Early the next morning.
Half-asleep, Ruan Xingyao heard her phone ringing.
She fumbled for her phone, eyes still shut from drowsiness, and answered the call purely on instinct.
Chen Yu’s voice came through the receiver.
“Xingxing, are you up? I’ll come pick you up in half an hour,” Chen Yu said.
Still not fully awake, Ruan Xingyao replied irritably, “What for? I don’t have time!”
Chen Yu went quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Xingxing, my superior wants to meet you.”
“What?!”
Ruan Xingyao shot straight up from bed.
How could she have forgotten about this?
Rubbing her throbbing temples to force herself awake, she said, “Fine, I—I got it.”
After hanging up, Ruan Xingyao patted her cheeks to snap herself out of it, resignedly climbed out of bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed, her hair tied in a high ponytail, and stepped out of her room.
From the living room sofa, Ruan Xingzhuo heard the movement and sat up.
“Sis, why are you up so early?” Ruan Xingzhuo asked.
Moving lazily toward the fridge, Ruan Xingyao grabbed a cold bottle of milk, downed half of it in gulps, and finally said, “Chen Yu’s here. I have to go meet his superior.”
Ruan Xingzhuo got off the sofa, walked over, and crossed his arms as he looked at her.
Being stared at like that for no reason, Ruan Xingyao frowned. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re going to meet a superior dressed like this?” Ruan Xingzhuo asked.
At the moment, Ruan Xingyao was wearing a white T-shirt and denim shorts.
Normally, there was nothing wrong with that, but for meeting a superior, it was definitely too casual.
“Even if you hate them, you still need to put on some pretense,” Ruan Xingzhuo said.
Hearing that only made Ruan Xingyao more annoyed.
She hadn’t done it on purpose—she simply hadn’t thought that far.
Now that he had said it though, she pursed her lips, and in the end, went back to her room to change into another outfit.
When she came back out, Ruan Xingzhuo had already heated up some bread and made a simple sandwich, packed neatly into a box.
Ruan Xingyao took it, opened the lid, pulled out the sandwich, and bit into it right away.
Waving at Ruan Xingzhuo, she said, “I’m off. Take good care of Huanhuan and Baiyi at home.”
Ruan Xingzhuo looked away helplessly, but still gave a straightforward reply: “Got it.”
Ruan Xingyao chuckled, biting into the sandwich as she pushed the door open and left.
By the time she stepped out of the stairwell, she stuffed the last bite of the sandwich into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out, making her look like a little hamster.
Standing by the car, Chen Yu heard footsteps.
Looking up, he saw Ruan Xingyao in that exact state.
For a moment, even his gaze softened at her cuteness.
But as she drew closer, Chen Yu had already straightened his demeanor.
He said, “Xingxing, you could’ve finished your breakfast before coming down, there was no rush.”
Ruan Xingyao gave a disdainful “tch” and couldn’t be bothered to respond.
She simply opened the back door and slid into the seat.
Chen Yu sighed silently, knowing full well she was still angry with him—and that she wasn’t about to forgive him anytime soon.
Shaking his head helplessly, he walked around to the driver’s seat.
On the way, Chen Yu briefly explained his superior’s identity to Ruan Xingyao.
“My direct superior is Jiang Zhen, the provincial head of public security. Besides him, there’ll be someone else you’ll meet later,” Chen Yu said.
Ruan Xingyao asked, “Who?”
Chen Yu didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he lifted a hand and pointed upward.
Ruan Xingyao puffed out her cheeks and said, “Fine, I get it.”
After that, she crossed her arms, shut her eyes, and leaned back—completely looking like she refused to talk to Chen Yu any further.
Through the rearview mirror, Chen Yu glanced at her, his lips pressed into a tight line, but in the end, he said nothing.
More than an hour later, Chen Yu finally pulled the car up to the gates of a heavily guarded compound.
He parked, then turned to Ruan Xingyao and said, “Xingxing, wake up, get out and register.”
Ruan Xingyao opened her eyes, not the least bit drowsy.
Handing over her ID to the guard and obediently filling in her information, she then got back in the car with Chen Yu and entered the compound.
Another ten minutes passed before Chen Yu brought her into a conference room.
The room was empty.
Chen Yu let her sit down, then turned to pour a glass of water and handed it to her.
Resting her chin on one hand, Ruan Xingyao’s gaze drifted upward.
Soon, she glanced from one camera to another until she had checked all of them in the room.
Then she tilted her head toward Chen Yu.
She asked, “Chen Yu, how long are they planning on observing me?”
Chen Yu’s hand on the conference table paused. “You already figured it out?”
Ruan Xingyao rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid. Besides, I’ve got a cheat.”
Ever since the car drove into the compound, she’d already heard key bits of information from the little birds in the trees.
By now, she knew that the whole place was secretly monitoring her.
She said, “I mean, you guys have tested me not once or twice already. Isn’t it about time to stop?”
Chen Yu truly had nothing to say.
The task was handed down from his superiors; he was just an executor.
Yet now, he had somehow ended up being the one least able to face Ruan Xingyao.
Seeing his helpless look, Ruan Xingyao let out a disdainful “tch,” turned her head away, and stared straight at the camera above.
Behind the monitors, a group of people exchanged glances with each other.
Clearly, they were the ones observing Ruan Xingyao, but somehow it felt as if she were the one staring straight back at them.
Finally, the middle-aged man at the head of the group said, “Let’s go. We don’t want to push our special talent too far.”
The group entered the conference room.
Ruan Xingyao and Chen Yu both rose to their feet, turning toward the newcomers.
When Ruan Xingyao saw who was leading them, she was genuinely stunned.
Her eyes widened, staring directly at the man, her mouth slightly agape.
Nai Yansong—he was a leader of the central bureau.
She had seen him on the center’s news before.
And now, that very leader was standing right in front of her, alive and in the flesh.
How could she not be shocked?
Chen Yu quietly tugged at her finger, pulling her back to her senses.
Ruan Xingyao realized that she had lost her composure in surprise.
She quickly pulled herself together, shut her mouth, and stopped rudely staring at Nai Yansong.
Her reaction didn’t upset the leaders.
On the contrary, they smiled kindly and gestured for her and Chen Yu to sit down first.
At that moment, Ruan Xingyao was like a well-behaved child, sitting upright and proper, like a good student ready to listen attentively at any time.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Yu caught sight of Ruan Xingyao’s demeanor, and he couldn’t help but let a smile creep into his gaze.
Though they hadn’t known each other for long, he had already experienced firsthand just how fiery this young girl’s temper could be.
Now, seeing her acting like the most obedient, well-behaved “number one good baby in the world,” she couldn’t have looked more adorable.
Nai Yansong took the main seat, his eyes landing on Ruan Xingyao’s face.
His tone was gentle as he asked,
“Comrade Xiao Ruan, have you been feeling very wronged lately?”
— The end of the Chapter–
TL note : Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 50 chapters of the release :
https://www.patreon.com/DeCakraWnloverz
