Stepping into the bedroom, he found Qin Shuman still asleep in bed, her figure alluring.
Lying on her side, her hair spilled carelessly across the pillow like black velvet.
The soft quilt wrapped around her jade-like body, faintly revealing the graceful curve of her back and a waist slender enough to span with one hand. As she breathed, her captivating silhouette rose and fell, casting an enchanting, voluptuous outline that stirred the imagination.
She was an exquisite beauty; even in his past life, Qiu Tu had rarely seen anyone like her. In a world like this, she felt all the more eerily out of place.
After standing by the bed and quietly admiring the stunner for a moment—the root cause of this whole predicament—Qiu Tu tugged at his collar and pounced without the slightest hesitation.
Jolted awake by his sudden weight, Qin Shuman was startled. Struggling weakly, she whispered, "Wait—wait a second."
"Be good. I can't wait."
Twenty minutes later, Qiu Tu leaned against the headboard, holding the flushed, radiant Qin Shuman in his arm. He contentedly lit a cigarette. A big shot's mistress really was something else. Incredible!
This wasn't a loss at all.
Even if he slipped off the tightrope one day and Yan Chen killed him, at least he had experienced this; he wouldn't just be a scapegoat who got nothing out of it.
At that moment, perhaps sensing the change in him, Qin Shuman rested her head against his shoulder, tilted her face up, and asked curiously, "You... seem a little different."
"Really?" Qiu Tu kept his arm around her shoulder, took a final drag, and stubbed the cigarette out on the table. "Maybe it's because I've already died once," he replied nonchalantly.
"Huh? What?" Qin Shuman was taken aback, tilting her head to stare at him in surprise.
Qiu Tu chuckled, patting her smooth, fair back. "Just kidding."
Qin Shuman let out a breath and rolled her eyes at him. "You scared me to death."
Qiu Tu said, "I mean, we might be dead soon."
"Yan Chen already knows about the two of us."
Qin Shuman looked at him blankly.
Perhaps because the news was too staggering, Qin Shuman clutched the thin quilt to her chest and shot upright, staring at Qiu Tu in sheer shock.
On the surface, Qiu Tu seemed indifferent, but the corner of his eye was quietly scrutinizing her, trying to tell whether her shock was genuine or merely an act.
Yet whether her acting was too flawless or not, after observing her for two full seconds, he failed to detect the slightest flaw.
So he patted her slender arm and said with feigned confusion, "When you came out with me, did you never consider that we might get caught?"
Qin Shuman was clearly bewildered as well. "No," she said, looking lost.
"You only said you wanted to take me out to have some fun."
"I... I didn't think we would..."
As she spoke, she looked down at their bare bodies, then panickedly scooped up her clothes and tried to pull them on.
Qiu Tu raised a hand to stop her. "If I were you, I'd take a shower first to wash away any traces."
"Otherwise, it'll get on your clothes."
Qin Shuman froze.
Qiu Tu ran his hand gently down her smooth back. "Don't get your hair wet, though, and don't use any toiletries so you don't leave any scent behind."
"Keep yourself as clean as possible."
"Yan Chen has a very sharp nose."
Qin Shuman was left speechless.
After a two-second daze, she glared fiercely at him, clutched her clothes to her chest, jumped out of bed, and scampered toward the bathroom, her bare feet pattering across the floor.
Watching her alluring figure retreat, Qiu Tu rubbed his chin, a hint of doubt crossing his face.
Something was off... It still didn't feel right.
Perhaps because he had spent his past life swimming in deceit at a scam syndicate, Qiu Tu couldn't help suspecting everything after crossing over into this world.
He felt Qin Shuman's behavior was simply too innocent, too utterly devoid of scheming.
If he had to draw an analogy, the zones pending planning in this world were like the lawless corners of Mexico or Laos from his previous life.
Chaotic, bloody, and entirely without law. Could such a place really produce such a harmless, naive, and gorgeous white lotus?
Wasn't that a bit too fantastical?
His predecessor had grown up in the zone pending planning, had never seen many pretty girls, and had been blinded by "love" (lust), failing to notice anything unusual. But in his past life, Qiu Tu had seen far too many attractive women.
The shrewd, the foolish, the naive—in that kind of environment, all of them would eventually be forced into degradation and numbness. Thus, Qiu Tu genuinely didn't believe Qin Shuman was truly an innocent little flower.
*A shrewd woman adept at playing dumb?*
Qiu Tu attempted to form a judgment about Qin Shuman, but another problem immediately presented itself.
Why would such a shrewd woman take such enormous risks to have an affair with him?
What did he—or rather, his predecessor—possess that was worth her staking so much on?
If Qiu Tu had only fabricated half-true, half-false claims about Qin Shuman earlier to dupe Yan Chen and save both their lives, now he genuinely suspected her.
[04:30:13]
Ten minutes later, Qin Shuman stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed.
Stepping past the doorway, she took a deep breath and looked up, about to call Qiu Tu over to talk things through.
Right at that moment, the muzzle of a handgun was slowly pressed against her temple.
The metal barrel felt icy against her skin.
In that instant, Qin Shuman froze completely, not daring to move a muscle.
The standoff lasted for a dozen seconds. Seeing that he wasn't doing anything further, Qin Shuman stiffly turned her head bit by bit, looking along the gun.
She saw Qiu Tu leaning against the doorframe, the gun held firmly against her temple, his gaze fixed on her with somber intensity.
Seeing her turn to him, Qiu Tu spoke slowly:
"Miss Shuman, who do you work for?"
"The Municipal Council? Council Member An? Council Member Wang?"
"Or... the Military Department?"
Realizing it was Qiu Tu pointing the gun at her, Qin Shuman looked incredulous. "What kind of madness has gotten into you?"
"What Municipal Council? What Military Department?!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Qiu Tu still couldn't detect the slightest flaw, so he calmly lowered the gun and nodded with feigned approval. "Very good. Keep up that exact performance when you go back."
He said, "I told Yan Chen you're suspected of being a mole planted by the Military Department."
Seeing Qin Shuman's stunned urge to argue, Qiu Tu raised a hand to cut her off. "This is the only way to keep us alive."
"Yan Chen is naturally suspicious. Unless he completely uncovers your identity and weighs the gains and losses, he won't make a move against you."
"And if you want to survive, the two of us have to cooperate. There's no other choice."
"Scenes like the one just now are something you'll likely face often in the coming days."
"You must remain just as calm, without showing the slightest flaw."
Fear was written all over Qin Shuman's face as she listened.
Trembling all over, she stammered, "I'm scared. I don't dare... I'm terrified he'll find out."
"If he finds out, he'll never let us off."
"Is that so..." Qiu Tu pondered for a moment, then reached behind his back to draw a police dagger and slapped it into Qin Shuman's hand.
Chapter 4