Chapter 57
"What else?" Bai xia's voice went flat. The little smile that usually hid at the corner of her mouth had vanished. She knew, without asking, where this was headed — the pill. Her chest tightened. She had given it without thinking; she had been careless. Now the consequences had landed at Fu jian's door.
"The pill you gave me — where did you get it from?" he asked.
"I got it from an old man on the street. He said he was a medical master," Bai xia answered, honest and quick. Her mind raced. She should have warned him about the attention such things might attract; she should have been clearer. Panic felt sour and hot in her throat.
"Bai xia," Fu jian said, low and urgent, "no matter what, don't tell anyone about it. Keep it to yourself, okay? There are bad people after that drug. I'll eliminate them. If anyone asks about our relationship, just say you like me and you're pursuing me. If they know you're connected to me, they'll use you to threaten me. Don't let them know anything." His voice trembled only slightly; the rest was steel.
He hadn't expected the medicine to do anything. He had treated it like a curiosity, run the same tests he always ran, shown the results to several doctors — and then, foolishly, let slip that he had taken a pill. He hadn't said who gave it to him. Now information was moving faster than either of them had reckoned; men with bad intentions were taking action. He would remove those threats — quietly, he said — before the danger reached Bai xia's family.
"You might not see me for a few weeks," he added, the edge of apology in every syllable. "But I'll definitely come back. Don't worry."
How could she not worry? She had set this in motion. The family that had only just tasted safety and warmth — her mother sleeping without fear, her little siblings learning without hunger — could not be dragged into a web because of one impulsive gift. Fu jian's voice, usually a steady anchor, sounded strained and near exhaustion. She thought of the cough he'd had, of the iron tang he'd spat into the sink the night before, of the way he'd looked at her in that shabby market stall as if he'd seen a different future for himself.
She swallowed. Calmness felt like armor. She called Stella into the office.
"Stella," she said, and her voice was ice-cold, "there's controversy about the pill I gave Fu jian. I want all threats to his life — and to me and my family — eliminated. Bribe whoever needs bribing. Neutralize whoever needs neutralizing. And... deal with any witnesses."
Stella's face did not blink. She had expected danger to be part of this life — ever since the first jade sold, the first reporter had arrived with hungry questions. "Understood," Stella said. She heard the tremor of absolute command in Bai xia's voice and felt the old familiar shiver of obedient fear and fierce loyalty. She had her channels; she knew the names to whisper into the right ears. She would act — quietly, impeccably. No loose ends. No spectacle. Only clean results.
Bai xia did not give Stella operational details. She only gave the fate to be achieved. That was the only thing she would do — leave the methods to those who had lived in the shadows and could move like ghosts. She could not risk turning to the police, not when the men who chased the pill had ways of entering uniforms and using law as a blade. Better to keep it where the blade could be checked quietly by friendly hands.
The next morning the tech head burst into her office like a child who had found treasure. He didn't wait to knock. Excitement made him clumsy.
"Good morning, Miss Bai xia. Here are the things you asked for yesterday — we stayed up through the night but it's done."
He thrust a small toolkit toward her. Inside: a slim soldering iron whose tip gleamed like a tiny knife; a compact multimeter, modern and light; a set of miniature screwdrivers with magnetic tips; and several small boxes of components — chips, wires, screws — ordinary-looking, but packed with subtle precision. Each item was unremarkable to a casual eye, but in the right hands they would become instruments of creation.
Bai xia crouched, fumbled through each piece with that careful reverence she gave her own plans, and whispered, more to herself than him: "Nothing here that would make them suspicious… just enough to build a dream." She stood and gave him a hard look. "Stella tells me you can rearrange and identify the innards of any device without a blueprint?"
"Yes," he answered, proud and steady. "I'm quite good at it."
"In a few days I'll bring you a device I make myself. I want you to replicate it. Blueprints will follow for easier work. Can you do that?"
The tech head nodded like a soldier. "I won't disappoint you, boss."
"You better not," she said, but there was a small smile at the corner of her lips. She liked the way things moved under her direction, liked the way ordinary objects could become extraordinary with the right people.
---
Monday arrived with the heat of early summer. It was the day of the school competition — and the day Fu jian had supposed to return. The ache from last night's conversation still hummed through her, but there was work to do and faces to hold steady.
She dressed for school the way she always did now — a careful blend of approachable and separate. Her white school shirt was crisp, the collar neat; on the sleeve a tiny silver pin — a little XB logo — caught the light like a promise. Her long hair was pulled into a ponytail that shone as if it had been kissed by salon light; a couple of discreet hairpins held stray strands in place. A watch hugged her wrist — clean, modern, not ostentatious; a single thread of small gemstone earrings reflected her composure without drawing undue attention. Her makeup was light, a whisper of color on her lips and lashes, enough to sharpen her features but not to change her face. She looked like a girl who belonged both to a classroom and to a boardroom — because she did.Bai xia greeted her mum and sister Bai xuan. Bai xuan had been going to the company with her and would continue going when she was in school; she knew that Bai xuan had a good fashion sense and she asked her to design some clothes and jewelry and so far she had impressed her. All her clothes and jewelry were top notch; they even had a bit of modern charm to them.
Bai xia had breakfast and walked into the Lincoln and Stella drove her to school. This time when Bai xia got to school again there were more reporters than the last time. The reporters didn't recognize the car as Bai xia's car at first, but when they did they immediately rushed forward. Bai xia thought to herself what news could they carry this time.