He stood there for a long time, until a gust of night wind made him shiver.
With that, he turned and left.
He didn’t know that after he left,
behind a window upstairs, a pair of icy eyes had been following his retreating figure.
The person stood motionless behind the curtain.
Only when Ji Xianbei turned the street corner and disappeared completely from view did their hand finally relax.
Shen Shuangshuang slowly retracted her gaze from the window.
She walked to her desk, pulled out a sheet of letter paper, and picked up a pen to write.
On the first line, she wrote just four words: Reason for Mission Failure.
Ji Xianbei’s failure was unacceptable.
She had reached this conclusion in her heart long ago.
It was just a small mountain village, and she had already lured her father away.
According to the plan, Ji Xianbei and Ling Qinghan should have completed the mission without any obstacles.
The entire procedure had been simulated seven times.
Every simulation showed a success probability of over ninety percent.
She had arrived three days prior to conduct reconnaissance on the village outskirts.
All external interference had been eliminated. The only variable left was the operative himself.
Yet a problem had occurred in the one place where it absolutely shouldn’t have.
Ling Qinghan couldn’t be blamed.
He hadn’t actively intervened in the operational procedure, so he didn’t bear direct responsibility.
But Ji Xianbei was different.
He was the frontline operative, the only person who had a chance to come face-to-face with the target.
The primary person responsible for the mission’s failure could only be him.
She recalled the way he had pounded his chest, guaranteeing success.
Shen Shuangshuang’s fingers paused, and the tip of her pen scraped a black mark across the paper.
If he hadn’t insisted on taking on this matter, she wouldn’t have entrusted the crucial phase to him.
The most important thing now was to find Song Yao immediately.
Even if Song Yao couldn’t possibly run into her father, she had to know her current whereabouts.
「...」
"Auntie, the vegetables are all ready."
Song Yao bent over and placed the basin next to the washing sink.
"So fast? Goodness, just put it on the table."
Aunt Zhang glanced up at the wall clock and realized it was already past time to start prepping lunch.
She put down her knife and quickly spoke up.
"Don’t worry about anything else. Go get some food. You can’t let yourself go hungry."
Since arriving, she had been getting up two hours early every day to help prepare ingredients.
This was her fourth day here.
For the first three days, she tried to ask around for information, but no one was willing to talk.
Eventually, she stopped asking and just focused on her work.
Gradually, some people started to smile at her.
Since following Mr. Shen into the camp,
he had acted as if he’d forgotten all about her, paying her no mind at all.
No one knew if she was official personnel or a family member, and no one arranged lodging for her.
In the end, the logistics department couldn’t stand by and watch, so they let her stay temporarily in the cafeteria’s duty room.
Song Yao didn’t stay idle, either. She spent her days running back and forth between the cafeteria and logistics.
But the people in logistics were strict with their rules and snobbish, and they refused to pay her any attention.
They were all about rank and procedure.
Seeing she had no ID, they would even stop her at the door.
One time, she kindly offered to help move supplies, only to be scolded for not understanding protocol.
She hadn’t set foot in the logistics warehouse since.
The older women in the cafeteria, however, were soft-hearted.
Seeing how quick-handed and willing she was, not picky about her tasks, they warmed up to her in a few days.
Aunt Zhang chuckled while sorting vegetables. "Look at you, thin as a rail, but you’re surprisingly quick with your work."
She glanced at the outline of Song Yao’s shoulders and back, unable to help but shake her head.
"A strong gust of wind could blow you away."
Song Yao rubbed her hands together shyly.
"I’m used to it; it was the same at home. I don’t know why Mr. Shen brought me here, but if I’m eating their food, I can’t just do nothing, right?"
A few of the other women nodded in agreement.
"This girl’s got a good heart!"
"Isn’t that the truth? How many young people these days are willing to do thankless work?"
"She doesn’t talk about her background or ask about her pay. She just works. That’s rare."
"Xiao Song, Auntie can see you’re an honest person, so let me give you some heartfelt advice today."
Aunt Zhang stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her seriously.
"Please, go ahead. I’m listening."
Song Yao stood up straight, her hands clasped in front of her.
Aunt Zhang sighed.
"You’ve been here three days now. We’ve asked where you’re from and about your family, but you won’t say a word. That might be fine anywhere else, but this is a military camp. Anyone without a clear background gets investigated thoroughly. If Mr. Shen himself hadn’t brought you here, none of us would dare talk to you. We’d have kept our guard up, treating you like a stranger from the start."
Song Yao was taken aback. "Oh, so that’s how it is..."
"It’s not that I don’t want to say... it’s that I really don’t dare to. I’m afraid no one would believe me, and I’d just cause trouble."
"It was fate that brought you here. As long as you’re not hiding any ill intentions, people like us will believe you."
Song Yao glanced at the time. ’It’s about time.’
Every day at this time, Mr. Shen would pass by outside.
He had a habit of making a round before mealtime.
Ostensibly, it was to inspect hygiene, but in reality, it was to check for any abnormalities.
"Sir, as you instructed, everything has been arranged. We should see some movement soon."
Zhang Jianwei accompanied Mr. Shen on his inspection.
When they reached the kitchen doorway, Mr. Shen habitually glanced inside.
His gaze swept over the stove, the water vats, and the piled ingredients, finally landing on Song Yao.
And he immediately saw Song Yao pouring something into the large iron pot!
"What are you doing?!"
he roared.
Song Yao whipped her head around, her face pale.
The bottle in her hand had vanished, but she remained rooted to the spot.
"Mr. Shen... I-I’m making soup... It’s a new recipe. I added a special seasoning to make the soup more fragrant."
Zhang Jianwei immediately followed up. "Making soup? What were you pouring so secretively? What was that bottle just now? You’ve got some on the back of your hand; you haven’t even wiped it clean."
"I didn’t... It’s nothing, just something ordinary."
Mr. Shen cut her off coldly.
"I saw you perfectly clearly! Don’t think you can do as you please just because no one is watching. You were putting an unknown substance into the food. That’s a serious crime!"
Mr. Shen didn’t move a muscle.
"Take her away and interrogate her harshly! I will personally oversee this matter."
"Yes, Sir!"
Two guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed Song Yao’s arms, and began to drag her away.
Just as she was about to be hauled off, Song Yao let out an angry shout.
"What do you think you’re doing?!"
Her ferocity was so startling that the two soldiers froze on the spot, their grips loosening unconsciously.
Mr. Shen’s brow furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Song Yao retort without a hint of politeness.
"Mr. Shen, I’d like to ask you, by what rule are you arresting and interrogating me?"
Zhang Jianwei immediately jumped in to answer.
"You’ve been skulking around the camp. We suspect you’re a spy sent by the enemy! This isn’t a place just anyone can enter. You’re an outsider with no pass, and you refuse to report your movements. Who gave you the nerve to run around freely? Besides, you even approached the command building without authorization. If that’s not suspicious, what is?"
Song Yao stared at Mr. Shen’s face and asked coldly, "Oh? Mr. Shen, do you think so too?"
Zhang Jianwei and the few soldiers around him nearly bit their tongues.
’She actually dared to talk back to Mr. Shen to his face?’
They all knew Mr. Shen had a bad temper and never showed mercy to rule-breakers.
Normally, even battalion-level officers would stand at attention and salute him properly, let alone talk back.
But this young woman before them not only refused to bow her head and admit fault, but also adopted a questioning tone.
Mr. Shen’s eyelids twitched slightly.
"So you admit it?"
Song Yao’s voice rose sharply.