After coming back from the Czech Republic and quitting my job, as well as officially breaking with my family, I took a few weeks off from everything to be able to plan my next steps. I first had to figure out where I wanted to start and how.

I waited four weeks before turning on Zhan's phone and was pleased to see that the sim card was still activated. However, I didn't try to reach Zhan, but instead offered him the opportunity to reach me if he wanted to.

However, instead of a call from Zhan, I received a call from someone unexpected. Zhan's former assistant Mr. Chou! And the latter offered me his help. Because after Zhan was given his freedom again by the Minister of Defense, Zhan turned his back on everyone who knew him. Among other things also from his assistant.

However, he only gave up his assistant because Zhan didn't want the assistant to have so much stress at his age. And because his assistant cares about Zhan and even calls himself Zhan's foster father because he taught him everything he knew since he was a child, he also wants to find Zhan and offered me his help.

I met with Mr. Chou and asked him what I should do first now. Mr. Chou smiled and said, "You learned this in your training. But it's all been theory. Now we come to my experience as a former special agent. The first thing you have to do is create a façade for yourself. A make-believe world that keeps others from finding out what you're really up to. Find a new smaller apartment, better yet a room in a shared apartment to keep costs down. Get a new and easy job. Make it look like you're living a very simple life. But behind that façade, start creating a network of people you can trust and who can help you. No matter what your situation!"

"Okay. But what people could you consider for that?" I asked.

"Well how about special agent Masu and Jackson? Masu seems to like you a lot and understands your situation better than others. Jackson would certainly help you in exchange for information about your mother. You must be willing to betray her. Her and your father. And then there would be the data analyst Wooseok. He's very good at his job and, after your best friend betrayed you, Wooseok is waiting for an opportunity to pay Seungyoun back for lying to him and taking advantage of him as well."

"As for the special agents, yes. I agree and am willing to betray my parents. But are you sure about Wooseok? How do you know about him?"

"Wooseok is my grandson."

"What, wow, what?"

"It's better not to let that be known. But yes, he's my grandson and he's been steadily providing me with information for Zhan. At least, that information that I couldn't get myself."

"I see. So then?"

"I will introduce you to some very usable people. From leadership levels and also from the underworld. We will lure Zhan out from his hiding place. We will place a secret message in the newspaper classifieds every week. Zhan will understand the messages. And I'll provide money so we can hire some good people, too."

"But you do realize that Zhan wants to kill me, right?"

"I know. And I know he's completely serious. And because of his Diplomatic Immunity, it's not Political Immunity, no one can stop him. Nobody except one person."

"And who is that?"

"That's you Yibo!"

"By killing me or what?"

"By bringing him back to his senses. I'm sure he'd listen to you if you just really tried. We'll find him and then you'll have to talk to him."

"And if he won't listen?"

"Then force him to!"

"Um yeah. And what else?"

"Well I'd say I'll start telling you everything I know about Zhan. Because so far you've only scratched the surface with your knowledge. I'm going to teach you to understand Zhan and prepare you for him to the point where you're at least halfway on the same level."

That conversation was 7 months ago. And so it went on for me.

So the plan was in place, now I just had to implement it. And I started by giving up my apartment and renting a small room in a shared apartment. My two roommates are two men who are just keeping their heads above water with their part-time jobs. I hardly see them and when I do, we don't really talk. Everyone is on his own.

Then I looked for a job. A very simple one in a diner. I just stand behind the cash register, take orders and cash up. It's not much money that I earn there, but that's not the point. I just want it to look like I'm trying to finance my life with this little bit of money.

And well, it didn't take long before I had the proof that my father was still having me watched. Because suddenly I had an influx of money in my account. My father transferred me the money I had earned earlier as a special agent. And my mother also transferred money to me. Even a little more than my father.

And then my brother showed up at the diner. By chance, he said, he saw me there because he got hungry by chance. He ordered the special burger, fries and a Coke and I sat down with him for a short break to hear what he had to say.

First, however, he also tried to hug me in greeting. After all, this is the first time in the now more than 9 years I've seen him again. But I did not let him hug me. I sat down and said, "Okay, you have your food, your drink. And now you can tell me why you're really here."

"I know I just can't fool you. You're like Dad and you see right through everything. That's why you've become such a good special agent."

"A good special agent? Am I supposed to laugh? If I was good, I would have noticed what he and Ran were planning. I was clueless and that showed me I'm not qualified for this job. So don't tell me anything else."

"Listen, I came here because I wanted to talk to you. Our parents..."

"They're not my parents anymore. So don't talk about our parents."

"Yibo, you're not really giving up on the whole family are you? Sure, what those two did was wrong. No question about it. But can't you understand them? Can't you just let it go? It's been a year now Yibo."

"Suppose it was about your husband. Could you let it rest? Would you be able to forgive those two people? Would you stop looking for your husband? I will continue to look for Zhan and continue to not consider this family as part of my life."

"He will kill you if he finds you. Sure, I can understand you too, and sure, if it were about Cheng, I probably couldn't forgive them. Still, Zhan, as much as he did for me, is not like Cheng. Zhan is dangerous despite everything."

"If he wants to kill me, let him do it. I won't stop him. And he doesn't even have to look for me. I'm looking for him."

"Yibo this is crazy."

"Crazy? Crazy is that Dad covered up Mom's crimes and destroyed evidence. That he had the Wen's arrested to restore Mom's reputation with the prosecutors. That he lied to me for his own purposes, used me, and betrayed my trust. And then he also expects me to forgive him just because he says he's sorry? Oh no. Most certainly I do not forgive. He broke even the Supreme Rule in our family. Honesty, trust, respect!"

"And what about me? Don't you want me as your brother anymore either?"

"My brother? To my knowledge, my brother disappeared overnight over 9 years ago and no one has known where he is since. I'm sure my big responsible brother would have contacted us if he wanted to. But he never contacted me or his father. And come to think of it, this whole horror only started because my big brother and his mother didn't trust their father and husband and his abilities."

"Why are you doing this Yibo? Why are you doing this?"

"Hai Kuan, open your eyes! Nothing is the way it was and it will never be the same! And just as a tip. You shouldn't get lost so often in Yiling. Because Meng Yao is also in that place. And I don't think you want to run into him, do you?"

"He's here?"

"What did you think?"

"You know, don't you? You know what he did back then."

"I found out yes. I know you witnessed him kill his own sister, mother and father back then. And I know you stood by and were frozen in fear and unable to move. I know it was Zhan who dragged you out of the house when Meng Yao was in the shower. I also know that Zhan hid you at his house until he had new papers for you and could send you to America. I also know that Meng Yao wants to kill you because he's afraid you'll reveal him."

"Who told you that?"

"What do you think?" I didn't tell him it was Mr. Chou. Let him believe that it was Zhan. Maybe then he will remember to be more grateful and not want to tell me to leave all this behind.

"Yibo, I know that Zhan..."

"What you know doesn't matter at all. I can tell you though, Zhan is a lot more complex than you thought. I mean, he's neither good nor evil. He hovers somewhere in between and laughs at everyone who tries to understand him. I learned a lot about Zhan and I know he is very different than I expected. He likes to help, but only if he can get some benefit from it. And let me tell you something. Your Cheng is his cousin. His cousin was already in love with you before you even knew Cheng existed. Zhan knew about Cheng's feelings for you and saved you from Meng Yao only so you could meet Cheng."

"The two are related?"

"Oh, yes. And another thing. Cheng's father is not a simple peasant like you thought. He's the defense minister Jiang. The man who got Zhan out of detention in the Agency. Feel free to carry this information to your father. Defense Minister Jiang is the brother of Zhan's birth mother. He wanted Zhan to join the family at that time. But Wen Rouhan was faster and the two had made a deal because of Zhan. Defense Minister Jiang keeps to himself that he is Zhan's uncle and stays away from him until Zhan is an adult. Do whatever you want with this information. I have to keep working."

My brother sat in silence at the table for another full hour, eating, looking thoughtfully out the window, ordering another Coke, and then leaving. As we parted, he said he would keep this information to himself. I thought he would. After all, this also involves his husband. If he revealed about the Minister of Defense, he would involve Cheng in the matter. I think now Hai Kuan understands me better.

I don't think I would have ever found out anything without Mr. Chou. For example, that Zhan is the nephew of Defense Minister Jiang. That Wen Rouhan and the then unsuccessful unknown minister Jiang made a deal. Jiang would leave Zhan in the hands of Wen Rouhan, who was already a criminal at the time, and who saw great potential in Zhan. In exchange, he would help Jiang become a high-ranking minister.

Wen Rouhan used Zhan and his great potential, as well as his gratitude for saving his life and giving him a new home, to train him to be a perfect middleman. Someone who could also take control himself in an emergency. Because he didn't trust his own sons to do that at the time.

The Wen brothers used Zhan to quietly build up their own business behind their father's back. They let Zhan do their work and then passed it off as their own work. Zhan was actually only ever used by everyone. Even by Wen Qing and Wen Ning. Because the two of them, thanks to Zhan, didn't have to go into the family business. They got money and could fulfill their own dreams with it. And that was only because Zhan assured that he would work hard to be a good substitute for them.

And why did Zhan go along with all this? Well, he was showing his gratitude. But at the same time, he always wanted his father to see only him and leave his business to him. On the one hand, because Zhan wanted to have the power that his father had. On the other hand, because he also wanted to create good with it. He wanted to make piece by piece from the criminal business, completely legal business. Back to the law-abiding life, for his daughter!