After I Let Go, She Regretted It Deeply

Chapter 12: The Shadow Organization:

“Dad, I came back to see you. How have you been feeling lately?”

Song Ancheng smiled as he stepped forward, handing the two gift boxes in his hands to a servant. He then led the woman beside him toward my grandfather. As he passed me, I took a deliberate step back. I had no interest in being tainted by their bad luck.

Noticing my movement, Song Ancheng shot me a glare.

“What are you avoiding? Do you think I’m going to eat you?”

“Grandpa, I’m tired. I want to go upstairs and rest.”

I had no intention of responding to anything Song Ancheng said, so I spoke directly to my grandfather instead.

“Alright, alright. Go ahead. I’ll have someone call you when dinner is ready. Is there anything specific you’d like to eat?”

“No, anything the chef makes is fine.”

Seeing the concern in my grandfather’s eyes, I forced a smile to reassure him.

Song Ancheng scoffed dismissively. “Dad, you spoil him too much. He’s a grown man and doesn’t even have basic manners. He didn’t even greet me and Hong Ling when he saw us. It’s embarrassing for the Song family.”

“I don’t mind, Ancheng.” His new wife, Hong Ling, pretended to be understanding. “Xiao Yue and I aren’t very familiar with each other yet. He doesn’t need to greet me.”

“Enough, both of you shut up.” My grandfather waved them off impatiently. “My grandson can do whatever he wants in this house. He’s my only grandson, and I enjoy spoiling him. If you two have a problem with that, you can get out!”

Song Ancheng and Hong Ling’s faces turned red, then white—it was quite a sight to behold. I smirked in satisfaction and headed upstairs.

They were both delusional if they thought they could put on airs in front of me.

I had no idea which number wife Hong Ling was. Back when I left for university in Beijing, there was another woman at his side, the so-called ‘true love’ he had married and had a child with. Now, that woman was long gone, replaced by someone new.

As soon as I entered my bedroom, I headed straight for my study. I had been too relaxed these past few days at home, and there was a backlog of work to deal with.

Back in my freshman year of university, I had founded the Shadow Organization. Now, Shadow was ranked as the world’s number one hacker organization. I had thousands of people under my command, each strictly adhering to the organization’s rules. Through Shadow, I had quietly acquired numerous companies, managing their operations remotely with precision.

Aside from my subordinates, no one knew about any of this.

I had worked at IE Corporation for years, solely to be with Lin Muyao, deliberately hiding my true capabilities. Even while restraining myself and using only a fraction of my skills, I had become one of the company’s most valued talents.

Yet, Lin Muyao, upon becoming a department manager, began looking down on me, dissatisfied with my position.

I turned on my computer and started processing my most urgent tasks.

One particular email caught my attention. It was sent anonymously.

When I opened it, I found a blurry photo. Even though it wasn’t clear, I immediately recognized myself in the image—it was taken back when I was in university, participating in a club activity.

Who knew my identity and sent this to my encrypted email? This email account had been heavily secured, and aside from Shadow’s internal members, no one should have been able to find it, let alone successfully send me a message.

This intrigued me.

I set my hands on the keyboard and began tracing the email’s source, carefully bypassing digital firewalls layer by layer.

Just as I reached the final step, a line of text suddenly popped up on my screen:

“I know you’re skilled. Please don’t expose my identity just yet. I’m just a huge fan of yours—you’re my idol. I look forward to the day we meet.”

I raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Interesting.

Someone capable of bypassing my encrypted system and sending a live message to my computer wasn’t just anyone. They were an expert. If I could recruit them into Shadow, they’d be a tremendous asset.

With a few keystrokes, I broke through their control and typed a single word in response: “Good.”

Then, I restarted my computer and implemented a new layer of encryption. While this mysterious person didn’t seem hostile, it was always wise to be cautious.

I should have updated my encryption earlier. I had designed the security system two years ago, thinking no one could break through it. I never expected someone to persistently dig into its vulnerabilities.

This unexpected encounter had genuinely piqued my interest, and it even lightened my mood.

I valued every true genius in the world of computing, so I was willing to respect this mystery hacker. I was also quite eager to see what would happen when we finally met.

By the time I finished my work, I realized that night had already fallen.

Just as I was about to head downstairs, a knock came at my door.

“Young Master, dinner is ready.”

I pulled the door open and nodded. “Got it. I’m coming down.”

But the butler hesitated, looking like he had something to say.

“What is it?”

“Well… Young Master, those two haven’t left yet.”

“They’re still here?”

“Yes. They insisted on staying for dinner. We couldn’t exactly force them out… they are still part of the Song family…”

“I see.”

I didn’t say anything more and walked downstairs. If they wanted to stay, then so be it—I would just ignore them.

After all, I was the rightful heir to this household. Some people, on the other hand, weren’t.

Regardless of how much I despised him, Song Ancheng was still my grandfather’s son. I didn’t want to put my grandfather in a difficult position.

It was just one meal—I wouldn’t let it bother me.

When I arrived at the dining room, my grandfather hadn’t come down yet. But those two were already seated, looking quite pleased with themselves, waiting for dinner to begin.

Without a word, I pulled out a chair opposite them and sat down, leaving the head seat empty for my grandfather.

“Why the long face? Don’t act up and ruin dinner for your grandfather, or I won’t let you off.” Song Ancheng pointed at me in dissatisfaction.

I scoffed, meeting his gaze with disdain. “Anyone who doesn’t know better might think you’re some filial son. Weren’t you the one who spent years fooling around outside, abandoning your wife and son, and driving our grandfather to the hospital in anger?”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Shiyue?” Song Ancheng’s expression darkened. “I know you’ve always held a grudge against me because of your mother, but let me tell you—the only reason she ended up like that was because she was weak. A man of our status having a few women on the side is normal.”

“She couldn’t handle being the lady of the Song family and made a huge scene that led to her own death. Who else is to blame?”

“Besides, you’re a grown man now. Surely you understand me better, don’t you? Men, after all…”

“Shut up!”

My rage boiled over. My fists clenched, veins bulging on my arms.

Even after all these years, Song Ancheng hadn’t shown an ounce of remorse.

Instead, he had the audacity to twist the truth and blame my mother for what he had done.

Shameless. Absolutely shameless.