Shen Lingshuang, "What are you thinking about?"
Qiu Tu replied perfunctorily, "Thinking about stuff."
Shen Lingshuang’s eyes wandered, "Then how about we chat for a bit?"
Qiu Tu asked, "Chat about what?"
Shen Lingshuang grinned, revealing two adorable little canines, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Qiu Tu was taken aback for a moment, then gave her a meaningful glance, "That depends on whether you want an opportunity or an answer."
Qiu Tu’s smooth talk nearly fried Shen Lingshuang’s CPU.
Her eyes glazed over, her brain whirring rapidly, and then... she didn’t get it.
She leaned in, cautiously asking, "Then have you had a girlfriend before?"
Images of the dozen or so girlfriends from his past life flashed through Qiu Tu’s mind, and then... he shook his head, "No."
"They were just good friends I used to play with."
"They served as love mentors for a while."
"Later on, our values didn’t align, so we stopped hanging out."
At this point, Qiu Tu raised his eyebrows, "Why? Do you want to be my first love?"
Shen Lingshuang’s eyes glazed over, and her head began to emit the white steam of cognitive overload.
She could understand every sentence spoken by Qiu Tu, but when strung together, she seemed a bit confused.
Love mentor? Good friends to play with?
What in the world was all this!
Thus, she didn’t even answer Qiu Tu’s question, just covered her face and ran back to her room to continue with alchemy.
Watching the girl beat a hasty retreat, Qiu Tu chuckled. He found it truly amusing to tease such an innocent girl.
Then, he crossed his hands behind his head, continuing to wait patiently for the situation at the Qin Family to change....
"Tick-tock... tick-tock..." Along with the swinging of the wall clock, time ticked away by the minute and second.
While Shen Lingshuang was in the middle of alchemy, an urgent ringing of the communicator finally broke the silence in the room.
"Ring ring ring!"
Qiu Tu took the communicator out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then smiled: as expected, his wait had paid off.
With that thought, he answered the call. Before even a greeting could be exchanged, Master Qin Si’s furious tirade burst forth from the other end, "Qiu Tu, you motherf*#%@!"
"You son of a #*%#@!"
"You @&#…!"
Gang bosses tend to have bad tempers, so Qiu Tu didn’t mind and just quietly listened.
After letting Master Qin Si rant for a minute, Qiu Tu spoke up during his gasping interval, "Have you finished, Fourth Master? Would you like to yell for a few more minutes?"
"You could cuss daily, cuss monthly, but can you cuss me to death?"
Hearing Qiu Tu’s words, Master Qin Si’s recently calmed rage flared up again, "I’ll f*#% you @&#!"
But this time, Qiu Tu didn’t indulge his tantrum, and directly hung up the communicator.
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After hanging up, Qiu Tu didn’t put down the communicator, instead, he held it, counting down with a smile, "Three, two, one...."
As the countdown ended, the ringing inevitably resumed.
Qiu Tu answered the call once more and began to speak with a laugh, "Calm down, Fourth Master. I know you’re really angry, but don’t be angry just yet."
"Let’s have a good talk."
"This matter, perhaps it’s not as bad as you think."
Perhaps Qiu Tu hanging up the call finally made Master Qin Si face reality.
Or perhaps the venting for over a minute had finally made him less irritable.
So he fell silent for two seconds and finally stopped cursing Qiu Tu.
He slowly regained the composure of a big shot, then said in a heavy voice, "Qiu Tu, you’ve really played a good hand."
"Taking my money, taking my clues, then turning around and betraying me, your heart is really dark. Aren’t you afraid of going down with me!"
Hearing Master Qin Si’s words, Qiu Tu "haha" laughed twice, then replied, "Fourth Master is joking."
"The clues are ones I picked up off the ground and investigated myself; the money is your bribe to me, asking me not to investigate you; I’m an agent, you’re the head of a faction, we were never the same kind of people, there’s no such thing as betrayal."
"All the details of our contact, I have long reported to the Bureau Chief. So... you can’t threaten me with these."
At this point, Qiu Tu paused, then said mockingly, "Besides, do you dare to make these matters public?"
"You’re already in a tight spot as it is. If the Qin Family finds out that you are the insider who betrayed the family, do you still have a way to live?"
Coming from the other end of the communicator was Master Qin Si’s heavy breathing. He took a few deep breaths, then laughed angrily, "Good, good, good. Worthy of being Agent Qiu, no, Chief Qiu! Your methods are truly exquisite."
After speaking, he roared, "Since you’ve already betrayed me, why did you send me a text message?"
Qiu Tu spoke with gravity, "Fourth Master, you misunderstand."
"Actually... I never betrayed you, nor have I ever forgotten about our deal."
"It’s just... I thought your previous idea was too fanciful. So, I switched to a different plan, that’s all."
He said, "If I’m not mistaken, you’re probably not planning and advancing the entire scheme alone, right?"
"Your accomplice should be Third Master, right?"
Master Qin Si’s breathing on the other end clearly hitched.
Qiu Tu laughed and said, "There’s no need to be surprised. No one betrayed you."
"It’s a simple deduction."
"Commissioner Qin’s health is poor, and he has no sons to carry on the Qin legacy."
"That’s why Old Master Qin, before his death, paved the path for Director Qin Zhengguang and built connections with Bureau Chief Yan."
"This way, the Qin Family would have two fallback options."
"If Commissioner Qin could recuperate, he would continue to lead the Qin Family, with Director Qin Zhengguang supporting him."
"If Commissioner Qin’s health did not improve, they would boost Director Qin Zhengguang to inherit the family business."
"Old Master Qin’s plan was considered from the perspective of the entire Qin Family, but he forgot that people have their own desires."
"You and Third Master are both Old Qin’s sons, why should only the main and second branches be potential successors while you can only play supporting roles, mere branches?!"
"So, you don’t accept this, and you are not content!"
"You want to be the one in control of the Qin Family! So you wanted to pull Director Qin Zhengguang down."
"Luckily, he... also gave you this chance."
At this point, Qiu Tu paused, then analyzed, "Before the old master passed away, he must have warned you not to get involved with the United Front again. But the benefits of that connection with the United Front were just too significant."
"Director Qin Zhengguang could not bear to cut off this connection."
"Thus, you took advantage of the situation, continuing to work with the United Front while secretly gathering evidence."
"You knew, as long as you could bring down Director Qin Zhengguang, the commissioner would inevitably have to choose another successor for the sake of the Qin Family’s future."
"And the only direct relatives of Commissioner Qin are you and Third Master, so no matter who takes over, you both could achieve your goal."
"However, this plan has a critical node, which is that it must be implemented during the early stages of Xinjie City’s establishment."
"In the early days of Xinjie City, the power hierarchy was not stable, and many positions were still vacant. The Qin Family, as an established local force, still had strong influence at this time. Both City Hall and the Investigation Bureau had to give face to the Qin Family. Even if a successor were to be changed, the Qin Family could comfortably make arrangements."
"Once these two years passed, the rule of City Hall and the Investigation Bureau would be solidified, and most positions occupied by different families. Even if you pulled down Director Qin Zhengguang, you would have a hard time securing the corresponding positions, and you might even cause the Qin Family’s decline."
"So, you were always looking for the right opportunity and a scapegoat to bear Commissioner Qin’s wrath."
"And then... I came into your sights."
Having said that, Qiu Tu laughed and asked, "Am I right or wrong, Fourth Master?"
Even in this situation, Master Qin Si on the other end of the communicator did not admit to the conspiracy. He snorted coldly and replied, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I called you simply because of the text you sent me."
At this point, Master Qin Si also appropriately steered the conversation back to the matter at hand, asking, "You said in the message that you can save me?"