Chapter 221 - 4.47

"Miss Xu, the preparation is done. All of us will be on standby, you just need to say the word for the plan to start." A man, whose glasses was so thick that you'd be able to see the lenses poking out of the frames if you looked at it from the side fumbled around with the documents laid before him as he spoke.

He gathered them into one pile and delivered them to the hands of a certain Xu Jiaqi, who was sitting with her legs crossed while she enjoyed the fragrant tea they served.

"..Thank you very much for all of your hard work. I will make sure that all of you gets compensated properly." Xu Jiaqi nodded.

Xu Jiaqi was inside a private firm that wasn't too large, but the people working in it were all overflowing with talents and had exemplary work results. She first discovered this place through discussing with Tang Yizhou, who helped her connect with the firm and discuss her case.

They immediately jumped on the case, not only because they were promised great rewards, but also because Xu Jiaqi's story was something that was hard to just be left alone.

Not only that, upon engaging and being in contact with her further, they were further charmed and got riled up to put in more effort.

"It's totally alright, Miss Xu. I am saying this, and standing by your side in the case not only because it's part of my work and responsibility, but truly because I believe that justice should be served the way it's meant to be." He adjusted his glasses and spoke.

He was the owner of the private firm, in which all the employees are actually people who were his club mates back in university. His name was Fu Zhenning, and his mates and him all received tempting offers the moment they finished their education because of how talented they were.

However, instead of going down that path, they decided to stick together and establish a firm. They were all great people, and the firm was sure to succeed especially when Tang Yizhou had taken interest on them. He did have excellent discerning eyes, so it wasn't a surprise.

"..How great." Xu Jiaqi smiled and took the documents over. Inside the files were official letters calling the Zhao family for a summons, along with concrete evidence that would trample them a thousand times overs if revealed.

This kind of work, she was afraid that it couldn't be accomplished without dipping their fingers in illegal matters. Xu Jiaqi smirked at the compilation.

"Perfect. There's not a single thing that I am dissatisfied with." Xu Jiaqi commended the workers, who clapped in response to her reaction.

Xu Jiaqi had been working with this team because she couldn't just magically spawn her evidence out of nowhere. The System was powerful, but he wasn't a being who existed in the mortal world, but rather in a higher plane.

If she just brought the evidence without having any team work on it, how would she explain the sudden appearance of all of these materials? This was why she had gone out of her way and charmed this particular group of investigators who gladly danced on her palm after she had roped them in.

"Thank you for all the praises, Miss Xu,"

"I will wire over the payment like usual. I'll put in a fair share of bonuses as well. You have done well, exceeding what I expected from you guys by a mile away!" Xu Jiaqi got up from her seating position and soon left after some more small talks discussing the extent of their plans.

_____

'My mind is still thinking about.. the silly tricks Zhao Xinran wants to pull off. How come her attacks haven't arrived yet?' Xu Jiaqi grumbled as she got distracted from her partner, who she was dining with in this beautiful night.

It had been days since the last time she visited the firm. She had expected an attack to come, which would be the final blow to Zhao Xinran and the Zhao family's demise, sealing their fates altogether.

Zhao family's involvement in the deaths of her parents, along with her trauma-inducing kidnapping was clear, but Zhao Xinran didn't have a heavy crime tied down to her name. If she brought the case up right now, Zhao Xinran wouldn't be able to get the 'retribution' she deserved.

Xu Jiaqi weighed out the outcomes and decided to wait, knowing that Zhao Xinran had contacted her acquaintance to attack her as reported by the System. But even after all this time, after she made the announcement publicly to a wide audience and connected the last bits of her operation, Zhao Xinran's tricks were still nowhere to be seen.

'Did she give up? Was her will too weak after all?'

The System was diligently keeping an eye on the woman, but no changes had been seen. The only thing that he saw was how Zhao Xinran would look at Xu Jiaqi's news in hatred through screens, but that was it.

What happened to trying to dispose of her?

As her mind was travelling elsewhere, Tang Yizhou fiddled with his fingers below the table that separated the two and constantly stole stares at her.

Xu Jiaqi, who was oblivious to his strange patterns of staring continued to doze off with her thoughts. This was only one of their many dinner nights to her, so she didn't think that anything special would happen due to the System not saying anything.

Little did she know, the System did know that something was going to happen, and purposely didn't tell Xu Jiaqi because he didn't like Tang Yizhou and wanted to see his Host's real reaction.

When they were both done with their meals, Tang Yizhou suddenly launched a question that Xu Jiaqi hadn't expected to come out tonight.

He stood up from his chair and went over to her side, before kneeling down and going through his pockets and taking out an object. In his hands was a well prepared ring box which he opened to reveal a stunning, intricate ring with a flawless diamond firmly embedded in the jewel socket.

"Qiqi.." Tang Yizhou didn't know how to go around the matter and was unsure. "Do you.. want to take it a step further with our relationship?"

The corners of her mouth raised up. She gently placed her hand on top of his. A worried look surfaced on Tang Yizhou's face. He was fairly confident that Xu Jiaqi adored him, but marriage was a completely different issue from whatever they shared normally.

From the first time he met her, she kept trying to convince him that falling for her too hard would result in nothing but tragedy, but did he listen? No, because despite all the sinister warnings, he still found himself deeply in love with her without any doubts in his mind.

"Yizhou, do you still remember what I said when we first met, and you seemed to take an interest on me?"

Tang Yizhou winced. As expected, was the worst case scenario going to come? Was he going to get rejected just like this? It was a shame, but if it was her final decision, then he didn't have any right to deny it because he was the one who subjected himself to these high risks in the first place.

"..You told me not to pursue you because you're dangerous." Tang Yizhou answered, even though it was getting hard for him to talk because of the nervousness he felt.

His mind was spiralling out of control. He had chosen this day out of all the possible days out of sheer will to see how it would go. It did cross his mind that Xu Jiaqi might even choose to end everything with him, which caused him to shudder in fear.

"What should I do with you.. It seems like none of my warnings got through your head. How could that be, I wonder?" Xu Jiaqi squatted down and held Tang Yizhou's head, holding it up and meeting him in the eyes. She wore a small smile as she stroked his face gently. "You're lucky that you're lovable."

"Then..?" Tang Yizhou grow hopeful with her reactions, and weakly asked. He didn't know how to interpret her reaction correctly, but if he was correct, then was she..

"Then? What, do you expect me to prepare the wedding and all of that?"

"...!" Tang Yizhou was shocked to his core, not being able to say a single word after Xu Jiaqi expressed her thoughts.

"Well- No, actually, leave the preparation to me. If I leave it to you, you're not even going to come to work for the entire duration. I know that you're going to fuss about every single matter." Xu Jiaqi sighed and helped him get back up in the midst of his dazed moments.

"How can you say that..." Tang Yizhou instantly looked dejected and made a small pout.