It's Operational

Chapter 24: The Operation Begins

The next day, early morning.

Xia Yan had slept beautifully. She pulled open the curtains, closed her eyes, and basked in the warmth of the sunlight shining down on her.

After lounging lazily for a while, she tidied her slightly wavy chestnut-colored short hair and began her morning routine.

An hour later, having finished breakfast, Xia Yan arrived at the basement and saw Jiang Xiao, drenched in sweat, sitting on the floor with faint starlight flickering around him—clearly absorbing Star Power.

"Ready?" Xia Yan didn't enter the basement. Even though there was a ventilation shaft and it worked reasonably well, the smell wasn't great.

Last night, Xia Yan had already come to find Lei Jin and explicitly told him she'd be taking Jiang Xiao out today.

Lei Jin agreed without a second word, practically approving the leave slip with gratitude. He'd vanished last night, probably off to grab some BBQ Skewers.

These past few days, Lei Jin had mentioned several times that he wanted to eat street-side grilled skewers.

Jiang Xiao withdrew his Star Power, looked up, and gave Xia Yan a half-smile. "Alright. Oh, right—give me my phone. I need to let Han Jiangxue know."

Xia Yan's heart fluttered with panic, but she masked it with an irritated tone: "I already told your sister. Just follow me!"

"Mm, fine." Jiang Xiao thought for a moment, stood up, and headed for the bathroom. "Give me ten minutes."

Xia Yan let out a long breath and turned to walk out.

Jiang Xiao shook his head with a smile. She was still just a kid, after all. Sometimes, her thoughts and actions were quite amusing.

Yesterday, before leaving, Xia Shanhai had specifically asked the three of them not to tell Xia Yan that he had visited.

As her father, making such a request left them with nothing to argue.

Jiang Xiao could easily guess what Xia Yan had done with his phone. From Xia Shanhai's words, it wasn't hard to deduce that Xia Yan had been confessing in Jiang Xiao's name.

I confess to myself!

Are you scared? In this world, most actions have a purpose. So what was Xia Yan's goal? Jiang Xiao thought it over. A goddess of her caliber definitely didn't lack admirers; she didn't need a young Jiang Xiaopi to boost her vanity.

That left only one real benefit: Han Jiangxue, who was extremely concerned about Jiang Xiao.

When Han Jiangxue discovered that Jiang Xiao kept confessing to Xia Yan, what would she do?

Either give Jiang Xiao a harsh scolding, or go to Xia Yan to apologize.

Since Han Jiangxue hadn't shown up yet, the situation spoke for itself.

As he showered, Jiang Xiao pondered how to handle this.

He could brush off these trivial matters, but poor Han Jiangxue was suffering for it. She was probably still saying soft words in front of Xia Yan. Thinking of such an aloof Miss having to humble herself because of him—what a sin.

That said, Xia Yan's nature wasn't malicious. She'd probably been "frozen" by Han Jiangxue all these years, leading to this prank.

No, he absolutely couldn't let Han Jiangxue endure this anymore. He couldn't let this woman Xia Yan keep running wild!

Call her out directly? Wouldn't that let this wretched woman off too easily? He needed to figure out how to deal with her.

Jiang Xiao finished his shower, put on a clean set of sportswear, and walked out of the basement.

Who would have thought that the moment he stepped out, a phone would come flying at him?

He fumbled to catch it and realized it was his own phone.

This infuriating woman had actually returned his phone? What was going on? "Go ahead, call her. It's better if you tell her yourself." Xia Yan had clearly composed herself and spoke casually.

"Oh." Jiang Xiao held the phone, didn't bother checking Weibo, and dialed the number directly.

It rang three times before the other end picked up—silently, without even a "hello."

Jiang Xiao couldn't stand the quiet and spoke first: "Uh, Xia Yan's taking me out for training today. Just letting you know. I've been doing fine here this week, don't worry."

"Mm." On the other end came Han Jiangxue's faint voice.

Jiang Xiao hesitated, noticing Xia Yan's watchful gaze, and added, "How have you been these past few days? Doing okay?"

Han Jiangxue finally spoke: "I've already requested leave from your military training. You'll go back to class in half a month. Train hard with her, stay focused, and remember your promise to me. Don't let your mind wander to meaningless things."

Jiang Xiao opened his mouth but ultimately just said, "Mm."

Then Han Jiangxue hung up.

"What did your sister say?" Xia Yan asked hurriedly.

"What else? Lecturing me, telling me to train hard with you." Jiang Xiao took his phone and opened Weibo. "No, I need to post something to tease her, save some face."

Xia Yan seemed completely unconcerned. "Hah, you deserve the scolding. But honestly, your performance these past few days has been impressive—you've really surprised me."

"I've got to live up to the coach you paid for, right?" Jiang Xiao opened Weibo and found his feed empty—still just one post. His follower count had grown a bit, breaking a hundred, probably all here for the show.

She deleted all the posts she made? No wonder she was so brazen.

Jiang Xiao trusted his judgment. Xia Shanhai had no reason to lie. That wicked woman must have posted a bunch of love confessions in his name.

"We're heading to the Snowfield today. Be mentally prepared." Xia Yan leaned in beside him, smiling.

"Snowfield? Just the two of us? Not bringing Han Jiangxue?" Jiang Xiao looked up, puzzled.

"Mm. Just follow my plan and stop asking so many questions. Hurry up and post—I want to see how you roast your sister." Xia Yan urged.

Jiang Xiao muttered, "Roast her? I just like her, that's all." With that, he quickly sent out a Weibo post.

Jiang Xiaopi Pi Bu Pi just posted from Huawei Maimang C199: "The one I love is separated by mountains and seas, but mountains and seas cannot be leveled."

PS: Day 11 of liking Little Jiang Xue.

"That poem... isn't the tone a bit heavy?" Xia Yan's expression twisted oddly. "Kid, are you really not afraid she'll get mad teasing her like that?"

Jiang Xiao shrugged nonchalantly and casually logged out of his Weibo account.

Xia Yan's smile froze. To log back in, she'd need the password. "Speaking of which, I've been here eight days now—how does this phone still have so much battery?" Jiang Xiao muttered to himself. "Is the standby time really this long?"

Xia Yan looked a little awkward. "The chargers at home are all universal. What if someone needs to reach you? I want to be able to notify you right away."

"Oh." Jiang Xiao sneered inwardly: Whether you notify me or not, I don't know, but I've already notified your father.

I wonder what Xia Shanhai's reaction will be when he sees this Weibo post?

Jiang Xiao thought it over but ultimately didn't set a lock screen password. That thing was just for show—if someone wanted in, it wouldn't stop them.

He tossed the phone onto the coffee table, effectively handing it back to public use, and said, "Should we head out?"

Xia Yan nodded, completely unaware that Jiang Xiaopi had pulled off a slick move right under her nose.

At the same time, in an ordinary house in the center of Jiangbin City.

Xia Shanhai, who had been sitting by the balcony reading the newspaper, saw his wife walk in with a strange expression and hand him her phone.

He took it, looked it over carefully, and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Yesterday, after confirming that Jiang Xiao's phone had been confiscated, Xia Shanhai had roughly figured out that those love confessions were sent by his precious daughter. Whatever her motives, he'd set that aside for now.

But now, without a doubt, this Weibo post under the name Jiang Xiaopi was also sent by his darling daughter, Xia Yan.

But look at what she wrote: "The one I love is separated by mountains and seas, but mountains and seas cannot be leveled?"

What did that mean? Xia Shanhai double-checked that the second line was indeed "cannot be leveled," but he could still feel the thick resentment in the poem.

What the original poem expressed no longer mattered. What mattered was that Xia Shanhai's mind had already filled in his daughter's tone.

What did it mean? Had yesterday's movements been exposed?

Was his precious daughter angry? Did she know he'd been meddling?

Even though it said "cannot be leveled," Xia Shanhai couldn't shake the feeling that she wanted to "level" him. He sighed bitterly to himself: No, it's time to have an honest, open talk with my daughter. No matter what kind of one-woman show she's putting on, what kind of pipe dream she's chasing, I have to talk to her properly.

I can't let my daughter keep indulging in fantasies of self-satisfaction!

Even if I have to throw caution to the wind and agree to this match, I can't let my daughter develop those psychological or mental issues.

After all, health is the most important thing. As for happiness, that can be built. Let Jiang Xiaopi marry into the family! Let him be disciplined by the Xia household! If that kid dares to show even a hint of defiance toward my precious daughter, I'll break his legs.

At the same time, in a house in Garden Community, the sound of a cuckoo bird rang out.

Han Jiangxue frowned. She heard this sound every day, but every time she opened the message, her mood worsened. What was that troublesome little brother of hers up to now?

But this time, when Han Jiangxue opened the message, she was slightly taken aback.

Different people interpret the same poem from different angles.

Xia Yan thought Jiang Xiao was hinting at the relationship between him and Han Jiangxue—part teacher, part family, part siblings.

Xia Shanhai thought Xia Yan was venting resentment and anger, like a precursor to obsession.

But Han Jiangxue thought Jiang Xiao had been struck by a blow.

Han Jiangxue raised an eyebrow. "This poem... Did the kid get hit hard? Got lectured by Xia Yan? Faced reality?"

Not bad, not bad. Better to face reality early.

There's no way the eldest Miss Xia would ever fancy you.

Han Jiangxue saw the PS at the end and her breath caught for a moment: "Counting the days pretty accurately. I'll consider it a change of heart and turning back from the brink."

Han Jiangxue tossed the phone aside, gazing at the lush green trees outside the window, and murmured softly, "Hmph. Men."