At another hotel.
“…Alright, I got it.” The man ended the call, the silver mask on his face gleaming with a cold sheen under the light.
Two others stood nearby. At his words, they exchanged a glance.
“Boss, what did HQ say?”
“Tomorrow, you’ll take the Yuan Qinghua back to the Imperial Capital. A special police unit has been arranged to accompany you.”
“And you…?”
The man raised a hand, signaling for them not to ask further. “I have my own plans.”
“Oh, right. You had us investigate the buyer who won the bid for the Red Chalcedony…”
The man turned around, his black eyes behind the silver mask as deep and unfathomable as a bottomless vortex.
“Well?”
“The other party seems to have some serious backing. From the VIP records at Christie Auction House, all we know is that they’re connected to Yufeng Group. But as for their name, origin, family background, or education level—there’s no trace of them.”
“Also, I reached out to a few colleagues to check through internal systems using facial recognition, hoping to find something. But strangely, there isn’t a single record of this person in the security bureau’s database.”
“I suspect they provided false personal details that don’t match their real appearance—an identity forgery.”
The female colleague beside him pondered, “Another possibility is that the information is accurate, and they do exist in the database, but their appearance has changed—perhaps due to plastic surgery.”
The male colleague nodded. “That’s also possible.”
“…Boss, why are you looking into this person? Do they have something to do with our mission?”
The man waved dismissively, unwilling to elaborate. “Get ready. We leave at dawn.”
“Understood.”
The two left the room.
Outside, the night was as dark as ink. The man stood motionless by the window, staring into the distance. After a long time, he finally drew the curtains and headed into the bathroom.
Standing before the sink, he removed his mask. The mirror reflected a face with sharp features, thin lips like blades, and an intense gaze.
Xie Dingyuan hunched slightly, rubbing his temples absentmindedly.
But his thoughts kept replaying the investigation results—
“The person might have provided false information that doesn’t match their appearance… an identity forgery.”
“Another possibility is that the information is correct, but their appearance has changed—perhaps due to plastic surgery.”
Tch!
Not just plastic surgery—even their gender had changed.
A man’s waist could never be that small—he could grasp it completely with both hands!
….
Jiang Fuyue examined herself in the mirror, turning side to side. The bruises on her waist had darkened into a deep purple, wrapping around her like a belt.
She cursed under her breath. It hadn’t hurt much at the time, but now she realized how much force the other party had used.
“Bandit!”
That night, her waist ached so much she didn’t dare turn over in bed, making for a restless sleep.
But the next morning, she was in great spirits.
Because Lou Mingxin had gotten beaten up.
Xu Yao’s people had come to the hotel to report. Not only did they perfectly recount the “incident details,” but they also brought photos of Lou Mingxin rushing to the emergency room in the middle of the night with a swollen, bruised face.
In two of the photos, the bodyguards standing behind her—burly, towering men—were struggling to hold in their laughter. Their lips twitched, quickly suppressing any smirks.
“Hahahaha…”
Jiang Fuyue burst out laughing, eyes gleaming with delight. She casually handed the photos to Liu Sisi, who was standing beside her.
Liu Sisi took a glance and also smirked.
She didn’t know why Jiang Fuyue was targeting this old woman, but it didn’t stop her from enjoying it alongside her.
“Anything else you need us to do?” The subordinate lowered his head respectfully.
The laughter of this man and woman sent chills down his spine. Ever since he stepped into the room, an oppressive sense of danger had loomed over him.
No wonder she was able to beat the boss…
Jiang Fuyue said, “Go back and tell Xu Yao—I’m very pleased with what I saw. In return, I have something for him.”
She tilted her chin toward Liu Sisi.
Liu Sisi understood immediately, stepping forward to hand over a small box before retreating quietly to Jiang Fuyue’s side.
The subordinate accepted it without daring to look up once. He left swiftly.
Only after stepping out of the hotel did the suffocating tension begin to fade.
He let out a breath and hurried back to report.
…
“A gift for me?” Xu Yao raised an eyebrow, surprised.
His subordinate immediately placed the box on the desk.
He opened it.
A pure-colored carnelian red gemstone, no larger than a palm, lay inside. It had been carved into a square seal, its patterns worn by time yet still exuding an ancient, refined aura.
It was the silver-rimmed, intaglio-engraved Red Chalcedony Seal!
Xu Yao froze.
After a moment, he closed the box and looked up. “Did they say anything else?”
“They said… they’re very satisfied with what she saw.”
Xu Yao’s mouth twitched.
“Wait… do we still have copies of those photos?”
“Huh?”
“Ahem! Bring them here. Let me take a look.”
He hadn’t paid much attention when the report first came in and had just waved it off. But now, he suddenly felt intrigued.
His subordinate hesitated. “Uh… yeah, I have them. I’ll fetch them right away.”
Xu Yao waved him off impatiently. “Hurry up.”
The subordinate left in a daze and quickly returned with the photos, handing them over with an almost surreal sense of disbelief.
Then, Xu Yao—usually so composed—suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahahahahaha—”
His subordinate: “???”
“This—this pig-headed look is hilarious! Hahahaha!”
His subordinate: “???” Did I not get enough sleep?
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