He leaned in closer.
Just when their breaths were about to mingle, when they were only inches apart, the girl suddenly opened her eyes.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was cool and clear, her gaze as limpid as water.
The man froze.
“I…”
“Hm?”
“I was just about to wake you!”
He quickly pulled back and returned to the driver’s seat, his heart pounding like a drum.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t suspect anything. She gave a simple “Oh,” then turned to look out the window. “That was fast…”
“You were sleeping too deeply.”
“Then I’ll get out…”
“Wait.”
She turned her head, eyes questioning.
“Uh… what are your plans for tomorrow?”
They had the day off.
“Haven’t thought about it yet.”
Xie Dingyuan hesitated several times, the words at the tip of his tongue—just as he was about to speak, his phone rang.
“You should take it.” Jiang Fuyue pushed open the door and left.
Xie Dingyuan cursed inwardly and pulled out his phone, speaking with annoyance: “What is it?”
“Oh, who pissed you off?” came Shen Qiannan’s teasing voice from the other end.
“Just get to the point.”
“…The old man’s asking about ‘Ji’ again. How’s your investigation going?”
Xie Dingyuan frowned. “Wasn’t that matter put on hold? Why’s he bringing it up again all of a sudden?”
“Professor Drucker is coming to Huaxia. The old man suspects he’s coming to see ‘Chou.’ So today he ran off to interrogate Professor Xu again, but of course came back with nothing. Now he’s home throwing a fit.”
“Peter Drucker?”
“Yep.”
“Isn’t he based in M Country?”
“Exactly! That’s why his sudden trip here is so suspicious.”
Xie Dingyuan paused in thought. “Professor Xu really didn’t reveal anything?”
“The old man personally went, and he still didn’t budge. Tight-lipped as ever.”
“I got it. Keep the old man calm. He’s not young—don’t let him get worked up.”
Shen Qiannan pouted, “You think I didn’t try? I used every kind of persuasion—he wouldn’t listen. He’s obsessed. Unless he finds ‘Chou’ and argues it all over again, he’s never going to let this go.”
Honestly, Shen Qiannan didn’t know much about the old generation’s grudges. Twenty years ago, he was still just a toddler.
What he knew now had mostly been pieced together from the old man’s ramblings. But it wasn’t far from the truth.
“In the end, the old man’s just unwilling to accept that he was wrong. He was refuted and wants to reclaim his honor—even after twenty years.”
“Tell me, Old Xie—are you still investigating or not? How confident are you?”
“If it were before, I wouldn’t be confident. But now…” The man’s eyes darkened.
Shen Qiannan didn’t follow: “Now what?”
“Professor Drucker is coming to Huaxia. Do you think ‘Chou’ would stay hidden?”
Previously, that person had hidden too well—no trace, no movement—so Xie Dingyuan had nowhere to start. But now that he was coming out to meet someone, no matter how careful he was, he’d leave some clues behind.
“…Alright, got it. I’ll calm the old man down. But seriously—who is this ‘Chou’? If I ever get the chance, I really want to see him with my own eyes.”
…
Inside the Villa
Jiang Fuyue had just returned to her room when she received a call from Xu Kaiqing.
“…What? Peter’s coming?”
“Yup, I’ve told you ages ago. It got delayed because of the summit. Now it’s the end of the year, all the universities in M Country are on break—why wouldn’t he come?” Xu Kaiqing’s tone was sour.
He sounded like someone about to lose something precious.
Extremely reluctant, yet utterly helpless.
All he could do was grumble to make himself feel better…
Jiang Fuyue: “When exactly?”
“Next Friday. So, are we coming to Linhuai, or are you flying to the capital?”
