Chapter 391

"Master! Yao Shi, what are you doing? I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

Standing on the steps, Milutin gazed at the two below with a resentful expression.

What are those two whispering about? Can't they hurry up a bit?

She still had classes in the afternoon, and she wanted to study with Su Qian; she wasn't prepared to spend the whole day here.

(Su Qian: When have you ever actually attended a class? Speak honestly.)

"Mr. Lan, can we go to the academy now to see Mom?"

The silver-haired girl who suddenly walked out of the hall spoke in a somewhat hurried tone.

She was probably in a hurry, because the girl walked very quickly and kept glancing at her watch as if checking the time.

Behind him was a man dressed in casual clothes and wearing glasses, who looked like a gentle older brother next door.

"Miss, I think it's too late for us to get to the academy."

"Madam has an invitation to a meeting this afternoon. If nothing unexpected happens, she should have already left the academy by now."

Luo Lan glanced at the time after picking up her handbag and said helplessly.

The lady must have already left the academy; even if I and Miss went there, we wouldn't be able to see her.

"Is that so? It's alright. Let's go find Sister Yun Xi first. She must still be in the manor."

"It's a good opportunity to ask Sister Yun Xi in detail about my mother's life in recent years, to see if she really is as... slovenly as that young man described..."

Qiao Xinying paused for a moment and then gave a somewhat helpless smile.

She had to see it for herself, to witness it all with her own eyes.

If all of this is true, then she must apologize to the young man she misunderstood.

She was given kind advice, but she misunderstood it because she acted impulsively.

A mistake is a mistake, Qiao Xinying has no reason to argue. She must express her sincerest apologies to the other party.

"Alright, since you've said so, let's hurry up."

"And I'm also quite interested in the young man you mentioned, Miss. It's making me want to meet him too."

Luo Lan pushed up her glasses and smiled faintly.

But just as he stepped down the stairs, Luo Lan suddenly turned around and looked at the man behind him.

Wait a minute, this man in front of me, who looks almost 40, seems familiar.

"That girl..."

Wu Xingsheng had been observing the two men ever since they left the hotel.

I was particularly moved when I saw the girl with long silver-gray hair.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the child looked somewhat similar to someone in his memory.

It wasn't that their appearances were so similar, but rather that this inexplicable aura made him feel especially familiar with it.

"Master! What are you doing?"

Milutin's shout drew Wu Xingsheng's attention back to the present.

Wu Xingsheng glanced meaningfully at the girl who had already walked away, touched his nose, and shrugged his shoulders.

It might just be my imagination; she was just a pretty little girl.

"Mr. Lan, we should go now. What are you looking at?"

Qiao Xinying, who was halfway there, looked at Luo Lan, who was standing there in a daze.

Mr. Lan isn't the type to suddenly lose focus. Did he see something?

Thinking of this, Qiao Xinying couldn't help but turn her gaze to the back, looking at the crowd she had previously ignored.

However, at that very moment, a cold gaze met her eyes.

The black-haired beauty standing at the bottom of the steps was staring at her from a distance, her black gem-like eyes shimmering with a silvery light.

Why is she looking at me?

Qiao Xinying gazed at the beauty in the distance and murmured softly.

She was certain she didn't know the handsome, aloof man, so why was he staring at her so intently?

Chapter Thirty-One: A Familiar Face

Yao Shi stood there silently watching the two figures disappear into the distance.

The icy gazes, like sharpened blades, pierced the distance, locking onto the girl with long silver-gray hair, and lingered there for a long time.

Several minutes later, after the girl and the young man had disappeared from her sight, Yao Shi closed her eyes and came back to her senses.

"Am I just imagining things...?"

Yao Shi pinched her brow and whispered as the girl brushed past her.

She had a strange feeling that she had seen the person somewhere before; both their appearance and demeanor were somewhat similar to someone she knew.

However, this is just her personal guess, and it doesn't necessarily mean it's correct.

"Sir, let us go and check you in first."

Yao Shi glanced at the two people who had disappeared across the street, shook her head, and shook off the distracting thoughts.

She walked up to Wu Xingsheng and said casually, "Never mind, she's just a slightly familiar little girl. I don't need to care about her so much."

The most important thing right now is the young master and Su Qian. She should focus her energy on that, instead of staring at a pretty young girl.

"Hmm... let's go inside first..."

After a moment of silence, Wu Xingsheng smiled calmly and then walked up the stairs into the hall.

The girl from before suddenly reminded him of someone, a woman he owed a lot to.

"Holy crap... I didn't even recognize him...?"

Yao Qing, who had been hiding behind a stone statue in the corner, slowly emerged from the shadows.

Looking at Wu Xingsheng, who had already entered the hall, she bit her fingertip in dissatisfaction.

Tsk, this development is quite different from what he initially expected.

He deliberately brought Wu Xingsheng and Yao Shi here to create an opportunity for them to meet Qiao Xinying.

His initial thought was that even if Wu Xingsheng didn't recognize Qiao Xinying, the child would definitely recognize Wu Xingsheng.

But the current development is clearly beyond his control. How come neither of these two people can recognize the other?

"Is it because too much time has passed that you couldn't recognize me?"

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have prepared more. What a waste of a good opportunity."

Yao Qing crossed her arms, lowered her head, and pondered silently.

How old was Qiao Xinying when she last met Wu Xingsheng? Eight? Nine?

Ah... thinking about it that way, it seems like quite a long time has passed...

After all, almost ten years have passed, so it's understandable that the two of them didn't recognize each other.

Well, he was careless this time; he didn't expect this outcome.

Ten years is enough time to change a person's appearance and temperament, let alone Qiao Xinying was still a child at the time.

Wu Xingsheng's failure to recognize Qiao Xinying was a mistake in his arrangements; he'll have to be more careful next time.

"But that's not a problem. Those two will find out each other's identities sooner or later."

"After all, it won't be long before the young master comes here to meet the master."

Yao Qing touched her chin and revealed a malicious smile.

He suddenly felt that he was truly enjoying life now, and the days he spent with Wu Xingsheng before were completely incomparable to the present.

Rather than being Wu Xingsheng's deputy and spending his days tediously organizing documents, it would be better to stay by the young master's side as an open idler, but a matchmaker in secret.

Such clandestine activities, carried out behind the backs of the young master and the master, are more in line with his identity as an assassin.

"Isn't what I'm doing now more exciting than assassination?"

Yao Qing stroked her chin, murmuring thoughtfully.

As if to affirm his own achievements, Yao Qing shook his head and smiled faintly like a charlatan.

Being able to witness the young master's development along the red thread she had drawn brings a profound sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

"Well, we've done most of what we needed to do. Now it's up to you, young master, to do your best."

Yao Qing twisted her waist, stretched vigorously, and then spoke casually.

He has now connected all the hidden connections between Su Qian, Qiao Xinying, Qiao Ranxin, and the old man.

The young master will inevitably come into contact with them one by one in the future.

"A real fiancée and a fake lover, huh... Heh... That's something to look forward to..."

Yao Qing walked towards the hotel lobby.

Being able to watch the young master grow up as the behind-the-scenes boss feels incredibly awesome.

He looked up at the clear blue sky and grinned. Being an assassin is not as fun as being a boss.

"Um..."

Sitting in the back row, Qiao Xinying looked out of the back window at the hotel.

She was still very concerned about the woman from before; the woman's gaze made her feel strange.

The look in that eyes, like someone seeing a familiar face but not quite sure, made her very concerned about the beauty's identity.

It wasn't that she had any opinion about that woman, but she just felt a little uncomfortable.

She seemed to have seen similar people before, with that chilling gaze that almost went to her bones; she must have felt it before.

But her memory of when she had met him was somewhat hazy.

"Miss, are you thinking about the people you just met?"

Luo Lan, who was driving, noticed that Qiao Xinying's expression was somewhat strange.

In fact, not only the young lady, but even he felt that something was wrong.

If they were complete strangers, he would not have been able to feel familiar with them.

But the man who had just brushed past him not only looked very familiar, he could also sense a strong sense of oppression emanating from him.

His innate instincts made him fear the other party, and he had felt this absolute sense of oppression before.

"Luo Lan, don't you think they look familiar?"

After a long silence, Qiao Xinying turned her gaze to Luo Lan.

It was only then that she noticed that Luo Lan's hands were trembling.

She looked as if she had seen something terrifying and was terrified; this was the first time she had ever seen Luo Lan so out of control.

"Miss, that man from before was no ordinary person."

Luo Lan gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to stop her hands from trembling.

He was stunned by the man with just a casual glance.

To act so cowardly in front of the young lady was truly a mistake he shouldn't have made.

"It seems we've encountered someone extraordinary."