Chapter 252
Chapter 252
“Looking at it that way, doesn’t my mission seem like the easiest one to trigger right now?” Yang Zhen said.
At present, the key to triggering her mission was finding her grandmother.
And her grandmother did have one obvious distinguishing feature: she was an elderly woman.
Most of the people attending the ball were young. There were some women around their mothers’ age, but very few old enough to be grandmothers. A quick glance around revealed only a handful, and one of them had to be the grandmother Yang Zhen was looking for.
Compared to the two swindlers Lu Jing had to find, who had no descriptions whatsoever, not even an approximate age, height, or build, Yang Zhen’s mission certainly seemed much easier.
“We still have two leads we can pursue,” Jian Fan said.
Yellow Hair immediately picked up on his meaning. “The Flower Prince who’s coming to find Mu Xin? And the Prince, the host of tonight’s ball, who’s searching for Qin Nan?”
As soon as he finished, everyone turned to look at Qin Nan.
Qin Nan was speechless.
The Flower Prince had yet to appear, so even if Mu Xin wanted to do something, she would have to wait until he showed up. As for Qin Nan… Just thinking about the Prince who was searching for him for reasons unknown made his head ache.
“We can give it a try,” Jian Fan said.
Expressionless, Qin Nan turned to stare at him.
Under Qin Nan’s gaze, Jian Fan paused before adding, “You won’t have to go yourself.”
“I won’t?” Qin Nan asked in surprise.
Jian Fan nodded. “We don’t know why the Prince is looking for you yet. We should send someone else to test the waters first.”
“The Prince is searching for someone, right? We can simply pretend we’ve uncovered a clue about Qin Nan and approach him as informants,” Yellow Hair said, quickly grasping what Jian Fan had in mind.
Qin Nan immediately felt much more at ease.
As long as he didn’t have to go and they weren’t planning to sell him out directly, anything was fine.
But that raised a new question.
Who should go?
Jian Fan swept his gaze over the group. “Qin Nan can’t go. Neither can Yellow Hair or I.”
The three of them belonged to the same story. It would be dangerous for Jian Fan or Yellow Hair to approach the Prince as well. Who knew if the Prince would seize control of them the moment they appeared? That ruled out all three of them. As for the rest…
“I can’t go either,” Mu Xin said with a sigh. “The Flower Prince is looking for me. I should keep as low a profile as possible right now.”
Everyone agreed.
Of those remaining, Shi Chen was unconscious, Qin Weiyi was mute, and Lu Jing couldn’t think quickly enough. That left very few people in their group capable of handling the task.
Lin Junruo, Yang Zhen, and Zhou Jingying.
“I think I need to look for my grandmother,” Yang Zhen added.
Jian Fan and the others certainly wouldn’t let her search alone and would help her, but from Yang Zhen’s perspective, she would feel more confident handling it herself.
That ruled out one more person, leaving only two.
Lin Junruo and Zhou Jingying.
In terms of trust, Lin Junruo was clearly the more reliable choice. There was no chance she would deceive Jian Fan and the others. In terms of capability, however, Zhou Jingying was stronger.
After all, Lin Junruo had mostly relied on others to guide and protect her in the past, keeping her head down and scraping by. Zhou Jingying, on the other hand, had clearly made it this far on her own.
Lin Junruo was willing to accept the task, but she was worried she might not be able to handle it well, so hesitation showed on her face. Just then…
Zhou Jingying smiled. “I’ll go.”
She was, in fact, the most suitable candidate Jian Fan had in mind.
“You don’t actually have to go along with us,” Jian Fan said.
Zhou Jingying’s smile was sincere. “I’m not going along with you. I’m cooperating with you. The situation might not have been clear before, but by now, I think we all understand how important cooperation is. If we don’t work together, these scattered clues will be useless. Besides…” Her expression turned serious. “I only managed to complete my mission because of your help. It wouldn’t be right for me to stand aside now.”
Naturally, Jian Fan wasn’t going to refuse again.
But there were some things that needed to be made clear beforehand. Perhaps he had also wanted to test Zhou Jingying’s attitude.
As things stood, the result couldn’t have been better.
“We’ll split up,” Jian Fan said, quickly steering the conversation back to the matter at hand.
“We’ll help Yang Zhen find her grandmother. As for the Prince, we’d better keep our distance from him,” Qin Nan said.
Jian Fan nodded in agreement. “Qin Nan, Yellow Hair, and I will help Yang Zhen look for her grandmother. Zhou Jingying will go find the Prince. Just in case, Lu Jing, you go with Qin Weiyi and Mu Xin. If anything happens to Zhou Jingying, Lu Jing can step in and save her in time. As for Lin Junruo…” Jian Fan looked down at the still-unconscious Shi Chen beside them and said uncertainly, “You’ll stay and watch over him?”
Lin Junruo had no objections.
She would have preferred to search for clues, but now that the group had assigned her a role, she wasn’t going to refuse.
Just as Lin Junruo was about to nod, however, Qin Weiyi objected first.
Unable to speak, he stepped forward, raised his hands in front of his chest, and formed a huge X.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Qin?” Lu Jing asked in confusion.
Qin Weiyi ignored Lu Jing. Looking at Jian Fan, he pointed to himself, then at Lu Jing and Mu Xin, before forming another X with his hands.
Even though he couldn’t speak, his meaning was perfectly clear.
Qin Weiyi did not want the three of them on the same team again.
Remembering what the three of them had already gone through, and then recalling their Points, Qin Weiyi was adamantly opposed to teaming up with them again.
Jian Fan hadn’t expected him to object, but he quickly nodded. “How do you want to divide the teams, then?”
Qin Weiyi glanced at Lu Jing, then swept his gaze over everyone else. With no better option, he finally raised a hand and pointed at Lin Junruo.
Lin Junruo froze.
Was Qin Weiyi pointing at her because he wanted her to join their team?
That was unbelievable.
Qin Nan and the others were also somewhat surprised.
Mu Xin had far more of an advantage than Lin Junruo. Besides, Mu Xin was currently at risk of being attacked at any moment. Staying with Lu Jing would maximize her safety.
“Are you sure?” Jian Fan asked. He didn’t particularly object.
Qin Weiyi nodded.
Mu Xin spoke up as well. “I think this arrangement is pretty good. Let Lin Junruo go with Qin Weiyi and the others. I’ll stay here and watch Shi Chen.” After speaking, Mu Xin pressed a hand to her forehead. “I think it’s far too dangerous for the three of us to stay together.”
Qin Weiyi immediately nodded in agreement.
Anyone who hadn’t experienced what they had couldn’t understand how Qin Weiyi and Mu Xin felt at that moment. But since everyone involved was willing, there was no reason to disagree.
And so, the ten of them were quickly divided into teams.
Mu Xin would remain in the rest area to watch over Shi Chen. Jian Fan, Qin Nan, Yellow Hair, and Yang Zhen would form a team to search for Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, while looking for other clues along the way if possible. Zhou Jingying would seek out the Prince and gather information, while Lu Jing would take Lin Junruo and Qin Weiyi with him, following discreetly and acting as the situation required.