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Join the ServerSu Yutao was carried, suspended in midair, her feet unable to touch the ground. Lin Qingxue lifted her to the bedside and let go.
Su Yutao fell to the floor, her knees hitting the tiles. It hurt.
She curled up on the ground, clutching Qiansui, still in that same posture, shrinking, waiting.
Lin Qingxue was about to speak when her phone rang.
She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, frowned, and answered impatiently: “Hello.”
Mole’s voice came through, muffled, carrying a guilty conscience: “Uh… well… Sister Lin, the higher-ups called. I’m transferring you over.”
Lin Qingxue’s expression changed.
She glanced at Su Yutao on the floor, walked to the window, and lowered her voice: “Talk.”
A man’s voice came through the phone, resigned, with the weariness of a good-natured person: “Ai, Qingxue.”
“I know your mission completion is excellent, that you’re in the top three on the leaderboard.”
“But you can’t just wake up recklessly just because you’re top three.”
“You have to understand, you’re the best undercover we have. You can’t expose yourself like this.”
Lin Qingxue said nothing, tapping her finger on the windowsill.
The voice continued: “Also, you’ve been waking up abnormally too often lately.”
“I’ve been turning a blind eye every time.”
“But this time you went out without a mission and even fought with someone from the organization.”
“How am I supposed to report this to the higher-ups?”
Lin Qingxue’s voice was indifferent, as if discussing something trivial: “Reporting, reporting, report my ass.”
“Tell them directly: either I quit, or punish me as you see fit.”
“If those two old bastards hadn’t schemed against me, I’d be number one.”
The other end was silent for a second.
Then the voice returned, even more helpless: “And that little mute by your side, is she really safe? The organization already knows.”
“During a previous reconnaissance, they saw you during the day with that little mute.”
“Does she know about your… that?”
A pause, the voice lowered.
“If it comes down to it, just handle it.”
Lin Qingxue’s fingers stopped.
She turned back to look at Su Yutao on the floor, the little blind girl was curled up, hugging the penguin, trembling all over.
She turned away, her voice cold as ice: “Don’t you f*cking interfere with me.”
“Assign missions, and I’ll do them.”
“Send the money on time.”
“Don’t ask about these things.”
The other end was silent for several seconds.
Then the voice returned, with a resigned helplessness: “Sigh, the higher-ups will probably send someone to check.”
“Be careful.”
“That’s all I can tell you.”
The call ended.
Lin Qingxue gripped the phone in her hand, standing by the window, looking at the night outside.
She didn’t move, didn’t speak. Just stood there.
Su Yutao huddled on the ground, clutching Qiansui, shaking all over.
She had heard it.
She had heard those three words: “handle it.”
She didn’t know what that meant.
But she knew that person, the one on the phone, wanted her dead.
She curled up tighter.
Lin Qingxue turned, walked back, and looked down at Su Yutao on the floor.
She bent down and reached out,
The phone rang again.
Lin Qingxue’s hand froze midair.
She glanced at the caller ID and frowned.
Dr. Shen.
She thought for a moment, retrieving the name from her daytime memory, the psychologist Shen Nian had introduced.
She answered, her voice returning to the daytime gentleness: “Hello.”
Dr. Shen’s voice came through, warm and a bit embarrassed: “Miss Lin, sorry to disturb you so late.”
“I wanted to ask, how is that little furball on your end doing? How’s the training going?”
Lin Qingxue was taken aback: “Little furball?”
Dr. Shen said, “Yeah, the one you mentioned last time.”
“My family is also thinking of adopting a little furball, so I’m bothering you late at night to ask where you got yours.”
Lin Qingxue froze.
Little furball?
She thought back. During the day, she had called the psychologist and said she ‘adopted a child.’
Had Dr. Shen misunderstood ‘child’ as ‘furball’?
She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it.
She didn’t feel like explaining. Too troublesome.
She coughed, her voice a bit strained: “Found it by the roadside.”
“Pretty pitiful.”
“It’s just… this dog… doesn’t really obey.”
Su Yutao on the floor heard it.
She curled up, clutching Qiansui, her whole body stiff.
Dog.
She was calling her a dog.
She was telling someone else she was a dog.
Something stabbed at Su Yutao’s heart.
She opened her mouth, and a sound came from her throat, ‘wuwu’, not crying, but protesting.
She didn’t want to be called a dog.
She wasn’t a dog.
The other end was silent for a moment. Dr. Shen’s voice returned, a bit puzzled: “Miss Lin, is that your little dog making noises? I hear a ‘wuwu’ sound.”
Lin Qingxue glanced down at Su Yutao on the floor.
The little blind girl was curled up, hugging the penguin, her mouth open, making ‘wuwu’ sounds as if protesting.
She looked away and said into the phone: “Mm.”
“She’s a bit disobedient.”
“Runs around and bites people.”
She looked at the teeth marks on her hand, her voice turning a little flat.
Dr. Shen laughed: “If the little dog isn’t obedient, don’t just rely on hitting.”
“You need proper guidance.”
A pause.
“You mentioned running around and biting, right? For running around, get a leash, tie her up when you go out, and train her to follow you.”
“That way, she won’t run around.”
Lin Qingxue was silent for a moment, looking at Su Yutao on the floor, and said: “She really isn’t very close to me.”
Dr. Shen continued: “As for biting.”
“Dogs biting is bad.”
“If she bites your hand or clothes, don’t ignore it just because it doesn’t hurt.”
“Otherwise, the dog will think that’s a way to play.”
“At that point, stop the current activity and hit the dog, hard enough for her to feel pain.”
“Or you can bite her ear or something, retaliate appropriately, let her feel a little pain.”
“That way, she’ll learn that biting is wrong.”
Lin Qingxue listened to these words, looking down at Su Yutao.
The little blind girl was curled up on the ground, hugging the penguin, no longer making sounds, but still shaking all over.
Lin Qingxue said into the phone: “Got it, thank you.”
Dr. Shen laughed: “You’re welcome. I’ll adopt one another day too. When your little furball is trained, share some tips with me.”
Lin Qingxue hummed in acknowledgment and hung up.
Lin Qingxue ended the call and tossed the phone aside. The room fell silent, only Su Yutao’s suppressed breathing and Qiansui’s faint trembling in her arms.
Lin Qingxue looked down at Su Yutao, curled into a ball on the floor. Her lips slowly curved into a smile. It was light, faint, not from happiness, but from having thought of something amusing.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Illusionary Dream! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Illusionary Dream
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