Connections That Strong

I heard someone was pulling strings to meet the talent he had his eye on, and Lan Junxian's instinctive reaction was to refuse.

For one thing, Jiang Qian was still recovering from surgery and needed to be monitored, so he wasn't in any condition to receive visitors. For another, given how sensitive his status was, the personnel appointment for the Beijing Headquarters Special Task Force hadn't been issued yet, and there were still many uncertainties.

Lan Junxian could almost guarantee that anyone going to such lengths to visit at a time like this had ulterior motives.

—Most likely, they were trying to poach him!

The thought made him want to laugh. After all the work I've put in, do they really think I'll let someone else get to him first?

He hadn't just worked on Jiang Qian. Over the past couple of days, he'd also laid plenty of groundwork with the Deep Sea Clan and the East Sea Special Affairs Center. He'd even coordinated things with the Beijing Headquarters.

If all went well, it was just a matter of waiting for the appointment letter. Everything would fall into place.

"Teacher Lan, um... the person backing this woman is the Chief of Jinping Public Security Department. I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to turn her down just like that." Team Bear looked troubled.

After all, he was a License Holder in Jinping. Though he wasn't part of the same system as the regular Public Security Bureau, working with them was commonplace. They still had to show some respect.

"Just tell them Jiang Qian is too weak after surgery to receive visitors," Lan Junxian said after a moment's thought. "Can't they wait? Once his quarantine period is over in a few days and he's out of this Safe House, they can meet him all they like."

Team Bear hesitated, then finally said, "All right. I'll get back to them."

Then he hurried off to return the call.

Lan Junxian was just about to head back when his own phone rang at the right moment.

He picked it up and saw that the caller was the head of the Operations Department at the East Sea Special Affairs Center—his immediate superior.

"Hello, Chief?"

Lan Junxian straightened up.

His superior was something of an "absentee manager." He rarely gave Lan Junxian work instructions, allowing him to make full use of his initiative as the Operations Department's second-in-command. But whenever Lan Junxian faced an important decision, he always sought his superior's opinion.

A short while later, Lan Junxian hung up, his expression complicated.

After asking about a few minor details of the Peacock Spider case, his superior had specifically reminded him to respect local networks of influence and to be flexible when operating in someone else's territory.

It was an unmistakable and thought-provoking signal: his "rival" could use certain connections to influence his superior.

That meant the other party understood exactly who had jurisdiction over this matter—and just happened to have the connections to mobilize the relevant resources.

This ran deep.

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

The plump middle-aged man looked a little strange. He covered the phone's microphone and lowered his voice. "Teacher Lan, the Chief of Jinping Public Security Department called personally. He'd like you to make an exception, if you would."

Ten minutes later.

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

She took off her sunglasses and mask, revealing a stunning face with just a touch of makeup.

Yu Xuan was elegant and warm with people, without a trace of airs.

The people accompanying her saw for themselves that this celebrity entrepreneur was the real deal. If she hadn't left show business, she would've taken the industry by storm! Forget her presence and people skills—her looks and figure alone would've outshone the most popular young actresses of the day.

Lan Junxian met Yu Xuan there.

By then, he'd realized with some embarrassment that this woman who'd gone to such lengths to see Jiang Qian wasn't his "rival" at all.

The records showed that she was Jiang Qian's sister in every way but blood!

And then he remembered Jiang Qian's phone call not long ago...

Lan Junxian couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Who would've thought? No wonder Jiang Qian resisted the Peacock Spider's temptations. Living with a beauty like her every day must have made other women seem a lot less novel.

Lan Junxian had never been a fan of celebrities, but he was still a man.

Seeing this once-famous actress walking toward him, he couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

She was even more vivid and captivating in person than she'd appeared on screen.

Her outfit was stylish and sharp, her makeup neat and appropriate, and she wore no unnecessary accessories.

Even so, it was easy to sense the air of affluence and authority about her. And mingled with that was a rare, untamed pride. It was irresistible to men.

By then, Yu Xuan had come to stand before Lan Junxian.

"Hello, I'm Yu Xuan," she said simply.

She'd already reported the basic information beforehand. Surely the other man wasn't foolish enough to need her to introduce herself.

"Hello, Ms. Yu. Team Bear should have told you that, for reasons we can't disclose, you can meet with Jiang Qian for only ten minutes, and I'll be present the entire time."

"All right. I understand."

"Please, follow me." Lan Junxian gestured courteously for her to go ahead.

On the way, Yu Xuan asked no unnecessary questions, and Lan Junxian offered no unnecessary explanations.

Soon, they arrived at Jiang Qian's room.

Lan Junxian went in first and said to Jiang Qian, who was leaning against the sofa reading, "Your sister's here to see you."

Jiang Qian was neatly dressed and on alert. He stood up from the sofa.

He looked toward Yu Xuan as she came in and said, "Sis."

Yu Xuan stepped into the room.

The moment she heard Jiang Qian's voice and saw her younger brother standing there unharmed, the composure and pride of the celebrity entrepreneur melted away.

All her feelings showed in her eyes, though she didn't let them escape anywhere else.

But Jiang Qian could read the mingled worry, relief, heartache, and lingering fear in his sister's watery eyes.

Some women could stir a man's tenderness with ease, even without shedding a tear.

"Sis, what are you doing here?" Jiang Qian swallowed and tried to hide his nervousness behind a smile.

Yu Xuan ignored his question and came straight over. She examined him carefully from head to toe several times, then reached out to touch his face and forehead.

Finally, she took his right wrist. A bandage was still wrapped around it.

The Peacock Spider's venom wound had healed long ago, but Jiang Qian had simply forgotten to take off the bandage...

Yu Xuan's gaze sharpened, and she turned to give Lan Junxian a long, pointed glare.

Lan Junxian immediately felt wronged.

"It's not his fault," Jiang Qian said, offering the excuse he'd prepared. "We had an accident out in the wild. The authorities rescued us and brought us here, and we're cooperating with the investigation... Don't worry, I'm fine."

But in the next moment, his sister had already slipped both arms beneath his and pulled him into a tight embrace.

Jiang Qian froze for a moment.

His sister buried her face in his shoulder. Her familiar, pleasant scent filled his nostrils, and he could feel her trembling...

Is she scared? Anyone would be worried sick if their family member was locked up in quarantine by the authorities. I especially can't tell her I also had open-chest surgery... Jiang Qian patted her back. "I'm fine, Sis. It's just standard procedure. I'll be home in a few days."

Yu Xuan stayed in his arms for a long while before gradually calming down. She loosened her hold a little, easing the tight pressure against Jiang Qian's chest.

"How many days?"

"Three or four, I think..." Jiang Qian guessed.

But Yu Xuan turned her face toward Lan Junxian, as though asking the jailer.

"He'll be able to leave three days from now, in the afternoon," Lan Junxian said solemnly.

"Thank you."

At last, Yu Xuan lifted her face from Jiang Qian's shoulder.

Her eyes glistened, but she quickly composed herself and said goodbye to her younger brother. "I'll be waiting for you at home."

Things had gone more smoothly than Jiang Qian expected. His sister didn't seem to have many suspicions.

However, when she reached the doorway, Yu Xuan turned back again, as if she'd just remembered something. Without giving anything away, she said to Jiang Qian:

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

"Cough, cough!"

Those words immediately plunged Jiang Qian into despair. Clutching his incision, he forced a smile. "...Take care, Sis."

From Jiang Qian's perspective, a phantom, naked mermaid woman was winding herself around Yu Xuan's long legs and slender waist.

Every so often, she'd glance back and blow him a kiss...

No wonder people kept saying someone was following her. So it was a House Ward that had been tailing her... Jiang Qian didn't know whether he should be pleased or concerned by how diligently his Demon Clones were protecting her.

After seeing Yu Xuan off, Lan Junxian returned to the Safe House.

Both men let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

Lan Junxian couldn't resist teasing him. "Your sister's connections are pretty impressive. Someone with an ordinary person's status wouldn't even be able to get in here. A celebrity's resources really are astonishing..."

Her wealth is astonishing too... Jiang Qian didn't say it aloud. He'd always had reservations about his sister's complicated social circle and didn't want to discuss it with anyone.

His attention was still on something else:

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

Seeing Jiang Qian bring up the main topic on his own, Lan Junxian was deeply gratified.

Dr. Cai had been there earlier, so he hadn't been able to discuss things in much depth. Now that Jiang Qian was asking questions himself, Lan Junxian was eager to hear how the man who'd just escaped death had pieced together what had happened.

So he sat down. "There's no one else here now. Ask whatever's on your mind."

Jiang Qian got straight to the point:

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