September 4th, Wednesday.
Counting from the day she entered dormancy, Jiang Yao had been sleeping for over half a month.
Every day at 10 AM, Zhong Jing would appear punctually in Jiang Yao's room, then casually pull up a small stool and sit in the corner as if no one else existed. Sometimes he would even bring his laptop and go work or play games in the main hall for a while.
Zhong Jing rarely came to Golden River Club before, so this frequent appearance naturally attracted attention from quite a few Hyacinth members. However, for the "disciple" of Hyacinth's leader, most people turned a blind eye.
"Brother Zhao, will she hear us talking during dormancy?"
Suddenly, Zhong Jing asked Zhao Peng, who had come to check on the room, a seemingly random question.
"Sometimes, but most of the time, she's having strange dreams."
Zhao Peng finished checking the monitoring data on various instruments and answered casually. "If the dreams become fewer and fewer, then perception of the outside world will increase until she finally wakes up and ends dormancy."
What Zhao Peng described was his own experience when advancing to knight level. As for individual differences, he didn't know.
"Hey, that's good!"
Zhong Jing quickly moved his small stool to the bedside and actually began telling melodramatic stories about what happened with so-and-so on such-and-such day in such-and-such game.
Talking eloquently to a girl in dormant suspended animation made several Hyacinth girls coming and going for care both annoyed and amused, feeling like Zhong Jing was an idiot talking to a piece of wood.
"...Actually, I think your blonde hair is somewhat wasted. There's no need to have exactly the same single ponytail as Jiang Yan. You should have some personal characteristics, right? I think natural shoulder-length would be best, it could match any outfit! Or Asuna's braid style would work too."
After talking himself nearly hoarse for almost an hour, Zhong Jing had shifted topics from games and anime to her hairstyle and clothing preferences. The pale golden-haired girl on the bed still maintained her peaceful sleeping expression, as if patiently listening.
Probably feeling he might really be acting foolish, Zhong Jing grinned, checked his watch, and prepared to get up for lunch. Suddenly, the girl's facial expression showed a slight change, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Zhong Jing excitedly sat back on the small stool and actually tried to hold Jiang Yao's hand in front of Xiao Ai.
"Hey, Sister Xiao Ai, she should have heard me talking. This should help her wake up faster, right?"
Smack! Zhong Jing's outstretched hand was slapped away by Xiao Ai again. Her expressionless face seemed to carry a few traces of disdain. "Xiao Jing, don't you have too much time on your hands? I can see you lounging around here every day!"
"Really?" Zhong Jing awkwardly withdrew his hand, smiling somewhat slyly. "Witnessing the birth of a knight firsthand, isn't that a very meaningful thing?"
As he was speaking, as if seeing something, Zhong Jing's expression changed and he quickly stood up, a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. "Master, you're back..."
"Come on, teasing people again?"
Xiao Ai didn't even bother turning around, just rolled her eyes dramatically at the serious-looking Zhong Jing, seeming to have long seen through his little pranks.
"Heh... Sister Xiao Ai saw right through me." Zhong Jing's expression changed again, becoming playful.
"Xiao Ai, no problems?"
Wan Yue's voice sounded. She walked to the bedside as if no one else existed, then carefully observed the sleeping Jiang Yao. Behind her were the smiling but silent Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan.
"Ah! Sister Wan, you really came back!"
Xiao Ai was startled and quickly turned around, knowing she had been fooled by Zhong Jing again.
"Jiang Yan stays, everyone else get out. Also, starting today, regarding anything about Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, everyone keep your mouths shut. Not a single word to outsiders!"
After issuing this prohibition, Wan Yue didn't care whether the setting was appropriate and directly lit a cigarette.
A few seconds later, the door closed, leaving only Jiang Yan.
Standing quietly at the bedside, slowly smoking an entire cigarette, the moment she dropped the butt, Wan Yue's wrist flashed and a small silver pistol appeared, aimed directly at Jiang Yao's head on the bed!
Jiang Yan was shocked, completely unable to react, her whole body freezing.
"Before your blood infection, you should have been Shadow Arrow members, right... Four months ago, that night in D City, you both participated in the operation. What infected you?"
Wan Yue's gaze was sharp, her voice soft but every word ice-cold. "Don't lie. There's no way Huang Gu could be so lucky as to pick up two people in D City's outskirts who had just been infected, taken off their Shadow Arrow uniforms, and also had special blood types! Don't tell me you were infected by that old fool Tang Zhaowen!"
"Sister Wan, that big meat ball from the Tang Family... Xiao Yao and I were infected by it. With your insight and intelligence sources, whether I'm lying probably doesn't matter anymore."
Jiang Yan actually calmed down, slowly sitting by the bed, her expression equally cold.
"Infected by the big meat ball, what kind of monsters are you... Only four months and already starting to advance to knight level. You'll scare every Blood Clan in this world..."
Wan Yue slowly moved the gun barrel away, turned and sat on a nearby sofa. Though her gaze was no longer murderous, the coldness intensified.
"Sister Wan, after all these years, do you still think you're a monster?"
Jiang Yan stared intently at her, showing bitterness. "Initially we just wanted to survive. Maybe now we've added another goal: finding the truth about ourselves..."
Wan Yue was slightly startled, then shook her head helplessly. "You know, when I first met you two, I had an almost uncontrollable urge to kill you... I don't know why, just subconsciously felt you were terrifying... As for the truth, I want to know but dare not imagine."
Wan Yue walked to Jiang Yan's side, reached out to hold her chin, her cold gaze staring intently at that beautiful face.
Jiang Yan brushed away Wan Yue's hand, seemingly unafraid of her status as Hyacinth's leader.
She just turned sideways and touched Jiang Yao's hair. "Not long ago, didn't you feel we could be members of Hyacinth? Xiao Yao and I have always worked hard... Sister Wan, are we bringing you too much pressure?"
After hearing Jiang Yan's words, Wan Yue sighed deeply, pain appearing in her eyes. Blood vessels from fatigue and accumulated mental stress quietly climbed into her pupils.
"To figure out what the Tang Family actually did, many people have died since decades ago... Who knows how many more will die... Perhaps the best solution is for you to stay in Hyacinth forever.
"Now, some remarkable big shots are searching for you worldwide. With their methods, it's only a matter of time.
"As long as I'm alive, I won't let you fall into anyone's hands. Please grow to a degree that makes everyone fear you, then go uncover the mystery...
"I'll get more big golden pills for you. Truth also requires strength to be qualified to explore. Just let me see a result.”
After speaking, Wan Yue walked to the bed, gently caressing Jiang Yao's face, brushing away a few strands of hair stuck to her cheek, her expression returning to calm.
The previous emotion seemed like just an unreasonable venting due to inner pressure, particularly rare for Wan Yue but quite normal.
"Thank you, Sister Wan..."
Jiang Yan stood up, head lowered. After a few seconds, she heard the clicking of high heels fading away.
Sighing softly, she lifted her skirt hem, drew her pistol and chambered a round, caressed it for a few seconds, then inserted it back into the holster.
Outside the door, on the corridor where black and gold intertwined, Wan Yue stared blankly at the dozen or so silent Hyacinth members below, her heart suddenly becoming a tangled mess.
Over the past half month, accompanying the Engel Family throughout D City's underground world, the Tang Family that once controlled territory now had only two or three small cats trembling in dark corners, each claiming to know nothing.
Last time, Jiang Yan had already told her a chilling piece of information: the Tang Family raised a terrifying big meat ball.
But such a secret matter was easily detected by Shadow Arrow, which seemed illogical for an Orthodox Blood Clan family with an old turtle style.
Could it be the Wang Family? Did they notice something wrong with the Tang Family?
Wan Yue suddenly thought of the domestic number one Orthodox Blood Clan major family that controlled the western provinces, with influence covering half of China.
Nothing else aside, the Wang Family indeed watched the various small families in their sphere of influence very closely. They probably didn't want the Tang Family to continue doing whatever they were doing, so they deliberately borrowed Shadow Arrow as a blade. Did they know the truth behind it all?
After a certain raid operation, Shadow Arrow launched an unprecedented sweep of D City's Blood Clan underground world, trying to erase all clues that might lead to discovering the truth behind the Tang Family.
This indicated that Shadow Arrow had also come into contact with part of the Tang Family's content, even that mysterious big meat ball, and was blocking all possible channels for information spread.
What was the significance of this blockade, and who was it targeting?
Thinking of this, Wan Yue suddenly looked up. "Zhao Peng, make a trip to the Wang Family!"
In the first-floor hall, Zhao Peng straightened his suit, glanced around at his colleagues, then quickly walked toward the second floor.
Night fell, and light rain began.
In front of a central villa in a high-end villa district in Q District, two luxury cars slowly approached. The villa's front door was wide open, and Zhong Hai was waiting with his wife and second son Zhong Jing.
A short young man first got out of the lead car, quickly walked to the rear car, and opened the back door.
As the door opened, a high-heeled shoe appeared under an elegant Western-style long dress, followed by a graceful and dignified girl getting out. The short young man then stood behind the girl with an umbrella.
The girl was about 160 cm tall, with shoulder-length hair and a beautiful bow tied at the back of her head. Lightly made up, with dignified features and an elegant, mature temperament.
"Very sorry, the flight was delayed. I apologize for keeping everyone waiting."
Tsurumi Haruka placed both hands in front of her body and bowed deeply, her manner proper, gentle and modest, as if feeling very ashamed about being twenty minutes late.
"Miss Tsurumi is too polite. Having you visit the Zhong home today brings us great honor!"
Zhong Hai stepped forward several paces, smiling as he gestured, then looked sideways at his second son.
Unable to contact eldest son Meng Huai, now with a distinguished guest arriving and the family missing one person, Zhong Hai felt his preparations over the past half month still had flaws. What made him more uneasy was that Zhong Jing seemed to be merely completing a family reception task, showing no interest in the guest herself.
"Uncle Zhong, please just call me Haruka. Grandfather has always mentioned your great name to me. Meeting for the first time, I'll be troubling you many times in the future. Please take good care of me."
Tsurumi Haruka smiled as she looked at the Zhong family head before her, bowing deeply again.
Heh, so this is the only granddaughter of Japan's prestigious Tsurumi Financial Group? She really looks like a character from anime, specifically the kind that resembles a noble villainous lady...
Almost upon meeting eyes, several strange character types popped into Zhong Jing's mind. His brain even began comparing her with Jiang Yao.
However, embarrassingly, at least for now, setting aside height, appearance, and figure, Tsurumi Haruka's bearing, temperament, and manner of speaking absolutely crushed that blonde girl.
To entertain the Tsurumi Financial Group's heiress, the Zhong family arranged an extremely luxurious Western dinner. The already spacious dining room, plus temporarily added household staff, maximized the atmosphere.
Tsurumi Haruka's performance at the dinner table was textbook elegant and proper.
During the meal, some formulaic but witty question-and-answer exchanges greatly shortened the distance between both parties. Tsurumi Haruka's fluent Chinese made it hard to believe she was a Japanese girl visiting China for the first time.
After dinner, accompanied by Zhong Jing, Tsurumi Haruka toured the Zhong family villa, showing various expressions of shock and admiration. Especially seeing the super bedroom on the second floor that she could move into at any time, she happily bowed in thanks several times.
Tsurumi Haruka's first visit ended perfectly. Watching her convoy depart, Zhong Jing's expression gradually became serious.
Although Tsurumi Haruka was the protagonist, Zhong Jing had been paying attention to the wooden-like short young man behind her. He seemed to catch a familiar scent from him.
"Alright, this was just the first meeting for everyone to get acquainted. Zhong Jing, Miss Tsurumi is now studying in China and will visit our home every weekend. She's only four years younger than you. Young people find it easier to get along. Don't wander around on weekends anymore, spend more time with her."
Zhong Hai seemed to have solved some major problem, his expression much more relaxed now.
As for Zhong Jing, he had earlier noticed the deep anxiety and tension hidden beneath his father Zhong Hai's easygoing expression. After all, during his father's startup phase, there had been extremely deep cooperation with the Tsurumi Group, even exclusive cooperation.
"What would I have in common with a Japanese financial group's noble heiress? We're not on the same level. In her eyes, we're no different from nouveau riche."
Zhong Jing scoffed, pulled off his tie, and turned toward the villa behind him.
"Oh my, child, though her family background is distinguished, the Zhong family is also a major household with influence in S Province. Our families have had friendship for over twenty years. It's quite a good match! Don't you like Japanese anime? This is perfect for more exchanges with her."
Seeing her son seemingly showing no appreciation for Tsurumi Haruka, Mother Zhong's face immediately fell. For the first time, she seriously lectured her son, even trying to grab his hand.
"Never mind, familiarity comes with time. A few more interactions will be fine. Your mother and I went through the same thing back then."
Zhong Hai wasn't rushed, restraining his wife with a calm expression.
"Uh... let's see then... But honey, you mentioned last time that the Tsurumi family wants to arrange a marriage alliance with our Zhong family. Don't joke about this. I must say first, the eldest son's personality won't work. Jing'er will inherit your position in the future, we can't choose the eldest!"
Mother Zhong thought for a moment, then began whispering in his ear again, stirring up that trace of unease in Zhong Hai's heart once more.