第31章 关系这么硬

Hearing that someone was pulling strings to meet the talent he had scouted, Lan Junxian's instinctive reaction was to refuse.

On one hand, Jiang Qian's post-operative condition still required observation, making it inconvenient to play the host; on the other hand, regarding the sensitivity of his status, the personnel appointment from the Beijing Headquarters Special Task Force had not yet been issued, and many variables remained.

Lan Junxian could almost conclude that anyone pulling strings to visit at such a time had impure motives.

—Most likely, they were here to poach his talent!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile: after working for so long, would he, Lan Junxian, let someone else get there first?

He hadn't just put effort into Jiang Qian; over the past two days, he had made full preparations within the Deep Sea Clan and the East Sea Special Affairs Center. Even the Beijing Headquarters had been coordinated and smoothed over.

Barring any accidents, he was just waiting for the appointment letter to make it official.

"Teacher Lan, that... the person endorsing this lady is the Chief of the Jinping Public Security Department, so refusing like this might be a bit inappropriate." Team Bear looked troubled.

After all, he was a License Holder in the Jinping area, and although he wasn't in the same system as the regular Public Security Department, cooperation was a daily occurrence. He still had to save face.

"Just say Jiang Qian is too weak after his surgery to receive guests," Lan Junxian thought for a moment and said. "Are they really that impatient? Once the quarantine period ends in a few days and he leaves this No. 7 Safe House, it will be their business how they meet."

Team Bear wanted to say something but held back, finally saying, "Fine, I'll reply to them."

He then hurried off to return the call.

Just as Lan Junxian was preparing to walk back, his own phone rang at the perfect moment.

Picking it up, he saw the caller was none other than the Director of the Operations Department at the East Sea Official Special Affairs Center—his direct superior.

"Hello, Director?"

Lan Junxian straightened his posture.

His superior could be described as a "hands-off manager" who rarely gave Lan Junxian work instructions, fully utilizing the initiative of the Operations Department's second-in-command regarding business capabilities. However, whenever Lan Junxian encountered an important decision, he would always fully consult this superior's opinion.

Before long, Lan Junxian hung up the phone with a complex expression.

After asking about some of the finer details of the Peacock Spider case, his superior had specifically reminded him to respect regional relationship networks; when in another's territory, one needed to be flexible and adaptable.

This was undoubtedly a thought-provoking signal: his "competitor" could influence his superior through certain connections.

It meant the other party was well aware of the jurisdiction of this matter and happened to possess the ability to mobilize relevant resources.

The water ran deep.

While Lan Junxian was lost in thought, Team Bear hurried back, holding his phone.

The round-faced uncle's expression was strange now. Covering the receiver, he whispered, "Teacher Lan, the Chief of the Jinping Public Security Department called personally. He wants to ask you to please make an exception."

Ten minutes later.

Yu Xuan, wearing a black women's suit with a red lining, followed Team Bear into the security checkpoint of the No. 7 Safe House.

She took off her sunglasses and mask, revealing a face that was lightly made up yet absolutely stunning.

Yu Xuan was elegant and approachable in her interactions, with no airs at all.

The accompanying staff witnessed the real deal of this celebrity entrepreneur—if she hadn't retired from the industry, she would have absolutely crushed it! Without even discussing temperament or emotional intelligence, her looks and figure alone outclassed the most popular young actresses of the moment.

Lan Junxian met Yu Xuan here.

At this moment, he had shamefully discovered that the person trying every possible way to see Jiang Qian was not his "competitor" at all.

The files showed that she was Jiang Qian's sister from another mother!

Then he remembered that phone call from Jiang Qian not long ago...

Lan Junxian couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Who would have thought! No wonder Jiang Qian could resist the temptations of the Peacock Spider. Living with such a queen of beauty every day would seriously lower the freshness and appeal brought by other beauties, right?

Lan Junxian never chased celebrities, but he was a man nonetheless.

Seeing this once-popular actress walking toward him, he was still somewhat distracted.

She was more vivid and concrete than on screen.

Her attire was exquisite and sharp, her makeup clean and appropriate, and she wore no superfluous accessories.

Even so, one could easily sense the nobility of a superior from her. And within this nobility, a rare, untamed pride was fused. It was a fatal attraction to the male sex.

By now, Yu Xuan had reached Lan Junxian.

"Hello, I am Yu Xuan," she said concisely.

She had already reported her basic information before coming, and she trusted the other party wasn't foolish enough to need her to introduce herself.

"Hello, Miss Yu. Team Bear should have told you that due to some reasons that cannot be made public, you can only meet with Jiang Qian for 10 minutes, and I will accompany you throughout the entire process."

"Okay, I understand."

"Please follow me." Lan Junxian made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation.

Along the way, Yu Xuan didn't ask any unnecessary questions, and Lan Junxian didn't offer any unnecessary explanations.

Soon, they arrived at Jiang Qian's room.

Lan Junxian walked in first and said to Jiang Qian, who was leaning on the sofa flipping through a book, "Your sister is here to see you."

Jiang Qian, dressed neatly and on guard, stood up from the sofa.

He said to Yu Xuan, who was walking in, "Sister."

Yu Xuan stepped into the room.

Upon hearing Jiang Qian's voice and seeing her brother standing there safe and sound, the composure and pride of this celebrity entrepreneur instantly melted away.

Her emotions were contained in her eyes, showing nothing on the surface.

But Jiang Qian had already read the mix of worry, relief, heartache, and lingering fear in his sister's watery eyes.

Some women, even if they don't cry, can easily stir a man's pity.

"Sister, why are you here?" Jiang Qian swallowed, trying to cover his current nervousness with a smile.

Yu Xuan ignored her brother's words, walking straight up to him. She looked him over carefully from head to toe several times, reaching out to touch her brother's face and forehead.

Finally, she pulled up her brother's right wrist, which was still wrapped in a layer of gauze.

The poison wound from the Peacock Spider had actually healed long ago, but Jiang Qian had kept forgetting to remove it...

Yu Xuan's gaze sharpened, and she took the opportunity to "glare" deeply at Lan Junxian.

Lan Junxian immediately felt very innocent.

"It has nothing to do with him," Jiang Qian threw out the excuse he had prepared in advance at the right time. "We had an accidental incident in the wild and only arrived here through official rescue. We are currently cooperating with the investigation... don't worry, I'm fine."

Unexpectedly, in the next second, his sister's arms passed under his armpits, pulling him into a tight embrace.

At that moment, Jiang Qian was also somewhat stunned.

His sister's cheek was buried in his shoulder, and the familiar, pleasant scent filled his nostrils. At the same time, he felt his sister trembling...

Is she afraid? Indeed, anyone would be terrified if they were detained and quarantined by the authorities. I definitely can't let her know I also went through an open-chest surgery... Jiang Qian patted his sister's back. "It's okay, Sister. This is just routine procedure; I'll be back in a few days."

Yu Xuan stayed in Jiang Qian's arms for a good while before gradually calming down. She loosened her grip slightly, and the tension pressing against Jiang Qian's chest eased.

"How many days?"

"Hmm, three or four days, I guess..." Jiang Qian estimated.

Yu Xuan turned her head to look in Lan Junxian's direction, as if questioning the jailer.

"He can leave on the afternoon of the third day," Lan Junxian promised solemnly.

"Thank you."

Yu Xuan finally lifted her face from Jiang Qian's shoulder.

Her eyes were shimmering, but she still gathered her emotions as quickly as possible to say goodbye to her brother: "I will wait for you at home."

Things had gone more smoothly than Jiang Qian imagined; his sister didn't seem to have too many suspicions.

However, when she reached the door, Yu Xuan turned her head again, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and said to Jiang Qian without changing her expression:

"We'll talk about the child when you get home."

"Cough, cough!"

This sentence instantly depressed Jiang Qian. He covered his incision and forced a smile: "...Take care on your way, Sister."

From Jiang Qian's perspective, an illusory, naked mermaid was winding around Yu Xuan's slender legs and tight waist.

She even turned back to wink at him from time to time...

No wonder she kept saying someone was following her; it turns out she was being trailed by a House Ward... Regarding the demonic avatar's such dedicated protection, Jiang Qian didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

After Lan Junxian saw Yu Xuan off, he returned to the safe house.

Both men breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Lan Junxian couldn't help but tease, "Your sister has strong connections; otherwise, as an ordinary person, she would never have been able to reach this place. A celebrity's resources are truly breathtaking..."

Her assets are also breathtaking... Jiang Qian didn't say this out loud because he had always held reservations about his sister's complex social circle and didn't want to discuss it too much with others.

His focus at this moment remained on another matter:

"Teacher Lan, I still have some questions regarding the Peacock Spider case. Can we talk about them?"

Seeing Jiang Qian take the initiative to get to the point, Lan Junxian felt deeply gratified.

Previously, hindered by Dr. Cai's presence, he hadn't communicated very deeply. Now that Jiang Qian had proactively raised questions, it filled him with anticipation for the thoughts this survivor, who had just escaped death, had on the ins and outs of the whole affair.

So he sat down: "There's no one else here now, feel free to ask whatever you're confused about."

Jiang Qian then got straight to the point:

"First question: Is the Peacock Spider really dead?"