The smarter people were, the more they tended to overthink. In familiar situations like "you predicted my prediction of your prediction-" the twists and turns never seemed to end.
Yet things brought out into the open were often perfectly straightforward.
"Bishop Di submitted a request through diplomatic channels yesterday, hoping to secure legal permission to preach within our borders. Of course, this isn't one of the old Christian denominations. It's a new set of doctrines currently being written. From some of the content, they don't name names outright, but they're essentially pointing to that great light ball."
They sat in the room's reception area while a "trainee" from the preparatory camp poured tea beside them, then tactfully withdrew.
Unlike previous occasions, however, Director Qian Yisheng had taken time out of his busy schedule to visit this abandoned factory complex of his own accord. Although he remained as jovial and talkative as ever, a few small details betrayed a rare hint of something like "caution."
Caution in both words and deeds.
Clearly, after initially detecting certain factors, even if they remained mere "suspicions" rather than confirmed facts, some of the corresponding treatment Li Yun received had risen accordingly.
It was just that his unsolicited offer to replace certain contacts with more professional "customer service representatives" had met with a polite refusal: "There's no need. We know each other already, and I think Old Hu and the others are pretty decent."
Something so inconsequential was merely a pretext to bring up in passing.
By comparison, after exchanging pleasantries, Director Qian had also brought some interesting new information, much as expected.
"Especially over the past two days, Mr. Di has been actively making friendly contact with people from all sides-officials, private individuals, and members of domestic cultural organizations, including former Taoist groups."
"He's