Chapter 48: Has the Person Been Found?
The night was deep. The back door of an inconspicuous private club in the suburbs of B-City opened.
Zhou Ciqing walked out slowly. He was wearing a black suit without a tie, the top two buttons of his shirt casually undone.
He didn’t immediately walk toward the black sedan parked in the shadows of the alley. Instead, he stood at the door for a moment, tilting his head slightly and closing his eyes to inhale the icy air.
The moonlight fell on his profile, imbuing him with a languid air that bordered on weariness, yet the aura radiating from him made it so that no one dared to show even a hint of disrespect.
“Young Master Zhou.” A man stepped forward from the shadows, respectfully offering a warm, pure white towel.
Only then did Zhou Ciqing open his eyes. Those pupils showed no emotion in the dim light. He took the towel and wiped his hands with unhurried care, cleaning every finger meticulously as if he had just touched something filthy.
“Is the inside cleaned up?” he asked.
“Yes, as per your instructions.”
Zhou Ciqing said no more and walked toward the sedan.
Just as he bent down to enter the car, he paused. He turned his head, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the other end of the alley, which was empty.
But he seemed to see something—or rather, he sensed something.
Zhou Ciqing let out a soft laugh.
“Let’s go.” He retracted his gaze and sat inside the car.
Silence returned to the alley.
Inside the car, Zhou Ciqing dialed a number.
“Have you found the person you were looking for?”
Su Lin was leaning against the glass doorframe leading to the balcony, his entire being almost merging into the shadows of the curtains. No lights were on in the room; only the dim glow of the garden streetlights filtered through the glass, barely outlining his lean silhouette and the hand hanging by his side.
The phone screen glowed faintly in the dark, showing an active call.
He didn’t immediately answer Zhou Ciqing’s question. His gaze was fixed on the garden outside, swallowed by the night. From this angle, he could just catch a glimpse of a certain window on the second floor of the main residence—it was pitch black. Jiang Qing should have already fallen asleep.
“I found him,” Su Lin said softly.
“Confirmed?”
“Mm,” Su Lin hummed in response. His coming to A-City, infiltrating “Yunye,” and getting close to the Jiang family was initially just to confirm—to confirm if this man, who in his awakened “memories” was supposed to be his fated enemy but ended up making him feel strangely sentimental, was truly like the one written in the “book,” or if he was something else entirely.
Now, he had confirmed it. Jiang Qing was both like and unlike the one he “knew.”
This discovery—this deviation from the “plot”—had quietly transformed that initial interest born of the “settings” into something else entirely.
“Interesting.” Zhou Ciqing seemed to let out a low laugh on the other end. “Running from B-City to A-City for one person… Su Lin, that’s a high price for interest.”
Su Lin neither admitted nor denied it.
Su Lin had value. That was why he could do what he wanted and investigate who he wanted under the Zhou family’s tacit consent and, to some extent, their invisible protection.
“Young Master Zhou is joking,” Su Lin’s tone was flat. “It’s just each of us getting what we need. I’ve already given you the clues for what you want. And I have the answer to what I wanted to confirm.”
“Are you satisfied with the answer?”
Su Lin remained silent for a moment. The night wind rustled the curtains, bringing a hint of chill. He gazed at that window that remained dark, but before his eyes flashed the image of Jiang Qing’s cool fingertips pinching his chin.
“…It’s alright.” He finally gave an ambiguous answer.
Zhou Ciqing was clearly non-committal about this answer, but he didn’t press further. “The paperwork for the A-City branch of ‘The Mystery’ will be ready next week.” He changed the subject, his tone professional. “Same old rules, you manage it. Just don’t cause any trouble that the Zhou family can’t handle.”
“Understood,” Su Lin agreed.
“As for the Jiang family…” Zhou Ciqing paused. “Since you’ve chosen this path, maintain your own sense of propriety.”
These words sounded like a reminder, but also like a warning within the bounds of tacit consent. The Zhou family would not interfere with Su Lin’s “personal interest” in the Jiang family, but they wouldn’t unconditionally foot the bill for any trouble he might cause related to them.
The call ended.
Su Lin slowly lowered his phone. He gazed once more at the window belonging to Jiang Qing.
—————————
Tuesday night, the Grand Ballroom on the top floor of the Yunshu Hotel in A-City.
The news that the Jiang family had found their biological son, who had been missing for years, had already spread like wildfire. The significance of tonight’s banquet went far beyond a mere “recognition.” It was a declaration, a showcase, and an initiation ceremony to formally push Su Lin into this complex social circle.
The guests in attendance were all either wealthy or noble. Their gazes, some open and some hidden, swept the room as they waited for the protagonist to appear.
As the eldest son of the Jiang family and half the host for tonight, Jiang Yu stood at the front of the ballroom in a custom black suit. He conversed with several heavyweight family elders and business partners, his demeanor impeccable, though his eyes occasionally swept over the entrance and the crowd.
Jiang Limu followed closely by Jiang Qing’s side. He had also been forced into formal wear tonight, the bowtie feeling a bit uncomfortably tight, but all his attention was on Jiang Qing. Like an alert large dog, he tried to block out all possible gazes that might get too close.
Jiang Qing, on the other hand, was well-adjusted to such occasions. He wore a relatively casual dark blue suit without a tie, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone as he leaned against the bar.
At a certain moment, the atmosphere of the banquet underwent a subtle shift.
At the entrance, Su Lin appeared.
He had clearly been meticulously dressed. A well-fitting white suit made his figure look even more elegant and upright, and his hair was groomed perfectly. He stood there alone, the lights falling on him, making him look so clean that he seemed somewhat out of place.
Countless gazes instantly focused on him—filled with curiosity, appraisal, scrutiny, and perhaps a hint of imperceptible disdain. Whispers moved like a subtle tide during the gaps in the music.
Su Lin seemed completely oblivious to all this—or rather, he didn’t care at all. His gaze calmly swept through the crowd and then landed on Jiang Qing by the bar.
Just then, a waiter carrying a tray full of champagne glasses happened to pass in front of Su Lin. From another direction, a young girl in a pink dress, looking like she had drunk a bit too much, was wobbling toward that area, seemingly not noticing the fold in the carpet stretching out beneath her feet.
Jiang Limu’s body tensed almost instantly—this scene was too similar to his own bad experience of accidentally “bumping into” a waiter and ruining a guest’s dress! If Su Lin were bumped now, or if the tray was overturned…
Jiang Qing saw it too, his fingers holding the stem of his glass pausing slightly.
However, Su Lin’s reaction was incredibly fast. The moment the waiter was about to pass, he took a half-step back imperceptibly, perfectly clearing the path. At the same time, he reached out a hand and very gentlemanly gave a steadying hand to the arm of the girl whose steps were unsteady, helping her regain her balance.
“Careful.”
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