Chapter 105: Encountering Dog Xie Again, Holding a Mechanical Pendant
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The goal… her duckbill cap on her head!
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes turned cold as she evaded the man’s outstretched hand.
With a raise of her head, the girl’s beautiful face and charming eyes were revealed to the man.
Their eyes met, and sparks flew.
“It seems that the last shoulder throw didn’t teach Mr. Xie a lesson.”
The man looked at her, his eyes narrowed slightly. “It is indeed you.”
“Is it strange that it’s me?”
“Coming to the cemetery in the middle of the night, who are you here to offer things for?”
Jiang Fuyue smirked, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes. “It has nothing to do with you.”
“If I remember correctly, you were born in Linhuai, grew up in Linhuai, and this is your first time leaving the province. In theory, you shouldn’t have any connection to the capital. But you’re here in the capital’s cemetery in the middle of the night. Isn’t that strange?”
“I don’t think I have an obligation to explain to you.” With that, she passed by him.
Xie Dingyuan didn’t stop her, only stood in place, watching her retreating figure, his eyes deeper than the night.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t expect to run into Xie Dingyuan here. But that was all there was to it.
She knew he would be suspicious, but so what?
Lou Mingyue and Jiang Fuyue were originally two unrelated individuals, and there was a gap of twenty years between them.
On the way back, Jiang Fuyue sat in a taxi, watching the scenery outside slowly recede.
This was no longer the capital she once knew.
Back at the hotel, it was already close to dawn.
Jiang Fuyue took a shower and went to sleep peacefully.
However, in the same night, someone else, illuminated by a solitary lamp, had no sleep.
Xie Dingyuan was waiting for a phone call.
The moonlight gently spilled onto the man’s face through the window, but it couldn’t penetrate his indifferent and calm eyes.
There was a phone on the table, next to a research report that had been half-read, with red handwritten notes hidden among the printed text, filled with complex and esoteric professional symbols.
Until the clock struck one in the morning, the silent phone suddenly emitted two notification sounds.
Xie Dingyuan raised his head abruptly and then opened his email, where it showed that an email had just arrived one minute ago.
He clicked on it…
Fifteen minutes later, the man put down his phone and walked to the window.
The investigation revealed that Jiang Fuyue and Xu Kaiqing had no prior connections, and there was no apparent link between Jiang Fuyue and the capital city.
If it weren’t for this information technology competition, she wouldn’t be here.
Everything seemed perfectly normal, but she ended up at the Rose Garden Cemetery, where only the high-born and powerful people from the capital were buried.
The common people had no access, and they weren’t even worthy of knowing of its existence.
“Someday, I’ll personally peel off the disguise you’re wearing and see what’s hidden inside.”
Information technology competition?
Hmph…
Xie Dingyuan returned to his desk, opened his computer, and found the email from D Country that had arrived half a month ago.
The sender’s field read: IOI Sponsor (IOI Organizer).
He replied in English: “I can create the questions, but it must appear as the grand finale.”
Jiang Fuyue, I hope you make it to the international competition. It will definitely be exciting then…
Under the dim yellow light, the man unusually showed a hint of joy.
…
Jiang Fuyue had a good night’s sleep.
She woke up at 8:05 AM, got ready, and went to the restaurant for breakfast.
Just as she entered the elevator, she ran into Keran. Unlike yesterday when she could only move around in a wheelchair, she now used a single crutch, walking without any problems.
Jiang Fuyue looked straight ahead, her face devoid of much emotion.
But the reflective metal door panel revealed Keran’s mocking expression: “What about that country bumpkin who was following you? Did she not do well on the test, feel embarrassed, and sneak back to the Fu Island?”
Jiang Fuyue ignored her.
Keran, thinking she had nothing to say, became even more cutting: “I’m curious, can’t you smell the stench of pickled vegetables on her? Or were you two of the same kind from the beginning?”
Jiang Fuyue replied, “If your skills matched your mouth, then Professor Zhang would be very pleased.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Ding!
The elevator door opened, and Jiang Fuyue walked out first. Her composed figure showed no signs of anger, but Keran was left with a belly full of frustration.
While eating breakfast, Zhang Han suddenly approached. “Did you not go on the outing with them?”
“No.”
“Old Xu asked me to take care of you, but it seems like I haven’t done much…” He smiled apologetically.
Jiang Fuyue: “It’s okay. Teacher Zhang already has their hands full looking after their own students. You enjoy your meal, and I’ll be on my way.”
Hmm…
“Alright.” But why did it feel like she had something more to say?
In the afternoon, Jiang Fuyue didn’t stay at the hotel.
She took a taxi to a bar on Third Ring Road.
The daytime hall was empty, and the chairs at the booths were flipped onto the tables, being cleaned and disinfected by a cleaning lady.
“Sorry, we’re closed during the daytime,” a young man stopped Jiang Fuyue.
“I’m looking for Chunhua.”
“Who?”
Jiang Fuyue looked at him, enunciating each word, “Niu Chunhua. Do you know them?”
The young man shook, disbelief in his widened eyes. “You…”
Jiang Fuyue smiled, “You look a lot like her. You’re Little Niu Er, right?”
The young man’s cheeks turned slightly pink at a visible speed. “No one calls me that anymore… how do you know?”
“Niu Chunhua told me.”
“She’s ruining my reputation again! From now on, you’re not allowed to call me that! I’m Niu Rui!”
“Okay,” Jiang Fuyue nodded, adapting easily. “‘Rui’ from ‘ruiming xuan riyue,’ is that from Wang Changling’s ‘Driving to East River’?”
The young man was astonished, “You you you…How did you know?!”
Of course, Jiang Fuyue knew. She had given him that name when he was just a little kid. She hadn’t expected him to grow up so fast and turn into a handsome young man.
“Who are you?” Niu Rui asked, his surprise accompanied by a subtle guard in his eyes.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t say anything. She simply took a jade pendant from her bag, a round piece with intricate carvings and hollow in the middle, inscribed with esoteric symbols that ordinary people wouldn’t understand.
“The Mechanical Pendant?” Niu Rui blurted out, “How do you have this? Who gave it to you?”
As he spoke, he grabbed her wrist with a bit of force, and surprisingly, she couldn’t break free.
He was certainly more assertive than Niu Chunhua.
“Speak!” Niu Rui’s eyes were sharp, as if he had transformed into a different person, showing none of the previous shyness.
The commotion drew the attention of the cleaning lady.
Jiang Fuyue met his piercing gaze without flinching and said, “Are you sure you want to discuss this here?”
Niu Rui didn’t say anything.
“Or, take me to see your mother.”
He remained silent, his expression thoughtful.
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow and calmly waited for him to make a choice.
But if you observed closely, you would notice a hint of satisfaction in the girl’s eyes at this moment.
Satisfaction with Niu Rui’s vigilance and caution.
“First, tell me how the Mechanical Pendant ended up in your possession?”
Jiang Fuyue replied, “My things, if they are no longer in my hands, should they be in yours?”
“It’s impossible! Unless…”
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes held a smile.
In the blink of an eye, something flashed in Niu Rui’s mind. “You know Aunt Lou?!”
Yue Sister: I’m an auntie now [resigned].
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