Chapter 213: Irreversible Change
April 5, Sunday.
Very early in the morning, the sounds of pots and pans filled the kitchen, accompanied by a familiar aroma.
In the second bedroom, Jiang Yao opened her eyes, startled at first, then let out a long breath, reaching her hand to the bedside but finding nothing.
Being home alone, her clothes were casually piled on one side of the pillow, but now, both sides of the pillow were clean, and every corner of the bedroom had been tidied up.
“Had breakfast, took the sheets and duvet cover off to wash them, changed to new ones. And your nightgown, hasn’t it been washed for at least a week?”
As Jiang Yao stepped into the bathroom, she heard Jiang Yan speaking from the living room.
“Sister, are you feeling better?” Jiang Yao glanced down at her nightgown, feeling a bit embarrassed, and changed the subject, “Zhong Jing said he got his hands on some RMCE again, so he won’t be afraid of the Blood Boil Taboo anymore.”
“Who said that having medicine means you can get sick on purpose… Xiao Yao, did Zhong Jing stay at our house a few days ago?”
Jiang Yan placed two plates of fried dumplings, a plate of boiled eggs, and two bowls of mung bean porridge on the living room table and casually asked.
“No! How is that possible!”
Jiang Yao quickly removed her toothbrush from her mouth, shaking her head vigorously.
Jiang Yan glanced towards the bathroom but said nothing further.
The long-awaited family breakfast returned, and Jiang Yao gobbled down her food without lifting her head. Jiang Yan, on the other hand, ate slowly and demurely.
“Sister, the new house is almost done. We can move in next weekend. It’s all zero formaldehyde decoration, very eco-friendly, no need to leave it for months.”
While eating, Jiang Yao suddenly said.
Jiang Yan paused her chopsticks, quietly looking at the clear and innocent pupils of Jiang Yao, slowly revealing a faint smile and then gently shaking her head, “There’s no such thing as zero formaldehyde, it’s just advertising… Although we’re not afraid of these things, there are still some smells that can be sensed which are uncomfortable.”
“Then, does your bedroom still need anything added?”
Jiang Yan cautiously picked a boiled egg and handed it to Jiang Yao’s bowl, being exceptionally well-behaved at that moment.
Avoiding Jiang Yao’s gaze, Jiang Yan continued to eat, and after a few seconds, quietly said, “This place isn’t bad to live in; it’s not far from the subway… Xiao Yao, if you want to move to the new house, just go ahead and live there.”
Jiang Yao was stunned, a hint of panic crossed her face, but she didn’t know what to say.
“I don’t mean anything else; mainly, I might be out often recently and won’t have time to move.” Seeing Jiang Yao’s mood seemed a bit off, Jiang Yan quickly added, “Just give me a key later, and I’ll slowly move my things over.”
“Yeah… they’re all electronic locks; nobody uses keys anymore.” Jiang Yao sighed with relief, looking down at her porridge, “The new house has everything ready; you can just move in with your bags. Let’s leave the stuff here and not move it.”
Jiang Yan smiled, noncommittally.
Jiang Yao was sent out to shop for household items, while Jiang Yan began the first major clean-up of the household after the Spring Festival. The first task was to take apart the bedding from their bedroom and replace it with spring items. As she pulled off her duvet cover and sheets, Jiang Yan slowed down, staring blankly at the sheet in her hands. In fact, she had already caught a whiff of a unique scent when she fell asleep early in the morning—someone had slept in her bed. This scent was certainly not Jiang Yao’s, or rather, it was not just Jiang Yao’s. The environmental perception ability of the Empress Realm was no less than any baron and even exceeded it in certain aspects. Moving to Jiang Yao’s second bedroom, similarly taking off the other person’s duvet and sheets, the identical and even more pronounced scent made Jiang Yan feel increasingly bewildered. It wasn’t just the sheets; even though Jiang Yao rarely used air fresheners, the almost half-year closed-up bedroom still left marks that couldn’t be erased. Slowly sitting by Jiang Yao’s bed, holding the duvet cover, Jiang Yan felt a bit flushed, her heart racing. Strange, blurry images suddenly appeared in her mind, stirring her deeply, and gradually becoming more pronounced. Jiang Yan felt her body heat up unusually, her consciousness becoming a bit muddled, as uncontrollable physical sensitivity spread silently, making her clutch the duvet and twist onto the bed. “Oh no, I seem to be in a state similar to when Xiao Yao woke up in the Empress Realm; my body feels strange… No, no, no!” After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Yan suddenly opened her eyes, quickly reached for her belongings, and rushed into the bathroom, repeatedly splashing cold water on her flushed face. So this is what it felt like when Xiao Yao entered the Empress Realm… Under the stimulus of the cold water, Jiang Yan finally calmed down, looking at her rosy, delicate face in the mirror, feeling a wave of dizziness. It’s very likely that Xiao Yao really is together with Zhong Jing… Once again stuffing all the bedding into the washing machine, Jiang Yan trembled as she held the button, hesitating for a long time without pressing the washing start button.
“Sister, I bought everything; it’s all on the dining table in the living room for you to check… Sister, what’s wrong with you?”
As Jiang Yao entered the house, she noticed Jiang Yan seemed to be dazed by the washing machine, feeling quite curious. Jiang Yan turned around to look at the graceful Jiang Yao, her mind in disarray. Today, Jiang Yao wore a traditional long-sleeved top with a waist skirt, composed yet lively, elegant and fresh. This was a style Jiang Yao had copied from the club’s wardrobe last year, buying one for both of them, although Jiang Yan had never worn hers, so this was the first time she saw the effect on Jiang Yao.
“Sister?” Jiang Yao quickly stepped closer, waving her hand in front of Jiang Yan’s eyes.
“Hmm, I’m fine; I just accidentally poured too much detergent…” Jiang Yan looked Jiang Yao up and down, taking a heavy step back, feeling overwhelmed.
Returning to the dining room, sitting on the sofa and staring blankly at the floor, the atmosphere in the house felt a bit strange for a moment.
For some reason, perhaps a form of self-suggestion, Jiang Yan always felt Jiang Yao was somewhat different now from before—between her pure and bright brows, it seemed something had changed irreversibly or had added something.
“Xiao Yao, try calling me ‘brother.’”
A few seconds later, Jiang Yan suddenly spoke.
“Ah, why?”
Jiang Yao was taken aback, feeling even more puzzled, and twirled a strand of hair by her ear, utterly confused.
“Can’t you say it?”
Jiang Yan turned her head to look at Jiang Yao with a very mixed expression.
“Sister, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strangely since this morning!”
Jiang Yao took a half step back, feeling alert.
“Ha ha, just kidding.”
A few seconds later, Jiang Yan’s expression changed again, brightening as she smiled, as if everything were just a prank.
“Phew, you scared me! I thought something had happened to your mind again.”
Jiang Yao plopped down beside Jiang Yan, rolling her eyes and hugging her arm, “Sister, while you were recovering, Meng Huai didn’t do anything to you, right? I saw Sister Xiaodong posting a lot of photos of you and him in the group…”
Meng Huai is getting bolder now, hugging you right in front of Brother Liang and Sister Xiaodong… Sister, have you gotten used to it?”
Saying this, Jiang Yao seemed a little jealous.
To be honest, when she saw those photos, Jiang Yao felt a bit unsettled, but she no longer felt the intense anger she had before.
Jiang Yan avoided Jiang Yao’s gaze, just smiling and not speaking.
“Sister, it’s been a long time since I had your pickled ginger duck, I bought the ingredients; let’s make a meal! I’ll go wash the vegetables!”
Jiang Yao skipped happily into the kitchen, and the atmosphere in the house perked up again.
While organizing the ingredients in the basin, Jiang Yao glanced sneakily towards the living room, patting her chest, and finally sighed in relief.
Not long after, Han Jieli walked into a private room of an old hotpot restaurant in the central urban area of C City.
In the highly private room, Meng Huai had been seated there for an hour already. When Han Jieli appeared leaning on his cane, he merely stood up and nodded slightly.
“Missed you so much, Meng Ge!”
Han Jieli beamed with joy, limping over, his somewhat uncoordinated right hand gently pounding against Meng Huai’s chest: “I almost missed my morning flight.”
“It hasn’t been long, just under four months.” Meng Huai smiled as he sat down, still looking at Han Jieli’s right hand and left leg. “When did you get injured?”
“Don’t mention it, car accident.”
Han Jieli settled into his seat, eagerly sniffing the brightly colored spicy hotpot in front of him: “Lying down for nearly a month, eating tasteless meals every day, my palate is dull!”
Outside the window: “We had formerly said that we might never meet again, and now we’ve broken that rule in just a few months.”
“The situation has changed; I don’t want you to go missing as well… By the way, did you receive the materials I sent you?”
Han Jieli seemed to have been going crazy from confinement this past month; at that moment, he rushed to stuff various oily snacks into his mouth like a starving ghost while pouring beer into both their glasses.
“Yeah, it’s okay.” Meng Huai raised his beer and clinked it with Han Jieli’s, “What about the other stuff I asked for?”
“Oh right, look at me, I almost forgot!”
Han Jieli wiped the foam from his lips, quickly fetched his briefcase, and handed over a USB drive and a stack of printed documents, “I worked all night yesterday to sort through the database from the Intelligence General High; there were too many people, so the printed content is quite simple, and the USB contains detailed information.”
“Oh, and this!”
Saying that, Han Jieli took out a plastic bag from his briefcase, containing a mangled handgun: “This is the weapon that Xia Yan used, found at the Wanquli Commercial Center; why do you want this?”
Meng Huai took the plastic bag, weighed it in his hand, tucked it into his pocket without answering, then placed the printed documents on the table and began to read carefully.
In his ear, he could hear Han Jieli munching away; Meng Huai seemed to have no appetite, merely focusing on the information.
“Meng Ge, have you encountered any danger recently or been followed by anyone?”
After gobbling down a mountain of hotpot ingredients and a large gulp of beer, Han Jieli finally exhaled deeply and set down his chopsticks.
“Hmm?”
Meng Huai paused, raised his head in confusion, and after a few seconds, shook his head slightly: “I haven’t encountered anything.”
After speaking, Meng Huai put away the documents, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.
“Be careful, Meng Ge; you might have been exposed.”
Han Jieli’s expression turned very serious, and his voice was low: “Yang Jiu is dead, and he was killed by the Blood Dragon Brigade’s instructor Tu Weijun, but I have no evidence to prove this was his intention.”
“An insider in headquarters managed to infiltrate the Blood Dragon Brigade?” Meng Huai chewed his food, his brow furrowing slowly, “Even including you, there are only a few who know my true identity.”
“Yeah, I originally planned to use this to draw out the insider, but I’m afraid it would put you in danger. Right now, they are in the dark, and we are in the light; I have to breach the rules and let you use the secure phone as little as possible. For critical issues, we need to discuss face-to-face.”
“Let me tell you another piece of news, Tu Weijun has replaced Han Xiao as the captain of the Embroidery Brigade; you should be cautious. He’s a baron from Apennine, the toughest kind to deal with.”
Han Jieli rubbed his beer glass, looking a bit helpless.
Tu Weijun, Apennine baron… do you know who arranged this?
Meng Huai put down his chopsticks, lost in thought.
“I asked Director Ye; it’s said to be a decision made at a joint meeting of the Standing Committee and the Special Confidential Operations Group at headquarters, aiming to respond to the potential Fluorine Frankenstein serum that might appear at the southwestern border.
“This thing, I’ve seen at the research center; blood clans using this serum will turn into super monsters, it’s quite terrifying. It has already been confirmed to appear within the southern monitoring zone; the Wang family has suffered great losses because of this!”
Han Jieli sighed, a bit anxious: “Many pieces of information regarding the Grandmother’s Meatball are from the former Soviet secret archives from decades ago; those Russians are very clever, leaving half of the information, making us very passive.”
“Director Ye is helping me apply for access permissions; I will organize all the related materials and send them to you, hoping they will help you trace Xia Yan and Gu Yao.”
After saying that, Han Jieli poured beer for both of them again, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.
The second round of eating and drinking began; Han Jieli was like a person who had just found water after a long drought, while Meng Huai had an astonishing appetite, even ordering a bunch more hotpot ingredients in between.
“Han Jieli, last night you mentioned that the Grandmother’s Meatball was the ancestor in the Ancestor Project. What characteristics do people who have been affected by the Grandmother’s blood have besides the polygenic dominant genes?”
Meng Huai took a couple of sips of beer and suddenly asked.
Han Jieli was taken aback, put down his chopsticks, and after a brief thought shook his head: “This needs to be checked in the information obtained back then, but Director Ye mentioned that the core of the Ancestor Project is the Queen, but how the Queen originated, we are also unclear.”
“Queen? A female?”
Meng Huai heard this term for the first time, his gaze once again focusing on a plate of bloody beef slices, and after ten seconds of silence, he asked, “Last year, the Grandmother’s blood invaded Xia Yan and Gu Yao. What do they count as? Are there any previous cases?”
Han Jieli shook his head, then immediately revealed a mysterious smile: “It’s very likely that the Wang family knows something, but it should be different from the Queen. So, I plan to meet with people from the Wang family and have an open discussion!”
“Currently, the dark arrow secret research center has achieved many results in studying the Grandmother’s samples. The individuals affected by the blood, Xia Yan and Gu Yao, will grow at an astonishing speed, and the higher their realm, the more unstable they will become, similar to having used the Frankenstein serum. Or even more frightening, they are definitely ticking time bombs.”
“If the Wang family is indeed secretly protecting them while denying it, then it would be very troublesome. Sigh, no one truly understands the thinking of these major families, especially the Wang family; if they also have bad intentions about the Ancestor Project…”
At this point, Han Jieli appeared very uneasy.
“Rest assured, I will investigate.”
Meng Huai nodded and picked up his chopsticks again, falling silent.
