Chapter 73: I’m Really Starting to Like Her More and More

This dinner was nothing more than an ordinary meal, yet it bore the weight of far too many secrets. Even the steam rising from the pot seemed like a smokescreen, casting a veil of truth and falsehood over their words, lest any outsider overhear and pry.

Ji Tingxi appeared deeply interested in Wen Du’s remarks, like a schoolchild listening raptly to a storyteller, eager to hear what outlandish tale the teacher would spin next.

“Miss Ji,” Wen Du said, “you’re intrigued by my linguistic treatise, but I’m equally curious about your past exploits. I’ve had the privilege of learning about your history. At the Ganteming Guard Adjustment Institute, you dedicated yourself to tracking and disrupting the Libo Faction. Over two years, you thwarted several of their operations and destroyed their sites. Strangely enough, though, the number of Libo Faction members you successfully arrested was quite limited. And those few you did capture? Under your interrogation, they either took their own lives or turned traitor, going back to the Libo Faction as undercover agents.”

As the host, Ji Tingxi kept her hands busy, transferring the vegetables from the pot into an empty plate for easier serving.

“Are you saying my interrogation skills are exceptional? Skilled enough to drive some to suicide and others to defection?”

“What I’m saying is that you and the Libo Faction worked in perfect harmony. You targeted their sites but not their people—or when you did catch someone, it was always those with divided loyalties or some exploitable use. On one hand, it built your record, propelling you upward in the Guard Institute. On the other, it allowed the Libo Faction to withdraw in an orderly fashion, minimizing casualties.”

“It’s my good fortune that Miss Wen went to such lengths to study me. Right or wrong, I appreciate the sentiment.”

Ji Tingxi lifted her gaze from the pot, unhurried, clearly unconvinced by the speculation.

Now Wen Du had shifted from defense to offense, taking the role of accuser—but the advantage in their exchange still lay firmly with Ji Tingxi. Wen Du tightened her fingers around her chopsticks. She needed to keep pressing, to seize the initiative. This was her one chance today to turn the tables.

“Having covered your past achievements, let’s discuss your performance since taking office in North County. The most recent incident was the Swan Palace Incident, wasn’t it? I’ve always wondered which side leaked the information after the Kangman Delegation departed. It couldn’t have been Rui’er Terrace or Kangman Country—they were the ones pushing for the trade deal.

“Of course, it was unlikely the Sern Organization either; open borders would benefit them. That leaves the Libo Faction or Gailie Country as the prime suspects—both powers dead-set against the Baikang alliance and eager to sabotage it. So I suspect there was a Libo Faction or Gailie Country mole in that basement at the time.”

Ji Tingxi replied, “You make a compelling point.”

Wen Du ignored the perfunctory agreement and pressed on. “Then came the assassination attempt in Merle. Zi Wan confessed that the Libo Faction had hired the killer. After Mr. He returned from Meisi, he grew suspicious of them. Yet you insisted on proving the Sern Organization’s involvement—even going so far as to pull the Zi Qin sisters out of the Labor Training Camp, an unprecedented exception.

“I’ve looked into your background. You have no powerful backers above to speak for you. For such a breach to occur, you must have staked your career on it, guaranteeing you’d expose the Sern Organization and claim a major victory. In the end, you even persuaded He De to back your application.

“As a commander in the Special Action Department, your persistence and sense of duty are understandable. But when the investigation into the Sern Organization began threatening your career, your dogged pursuit became… intriguing. Why, after the assassination, were you more convinced than ever of their existence? Why risk everything to root them out?

“One possibility is that you’re with the Libo Faction. You know full well they didn’t hire the killer—it was the Sern people framing them. So upon returning from Meisi to the Wei Investigation Institute, you focused intently on ferreting out moles: first, to protect yourself; second, to deflect suspicion and shield the Libo Faction’s presence in North County.”

Ji Tingxi set down her chopsticks, her brows arching slightly. “It seems you’re admitting you’re with the Sern Organization. Otherwise, how would you know Zi Wan’s confession details? How could you harbor such suspicions about me?”

“Dean He told me Zi Wan’s confession. Can’t he talk to you and still speak to me?”

Seeing Ji Tingxi counterattacking, Wen Du swiftly picked up her previous thread, refusing to let the topic shift.

“The events that followed—the institute-wide lockdown, assigning Xia Lie to handle the flowers—those were all your ideas, weren’t they? Such reckless moves were just to divert attention, to focus He De’s gaze on the Sern Organization and reaffirm your value.”

“His gaze needs no diverting, nor does my value require affirmation.” Ji Tingxi had been about to reach for some meat, but noticing Wen Du’s chopsticks had barely moved, she turned down the heat instead, trying to stay in sync with her guest’s pace. She didn’t want to finish everything first and leave the honored visitor with nothing but broth.

“No, he does need it,” Wen Du said firmly. “After returning from Meisi, the Libo Faction became the main course on He De’s agenda. He even assigned Bai Zhuo to investigate them specifically. On the eve of the lockdown, Bai Zhuo had already zeroed in on the Red Show Theater and was about to verify his suspect list. But in the blink of an eye, you recalled him urgently, confining him to the Guard Institute. By the time he got out again, the Red Show Theater was deserted—no shadows left, letting the suspects slip away unscathed. The true purpose of the lockdown was to buy the Libo Faction members time to evacuate.”

“Miss Wen, you seem remarkably well-informed. You even know there were illicit activities at the Red Show Theater—something Mr. Bai hasn’t confirmed yet!”

“If I’m not mistaken, the Red Show Theater was a Libo Faction relay point. You’ve frequented it often, passing messages. And this place?” Wen Du glanced around the room. “You’re bold enough to discuss such sensitive topics right here openly, so this must be one of your sites too, right?”

When Ji Tingxi didn’t reply immediately, Wen Du seized the moment and laid it all out.

“Then there’s this latest incident with the foreign tourists. It wasn’t your responsibility, but you used Miss Du’s case as a pretext to muscle in, delaying Kuper’s release and sparking widespread public outrage that tarnished the Guard Institute’s reputation. Truth be told, you couldn’t care less about the institute’s image. All you wanted was to monitor Snake Mouth Bay up close, gaining insider intel. As for the massive protests now raging—”

Wen Du nodded toward the chaos in front of the North County Platform Building. “That’s exactly what you wanted to see, isn’t it?”

Ji Tingxi smiled and shook her head in mock helplessness. “There’s some logic to what you’ve said. If you presented this theory to Mr. He, he’d surely appreciate your line of thinking. The problem is, it’s all conjecture—no hard evidence.”

She reached for the menu Wen Du had set aside, holding it up. “At the very least, you should produce something tangible, like I did. That’s the basic sincerity required for an accusation.”

“What I’ve told you is my greatest sincerity.”

“Mr. He and Lady Ye wouldn’t see it that way.”

“I don’t need their approval—I need yours.” Wen Du didn’t smile, but her eyes shone brightly, her sincerity plain to see. “Just like you: you haven’t reported the evidence to Mr. He. Instead, you invited me to dinner and told me first.”

Ji Tingxi offered no response, her expression noncommittal.

In that silent pause, Wen Du sensed the momentum, previously tilted against her, beginning to balance out and shift her way.

At this delicate tipping point, she took a deep breath and mustered her courage.

“Miss Ji, let’s make peace. If we keep fighting, we’ll only wear each other down, leaving our common enemies the real winners.”

Ji Tingxi met her gaze, her eyes inscrutable, revealing nothing. “Aren’t we the enemies here?”

Wen Du shook her head, softening her look.

She had worn her disguise for so long that true honesty in her eyes was hard to convey, but she stripped away the pretense, speaking plainly.

“You’ve never truly seen the Sern people as enemies. I still remember what you said at Professor Sha’s home—that nonsense about how ‘an organ is just a bundle of connective tissue and nerves; even dissected, you can’t tell its quality, so how can you distinguish the upright from the inferior?’ That must be your real belief. Like the other Libo Faction members, you reject Gene Theory, championing freedom and equality. If it weren’t for the extremists in the Rui’er Faction stirring things up, you’d never target the Sern people.”

“It’s not as noble as you make it sound. When they carved up Sern assets back then, the Libo Faction took their share. And when it was time to flee, they left without a backward glance, abandoning you to your fate.”

Wen Du sighed softly. “Miss Ji, I admit it: we struck first, drawing the Guard Institute’s attention to you to use you as a shield. It cost you dearly, and the threats persist even now.

“But we don’t see you as enemies. Like you, we’re surviving in the cracks, fighting for a chance to breathe. Our situations are both precarious—you must feel it too. Relying on this mutual sabotage isn’t sustainable. Sooner or later, it’ll end in mutual destruction, achieving nothing for either side.”

“Miss Wen, I do admire you, but let me remind you: I hold concrete evidence now. I could make you vanish in an instant. No more need for action on my part, no more scraping by in the shadows. In this position, coming to me for reconciliation… isn’t that a bit…”

Ji Tingxi flipped her hand in the air, her gesture speaking volumes. Wen Du understood: too presumptuous.

But at this point, Wen Du grew even more excited. She had guessed what Ji Tingxi truly wanted.

“You’re right—you hold all the cards. You could eliminate me. But if you let me stay in the Guard Institute, I can offer far greater value. Mr. He promoted Bai Zhuo, effectively curtailing your authority and signaling his doubts about you. What if I helped you reclaim that power? And besides…”

Wen Du glanced toward the North County Platform Building across the way. The chaos in the square had finally subsided, leaving only the silent flagpole standing sentinel, as if the uproar had ended for good, granting one side eternal peace.

“Aren’t you delighted by the chaos within the Rui’er Faction? I can stir up even more turmoil in the Wei Investigation Institute—or even Rui’er Terrace itself!”

After saying this, Wen Du added humbly, “Of course, it’d help me too. Our interests align—helping you helps me.”

…

After sunset, the pot’s bubbling continued as the flame roared higher, cooking the meat rolls and meatballs. Though Wen Du had already eaten dinner earlier, she outdid herself this time, polishing off the entire serving rack and doing the host proud.

When it was time to leave, she was so stuffed that she politely declined the offer of a car, opting to walk a bit to settle her stomach.

Ji Tingxi sat by the window, chin propped on her hand against the sill, breathing in the cool evening breeze. Her phone buzzed softly.

“Hello, Miss Ji. How was dinner?”

“Quite good. The outcome matched expectations, just in a slightly different form.”

Ruo Xing paused briefly before asking, “Good. Did Miss Wen enjoy the meal?”

With the streetlights below, Ji Tingxi spotted Wen Du’s figure. It looked smaller than the poised woman she saw daily at the institute, yet it was haloed in light—blurry, but somehow clearer than before.

“She took to it well. I’ve discovered our tastes align perfectly. I’m really starting to like her more and more.”