Chapter 29: Should I mention the headphones in advance? How should I say it?
Night fell, and a chilly wind blew across Sang Li's face.
She pinched her scarf to cover her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes peeking out in the darkness. Her feet seemed to be on the wind as she hurried to the place where she was meeting Chloe.
She kept looking around, afraid that someone would see her.
When they arrived at the agreed-upon place, Sang Li stood behind the wall, waiting anxiously. Time passed by, but Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
Sang Li was anxious and restless.
This area is full of dilapidated houses that no one lives in, all left behind by the original inhabitants. They have been empty for years, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. The wind blows through the broken window frames, making a faint creaking sound.
Sang Li stood there, looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, and for the first time in her life, she felt a surge of fear. Looking at all this, she seemed to see the fate of the house's owner.
Sang Li didn't dare to think about it too much. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to go inside and hide, at least so that she wouldn't see her.
Sang Li reached out and pushed open the door. The hinges made an old, groaning sound, like the painful struggle of a person before death.
“Chloe?” she called softly, her voice barely audible.
There was no response.
She called again, this time with a slight tremor in her voice.
Still no one.
Sang Li's heart skipped a beat in her chest. She instinctively took a step back and was about to turn around and leave when she heard a soft sound behind her.
"You're here?"
It's Chloe's voice.
Sang Li turned around abruptly and realized that the other person had somehow moved into the shadows, their figure almost blending into the darkness, with only half of their calm face visible.
"You scared me to death..." she said through gritted teeth, her voice still full of shock. "Why didn't you answer me?"
“You came in too fast, your steps were too hurried. Let me see if you’ve been followed,” Chloe said calmly, pulling out a chair next to an old table and sitting down as she walked inside.
Sang Li rubbed her hands nervously, standing opposite him, unsure whether she should sit down.
"What exactly did you say during the day?" Chloe asked bluntly, her gaze sharp.
"I...I told you, I was hit by someone, and those papers fell out of the folder." Sang Li's voice began to tremble. "We were so careful, how could we still be discovered?"
Chloe stared at her, her expression unchanged, only the rhythm of her fingertips tapping the table slowed by half a beat.
"The problem isn't how he found out, but how you were so careless as to be discovered." His voice was eerily calm, as if all the blame lay with Sang Li.
Sang Li's body stiffened at these words. She looked up, her eyes still wet with tears, her expression a mixture of fear and confusion. "What do you mean? Are you blaming me?"
“No.” Chloe lowered her head and looked at her quietly. “Things have gotten complicated now. We need to speed things up. Waiting until next week won’t work. We need to steal the ledgers earlier.”
"How can we speed things up? We've already been discovered! Why are you still talking about that ledger!" Sang Li almost shouted. Her emotions, which had been suppressed all day, were now gushing out like a flood that had been released.
"I know, I know," she replied softly, her tone as flat as still water, barely revealing any emotion.
“If that person really wanted to expose you, you wouldn’t be standing here crying in front of me now; you’d be in Cullen’s office.” He patted her back gently, the movement extremely slow, as if just to calm her down rather than to comfort her. “Who do you think wrote those notes?”
Sang Li bit her lower lip, her eyes darting around, as if she wanted to say something, or perhaps she simply couldn't speak. Her shoulders trembled slightly, she gasped for breath, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't make a sound.
"You think it's Cullen?" Chloe slowly released her, leaned down to look her in the eye, her voice still flat. "If he really knew what we were doing, would he use such roundabout methods?"
Sang Li subconsciously shook her head, then quickly nodded. "Who...who would know so much and manage to slip those notes into the documents when I wasn't looking?"
Chloe's eyes turned cold, as if a sharp blade was hidden in her quiet gaze. "That's the real problem."
“That person knew our location, the contents of your document, and even what time you would take that document to lunch every day… he even knew who you would brush past during lunchtime.” He said each word carefully, as if gradually uncovering a hunter lurking in the shadows. “It wasn’t good luck; it was premeditated.”
Sang Li grew increasingly frightened as she listened, her face turning pale and her lips trembling violently. "Then...then have we been...being watched for a long time already?"
“Maybe. But judging from his expression, he only seems to know about our relationship. Otherwise, he would have threatened us with the ledger.” Chloe lowered her head and tugged at the cuff of her trench coat. “But now is not the time to panic. Someone has deliberately set a trap for you, not to expose us, but to lure us out on our own. If you get scared, you won’t be able to do anything.”
“But I…” Tears welled up in Sang Li’s eyes. She wanted to say that she couldn’t take it anymore, but she gritted her teeth and held back. “Shall we continue?”
Chloe didn't answer, but simply looked up slightly at the night sky. "The plan is ahead of schedule. We'll make our move the day after tomorrow."
"Are you crazy?" Sang Li's voice changed. "Wouldn't making a move now be walking right into their trap?"
“If this is a trap, then we need to do something in advance,” Chloe said coldly. “Don’t forget, that ledger is no ordinary piece of trash—if it really falls into someone else’s hands, neither you nor I will survive.”
“If the ledgers were in our hands, not only would I decide whether Kulun lived or died, but also whether they lived or died.”
His tone was low, but it was like a stone thrown into the darkness, hitting Sang Li's heart hard.
Sang Li's breath hitched, and her voice softened, "Then what should I do?"
"Pretend nothing happened." Chloe patted her shoulder, her tone as calm as ever. "Proceed according to plan. We've rehearsed this many times."
A night breeze blew, ruffling Sang Li's hair. She lowered her eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then nodded gently.
Chloe looked at her without any reaction, as if she could only see herself. Sangri did not notice his gaze, said nothing more, and turned to disappear into the darkness.
Shen Mi and Dan Heng, separated by a distance, could hear their conversation clearly through the eavesdropping device left on Sang Li.
After the last sentence was spoken, Dan Heng silently took off his own earphones, and casually removed the one from Chen Mi's ear as well. His fingertips inadvertently brushed against her earlobe, carrying a slightly cool touch, like a feather gently brushing against nerve endings.
Caught off guard, Shen Mi's shoulder trembled slightly. The tingling sensation spread along the curved nerves behind her ear all the way to the back of her neck, as if something had quietly exploded into a small firework inside her.
Startled, Shen Mi took a step back and covered her ear, which Dan Heng had lightly touched, like a frightened rabbit.
What are you doing?
Dan Heng glanced down at her, his eyes calm and his tone as composed as ever: "Take off your headphones."
His answer was so concise that it was almost flawless, as if what he had just done was just an ordinary action without any other meaning.
But Chen Mi felt something was wrong. Her heartbeat was inexplicably out of rhythm, and her ears felt hot and numb, as if they had been blown red by the wind.
She glared at him, her lips twitching slightly as if she was about to say something more, but then she suddenly realized she had overreacted.
"You...you should tell me in advance next time." She turned her face away and muttered softly, as if trying to hide something.
"Hmm." Dan Heng responded lightly, but his gaze fell on her red ear tips, and a faint smile flickered in his eyes.
How should I say it in advance?
Shen Mi turned her face away, not seeing Dan Heng's expression. She was already filled with doubts about the stability of the eavesdropping device... and her expression was already tense, so Dan Heng's sudden action only made things worse...
Shen Mi rubbed her ears vigorously, feeling that they were still burning hot; even her fingertips could feel the heat when they touched them. Shen Mi's mind was in turmoil, as if something had gently stirred it; a mixture of embarrassment and an inexplicable flutter of excitement was welling up inside her.
But the person next to me acted as if nothing had happened, squatting upright, staring straight ahead, with an expression so indifferent it was infuriating.
"Manager Mei, will that bugging device be discovered?"
Dan Heng didn't answer immediately. He just looked down and checked the receiver in his hand again to make sure the signal was stable before speaking in a low voice: "Don't worry, that bug will melt when it gets wet. As long as she doesn't deliberately check her clothes, she won't be noticed."
"It melts in water? But I still don't feel quite right about it." Shen Mi muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the darkness in the distance, his heart still lingering on the lingering warmth that had just touched his ear.
"Even if it's not a good idea, it was your suggestion," Danheng replied calmly.
Shen Mi was speechless for a moment, then pursed her lips and retorted softly, "It was my idea, but aren't you in charge of the equipment? If something happens to the equipment, wouldn't the responsibility still be yours?"
"Are you questioning me?" Dan Heng glanced at her, his gaze indifferent.
"I'm just worried about the two of us, isn't that what you call being prepared for danger in times of peace?" Shen Mi's tone was quick and light, with a hint of unintentional teasing. "I don't have any other good points, except that I cherish my life."
Dan Heng tilted his head slightly, a gentle light flashing in his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, seemingly teasing her while also indulging her: "You think quite a lot."
His voice was deep and warm, with a hint of gentle laughter, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."
Shen Mi paused, looking at him, her heart pounding uncontrollably. She instinctively lowered her head, trying to appear calm, but a slight smile involuntarily crept onto her lips. Despite her forced composure, the words "I won't let anything happen to you" stirred a subtle ripple within her, like a gently plucked string, resonating silently.
She coughed lightly, turned her gaze away as if to avoid the issue, and deliberately suppressed the unknown warmth in her eyes with a single breath: "Then... I'll take your kind words."
Suddenly, iridescent white clouds appeared on both sides of the sky, like drops of burnt ink, scattering rapidly into the night. The stars, like shattered diamonds, shone brilliantly in pursuit of this iridescent light.
Shen Mi never knew that the arrival of the desolate star's daytime could be so beautiful. If she could, she wished that time could stand still at this moment forever.
She suddenly thought of a saying: "Auspicious stars and celebratory clouds, look up and you will see joy."
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Author's note: Danheng: Did you say in advance that I was going to take off your headphones myself?
Updates will resume every other day from now on. [shy][shy][shy]
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