NOVPUBJi Nian tidied herself up and spent some time in the lab.
She glanced at the toxin she had replicated—the one that had indirectly caused Sun Xiao’s death—and then at the blood test results of the assassin who had failed to kill Liu Yin, nearly been captured, and ultimately taken his own life with poison.
[Not the same poison, but undoubtedly crafted by the same hand.]
How familiar this style was—it reminded her vividly of the toxin that had lurked in Chen Mo’s body for years.
[So, it’s Crow’s doing after all…]
Ji Nian removed her gloves and washed her hands at the sink, smiling.
System: [...What are you smiling about?] 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Meeting her own gaze in the mirror, Ji Nian’s smile deepened.
“This is wonderful.”
“I thought I’d never get to meet Crow’s pharmacist again.”
(Note: If Crow’s pharmacist is the novel’s protagonist, this chapter could be titled Returning Home.)
...
Having clarified what she wanted to know, Ji Nian went to discuss the events in Linshan Village with Ji Tingzhou, sharing her suspicions.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible that another faction was mimicking Crow’s methods, but her gut leaned toward ‘Crow.’
Ji Nian also pulled out Sun Xiao’s medical report from a decade ago.
After reviewing it, Ji Tingzhou asked, “Have you looked into this hospital?”
Beside him, Ji Nian sat cross-legged, hugging half a watermelon. She nodded. “I did. It went bankrupt long ago. The original building was demolished and turned into a foot massage parlor.”
Ji Tingzhou scooted farther away, wary of the juice splattering as she scooped out the fruit.
“I compared it with the autopsy report. At first, I thought the low values were due to the toxin’s effects, but now it’s clear—his levels were naturally like this.”
“It’s almost certain that Sun Xiao’s death wasn’t caused by the antidote. The toxin was neutralized, but his already weakened body simply couldn’t take the strain.”
Even without the poison, Sun Xiao would have died within a week.
As for the poor breakfast stall owner—what business owner would be foolish enough to poison their own products? Now that they knew it was likely Crow’s doing, his innocence was even clearer.
With that, the case was more or less closed.
“Dad, do you think I should keep digging?” Ji Nian mused.
What exactly had been extracted from Sun Xiao’s body ten years ago? How had he survived so long with such critically low levels of that substance?
If she pursued this further, Ji Nian had a feeling she’d uncover something monumental.
In response, Ji Tingzhou casually tossed the test reports—sealed in transparent folders—aside.
“If you’re curious, investigate.”
Ji Tingzhou had never been a tame man himself. When he rose to power, he’d turned all of S City upside down. These days, he slept soundly, content with raising his daughter, and little could rouse his old fire. That was why the Ji family had reined in its edge these past years.
Hearing his words, Ji Nian grinned.
All that talk just for this one sentence.
She’d known Ji Tingzhou wouldn’t refuse her.
Even if he had, Ji Nian wouldn’t have dropped the matter.
It had been so long since she’d felt this thrill.
If the substance missing from Sun Xiao’s body was linked to Crow’s pharmacist—what kind of research were they conducting?
What kind of drug was it?
She wanted to catch them, tie them to a chair, and interrogate them for seven days and nights, wringing every drop of knowledge from their mind for her own use.
The more Ji Nian thought about it, the brighter her emerald-green eyes gleamed with excitement.
Across from her, Ji Tingzhou watched her expression and thought, She really takes after me.
He’d worn the same look when hungry as a child.
“Serve dinner,” he called to a servant.
After the meal, Zuo Yi sent Ji Nian a message:
The task you assigned is done.
Ji Nian glanced at it and replied: Thanks for your hard work~
...
Linshan Village.
A day after Ji Nian left, Yuanyuan still instinctively ran toward the neighboring large house whenever she returned home.
Ji Nian had only taken some belongings when she departed. The pots, pans, rice, oil, vinegar, and other kitchenware bought by You Er, along with the expensive-looking fan and the newly installed toilet, all remained.
These traces proved that the black-haired girl with forest-green eyes had truly been here—none of it was a dream.
Fangfang stepped outside with a basin of water, looking for her little sister. As expected, she found her at the neighboring house.
“If you like it so much, Mom says you can sleep here,” Fangfang offered.
Yuanyuan shook her head.
Just then, an auntie returning from gathering vegetables passed by and spotted Yuanyuan sitting on the doorstep.
“Oh, Fangfang, did you go to school today?” the auntie teased.
Fangfang’s expression stiffened, but she stayed silent.
Yuanyuan, however, flared up. “My sister will go to school!”
Sister Nian-Nian promised!
The auntie laughed. “Alright, alright, she’ll go, she’ll go.”
“Ah, kids these days—can’t even tell when city folk are just being polite.”
Fangfang tugged Yuanyuan back before she could charge forward. “Let it go. She didn’t mean harm.”
Yuanyuan’s eyes reddened. She hung her head, clutching her sister’s sleeve. “That sister wouldn’t lie to me… We had a deal…”
Fangfang patted her little sister’s head fondly.
At that moment, a woman’s voice interrupted.
“Is this Jiang Fangfang’s home?”
Both sisters looked up to see a bespectacled woman with a briefcase.
“I’m Jiang Fangfang… Who are you looking for?” Fangfang stepped forward, puzzled.
The woman scrutinized her, gaze lingering on Fangfang’s rough hands before softening.
“I’m Teacher Liu from Juhua County’s No. 1 High School. I’m here to discuss your enrollment.”
The words hit Fangfang like a thunderclap, leaving her dazed.
Yuanyuan, however, bounced up instantly. “It’s Sister Nian-Nian! She promised to get you into school! She didn’t lie!!”
“Sister, sister, you can go to school now!!”
Overjoyed, Yuanyuan hugged her tightly.
Unlike her sister, seventeen-year-old Fangfang wasn’t so naive.
Hesitantly, she asked, “But… my family can’t afford it.”
“And…”
Her mother would never agree. Recently, she’d even started matchmaking for her.
Teacher Liu smiled. “Don’t worry about any of that.”
“Just tell me—do you want to go to school?”
The day she dropped out, her homeroom teacher’s resigned sigh…
Herself, sobbing at the school gates, clutching her backpack…
The dusty student ID hidden in her drawer, too painful to even glance at…
Fangfang’s heart pounded.
The girl who always kept her head down finally raised her eyes.
The answer required no thought.
“I do.”
News of Jiang Fangfang leaving for school in the county town spread quickly through the village.
The same villagers who’d mocked Yuanyuan for being fooled were now gaping, mouths wide enough to fit a lump of cow dung.
People gradually began to change their tune, saying Jiang Fangfang had truly met a benefactor—perhaps she could even become a college student someday, just as accomplished as Old He’s family, who moved to the big city a decade ago.
The aunt who had previously teased Fangfang even brought over a basket of eggs to congratulate her, her words carrying an unspoken apology for her earlier remarks.
Of course, there were still some elders who muttered that girls didn’t need so much schooling—it would only make it harder for them to marry well.
When Aunt Li caught wind of this, she stormed straight to their houses and unleashed a torrent of scolding, attacking everyone indiscriminately. After that, no one dared to gossip anymore.
On the morning Jiang Fangfang left, a sudden thought struck her, and she turned to Yuanyuan, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes as she came to see her off.
“You call her ‘Sister Niannian’—what’s her full name?”
Yuanyuan tilted her head in confusion. “Huh? Ji Nian. Sister Niannian said her name is Ji Nian.”
Jiang Fangfang abruptly remembered the name of the only primary school in their village, built with the help of a kind-hearted donor.
Dazed, she looked at her little sister and gently patted her head, her voice tinged with emotion. “The elders were right… girls who smile often really do have the best luck.”
Meanwhile, far away in S City, Ji Nian knew little of what was happening in Linshan Village.
Back at school, she was laughing heartily as Shen Qingtang regaled her with amusing stories from the sports meet during her absence.
That is, until Gu Xiuyuan suddenly mentioned there was a parent-teacher meeting on Friday.
