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Chapter 491 Conversation in a Secret Room
The holiday was short; almost a week has passed since Christmas.

The students in the top class were once again immersed in the endless sea of ​​learning.

After the last class on Friday afternoon, Ai Liang, as usual, put her books inside her desk and covered them with a tablecloth, preparing for the weekend holiday.

Even though this wasn't the first time Ai Liang had done this, Chen Zili next to her still let out an envious cry.

"That's great, I wish I could rest every weekend too."

Ai Liang smoothed out the wrinkles in the tablecloth and then used a magnet to fix the corners of the tablecloth to the sides of the desk: "Then you should work hard to improve your grades and meet the leave requirements. Yu Xin will naturally approve your leave."

"Don't joke around. The cutoff score set by the teacher is so high that no one but you can even reach it."

Chen Zili looked utterly exhausted, like a salted fish, staring blankly at the sky outside the window: "If Fang Xinlei were still here, she could give it a try, but I'll pass..."

"Old Chen, I'm leaving now. Remember to collect my clothes tonight!"

Peng Yuan stood at the back door and waved to Chen Zili. After Chen Zili raised his hand in response, he dashed out the back door in a flash.

"And what about him?" Ai Liang turned around and asked.

"Peng Yuan must have special circumstances. After all, he came back from abroad to study, so it's normal for the teachers to give him some preferential treatment."

Chen Zili waved his hand weakly: "Students like us who got in through the proper entrance exams and whose academic level is average are the most miserable group."

Ai Liang ignored Chen Zili's self-deprecating humor and turned to look at Ye Qing behind her.

When Chen Zili mentioned that the students' academic level was average, he was referring to the top classes at Qianhua Experimental Middle School.

Every student in the top class would be a top student in any school other than our own.

Even Yi Wenna could maintain her position in the top five of her grade if she went to other schools.

So, what is Yi Wenna doing right now?

"Xiao Qing, let me share an apartment with you, okay?"

Yi Wenna clung tightly to Ye Qing's arm, preventing her from leaving.

"Let go!"

Ye Qing shook her arm, but couldn't shake her off: "If we live outside, we'll have to catch the bus to and from school. By the time we finish our evening self-study, it will be so late. If we miss the last bus, we'll have to walk back."

"Isn't it better to live in the dorm? Why insist on living outside?"

"It's okay! I can call a taxi!"

Yi Wenna said pitifully, "I live alone in the dormitory, and I don't even have anyone to talk to. I'm going crazy if this continues."

Ai Liang turned around and faced the two of them, saying, "You weren't crazy when Fang Xinlei ignored you before, were you?"

Yi Wenna flashed her white teeth and bared them at Ai Liang, saying, "Mind your own business!"

"I don't want to get involved, but if I delay any longer, I'll miss the bus."

Ai Liang didn't take Yi Wenna's words to heart; he was only concerned with what to eat that night.

Yi Wenna's face stiffened.

Every time Ai Liang confronts her, she uses objective facts, leaving no room for rebuttal.

For example, once you've made it clear that the bus is about to arrive, continuing to argue about it becomes your own problem.

Yi Wenna reluctantly let go of Ai Liang's hand, then glared fiercely at her.

This is called "losing the battle but not the moral high ground".

"Alright, alright, let's talk about accommodation after you get approval from the homeroom teacher."

Ye Qing quickly pulled her arm away from Yi Wenna's embrace: "There aren't taxis around the school every night. How could the teacher let a girl like you go home alone in the middle of the night?"

"I can skip morning and evening self-study sessions too," Yi Wenna muttered softly.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing raised her hand and pressed down on Yi Wenna's head: "You should just give up. Your grades are already in the middle to lower range. If you don't go to evening self-study, you'll fall behind in a lot of courses and become the worst student."

Ye Qing's hurtful words made Yi Wenna squint her eyes in pain.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Qing quickly grabbed Ai Liang's hand and slipped away.

After Christmas, Ye Qing became more and more casual in her attitude towards Ai Liang, and would often come close to her.

Fortunately, the movement usually doesn't last long, and she will soon create distance on her own.

So Ai Liang tacitly accepted these little actions.

After the two left, Chen Zili looked at the lonely Yi Wenna and couldn't help but shake his head.

As a result, he was immediately glared at by the latter.

To avoid unnecessary arguments, Chen Zili quickly picked up his homework and headed to the office.

As she walked, she muttered to herself, "I should probably advise Xu Tao to give up. She doesn't even like men..."

........................

The bus stop outside the school.

Ye Qing sat next to Ai Liang on a bench, waiting for the bus to arrive.

Ai Liang had just decided what to make for dinner tonight.

Ye Qing spoke first, saying, "I don't need to cook my portion tonight. I'm going to work at the supermarket later."

Ai Liang glanced at her with some surprise, but didn't say anything more.

He simply calmly said "Oh".

This made Ye Qing nudge Ai Liang's shoulder: "Don't you know to ask why?"

Ai Liang said matter-of-factly, "You will say what you want to say, and it would be inappropriate for me to pry into what you don't want to say."

Hearing that he was so stubborn, Ye Qing pouted and flicked Ai Liang's head: "Blockhead."

“Sometimes asking appropriate questions can better show how much you care about someone,” Ye Qing said, pretending to be absent-minded.

"I know, but since you're still in the mood to joke, it can't be anything serious."

Ai Liang calmly watched the bus approaching in the distance and slowly stood up: "Besides, I already know your personality well enough, and it's impossible to deepen my understanding through further questioning."

Ye Qing also stood up and walked to Ai Liang's side: "Really? Are you sure you really understand me?"

"learn."

Ai Liang said in a resolute tone.

Ye Qing raised her hand and slightly shook her index finger: "Hmm... Ah Liang, being too arrogant is not a good habit."

Ai Liang did not respond.

"But since you know me so well, I'll forgive you this time."

Ye Qing shook her head and said with a grin.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, so I don’t need your forgiveness,” Ai Liang replied.

"Ugh, he's back to being a total straight man again..."

Ye Qing boarded the bus while bickering with Ai Liang.

Since they were going straight to the supermarket, Ye Qing didn't go home with Ai Liang today.

About ten minutes later, Ye Qing got off the bus near the supermarket.

As soon as she entered, the staff at the door greeted her: "Xiao Qing? You're here much earlier than usual today... By the way, the boss asked you to go to her office after you arrive."

Ye Qing smiled and nodded: "I know, that's why I came over as soon as I got out of school today."

The staff member smiled at her and waved, saying, "Okay, then you should go ahead."

Ye Qing didn't go to the break room to change into her work clothes, but went straight to Zhu Lan's office door.

After confirming that no one was around, Ye Qing pushed the door open and entered without knocking.

The office was empty at the moment, and Zhu Lan was nowhere to be seen.

Ye Qing wasn't too surprised. She locked the door as soon as she entered, then walked to the filing cabinet and pushed it hard.

A door, hidden behind a filing cabinet, appeared on the wall.

Ye Qing opened the door, revealing a long, narrow storage room, less than half the size of the outside office.

The desks, like those in a classroom, can only fit a little more than three side by side at most.

Zhu Lan was sitting in the innermost chair, reading a report.

Upon seeing Ye Qing, she pointed to the door.

Ye Qing didn't say anything. She simply grabbed the groove behind the filing cabinet, put the cabinet back in place from the inside, and then slammed the door shut.

Ye Qing pulled a stool from under the table, sat down in front of Zhu Lan, and asked, "So, what is the content of this report?"

"Something big happened in Qianhua City recently, but it has little to do with us."

Zhu Lan looked at the report in his hand with a complicated expression, and kept poking his temple with the cap of his pen: "According to the intelligence we have gathered, it seems that the Countermeasures Bureau and the Apostles Society had a fight in Qianhua City."

Ye Qing was stunned for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "Huh? Really? I didn't feel anything at all!"

Zhu Lan handed the A4 paper to Ye Qing: "The information is certainly true, but it happened a month ago."

Ye Qing took the report and glanced at it briefly: "A month ago... could it be related to the large-scale purge in the outer city of Jiuhua?"

"That's not all. Shengjia Group seems to be involved in these matters. If it weren't for the fact that the management of Shengjia Group was taken over by the Countermeasures Section 3 and I happened to notice it, we might not even know what happened in Qianhua City recently."

Zhu Lan sighed: "After all, we are a group of exiles. We can't collect first-hand intelligence at all. We can only do post-event analysis and deduce what happened in the past."

Ye Qing paused and said, "Shengjia Group... Cheng Lejia?"

Zhu Lan nodded and looked at Ye Qing: "That's right, but you don't seem surprised."

"It's not entirely unexpected, but I had a vague suspicion about it beforehand."

Ye Qing turned to the next page of the report and continued, "After the great purge in the outer city of Jiuhua, Cheng Lejia, Jin Ping'an, and Fang Xinlei all disappeared, which inevitably leads people to connect these events."

Zhu Lan tapped the table with her index finger: "There should be more than that, right?"

"...Also, I didn't sense any emotions from Cheng Lejia, so I was suspicious of him from the beginning."

Ye Qing said with a solemn expression, "When he laughs, he doesn't seem happy, and when he's in trouble, he doesn't seem annoyed at all. He's like a pre-programmed person."

Upon hearing Ye Qing's explanation, Zhu Lan immediately stopped tapping her fingers on the table: "...Why haven't you mentioned this to me before?"

Ye Qing casually tossed the report onto the table, rested her chin on her hands, and said, "What good will it do to tell you? Besides causing you more trouble, what other use is it?"

Judging from Cheng Lejia's behavior, he probably wasn't targeting us. Given that we've confirmed he possesses strange powers, but we're unsure which side he's on, do you really dare to proactively investigate him?

Zhu Lan was speechless for a moment: "...But at least I can help you change schools."

Ye Qing said weakly, "Forget it. I finally got into a school that gives out scholarships every month."

If I switch schools, I'll have to take on an extra job just to earn enough to cover my expenses.

Looking at Ye Qing's helpless expression, Zhu Lan said as if possessed, "Then why don't you just be my sister? That way you won't have to hide the issue of your source of income."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire secret room fell into a deathly silence.

In the end, Ye Qing smiled and politely declined, saying, "No need... I'm actually quite fine on my own, at least I won't..."

Ye Qing stopped talking and fell silent.

Zhu Lan remained silent, as if the suggestion had not come from her own mouth.

To divert attention, Zhu Lan chose to pick up where she left off: "In short, there are a lot more people from the Countermeasures Bureau in this city, so we need to be more careful when we're on missions in the future."

"I know, I've always been very careful."

Ye Qing couldn't help but sigh, "I've finally achieved a stable life, how could I not cherish it?"

"I heard that another student who studied abroad recently joined your class?"

Zhu Lan didn't really want to talk about survival, and her attempt to change the subject was somewhat awkward.

"Yes, the teacher called his name when school started, but he only just arrived now," Ye Qing continued, following up on the topic Zhu Lanxin had brought up.

"I applied to Qianhua Experimental Middle School, but I've only just arrived to register?"

Zhu Lan picked up her phone and tapped a few times: "Why did he have to come so late, only showing up after everything had settled down? This Peng Yuan is also a bit suspicious."

"It's really suspicious."

Ye Qing agreed with Zhu Lan's statement: "If the other party knew in advance that Qianhua City was about to become the battlefield of the Countermeasures Bureau and the Apostle Society, it is reasonable that they only came now."

But then, he wouldn't be a member of the Countermeasures Bureau or the Apostles Society, so…”

At the same time, Zhu Lan also thought of a certain possibility and unconsciously gripped the pen even tighter.

She unconsciously bit her red lips: "I'll have someone investigate his past. As long as we personally visit and investigate the places he used to live, it shouldn't be difficult to determine whether he is a labeled person."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on him in class too... He seems to have applied to skip morning and evening self-study sessions and weekends. Sister Lan, you could check what he does on weekends; you might find something unexpected."

Ye Qing told Zhu Lan the information she had heard from Chen Zili before school ended.

Zhu Lan's face showed a bitter expression: "I understand. If he is a member of the Haixin Society, then we can only start over in another city."

"The situation may not be as bad as we think. We can't be sure if he has a problem yet," Ye Qing said, trying to comfort him.

"I hope so," Zhu Lan said.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head out now. Staying in your office for too long could cause trouble if someone comes looking for me."

Ye Qing resumed her usual smiling demeanor.

After pushing the chair back under the table, she opened the filing cabinet and walked out of the secret room.

(End of this chapter)