**Chapter 48: I Made Those Dumplings**
In the afternoon, at the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
In front of the office building, Li Xuan, dressed in a white outfit, leaned leisurely in the pavilion of a small garden, slowly flipping through documents.
To those who did not know him, just from a distance, his elegant ancient-style handsome appearance might even create an illusion of time travel.
After a moment, Li Xuan set down the documents, raised his head, and gazed at a cluster of blooming bellflowers, smiling and exclaiming, “How wonderful!” In the past month, Bai Kai had taken a long vacation, Jiang Li had gone to the Siye Association Headquarters to complete the Spirit Patterns advancement, and after sending Huasang back to Dachunyang Palace, Lu Yibei refused to leave, staying at Dachunyang Palace since all the people he didn’t get along with had left.
His master, who had been angry with him for a long time, had forgiven him, even kindly sending him a package of handmade dumplings.
Calculating the time, the package should arrive today, right?
It felt like life had suddenly become beautiful! But
why did I feel a little empty in my heart? Like I was missing something.
As Li Xuan thought of this, he frowned slightly. At that moment, Lu Yibei’s voice rang in his ears. “Hey, Xiao Li, is this your package?”
That kid is back? No way! Why didn’t anyone tell me?
Li Xuan didn’t turn around, perhaps thinking he was hallucinating, or perhaps unwilling to face reality. Until Lu Yibei presented the package box in front of him.
“Here! I happened to pass by the small shop at the alley and saw it, so I brought it over for you.”
d*mn it, who told you to touch the dumplings my master made for me? Li Xuan looked at Lu Yibei with a dark expression, his face like a child throwing a tantrum after having his beloved toy taken away.
Lu Yibei said, “I’m just trying to be helpful. What’s wrong with him? Is the automotive repair shop’s maintenance annual pass about to expire, so he needs to use it up quickly?”
Staring at Lu Yibei for a few seconds, Li Xuan seemed to suddenly think of something, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth as he opened the package box and took out the vacuum-sealed bag of dumplings.
“See? These are the dumplings my master made for me, it’s my master’s love!” Lu Yibei froze for a moment, nodding.
“I see, it looks somewhat familiar, feels like I’ve seen it somewhere.”
“Hey—! The feeling of being cared for and remembered is really nice!” Li Xuan secretly glanced at Lu Yibei while shaking his head and sighed, “Those who aren’t cared about must be really lonely, right?”
You little brat, I have people who care about me, do you have anyone?!
Li Xuan thought smugly, almost as if to further show off to Lu Yibei. He slightly raised his chin, and in front of Lu Yibei, tore open the vacuum packaging and pulled out a dumpling.
Just as he was about to put it into his mouth, he noticed Lu Yibei’s slightly open lips, looking like he wanted to say something. “What’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”
Lu Yibei shook his head expressionlessly, “No.”
“Haha!” Li Xuan scoffed, popped the dumpling into his mouth. I know you’re feeling bad, but what can you do?
As he groaned to himself, after a few chews, his expression underwent a series of dramatic changes.
The smile gradually disappeared, his face seemed to petrify, then his muscles started twitching, his complexion turned pale, and his brows almost twisted into a Z Country knot.
It felt as though he wasn’t eating dumplings but a green plum soaked in aged vinegar for 81 days. However, even so, he still gritted his teeth and swallowed the chewed dumpling down.
It tasted horrible, but he had to eat his master’s “care,” no matter how bad! Lu Yibei propped his chin with one hand, surveying Li Xuan for a moment, nodding with satisfaction.
Well, judging from his expression, it can be confirmed that these are the dumplings I made for him. His master sent these dumplings, could it be that he’s not showing care but trying to k*ll him?
It’s strange; clearly, they were made from common ingredients, mixed together for dumpling making—it might be a little dark, but how could they be this unappetizing?
The Turtle Girl used these dumplings to successfully make that Big Turtle bite them; there must be some other reason. Lu Yibei thought.
Just as he was pondering, Li Xuan finally caught his breath and with difficulty squeezed out a teasing smile at Lu Yibei, “So, how about it? Are you envious?”
“Not at all,” Lu Yibei replied expressionlessly.
Li Xuan waved his hand, pouting, “Don’t act tough. If you want some, I can share.”
“These dumplings were made by me before leaving Dachunyang Palace, as a farewell gift. The taste is frankly mediocre, being able to eat one whole is quite a feat for you,” Lu Yibei said.
Li Xuan, “???”
He made them? A farewell gift? So he knew how bad they were? “Why didn’t you say it earlier?!”
Lu Yibei looked at Li Xuan, still expressionless, but a meaningful smile appeared in his eyes, “I was going to say, but I didn’t want to disturb your experience of your master’s care. I held back.”
Alright, you keep experiencing your master’s care. I have to check some information, so I’m going in first.” After saying this, he shrugged and turned to walk toward the office building.
Li Xuan stared at Lu Yibei’s back, stayed silent for a few seconds, then suddenly shouted, “Lu Yibei! I suddenly feel like you’re very much like the infamous urban legend lately, Calamity!”
“Calamity” has caused quite a commotion recently, and the discussion about it within the Siye Association’s internal forum is very high.
As a long-time participant in the internal forum, and an official operative stationed in the active area of Calamity—Huacheng, Li Xuan had seen many rumors about “Calamity” and had a strong interest in them.
Hearing Li Xuan’s words, Lu Yibei’s body stiffened, his heart trembled slightly, but he didn’t turn around.
“You’re just like the Calamity spoken of in the internal forum, wherever you go, there’s mourning and misfortune, no one can have a good time. Is that right?” Lu Yibei tilted his head and looked at Li Xuan, saying, “If I were Calamity, I would definitely let my urban legends take six days off a week, showing up to cause trouble while you’re on night duty. Do you believe that?”
“Ha!” Li Xuan rolled his eyes. “A great urban legend like Calamity would be this boring as you? If they want to make trouble, they would do so on a grand scale, right?!”
Lu Yibei thought,
This annoying big brother has evolved into the leader of dark fans, hasn’t he?
I’ve told you the truth, and you don’t believe it, then there’s nothing I can do!
Lu Yibei thought, as he passed the small garden in front of the office building, he took out a bag of corn crisps from his backpack and handed them to the Girl, then went into the office building, heading toward the V Office.
That’s right, the V Office is Jiang Li’s office, not his, but the leader’s is no different from mine, right?
My office is so shabby, with a poor working environment. Using the leader’s office for a while, she wouldn’t mind. Besides, her office has The Book of Siye and many paper documents. Lu Yibei thought—
When it comes to following such matters, Huaxie Yu is quite experienced.
When she was younger, she had worked as an informant for a local gang for a long time. The people she was tailing often found it hard to notice that a girl like her was observing them secretly.
In fact, in a place like Fragrant Lady Cave, some people with their heads full of ideas would think that even if they accidentally noticed her gazing at them, they’d assume she was just trying to make a deal.
Like the kind of deal for ‘all-night packages.’
And usually, when encountering such people, if the employer hasn’t explicitly stated to avoid contact with the target being followed, Huaxie Yu would turn the ‘all-night package’ deal into a vastly significant and life-questioning business.
Due to her concern about being discovered by Lu Yibei, while tailing him, she maintained a certain distance, and she arrived at Mudan Street about five minutes later than Lu Yibei.
Just as Lu Yibei finished tormenting Li Xuan and walked into the office building, Huaxie Yu had walked halfway down Mudan Street and finally arrived at the alley.
From a distance, looking at the metal sign hanging in front of the old shrine, she frowned. “What on earth is the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau?”
Although she lived in Fragrant Lady Cave, her understanding was not limited to the surroundings of Fragrant Lady Cave.
She was sure that there were no departments like the Folk Culture Research Management Bureau in Dawn City and its surrounding cities.
“Does this mean this department is unique to Huacheng?” Huaxie Yu muttered to herself, frowning, quietly retreating to a place further away from the alley.
This strangely named department gave her a bad feeling; even knowing that Lu Yibei was inside, she did not dare to take the risk.
Standing on Mudan Street, after looking around for a while, her gaze fell on a chubby little boy squatting by the ditch fishing, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. “Got it!”
Deceiving a silly little chubby boy to help her go take a look at what’s inside that management bureau was as easy as breathing.
“Hey, little friend, you can’t catch fish like this, do you need big sister’s help?”
Hearing the voice coming from behind, the little chubby boy looked up, and upon seeing Huaxie Yu, he froze on the spot. He had never seen such a beautiful lady before and almost instantly, he had already regarded Huaxie Yu as his future mother-in-law. This proved to be a slightly precocious and ambitious little chubby boy.
On the other side, just as Huaxie Yu was trying to build a relationship with the little chubby boy, hoping to deceive him into exploring the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau,
Inside the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, in the surveillance center.
A member of the Special Action Team pointed at the screen in front of him and turned to Qi Dong behind him, “Boss, we’ve found the source of that Spirit Energy Fluctuation, it’s this girl.”
“I reviewed the previous surveillance records, she seemed to have entered Mudan Street following operative Lu Yibei, and then came here.”
“Boss, what should we do now?”
Qi Dong propped his chin with one hand, staring at the screen silently for a moment, then said expressionlessly, “Keep observing. If she does anything strange, bring her in for questioning.”
There shouldn’t be any problems, right?
Even if she wants to make trouble, it’s impossible to do so at the entrance of the Siye Association, right?
Isn’t that the same as committing a crime at the police station? Just a little petty thief, Qi Dong thought.
Huaxie Yu’s experience was indeed quite sophisticated, but she overlooked one thing; the security in Huacheng is much better than that of Dawn City. (Today I have some matters to attend to outside, so I won’t update as much.)
