Chapter 13: Copied Memory

“Zhique, help put Miss Qi’s hood back on.”

Jiang Zhique picked up the deep black cloth bag called the “Shroud” once more. Qi Ran offered no resistance, cooperating by lowering her head and allowing the black bag to completely isolate her vision. The black cloth, which could even be described as thin, allowed not a single sliver of light to leak through. Qi Ran thought that perhaps, like the Stun Baton, it was a special object with strange effects.

Although the name “Shroud” might evoke associations with the stench of decay or blood, it actually contained no such unpleasant odors. There was only a strange scent of Chinese herbal medicine—slightly bitter to the smell, but not unpleasant.

After getting out of the car, she was soon seated in a new mode of transportation—a wheelchair. After a brief moment of shock, Qi Ran quickly figured out the reason. Sitting in a wheelchair would prevent her from memorizing the number of steps and the direction taken. The middle-aged driver seemed extremely vigilant, convinced from the bottom of his heart that she, Qi Ran, was no ordinary person.

Qi Ran sighed, no longer bothering to argue. After all, Miss Ah Qiao had told her early on that “as long as you can keep your life, you can say anything.”

Sitting in the wheelchair, she truly couldn’t distinguish how they were moving at all. The girl named Jiang Zhique pushed her along. Since she couldn’t see anything anyway, she simply closed her eyes and focused all her attention on her hearing, trying to determine her current location.

She heard a humming sound not far away, like the noise of mechanical equipment in operation, and the muffled thud of heavy objects being unloaded. The sound of steel clashing against steel reached her ears—a sound somewhat familiar. It reminded her a bit of the collision between a crane hook and its cargo, a sound she’d often heard after school at the nearby Construction Site. This assessment, coupled with Jiang Zhique’s earlier mention of “Wen Hongyuan Construction Engineering Technology Consulting Co., Ltd.,” allowed her to quickly form a preliminary conclusion. Obviously, she had been brought to a construction site still in progress.

When the hood was finally removed, Qi Ran found it hard to adjust to the light for a moment, lowering her head to avoid it. That piece of Shroud seemed to do more than just block light. It felt like an insulating cloth, firmly separating everything from the outside world.

But why not just make it into a Shroud Blindfold or a strip of cloth wrapped around the eyes?

Qi Ran suddenly froze. A rather unpleasant thought emerged in her mind… Actually, making it into a cloth bag shape was quite convenient. Because then you could directly chop off the head and put it inside. That seemed much more fitting for the name “Shroud.”

As she slowly adjusted to the light, she didn’t immediately stand up from the wheelchair. Instead, she squinted, sizing up the room she was in. Contrary to her expectations, this was not some dark Basement for interrogation, like in the movies, or an unfinished building commonly seen in gangster films for dealing with undercover cops. It was an office. Before her was a spacious wooden desk, its material clearly quite valuable. On the desk sat a computer with a monitor so wide it seemed almost exaggerated. Behind the genuine leather office chair was a sandalwood bookcase occupying almost the entire wall, sparsely filled with books and award certificates. On the other side of the office was a tea table, upon which rested an exquisite tea set. On the clean white wall behind it hung a piece of calligraphy and painting, inscribed with the four characters “Heaven rewards the diligent.”

Without a doubt, this was a textbook Boss’s office. Through the floor-to-ceiling window at the side, one could clearly overlook the entire construction site below.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked the middle-aged driver, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. “If you just wanted to ask questions, couldn’t you just do it in the car?”

“I don’t have many other virtues, but I do have one good habit. This habit has saved my life quite a few times,” Li Siwen pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his coat. He was just about to light one when he paused, remembering that Qi Ran didn’t smoke, and put it away again. “Since Miss Qi managed to deceive me once, she can deceive me a second time. It’s better to find the answers myself using a more reliable method.”

“For a student like me, making such a big fuss—aren’t you afraid the gossip will invite ridicule from your peers?” Qi Ran truly had no way to deal with the Old Fox before her and could only try to provoke him with words.

“What’s face worth, anyway? Besides, Miss Qi, don’t be so modest. In terms of seniority, Xie Xiulan is your own grandmother. Back when I was freeloading at the Xie Family, she also called me grandson. By such reckoning, you and I are of the same generation. Where’s the loss of face in that?” Li Siwen said, not caring at all.

Qi Ran was speechless. She could only offer a compliment: “You truly are… able to lift it up and put it down.”

Li Siwen walked behind the wheelchair and placed his hand on top of her head. “Let’s not waste time chatting. Relax, don’t be too nervous. It’ll be over in the blink of an eye.”

A cool sensation transmitted from the top of her head. Qi Ran tried her best to suppress the urge to shiver. It was a feeling difficult to describe with words—as if an icy hand had reached into her skull to rummage around. There was no pain, only pure discomfort. Fortunately, as Li Siwen had said, that uncomfortable sensation didn’t last long. Soon, Li Siwen removed the hand from atop her head.

Qi Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief. She truly didn’t want to experience that strange sensation again. She guessed it was probably some kind of lie-detection method and prepared herself for the questioning to follow.

“Zhique, wash it out tonight. For now, take Miss Qi to the Cafeteria. It’s almost mealtime, isn’t it? Ah, right, untie Miss Qi as well. There’s no need for precautions now.”

Li Siwen examined the small glass vial in his hand, then tossed it toward the sofa on the other side of the office. Jiang Zhique, who had her dark Martin boots propped up on the tea table, reached out and steadily caught the vial from the air.

“That’s it?” Qi Ran asked, somewhat bewildered. She carefully searched her memory but didn’t feel like she’d lost anything.

“A minor trick, nothing worth boasting about. I tampered with your memory a bit, making a complete copy of everything related to that car accident,” Li Siwen said flatly. “Don’t let Zhique’s appearance fool you. She’s also half a natural-born member of The Circle. In the old terminology, she’s got a pair of Death-Seer Eyes. So she can wash that copied memory into a video. Achieving that isn’t about hard training—it’s pure Talent.”

“So, is this matter settled then? Can I leave now?” Qi Ran asked.

Li Siwen sighed. “Not quite yet. You’ll have to stay here overnight tonight, no matter what.”

“Is it so that others will know the secret on me is already in your hands?” Qi Ran quickly figured out the reason.

“Not entirely,” Li Siwen admitted candidly. “Think about it. After Zhique washes out the video, if I watch it and still have doubts, wouldn’t I have to travel all that way to trouble you again? Better to clear up all doubts in one go. At least, I think that makes sense.”

Qi Ran didn’t plan to debate this rogue logic with him. She simply leaned forward slightly to make it easier for Jiang Zhique to untie the restraints on her wrists.

After standing up from the wheelchair, she suddenly seemed to think of something and casually asked, “Is the car accident also related to that mountain?”

Li Siwen nodded, his expression appearing somewhat regretful. “That youngest son of the Bai Family, Bai Sangyou—the reason he died was because he set his sights on the Tao Family’s legacy, coveting things he shouldn’t have… No matter how thriving the Bai Family’s development seems on the surface, that’s only prosperity outside of The Circle. Within The Circle, they hardly count as a behemoth.”

“Aren’t you afraid Bai Sangzhu will find out you’re doing all this behind her back?” Qi Ran asked.

“What if she does find out?” Li Siwen laughed a little despite himself, tapping his fingertip on the office desk. “It’s a very simple principle. Bai Sangzhu isn’t indispensable to me. If things really go south, I have plenty of other options to turn to. But as for Bai Sangzhu, if she wants to check and balance her eldest brother right now, then I am a necessity to her. If she really did discover everything I’ve done, she’d just turn a blind eye, wouldn’t she? She’d endure it until she no longer needs me, and only then slowly settle accounts with me.”

“You don’t seem to think very highly of her.”

“Oh? I actually think it’s quite high,” Li Siwen said flatly. “Not being arrogant, knowing how to assess the situation, weighing pros and cons, and having the self-discipline to restrain her emotions, tolerating a subordinate’s betrayal when necessary, but not forgetting it—all of this is a rare and commendable thing for someone born with a silver key in their mouth. She’s doing far better than her elder brother.”