"Don't you see? That boy, Yin Ya, although lacking your insight and wisdom, naturally possesses the bearing of a family patriarch. Now that the Yin family has moved past its bloody phase of capital accumulation, a benevolent and broad-minded young man is a far more suitable head of the family than a despised old man like me.

"In other words, from the moment he advanced, the satisfying revenge you anticipated lost all meaning—because from that point on, my life or death became an insignificant matter."

The old man told her sincerely, "This is the meaning of family, Little Qing. Each of us is but an insignificant speck of dust, yet when dust gathers, it can achieve something, gain significance. We are bound by blood, entrusting each other with trust and authority, hoping to compensate for our own shortcomings and reach greater heights. For this goal, every member is expendable."

He said, "Including your parents, and including me."

CRACK!

A sound of furious shattering erupted from Ai Qing's hands. The pen had snapped, and ink, tinged with a hint of crimson, flowed from her fingertips.

The words from her Grandfather carried an almost humiliating derision.

A test? No, it was more like an interrogation, leaving no room for evasion.

If the one standing in the way of your revenge wasn't me, but your brother Yin Ya—the one who once took sole care of you—what choice would you make then?

If one day, Yin Ya became Huai Shi's enemy, how would you disgracefully submit to your nemesis's wishes and convince your 'instrument of revenge' to punish only the primary offender?

Would this old man really, as he claimed, willingly go to his execution then?

No, there would only be more schemes and more conspiracies waiting for me, wouldn't there?

"You see, I've already told you," the old man looked at her helplessly. "This world changes too easily. Your relationships are fragile things, just like the friendship I once had with Huai Guang—because, in the end, we are all the same. There has never been any difference between us."

"I once thought so highly of you. I even considered having you replace Yin Ya to carry on the family lineage. Otherwise, why would I have sent you to study in London? But even so, that is no reason for you to act so recklessly."

"It's time to outgrow this rebellious phase, Little Qing."

In the deadly silence, he said kindly to Ai Qing, "You must fulfill your duties now."

Ai Qing didn't speak, just looked at him silently, her expression indifferent.

Only the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door.

"What's going on?"

Chai Fei pushed the door open and asked in shock, "Why would the branch chief suddenly issue you a suspension... Uh, sorry, I interrupted."

Seeing the indifferent Grandfather and great-granddaughter in the office, she quickly understood. She placed the notice on Ai Qing's desk and hurriedly fled.

Before leaving, she glanced at Ai Qing through the crack in the door, her expression worried as she waited for an answer.

But Ai Qing didn't look at her, as if she hadn't noticed her arrival at all. She just stared silently and expressionlessly at her Grandfather.

Chai Fei sighed, and the door closed.

"That's just your style, isn't it, Grandfather? Even using the daughter of a sacrificial pawn as another piece in your game?"

In the quiet, Ai Qing loosened her fingers, tossing the broken pen into the wastebasket. She pulled out a tissue, wiped the ink from her hands, and suddenly asked, "Have you really thought about the consequences?"

"Don't worry," Yin Liangji answered, though his reply didn't directly address her question. "Since I've asked you to come home, I will ensure you have nothing to worry about."

"So eager to make use of me?"

"After all, it's my hundredth birthday the day after tomorrow. It needs to be celebrated," Yin Liangji replied calmly. "Don't worry, I've already met him. A fine young man from the Bingzhou Cui Family. Although born with a squint, he's not an unfair match for you."

"A blind man paired with a cripple. Sounds like an excellent match indeed."

"Who could say otherwise?"

The old man stared quietly out the window as the sunlight gradually faded.

Dusk descended. The clear chime of a bell echoed from the distant school, and the clamor from the streets gradually rose.

The children should be heading home.

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