I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 58

The land was empty and offered little actual research value. The group took a loop around the site before boarding the vehicle to continue along the perimeter. Inside the car, Zhao Ruibin continued his non-stop introduction.

“This plot has already been cordoned off and fenced. We are just waiting for the final evaluation from you experts before the government grants ultimate approval.”

His tone was one of absolute certainty. Qi Yan noticed that he had reached a point of exhaustion, or perhaps even desperation, to secure this land. The feeling was subtle, but it gave her a strange, nagging sensation in the back of her mind.

After getting out of the car, Jiang Miao, in her role as a historian, found an opportunity to speak with Zhao Ruibin. “This entire grassland holds significant historical value. It carries the heavy weight of the Northern Dynasty from a thousand years ago and serves as the site of many legends regarding the resistance against foreign invaders. The municipal government pays very close attention to this area.”

“President Zhao has quite an eye,” she continued, stepping closer to him. “Building a resort here is indeed very appropriate. It will not damage the historical relics, and it can serve as a transit hub connecting the three major historical sites. I believe Zhucheng will strongly support your project this time.”

With just a few sentences, Jiang Miao made her supportive stance clear. “President Zhao, the road ahead of you is bright.”

This was an explicit hint. As a veteran of the business world for decades, Zhao Ruibin instantly caught her meaning. He quickly gestured a number with his fingers and lowered his voice. “Rest assured, Professor Jiang. We will have a very happy cooperation.”

Jiang Miao understood the gesture and immediately offered a knowing smile, waving her hand dismissively. “Do not mention it, President Zhao. We are all just doing our part for the historical and cultural development of Zhucheng.”

With that, she elevated her actions to a higher moral plane. She and Zhao Ruibin shared a look of mutual understanding.

In the afternoon, Zhao Ruibin took the group to visit three famous historical sites. Standing atop Sunset Pass, the most famous frontier ruins in Zhucheng, Qi Yan felt a surge of emotion. She had never been to the famous frontiers of the real world, yet she had memorized the poetry describing them since childhood.

Li He’s desert sand like snow, and the crescent moon over the Yan Mountains.

Li Bai’s great wind traveling ten thousand miles to blow across the Yumen Pass.

Wang Changling’s bright moon of the Qin and the border pass of the Han, where the ten thousand mile march sees no men return.

Poems she had learned since primary school were etched into her brain. It was not until this moment, standing on Sunset Pass looking at the fiery northwestern sunset, which turned the sky a burning red and ignited the silent grassland, that she felt she was looking at a vibrant oil painting.

Qi Yan’s fingertips twitched with the impulse to paint the scene. However, she had no brushes or canvas, and the location was not right. She decided to sear the image into her memory and paint it in her studio once she returned home.

This script world was very different from reality. The dynasties and locations were all fictional, offering a completely fresh experience for the players.

After touring the three sites, the motorcade returned to the hotel just in time for dinner. The developer grandly hosted another expensive seafood buffet. After spending the afternoon together, everyone was more familiar, and the atmosphere at dinner was noticeably more relaxed than at lunch.

To avoid suspicion, Jiang Miao, Tang Shanshan, and Qi Yan barely communicated. Any words exchanged were strictly related to the project and kept brief.

At the dinner table, Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan sat next to the interior designer, Dai Qi. They chatted happily with the beautiful designer. Dai Qi was very active in the conversation; since she would be responsible for the resort’s interior design, it was natural for her to consult the history professor frequently.

Qi Yan sat next to Zhao Ruibin, chatting warmly with the developer whose eyes were filled with nothing but profit.

Perhaps because the experts had given positive responses throughout the day, Zhao Ruibin was brimming with confidence regarding the project’s approval. He drank heavily that evening. As the alcohol went to his head, he became boastful and began to speak loudly.

He talked of nothing but his past successes: luxury residential areas, parks built in cooperation with the government, and landmark office buildings.

“Those projects are all in the past! Now, right now, this one! This resort project is the one I, Zhao, have looked forward to and cared about the most in my entire life!” Zhao Ruibin’s face was flushed red. His slanted eyes looked even more cunning now, filled with the greed of a crooked merchant.

“President Shi! Boss Hong! And all you expert teachers!” Zhao Ruibin clinked his glass against Qi Yan’s, then stood up to toast everyone. “I am not bragging! You, you all must trust me! Really, trust me!”

His tongue was starting to get heavy, but he continued to shout excitedly in the private room. Fortunately, the room was soundproof, or the entire restaurant would have known.

“As long as you trust me, this project will definitely make everyone enough money for two lifetimes! Come, I will drink first!” With that, he tilted his head back and downed a glass of whiskey.

Qi Yan played along, taking a sip of her drink while perfectly observing the expressions of everyone at the round table.

Zhao Ruibin was clearly a maniac. Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan were fine; they were both playing their roles convincingly. On Zhao Ruibin’s other side, the landscape designer, Meng Jiumo, also appeared excited, though he was better at hiding his emotions. He did not join Zhao Ruibin’s drunken antics, instead silently drinking to mask the greed in his eyes.

Next to Meng Jiumo was He Xueyan, the publicity head. She seemed distracted, constantly checking her watch and becoming increasingly nervous and restless as time passed.

Beside He Xueyan was Hong Jing, the head of the construction team. She was busy chatting with Dai Qi and Jiang Miao. It was unclear what they were discussing, but they seemed very familiar, talking with great animation as if they did not care about Zhao Ruibin’s outburst.

However, they were polite enough to return the toast when Zhao Ruibin made his grand gesture, though they seemed to take his bragging with a grain of salt.

Qi Yan’s gaze shifted between Dai Qi and Hong Jing. She felt that these two might be players. They showed little interest in Zhao Ruibin or his project, focusing instead on chatting with Jiang Miao. This was likely a mutual probing between players, trying to find evidence of each other’s identity through conversation.

Qi Yan decided to meet with Jiang Miao after dinner to ask for her thoughts on Dai Qi and Hong Jing.

As for Meng Jiumo and He Xueyan, those two seemed a bit too immersed. Meng Jiumo, in particular, was very interested in the “big picture” Zhao Ruibin was painting; he looked very much like an NPC.

At this point, any further analysis was just speculation. Qi Yan finished her dinner in silence. Seeing that Zhao Ruibin had no intention of ending the night soon, she took the initiative to suggest retiring to her room for rest.

She was the investor; no one at the table would refuse to give her face, especially Zhao Ruibin. He was currently desperate to flatter her, knowing he needed to keep her happy to secure the massive investment.

Other than her, there was Jiang Miao, the historical expert sent by the government. Serving these two well was the only way his project would be approved and the investment would arrive. He likely hoped Jiang Miao would say a few good words to the higher-ups to secure even more government backing and a green light.

Zhao Ruibin had long since made his calculations. He was exceptionally fawning toward these two and even tried to lure Jiang Miao onto his ship with promises of wealth.

Therefore, when Qi Yan proposed going back to her room, Zhao Ruibin showed no dissatisfaction. He even instructed the hotel to send any high-quality late-night snacks or desserts to her room, all on his tab.

Qi Yan did not refuse, only nodding with a smile. “Thank you for your kindness, President Zhao.”

“Not at all, not at all.”

After seeing Qi Yan off, Zhao Ruibin said, “It is getting late. If any of you teachers are tired, feel free to head back and rest. Those who want to keep drinking, let us continue!”

With that, Jiang Miao did not stand on ceremony. After a moment, she and Tang Shanshan also got up to leave. The remaining people stayed put, continuing to chat and drink.

Jiang Miao did not return to her own room. Instead, she took Tang Shanshan directly to the top floor and entered Qi Yan’s room.

At that moment, in the luxury executive suite with its own rooftop garden, Qi Yan was not alone. As soon as she returned, Bai Qing emerged from the ring and proactively began heating water to make tea.

Qi Yan had drunk a bit at the banquet and was currently leaning against the sofa in a daze. She usually did not drink much, only a little during occasional dormitory gatherings. College students were prone to overdrinking at parties, but Qi Yan was a person with strong self-control and had never let that happen.

Today was the most she had ever drunk. She did not feel too bad, just a bit lightheaded.

Hearing a knock at the door, Qi Yan knew it was Jiang Miao. She wanted to get up to open it, but the dizziness kept her pinned to the sofa.

With a wave of her hand, a flash of white light shot out from Bai Qing’s long sleeve, automatically opening the door from the inside.

Qi Yan’s mouth formed an “O” shape as she stared blankly and clapped for Bai Qing. “Impressive, impressive!”

Bai Qing gave her a reproachful look, nodded to Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan as they entered, and continued making tea.

The three players took their seats. Jiang Miao first checked on Qi Yan. “I saw you drinking quite a bit at the table. How are you?”

“I am alright. Just a bit dizzy, nothing else.”

Seeing her like this, it seemed her alcohol tolerance was decent. Both Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan were relieved. In this crisis-ridden script, getting drunk would mean losing the ability to protect oneself. Although Bai Qing was there to protect her, staying sober was always the most important thing.

“You were chatting with those two at the table the whole time. Any information?”

Bai Qing brought over a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of the three.

Tang Shanshan was overwhelmed by the gesture. How was she worthy of the fairy sister pouring tea for her? Although she now knew the fairy sister was not actually an immortal, it did not change the sister’s lofty status in her heart.

Jiang Miao took the tea and nodded. “Thank you.”

Bai Qing only gave a faint nod and sat down beside Qi Yan without a word.

“That woman named Dai Qi kept asking about the interior design of ancient buildings. Rather than saying she was consulting me, it felt more like a probe. She wanted to see if I was actually a historian.” Jiang Miao smiled. “Fortunately, I actually am one.”

Qi Yan immediately understood. Jiang Miao believed Dai Qi was a player. Just as they wanted to test the others, Dai Qi wanted to test if Jiang Miao was an NPC or a player. That was why she kept asking questions centered around Jiang Miao’s persona. After all, a player would not necessarily understand professional historical details; if asked too much, they would not be able to provide detailed answers.

What she had not expected was that this script just so happened to include a real history expert who had also received the persona of a history expert. It was a perfect professional match.

It was still unclear how the script would develop. Without more plot missions, they did not want to expose their identities to other players. Furthermore, the current mission required them to hide their player identities, so they could not risk exposure easily.

Qi Yan thought for a moment and asked, “What do you think of Dai Qi’s professionalism?”

“It is decent,” Jiang Miao replied. “She could answer many design-related questions. It is possible the character biography provided hints; my script had that kind of information.”

Qi Yan remained silent. Her script did not have that; it only contained information about the investment projects Shi Jian, the wealthy second-generation, had done before. It was likely because investment risk control was not as specialized as history or design, so the script did not elaborate.

“I currently think Zhao Ruibin and Meng Jiumo are definitely NPCs. I do not know much about the others yet, but based on what you said, let us tentatively place Dai Qi as a player.” Qi Yan drank some tea. “We cannot contact Sister Xin. I am afraid she has run into some trouble on her end.”

Jiang Miao was also a bit worried. “Logically, it should not happen that she did not enter the script, nor should an accident happen right at the start. The fact that we cannot contact her suggests it might be a script mechanism. Her character might not have officially entered the scene yet.”

Qi Yan frowned in thought. This was a strong possibility. It meant that as the plot developed, new characters would join.

“Then let us wait and see. By the way, what did you think of Hong Jing? I saw her chatting quite intently with you two later on.”

Jiang Miao made an “oh” sound and waved her hand with a smile. “That woman? She is a tough one. She told me she started out cooking for people at construction sites. Later, she beat a male foreman, who looked down on women, into a disability. She even did time in jail for it. When she got out, she went back to construction work. She stopped cooking and started laying bricks. At first, people looked down on her because she was a woman, so she performed a stunt where she broke bricks with her bare hands. It stunned the foreman, and he let her join the team starting as a laborer. After moving through various sites and expanding her network, she eventually formed her own team. The team grew larger and larger, and now they take on major projects.”

At this point, Jiang Miao sighed. “That woman is truly fierce! And impressive! She said she only had a few years of schooling before she started working. She built herself up from the bottom. Although people call her a contractor now, which does not sound like a high social status, she is strong enough that no one dares look down on her. I heard she has many female workers under her. She is a very, very strong woman.”

Hearing this, Qi Yan felt a sense of respect for the woman, but beyond that, she cared more about her identity.

“Do you think she is an NPC or a player?”

Jiang Miao recalled the conversation and said hesitantly, “It is hard to say. I feel she might be a player. It felt like she was acting, playing the part of a rough and unrefined person.”

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