Chapter 477: Background
Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Background
"You’re right." After hearing Su Qing, Tian Qiu couldn’t help but smile. "Since I’m sincere about becoming his apprentice, it’s only right that I’m completely open about my situation."
After he finished, a blush crept onto Tian Qiu’s face. "If I may speak from the heart—and please don’t be offended, Su Qing—this is the first time I’ve ever formally introduced myself to a young woman like this. It almost feels like a blind date, especially with someone as beautiful as you. It’s honestly a bit embarrassing."
Watching Tian Qiu’s embarrassed act, Su Qing sneered inwardly. ’This Qiutian Sanlang is quite the actor. Putting on a face like that for me... does he take me for some naive little girl who knows nothing of the world?’
In truth, after confirming last night that Tian Qiu was a member of the Qiutian Clan, Su Qing could have dropped the pretense. She could have simply used the gray liquid in the dead of night, forced him to confess everything, and eliminated this threat for good.
However, after careful consideration, Su Qing decided it was better to report this matter to the authorities.
For the past few years, Tian Qiu had been spreading his network across Hua Country. His tomb-raiding crews weren’t just in one or two locations; they were scattered all over the nation. If she dealt with this privately, she would inevitably have to travel all over the place again. Her family had already been worried sick when she went to Xiqing Mountain last time. If she started disappearing for a month or two at a time again, not only would her family worry, but it would also be difficult to get excused from her classes. Besides, if it happened too often, her uncle and Uncle Gu, with their sharp and meticulous minds, would surely notice something was amiss.
Her family would never harm her, of course, but if outsiders were to find out, who knows what they might try. Even though her current abilities made her practically invincible in this world—impervious to even bullets—she still hoped to enjoy her peaceful life as it was.
Besides, for Tian Qiu to dare operate so openly in Hua Country, his cover identity had to be flawless. She even suspected someone had paved the way for him. This was something the higher-ups needed to know about, if only to prevent it from happening again.
The only problem was, Su Qing hadn’t figured out who to report this to. She needed to come up with a good excuse for how she learned of Tian Qiu’s identity and motives. The timeline of events had to be carefully constructed to avoid exposing herself. After all, the few people she’d encountered who knew the truth... she had already killed and buried them.
While a thousand thoughts raced through her mind, Su Qing’s expression was merely a slight frown. "I’m sorry, but I’m still quite young and have no intention of going on blind dates. Besides, my family wants me to focus on my studies for now."
"Of course, I was just making an observation." Tian Qiu maintained his embarrassed facade, but inwardly he was already plotting how to win over the beautiful, eye-catching girl before him. He had, of course, run a background check on her after their last meeting. Her role as a non-staff consultant for the city’s Public Security Bureau hadn’t been widely publicized, so he hadn’t uncovered that. What he *had* discovered, however, was that Su Qing was the maternal granddaughter of Chairman Li.
Discovering Su Qing’s identity sent a jolt of ecstasy through Tian Qiu. If he could win her favor, not only would it be easier to become Mr. Gong’s apprentice, but his own position in Hua Country would become far more secure and legitimate with her connection as a guarantee.
If he could actually make Su Qing his wife, it would provide an enormous advantage for his operations in Hua Country.
"Oh, dear. Look at me, getting us off-topic." Tian Qiu put on the air of a perfect gentleman and smiled at Su Qing. "Let me properly introduce myself again. My name is Tian Qiu. I’m from Hai City, born and raised. One of my neighbors, an older gentleman, was a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, and growing up around him, I became very interested in the field. Unfortunately, a few years ago, a terrible fire took the lives of my family and that very neighbor. Now, I’m all alone."
As he said this, Tian Qiu let out a soft sigh, his expression turning melancholic.
Tian Qiu knew the modern female university student well; they tended to have a weakness for melancholic, sensitive men.
And just as he expected, Tian Qiu heard Su Qing sigh. "Oh, I’m so sorry. I made you talk about such a painful memory. That’s just terrible..."
Since Tian Qiu was putting on a show, and Su Qing had nothing better to do, she decided to play along. She sighed sympathetically, while inwardly sneering, ’What a perfect, cliché sob story. And conveniently, no one’s left alive to contradict it!’
Su Qing’s reaction made Tian Qiu inwardly gloat, though he was quick to say, "It’s all right. It’s been years, so I’ve gotten used to it. Besides, while my family is gone, they left me a sizable inheritance, so I haven’t had to struggle. I just want to achieve my dream. That way, whether it’s my parents or my old neighbor, I know they’ll be happy for me, watching from above."
Tian Qiu wasn’t worried about anyone investigating his identity in Hai City. Not only had someone helped him erase any loose ends, but his own uncanny resemblance to the real Tian Qiu—sharing ninety percent of his features and the same age—left no holes for anyone to find.
The backstory itself was entirely true. It was just that the *real* Tian Qiu had perished in that fire along with his parents.
"Okay, I’ll put in a good word for you when I see Grandpa Gong," Su Qing said, feigning belief. "However, Grandpa Gong has been very busy lately and isn’t receiving guests, so you’ll probably have to wait a while."
Su Qing’s words made Tian Qiu anxious. They still hadn’t figured out who had stolen that shipment of antiques. Then there was Ye Yuefeng and his men—if they were all dead, that would be one thing. But if they were alive and had fallen into someone else’s hands, it could be very disadvantageous for him.
Tian Qiu feared little, but the one thing he did worry about was being betrayed by his own subordinates. He was, in fact, faintly furious about it. During his first couple of years in Hua Country, he had been exceedingly cautious; only one or two of his core men knew his true identity. But the Qiutian Clan was a large family, and like any large family, it was rife with intrigue. Some of his cousins, resentful that he’d been entrusted with such a critical mission, had secretly leaked information, letting the entire clan know what he was doing in Hua Country. Because of that, nearly all of his current subordinates were aware of his real identity.
The clan had originally planned to recall him and have another family member take his place. But he had been unwilling to give up the advantageous position he had worked so hard to build in Hua Country, so he had insisted on staying. Fortunately, the past few years had gone by without any major mistakes. But this time...
But no matter how anxious he felt, he couldn’t press Su Qing. He simply smiled and agreed. The two chatted and laughed their way through a "pleasant" lunch.
After leaving Qianwei House, Su Qing made a quick trip to the area around Huaihua Alley. Using her plant-based sight to scan the courtyard of No. 36 Huaihua Alley, she confirmed that Du Xiangbao, disguised as He Wenqiang, was inside. With that, she took a car back to the compound.