Chapter 80 Pink Water, are you even a man?! You're not...
Sang Li was absent-minded during the meal.
If she's been drinking this beverage since she was a child, then...
The answer is obvious.
Although she didn't know what the final test results would be.
But Ike Watari had absolutely no reason to make fun of himself.
This will be punished.
I will definitely find a whip and lash him!
Lu Jin: "Don't overthink it, let's eat."
"I'm not human." Sang Li hesitated, then after a five-second silence, burst into a groundhog-like howl, "Why am I not human?! I was at least human when I was little, so why did I see these things when I was a child?! Could my memories have been altered? Could I have been an anomaly since I was a child?! What is real now?! Why?! Why?!"
Lu Jin: "..."
Although he had long been aware of this possibility, strictly speaking, Sang Li's BEAM file was fabricated.
But he couldn't bear to say it.
Little Sang Li may have been an abnormality since childhood.
Furthermore, it has some connection with the Administration Bureau.
But it was not taken in.
He planned to start the investigation during this period, but the difficulty level was too high, as the files were all classified and kept secret.
Sang Li glared at Lu Jin angrily: "I should have been a human when I was little! I was so cute as a child, I loved drinking yogurt, and I even ate potato chips! Most importantly, I completed nine years of compulsory education! How could I not be human? You're telling me this stuff is a potent drug from the Bureau? I really..."
It should have been said earlier that it was an abnormality.
Then you wouldn't have to suffer so much!
I was even beaten for failing my exams when I was a kid!
Why can't I be a happy illiterate person?
Could it be that the Bureau wanted to see how an anomaly integrated into human society and was then captured and brought back?!
Isn't this just a capricious and twisted psychopath?!
Lu Jin: "Let's eat."
Sang Li pouted: "I'm not eating. I feel wronged. You actually let an abnormal person go to school and work, and then wait until she grows up before arresting her? What about the suffering I endured during exams when I was a child! What about the scolding I received from teachers! Why didn't you arrest me sooner!"
Lu Jin sighed helplessly, "I don't know, and nothing is certain yet. What if this was done on purpose to let you see it? You know, the abilities of anomalous entities are diverse. Perhaps the anomalous entity just now could project your memories and display them, nothing more."
Sang Li knew, but Lu Jin didn't, that the person who gave her this cup was Chi Du.
Damn Ikewatari.
Sang Li slammed her hand on the table: "I'm unhappy right now, I'm so irritable, so irritable that I want to destroy the world!"
The atmosphere erupted at one point due to the perception that "I am not human."
Lu Jin looked at her with her cheeks puffed out, like a hamster that had been beaten up by reality, her forehead seemingly saying, "I'm wronged but I won't say it."
"I will investigate thoroughly." He finally spoke, his tone less cold than usual and more gentle. "Give me some time, okay? We will find out about your past."
Sang Li was taken aback, glanced at him with a fleeting look, her lips still pursed, but she didn't say anything more.
"Investigate! Investigate for me!" she slammed her hand on the table.
Lu Jin: "I'll have milk tea tonight."
Sang Li: "Red beans, thank you, double the amount of red beans."
"How about we go out and relax for a while?" Lu Jin continued. "Anywhere is fine, even going abroad."
Sang Li huffed, "I'm not going."
Her tone was firm and decisive, as if she were not a travel enthusiast at all.
Right now, there are more important things to do.
It's as if there are things she has to do, things she has to do now.
This is the plan I set for myself.
She knew me too well before, so I'll definitely keep investigating.
"I'm starting overtime tomorrow. I'm going to work overtime." She said through gritted teeth, her words revealing a resolute determination. "I want to see what the Management Bureau is up to now. Are they going to continue hiding things from me, or are they planning to tell me the truth?"
After saying that, Sang Li thought about it again.
Was this why I chose Lu Jin back then?
Because he has access to the Bureau's secrets.
Moreover, she's quite good-looking.
They are good at taking care of people.
It's a man.
And, it is a human being with emotions.
So, after careful selection, you found him?
Sang Li really should label Lu Jin as "the chosen one".
Lu Jin narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!" she scoffed, arms crossed. "The more you try to hide it from me, the more I want to know. I'm going to start by working overtime, going through documents, subtly probing, digging into your secret stashes, digging up your old accounts... to find out what really happened in my poor little life. I really don't want my first twenty years to collapse. Do you understand?"
She became more and more excited as she spoke, as if a 100,000-word workplace espionage revenge script had already unfolded in her mind.
Lu Jin: "Don't get excited."
Sang Li was unhappy: "You analyze it."
Lu Jin: "What am I supposed to analyze?"
Sang Li: "Aren't you a man? You're good at analysis, so tell me what really happened. If you can't, I'll start to doubt whether you're even a man. Do you think I've been abnormal since I was a child, but some event happened and I ran away? Oh no, maybe my parents also have... problems."
Sang Li's application visibly declined. Although her childhood memories were incomplete and not perfect, if it were deduced that her parents were staff members of the Administration Bureau, she would feel that all the care she received was just doing her job.
And the parents are just a pair of working-class people.
Even though her childhood wasn't as happy as other children's, she still has many warm memories.
Lu Jin watched as her expression gradually crumbled, like a puppy that had just been doused with cold water, its ears drooping.
I'm unhappy.
"Don't think in that direction." He lowered his voice and reached out to ruffle her hair. "I'll look into it."
Sang Li: "You're a fake man."
Lu Jin: ?
Sang Li: "Men can all analyze things and can talk at length about the political, economic, cultural, and global landscape, as well as the Bureau's unknown secrets."
Lu Jin was at a loss: "Fine, I won't be a man tonight."
Sang Li bit her lower lip: "Then we are sisters."
Lu Jin: "Yes, they are sisters."
Sang Li then smiled.
Lu Jin: "Fine, if you really feel wronged, I'll go to work overtime with you tomorrow."
Sang Li looked surprised: "You're willing to let me access classified information?"
"You're practically questioning your existence, how could I not stay with you?" he said, standing up to clear the table for her. "Get some rest. I promise you I'll work overtime. Even if I don't get overtime pay, I promise I'll help you investigate, okay?"
“Okay! Then I’ll reward you?” Sang Li raised her hand.
"Um?"
"How about a shoulder massage, Lord Lu?"
"..."
***
The next morning, before dawn, Lu Jin drove Sang Li to the Administration's internal laboratory.
After all, Sang Li had never gotten up this early before.
He knew she couldn't sleep.
However, once she actually started working overtime, Sang Li became drowsy again.
She was curled up on the office sofa, still asleep, clutching a cushion, her hair disheveled and plastered to her cheeks, like a sleepy kitten.
After waking up, she stopped playing games and eagerly awaited the monitoring data.
What exactly is that pink liquid?
The test report came out in less than two hours.
It is a very pure combination of fructose, edible flavoring, and artificial coloring.
It contains no hallucinogenic components, no nerve-suppressing components, no trace radiation, and no abnormal activity fluctuations.
It's so clean that it can even be directly packaged into beverage cans in convenience stores and sold as "low-sugar" or "fruit-flavored beverage".
That's all.
When Lu Jin slammed the report onto the dining table, Sang Li stared at the rows of data for a long time, her brows slowly furrowing.
What?
How is that possible?
"...Sweet soup?" She wondered if she had misheard. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Lu Jin's tone was straightforward, as if he hadn't expected it either. "This stuff is just a mixture of sugar and coloring, without any high-end additives. It's a standard small-workshop recipe. This stuff is just to scare you."
Chi Du gave himself a cup of sugar water?
What's the point?
That shouldn't be the case.
“But what about the Bureau’s cup? Don’t you also think it’s related to the Bureau?” Sang Li asked.
"That was my initial assessment." Lu Jin leaned back on the sofa, his expression neither relaxed nor tense, as he gently brushed the stray hairs clinging to her cheek. "But this thing has been tested three times, and there really is nothing there. Why don't you take a sip?"
Sang Li glared at him, but still, as if possessed, reached out and took the glass of pink liquid.
It shook gently.
It wasn't very viscous, with a few tiny bubbles clinging to the surface, resembling a fruit juice drink. But for some reason, in the sunlight, the liquid shimmered with an extremely faint glow, like a small cluster of trapped fireflies.
She took a deep breath and leaned closer.
It smells... alright, sweet, definitely has a lychee scent.
She took a small sip.
The moment the flavor touched her tongue, before she could even savor it, her face contorted in shock.
Okay! Difficult! Drink! Ahhh!
Sang Li quickly spat the cup back: "This must be gasoline mixed with saccharin. It's bitter, pungent, and has a strong industrial flavor. I've never drunk anything this awful when I was a kid, even when I made a mistake! Or maybe I just didn't have any taste buds when I was a kid!"
Lu Jin, watching her get angry, raised an eyebrow: "Don't worry, it's just a little unpleasant to drink, but it won't cause any harm to your body. I'm sure the ingredients are fine."
"Then why does it taste so awful!" Sang Li stared wide-eyed, as if she had just swallowed a mouthful of asphalt.
“This might not be for you to drink,” Lu Jin said in a low voice, “but rather, some kind of provocation.”
He paused, his gaze falling on her, as if waiting for her to say a certain name.
"Have you figured out who did it?" he asked. "Was it Ike Watari?"
Sang Li stopped moving.
She didn't answer.
Lu Jin noticed her silence at a glance.
"You've got it."
Sang Li looked down at the glass of pink liquid that had only been partially drunk, as if she could see her own reflection in the glass.
She spoke slowly, but her tone was uncertain: "If it was him, why would he give me this?"
She can't say it now.
This is her and Ike Watari's secret.
However, lying is really too difficult.
She didn't know if Lu Jin had noticed.
Or even if he figured it out, would he still be interested in her?
Lu Jin tapped his knuckles lightly on the table: "He's testing you."
Sang Li suddenly looked up: "Testing me for what?"
"Test your lost memories."
"How do you explain the cup?"
“I found the batches of the products that the Administration Bureau had previously scrapped, and they did indeed enter the market. The person in charge at the time was also punished.”
"oh."
So, this was all a farce orchestrated by Ike Wataru, who has the ability to teleport?
It doesn't seem like it.
What if this glass of water was arranged by "myself" and meant for my own eyes?
What is the purpose?
memory?
Sang Li's mind was a bit confused.
Lu Jin glanced at his watch: "I have a meeting in a bit, so you stay here and rest. You know where the tea and drinks are. We'll go to the cafeteria for scrambled eggs with tomatoes for lunch, don't worry."
"good."
The door clicked shut.
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