Chapter 12: An Unexpected Delight
When Zhao Shan learned that Qi Fei truly possessed this ability, his first reaction was not horror but elation. In everyday life, if someone could read your thoughts at any moment, most people’s immediate response would be fear—it's as if they were stripped naked, with no secrets left in front of others, an experience that would naturally be terrifying for anyone.
But if such an ability were used appropriately...
“If this power were applied in interrogations or counter-espionage, wouldn’t it be invincible?”
“No, I have no intention of becoming a cop,” Qi Fei said. Though she respected them, she lacked the spirit of self-sacrifice. Earning a humble living while worrying like a clandestine dealer, she came here to enjoy life, not to offer herself selflessly.
Zhao Shan finally tasted the bittersweet edge of Qi Fei’s ability. He merely thought of something, and Qi Fei immediately rejected it.
“Right...” he barely uttered a word before she interrupted,
“Are you sure there’s no surveillance in your office?”
Zhao Shan didn’t understand why Qi Fei kept suspecting his office was bugged. He lacked both the courage and the means to install surveillance there. But after being asked twice, and now knowing of Qi Fei’s remarkable power, he dared not confidently deny it. He pondered why she insisted on writing down the mind-reading, suspecting it was to avoid being overheard.
Glancing at Qi Fei, he stood and began a thorough inspection. Seeing Qi Fei sitting there so composed, Zhao Shan felt a bit amused. Here he was, nearly forty, yet being directed around by a young girl.
After more than ten minutes,
“I’m quite certain there’s nothing.”
“Oh.”
After all that fuss, Qi Fei’s casual “oh” felt underwhelming.
Before he could digest this, Qi Fei dropped another bombshell.
“There’s a drug dealer’s mole in your police station.”
“Impossible!” Zhao Shan’s expression said it all, which only made Qi Fei more at ease.
Though Zhao Shan didn’t want to believe it, Qi Fei’s astonishing ability compelled him to accept the possibility. After a moment of thought, he asked, “Who is it?”
Reluctant as he was to doubt his comrades, he felt compelled to ask.
“I heard others call him ‘Strong Squad’.”
Upon hearing the nickname, Zhao Shan’s first reaction was disbelief. They had all joined the bureau around the same time; anyone could be suspected except him.
“Don’t be so absolute.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can keep an eye on him. His wife has already noticed something’s off. Recently, he might even turn violent towards her.”
Qi Fei had overheard his thoughts and intentionally lingered to confirm the man’s guilt—a fortunate stroke.
The last time they acted on intel from 787, a supposedly foolproof operation ended in failure.
“I don’t know if your last failure was because he leaked information.”
“But I’m certain that this near-fatal attempt on the mole’s life was due to him tipping off the dealers.”
When the two men collided in the mall, the man lowering his head to send a message was likely this ‘Strong Squad’ betraying them.
In Zhao Shan’s heart, this was only self-deception.
Rising to his feet, Qi Fei said, “I’ve done my duty, but I don’t want a third party to know about my ability.”
“This won’t do. Such a formidable power must be reported,” Zhao Shan thought.
Qi Fei anticipated this.
Remembering her ability, Zhao Shan quickly assured her, “Your information will be classified as top secret. Only absolutely trustworthy individuals will know.”
A talent like her was a national treasure; there was no way many people could know.
“Fine, as long as it doesn’t cause me trouble,” Qi Fei replied.
Seeing her about to leave, Zhao Shan hurried, “You might need to come by again soon. I’ll pick you up.”
He knew his own belief wasn’t enough; the higher-ups had to be convinced, and Qi Fei’s presence was essential. After all, if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it either.
Had anyone told him before this that mind-reading truly existed, Zhao Shan would have rolled his eyes—either they read too many novels or they were insane.
As he saw Qi Fei out, his mind lingered on the scandal he’d seen in the car earlier.
Although he hadn’t known her long, someone willing to reveal such a phenomenal secret to save a stranger’s life couldn’t be the person portrayed online.
Such an extraordinary gift—if she truly were framed, he believed the authorities would intervene.
He just couldn’t understand how someone with such an ability could be so easily schemed against.
Qi Fei heard Zhao Shan’s thoughts and rolled her eyes.
“You have to learn to judge people better.”
Zhao Shan was momentarily stunned, then remembered her ability and gave a bitter smile.
Indeed, there were no secrets before Qi Fei.
“No need for help; I can handle it myself.”
He didn’t even have to say it—she immediately refused.
Fearing she might have overstepped, she added, “If it’s really unsolvable, I’ll come to you.”
After seeing her off, Zhao Shan’s eyes grew complicated as he looked toward Li Qiang.
***
Money made things easier.
In less than two days, all of Qi Fei’s belongings were moved from upstairs to downstairs, exactly replicated.
After arranging everything, she took in the new apartment. Who would have thought that the place Zhou Ying found had the same layout? If not for some differences in the fixtures, Qi Fei might have thought she hadn’t moved at all.
At eight in the evening,
Qi Fei had just logged on when she received a game invite. Entering, she saw the other four already there, chatting.
Seeing [T] was a surprise—wasn’t he supposed to be busy these days?
“Hey? Didn’t you say you had no time today? Why did you both log in so close together?”
“Finished moving. Nothing to do tonight, so we’re playing a few rounds.”
“What are you guys talking about?” She had stopped playing.
Shi Lin was the first to respond, “Talking about the recent celebrity scandal, Qi Fei.”
“Putting aside character, the girl is really pretty,” Shi Lin said, a true face-value enthusiast.
“Although people online used to say Qi Fei’s pretty face was wasted on bad acting,”
“Back then, they only called her a pretty face, or spread rumors without basis. How did so many scandals suddenly explode overnight?”
“Something’s off.”
The conversation flowed naturally, but Su Xiang’s comment made them pause.
The scandal had indeed erupted abruptly, without warning.
“It must be true. Maybe the secrecy was too tight before. Otherwise, why admit it?” Shi Lin reasoned.
As the group discussed heatedly, Qi Fei added, “It was the manager.”
“He apologized on social media,” Tong Sheng said, raising his eyebrows.
Wan Yang was wrapping up work and asked, puzzled, “If it wasn’t her, why would the agency make her admit it? Isn’t that pushing her into the fire?”
“Impossible.”
“Qi Fei is human, not a puppet. If she was framed, would she just confess? If the apology wasn’t hers, why didn’t she refute it?”
“Because there was no evidence, the contract was in their hands, and she was betrayed by her boyfriend and parents, leading to despair.”
“Qi Qi, how do you know so much? Are you in the industry too?”
After a few seconds of silence, “I am Qi Fei.”
Her revelation stunned the room into silence.
She spoke because, despite the gossip, no one had accepted the one-sided online narrative uncritically; they analyzed it rationally.
Hearing this, all four looked at Qi Fei’s avatar simultaneously.
Tong Sheng was surprised; he had guessed Qi Qi might be connected or in the industry, but not that Qi Qi was Qi Fei herself.
Though she had changed her name, Qi Fei hadn’t changed her game avatar—always her own photo.
Since Qi Fei was a celebrity, her images were everywhere online, so seeing Qi Qi’s avatar didn’t immediately link her in their minds.
The conversation about Qi Fei had even started because Shi Lin noticed Qi Qi’s avatar.
No one expected that Qi Qi was actually Qi Fei.
“Qi Qi, you’re joking, right?”
“Just pretend I’m joking,” Qi Fei said, then logged off.
She had just noticed someone new in the video footage from Li Siqi’s home. Though a guest wouldn’t normally excite her, this one began eating immediately upon entering.
That couldn’t be a simple visitor.
Especially since the man was a balding old fellow, at least fifty, more than old enough to be her father, lacking good looks and burdened with fat—Qi Fei admired how the girl could stomach that.
Eating dessert while watching the surveillance footage with great interest.
Qi Fei thought this was the day’s biggest find, but after copying the footage, another surveillance clip brought a new surprise.
Was this planned? Cheating on the same day?
Qi Fei had already met the two men in the video last time, so that wasn’t unexpected.
What surprised her was their conversation.
Only then did Qi Fei realize how cunning Qian Hua was. This man had prepared well before executing his plan. No wonder Zhou Ying couldn’t find their chat records; Qi Fei had thought the original owner had accidentally deleted them.
Turns out, this was all part of his scheme from the start.