What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Meeting

Early the next morning, Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu rose early. Today was the last day of the break, and they had to return to school.

As they headed downstairs, they spotted Su Chen parking her car in the front yard. Noticing the dark circles under Su Chen’s eyes, Shu Qiong leaned out the window and asked curiously, “What happened to you… did you pull an all-nighter or did someone beat you up?”

Su Chen sighed. “Busy all night.”

The incident last night had been sudden. Although Shu Xuanmin had ordered a lockdown, word somehow leaked out. Several key figures who had done dirty work for Shu Xuanhe fled overnight to avoid the impending purge.

Shu Qiong knew about this, but she remained relatively optimistic. She suspected that Lin Yuan’s visit to the Capital Star was likely for this exact reason. With the authorities involved—or rather, with the Procuratorate taking an interest—the suspects wouldn’t find it easy to escape. It was fine if they hid within the Capital Star, but if they tried to buy a ticket for a starship using their real identities, they would be detained on the spot.

After just a few words, Su Chen couldn’t help but yawn again. After taking Shu Xuanmin back to rest last night, she had worked overtime through the dawn, leading teams to apprehend those who hadn’t fled yet, cross-referencing faces from the backup chip Shu Qiong had provided.

While they were talking, Shu Xuanmin opened her bedroom door. Seeing Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu in the hallway, she gave them a slight nod. She looked quite refreshed, having tied her long hair into a high ponytail, looking even sharper than usual. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her coffee cup was just about empty.

Seeing the travel-worn Su Chen, her brows twitched. “Didn’t I grant you leave?”

Su Chen naturally took the empty cup from her hand and said firmly, “I’ll take you to the winery. Once you’ve handled things there, I’ll go catch up on sleep.”

She still remembered the security team they encountered at the gates yesterday; there was no way she could let Shu Xuanmin go with only a civilian worker like Ren Qi. Seeing her persistence, Shu Xuanmin didn’t argue.

After breakfast, the four parted ways, leaving the Shu residence in two groups. Considering that drowsy driving was ill-advised, Shu Xuanmin called Ren Qi to drive them directly to the Elk Winery.

Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu did not head straight back to school. The Shu family driver dropped them off on an unfamiliar street in the district where the Military University was located.

Shu Qiong looked at the flashy, flamboyant sign in front of her: “Ou Encounter Bar.”

This early in the morning, the bar was obviously closed. Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu walked around to the back of the building and found a small door. The lock could be opened with voice commands. Shu Qiong cleared her throat and said: “I’m here for the job, no salary required.”

The electronic screen on the lock lit up suddenly, and a flirtatious voice came through: “Reason?”

Suppressing her embarrassment, Shu Qiong answered: “Admiring the stunningly beautiful boss, mixing premium fine wine.” After speaking, she closed her eyes and grumbled, “The person who set this voice command must be a narcissist.”

Yan Xiangyu noted, “The door is open.”

The lock indeed popped open. This smart lock apparently had a programmed reply for successful entries: “Sigh, is it my fault for being so charming?”

“…” Shu Qiong walked in with a dark expression, and once Yan Xiangyu followed, the door shut behind them.

The interior decor was just as flashy as the sign outside, but since it wasn’t business hours, only a single white ceiling light was on, keeping the visual assault within tolerable limits.

Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu were here to meet Lin Yuan and Lin Mi. However, they hadn’t expected the meeting place to be a venue like this. As they stood there wondering where to go, the sound of crisp footsteps approached from the other end of the corridor.

Yan Xiangyu listened closely; the person was wearing high heels and walking at a fast pace, seemingly humming a tune.

“Oh my! My little darlings, you’ve arrived so early~”

The voice preceded the person, possessing the same flirtatious and casual tone as the smart lock. The two looked up to see a woman with long, wavy red hair draped over her shoulders, wearing various studs and dramatic jewelry. Her features were deep, accentuated by exaggerated upward-curving eyebrows and fiery red lips. A lip stud sat in the center of her full lower lip, and a silver skull-shaped eyebrow stud glinted over her left eye. From her earlobes hung two massive hoop earrings that swung as she walked.

Amazingly, this flamboyant style didn’t look like a disaster on her; instead, it exuded a unique, wild charm—a true “wild beauty.” This must be the ‘Ou’ boss of the Ou Encounter Bar, Shu Qiong thought.

Ou Ye appeared to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine, walking with a gust of wind. Approaching them, she tossed her voluminous red hair. She was tall, and her measuring gaze was incredibly direct. Meeting her eyes, Shu Qiong felt as if she were facing a large carnivore from the grasslands, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

“What, starstruck?” Ou Ye waved a hand. “Sister Lin briefed me; follow me. Oh, forgot to introduce myself—I’m the boss of this bar, Ou Ye. You can call me Sister Ou, or even ‘Oh Yeah’.”

She gave a loud click of her tongue. “I always feel like my mom didn’t put any effort into this name. Every time I say it out loud, I feel like an illiterate.”

Shu Qiong finally snapped out of her daze. “Your name is very… very positive and optimistic.”

Ou Ye laughed heartily. “Every time someone calls my name, it feels like they’re cheering for this shitty world. My mom said she had a terrible time carrying me. Our family has a hereditary large frame; a newborn is ten pounds right out of the gate. My mom was annoyed to death while pregnant. When she finally gave birth, she said she was finally free and couldn’t bear not to shout ‘Oh Yeah’ to honor her hard work. She wanted to drink a bottle of vodka to celebrate the moment she stepped out of the delivery room.”

“…” Shu Qiong didn’t know how to respond to that. She couldn’t exactly say “your mother is quite something.” People’s personalities these days were truly vivid.

She looked at Yan Xiangyu; aside from necessary situations or when she was with Shu Qiong, Yan Xiangyu was not a talkative person. Contrasted against Ou Ye, both girls felt a sudden doubt: Were we always this introverted?

Nodding along to the bar owner’s enthusiastic commentary, they followed her through a labyrinth of turns to the basement area. The moment they stepped inside, Shu Qiong felt as if she had just finished eye exercises; her visual nerves relaxed instantly. The basement was decorated comfortably, with a minimalist and warm color scheme—a complete contrast to the neon chaos upstairs.

The door to one room was slightly ajar—a solid wood door of a natural color, equipped with a manual lock of a type rarely seen in the interstellar era. Ou Ye gave a perfunctory knock and pushed it open. “Boss, I’ve brought them.” She gave a whistle and winked at Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu. “Bye-bye, little beauties~”

The two girls both gave a dry, “Goodbye, Boss.”

Seated inside the room were Lin Mi and Lin Yuan. The latter was looking down at an optical screen, appearing very busy; she only gave a slight nod of greeting before returning to her work. Lin Mi, however, was very enthusiastic, waving at Shu Qiong: “Sister, long time no see!” She ignored Yan Xiangyu entirely.

Shu Qiong greeted Lin Yuan with an “Hello, Auntie Lin,” and then walked toward Lin Mi without a word. Lin Mi proactively made space for her: “Sister, sit next to me.”

Shu Qiong suddenly sped up her steps, her right hand forming a fist and swinging directly at Lin Mi’s face. Lin Mi didn’t even blink, remaining smiling, without even leaning back to dodge. The fist stopped less than a centimeter from her nose, the wind from the punch blowing a few strands of hair on her forehead.

Shu Qiong stared at her for a long time before finally pulling her hand back and sitting down opposite her. Lin Yuan didn’t look over once throughout the process, seemingly unsurprised.

Lin Mi, however, spoke up in surprise: “Sister, you aren’t angry?”

Shu Qiong gave a cold smile. “I’ve just realized that you and Xin Xiuyun are essentially the same type of person—those who stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Since our values don’t align, there’s no need to waste energy on extra complications. Besides, even if this punch landed on you, it wouldn’t change anything; it would only decrease efficiency for no reason.”

That “no need” caused the sweet smile on Lin Mi’s face to vanish completely. Shu Qiong’s speech was usually without sharp edges, but secretly placing a bug near her had clearly crossed a line. Shu Qiong’s trust was only given once.

On the Base Star, she had been led to the equipment building by Xin Xiuyun, and that same night, Lin Mi had given her that “loaded” pocket pistol. In a sense, since that day, these two half-sisters had completely led Shu Qiong into a quagmire.

Lin Mi explained: “But doing that had benefits for you too. We are in the same boat, Sister. We both stand opposite the Xin family and Shu Xuanhe; we should be friends.”

“No, that’s not called being friends,” Shu Qiong shook her head. “Between friends, you don’t only consider goals and results in a straight line. I only ask you one thing: did you ask for my opinion beforehand?”

“I… I didn’t.” Lin Mi still tried to argue. “I was afraid you wouldn’t agree. At that time, I didn’t know if you would cooperate with our actions. If you refused, the clues would have been easily broken.”

As Shu Qiong listened, she lowered her eyes in thought. Xin Xiuyun, Lin Mi, Xin Zhize… she had now interacted with three people of her generation from the Xin family. She found that the common trait among them was a deep paranoia and an unshakable belief in their own set of self-consistent logic and principles. Perhaps because life had been hard, they felt they had to cling to something to survive, to the point where even after escaping the mire, they couldn’t change their long-ingrained habits. A distorted upbringing always leads to extreme personality issues; the environment of the Xin family could not produce a truly “good” person. Of course, a purely kind person probably wouldn’t survive long there anyway.

Shu Qiong could understand the difficult circumstances Lin Mi and Xin Xiuyun faced growing up, but she didn’t think sympathy alone could excuse the issues they displayed.

Shu Qiong’s tone softened: “What you say makes sense, but every choice has a price. For example, when you chose to place a listening device near me, you personally sent the trust and friendship between us to a dead end. Of course, from a utilitarian perspective, you weren’t wrong. It’s just that, Lin Mi, you aren’t that little girl surrounded by wolves anymore. You’ve come to a vast new world, and the people you connect with don’t all act based on profit. You could enjoy pure friendship and family. These feelings are hard to come by and are destroyed by your lack of honesty and self-importance. If you still cherish anything, please don’t betray them. Right, Auntie Lin?” Shu Qiong suddenly addressed Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan, who had seemed busy with work, stiffened and slowly looked up while sighing. “I told her those things, but she didn’t listen.”

Shu Qiong was speechless. So you’re using me as a life coach now?

Yan Xiangyu suddenly spoke to Lin Mi: “It’s not good to hide a disease from the doctor. I know a child psychologist; do you need an introduction?”

Lin Mi’s expression, which had been confused and sad, suddenly choked. She looked at Shu Qiong with some dejection. “I’m sorry, Sister. I was the one who secretly modified the gun; Auntie Yuan didn’t know. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Can we still…”

At this moment, Shu Qiong felt a sliver of maternal-like relief. “Just don’t do it again next time.” The people of the Xin family were too dangerous; Shu Qiong had already decided to stay away from this group of people, each with more schemes than the last.

Yan Xiangyu chimed in pleasantly, “Mhm, a child who admits their mistakes and changes is a good child.”

“…” Lin Mi, having been insulted as childish twice in a row, glared at her. “If it were you, I wouldn’t want to spend a moment with you even for the greatest profit!”

Shu Qiong seized the opportunity for a teaching moment: “See, this is also a type of interpersonal relationship and mode of interaction that discards utilitarianism.”

Toward an individual who had lost their threat level, Yan Xiangyu’s attitude was always decent. She said magnanimously, “She’s still young. Once she’s seen more of the world, she’ll understand.”

Lin Mi was at her limit. “I’m only two or three years younger than you; what are you pretending to be mature for?!”

Yan Xiangyu lowered her eyes and sighed, looking as if she were mourning a sincere effort thrown to the dogs. “I mean well; honest advice is hard to swallow but good for behavior. I’m saying this for your own good.”

Lin Mi almost laughed out of anger. “Always playing these tricks! Did you ask my opinion on this so-called ‘good intention’?”

However, meeting Yan Xiangyu’s half-smiling gaze, Lin Mi suddenly went silent. She thought of something, and then her expression turned gloomy as she lowered her head and stopped talking. …Forcefully imposing one’s own behavior and view of pros and cons onto another person was indeed uncomfortable to experience.

Shu Qiong lightly touched Yan Xiangyu’s knee beside her and whispered, “Why bother with the lecture?”

Yan Xiangyu looked down at the hand moving closer. “I was annoyed seeing her; couldn’t help myself.”

Lin Yuan saw that the younger generation had finished their communication and that her somewhat stubborn niece had taken it in. She turned off her optical screen and looked up seriously.

“I called you here because there is official business to discuss. The Alliance has been established for over a hundred years, and it is inevitable that parasites have bred within it. The matter of the Xin family goes very deep, and the forces behind them are complex. You are just military students who haven’t even entered the military yet; I originally didn’t want to involve you.”

Shu Qiong placed her hands on her knees, waiting for the heavy “but” that was sure to follow.

Sure enough, Lin Yuan’s tone deepened: “But even after years of secret investigation by the Procuratorate, it is still difficult for us to fully confirm who among the high-ranking military officials are their people. Now, the Base Star incident has become the fuse—it’s the most overt provocation in recent years. If we don’t uproot them now, the Alliance will only become more unstable in the future. We don’t want to wait anymore. Rather than spending huge efforts catching pests slowly within the military, it would be better to…”

Shu Qiong met her gaze directly and gave a low laugh: “Better to directly use us military students who haven’t been corrupted yet?”

“You’re very smart,” Lin Yuan said with a complex tone. “We do have that thought. You have ideals and ambition, and your abilities and talent are not inferior. All you lack is a bit of experience. If you can complete these tasks, you won’t need to wait for graduation; the Procuratorate will directly sponsor your entry into a special military unit under the name of first-class military merit. This is a win-win.”

It was indeed a win-win. If it worked out, it would save Shu Qiong and the others years of detour.

“Senior, I am a pragmatist. Just thinking about it, I know these matters carry significant danger,” Shu Qiong said, stroking her chin and testing the waters. “Just the two of us—er, three of us—how are we supposed to contend with a massive entity hiding in the dark?”

Lin Yuan nodded in understanding. “Of course, it won’t just be you. During the Base Star training, I already had people conduct screenings. When necessary, we will select suitable students from there to act with you.”

The students attending the training not only had ambition and top-tier ability, but their life history was much cleaner and clearer than those of the “old oil” who had already graduated.

Yan Xiangyu asked, “You were already investigating us back then?”

Lin Yuan said nothing, which served as a confirmation.

Shu Qiong fell into silence. So even before we met, she was already calculating how to use these little yellow vegetables that hadn’t fully grown yet.

Shu Qiong pursed her lips and finally said, “I agree. But you have to answer me one question.”

“Ask.”

Shu Qiong stared at her, unwilling to miss any subtle change in Lin Yuan’s expression. “Is it true that my mother was unfortunately killed by a toxic Zerg ambush on the battlefield all those years ago?”

Lin Yuan said calmly, “It’s true. I personally observed the autopsy; it was indeed Zerg poison.” Her tone was cold and strained, as if she were recalling a nightmare.

Shu Qiong didn’t believe that the Procuratorate, which had been secretly investigating the Xin family for years, wouldn’t know the information she had easily obtained from Qi Yuan. So she asked again: “Do you really believe that?”

“The direct cause might have been Zerg poison, but how she got poisoned and why the mecha suddenly failed… there is room for manipulation in those steps.”

Since learning that Shu Ci’s death might involve others, Shu Qiong had shown no outward anomaly, but in reality, she was constantly thinking about this issue. Every word she spoke was full of complete calm as she said slowly: “If even a palm-sized pocket pistol can be modified by someone, there are far too many places where someone could tamper with a mecha that large.”