“I’m…” Xingyu sighed and passed a hand over his face. “I’m trying to figure out what all of this is. The amount of deals he made…is frankly ridiculous. And of course he never wrote anything down, so of course if he had any other motives for why he made these deals in the first place, it’s a total mystery.”

Weiran laughed a little and dropped into one of the seats set up next to the table. “I would offer to help, but, well.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Xingyu opened another folder and groaned. “See, this is what I’m talking about. ‘Deal with Kang Haichi, made on eighteen December. Six hundred and fifty million, lowered from seven hundred million. Designs expected in a month.’ What designs? What does that mean? What kind of negotiations happened that lowered it fifty million yuan? And when the hell did negotiations happen? Or this deal with Hu Yongzhu!” He found another folder and threw it open on top of the desk. “It’s a good deal, for sure, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why the hell he wanted these properties. The first three are business locations, so he could have been planning to make smaller branches around the city. But then there are two residential properties.”

“Two? Maybe he bought them for you and Xiaokai.” Weiran wasn’t going to pretend he knew enough about business to even mention the first deal.

“I could certainly believe that for Xiaokai. But he would have wanted to keep me close to keep mentoring me through inheriting the business, and then he would have given the house to me afterward. If I assume this one is for Xiaokai”—he pointed at something on the page—“then what the hell is the other one for? Stupid old man.”

“Vacation home? Although…after seeing your house and sleeping in that bed, I can’t imagine what’s going to feel like a vacation compared to that.”

Xingyu looked up and his gaze connected with Weiran’s. For a long moment, he was silent.

“Something wrong?”

“I thought for sure you would act differently around me. But you’ve been exactly the same.”

Weiran said, “Do you want me to act differently?”

“No, not particularly. It doesn’t bother you at all?”

Weiran sighed. “Of course it bothers me. But what am I supposed to do? You told me from the beginning that you were a monster and that you’d done unforgiveable things, and I’d just chosen not to believe you. I don’t have the right to get mad at you. If Xiaokai wants to be mad at you or forgive you, that’s his prerogative.”

Xingyu just kept looking at him.

“What now?”

“You don’t mind Xiao-Xiao anymore, do you?”