Chapter 43 The Vanishing Butterfly "You can't even give me this much trust..."

"I just... saw it randomly while scrolling through my feed," Shu Qing said evasively. "I forgot which short video I saw it in."

Jiu Su looked at her with a half-smile.

Shu Qing looked at him with a sincere expression, blinking her eyes, hoping that he would take the initiative to say something.

However, Jiu Su didn't press the matter further, and said half-jokingly, "Can I say no? But if you don't take good pictures, then there won't be a next time."

Shu Qing responded with an "Oh," inevitably revealing a hint of disappointment—he still hadn't accepted her probing, and still had no intention of being honest with her about their past.

What was it that made him so secretive and tight-lipped about it?

"Why are you unhappy now that I agreed?" Jiu Su lazily rolled over, raised her hand to hook her chin, and rubbed her knuckles against her jawbone. "Alright, whether the photos turn out well or not, there's always next time, okay, my little darling?"

The "little ancestor" pursed her lips slightly, clearly unsuccessful in his attempts to please her.

Having no other choice, Jiu Su changed the subject to something she was interested in: "Yesterday you told me to ask Wanli out, and I did."

Shu Qing nodded absentmindedly, forcing herself to refocus on what Jiu Su had said, and asked, "When?"

Jiu Su is now quite adept at using her phone. She casually opened the calendar and pointed to the time for her.

Shu Qing took this matter seriously, and the meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday. At that time, Shu Qing planned to formally present their collaborative project to the high-ranking officials from the Supermarket Management Bureau.

The results of the report directly determined how much reward Shu Qing would receive and how much support the Super Management Bureau would provide. Shu Qing immediately straightened up and buried herself in preparing her speech, temporarily putting aside her dream and the events of the morning.

After she finished writing her speech, she practiced it twice in front of the mirror. Just as she was talking fluently to herself, the doorbell rang.

Shu Qing immediately abandoned her computer and went to open the door. It was a weekday, and Jiu Su had gone to the Supermarket Management Bureau early in the morning to arrange to come back and have lunch with her. Saying he'd have lunch with her was really just a euphemism; he'd spoiled Shu Qing so much that she couldn't possibly cook for herself now.

She was a little hungry after working all morning, and his return came at just the right time.

Shu Qing jogged into the courtyard, her gaze sweeping across the room, and her steps suddenly faltered.

Besides Jiu Su, there were three little monsters in her family. These three were very perceptive and knew that Shu Qing was the head of the household, so they all knew to please her. Over the past few days, the little monsters had become familiar with Shu Qing. The cat Xiao Hua would rub against her feet and act cute, the fairy snail would climb onto the edge of the jar, and the dream-weaving butterfly was more reserved, landing not far from her and waiting for her to approach.

However, today, Little Flower and Fairy Snail were as usual, but Dream Butterfly was nowhere to be seen, nor was it among the flower bushes where it usually rested; no one knew where it had gone.

Where could it have gone?

Shu Qing can provide it with food and shelter, and help it restore its demonic power. Where will it go?

The doorbell rang again after a while, and Shuqing felt as if her steps were a ton of bricks.

She dragged her feet and slowly walked to the courtyard gate. She opened the gate, and Jiu Su, who was outside, saw her expression and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Jiu Su touched her forehead and then her hands. "Your hands are so cold, and your face is so pale?"

Shu Qing forced a smile and said in a lighthearted tone, "It's nothing, I'm probably just hungry. I've been busy all morning and haven't eaten anything, so I have a bit of low blood sugar."

The term "hypoglycemia" wasn't very common, and Jiu Su didn't understand. She asked in confusion, "What?"

“...It’s just a lack of energy,” Shu Qing explained. “It’s a common problem for modern people. I’ll be fine after eating something sweet later.”

Jiu Su believed her and led her into the house, saying with a smile, "Okay, then I can make sweet and sour pork ribs, with more sugar and less vinegar."

Shu Qing's heart suddenly raced. Just a moment ago, when Jiu Su came to hold her hand, she almost pulled her hand back.

Clinging to her last glimmer of hope, she asked casually, "By the way, our Dream Weaver Butterfly seems to have disappeared. Do you know where it went?"

"Who knows?" Jiu Su replied nonchalantly. "Maybe he flew away."

Shu Qing felt a chill run through her, and almost felt dizzy. At that moment, she wished she was really experiencing low blood sugar.

She couldn't understand why Jiu Su would go to such lengths to keep it from her. He was so smart, didn't he know that this would only make her more suspicious?

Jiu Su closed the door behind him and turned to look at her. The lights weren't on during the day, and the entryway wasn't a place where sunlight could reach; his face was shrouded in a dark shadow, and Shu Qing could barely make out his features.

"Don't ask," Jiu Su said softly, not specifying what she was asking, but they both knew the answer. "The butterfly is fine. I..."

The second half of what he wanted to say was, "I won't do anything to harm you," but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He thought to himself with self-deprecation: By indulging in my own desires and letting myself be with you, haven't I already put you at risk of being hurt in the future?

In the end, he said nothing, only smiled silently at Shu Qing.

This self-defense is practically the same as not defending at all.

Shu Qing silently looked at him for a moment, nodded, and couldn't tell whether she should believe him or not. She followed him to the kitchen, but was then sent back to the study by Jiu Su.

She knew she should continue preparing, but she just couldn't calm down. Staring at the words and pictures on the screen, the many carefully crafted PowerPoint slides became like a slideshow, replaying many past events in her mind, making her increasingly agitated.

A little black voice inside her was screaming: "He doesn't even dare to say 'I won't hurt you,' so why is he keeping it from you? Don't be silly, being love-struck never ends well!"

Another little white figure spoke up, also with reason and evidence, "Don't you know how he's treated you all this time? He's saved you, more than once. After all this time together, can't you even give him this much trust? Everyone has secrets."

The little black figure said, "That's not just his secret; it's a secret that involves both of you! The past is so complicated; who knows what he's been hiding?"

The little white figure jumped up and retorted, "But if he wanted to harm you, would he need to go through all this trouble? A monster like him, if he really wanted to trick you, when wouldn't he have done it? Even if he had stood by and watched when the Radiant Group attacked you, the grass on your grave would probably be growing by now!"

"He might just be trying to take advantage of your 'golden touch'!"

Shu Qing clutched her head and slumped onto the table, wishing she could smash everything on it.

Just then, the speaker beeped a few times; someone had sent her a message.

At this moment, Shu Qing didn't want to pay attention to anyone's message, but when she looked up and glanced at it, she suddenly sat up—it was Xie Heng.

"I heard you've already prepared your presentation slides?" Xie Heng had gotten to know her quite well these past few days, and his words were no longer filled with the usual formalities. He asked directly, "Could you send them to me to take a look first?"

The PowerPoint presentation was a bit large, so Shu Qing sent it to Professor Xie's email address, suppressing her turbulent emotions, and said, "If there's anything inappropriate, Professor Xie, please feel free to point it out."

Xie Heng replied with an "ok" emoji. Shu Qing thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the access to the Super Management Bureau's backend data that we talked about last time? Can you grant me that access now?"

She figured that the Super Management Bureau was such a large official body that since it had decided to recruit Jiu Su, it would most likely investigate his background thoroughly, and perhaps she could find some clues from it.

However, Xie Heng said, "Not yet, the approval process has not been completed."

Shu Qing was feeling disappointed when he quickly sent another message: "I will try my best to urge you on, and you also need to work hard."

"I?"

How can she possibly manage to get through this approval process?

"If everyone agrees with your proposal at tomorrow's meeting, the approval process will likely be much faster," Xie Heng told her. "What Wanli initiated is actually just an 'outsourcing project.' If you want to establish a formal partnership, it depends on the outcome of tomorrow's meeting, and it's not a sure thing."

Ultimately, it depends on you.

Shu Qing was already in a state of turmoil, and Professor Xie's words made her even more anxious. She couldn't calm down and barely ate any of the sweet and sour pork ribs.

Xie Heng gave her some suggestions for revision in the afternoon. After reading them, Shu Qing's head ached even more. She revised the PowerPoint presentation and the script until the evening, breaking her personal record for inefficiency.

In the end, she relied on her "golden touch" and gained an energy boost from the popularity of her short video account. She stayed up all night and barely managed to deliver her PPT perfectly before the next day.

She and Jiu Su went out together and arrived at the Super Management Bureau two hours early. Jin Wanli had a sour face and, on the grounds that "I'm afraid they'll doubt my judgment as the head of the Special Operations Department," asked Shu Qing to give him a trial run first.

Shu Qing and he hit it off immediately and conducted a simulated exercise with great emotion.

After listening, Jin Wanli realized there was nothing for him to say, so he remained silent for a while, feeling frustrated, before finally managing to squeeze out, "...It's alright, just a bit too much nonsense."

Although Shu Qing was preoccupied with her own thoughts, she was still amused by him and smiled. Jin Wanli thought she was mocking him and got angry, sticking up a tuft of his golden hair.

The three of them entered the conference room together—the Super Management Bureau also has conference rooms for normal humans, complete with LCD screens, remote controls, and so on. The three of them arrived first in preparation for the meeting. Shu Qing was working on the screen projection and setting up the computer, while Jiu Su, acting like a new employee, placed a cup of tea on each seat.

His avatar looked to be around twenty years old, and he adopted a gentle and calm demeanor, obediently doing the work of an intern, which didn't seem too out of place.

But after he put down the drinks, he naturally sat down next to Shu Qing and even took a sip of the Da Hong Pao milk tea on the seat, which seemed a bit off.

Shu Qing adjusted the video feed, straightened her clothes, and waited respectfully for the arrival of the leaders. Before anyone arrived, she asked Jiu Su curiously, "Are you going to listen too?"

“Of course.” Jiu Su glanced at her with a smile. “Why can’t I listen?”

Okay then.

Shu Qing was speechless—although she knew that the Super Management Bureau wouldn't really treat Jiu Su as a social newbie, it was still a bit beyond her expectations that he could attend this meeting with the Minister of Special Operations, the Chief Expert, and even the Deputy Director of the Headquarters.

Her determination to obtain the Nine Elements information grew even stronger.

Before they knew it, it was time for the meeting. Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Director Yang arrived with several heavyweight figures.

Shu Qing's heart pounded. She calmly wiped the cold sweat from her palms onto the hem of her skirt and took a deep breath.

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Author's Note: The plot is almost here! Things will get sweet after Ashu finds out what Xiaohong is hiding [pleading face].