Time passed faster than Jiang Nuan had anticipated.
She had gone over the route countless times in her head: slip away from Lu Zhaoming, circle around to the west entrance, avoid everyone’s line of sight, and enter the laboratory building.
It sounded simple enough.
But as for making a graceful exit from her role as the Lighthouse Captain’s dance partner, she still hadn’t come up with a respectable excuse.
If all else failed, she could claim to have a stomachache.
After that, she would return to the banquet hall and wait for confirmation from her teammates through the mental link that the snakewood was emitting abnormal energy.
Then they would regroup and destroy the core of this restricted zone.
She practiced her smile at the mirror. It looked fairly natural—good enough for tonight.
That afternoon, the stylist Qi Sui had hired arrived with a suitcase and spent nearly two hours fussing over Jiang Nuan in front of the mirror.
The smoky-purple, one-shoulder gown hugged her waist, while a high slit on the side opened and closed slightly with every movement.
A lightweight handgun was hidden beneath the skirt, its holster pressed against her thigh and secured firmly beneath the fabric with concealed clasps.
Her hair was pinned up, with a few loose strands falling along her neck and revealing a stretch of fair, slender skin.
Her makeup wasn’t heavy. It simply accentuated the delicate lines of her brows and eyes and added a touch of color to her lips.
Jiang Nuan tugged at the hem as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Isn’t this a little too conspicuous?”
“You’re the dance partner personally invited by the Lighthouse Captain tonight.”
Standing behind her, Qi Sui adjusted one of her earrings. “If you weren’t conspicuous, people would find it suspicious.”
...That made a lot of sense.
When the door opened, the living room fell silent for a few seconds.
Qinian was the first to whistle. “Nuan-Nuan, if I didn’t know you already, I’d be the first person to come over and ask for your contact information tonight.”
Jiang Nuan laughed. “If superstar Qi Nian personally came to ask, I’d certainly be flattered.”
Qinian had actually made himself look quite presentable tonight.
He wore a black velvet suit over a white shirt left unbuttoned at the collar. His tousled hair was brushed back slightly, revealing the subtle lift at the corners of his eyes.
He had the kind of face that could draw everyone’s attention simply by leaning casually against a wall.
His cover for the evening was that of a popular celebrity attending by invitation. On the surface, he was there to liven things up; behind the scenes, he would be responsible for dragging everyone’s attention away when necessary and creating openings for the others.
Shen Wu stood beside him in a simply tailored gray suit, his expression cool and detached.
“Put on more of a show once we arrive,” he said.
Qinian clicked his tongue. “Don’t worry, Agent Shen. Everyone’s eyes will be on me tonight.”
Shen Wu finally gave him a proper look. “That’s the only part you won’t need to pretend.”
“Just admit you’re jealous.”
Shen Wu didn’t answer, merely clicking his tongue once. His gaze landed on Jiang Nuan and lingered for several seconds before he calmly looked away.
Ye Que sat by the window, checking his weapons. He raised his eyes to Jiang Nuan, then shifted his gaze to the high slit at the side of her skirt.
Jiang Nuan felt a little self-conscious under his scrutiny. “Is there a problem?”
Ye Que closed the weapons case and stood, walking over to her.
“Turn halfway around.”
“Why?”
“To check whether the holster on your thigh is showing.”
Jiang Nuan lifted her skirt and turned halfway around. Ye Que lowered his eyes and inspected it for a moment before reaching out to press down on one of the concealed clasps inside the skirt.
The warmth of his palm came through with it.
“Don’t make movements too large.” Ye Que straightened. “Keep the gun hidden.”
Qinian folded his arms as he leaned against the side. “Does checking a gun really require that much time?”
Ye Que hummed in response, his eyes still on Jiang Nuan.
Qi Sui curved her eyes into a smile. “I hired the stylist with the highest reviews from everyone who’s ever worked with them. It seems the time wasn’t wasted.”
Chen Ping’an muttered quietly, “Actually, Jiang Nuan is beautiful even without makeup.”
As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of eyes turned toward him at once. They all conveyed the same message: Obviously.
Chen Ping’an’s ears flushed bright red. He tried to merge into the wall along with the equipment in his hands.
Footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. Jiang Nuan turned her head.
Lu Shiyan walked in wearing the formal uniform of a governor. His tall, broad-shouldered figure was so striking that it was nearly impossible to look away.
As he approached, the relaxed atmosphere in the living room tightened slightly.
He swept his gaze over the group and finally looked at Jiang Nuan.
His Adam’s apple moved almost imperceptibly.
The slight ache at Jiang Nuan’s waist chose that moment to resurface at the most inconvenient time.
She was the first to look away.
Lu Shiyan said, “Repeat today’s safety protocols.”
She raised her eyes to him. “If we’re exposed, we abandon the investigation immediately and evacuate along the planned route. No heroics.”
“Governor Lu, you’ve already reminded me four times today.”
“Until you’ve done it, no number of reminders is excessive.”
Jiang Ce stepped in from outside. He was dressed in the formal uniform of the Investigation Department, his broad shoulders filling it out and lending him an intimidating presence.
“The car is here.” Jiang Ce walked over to her and naturally took the handbag from her hand. “You and I will go over first and enter through the Investigation Department’s passage.”
Jiang Nuan nodded and followed Jiang Ce outside.
As she passed Lu Shiyan, the distance between them was less than half a step.
“You look beautiful.” His voice was very soft.
Jiang Nuan’s footsteps paused.
By the time she looked back, Lu Shiyan had already lowered his gaze to his terminal. The corner of his mouth, however, had lifted into the faintest curve.
Tsk. The man was such a poser.
*
By the time the car arrived at the Lighthouse base, rows of lights had already illuminated the entrance to the celebration banquet.
Lu Zhaoming was waiting at the edge of the long carpet.
When he saw Jiang Nuan, he smiled first. “You look beautiful tonight.”
His compliment was open and natural, making it feel more comfortable than being praised ten times by anyone else.
Jiang Nuan smiled. “Thank you, Captain Lu.”
Lu Zhaoming’s uniform was more formal than usual, with the Lighthouse’s silver insignia embroidered along the collar.
He was even taller than Lu Shiyan. Standing before the crowd, he towered over most of the guests, making it difficult not to notice him.
Jiang Nuan sincerely added, “You look very handsome tonight too. This uniform suits you.”
“Don’t keep calling me ‘you’ so formally,” Lu Zhaoming said with a laugh. “It makes me sound like I’m already very old.”
He turned slightly and raised his arm in a standard invitation gesture.
“Come on. Let’s go to the lounge first. There’s still some time before the official opening.”
Jiang Nuan placed her hand on the crook of his arm.
As they walked side by side across the long carpet, she heard more whispers rising around her. People were guessing who the woman accompanying the Lighthouse Captain was.
Jiang Nuan maintained a poised smile, while the corner of her eye quietly swept toward the western entrance.
Lin Zhou was directing several staff members as they moved the banquet supplies.
To keep the clutter from interfering with the main hall’s arrangements, the boxes had been stacked conveniently close to the western corridor.
The layers of crates were enough to block most lines of sight, making things more favorable than Jiang Nuan had anticipated.
Just as she withdrew her gaze, a slight commotion came from the entrance on the other side.
Lu Shiyan entered the hall with several members of the Investigation Department.
He was turned slightly to the side, giving instructions to someone beside him. Wherever he passed, the crowd instinctively parted to make way.
Lu Shiyan turned his head. Across dozens of meters of moving guests, his eyes met Jiang Nuan’s.
Her hand was still resting on Lu Zhaoming’s arm.
Nothing changed on Lu Shiyan’s face. He even said something to the person beside him as he passed through the crowd.
It was only after he had taken two steps that the hand hanging at his side slowly tightened.
Jiang Nuan felt a flicker of guilt and nearly pulled her hand away from Lu Zhaoming’s arm.
But abruptly withdrawing it in a setting like this would only draw more attention.
She could only suppress that guilty feeling and continue inward with Lu Zhaoming.
In the lounge, Lu Zhaoming poured her a cup of hot tea.
“Nervous?”
Jiang Nuan cradled the cup in both hands. “Not really. I’m just not used to this kind of occasion.”
From the ballroom came the sound of the band rehearsing.
“No need to be nervous.” Lu Zhaoming glanced at the time. “Once the event begins, we’ll dance one number. After that, you can mingle freely.”
Jiang Nuan’s heart stirred.
In other words, once the opening dance was over, she’d have a legitimate excuse to leave Lu Zhaoming’s side.
No one on the team knew she planned to detour to the laboratory building—and pull something under the Lighthouse Captain’s watchful eye.
Tsk. Somehow, this didn’t sound like a good idea at all.
