This is the one she wrote, right? Right? Why is Gin reading a novel, and this one just serialized in the magazine today?
For a moment, Qianben Xixi didn’t know whether to marvel at the popularity of her novel or the fact that Gin was reading her Infinite Flow novel.
Should she be happy? On its first day of release, everyone was reading the novel she wrote—she was about to blow up. Of course, she was happy, but when she discovered her boss was also following it, she didn’t feel quite as thrilled anymore.
Why? Because of that weirdly upturned corner of Gin’s mouth—clearly resonating with some kind of pervert, getting excited, right? Oh my god, was her boss going to be even harder to deal with from now on?
Qianben Xixi felt a moment of regret, but it was just a moment. Soon, Gin put down the magazine in his hand and looked at her coldly, his eyes still carrying a lingering trace of excitement from being immersed in the novel just moments ago.
So creepy… Qianben Xixi silently complained in her heart. Why were the people she knew getting weirder and weirder? It was like this in the Infinite world, and it was still like this in the normal world.
Gin raised his hand to check the time before slowly speaking, “You’re ten seconds late.”
Qianben Xixi: “…”
Hey, I arrived exactly on time. You’re the one who got lost in reading a novel.
Whatever, she had just offended her boss—she needed to placate him.
“Mm, I’ll be more careful next time. I won’t be a second late,” Qianben Xixi obediently admitted her mistake.
But to Gin’s ears, it didn’t sound that way at all. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being sarcastic.
An inexplicable anger began to simmer within him. Gin silently slipped his hand into his coat pocket.
After that night, he had learned his lesson—never communicate with Asti over the phone again. It was better to settle things face-to-face.
So, Qianben Xixi watched as her boss, in the middle of a perfectly normal conversation, pulled a gun out of his pocket.
??
What’s going on? Didn’t she properly admit her mistake? How did it escalate to pulling out a gun?!
“Talk. What happened with Vermouth that day?” Gin toyed with the gun in his hand, let out a laugh, and looked at Qianben Xixi beside him. His eyes were filled with a malicious sense of amusement, as if watching a show.
“Didn’t I already explain everything that day?” Qianben Xixi’s lips twitched. She knew this wasn’t over—her boss had finally come to demand answers.
“Then explain it again,” Gin raised the gun, waving it in front of her, and grinned. “Say it while looking at this.”
Qianben Xixi: …
“Alright, I’ve been thinking about it these past few days,” she said. “That day on the bus, the FBI people were probably tracking and investigating Vermouth, right?”
As she spoke, Qianben Xixi looked at Gin, testing the waters. “So Vermouth was really there that day, wasn’t she?”
Given her current persona, she shouldn’t know about Vermouth’s ability to disguise herself. So, if she showed no suspicion at all about this matter, it wouldn’t make sense.
Sure enough, Gin showed no surprise at her question—instead, he tacitly confirmed it.
“Not completely stupid.”
He lowered the gun in his hand and put it back in his pocket.
“So she can disguise herself, right?” Qianben Xixi asked. “After all, I didn’t see her.”
Gin tacitly confirmed again and asked directly, “Do you know who it was?”
Qianben Xixi nodded. “I have a guess. If that person has indeed been in Mihana Town recently.”
"Hmph, always so secretive, who knows what he's up to." Gin sneered in dissatisfaction. "And he even brought the FBI's tail along."
"That person named Shuichi Akai, did he specifically follow Vermouth from the U.S. to Japan?" Qianben Xixi asked curiously and gossipily. "Could there be something between them?"
Gin:…
Gin gave her a strange look. "You're not actually interested in that man, are you?"
"No, we've only met once, it's not like that." Qianben Xixi quickly explained. "I'm just curious about Vermouth. Such a beautiful woman, it's normal for someone to be interested in her, right? And he even came all the way from America… ahem, that's all there is to it."
Gin's suspicious gaze swept over her before he let out a disdainful snort. "What kind of nonsense is going on in your head? No wonder you even forgot about the mission."
Qianben Xixi:… Can we please move on from this?
After venting, Gin seemed to feel better and finally explained in a good mood, "There's nothing between them. It's a conflict between the Organization and the FBI. So…"
He sneered mockingly, "Don't even think about that person. Although I admit he is indeed quite capable, hmph, he'll die by my hand sooner or later."
"Yes, yes, you're still the best, boss!" Qianben Xixi nodded vigorously to show her loyalty.
Gin was taken aback by her sudden bootlicking attitude, his earlier excitement instantly interrupted. He said irritably, "Don't imitate Vodka's foolish behavior."
"Got it, I'm just telling the truth." Someone shamelessly flattered him again. "Although Shuichi Akai is capable, he'll definitely die by our hands."
Qianben Xixi knew that even though Gin usually acted disdainful, deep down he appreciated it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have favored Vodka for so many years. The approach might be old-fashioned, but it worked.
Sure enough, Gin just snorted and didn't mock her further.
"By the way, where's Vodka?" Qianben Xixi asked. "Isn't he joining today's operation?"
"He's keeping an eye on things in Gunma." Gin lit a cigarette and tossed a file to her. "This is today's target. You just need to monitor his computer."
Qianben Xixi quickly skimmed through it and found that the target was a famous computer game systems engineer specializing in software development. He had been commissioned by the Organization to develop a piece of software, and now it was time for delivery. To ensure he hadn't pulled any tricks, Gin's team was responsible for surveillance to guarantee a smooth transaction.
It didn't seem like a difficult task. She just needed to use her computer skills to help with monitoring. After roughly sorting out the details, she turned and asked, "No problem, but I don't have a computer."
"Go to an internet cafe." Gin put the file back and started the car.
Qianben Xixi:…
"Is the Organization so poor it can't even provide a computer?" she couldn't help but complain.
Gin held the cigarette in his mouth, hands on the steering wheel, not even turning his head. "Don't tell me you don't even know how to cover your tracks?"
"Never mind, an internet cafe is fine." Qianben Xixi forced a smile, but the internet cafe owner was about to be unlucky.
Twenty minutes later, the two found a shady internet cafe, rented a private room, and went inside.
Before they left, the owner specifically reminded them, "Our private rooms are only for internet use."
The cold glare from Gin in response made him quickly run away.
Qianben Xixi suddenly found it amusing. "This boss is quite interesting. What else can you do at an internet cafe besides going online?"
Gin didn't want to engage with her, giving her a look that she could interpret herself.
Qianben Xixi didn't expect him to answer her anyway. She directly sat in front of the computer and turned on the main unit.
At midnight, the miserable overtime life began.
"The target's computer has activity," Qianben Xixi said, staring at the computer screen. "Someone from the Organization sent him an email, right? He's opening it now."
"Mhm, continue." Even as Gin spoke, his eyes never left his own screen.
A few seconds later, Qianben Xixi spoke again. "Oh, the password screen has been up for over ten seconds, and he hasn't entered anything. The email sent by the Organization has been automatically deleted. Since it's confirmed he didn't open the email, should the transaction location and time be canceled?"
"Hmph, that guy really isn't honest." Gin took out his phone. "I'll have Vodka check what's going on over there."
Qianben Xixi put down the mouse and stretched. "So, can I clock out now?"
After saying this, she waited for a long time but got no response. Turning her head, she saw that Gin was actually reading a novel on the Green Jinjiang website.
Holy crap, boss! No wonder you wanted to come to an internet cafe—so you could catch up on novels while on a mission?
She's working hard on overtime, while her superior is slacking off right beside her… Isn't there something wrong with this picture?
"You can play games yourself while we wait for Vodka's message." Perhaps the resentful glare from beside him was too intense, Gin finally remembered to acknowledge her.
Fine. Qianben Xixi could only boredly open a random mini-game to play.
The games in this world were still at an ancient level—not many were worth playing, but they were decent for killing time.
And so, the two of them waited like this—one catching up on novels, the other playing games—until three in the morning.
Gin finally finished reading the latest updates, put down the mouse, and lit a cigarette.
"You finished reading?" Qianben Xixi asked casually.
"Mhm." Gin exhaled a puff of smoke. "The updates are too slow."
After saying this, he checked the time and let out another dissatisfied "hmph." "That guy didn't update tonight."
Qianben Xixi:…
For a moment, she felt a pang of guilt, but then she thought, whose fault is this anyway? It's all because of that cold-blooded superior who insisted on dragging her here for overtime in the middle of the night.
Hah, she'd like to update too, but would she dare to type in front of Gin?!
So Qianben Xixi quietly suggested, "How about you tip the author? Maybe they'll get so excited they'll get up in the middle of the night to update."
Gin:…
Qianben Xixi: "Make sure to tip a lot. For a slacker author like that, a small amount won't do anything."