Chapter 9: 009 Monopolizing the Moonlight, Blackwater Street

The twilight street, alone capturing seven-tenths of the moon’s color.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Jiang Fuli came back to his senses. He lowered his gaze and introduced himself to Bai Lian, "Hello, classmate Bai Jian, I am Jiang He’s older brother, Jiang Fuli."

He stepped out of the car, wrapped in a chill of frost. His voice was slightly lowered, possessing an innate coldness.

Bai Lian looked up and inadvertently collided with a pair of light-colored eyes—eyes like a cold pool that could reflect no light.

Deep and cold.

She glanced at Jiang Fuli. He was wearing a black shirt, his face cold and uniquely stunning, his slightly light hair blending with the light.

The first time they met eyes, perhaps it was just a glance.

It was clearly lonely and quiet.

Yet it was deafening.

After a long moment, Bai Lian spoke slowly: "Give me a reason not to kill you."

Jiang Fuli rarely showed his true emotions in front of others; this was the first time he had been stunned in public.

Jiang He looked up, disdainful: "Sister Bai is called Bai Lian."

Jiang Fuli: "..."

First of all, do you want to take a look at what you saved her as in your contacts?

"Apologies," realizing what had happened, Jiang Fuli gave a light laugh. His usually shallow and indifferent phoenix eyes were tinged with a hint of amusement: "Jiang He is sensitive to numbers, but he never went to kindergarten, so..."

He paused, giving a simple evaluation: "He is semi-illiterate."

Bai Lian swept a cold gaze toward Jiang He.

Jiang He, who had autism spectrum disorder and an IQ that was super-intelligent only in numbers and geometry: "..."

He expressionlessly withdrew his gaze and smoothly covered his watch.

"Did you take this apart from a fan?" Jiang Fuli held a book in his other hand, rolled into a tube. He crouched beside Bai Lian, took the motor from her, and lowered his eyes to examine it seriously: "It should be a capacitor issue. Just use a multimeter to check which wire has no resistance and fix it."

It was a hand like a work of art—white jade-like in luster, with long, slender joints, the lines of its structure symmetrical and fluid, carrying a faint, crisp scent.

"A multimeter?" Bai Lian withdrew her death glare from Jiang He and rested her chin on her knees. She tilted her head lazily: "I thought about buying one, but my grandfather won't let me take the house apart. I stole this from his room."

There was no other emotion on her face; her black pupils reflected the light of the streetlamp above, lazy and beautiful.

She had clearly only wanted to secretly take apart an electric fan motor.

It was easy to imagine her cutely stealing things from her guardian, and the guardian probably having to turn a blind eye, helplessly cooperating as he watched her steal.

"I have one, I'll bring it to you in a couple of days," Jiang Fuli thought of that scene and felt like a big cat was lazily stretching out its claws to scratch him: "I have a physics laboratory; it has all kinds of experimental equipment. It’s very convenient for doing experiments."

Jiang He rarely had people he could get close to; there were even times he wouldn't say a word for seven days.

Bai Lian was a very peculiar existence to Jiang He.

Until seeing it with his own eyes just now, he felt he perhaps understood a little why Jiang He wanted to go home with her.

Bai Lian blinked.

A very large laboratory... that must have a particle collider, right?

More and more gazes were directed their way. Jiang Fuli casually grabbed Jiang He by the collar and stood up: "Get in the car first, I'll take you back."

The streetlights on Qingshui Street were a bit sparse.

Bai Lian had Jiang Fuli stop the car at the intersection.

"This is the book you wanted," Jiang Fuli got out of the car with her and handed her the book. Under the twilight, his brows and eyes, which seemed soaked in ice and snow, softened slightly: "Physics isn't difficult; it's very interesting. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

"Thank you." Bai Lian took the book.

It was a book she hadn't been able to find on Qian-Du.

"It should be me thanking you," Jiang Fuli looked at Jiang He and said softly: "Jiang He always thinks he is an alien and wants to return to his own planet. You are his first human friend."

Bai Lian commented, "He is very cute."

Jiang Fuli tilted his head to look at her for a moment, then chuckled, "Mm."

Bai Lian waved at him and left.

Jiang Fuli watched her enter a small convenience store. Not far away, a patrol officer was walking by.

His slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he got back into the car.

"There’s actually no demolition here?" Ming Dongheng sat in the driver's seat, looking at the low, aged buildings, appearing surprised. "Directly opposite is Blackwater Street; my master is there."

That was a place Ming Dongheng often went to—Blackwater Street, a street at the border of two countries.

He just hadn't expected Blackwater Street and Qingshui Street to be separated by only one kilometer, facing each other from across the river.

Jiang Fuli looked at the lonely streetlamps and slowly rolled up the window: "Let's go back."

Ming Dongheng drove away, while Jiang He leaned against the window, watching Bai Lian.

Jiang Fuli’s fingertips tapped lightly on his phone screen. In the dark night, his brows and eyes seemed to be soaked in a thin layer of cold frost. After a long moment, he lit up the screen and sent a message—

【Go to the utility room and find my physics notes.】

**

The convenience store.

Two patrol officers came in to buy two bottles of water and chatted with the shopkeeper as if they were neighbors.

The shopkeeper answered, looking confused.

Before leaving today, Bai Lian had asked the shopkeeper to help her pick up some wires. The shopkeeper gave her the wires and a lollipop, covering the QR code and refusing to let her transfer the money: "Hurry home, it's already dark."

"Oh." Bai Lian put away the wires.

The patrol officers didn't find out anything either, so they finished their shift and left. Once they were gone, a neighbor dared to come over: "What did you do? Did you go across the river to steal something? Why are the police always watching you?"

"But I'm a law-abiding citizen," the shopkeeper said, feeling very aggrieved. He was puzzled himself: "I don't think I did anything."

Bai Lian bit on her lollipop, lowered her beautiful eyes, and walked into the alley with an innocent expression.

Just as she reached the entrance of the alley, she saw the old man waiting there.

It was Ji Heng.

Bai Lian paused, then quickened her pace.

Ji Heng was holding a flashlight. Seeing her, he turned it on, illuminating the dark alley to lead her back: "Learning can't be rushed, take it slow."

Qingshui Street had streetlights, but the alleys inside did not.

There were only the occasional dim lights from residents' homes.

"I won't." Bai Lian took out her earphones, prepared to listen to English vocabulary, and rejected the suggestion.

Ji Heng: "..."

Seeing Bai Lian staring at his flashlight again, he became vigilant: "...You can't take this apart."

Bai Lian's gaze drifted: "Am I that kind of person?"

"But I saw the corpse of my electric fan when I woke up this morning," Ji Heng ruthlessly exposed her.

"That's because you looked at the wrong time. If you don't believe me, check again in a couple of days," Bai Lian insisted stubbornly.

**

Meanwhile.

In Xiang City's only villa district, the Ren family.

Ren Qian asked about Ren Wanxuan's studies as usual and explained the situation regarding Dr. Gao Jiaochen: "Dr. Gao hasn't replied yet, you need to strive for it on the school's side."

Ren Wanxuan nodded; usually, she would have left by now.

Today, however, she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Ren Qian asked, surprised.

"It's just... things about my father's side..." Ren Wanxuan told Ren Qian about the situation with Bai Lian.

Upon hearing the end, Ren Qian put down the documents in his hand: "Switching from liberal arts to science?"

Ren Wanxuan didn't care much, but thinking of the other girl's science score of only 85, she shook her head: "85 in science, I don't know why she wants to study science. Dad even asked me to tutor her."

"Don't listen to him. He's become more muddled these past two years, losing his sense of priority," Ren Qian’s expression turned cold. He valued Ren Wanxuan's studies and naturally knew she had scored a perfect 300 on the science portion this time: "Doesn't he know how important your studies are?"

He hadn't even met this Bai Lian yet, but he already had a bad impression.

For young people, being steady and grounded was what mattered.

Ren Wanxuan quickly massaged Ren Qian's shoulders: "Please don't be angry. My dad didn't mean it. You know him; he only has research on his mind, he doesn't even remember how old I am."

The Ji family hadn't used the Ren family's name to stir up trouble for so many years.

It was just that Ren Qian didn't care about the Ji family. He calmed down and instructed Ren Wanxuan: "Alright, don't worry about the Ji family's affairs. Your father's head isn't clear, but you need to be clear about what is most important. The college entrance exam is next year; don't get distracted by other things."

After Ren Wanxuan left, the secretary-general spoke up: "With the college entrance exam next year, it should be our Xiang City's turn to produce a top scholar, right? Miss Wanxuan has a good chance."

"The competition in her year is too great. Just the Chen family's kid from Xiang City alone is hard for her to compete with," Ren Qian knew some inside information and shook his head: "Never mind the North City top scholar, let's see if she can even get Xiang City's first."

In their eyes, the biggest goal was the North City top scholar.

As for the national top scholar, no one had even thought of it.

Which year's national top scholar didn't come from Jiangjing?

How could it possibly come from anywhere else?

"This is the list of items for the White Tiger Auction House in a week," the secretary-general remembered the main business: "This time, there is an authentic work by Liang Zewen."

Hearing this, Ren Qian quickly reached out to take it: "An authentic Liang Zewen?"

The Liang style was the most popular type of calligraphy, favored not only by ordinary people but also highly esteemed by major noble families and great literary masters. Therefore, Ren Qian had made Ren Wanxuan learn the Liang style since she was a child.

Clearly, this step had been very successful for Ren Wanxuan; she had gained the favor of many people from childhood to adulthood because of this Liang-style calligraphy.

Authentic works by Liang Zewen were rare. The only one known to the outside world was in the private museum of the Chen family in Jiangjing.

Once this authentic piece appeared, it was feared that a crowd of people would rush over from all over the country.

No one would suspect it was fake; after all, it was the largest auction house in Asia. Even if they opened an auction house on Blackwater Street, no one would dare to cause trouble.

"Find a way to get an invitation to the auction," Ren Qian said.

**

The next day.

Bai Lian didn't linger at the library because Jiang Fuli had someone deliver the multimeter to her.

She prepared to go home and let her grandfather witness what "looking at the wrong time" meant.

When the No. 12 bus stopped at Qingshui Street and Bai Lian got off with her black backpack, she saw a circle of people gathered in the distance near the convenience store on Qingshui Street.

Bai Lian walked closer, and the man in the white vest watching the commotion outside the crowd shook his hand.

With a "clatter," his cigarette fell to the ground.

"Captain Zhang, why don't you ask them if I've broken the law?" In the middle of the crowd, a middle-aged man in black clothes exhaled a puff of smoke, pointing his cigarette at a jelly vendor: "Do you dare say I've broken the law?"

The jelly vendor shook his head in terror, tidying up the stall that had been kicked over: "No, no! I knocked it over myself!"

"Oh, then do you dare?" The middle-aged man took two more steps and pointed at the person selling handmade carvings.

That person sat on the ground, only waving his hands frantically.

He stepped on an embroidered shoe and finally stopped in front of Ji Heng: "How about you? Do you dare?"

Ji Heng looked at the stall lying on the ground and shook his head.

"See," the middle-aged man then looked at Captain Zhang leisurely, speaking arrogantly: "I told you I didn't, Captain Zhang. You wouldn't want to arrest a good person, would you?"

"You..." Captain Zhang was about to take action when he was held back tightly by his companion: "Forget it, forget it, Captain Zhang!"

The companion whispered in Captain Zhang's ear: "He should be that 'Poison Scorpion'..."

Captain Zhang calmed down.

Poison Scorpion.

One of the top ten on their internal wanted list, often drifting between Blackwater Street and the international scene. Many of his subordinates were former mercenaries, and with the backing of the bars on Blackwater Street, it was said that even the FBI couldn't do anything about him.

His influence was immense.

Poison Scorpion had long anticipated this situation.

He looked at Captain Zhang with contempt, threw his cigarette on the ground right in front of him, and stepped on it: "It seems, Captain Zhang, you'll have to find another way if you want to arrest me."

No one present dared to speak.

Poison Scorpion arrogantly took all the cigarettes from the convenience store and left Qingshui Street openly.

After the people left, Captain Zhang silently helped the surrounding vendors tidy up their stalls. He said to them in a low voice: "Sorry."

People from the bars on Blackwater Street, the border treaty zone—people from there...

Captain Zhang had no evidence and truly couldn't do anything.

Even if the Chen family from Xiang City were here today, they would have to swallow their pride.

Bai Lian stood not far away, watching this scene with a calm gaze.

The man in the white vest felt his back go cold under her gaze. He shivered and quickly bit his cigarette to help the vendors pack up their things.

Clearly, the man in the white vest was also one of those "treaty zone people" not to be trifled with. Seeing him help pack up, Captain Zhang couldn't help but glance at him, then at the shopkeeper not far away.

The surrounding crowd gradually dispersed; such things were not uncommon on Qingshui Street.

"A-Lian?" Ji Heng finished packing up his things and saw Bai Lian standing at the end of the street.

The neighbors liked the little trinkets Ji Heng made, so he would set up a stall every few days. Bai Lian studied at the library until very late every day, so this was the first time she had seen him setting up his stall.

"Mm." Bai Lian responded calmly and reached out to take Ji Heng's things.

"It's alright, Grandpa is used to it. Losing money to avoid disaster," Ji Heng held his tobacco pouch, clearly talking more than usual today: "Things like this don't happen often. He's a person from across the way; he doesn't come here often. You should be careful when you go out in the future. We ordinary people should try to provoke them as little as possible."

He comforted Bai Lian.

Bai Lian gave another very obedient "Mm," but the coldness in the depths of her black pupils grew even deeper.

Ji Heng felt very reassured by her.

11:00 PM.

The light in Ji Heng's room went out. In Bai Lian's room, she tightened the last screw on the electric fan.

Then she took her phone, gently closed the door, and went out.

Crossing the bridge at the end of Qingshui Street, a street stretched out before her eyes, magnificent and golden. Even though it was 10:00 PM, it was as bright as day. At the entrance, it was written in two languages—

Blackwater Street.

The man in the white vest had been waiting there for a long time. As soon as he looked up, he saw the girl in a moon-white dress who looked completely out of place on this street.

"Sister." The man in the white vest leaned in, handed Bai Lian a cigarette, and lit it for her.

Bai Lian held the slender cigarette between her fingers, very nonchalantly. As the flame curled over and the smoke rose faintly, she tilted her head lazily: "Where is he?"

Man in the white vest: I can prove that when I met Poison Scorpion, he didn't have a head.

Hehehehe, goodnight!