Chapter 56: Unexpected Alliances and Precognitive Gifts

Hearing these words, Ye Qing let out a long breath, unable to resist reaching her fork toward the cake again.

This was excellent.

Gaining Shen Congqing’s trust, and even her assistance, was entirely unexpected for Ye Qing.

In the worst-case scenario, Shen Congqing might have turned against her, executing swift justice on the spot and leaving her unable to leave her bed for days.

“By the way, regardless of anything, we’ll still meet at the art studio tomorrow.”

Shen Congqing suddenly fixed her gaze on Ye Qing.

The piercing intensity of her eyes made Ye Qing shiver involuntarily, her hand instinctively reaching to cover her backside.

“You won’t need to bring any paintbrushes,” Shen Congqing continued. “Just remember to bring your Yunbei Green Ointment – don’t think for a moment that your words will make me forget that humiliating debt.”

At these words, Ye Qing’s almond-shaped eyes widened in a daze.

Her slender fingers relaxed, and the dinner fork slipped through them, clattering crisply as it hit the floor.

The sound was like a whip lashing against her delicate backside, causing her body to tremble lightly as fear welled up within her.

‘It’s over…’

Ye Qing felt like crying, yet no tears came.

She slumped weakly onto the sofa, her amber eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘Ugh, if only I hadn’t gotten so carried away. Then I could have blamed everything on Tang Nuo…’

The instant Tang Nuo came to mind, a thought flashed through Ye Qing’s head like lightning.

‘Wait, if these guys are coming for me, then Tang Nuo and Shaoyao must also be in danger.’

She abruptly sat up, grabbing her phone and dialing the blue-haired girl’s number.

‘I hope she can handle it herself…’

***

Meanwhile, Tang Nuo, the very person Ye Qing was fretting over, was comfortably watching a movie on An Yueying’s sofa.

Her pale, slender legs occasionally crossed and uncrossed, seemingly expressing her burgeoning emotions.

In the study, Lin Shaoyao sat opposite An Yueying.

Before each of them rested a cup of reddish-orange drink, the clear glass reflecting their relaxed expressions, as if neither was surprised by this meeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lin,” An Yueying began. “You probably haven’t had a chance to hear my name from Ye Qing yet. I’m An Yueying, her friend, and, for now, her superior.”

Observing An Yueying’s outstretched hand of friendship, Lin Shaoyao did not grasp it.

Instead, she chuckled softly and gently batted it away with the back of her own hand.

“Heh, there’s a prank airbag in your palm, isn’t there?”

Then, she lightly tapped the glass cup before her with her knuckles.

The calm, reddish-orange liquid within immediately began to churn.

“Also, this concoction is a potent drug, isn’t it? The kind that could… knock out an elephant.”

An Yueying offered a faint smile, a shallow dimple appearing at the corner of her lips.

“How could that be, Miss Lin? If you’re truly worried, I can take a sip first.”

As she spoke, she poured the drinks back and forth between Lin Shaoyao’s glass and her own, ensuring they were thoroughly mixed.

Then, right before Lin Shaoyao’s eyes, she took a shallow sip.

Her expression remained relaxed and carefree, though a faint, sweet blush bloomed on her cheeks.

“Well? Still don’t trust me?”

Under the smiling gaze of the purple-haired woman, Lin Shaoyao let out a soft scoff.

She casually exposed An Yueying’s little trick.

“You hid it under your tongue, didn’t you? It’s quite surprising that you can still speak like that.”

Once again exposed, the smile on An Yueying’s face grew even wider.

Without a change in expression, she then raised the cup and, before Lin Shaoyao’s eyes, gulped down the entire potent concoction, startling the girl slightly.

“Hey, what are you trying to do? While I may not have much combat power, I’m still considered an evil executive. Subduing you would be quite easy…”

However, An Yueying merely exhaled a captivating breath backward, her cheeks showing no further flush of color.

“Heh, your ability is infinitely more precious than mere combat power~”

Once certain that An Yueying had truly consumed the substance, Lin Shaoyao eyed her pretty face with suspicion.

Not believing it, she leaned in to sniff the liquid in her own cup, only to be immediately assailed by the fumes, her cheeks growing warm and her coughing incessantly, which made An Yueying chuckle.

“It’s genuine, you’re not wrong at all,” An Yueying confirmed. “It’s merely a magic potion left behind by an evil organization. There are no suspicious ingredients, and if you overlook its stimulating effects, it actually tastes quite good.”

Hearing this, Lin Shaoyao disdainfully pushed the magic potion away from herself.

“Then you can keep it and drink it yourself. I’m not interested.”

The two women exchanged glances, a brief silence falling between them.

After a moment, it was Lin Shaoyao who spoke again.

“By the way,” Lin Shaoyao added, “my ability isn’t as strong as you might think. What I can perceive is quite limited, and even I haven’t fully grasped it yet…”

Based on her own experience, there were currently a few known effects.

In essence, it was about seeking fortune and avoiding calamity.

Whenever something with a potentially negative impact was about to befall her, an alarm would blare in her heart, and she would then discern the source of that negative influence.

For instance, the prank airbag and the potent magic potion had both fallen within her warning radar.

Yet, this ability was also quite troublesome.

If she were walking on a busy road, amidst fast-moving traffic, countless warnings appearing simultaneously would plunge her into chaos, making even normal thought difficult.

Her cognitive abilities had not been significantly enhanced.

Thus, for now, this power seemed more like a burden than a blessing.

Beyond the aspect of avoiding harm, the ‘seeking fortune’ part was equally crucial.

It was precisely by following the guidance of this ability that she had brought Tang Nuo to seek out An Yueying.

With the help of this ability, she would gain a vague sense of déjà vu.

This feeling would project certain images into her mind: a book, a car, a person…

In the time that followed, she would invariably encounter that book, that car, or that person.

They would bear a striking resemblance to the images that had flashed before her eyes, and Lin Shaoyao’s task was simply to draw near.

Then, upon opening that book, she might discover a banknote tucked between its pages.

Sitting in that car, she might smoothly reach her destination.

Patting that person’s shoulder, she might ‘luckily’ apprehend a wanted criminal with a ten-thousand-yuan bounty.

However, Lin Shaoyao had no idea what specific rewards she would receive.

Most of the time, they were insignificant small bonuses, but in special circumstances, this sense of déjà vu would become remarkably coherent and organized, much like today.

From the moment she woke up, Lin Shaoyao had inexplicably thought of Tang Nuo.

Not only that, but she also recalled the place where Tang Nuo had last slept with Ye Qing.

‘It would be a villa outside the Fourth Ring Road, inhabited by a purple-haired woman Ye Qing knows.’

Such an intuition seemed baseless, yet Lin Shaoyao chose to trust it.

Consequently, she led Tang Nuo all the way to An Yueying’s doorstep.

Her intuition ceased the moment she saw An Yueying.

The other woman seemed to have been on her way out, and upon seeing Lin Shaoyao, a fleeting look of surprise appeared on her calm face, though she quickly suppressed it.

And then, An Yueying precisely called out her name.

“Miss Lin Shaoyao, isn’t it? And dear little Nuo, I was just about to come find you both.”

The instant she heard An Yueying’s gentle voice, Lin Shaoyao reached the same conclusion as Ye Qing.

‘This is a bad woman, but not for us.’