Qin Si frowned slightly. “Shang Jianli, there’s no point in harassing him endlessly”
Calling that harassment “persistence” had merely been sarcasm.
After a long silence, Shang Jianli answered, “Yes. I know”
Then he added, “Outside of work, I won’t dare appear in front of him again. Rest assured”
How could he dare?
He didn’t dare anymore.
Ji Shileng had once been softhearted, and he had clung to that, putting him in a difficult position over and over.
Looking back, he had been terribly wrong.
What had any of it achieved?
Beyond troubling Ji Shileng and upsetting him, it had accomplished nothing positive at all.
“Outside of work?” Connecting this with the rumors that had recently sprung up within the Federation, Qin Si asked, “You’re coming to Federation University on an academic exchange?”
“Yes” Shang Jianli nodded slightly. “My main purpose is to investigate the Gaोपei Laboratory”
He believed Qin Si must already have uncovered something.
The Empire had maintained a peaceful facade for far too long. Beneath it lay a mass of sordid affairs that couldn’t withstand close scrutiny by an insider.
Two days earlier, Shang Jianli had searched Shang Cheng’s study and found numerous encrypted files in a hidden compartment.
The timeline recorded in them spanned more than a decade.
Qin Si’s expression changed. “You found something?”
“I’m still investigating” Shang Jianli’s gaze settled on the dark green dinosaur clipped to Qin Si’s coat. After a few seconds of hesitation, he asked, “Shall we cooperate?”
Rather than answering directly, Qin Si asked, “Isn’t that a rather foolish question?”
The Shang family was one of the masterminds behind the Gaopei Laboratory, and Shang Jianli was a member of that family. Cooperating with him would be like bargaining with a tiger for its skin.
Shang Jianli gave an emotionless acknowledgment. “Then how about I cooperate with you unilaterally?”
“I’ll give you everything I uncover. You don’t have to tell me anything or provide any leads”
Qin Si paused. Chu Wan looked resigned; she had expected Shang Jianli to do this.
“I don’t accept favors I haven’t earned”
In truth, Qin Si was tempted. As a member of the Shang family, Shang Jianli could investigate far more easily than they could.
“Qin Si, this is an excellent opportunity, isn’t it?” Shang Jianli’s lips curved into a faint smile. “To destroy me and the Shang family. An excellent opportunity, wouldn’t you say?”
“I know you’re investigating. But with my help, things will move faster. Isn’t that true?”
Chu Wan turned her face away. Without her noticing, her eyes had reddened, brimming with tears.
Suspecting it was one thing. Hearing Shang Jianli say it himself was another.
Qin Si didn’t argue. Instead, he asked, “You won’t help your family?”
Once everything was uncovered, the Shang family would inevitably collapse, and the Empire would suffer a tremendous shock.
Shang Jianli looked utterly cold. “Everyone must receive the retribution they deserve”
Imperial Capital News had already faced its reckoning, and Imperial University’s century-old reputation was in jeopardy.
As for those who remained—himself, the Shang family, or anyone else—he would allow no one to escape this storm.
“Not very convincing,” Qin Si remarked.
Yet he believed Shang Jianli was telling the truth. He knew the man regretted what he had done.
Fortunately, regret was a useless emotion. It couldn’t change the present; it could only bring pain.
“No, it isn’t convincing” Something seemed to occur to Shang Jianli, and his eyes briefly lost focus. “But you should believe a madman’s words”
Ji Shileng kept telling him to see a psychiatrist. He refused.
Even though he knew perfectly well that something was wrong with him.
If he went, he might lose his lucid dreams. Even if every dream ended with either Ji Shileng’s death or his own.
Those who loved and wept in their dreams suffered most.
Once they turned to serious business, some of the hostility between the two men subsided.
Qin Si glanced back over his shoulder. With the letter opener, Ji Shileng was slicing through the mystery bags swiftly and precisely.
Not wishing to prolong the conversation, he said, “If you want, send encrypted messages to my email”
An additional source of help was better than none. Besides, with a one-sided arrangement, he had little to lose.
“All right”
“One more thing” Before leaving, Qin Si added, “We’re heading to the shopping area next”
He was telling Shang Jianli not to go there.
Shang Jianli said nothing and remained where he was. Closing his eyes, he felt almost consumed by exhaustion and bitter reluctance.
“Chu Wan, why does my heart still hurt so much when I’ve thought it through and made up my mind?”
Chu Wan’s hand trembled as though shocked. She wanted to smile but couldn’t. Words of comfort reached her lips, yet she couldn’t say them.
“Jianli” Setting aside their professional relationship, she spoke as his friend. “This is enough for us”
They had no right to ask for anything more.
“Then tell me, will Ji Shileng forgive me after I do this?”
Would he forgive the terrible wrongs he had committed?
He seemed to be Ji Shileng’s curse. Whenever he drew too close, Ji Shileng got hurt.
Chu Wan covered her mouth and slowly shook her head. “Jianli…”
She couldn’t speak.
Shang Jianli remained calm. Almost as though tormenting himself, he kept replaying the sight of the little dinosaur clip on Qin Si’s coat.
With a heavy sigh, he said softly, “Let’s go back”
Chu Wan looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
“I’ll be teaching soon. I should go back and check my lessons”
“Aren’t we buying ice cream?”
“There’s no point anymore” Shang Jianli smiled, but a silent downpour seemed to fill his eyes, soaking him through. “Once the right time has passed, he won’t want it anymore”
“Trying to make up for it too late is like marking a boat to find a sword lost overboard”
Making amends after the moment had passed was just as futile as searching beneath that mark. Both were meaningless.
Was that one year worth more than all the others?
For Shang Jianli, it was.
For Ji Shileng, that year was simply the worst.
When Ji Shileng returned home that evening, the butler took his bags and asked where to put them.
“Leave everything on the coffee table. I’ll take a few things up to my room myself”
Walking farther inside, he found Su Ke sprawled on the sofa, looking half dead.
“Was picking grapes that exhausting?”
“That part was fine” Su Ke opened his eyes to glance at him, too tired even to comment on his outfit. His head tilted to one side as he resumed lying motionless. “The mountain climbing was what did it”
“Why did you go mountain climbing?” Ji Shileng untied the string around a kraft paper bag, letting the scent of caramel-roasted chestnuts drift out.
“Auntie wanted to watch the sunset,” Su Ke said. “You know I can’t refuse your mom”
Wen Qin had gazed at him gently with those beautiful big eyes and asked whether he wanted to watch the sunrise.
Even if he hadn’t wanted to, he would have had to say yes!
So he had rolled up his sleeves and risked his life to keep her company.
Then Su Ke sighed. “I really am getting old. Auntie Wen wasn’t even out of breath after the climb. I’m completely wiped out”
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