"I'm going to see Dad tonight, so I won't be home for dinner, okay? And don't make Daddy mad."
Joy Fong gave a few more brief instructions before hanging up the phone. Only when the car slowed down did she realize her palms were red—pinched raw by her own fingernails. The rage she'd been holding back had left visible marks.
"Li Yong, you bastard... Even now, you're still putting on an act. Do you think not exposing you now is for your benefit? It's not about saving your face—it's about timing. Just wait until the moment the truth is revealed. We'll see how much face you have left then."
She wanted to fling her phone out the window but restrained herself. Her finger hovered over the screen as if tempted to call Yan Mo again—but after a long sigh, she gave up. Li Xiao had been right. When it came to matters of the heart, especially with family, you couldn't push too hard. If she forced things now, it would only backfire.
Roughly thirty minutes later, Li Andong arrived at the Xu Family Villa.
The dining table was already set with elegance—silverware arranged with precision, warm dishes placed carefully, and a bottle of vintage red wine waiting to be uncorked. A welcoming gesture, on the surface.
Seeing the scene, the tension in Li Andong's chest loosened. For a moment, it felt like nothing had changed.
"Have a seat. Just came back from the office?" Elder Xu's voice was calm, almost too calm.
Li Andong quickly nodded while taking off his jacket. "Yes, recently the company has been busy. I've been returning home late more often."
"How's your health these days, Dad?"
"Quite good. No need to worry about me. It's your side I'm concerned about," Elder Xu replied evenly, pouring two glasses of wine. "Don't get too caught up in work. Career is important, yes, but so is the family. Don't let the household matters slip."
Although the words sounded fatherly, Elder Xu's heart was already burning with suspicion. He had spoken to Joy Fong on the phone just earlier, and what she told him had rattled the foundations of his trust. But for now, he masked his emotions—he wanted to see what Li Andong would reveal on his own.
Li Andong let out a tired sigh. "It wasn't a big deal at first. It's just that Lin Mo... that child has always been stubborn. He's made Joy angry several times already. I've spoken to him repeatedly, but—Dad, you know how habits built over a decade don't change overnight."
He shook his head, feigning disappointment. "I'm truly disheartened. Not only does he refuse to acknowledge his mistakes, but he's even started threatening us."
What had begun as a calm explanation turned into an emotional vent. Andong's body grew visibly agitated as the lies poured out.
"Is that so?" Elder Xu responded mildly. "I remember the boy being quite honest. How did he change so drastically?"
His words held a quiet skepticism, though not without reason. After all, he had only met Lin Mo once, but the impression left on him was far from negative.
But now, everything was coming together—everything Joy had warned him about. It wasn't Lin Mo who had changed. It was Li Andong's heart.
In his mind, as long as Lin Coen existed, Lin Mo would always be the expendable one—the shadow child who had no right to shine.
Elder Xu's gaze subtly sharpened. "Lin Mo is your own son. As the saying goes, 'Even a tiger won't eat its own cub.' But you—would you truly put your own flesh and blood at risk... for the sake of a woman? For an illegitimate son?"
"Dad, what are you trying to say?"
Elder Xu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back, swirling the wine in his glass, watching the crimson liquid dance like blood in the dim light.
"How's the drug development on your side of the company? Any new progress?"
It was a direct question, posed as a casual inquiry. But Elder Xu already knew the answer. Thanks to Xiao Ying, he was aware that the new drug had been successfully developed. Now, he wanted to hear the truth directly from Li Andong's lips.
But Li Andong simply sighed, draping his arms over his knees, his tone weary and full of practiced regret.
"That's exactly what I've been fretting about, Dad. The research has hit a wall, and progress has stalled. To be honest, I'm starting to lose hope in the project. But your faith in me... that's what keeps me going."
His face was earnest, every word polished to perfection.
Elder Xu's heart dropped like a stone into cold water.
He had spent years grooming this man, investing everything the Xu family had into him. And now, he realized—he had raised a snake. A flawless liar.
At first, when Joy mentioned how Andong had refused to let Lin Mo speak about the drug's progress, Elder Xu thought it might have been a misunderstanding. Perhaps Andong had wanted to give the family a pleasant surprise.
But now, the truth was clear as day. This wasn't spontaneity. It was a plan, long in the making.
Li Andong had deceived them all.
Elder Xu exhaled slowly, the bitterness of betrayal mixing with the taste of red wine. He spoke with painful clarity.
"Surname Li. You're so cruel. Now that your wings have hardened, you've forgotten what it was like when you were still crawling. Forgotten who helped you. Forgotten who gave you your first chance."
But he did not dwell in the past.
"Enough. Let's talk about the real reason I called you here."
Li Andong raised his eyes, expression unreadable.
"It's about Lin Mo."
Elder Xu's voice turned cold and deliberate, cutting through the silence like a blade.
"With things as they are, it's time to make a choice. I'm saying this for the sake of peace in the family. Lin Mo is your biological son. Lin Coen, ultimately, is adopted. As the saying goes—blood is thicker than water. Everyone understands this."
He paused, then continued with thunderous finality.
"For the sake of the Xu family, I suggest you send Lin Coen away."
The moment the words landed, it was as if time stopped.
Send Lin Coen away?
Li Andong's mind reeled. Was he joking?
He had orchestrated everything—manipulated loyalties, hidden breakthroughs, even used his own son's silence—to carve a future for Lin Coen. And now that the pieces were falling into place, how could he just... discard him?
And more than anything else—
Lin Coen was his son. His real son. His blood and soul.
His fingers clenched under the table.
"Dad... you can't be serious."
But Elder Xu's eyes were no longer fatherly. They were the eyes of a man who had been betrayed one too many times.
And Li Andong knew—the war he had started was no longer one he could control.