Chapter 14 Keep an eye on me if there are any ambiguous signs.
Not long after Zong Linhan left, Wen Zhiling dejectedly opened the other two cardboard boxes and put the items back in their original places.
She had packed her luggage for nothing, and emptied her house for nothing. She felt a sense of helplessness, like someone who had worked for a month, revised eighty versions of a plan, and then, the day before the final version was to be confirmed, the client said that the first version was better.
For the next three days, she stayed home in fear. One night, a fire truck passed by and she was so frightened that she was about to jump out of the window, but the truck sped past without giving her any attention.
Holding onto the curtains until her heartbeat gradually calmed down, Wen Zhiling fell back onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
On the fourth day, Zong Linhan sent her a message informing her that she could go out.
Zong Linhan: "Starved to death?"
Wen Zhiling: "Photo.jpg"
A box of instant noodles made Zong Linhan dizzy for the first time looking at the photo.
Wen Zhiling: "It's so delicious, I could eat it for a lifetime :)"
Zong Linhan: "..."
No one can happily eat instant noodles for three days straight. After disgusting Zong Linhan, Wen Zhiling threw away the fragrant tomato noodles and rushed downstairs to buy fried chicken. Holding the delicious fried chicken, she returned home contentedly, only to find the door ajar!
What happened to the promise that there was no danger?!
Wen Zhiling was about to run away when the door opened from the inside, and Zong Linhan appeared, carrying a lunchbox, looking like he had just arrived.
Wen Zhiling was shocked. "What are you doing here... Do you have a key to my house?"
Zong Linhan ignored the question about the key, glanced at her fried chicken expressionlessly, and clicked his tongue twice, "Eat something good."
The aroma of ginseng chicken soup wafted through the living room, but Wen Zhiling remained unmoved. She reached out to touch the fried chicken packaging, but just as her fingertips were about to touch it, Zong Linhan removed the foil packaging and pushed the bowl of medicinal ginseng chicken soup in front of her.
Wen Zhiling helplessly drank the soup, "What's going on now? Are you trying to nourish us before killing us?"
Zong Linhan handed over a contract, saying, "There's a reality show coming up soon, and you'll be going with me."
Wen Zhiling took the proposal. "The two of us? A reality show? Lovers I'll never see again?"
Zong Linhan slightly raised his eyelashes, "Want to be on a dating reality show with me?"
Wen Zhiling remained silent. "Is that considered a dating show? Isn't it just a messy relationship with an ex?"
Wen Zhiling glanced at the proposal, "What else is there? A little monster science interactive reality show? ...A sibling variety show?"
Zong Linhan pulled his coat from the sofa, took out an ID card, and placed it on the table. It contained Wen Zhiling's personal information.
He said, "From today onwards, you are my second uncle's long-lost daughter. You were just found not long ago, and you are pretending to be my cousin for the sake of the program's sensationalism."
Wen Zhiling was shocked, "Second Uncle and Second Sister-in-law have no objections?"
Zong Linhan: "They are the same organization you mentioned, the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations, which was also my second uncle's suggestion to me."
In order to find a reason to protect her.
Zong Linhan explained to Wen Zhiling, "There have always been two major factions within the Bureau of Extraordinary Detectives. Some believe that people with superpowers are another ecological species that has existed since ancient times; others insist that they were created in a laboratory. Our family stands on the side of genetic modification. Before their humanity is completely extinguished, it is still possible to reverse it. We can just treat it as a disease."
"This is not just an academic dispute, but also involves the allocation of national finances over the next ten years. Whoever controls more power and resources will be able to dominate a series of related policies. The long-term planning advocated by the ecological faction is extremely profitable, which is on a different scale from what the experimental research strategy aims for, and they take completely different paths."
“A long time ago, we intercepted a document in an abandoned illegal laboratory. After deciphering the latitude and longitude, it pointed to Meilan Island. On the surface, it was marked as being developed by a tourism company, but it was actually the territory of the eco-friendly people. We had always had difficulty getting on the island until this time when we finally got the chance.”
Zong Linhan concealed part of the truth and hid his own selfish motives. After patiently waiting for Wen Zhiling to digest the information, he slowly spoke: "If we can find the aperture and decipher it, perhaps you can turn back into a human, and our marked relationship will cease to exist."
His gaze was sharp, trying to find any outward emotion on her face—anxiety, unease, or concern and reluctance. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to care much about the relationship.
A wave of frustration washed over him – a feeling of being unreliable, unacknowledged, and uncared for. He thought again of what she hadn't been honest about, and the words caught in his throat, only to be swallowed back down. He simply refused to ask, wanting to wait for her to confess on her own initiative.
Wen Zhiling pondered for a moment: "What is my main role?"
Zong Linhan: "People with superpowers may have a strong sense of the aura."
Wen Zhiling: "Like a compass?"
Zong Linhan: "Interpret it however you like, treat it as a vacation trip..."
Upon receiving the new message, Zong Linhan glanced at it, his face darkening slightly. He'd finally gotten some free time, but the bureau wanted to hold another meeting requiring him to revise his plan and make guarantees. His request to protect Wen Zhiling had caused him considerable trouble; the ecological faction wasn't someone to be trifled with, and he'd probably exhausted all his connections in the past few days.
Zong Linhan stood up to leave. "Keep your ID card safe. I spent all morning writing a report, emphasizing that it was essential for cooperating with the work, that's why I applied for it for you. By the way, my cousin is making a huge fuss about not going. Next time you see her, remind her to give you a big thank-you red envelope."
Wen Zhiling put down the plan and thought of other troublesome issues. "I didn't say I was going."
Over the years, she'd always felt like someone was following her. Some of it was just her imagination, but some had actually posed a threat. She hesitated for a moment, not revealing everything, but subtly inquiring, "Will it be exposed? And then..." would someone who knew about her past come knocking on her door?
Zong Linhan replied to the message, his voice tinged with impatience towards the Bureau of Surveillance, "It's good that it's exposed. Even if someone wants to touch you, it won't be that easy."
Wen Zhiling wanted to say something more, but seeing his hand on the doorknob, she asked, "Are you leaving?"
Zong Linhan turned to look at her, a rather frivolous smile playing on his lips. "Want me to stay the night?"
Wen Zhiling completely ignored the teasing remark, "In the documents you've looked at, is there any indication of how often to mark it? Is that a normal and appropriate frequency?"
Zong Linhan didn't answer directly, "Are you hungry?"
Wen Zhiling: "If we really go on a TV show, with so many cameras, are we going to have to act like a monster eating people?"
Zong Linhan thought about it and agreed. "Think more about how to please me."
Wen Zhiling: "?"
Zong Linhan: "If I'm in a good mood, I'll let you take a couple of bites away from the camera; if I'm in a bad mood, you'll just have to go hungry."
Are we talking about the same thing? Wen Zhiling found it amusing. "Aren't you afraid that I'll abandon you and, if I get too hungry, bite off your future and your family's job at the Bureau of Surveillance?"
Zong Linhan lifted his collar, revealing a large expanse of smooth skin, and warmly welcomed her, "Come here."
Wen Zhiling: "..."
When some people get unserious, they can't say a single decent word, and they won't give you a single piece of useful information.
Zong Linhan glanced at the clock on the wall. "Alright, I'm leaving."
Wen Zhiling: "Besides anemia, do you have any other discomfort?"
Zong Linhan paused in his action of opening the door, then turned back to look at her.
The girl stood behind the coffee table, her white cotton nightgown with lace hanging two inches above her knees, unable to cover the two or three red marks on her thighs—his finger marks.
Her skin was prone to leaving marks, and even after three days, the ambiguous red marks remained. He had told himself countless times to control himself, yet he still lost control when he held her tightly, unable to resist. He knew better than she did that the ambiguous red marks from his teasing still lingered on her shoulders, back, waist, front of her thighs, calves, and ankles. At that moment, she was only focused on sucking his blood and hadn't noticed that he was also marking her, leaving possessive little marks.
She kept her distance from him, was wary of him, and guarded against him, yet she trusted him in these very places. Zong Linhan slightly raised his eyelashes, not telling Wen Zhiling that the changes brought about by being marked went far beyond just wanting to be close and embrace; there were also much dirtier, more shameful desires.
He beckoned to Wen Zhiling, "Yes."
Wen Zhiling, still skeptical, slowly walked over. "What?"
Zong Linhan whispered in her ear, his voice slightly hoarse: "Be careful of me."
That low, husky sentence lingered in Wen Zhiling's ears like fine wine, even after the door was opened and closed. He spoke casually and irreverently, using a joking tone to obscure the key points, using a nonchalant attitude to mislead others, cover up the real issues, and refuse to give answers.
Wen Zhiling sighed with worry, wondering if there was some serious health problem at play.
The washing machine stopped running, and Wen Zhiling took a clothes hanger to hang the clothes to dry. Because doing housework was too boring, she turned on her computer and randomly picked a channel to watch. She didn't know what it was playing all night.
As she hung the last dress outside the window, Wen Zhiling, with her sharp ears, heard a familiar name. Turning her head, she saw a familiar face flash across the screen, with scrolling subtitles mentioning, "...Coming soon for your variety show debut!"
She's become particularly sensitive to the word "variety show" lately. She hung up her clothes and rushed to her computer, only to find the channel had switched to the next entertainment news item. Wen Zhiling dragged the progress bar, but since it was a live broadcast, she couldn't rewind.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
