Chapter 154: Deliberately Getting Close

After Lao Mao sent the person away, he caught Xie Wantang's surprised gaze and whispered, "My business is not open to outsiders."

"Why?"

"Its purpose for existing is just to be a base."

"But you always turn away outside guests; eventually people will notice something's wrong. I think that occasionally taking a guest from outside, at least, lets those around you know that this place is indeed a restaurant."

She knows this is a base and can heed Lu Chen at any time.

But since the restaurant is being used as a front, at least the façade should look a bit convincing.

"Hmm, you're right. I'll discuss it with Lu Chen later."

"Hmm, Lao Mao, could you come over and help me?"

"Alright."

Opening the trunk, Lao Mao saw the two boxes of paintings and, surprised, said, "What are all these? They look terrifying, with a Western dark abstract fairy‑tale vibe."

"Do you understand art?" Xie Wantang raised an eyebrow.

"No, just a little, not much. But these all have a black‑gray tone; they look a bit like the ones I once saw when I traveled abroad to the West out of curiosity and visited a similar exhibition."

"Dark abstract fairy‑tale? These scary‑looking paintings—what kind of audience do they actually attract?"

"What other crowd could it be? Isn't it you?" Lao Mao laughed; Xie Wantang had indeed collected two whole boxes.

That alone shows she is interested in this kind of art.

And she is very interested.

"You're mistaken; these aren't my collection—they were painted by my little daughter," Xie Wantang said.

Lao Mao is close to Lu Chen; she is pregnant with Lu Chen's child, a pair of dragon‑phoenix twins. She thinks Lao Mao should already know this, so she doesn't hide it and says openly.

"Huh? Isn't your daughter not even three years old yet?"

"Yes, but she can already paint."

"Then I'd like to take a good look, Miss Xie. May I see?"

"Of course; it'd be best if you could help me analyze them."

"…I dare not, I dare not."

Lao Mao replied modestly.

Of the two boxes of paintings, the two of them examined one box together; Lao Mao understood half of them, while Xie Wantang only grasped a few.

Following Xie Wantang's suggestion, Lao Mao narrated what he understood to her.

However, these were meant to convey Xiao Qianqian's confusion and helplessness, so at first her paintings were chaotic and unordered.

Perhaps they lacked any artistic conception.

Lao Mao's analysis, from his perspective, was purely that of a spectator.

He analyzed the lines, colors, and such.

But what Xie Wantang wanted to know wasn't about lines or colors.

After all, how could such a small child understand lines or colors?

She, too, had a sudden burst of inspiration; Xiao Qianqian said she sensed a raven pecking at her forehead, so she painted the raven together with herself.

Thus, she wanted to bring Lu Chen to look at it together.

At that moment, she wondered why she thought of Lu Chen instead of Shen Ye; she only realized it then, and instinctively called Lu Chen.

She didn't even know why.

Just then, Lu Chen arrived.

"He's here; let him help you analyze. Perhaps the two of you together can draw something out. I'll go make lunch for you; we'll have a working meal here at noon."

When Lu Chen entered, Lao Mao left, departing quite deliberately.

The instant their paths crossed, Lao Mao gave him a sly glance.

Lu Chen: "..."

What are they all doing?

Don't they know to be serious?

Treating the mission as a joke?

They're now pitting dozens of lives against an unknown‑size criminal gang.

Acting rashly?

"What's wrong, Xie Wantang? Why the hurry? Who painted all these?" Lu Chen was drawn to the paintings in the box.

"My daughter."

"Our daughter? Xiao Qianqian?" Lu Chen instinctively used "our."

"..."

That cheek is unusually thick.

Xie Wantang didn't correct him, "Take a look; what can you discern from these paintings?"

To save time, Xie Wantang first pulled out the raven Xiao Qianqian drew today along with her own work, saying, "This is what Qianqian painted this morning: a completely black raven pecking at her forehead; the little girl is herself."

"Then, when we went out today, we ran into Yan Xiu."

"???"

What does that mean?

Lu Chen was looking at the paintings—i. e., Xie Wantang. If anyone else kept nagging in his ear at that moment, he'd surely find it annoying.

Upon hearing that Qianqian painted a raven pecking her forehead, Xie Wantang was harassed by Yan Xiu.

"Are you saying Qianqian foresaw your misfortune in advance?"

"Yes, Team Leader Lu understood it perfectly."

""

Lu Chen was unhappy with being called Team Leader Lu, but he didn't correct it. "All right, I understand. Now we'll look for the crow. At first, Qianqian might not even be able to draw a crow properly. Xie Wantang, help—look carefully at the crow's lines."

Xie Wantang now understood why she habitually turned to Lu Chen whenever something came up.

The inspiration Lu Chen gave her was always precise.

Just like now, he doesn't doubt Qianqian's special ability at all.

Nor will he panic like her third older brother does.

Instead, he calmly gave her hints, letting her find the drawing.

The crow's most distinctive feature is its beak; as Lu Chen said, at first Qianqian couldn't draw a crow, so she drew just that big beak instead.

Qianqian's drawings were organized by the butler and Xie Ningmeng; the Qin family has the good habit of writing the date on the back of each picture.

This unintentional little habit is useful; they can mark those times and later go back to ask whether anything special happened on those days.

There aren't many drawings that can represent a crow—besides today's, there are only about ten or so.

Xie Wantang then found that day's drawing, in which Qianqian had sensed Lu Chen's picture; it had a little sun, black in color, but they all took the little sun as a sign of good fortune.

There are many drawings related to good fortune.

"Yan Xiu is a bad person, and it was Qianqian who told me that."

"We still need our daughter to tell you this, Xie Wantang—you have zero judgment left, right?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

Thinking back to when Yan Xiu stood near the kindergarten gate with her and said those few words, he felt uneasy.

But this had nothing to do with jealousy.

Yan Xiu is a dangerous person; he doesn't know how to protect Xie Wantang, and being so close to such a person is unsatisfactory.

"Indeed, you're right—my judgment in this area is truly poor; otherwise I should have stayed far away from you, shouldn't I? I shouldn't have gotten involved in your organization."

Xie Wantang was also angry—did he know what she wanted to say?

To say that about her was really over the top.

When Lu Chen heard she wanted to stay far away from him, he refused; he deliberately moved closer and pulled Xie Wantang into his arms, saying, "Xie—"

Before he could speak, as Xie Wantang was about to push him away, Old Cat came in carrying two exquisite boxed meals.

With a creak, everything fell still in an instant.