Chapter 90

After breakfast, Xu Qiao returned to 101. Not long after, Lv Chun sent her feedback on her thesis. This time, there were fewer corrections needed.

Xu Qiao spent the entire morning revising her thesis. At noon, Qin Chi called her over for lunch.
—-
In the afternoon, Qin Chi had two classes. Before leaving, he said to Xu Qiao, “If Mr. Lin looks for you during this time, just tell him you’re busy and reschedule.”

Xu Qiao: “I guess they’ll still schedule it for the evening.”

Qin Chi: “In any case, don’t compromise yourself. Call me if you need anything.”

Xu Qiao nodded, watching Qin Chi walk out of the unit door before returning to 101.

Before opening her laptop, Xu Qiao was momentarily lost in thought.

If she didn’t have Qin Chi, an S-class teammate, with her current strength, she would only be at Lin Kunshan’s beck and call.

Qin Chi was very good, but Xu Qiao looked forward to a future where she could rely on her own abilities to stand on equal footing with powerful people like Lin Kunshan.

She didn’t want to oppress the weak or abuse her power; she just wanted not to be looked down upon by the strong.

Looking at the lotus flower in the small blue jar accompanying her as she revised her thesis, Xu Qiao nudged a lotus leaf: “When Meng Li and the others come back, I should be done here. Next time, we’ll go on missions with them again.”

After discovering that the training within the base didn’t significantly help Meng Li and the others improve their mental strength, Lv Chun’s team devised a new training and observation plan outside the base. So Meng Li, Sun Fushan, Chen Min, and another potential upgrader, Yang Bainian, went out for training accompanied by Sun Rupan and other guards. They would return to the base on Sunday.

Lotus Flower: “Alright, we need to quickly reach S-class.”

It wanted to make sure that old man Lin Kunshan never dared to speak to Xu Qiao in that tone again!

While Meng Li was away from the base, Meng Qiuyan and Grandma Meng lived their lives peacefully, knowing she was protected by the guards.

Perhaps when they first moved to the central district, Grandma Meng worried about encountering the Lin family and whether they would come looking for Meng Li because of her special spirit body. But as time passed and there was no movement from the Lin family, Grandma Meng was both relieved and angered by Lin Wen’gui, thinking him heartless. Either he didn’t know he had a daughter named Meng Li, or he knew and didn’t care.

In the evening, Meng Qiuyan came home from work. Just after dinner, someone rang the doorbell.

Grandma Meng was in the kitchen, so Meng Qiuyan went to open the door.

Seeing Lin Shixin in casual clothes, Meng Qiuyan’s face changed.

Not long ago, during a live safety department press conference broadcasted across the base, Meng Qiuyan had seen Lin Shixin and knew he was from the Lin family.

Lin Shixin had no other understanding of Meng Qiuyan beyond what was in her documents, but he guessed she was related to the secret matter the old man had been busy with recently.

Surprised by how much more attractive Meng Qiuyan was in person, Lin Shixin said playfully, “It seems Meng Ma’am recognizes me, so do I still need to introduce myself?”

Meng Qiuyan had experienced too much in the past twenty years, including becoming a black scorpion with only animal instincts. After Xu Qiao cured her, Meng Qiuyan felt like she had been reborn, so she would never again feel like she was falling into an abyss just from a superior’s glance, as she had with Lin Kunshan in the past.

If Lin Kunshan couldn’t do it, neither could the arrogant Lin Shixin.

“Is there something you need?” Meng Qiuyan asked coldly, her hands still gripping the door handle.

Lin Shixin smiled: “I’m here on behalf of my grandfather. It’s about Meng Li. He wants to meet with you. If you’re available, we can leave now. By the way, Meng Li’s teammates, Qin Chi and Xu Qiao, will also be there, so you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Having been treated with suspicion by Xu Qiao before, Lin Shixin didn’t want Meng Qiuyan to misunderstand him or the old man as having any ill intentions towards her personally.

Mentioning her daughter made Meng Qiuyan’s heart sink. She was about to speak when Lin Shixin remembered something and added, “My grandfather also asked me to tell you that I don’t know about the secret between you and him, so if you have any doubts, you can ask him directly.”

Meng Qiuyan’s anger and questions were stifled.

“Qiuyan, who is it?” Grandma Meng asked, peeking out from the kitchen.

Lin Shixin pointed to the car parked on the road and said politely, “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Meng Qiuyan watched him leave, calmed herself, and went to the kitchen to explain to her mother that she was going to meet Lin Kunshan.

Grandma Meng nervously grabbed her daughter’s arm: “Are they trying to take Xiao Li away?”

Meng Qiuyan laughed bitterly: “No, the Lin family doesn’t lack S-class descendants, and the old man wouldn’t expose the family’s scandals.”

Grandma Meng spat: “What he did is the real scandal. You and Xiao Li have nothing to be ashamed of!”

Meng Qiuyan: “Alright, alright. I’ll go meet him. You stay here and wait for me.”

After comforting her mother, Meng Qiuyan got into Lin Shixin’s car.

The A-level guards assigned to protect Meng Li’s family promptly reported the news to Sun Xuan.

Sun Xuan approached his grandfather with a frown, “First it was Xu Qiao, and now it’s Meng Li’s mother. What exactly is Elder Lin planning?”

Sun Dagui responded, “What’s the point of guessing? If he insisted on meeting at night rather than during the day, it can’t be good.”

Clenching his fist, Sun Dagui directly dialed Marshal Lin Lie’s video. Lin Kunshan might be his elder and deserving of respect, but with Lin Lie, he felt no need for courtesy.

When the video connected, it revealed Lin Lie in his marshal’s uniform, sitting in his office.

Seeing Sun Dagui, Lin Lie’s expression was serious, “What is it?”

Sun Dagui cleared his throat, “You know my eldest grandson is responsible for the security of Xu Qiao, Meng Li, Chen Min, and Yang Bainian. Last night, he found out that Elder Lin had arranged for Lin Shixin to pick up Xu Qiao rather abruptly. If it weren’t for Qin Chi’s intervention, Lin Shixin would have made a move against Xu Qiao. Fortunately, Elder Lin treated them courteously when sending them out, so it seemed nothing was amiss.”

Lin Lie’s brows furrowed slightly.

Sun Dagui, watching his furrowed brows, continued, “Just now, my eldest grandson received news that Lin Shixin has also taken Meng Li’s mother, Meng Qiuyan. This got me wondering, is Elder Lin investigating the reason behind the upgradeable spiritual bodies? Should my family’s Jin Tang also prepare to be called in for questioning someday?”

Lin Lie ignored his old comrade’s sarcastic tone and replied sternly, “I understand. I’ll head over immediately.”

Sun Dagui urgently asked, “What’s going on?”

Lin Lie responded, “It’s a personal matter. The Security Department needn’t worry.”

When the video ended, Sun Dagui turned to his grandson.

Sun Xuan said, “When I previously looked into Xiaoshan’s teammates, I briefly checked Meng Li’s family situation. Ms. Meng is a single mother.”

Sun Dagui remarked, “Meng Li’s fire scorpion wings, despite lacking feathers, actually resemble a phoenix.”
—-
At 8 PM, after a prior phone “invitation” from Lin Shixin, Qin Chi accompanied Xu Qiao to Lin Kunshan’s villa once more.

Xu Qiao, eyeing the small fire dragon coiled around Qin Chi’s right arm, felt conflicted, “Whether it’s a beastly phoenix or a spiritual one, even a wild beast kept underground for ten years would go mad.”

The fire dragon wrote in flaming characters, “Old Lin is ruthless, just like Qin Chi’s father.”

“One kept his grandson locked up for ten years, the other trained his son to the brink for over a decade,” it continued.

Xu Qiao, looking startled by the dragon’s words, had Qin Chi explain, “It’s not the same. My father was merely strict with me, but he always treated others courteously, unlike Elder Lin with his authoritarian demeanor.”

The fire dragon persisted, “If he’s so harsh on his own son, how good can he be to others?”

Qin Chi forcibly recalled the fire dragon and, while driving, told Xu Qiao, “It hates my father the most, so its assessment is overly biased. Don’t take it seriously.”

Xu Qiao smiled and turned to the window, “Don’t worry. That’s between you and your father. I won’t judge.”

Qin Chi added, “There’s no grudge. I respect him as much as I do the old man. At least as a marshal, he’s exemplary.”

Xu Qiao held up her wristband, offering, “Say that again. I’ll record it and have your grandfather give it to Marshal Qin. He’ll be very touched.”

Qin Chi laughed, “No need. I’m telling you this so you won’t misunderstand Marshal Qin.”

Xu Qiao bit her lip and focused on the scenery outside.

Lin Kunshan’s villa was located in a mountainous area of the central district. As the car climbed the winding mountain road, the distant city lights came into view.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the villa, where Marshal Lin Lie was waiting to greet them at the door.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lin Lie led them to the villa’s hall, where Xu Qiao first noticed Meng Qiuyan sitting across from Lin Kunshan with her head down.

Startled by the unexpected scene, Xu Qiao paused in confusion.

At that moment, Meng Qiuyan looked up at them, revealing a pale face and red, swollen eyes from crying.

Xu Qiao hurried over, “What’s wrong?”

Meng Qiuyan, unable to speak, began to cry again.

Though she had shielded herself from the intense emotions brought by those memories, she had not forgotten her deep love for a man named Lin Wengui. She might have hated him, but she understood his difficulties, so the pain of unrequited love lingered more. Tonight, learning that Lin Wengui had suffered more than she had, isolated and imprisoned for ten years, Meng Qiuyan was deeply moved.

Even if she had moved on, she couldn’t bear to see him like this.

Xu Qiao supported Meng Qiuyan’s shoulders and glared coldly at Lin Kunshan.

Lin Kunshan remained calm and dropped a bombshell, “Wengui and Ms. Meng had a relationship, and he is also Meng Li’s biological father.”

After their breakup, knowing the relationship wouldn’t end well, his grandson had kept his promise and never sought Meng Qiuyan again.

However, Lin Kunshan had people monitor the two for a while, learning that Meng Qiuyan was pregnant.

Being Lin family blood, when Meng Li was sixteen, Lin Kunshan sent someone to observe her awakening, discovering her spiritual body was a C-level fire scorpion, after which he ceased paying attention to Meng Li.

When his grandson turned into a beast, Lin Kunshan had thought it was due to some mutation caused by fighting beasts. If he had known it was a spiritual issue, he would have brought Meng Qiuyan over long ago. As long as his grandson could return to normal, he could accept him keeping a woman outside.

Xu Qiao couldn’t see through Lin Kunshan’s thoughts and stood there stunned, looking at Meng Qiuyan.

Meng Qiuyan awkwardly admitted, “It’s true, but it’s all in the past. Meng Li found out who her biological father was the night she upgraded and doesn’t care about it. You don’t need to worry about her.”

Xu Qiao tried to recall that night, only remembering Meng Li’s calm, indifferent face.

She smiled, thinking this was the Meng Li she knew—someone who cared little about anything other than taking care of her loved ones, completing tasks to earn points, and improving her strength.

Since Meng Li didn’t care about her biological father, why should she be concerned about Lin Wengui’s identity beyond being a beastified patient?