My Youth Began With Him

"i have a feeling that you'll die an ugly death…" su yu wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

"so you've agreed?" tang chuan laughed happily since su yu didn't refuse.

"for my friend, i'll do it. but… who are you going to have deliver qin ning the news?"

"i guess that doesn't matter, everyone has ning on wechat." tang chuan shrugged.

"come on, that's a big deal. qin ning's a smart woman, so whoever delivers the news can't give your plan away."

"you have a point… but who should i ask? i originally wanted to ask pudding and little bean."

"what about sis-in-law mian?"

"you should ask qin chu instead."

"my future brother-in-law? i… don't have the guts to ask him." tang chuan was somewhat scared of qin chu. after all, aside from huo mian, qin chu rarely chatted with anyone.

"qin chu's words are authoritative, and qin ning respects him. his involvement will perfect your plan."

"you're right. i'll call him right away." tang chuan nodded in agreement.

"so we're doing this tonight?"

"mhm, i'll have clothes ready for you. we'll meet in the private room."

"i thought pudding and little bean told you to rent a cruise boat." su yu laughed.

"i'll do that after she agrees to marry me… i'm going to make all the single people feel bad about themselves… including you."

"get out of my face…"

finally, tang chuan convinced su yu to join the 'party'.

after zeng rou returned to her home city, the provincial capital, she changed drastically. instead of going home right away, she told the driver to bring her belongings back, while she put on a mask and baseball cap and arrived outside a downtown tea house instead.

peering left and right, zeng rou made sure no one was following her before walking in.

"big boss is waiting for you."

"mhm." zeng rou nodded at the bodyguard by the door and immediately headed up to the second floor. she walked into the last private room, where an elderly man with grey hair was sipping tea.

this man had a fierce expression on his face, which differentiated him from most people.

"chief."

"sit," the old man gestured for zeng rou to sit down. "how did it go?"

"plan a has failed, it's very hard to win su yu's trust."

"did he suspect you?" the old man asked.

"no, but he doesn't like me, so i can't proceed. that's why i decided to come report my progress to you."

"have you made contact with the target?"

"i have. contrary to the outside rumors, huo mian is a nice person. she's great to her friends."

"i've been told that her sister is in the city also. have you made contact with her?"

"i saw her twice, but we didn't really talk," zeng rou recollected.

"she's a sly girl, i'm glad you didn't really talk. you would be in grave danger if she saw through you."

"what should we do now, chief?"

"go back and work on su yu. i'm certain you cannot interfere with qin chu and huo mian's relationship… moreover, su yu is the only single person in their group of friends, and he's really close with qin chu and huo mian. you have to win him over. you also have to win the trust of our main target, huo mian."

"yes, sir, and my uncle…?"

"after you complete your mission, i will ask our superiors. you should be patient."

"yes, chief."

"let's wait awhile. i will then look for good timing to send you back to su yu."

"okay."

"chief, i have another question."

"yes?" the old man slowly raised the teacup to his mouth."

"if our ultimate goal is to find professor lu, why not work on lu yan? i heard she contacts professor lu more often than huo mian."