Chapter 24: A Dangerous Probe

After returning to the living room, Wen Du pretended as if nothing had happened and naturally joined the conversation, quickly catching up with the flow.

Sha Jiali was indeed interested in the project, but he had not been fully swayed. He wavered between firm refusal and uncertainty, and Ji Tingxi seized on that attitude to prolong the discussion, searching for an opening to breach his defenses.

Conveniently, Wen Du also wanted to press the conversation further. However, what she sought was not his stance on the project, but details about the two girls—information she needed to pry from Sha Jiali’s lips.

“If I remember correctly, today is Galette Festival, the day friends get together for a few drinks. I wonder if Professor Sha is in the mood?”

Ji Tingxi’s eyelids lifted slightly as she shot Wen Du a glance. What a bold move—inviting the host to drink in his own home.

“Of course I’m in the mood. If you ladies don’t mind, why don’t we have dinner together? We can eat and chat.”

And so the conversation shifted from the coffee table to the dining table. Even in the Sha family’s simple setup, the table featured glass bottles and white roses, paired with golden galette pancakes topped with a ring of blueberries and banana slices. It was an irresistible sight.

Within ten minutes, the food was laid out by the housemaid Luo Zi. Wen Du confirmed two things: first, the ingredients for celebration had already been prepared in the Sha household, but they had not been served earlier, likely because Sha Jiali had wanted them to leave soon. Second, there were three hired workers in the home, and all of them were girls.

With food on the table to match the guests’ enthusiasm, Luo Zi brought out wine. She filled the glasses and set aside an extra bottle for the three at the table to enjoy freely.

“Professor Sha, your hired help is so efficient—quick and thorough in everything they do.”

“Not really,” Sha Jiali replied, his face lighting up at the mention of the three girls. He had more to say about them than about his research. “They were clumsy at first, hopeless with even the basics. But after some training, they’ve become quite handy.”

Wen Du speared a thick slice of pancake on her fork and dangled it without eating, half-teasing and half-serious. “It sounds like you’re quite good at training people. I’m always struggling to find reliable housemaids myself. If possible, I’d love to snap up yours ready-made.”

“Hahaha! I knew it—you showing up out of the blue today meant you were up to no good! You’ve got your eye on my help, haven’t you?”

Sugar-glazed apple released its sweet aroma in Wen Du’s mouth, leaving a lingering flavor on her tongue. “Exactly. It’s your fault for training them so well—they’ve caught everyone’s attention.”

“Hahaha.” Cream smeared across Sha Jiali’s nose, his mustache splitting into a grin like a preschooler thrilled with a birthday toy. “In Teacher Wen’s eyes, everything I do is excellent. Next time there’s a chance, I must have you over for a meal I cook myself. I could use a wave of your praise to salvage my culinary pride.”

“Sounds great. I’m quite confident in your skills!”

Wen Du lowered her head and continued slicing with knife and fork. She barely ate anything, but she reduced the food to neat, precise pieces—like a crime scene dissection of the galette pancakes.

This old man had deftly changed the subject. Clearly, he had no intention of parting with a single worker. They truly were indispensable to him.

Wen Du chewed slowly, her mind reworking the plan: if she wanted to help these three girls, she would need another approach.

Beside her, Ji Tingxi took a real liking to the apple galette. She devoured half of one in a single go and finished a glass of wine.

“We’re confident in Professor Sha’s culinary skills. But do you have confidence in the prospects of interdisciplinary research between electronic engineering and neuroscience?”

Sha Jiali was not much of a drinker. The wine’s fourteen percent alcohol was already showing on his face in a diffuse red flush, with capillaries visible beneath his skin. Under its influence, his voice wavered.

“I would have been confident before. But these past few years, experts in many fields have vanished. Even Prime City University’s program nearly got axed. My confidence in this line of research? It’s on the brink too.”

Those missing experts had not lacked ability or ethics. They were Sern people—deemed an inferior race by the “gene reports,” unworthy of noble education work. They had vanished from academia, relegated to manual labor where they continued to shine.

This was not limited to neuroscience. Similar purges had struck many fields.

The Sern people loved learning with a passion that spanned disciplines. They devoured any theoretical subject, so universities and institutes soon teemed with Sern scholars, claiming half the academic world. The great purge three years ago—withdrawn positions, banned publications, sealed data—had dealt a heavy blow to numerous fields. Bailunting had scrambled to repair the damage, but prosperity had yet to return.

Wen Du thought Sha Jiali’s conscience had stirred, pained by the fate of Sern scholars. But his tone sharpened like a right angle, and his next words shattered that illusion. “Still, academia demands upright people. Those with inferior traits in their genes, reflected in their brains, expose it in their work. In the end, they harm the field for generations.”

Wen Du’s teeth clamped down, grinding into her spoon. For an instant, she imagined her incisors could shatter stainless steel or embed themselves in it.

By Sha Jiali’s auspicious words, she herself was unfit to remain at the Language Academy. Continuing to teach would only taint the Homer language with inferior traits.

Sha Jiali rambled on while Wen Du stayed silent. But Ji Tingxi drained her wine glass, emboldened by the tart sweetness, and blurted out, “A brain is just a bundle of connective tissue and nerves from birth. Even dissected, it’s hard to judge quality. And you talk of upright or inferior?”

Sha Jiali’s words barely fazed Wen Du—they were predictable. As a Homer elite, how could he respect a Sern brain? But Ji Tingxi’s retort shook her to the core, a tremor from deep in her chest that rattled her nerves.

Did that mean she opposed the class system, advocating equality for all?

No—a commander in the Special Action Department, who had climbed over Sern skulls—how could she utter such an outrageous statement?

Wen Du could not help but glance sideways, studying Ji Tingxi to see if she was drunk. Instead, she found clear eyes, bright with highlights reflecting the wine’s rich hue in the bottle. Soon, Ji Tingxi gripped her glass by the stem, thumb and forefinger extended as if toying with it. “That said, something so hard to distinguish—the Chief recognized our true value anyway. What foresight! Here’s to the great Bailunting!”

Sha Jiali hurriedly raised his glass, adding to the toast. “Good! Here’s to the great Wei Investigation Institute!”

With the mood set, Wen Du smiled faintly and joined in. “Here’s to the great Professor Sha!”

…

What had begun as an academic visit devolved into a full drinking party. When Ji Tingxi and Wen Du finally stepped out, both full and satisfied, they climbed into the car to wait for Ruo Xing to drive them home.

The two sat in the vehicle as night fully darkened. Streetlights filtered through the windows in a frosted haze. Dressed in spring clothes of thin wool, they carried the galette’s buttery scent mingled with the wine’s dry bite. Though not pressed close, each breath drew in the other’s presence—intensely so.

The car was warm. Ji Tingxi tugged at her collar and pulled out her tote bag to check. She confirmed that all the documents had been handed to Sha Jiali.

“We chatted happily over dinner, but Professor Sha’s stance remains ambiguous. He keeps mentioning his frail health and advancing age, saying he can’t handle multiple commitments. He’s rejecting us, overtly and subtly.”

Sitting in the car at night made it easy to zone out, but with Ji Tingxi beside her, Wen Du dared not relax. She processed the information cautiously, her gaze fixed on the dashboard screen ahead.

“Not necessarily. He took the documents and even fed us dinner. That’s not as firm a no as before.”

“A firm refusal or a hesitant one—it’s still a refusal. Dean He is set on recruiting him. We’ll probably need a few more visits.”

The assessment was not optimistic, but Ji Tingxi showed no discouragement. Her tone was relaxed, her back softly against the seat, radiating ease. She even turned to look at Wen Du.

The diffused light softened the sharpness of her features, making her smile gentle. She had worn lip gloss that day, but dinner had mostly worn it off, revealing her natural color—a pale grapefruit pink that suited the curve of her smile.

Wen Du took in that smiling face, her heart stirring. Suddenly, it connected to the casual remark at the table.

“A brain is just a bundle of connective tissue and nerves from birth. Even dissected, it’s hard to judge quality. And you talk of upright or inferior?”

Whether from the night’s softness or the wine’s haze, Wen Du’s instincts overrode reason. She boldly peered into those eyes, trying to sense the truth within.

In the blur, a feeling arose: this person was not dangerous after all. Her heart matched her smile—sincere, free of hidden blades, blooming with flowers.

The air carried wine’s sharp fragrance. Wen Du could not help imagining: if she revealed she was Sern, Ji Tingxi might not draw a gun to her temple or throttle her throat. She would simply smile as she did now and say, “I see. You must love salads with raw greens, then?”

That vision added a hazy, fragile filter to Ji Tingxi in Wen Du’s eyes, quietly stirring her fondness. But the next instant, Ji Tingxi’s words shattered it.

“By the way, I remembered something. I’d like Miss Wen’s thoughts on it.”

“Go ahead.”

“Someone reported that at the Swan Palace Hotel, the Kangman representative Keqi seemed to know who the Wei Investigation Institute operatives were. He avoided them when traveling or speaking. Do you think he got advance intel?”

Of course he had—Wen Du had compiled the list and passed it via thumb drive precisely to protect against Wei Investigation Institute plants. At critical moments, it could save his life. And his interpreter Dai Enrui was the watcher; Wen Du had warned him to be especially wary.

“Are you saying Keqi remains a suspect?” Wen Du countered without answering.

“Definitely. But what concerns me more is, if he had advance intel—who leaked it to him?”

The only ones who could know the exact insertion list were the hotel manager, the North County Station head, and mid-to-high levels in the Wei Investigation Institute.

Specifically: He De, Ji Tingxi, and Wen Du.

Wen Du brightened her gaze, sharpening the edges, heightening the contrasts. Now Ji Tingxi’s face lost its hazy gentleness, stark and clear. To have thought her harmless moments ago—what a fool!

“Yes, now that Miss Ji mentions it, that does seem odd. We should investigate thoroughly!”