pjbooks Chapter 390 - 375: Fence-Sitter
Chapter 390 - 375: Fence-Sitter
As she said this, the brother and sister looked at each other in silence.
Some things were better left unsaid for now.
The brother and sister shared at least that much of a silent understanding.
A moment later.
"Ming," Gu Xi said as a new possibility suddenly occurred to her. The movement of her fingertips paused, and she looked up at Li Ming. "Do you think that little stone I was holding back then... could it have been... from her?"
Li Ming slowly shook his head. "When I found you, your mother... was already dead."
So Li Ming wasn’t sure how that little stone had ended up in Gu Xi’s hand.
Still... "Xiaoxi, have you ever considered... if your mother really did press that little stone into your hand before she died..." Li Ming looked at Gu Xi and hesitated intentionally. "...then perhaps she..."
There were some things he, in his position, couldn’t say.
Moreover...
But Gu Xi, seemingly unconcerned, finished his thought. "Perhaps she knew a great deal. Perhaps she escaped from the Gu Family while heavily pregnant. Or even, that the Superpower Seeds appeared far earlier than we imagined!"
At this, Gu Xi paused. After a long moment, she continued in a soft voice, "What’s more, their marriage... even my birth... might have all been for that little stone..."
’If the Gu Family had known all along that a woman possessed such a treasure, it would only be natural for them to use any means necessary to take it.’
’And in peaceful times, what better—or more legitimate—way was there to get a treasure from a woman, a treasure they only knew existed but had never seen, than through marriage and affection?’
’I just wonder what role my biological father played in all this?’
’But that didn’t matter anymore.’
Gu Xi lowered her gaze.
Across from her, Li Ming suddenly spoke. "That Yan Xun... he must know something about your parents. Is he the reason you want to go to Gu Garden?"
’Although Yan Xun’s identity was fake, how could he have played the part of Gu Xi’s "uncle" so well if he knew nothing about what happened back then?’
’So Yan Xun had to know something.’
Gu Xi nodded and hummed softly in agreement.
’But that wasn’t really why.’
’She wanted to go to Gu Garden for two reasons. First, to see if those mutated beasts and mutated humans were being kept there. Second, to meet with Dr. Qi and confirm something.’
’But Gu Xi didn’t trust modern communication technology.’
’For example, who knew how many people were listening in on this very video call with Li Ming?’
She and Li Ming were both well aware of this, so the information they were revealing over the call was exactly what they wanted others to hear.
They didn’t say a single word they weren’t supposed to.
’Of course, the information she deliberately revealed served another purpose.’
’Gu Xi suspected that if the problem truly lay within the Gu Family, as she expected, then the information she and Li Ming were revealing on this call would be enough to alert her enemies and even draw them out into the open.’
’It might even lead to some pleasant surprises.’
...
Qi Xiang spent the better part of the day wandering through the planting area and asking around before she finally found Wei Heng.
Wei Heng watched her eyes dart all over the place before settling on a look of disappointment. "Who are you looking for?" he asked, his face expressionless.
’Who am I looking for?’
’Your flock of fawning admirers, of course.’
’Speaking of which, how come that male vixen, Du, isn’t clinging to Wei Heng today?’
Qi Xiang scanned the area, but seeing no sign of him, she couldn’t help but feel it was a bit dull.
Seeing her expression, Wei Heng said irritably, "Are you here to help, or to watch me make a fool of myself?"
"Laugh at you? I’m here on official business," Qi Xiang firmly denied. Admitting it would make her look like she had no sense of camaraderie.
’She, Qi Xiang, was not that kind of person.’
Wei Heng sneered. ’Oh, really? Then you should try wiping that "I’m just here for the show" look off your face before saying something like that.’
Just then, Qi Xiang caught sight of someone rushing toward them in the distance and couldn’t help but frown.
Wei Heng saw him too.
’What’s he doing here?’
They exchanged a glance, neither saying another word as they waited for Tang You to approach.
"Mr. Wei! Miss Qi! I finally found you!" Tang You called out from a distance, panting as he ran.
"What brings Mr. Tang here?" Wei Heng raised an eyebrow, watching the gasping base leader with a faint smile. "I heard you have a banquet to attend at Gu Garden tonight, don’t you?"
Tang You gave a wry smile. "Mr. Wei, please don’t tease me. You know the difficult position I’m in..." ’He wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Liu Family’s ’invitation.’ It was a trap.’
’But when you’re in this world, you can’t always do as you please. Liu Bo had come to invite him personally—how could he refuse?’
’...And while he firmly believed Miss Gu would ultimately win, he still had to show the proper respect until the Liu Family was completely overthrown.’
Perhaps fearing Wei Heng would press the issue, Tang You fanned himself with his hand and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Mr. Wei, I heard Miss Gu went to the medical bay last night... Is something wrong?"
He had rushed over from the base because he’d heard that Gu Xi was injured and that there was a problem with her superpower. The news had left him on pins and needles, unable to sit still. In the end, he decided to come to the farm and find out what was going on for himself.
’After all, he’d already decided to cast his lot with Gu Xi. He couldn’t afford for something to go wrong now.’
But he didn’t dare go see Gu Xi directly, so he planned to start with the people around her to gauge the situation.
"Where’d you hear that?" Qi Xiang asked, her hands in her pockets as she leaned casually against a tall mutant plant. "Gu Xi is perfectly fine."
"But..." Tang You faltered. Under Qi Xiang’s knowing gaze, a jolt of alarm went through him.
He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, using the fanning motion to cover his awkward laugh. "That’s good, that’s good. I knew it. With Miss Gu’s abilities, who could possibly hurt her..."
Qi Xiang raised an eyebrow, cutting him off. "Tell me, Mr. Tang, by running over to the farm right now, aren’t you worried you’ll have some explaining to do at Gu Garden tonight?"
Tang You wasn’t worried at all, actually.
’It didn’t take a genius to figure out that after Huo Changzhou brought back the news, the Liu Family would definitely ask him about Gu Xi’s supposed injury when he went to Gu Garden that night...’
’He’d made the trip himself precisely so he’d be prepared when they asked.’
’—And if, by some chance... by some chance something *had* happened to Gu Xi, the information he’d gathered personally would be enough to make up for his recent cool and dismissive treatment of the Liu Family.’
But he certainly couldn’t say that in front of Qi Xiang and Wei Heng. For a moment, Tang You looked rather sheepish.
"Forget it." Seeing his expression, Qi Xiang decided not to press him further. ’After all, surviving in the apocalypse wasn’t easy for anyone.’
’It was best to be understanding of each other.’
"In that case, I’ll go see Miss Gu?" Tang You proposed tentatively. "As it happens, there are a few things from the base I need to consult her about..."
"Go if you want to," Qi Xiang cut in, a hint of impatience in her voice.
Her casual, almost dismissive attitude only made Tang You more uncertain.
After Tang You left, Qi Xiang watched his retreating figure and tutted, remarking with no small amount of sarcasm, "Our dear Mr. Tang is a model fence-sitter, isn’t he..."
’No wonder he managed to become the base leader.’
Wei Heng frowned and was about to say something when his personal terminal suddenly beeped twice...