“I really don’t know,” Fang Qi sighed. “She certainly has plenty of reasons to hesitate. For example, the people around her—Li Siwen, and that girl from the Jiang Family. They might fill her head with ideas, like how Executors are just dogs, that nothing good comes from the Execution Division, that sort of thing. Or perhaps, contrary to what we thought, Qi Ran actually doesn’t want to be around her sister… because as twins, it’s inevitable that people will compare her to Qi Xin. That kind of pressure could make her uncomfortable. There are always plenty of reasons. Teenagers are sensitive.”
Feeling the gazes of Tong Xiang and Sang Liao sitting to her right, Zhou Liao covered her face, her voice filled with shame. “I really get that what I said earlier was wrong. Stop roasting me, please.”
Sang Liao nodded, but he still looked a bit worried. “But the problem is, no matter how you look at it, shouldn’t life and safety be more important than those little emotional hangups?”
“Give her a choice, let her think,” Fang Qi said. “Li Yuan was right. For kids this age, you have to give them choices, make them feel like they’re in control of their own lives, like they’re adults. Guiding her to make a choice is far better than making it for her directly. Besides, Qi Xin’s sister truly does have a precocious and assertive personality. When she’s with that girl from the Jiang Family, she’s firmly in control of the conversation. That Jiang girl has unconsciously fallen completely into following Qi Ran’s decisions. This is a good thing. It means she’s not someone who’s easily influenced by others.”
As he was talking, his cell phone screen suddenly lit up. He picked up the phone, unlocked the screen, and after reading the message, continued, “Speak of the devil. Qi Xin already got a call over there. She said she’ll be there on time next Saturday and wants us to prepare in advance—she’ll be bringing some friends.”
“Friends? That girl from the Jiang Family?” Sang Liao was slightly stunned. “Is this a polite refusal?”
“Neither refusing nor agreeing. Putting it aside for now, eating from both bowls,” Tong Xiang sighed. “It’s the correct approach. If I’m not mistaken, the friends she’s bringing should all be Insiders. A way of currying favor with both sides, maybe? Pretty clever.”
“Currying favor with both sides?” Zhou Liao didn’t quite understand and humbly asked for clarification.
“She means that Qi Ran is playing both sides. Aren’t we Executors always worried about how things will affect our relationship with the Circle? So, she’ll bring some Insider friends along. That way, to an outside observer, it won’t look like we Executors are the ones holding the dominant position. And the people she brings will be Insider youths, like Li Siwen, who are pro-Executor,” Fang Qi explained, helping Tong Xiang elaborate. “And from the perspective of those young Insiders, they’ll also owe Qi Ran a favor, because they might just need an opportunity like this to make a connection with the Executors… The birthday of Qi Xin and Qi Ran, this pair of twins, could become a chance for the ice between us to break.”
“Remember the 1971 ‘Ping Pong Diplomacy’? It’s the same concept. This way, Qi Ran will represent the younger generation of the Circle, and Qi Xin will represent the younger generation among the Executors… just like what the Circle has been imagining all along. And their familial bond also hints at the same for the Circle and the Executors—we’re all patients, we share the same roots and origin. There’s no need for such hostile, head-on conflict,” Tong Xiang added. When discussing work-related matters, her speaking pace sped up noticeably, and the number of words she used became much more profuse and detailed. “A little ball moves the big ball. A small family moves the big family. The goal is the same.”
She thought for a moment, then added, “This matter needs to be written up in a report. Brother Fang Qi, report this up the chain. This needs to be taken seriously. If this goes badly, the fallout will be worse than we imagine. But if it’s handled well, Pingjiang, Zhongnan, even other regions—maybe they can all really catch a big breath of relief. We might not have to worry about any major conflicts for a short while.”
“Tong Xiang is right,” Fang Qi nodded. “I’ll draft the report and submit it when I get back. You guys need to prepare too. Notify Team One about this. So, don’t even think about some half-assed fast-food place or pulling any pranks. This matter needs to be handled with the utmost seriousness.”
“Wait, hold on? She only said one sentence, and you guys extrapolated all of that? Aren’t you reading too much into this?” Zhou Liao said hesitantly. “Would a seventeen-year-old girl really think about something this complicated? It’s just a birthday.”
Fang Qi sighed. “Even if she didn’t think of it that way, we can still act on it. It’s not like Qi Ran would ever bring young Insiders who are hostile to us Executors, would she?”
“And besides,” Tong Xiang said quietly, “she hinted at it pretty clearly, asking us to prepare in advance.”
The matter-of-fact certainty between the two of them left Zhou Liao somewhat dumbfounded. She began to wonder if she was just too dense. The speed at which things were changing left her a bit dazed. She glanced left and right. Seeing that Sang Liao looked equally bewildered, she finally felt relieved. Reaching past Tong Xiang, she patted Sang Liao on the shoulder, her tone full of gratification. “Your existence is truly reassuring.”
“No, no, we are not the same,” Sang Liao snapped out of it, politely slapping her hand away. “I understood it from the very beginning. I will take this matter very seriously. Unlike you.”
“Bullshit,” Zhou Liao was angered into laughter. “Your eyes just now showed you understood absolutely nothing. Couldn’t be purer.”
“Miss Zhou, I’d ask you not to make slanderous accusations,” Sang Liao waved his hand in denial. “Just because you’re coasting and slacking off, don’t try to drag me down with you. Such behavior is contemptible.”
Zhou Liao rolled her eyes, simply and directly raising her middle finger. Sang Liao immediately responded with his own. Tong Xiang sat between them. After quieting down, she returned to her introverted state, awkwardly leaning her upper body forward to provide enough space for the two people on her left and right.
Fang Qi glanced at the rearview mirror and sighed with a headache. “You’ve both been working for so long already. Can you please stop being so childish? You’re technically Tong Xiang’s seniors—can you at least try to act like mature seniors?”
“She started it.”
“He was the one being disgusting first.”
Both voices spoke simultaneously, dripping with disdain.
Fang Qi sighed again, his head aching. He could only say to Tong Xiang, “Do me a favor, keep them quiet for a bit.”
Tong Xiang nodded. She placed her left and right hands on Zhou Liao’s and Sang Liao’s knees, respectively, and said calmly, “Class is in session.”
In an instant, both their voices vanished into thin air. The raised middle fingers were also retracted. They sat properly and upright in the back seat, completely still. After thirty seconds, Tong Xiang released her hands and said quietly, “Class dismissed.”
As if a restriction had been lifted, Zhou Liao and Sang Liao simultaneously let out a huge sigh of relief. This time, they didn’t dare to stir up any more trouble, simply turning their gazes to the traffic flow outside the windows.
(——————)
“What did you say?”
Greasepaint, who was holding a broom and sweeping the floor, froze slightly. She looked back at Qi Ran, who was standing on the stairs behind her.
“I said, I think I have a way for your companions to receive a more lenient sentence,” Qi Ran stated, looking down from her higher position on the stairs. “Of course, this comes at a price. One person in exchange for one favor. If my method can get those four people out within half a year, then the five of you will collectively owe me four favors. Within the limits of your ability, you will unconditionally help me four times. Do you accept this condition?”
Greasepaint didn’t hesitate at all. She nodded forcefully. She had never imagined Qi Ran could actually have a solution, and a flicker of disbelief crossed her pupils. She hesitated, then asked, “What’s the method? Can my Talent help in any way?”
“Your Talent isn’t necessary,” Qi Ran said as she walked down the stairs. “But you are needed. You, the person. To attend a banquet next Saturday.”
“Me? A banquet?” Greasepaint was slightly stunned. Her finger pointed at her own face, her eyes full of confusion and incomprehension. “What banquet?”
“One hosted by the Executors,” Qi Ran’s words made her freeze instantly. “A very important banquet. That’s why I need to be clear with you about two things beforehand. First, if you refuse to attend this banquet, then I am completely powerless to help your four companions. Second, if you agree, but plan on disrupting that banquet, just to vent your anger or cause problems for those Executors—I guarantee, you will not want to know what happens afterwards.”
“Is that a threat?” Greasepaint managed a strained smile, speaking in a low voice. She could feel the seriousness behind the deep, low tone of the girl before her.
“No, just a notification,” Qi Ran said calmly. “You need to answer me now. Two choices. Accept, or refuse.”
“What happens if I refuse?” Greasepaint asked.
Qi Ran shook her head. “If you refuse, I won’t do anything to you, nor will I ever come here again. Of course, your companions will also never know about this. I won’t let the Executors tell them about this transaction. So you can rest easy—they won’t hold a grudge against you or despise you for it. That’s my promise.”
“If I refuse… what will happen to them?” Greasepaint was silent for a moment, her voice very low. She tightly gripped the broom in her hands. “I mean, how long will they be sentenced?”
“It’s hard to say,” Jiang Zhique answered the question. “It depends on whether the Executors can find the real culprit behind the arson case. You guys never should have used cement to seal that door. That was an incredibly stupid thing to do, even if you evacuated the crowd beforehand. Did you even stop to think—what if you missed someone during the evacuation, and they weren’t able to get out? Sealing the door with cement would have been no different from burning them alive directly.”
“I…” Greasepaint started but then stopped, unable to find the words.
“I know it was someone else who talked you into using the cement,” Qi Ran said quietly. “But does that really matter? What’s done is done. You just have to bear the consequences. I don’t know much about the law, but you guys knew an arson was about to happen and still chose to block the escape route with cement. The Executors don’t know you helped evacuate people before the fire. They don’t know your cement was only meant to trap them. They don’t know that someone else put you up to it. From their perspective, you’d probably be treated as accomplices to the arson, wouldn’t you? And judging by the looks of your companions, they probably won’t cooperate either; they’ll resist to the very end. So… in my opinion, their outcome doesn’t look good.”
