Chapter 12
Advance chapters of A fateful antidote is available on kofi
The standoff between the two persisted for a moment before Shen Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly. Turning to her, he said, "Stay here and wait for the lab results. Once they're out, hand the silver needle over to your Master and see if the old gentleman knows where it originated."
Xie Qianqian thought it over. "Alright. Am I off the clock now?"
Shen Zhi swept a glance over her, raising an eyebrow. Pausing for a second, he recalled Ansel's suggestion and said to her, "Come over here for a second."
Xie Qianqian took a few steps over to the desk. Shen Zhi slid his phone across the desk toward her. "WeChat. Help me set one up."
"Mm... WeChat, huh?"
Taking the phone, she muttered under her breath, "What apps do you usually use abroad? Facebook? Twitter?"
Shen Zhi said nothing. She looked up at him, only to find that he was already staring right back at her—his gaze bright, deep, and clear under the warm yellow light.
"I don't really use social media much," he replied.
"..." An old-fashioned giant panda.
Xie Qianqian downloaded the app with total ease. During those few dozen seconds of waiting, the room fell completely silent.
Until a ding—the sound of the download completing—shattered the quiet. She clicked into WeChat, logged him right in, and then leaned halfway across the wooden desk, bending over to explain it to Shen Zhi: "All set! You can add friends, send messages, and post on your Moments."
"Moments?" Shen Zhi repeated.
"Mm, Moments. It's the place where you display your life."
"Why would anyone need to display their life?"
Xie Qianqian looked up and blinked at him, replying blankly, "No idea."
"Do you display yours?"
"Occasionally."
"Display what?"
Xie Qianqian had already forgotten what her last post was about, so she pulled her own phone from her pocket, swiped over to her Moments, and found her most recent post to show Shen Zhi. "This."
In the picture was a tree leaf. A... not particularly clean, nor particularly nice-looking leaf.
Shen Zhi adjusted his glasses, staring closely at the leaf three times over to make sure he hadn't misunderstood what she was displaying. He then asked, "Anything else?"
Xie Qianqian swiped again. The next post displayed a rather complex trigonometric function solution. The handwriting was wild and scribbly, clumping together like a Daoist priest drawing talismans, it was entirely impossible to decipher what was written.
Shen Zhi adjusted his glasses once more. He wasn't sure if he was the one with a deep misunderstanding of "displaying one's life," or if the girl standing in front of him was the one with the misunderstanding.
Either way, Shen Zhi couldn't tell what either of her two posts was supposed to be showing, even though he had tried his very best to look.
Xie Qianqian put her phone away and said, "You don't necessarily have to post pictures. You can post text too."
Leaning back against his chair, Shen Zhi asked in a relaxed tone, "How do I post?"
Xie Qianqian picked up his phone and looked up at him again. He was reclining casually in his chair, propping his head up with one hand as he watched her. That languid, unbothered posture carried an indescribable sense of effortless elegance.
So Xie Qianqian bowed her head and typed into his phone: Why am I so handsome!
She tapped send and told him, "There, all done."
Shen Zhi didn't pay much attention to what she had posted. He simply asked, "Can you see what I post?"
"Only if you add me."
Shen Zhi didn't say a word; he merely raised a hand, gesturing for her to continue demonstrating. Xie Qianqian lowered her head to open her QR code, completely oblivious to the smooth, self-assured expression on a certain someone's face.
Thus, later that night, the contacts sitting in Shen Zhi's phone one after another discovered that First Young Master Shen, who had never been one for social media—had actually opened a WeChat account. Friend requests immediately flooded in.
Numerous business partners, friends within his circle, and immediate subordinates all weirdly witnessed that First Young Master Shen, a man who usually carried himself with total ascetism, untouched by worldly desires—had a single update sitting on his Moments:
Why am I so handsome!
Everyone who saw this post spent a long time turning it over in their minds. Who knew the Shen family's Heir had such a narcissistic side? Yet the words didn't seem entirely wrong either. In the end, everyone could only give it a silent, collective like.
Sure enough, Xie Qianqian didn't show up at Shen Zhi's side the next day. Gu Miao marvelled to himself, since when had Gu Lei's powers of observation become so ridiculously sharp?
Meanwhile, after Shen Zhi left the capital, Xie Qianqian picked up the lab-tested silver needle as instructed and handed it over to her Master. Over the next few days, she followed her Master around to investigate the origins of the needle. The closest venue to them was located on Mount Baimao in the suburbs of the capital. Master Liang personally brought Xie Qianqian up the mountain, visiting under the guise of a courtesy call to see the sect leader, a white-haired old man.
Through casual conversation, they inquired about the hidden weapon experts around the capital area and obtained a list of names directly from the sect leader.
On their way down the mountain, Xie Qianqian happened to catch a news push notification on her phone. The headline was yet another piece of gossip regarding Qi Chen and the mysterious Heir.
The news report noted that the Heir of the Shen family had been invited to Haishi to attend a trade expo, and Qi Chen would be attending alongside him. Qi Chen's studio had given vague, stuttering responses to the rumors, while photos of Qi Chen at the Haishi airport were already circulating online. These subtle connections only further confirmed the news was true.
Xie Qianqian didn't care much about the romance rumors surrounding Shen Zhi and Qi Chen, but her brows knit together as she realized Shen Zhi's whereabouts were now completely exposed. If the person who attacked him that day wanted to make a second attempt, this would be a golden opportunity.
So as soon as she reached the bottom of the mountain, she told her Master she needed to go to Haishi. Master Liang didn't object; he simply told her to stay safe once she got there, hand the list over to Shen Zhi, and let him handle the rest.
Xie Qianqian returned to the Shen residence, packed a few clothes into a bag, and flew straight to Haishi.
After stepping off the plane, she contacted Gu Miao. Hanging up the phone, Gu Miao stared at Gu Lei in sheer astonishment. "Didn't you say Qian Duo got scared off? She actually came!"
"???" Gu Lei was filled with complete confusion.
Gu Miao sent the address to Xie Qianqian. She flagged down a taxi from the airport and headed toward Yueman Villa, a residential area nestled halfway up the mountain along the western coastline. The car pulled up in front of Villa No. 8. Xie Qianqian, slinging a backpack over her shoulders and dressed in a tracksuit, knocked on the door.
Before long, a faint sound came through the visual intercom at the entrance, followed by the automatic click of the courtyard gate opening.
Xie Qianqian walked through the gate. What met her eyes was a lush, emerald-green central lawn, featuring an independent swimming pool right in the middle. Rare plants lined both sides in layered clusters, blocking out the sun and sky like a secluded paradise hidden inside a tropical rainforest, it felt wonderfully comfortable and pleasant.
The entire villa was extremely quiet—so quiet that even the trees seemed completely still, giving no impression that anyone was around. Yet it was precisely this eerie quiet that made Xie Qianqian sense that something was off.
Right at that moment, a palm leaf in the southeast corner moved slightly, letting out an extraordinarily faint rustle.
Xie Qianqian instantly snapped to full alertness. Just as a figure leaped down from the palm tree, she executed a flawless side aerial cartwheel, effortlessly dodging a direct, lunging right drilling punch aimed straight for her.
Gu Lei was immensely curious about Chinese martial arts, but unfortunately, he rarely had the chance to encounter traditional martial arts while living abroad. When he heard that Qian Duo was coming over, he had been itching to test his skills. Since the Boss was busy right now, it was the perfect chance to spar with Qian Duo.
That was why he had lain in ambush in the courtyard early. He just hadn't expected this little girl to be so nimble—his surprise attack hadn't succeeded at all. That only fired him up even more. Taking a few rapid steps forward, he quickly brought up his forearm and threw a heavy punch toward her.
Gu Lei trained in boxing and combat fighting; every move and stance radiated raw violence and power, charging forward like a ferocious black bear.
Once Xie Qianqian clearly saw that her attacker was Gu Lei, she kept her big backpack on her shoulders, casually leaning her waist to one side, executing a backflip, and leaping onto the rockery structure. Light and agile, she dodged every single one of Gu Lei's attacks, refusing to engage him in a direct, head-on clash.
Gu Lei felt as though every single punch was landing on soft cotton, which naturally infuriated him. Looking up at Xie Qianqian, who was standing steadily on one foot at the top of the rockery, he bellowed, "Get down here! Let's spar for real!"
"No."
"Get down!"
"No."
Gu Lei was so enraged that he moved to climb the rockery himself. Yet the moment his burly frame wrapped around the rocks, Xie Qianqian dropped down from the peak like a light green leaf, instantly tumbling far out of reach. She turned around to stand by the edge of the swimming pool, looking back at Gu Lei with total composure.
That agile, graceful form left Gu Miao, who was standing by the second-floor window of the villa—utterly dumbfounded.
Gu Lei immediately felt like a monkey being toyed with. Unhappily flexing the thick muscles on his arms, he roared at Xie Qianqian, "So traditional martial arts only know how to dodge and hide! You don't even dare to face me head-on! And here I thought the people from your martial arts school were supposed to be so tough. No wonder everyone says martial arts schools in China nowadays are just weaklings pulling scams!"
Gu Lei extended both thumbs downward, throwing a full "loser" gesture at Xie Qianqian with a face full of disdain.
Xie Qianqian's brows knit together tightly. The golden sunlight cast a sharp, razor-thin glint across her light-colored eyes, and a wave of unprecedented, terrifying murderous intent suddenly erupted from her petite frame.
Seeing this, Gu Lei knew he had successfully ignited Qian Duo's desire to fight. Instantly thrilled, he charged straight at her.
This time, Xie Qianqian didn't dodge. Standing firmly by the edge of the pool, her hands clutched tightly at her sides instantly formed fists, her entire body flexing with taut muscle.
Just as Gu Lei was about to raise his fist, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from the side! It immediately wrapped around his wrist, dissolving his movement in an instant. The dark shadow then let go of him and lashed straight onto his beefy chest.
A sharp, searing pain shot through Gu Lei's body. He froze in his tracks, dropping his head like a big kid who had just been caught doing something wrong, and muttered softly, "Mr. Shen."
Xie Qianqian's fists gradually loosened as she turned her head to look at Shen Zhi.
She had no idea where he had come from, but he was currently wearing a white, stand-collar, Chinese-style buttoned shirt paired with loose cotton-linen trousers. The attire accentuated his tall, elegant frame, radiating the ethereal aura of an immortal master.
Only, his brows were exceptionally sharp right now. Slowly wrapping the wooden bead bracelet he had just whipped across Gu Lei's chest back around his palm, he asked in a deep, heavy tone, "What are you doing?"
Gu Lei's chest felt as though it had been struck by a whip, burning with a searing sting. He could only respond weakly, "I just... I just wanted to have a friendly spar with Qian Duo."
Gu Lei had no idea Xie Qianqian was injured, so he had gone looking for trouble to spar with her.
He was wearing a tight tank top, leaving his massive muscles fully exposed. The spot Shen Zhi had just struck was already swelling red. However, Gu Lei was thick-skinned and tough, so he didn't care much about the physical pain—his heart was just beating wildly. He rarely saw the Boss strike out directly, and right now he was thoroughly unnerved.
Shen Zhi stared at him with a deeply pressuring gaze. Gu Lei didn't dare raise his head at all, hearing Shen Zhi say, "Don't let there be a next time."
Gu Lei nodded meekly. "Understood, Mr. Shen."
Only then did Shen Zhi turn his eyes toward Xie Qianqian, scanning her up and down. She was still carrying that massive backpack on her shoulders, the straps pressing down against her frame, a pair of headphones hanging around her neck, dressed in a tracksuit like an innocent, underage student.
The sharpness in his gaze softened slightly as he asked, "Why are you here?"
"I have something to bring you."
Shen Zhi turned around in a leisurely manner, the hem of his robe fluttering gently. "Follow me," he said.
Translator's Notes
Glossary Additions
祁尘 → Qi Chen (a celebrity/actress linked in romance rumors with Shen Zhi)
梁爷 → Master Liang (Xie Qianqian's martial arts master)
白毛山 → Mount Baimao (a mountain on the outskirts of the capital)
悦曼山莊 → Yueman Villa (the luxury villa estate in Haishi)
海市 → Haishi (the coastal city where the expo is hosted)
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