Chapter 19: The Resolve to Deceive

Qi Ran did not turn around directly. Instead, she carefully thought through every word and step of the conversation she would need.

Whether or not she ultimately told Li Siwen about Miss Ah Qiao, Li Siwen would learn from Jiang Zhique’s phone recording that she had once conversed with an invisible entity. That meant if she wanted to gain sufficient trust, she had to come up with an explanation convincing enough to justify those few sentences of hers.

“Qi Xin, my biological sister. She is also Qi Jianguo’s child. Since I am the decoy meant to mislead everyone, then she must be the key.”

This sentence wasn’t hard to explain. She had suddenly remembered something so important. In a moment of high emotion, talking to oneself was completely understandable.

“It’s been so many days already. Someone must have gone looking for her by now.”

“I know very little. She has always been very polite and courteous to me.”

These two sentences were the biggest problem. If the first could still be excused as self-doubt, the second was irrefutable proof. Even a fool could understand she was communicating with some unseen ghost.

“What’s there to agonize over?” Miss Ah Qiao said with interest. “Tell him that after the car accident, you were haunted by a ghost. You don’t know who the ghost is, but she claims to be the last Head of the Tao Family… Ah, right, you also need to convey a feeling to him as naturally as possible: that you don’t trust the ghost, but you believe that with him, Li Siwen, around, that ghost can’t do anything to you. This will help you gain his trust—your need for him will become the leverage he perceives over you.”

The last Head of the Tao Family? Qi Ran mouthed, looking astonished.

Seeing Qi Ran’s gaze on her, Miss Ah Qiao rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m not the last family head of the Tao Family, but you can dangle that carrot in front of him. The person is dead anyway, so there’s no one to contradict you. He can’t confirm who the ghost beside you really is. Even if he asks you to probe me, you can just nod and agree, and later tell him that not only did you fail to find anything out, you were also punished for offending the Tao Family.”

“He wouldn’t expect an ordinary high school student like you to actually extract any important information from that Tao Family Head anyway. If you actually told him something, he probably wouldn’t believe it, suspecting you were lying to deceive him. You being punished is actually what he’d prefer to see. It proves your relationship with that ghost isn’t close. He might even play the sympathy card, telling you that he was the one who asked you to probe the ghost, so he bears responsibility for your punishment. Then he’ll give you some compensation… maybe money, maybe some useful Tang Clan artifacts. Anyway, since it’s meant to win your loyalty, the price certainly won’t be cheap.”

“These old foxes love to put on the act of a trustworthy, kind elder. For a young, rootless kid like you who’s just entered The Circle, it’s a simple yet devastating tactic,” Miss Ah Qiao said flatly. “Look at Jiang Zhique. Her past is probably just like that. Even though Li Siwen is now completely using her as a tool, she just can’t bring herself to truly turn against him. Because no matter how much she might not want to admit it, in her subconscious, she still sees Li Siwen as an elder to be obeyed. That initial bit of warmth and sweet bait was a chain, firmly fixing her under Li Siwen’s command.”

“You must have heard that story, right? The elephants in the zoo are all tied with a very thin iron chain, because that’s the chain that bound them when they were young. They’ve grown accustomed to this chain. So this chain, which seems so thin in others’ eyes that it could be broken with a single tug, appears in the eyes of this massive elephant to be sturdier than anything else. Because they’ve gotten used to it,” Ah Qiao said lightly. “Habit is the most unbreakable cage.”

If she’s truly used to it, why would she ask me for help? Qi Ran asked.

Miss Ah Qiao laughed in spite of herself. “Do you really think those two Jiang Family snake tattoos on her body are just for show? If Jiang Zhique truly made up her mind, if she was determined to make a final break, she might pay a terrible price, but Li Siwen would definitely die. Of course, relying only on herself, it’s absolutely impossible for her to possess that kind of resolve. Just like I said, in her eyes, Li Siwen is that unbreakable iron chain.”

“Do you know why I always say young people are naive? Because your thinking hasn’t solidified yet. It’s like modeling clay, too easily changed. Just by adopting a slightly gentler, more sincere attitude, you’ll feel this strange, inexplicable guilt about opposing them if their attitude is so good. You’ll be led around by the nose. And later, when you find out you’ve been deceived, you become particularly emotional, as if the world has collapsed. In fact, in a few more years, you’ll find that deception is actually the most normal thing. Everyone in this world lies. Some lies are malicious, some are well-intentioned, but their essence is still a lie.”

Is this your explanation for what you did before? Qi Ran asked.

“Yes, this is my answer, silly girl. I can tell you right now: as long as that choice is necessary for me, I will lie to you again and send you to your death. Because I have one thing I absolutely must accomplish. For that thing, I can use any means necessary and pay any price. I can violate my original boundaries and my original morals. This is my resolve.” Miss Ah Qiao murmured, as if she had chewed these words over a thousand times, her voice hard as iron.

Qi Ran fell silent. She didn’t say anything more, because perhaps what Miss Ah Qiao said was right.

She shook her head, temporarily putting aside these complicated thoughts.

Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with furrowed brows: Wait, what if this Li Siwen actually knows the Head of the Tao Family?

“Silly girl, the last Head of the Tao Family passed away in ’79. This Mr. Li looks at most forty years old. In ’79, he was still running around in split-crotch pants.” Miss Ah Qiao sighed, her tone softening considerably. “Also, don’t ever seek absolute plausibility in every single step. That will only make you overthink and hesitate constantly. An occasional gamble is worth it. Since he dares to bluff others, why can’t you drag the Tao Family Ancient Mansion into it to bluff him?”

“Besides, even if he really does know the Head of the Tao Family, he wouldn’t suspect you—at most, he’d think the ghost talking to you is the one bluffing. After all, in his view, you’re on his side, not the ghost’s. For people like him, you don’t need to appear useful. You just need to be obedient.”

Miss Ah Qiao stated plainly.

After pondering and thoroughly organizing all her thoughts, Qi Ran turned around and walked towards Jiang Zhique, who was slumped against the tree nearby.

As she expected, Jiang Zhique conveniently opened her eyes, looking “groggy.” Her expression was very weak, her right hand naturally slipping out of her pocket and dropping limply to the ground. Her delicate features made her look as pitifully helpless as a startled fawn in the forest. “What happened? Was it an attack? Are you hurt?”

Her expression was dazed, but the fingers gripping Qi Ran’s arm were unconsciously a little too tight. That was nervousness… Qi Ran knew it was because she wasn’t sure whether the secret on her body had been discovered by her. If Qi Ran had discovered everything that had just happened and brought it up now, then everything for her would be over.

“I don’t know. When I woke up, I was already lying by the roadside.”

So she shook her head and said this. Jiang Zhique would find an excuse before her anyway.

“Maybe it’s because there was more than one attacker. They’d rather get nothing themselves than let a rival faction get it,” Jiang Zhique whispered, sighing with genuine feeling. “We’re really lucky.”

“Do you have any way to contact Li Siwen?” Qi Ran sighed. “I have something very important to tell him.”

“Something very important?” Jiang Zhique paused, as if she had just figured it out. “Is it about the Tao Family Ancient Mansion?”

Qi Ran nodded. “Yes, I might know what Qi Jianguo’s design really was.”

Jiang Zhique thought for a moment. “It’s too late now. I’ll take you to his office tomorrow. Let’s head back to the house first.”

Qi Ran nodded. She wasn’t in a hurry. The important thing was to convey this attitude to the phone that was still recording.

The fact that her own secret hadn’t been discovered allowed Jiang Zhique to breathe a slight sigh of relief. Only then did exhaustion finally sweep over her entire body. She tried to stand up from the ground but couldn’t muster the strength for a moment.

“Do you want me to carry you on my back?” Qi Ran asked.

“Sorry for the trouble.” Jiang Zhique hesitated for a second, then said softly.

After Qi Ran lifted her onto her back, she was somewhat surprised by the weight. She could clearly feel that thin, bony body pressed tightly against her back. Her breathing was very light and fell warmly on the back of her neck.

The night was already very deep. The streets were empty. The brightly lit construction site still had a few lonely sounds. The dim yellow streetlights scattered on the ground, the dappled spots of light clearly countable.

“I’m very sorry for threatening you like that back then.” She suddenly heard Jiang Zhique speaking by her ear, her voice very soft.

Qi Ran nodded but didn’t speak.

Because she knew that inside Jiang Zhique’s pocket, the phone was still recording.