CHAPTER 222: 201: CAN YOU CALL IN SICK FOR ME? I’M GOING UNDERCOVER.

She took a deep breath, her lashes concealing the surging emotions in her eyes. Her tone remained natural and soft: "When do you plan to take action?"

"Three months from now, perhaps." For the time being, she’d let Brother Wei be with that woman for a while.

Once she had him completely, she’d find a way to deal with her.

"But you can’t even get close to him." Bai Shirui turned her head, meeting her gaze, her eyes already clear and calm.

Besides concern and worry, there was no other emotion.

Meng Han’s lips moved slightly, yet she ultimately swallowed the words she almost blurted out: "I have my way; don’t worry about it."

The matters between her and Shi Yaoyu—every extra person who knew was an extra risk.

And human hearts are unpredictable. Even if Bai Shirui was her friend, she couldn’t guarantee that the other wouldn’t let something slip.

"Han Han, are you really set on this? If anything goes wrong in any step, neither you nor the Meng Family can come out clean."

"Yes, it’s decided. You don’t need to persuade me further." Even if it was a high-stakes gamble, she was willing to wager.

Seeing her unwavering stance, Bai Shirui sighed softly but did not continue to counsel her.

Sometimes, talking too much only irritates people.

She slowly stood up: "Han Han, I’ll head back to my room first. You rest well."

"Alright, good night."

Before the person left, Meng Han had already pulled the blanket over her head, curled into a ball, eager to rendezvous in her dreams with that god-like man.

The soft sound of the light switch clicked along with a faint breeze, carrying away the departing figure. The woman walking along the corridor blended into the night, shrouded in solitude and suppressed emotions.

The night was still deep. Some were sunk into slumber, while others stayed awake through the hours.

**

Shengde Middle School.

It was the time of day when students were leaving school, yet the familiar Maybach across the street hadn’t appeared. Instead, a distinctively unfamiliar black Volkswagen was parked in its place.

A teenage girl in a denim jacket stepped out of the school gates, her long legs striding forward. Her features were exquisite, every detail impossibly beautiful, drawing the gaze of others unwittingly.

A boy about her age quickly fumbled out his phone, eager and ready to approach her and ask for her number.

But before he could get close, he saw her crossing the street swiftly, stopping by the ordinary Volkswagen and lightly knocking on the car window.

The next moment, a well-dressed middle-aged man stepped out from the driver’s seat.

The two exchanged a few simple words, and they could see the girl’s face light up with a radiant smile, as if flowers had bloomed—a beauty so striking it couldn’t be looked away from.

While the boy was still stunned, she had already entered the passenger seat. To their amazement and regret, the car left the street, vanishing from sight.

Beside the rows of sycamore trees, there stood a proudly towering structure, with a highly private restaurant located on its second floor.

Secretary Li, as he had done last time, led the girl down the corridor to a private room at the very end.

He glanced at Xue Xiongsen, who had been waiting for a while, and quietly seated himself on the sofa across the partition, continuing to process unfinished work.

"Old man, have you been here long?" Yu Zhi sat down beside him, tossing her schoolbag carelessly to the side, propping one hand on the round table.

"Not long." Xue Xiongsen picked up his teacup, sipping the tea, slightly lifting his chin toward the tablet in front of him: "Take a look, see what you’d like to eat."

The white hair on his head seemed to have grown a bit more, and heavy dark bags hung under his tired eyes—it was apparent he hadn’t been resting well recently.

His entire figure exuded fatigue.

Yu Zhi didn’t touch the tablet. She rested her chin on her palm, a worried look in her eyes as she gazed at him: "Old man, have you come across something troublesome lately?"

The clear, caring voice carried a thick wave of concern, and in that instant as it entered his ears, Xue Xiongsen found his mood improving significantly.

He smiled with relief: "Little Zhi, you’ve truly changed."

The girl before had rarely displayed emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or delight outwardly. Even when she cared, she wouldn’t express it immediately through words.

But now, she had gained a touch of human warmth.

Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow, her body leaning back as she relaxed leisurely into the chair: "People change."

Every stage in life brings different states of mind, naturally leading to changes.

But that wasn’t the point.

She looked intently at Xue Xiongsen: "Old man, don’t beat around the bush. What do you need me to do?"

"Was I that obvious? You saw through me already?"

A burst of hearty laughter echoed in the private room, but the girl didn’t reply, quietly waiting for him to continue.

Whether due to the awkward atmosphere, Xue Xiongsen chuckled wryly to himself, shaking his head with amusement. He mimicked her relaxed posture: "Recently, an Imperial City smuggling operation came to light."

"We sent three undercover agents, but as of now, not a shred of useful information has been obtained. Moreover, those undercover agents... have gone missing."

The smuggling syndicate handed him a ticking time bomb without warning, only to vanish without a trace.

Apart from the initial contraband they discovered, nothing else remained, leaving him trapped in a cycle of unease.

Seeing his wearied expression, Yu Zhi’s own countenance grew noticeably serious. She tapped lightly on the table: "Where is this syndicate from? How many people are there?"

"Delta, numbering around forty."

"And their hideout?"

"No idea. Every undercover agent sent in was blindfolded when taken inside." Xue Xiongsen let out a long sigh. He could only say the group was excessively cautious.

Even the smallest trace remained elusive.

Yu Zhi: "..."

No wonder he was so troubled.

Yu Zhi lowered her gaze, thinking quietly for a moment. Her lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her delicate brows furrowed slightly: "How long have the agents been undercover?"

"More than two months."

"Two months... That’s not too long."

Xue Xiongsen wasn’t quite sure what she meant by this remark, but hope flickered faintly in his eyes: "Do you have an idea?"

"Yes." Yu Zhi nodded solemnly.

"Let’s hear it."

At the end of her sentence, the girl suddenly paused her tapping movements, a resolute seriousness brimming in her almond-shaped eyes: "Get me a leave of absence. I’ll go undercover."

In another two or three months, school would break for winter holidays, and the finals would naturally arrive alongside it.

Rather than sitting in that dull classroom, she might as well take a trip to Delta—and solve this issue properly along the way.

Xue Xiongsen: "..."

He knew it—this girl could never keep her hands clean.

Xue Xiongsen looked at the glaring refusal to study written all over her face and twitched at the corner of his mouth: "No, it’s too dangerous."

Though he had witnessed her remarkable skills, she was ultimately just a nineteen-year-old girl. How could he let her walk into a den of wolves, tigers, and leopards?

Xue Xiongsen had come this far in life not by sacrificing others to achieve triumphs of his own.