ATLAS TRANSLATES

Bailian left in an extremely swift and decisive manner, leaving the secretary-general and minister Xu in a daze for a long time.

Especially the secretary-general.

Ren Qian still didn’t know about the fact that Wan Xuan hadn’t recorded the video.

The secretary-general originally thought that Bailian would compromise this time. It was the first time Xiangcheng was hosting the Calligraphers Association, which carried great significance. Anyone who understood the underlying meaning would not give up this opportunity.

Unexpectedly, Bailian proved to be tough and left as soon as she said she would.

The secretary-general watched Bailian’s back as she walked away, his gaze inscrutable.

Being able to snatch the video recording from Wan Xuan’s hands and join the first batch of the Xiangcheng Calligraphers Association’s launch ceremony, Bailian’s position in the secretary-general’s heart was no longer among the unimportant people of the Ji family.

Beside him, Department Head Xu finally withdrew his gaze from the sky, as if nothing had happened. He personally handed the secretary-general a pen, smiling and saying, “Please.”

He had no particular thoughts about Bailian’s departure. She was just one of the countless names he had casually crossed out.

She was merely one of the countless waves he had personally suppressed.

For Department Head Xu, the Ren family and this secretary-general were the most important at the moment.

He had climbed to this position with great difficulty, so naturally, he had to grasp the thoughts of those above him…

As for fairness?

Where was fairness in this world?

** Ming Dongpeng’s car was parked not far away.

Today, there were many people and prying eyes, so he didn’t enter with Bailian and Jiang He. However, he parked the car on the adjacent street. With a glance, he saw Bailian appearing at the end of the street.

Bailian’s coat and the clothes underneath were of the same color scheme today, both close to sky blue.

It wasn’t a dazzling kind of blue, but a pure and gentle azure that appeared through the cracks of clouds after the rain. It just didn’t match Bailian’s indifferent expression.

Although he didn’t know the reason, Ming Dongpeng felt that Bailian seemed to be in a bad mood.

Ming Dongpeng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly got out of the car.

He opened the car door. “Miss Bai, why are you back so early?”

Ming Dongpeng didn’t understand the Calligraphers Association, but he knew that Bailian was supposed to attend the launch ceremony today.

Ming Dongpeng had also participated in this kind of event before. It usually required a whole morning. Even if one left early, it would take at least two hours. Bailian had returned too quickly.

“It’s nothing,” Bailian stood by the car door, exuding a lazy yet sharp aura. She pointed to the back seat, indicating for Jiang He to get in first. “To the library.”

Her schoolbag was in the car, so there was no need to return to Qingshui Street specifically to get it.

There was still some distance from the City Tower to the library.

Taking Route 12 would require circling the ring road past Qingshui Street before reaching the library. Ming Dongpeng took a shortcut from the middle ring road to send Bailian and Jiang He to the library.

Ming Dongpeng sat in the car, watching the backs of Bailian and Jiang He.

After some thought, he reported to Jiang Fuli-

[Miss Bai has come out.]

On Saturday, there were more people in the library than usual. When Bailian arrived, half of the second floor was occupied. She and Jiang He found a seat at random and sat down.

As soon as she turned on her phone, she saw a message from Jiang Fuli.

Teacher Jiang: [Back?]

Student Bai: [Tired]

She didn’t say anything else.

Bailian scrolled down further and saw that Lance had also sent her a message.

Lance: [Myopia can really be cured]

Lance: [Oh my god, this is simply unbelievable!]

Bailian: [.]

Lance never paid attention to Bailian’s taciturnity: [I’ll find you to schedule a time with the assistant!]

Bailian: [1]

During this period, the two of them had intermittent medical exchanges. The knowledge stored in Bailian’s mind was thousands of years of uninterrupted traditional Chinese medicine. When she mentioned many pharmacological principles, it made Lance sigh in amazement.

The many surgical videos sent by Lance also made Bailian realize the frightening aspects of Western medicine.

Both of them had a kind of lofty pride in their respective fields. Bailian’s initial resistance had turned into reverence.

She even had some admiration for those who could develop Western medicine to its current state.

She also wanted to.

What Lance mentioned today was Bailian’s comment from a few days ago that acupuncture could cure his myopia. Due to his profession, Lance couldn’t undergo laser treatment, so he planned to find time for her to treat his myopia.

Bailian was very direct: [No medical license]

Lance’s side probably went to check what a medical license meant, so his response was a bit slow.

Lance: [?]

Bailian didn’t look any further. She scrolled down and saw the message from the brother who had participated in the competition with her in Jiangjing.

Bailian: [Spamming?]

She only added a question mark, but it startled the brother who was at the award ceremony in Jiangjing. After that, he didn’t dare to spam a single word.

She replied to each message one by one until she saw the information sent by Director Chen at the back. Bailian slowly sat up straight. It was a document.

After all, the detective agency wasn’t the police station, so the information they could find was limited.

Regarding Yang Lin, there was even less, only her address, family information, and some records at the police station.

Bailian slowly read from top to bottom.

There was no information about Yang Lin’s mother. Director Chen specifically noted in the mother’s column that her mother had been driven away by her father when she was five years old.

Yang Lin’s father had multiple records of being detained, either for causing trouble while drunk or gambling. Bailian’s finger slowly scrolled down and came across a very old record in the middle-

Yang Lin had reported to the police when she was nine years old.

Bailian took a screenshot of this entry and showed it to Director Chen: [[Image]]

Director Chen replied quickly: [In such cases, he would be detained for a few days, but it would only make things worse when he returned.]

Director Chen: [Since she’s over eighteen now, I suggest she directly remove herself from the household registration and stay away from him.]

Bailian remained silent for a long time: [1]

While taking out the books from her schoolbag, Bailian inquired Director Chen about the matter of removing oneself from the household registration.

** At the same time.

Ren Qian was receiving Ji Mulan and Xu En at the Ren family residence.

Xu En came this time for a major player in the tourism industry. He was from Jiangjing and benefited from Jiangjing’s advantages, but he couldn’t quite grasp the power dynamics in Xiangcheng.

“I understand what you mean, Mr. Xu,” Ren Qian never neglected Xu En. “You should be referring to President Lu.”

“President Lu?” It was another surname Xu En had never heard of.

He looked at Ji Mulan.

Ji Mulan hadn’t returned to Xiangcheng for more than ten years and was even more clueless.

Ren Qian put down his teacup and solemnly said, “His main business is on Heishui Street, and the manager of Qinglong Bar is very familiar with him. Mr. Xu, do you understand what I mean by saying this?”

Xiangcheng turned a blind eye to Heishui Street.

Firstly, it was because that place was on the border and not under their jurisdiction. Secondly, the power dynamics there were extremely complex.

A bar with the most comprehensive information in Asia.

A world-renowned fighting arena.

An auction house that no one in the underworld dared to provoke.

Ren Qian could manage a city well. He had a list in his heart of who could provoke whom and who couldn’t.

“I understand,” Xu En frowned slightly. “Qinglong Bar, do you have President Lu’s contact information?”

He had actually guessed it.

Since he couldn’t operate independently, he also wanted to cooperate with this President Lu, especially since the people behind Qinglong Bar were backing him…

Xu En didn’t expect that in a small city like Xiangcheng, he would receive such a big surprise.

Beside him, Ji Mulan naturally hadn’t heard of these things. But she didn’t ask. She only glanced at Xu En, and Xu En patted the back of her hand.

“Mr. Xu,” Ren Qian still had to attend the launch ceremony today. “I need to go to the launch ceremony of the Xiangcheng Calligraphers Association. I won’t keep you today.”

Xu En stood up. He was surprised that Xiangcheng didn’t even have a Calligraphers Association yet.

However, thinking about it, Xiangcheng didn’t even have a high-speed rail yet, so he felt he could understand.

He politely bid farewell to Ren Qian.

After they were out the door, Ji Mulan asked Xu En about Qinglong Bar.

“Heishui Street,” Xu En took out the car key, opened the door, and tilted his head to explain to Ji Mulan. “The border is complex. For Qinglong Bar to establish a foothold there, the power behind it is no less than those major families in Jiangjing. It’s normal that you don’t know about it.”

Those major families in Jiangjing? Ji Mulan sat in the passenger seat, remaining somewhat silent.

** The launch ceremony of the Xiangcheng Calligraphers Association was an important event.

Ren Qian wore a dark-colored formal suit and called the secretary-general again to confirm, “Did you notify Old Master Chen?”

“Old Master Chen said he had a case to investigate,” the secretary-general was very respectful. “He doesn’t have time.”

Ren Qian wasn’t surprised, but he felt it was a pity.

Ren Wan Xuan also wore a carefully designed gown and arrived at the edge of Xiangcheng City Tower together with Ren Qian.

When the two of them arrived, it was already nine o’clock.

The director of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau and Chou Xuezheng were both standing at the entrance.

The secretary-general and Department Head Xu didn’t dare to neglect them and stood at the entrance to accompany the two of them.

Ren Qian was stunned. Why were these two elders outside to receive him? “Teacher Chou, why are you two outside?”

Chou Xuezheng was in high spirits. He specifically wore a robe with dark red spiral patterns today. He smiled at Ren Qian, “Waiting for someone.”

“Waiting for someone?” Ren Qian and Ren Wan Xuan looked at each other in confusion.

He thought Chou Xuezheng was waiting for him, but he didn’t expect him to be waiting for someone else. However, Chou Xuezheng didn’t say much. He only occasionally lowered his head to check the time.

Then he looked towards the intersection.

The launch ceremony was scheduled to start promptly at 9:30.

9:10.

Bailian hadn’t arrived yet.

Because Bailian had a very good impression in Chou Xuezheng’s mind, he didn’t think she was someone who would be late. However, as the launch ceremony approached, there was still no sign of Bailian.

Chou Xuezheng couldn’t help but send a message to Bailian: [Where are you?]

The other party didn’t reply.

9:20.

Chou Xuezheng finally couldn’t hold back. He took out his phone and called Bailian.

** At the library.

When Jiang Fuli arrived, only Jiang He was sitting in his seat alone, flipping through a book gloomily.

He only reached out his hand and knocked on Jiang He’s desk in a leisurely manner.

Jiang He looked up, somewhat expressionless, “Bathroom.”

Jiang Fuli withdrew his hand. When he looked at people, there was always a hint of casual coldness.

Bailian’s phone, which was left on the table, lit up.

Jiang Fuli noticed Teacher Chou’s call at a glance. He knew who Chou Xuezheng was, as the Xiangcheng Calligraphers Association was something he had personally facilitated.

Bailian didn’t go to the Calligraphers Association she was supposed to attend today…

Jiang Fuli glanced at the phone and directly hung up.

“Why are you here?” Bailian had just finished washing her hands and came out, wiping her fingers leisurely with a paper towel. She lowered her voice.

Jiang Fuli didn’t say anything. He only swept a cold glance at Jiang He.

Jiang He angrily made room for him.

Jiang Fuli sat down, his hand slightly resting on the desk. He spoke in a light and casual manner, “Got angry and left the research institute.”

Far away at the bottom of the mountain in Xiangcheng.

At the CRFS Dark Matter Research Institute.

He Wen was observing particle collisions, using machines to search for decay products of exotic atoms. Suddenly, he sneezed. He muttered, “Could it be that someone is thinking about me…”

** The WeChat message wasn’t replied to, and the phone call wasn’t answered either.

Chou Xuezheng furrowed his brows.

9:25.

Department Head Xu didn’t dare to urge Chou Xuezheng. He couldn’t help but look at Ren Qian for help.

Ren Qian took two steps forward and said with a smile, “Teacher Chou, let’s go in and wait first. It’s almost the auspicious time.”

“Alright.” Chou Xuezheng held his phone, but his brows didn’t relax.

Stepping over the threshold, the etiquette lady held a sign-in book and handed it to Chou Xuezheng and the director of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau.

“Department Head Xu, we’ll have to trouble you with the Calligraphers Association in the future,” Ren Qian said to Department Head Xu with a smile.

The Xiangcheng Calligraphers Association was the bridge for communication with North City and Jiangjing.

Department Head Xu wanted to curry favor with the Ren family, and Ren Qian also wanted to be on good terms with Department Head Xu. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The names were at the back. Chou Xuezheng glanced at it. All the people on the first page had arrived, and most of the people on the second page had also arrived. Only one space was left unchecked.

Chou Xuezheng suddenly realized something. He flipped back to the first page and looked at the names one by one from top to bottom.

Bailian’s name wasn’t there.

“How come one person is missing? Where is Bailian?” Chou Xuezheng coldly looked at the etiquette lady.

The director of the Cultural Bureau, who was still looking at the door, was startled upon hearing this. “What’s going on?”

He hadn’t looked carefully just now. He took the sign-in sheet from Chou Xuezheng’s hand again. Indeed, Bailian’s name was not on it.

Department Head Xu was taking care of the people participating in the launch ceremony. He was the overall planner of Xiangcheng this time. Seeing the commotion outside, he hurriedly came out and lowered his voice, telling Chou Xuezheng to keep it down.

Ren Qian also vaguely heard “Bailian.”

Ren Wan Xuan lowered her head to drink tea, concealing the disdain in her eyes.

Beside them, the secretary-general calmly glossed over the matter.

Ren Qian held his teacup and looked at Ren Wan Xuan for a while. In the end, he chose not to intervene.

“The media reporters are all here,” Department Head Xu glanced at the hall, implying for Chou Xuezheng to keep his voice down. He then explained, “I didn’t know this Bailian was your person. I was the one who crossed out the name. If there’s any issue, we can discuss it later…”