Chapter 44

Lu Ningshuang’s heart, which she had been holding up, slowly, slowly settled back down.

Very secure.

Phew~

It turned out to be a false alarm… right?

Immediately after.

The way she looked at Qi Jingming across from her became a bit off.

She never expected it—never expected it!

She had always thought that this cousin of hers was actually more like her rational aunt, though Qi Facai’s speech wasn’t as amusing as her aunt’s. But who knew he hid it so well!

In truth, he had a lovestruck brain just like his uncle-in-law!

Even at a time like this, he could still crack a weird joke… Had her aunt’s genes come back?

At that moment, the siblings stared at each other, increasingly convinced that the one opposite them was a bona fide “lovestruck fool.”

No helping it—who could forget the precedent set by Qi Jingming’s dad, Qi Nanqing, from the Old Lu Family?

Oh, though he had married in.

Lu Ningshuang hadn’t spoken, so Qi Jingming assumed her earlier sound meant she doubted the Gu Worm’s effectiveness.

“I truly don’t know if it works,” Qi Jingming paused before continuing, “but better to prepare multiple options. I’ve also sent people to Southeast Asia to find a skilled Head-Lowering Master. If you can get the target’s birth details…”

“You can try them all. Who knows, one might work.”

Lu Ningshuang: “…”

Lu Ningshuang’s expression toward Qi Jingming grew even more complicated.

Just why was he so proficient at this?! No more pretending—you’ve definitely inherited your uncle-in-law’s lovestruck brain!!

Though she knew Qi Facai wore one face at home and another in public, she never imagined—

That he had the potential to become an outlaw maniac!

Speaking of which, did using Curse Techniques count as illegal? At the very least, promoting feudal superstitions was unavoidable!

Lu Ningshuang said gloomily, “Brother Facai, aside from being a site foreman, your side hustles are developing nicely too, huh?”

Instantly, Qi Jingming felt his scalp tighten.

You see, whether it was Lu Ningshuang or Lu Chengyue, they rarely called him “bro” normally.

The former meant she wanted him to clean up a mess; the latter… simpler, she wanted money.

It was already a conditioned reflex. Thinking that his little sister had seen it yesterday anyway, he might as well own up.

His two grandpas had never been too particular about such matters anyway—the Lu Family juniors all knew that as long as the biggest secret stayed hidden, it was fine.

Thus, Qi Jingming: “Mm, this month’s allowance for you and Xiaoyue, I’ll…”

Give a bit more.

Better to spend money to avert disaster—just stuff a little extra to subsidize his sisters. He was worrying about how to justify it anyway.

After all, a “foreman” earned far too little!

However.

The Lu Ningshuang who was now a wealthy family’s live-in partner suddenly toughened up. “We’ll talk about that later.”

She said, “Since Qi Grandpa and Bai Grandpa entrusted such important family assets to you, you can’t let them down!”

Qi Jingming: ……….Huh?

Lu Ningshuang spoke earnestly, “Brother Facai, you’re about to inherit the family fortune. Let your younger siblings bask in the glory and mooch off you a bit, but you have to obey the law.”

Lu Ningshuang advised.

“Our own businesses are pretty good—we don’t have to chase that iron rice bowl.”

Qi Jingming: “What?”

Lu Ningshuang raised her voice: “Fugui and I don’t want to have to bring you prison meals someday!!!”

Qi Jingming: “………”

After a moment.

Qi Jingming: “Rest assured, it won’t come to that.”

Lu Ningshuang: “How can you expect me to rest assured?!”

Qi Grandpa was still somewhat normal, just running hotel businesses. But Bai Grandpa… he hadn’t pivoted his industries until after her uncle-in-law was born—aka, whitewashing.

No wonder he was so proficient; turns out he had a criminal record!

No wonder Qi Facai looked so refined and gentle. If he didn’t strike, he didn’t strike—but once he did—oh ho! This guy actually had villain potential!!!

Qi Jingming didn’t want to dwell on this with Lu Ningshuang. After all, in his little sister’s eyes, he was going from poor foreman to prison rice-eater.

Wasn’t that another kind of iron rice bowl in a sense?

At this point, Qi Jingming also caught on. While asking, he smoothly changed the subject. “The thing you came to me for that day—wasn’t this, right?”

With his lead, Lu Ningshuang quickly returned to the main topic.

“No.”

Lu Ningshuang said seriously, “I wanted to ask if you know anyone proficient in basic vital signs responses and voice frequency capture, plus especially skilled in IT—ideally a programming and hacking expert.”

Qi Jingming: ???

His little cousin was looking for an octopus here?

“Wait.”

Qi Jingming’s mind buzzed a bit. “Have you run into something lately?”

Lu Ningshuang had just taken a bite of food and paused for a long time before saying, “Yes.”

Seeing her not even lift her head or glance at him, Qi Jingming asked, “Can’t say?”

Lu Ningshuang: “Mm.”

Qi Jingming had always been perceptive, and that perceptiveness multiplied exponentially when it came to “family.”

She wanted his help but didn’t want to drag him into danger—and moreover—

Anything she asked for, Qi Jingming would definitely agree to, regardless of backstory or how outlandish it sounded.

As expected.

After a brief silence, Qi Jingming let out a very faint sigh. “I’ll help you find the person you need.”

Lu Ningshuang’s head snapped up. “Thanks, Brother Facai!”

“Don’t celebrate too soon.”

Qi Jingming continued, “It’s impossible for one person to master all that. I can only pull experts from various fields and industries, assemble them, and have them fulfill your requirements.”

Lu Ningshuang nodded to show she understood.

She wasn’t being unreasonable; to deal with that thing, caution was paramount.

Qi Jingming tapped the table with his fingertips and added, “Even if you won’t tell me exactly what you’ve encountered, the product still needs to be targeted, right?”

“Give me the basic specs.”

Though Lu Ningshuang didn’t want him to know or get involved, he could probably glean useful info from these clues anyway.

The naive college girl Lu Ningshuang was no match for her cousin, the “foreman” who’d mixed in society for years. Sure enough, she got pried open.

“You need a tool that captures voices from brainwaves and locks onto the target’s position? Unheard of… but I should be able to find experts in that area… and also need…”

Lu Ningshuang spilled everything like a sieve.

After laying out the requirements clearly, Qi Jingming’s eyes, hidden behind his glasses, deepened as he looked at his sister.

They even held a trace of worry.

Just what kind of freak—or something not even human—was Little Shuang dealing with?

But since she didn’t want him probing, he respected her wishes and pretended he hadn’t noticed anything.

—What he figured out himself didn’t count.

After finishing the custom specs, Qi Jingming said, “Since they’re useless, I’ll cancel those things for you.”

Lu Ningshuang’s mind hadn’t caught up yet. “What?”

Qi·Outlaw Maniac·Big Villain·Jingming said lightly, “The stuff to make your newlywed wife utterly devoted to you.”

Lu Ningshuang: “Wait—”

Qi Jingming: ???

Lu Ningshuang leaned in, her voice hushed but her eyes sparkling as she asked, “So, does it really work?”

“……”

With that look, it was hard not to think she was up to no good.

“Not sure,” Qi Jingming answered honestly.

“I see…”

Lu Ningshuang’s expression showed a hint of regret, so Qi Jingming added, “But I hear Head-Lowering Techniques from Southeast Asia are quite powerful. There are past success stories.”

Lu Ningshuang’s eyes lit up.

Under Qi Jingming’s gaze, they darted left, then right, before she cheerfully said, “Then keep it.”

Qi Jingming: “……”

“Keep all the other setups you mentioned too.” Lu Ningshuang sealed the deal. “Try more options—can’t lose out anyway.”

“You’ve already found them; don’t waste it.”

Now it was Qi Jingming’s turn to look at Lu Ningshuang with a complicated expression. He even removed his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses.

He wasn’t actually nearsighted; on the contrary, his vision was excellent—both eyes over 5.0. It was just that his gaze could be too sharp sometimes, not suiting his facade of mildness.

Without the lenses blocking now, the sister across from him was still chirping happily like a little sparrow.

Qi Jingming put his glasses back on.

Heh.

So after all that circling, they were back to square one.

He knew it—

Little Shuang was still a lovestruck fool! Just like his dad—utterly hopeless!!!