The first installment,

...

"What's the deal with Gu Tong's death?"

Li Rui sat quietly, facing the high-rise buildings outside the window, savoring the red wine in his glass. Gu Tong's death had taken him by surprise.

He and Gu Tong were cousins. Their relationship wasn't particularly close, but he admired Gu Tong's personality. After this recent failure, Li Rui had already decided to groom Gu Tong as his right-hand man.

But just as he'd made this decision, the news of Gu Tong's death had arrived, which infuriated him. He felt as if he'd been outmaneuvered, and as someone who was always the one maneuvering others, Li Rui was very dissatisfied with this outcome.

"It's been confirmed: Young Master Gu was killed by a car driven by Hei San... Hei San was someone Young Master Gu hired to kill Qin Fang!"

A man with a stern face spoke calmly, as if Gu Tong's death was as insignificant as that of a passerby.

"Qin Fang..."

Just hearing this name made Li Rui feel uncomfortable, "What relationship do Hei San and this Qin Fang have?"

"None at all!"

Qin Fang indeed did not know Hei San, neither before nor after the incident. They had never had any contact. To be precise, Qin Fang had drugged Hei San, but Hei San knew nothing about it.

"No relationship…"

Li Rui was surprised. He had met Hei San and had heard that he had a good relationship with Gu Tong, not the type to double-cross anyone.

Li Rui had known about the relationship between Qin Fang and Tang Cheng for quite some time. Although Hei San was also from a special forces background, he wasn't from the Ninghai Military District and didn't know Tang Cheng. After his discharge, he had been recognized by Gu Tong for his ruthless methods and was doing things for Gu Tong that were unsuitable for him to handle personally.

The first thing that came to Li Rui's mind when Hei San turned against Gu Tong was betrayal, theorizing that Hei San was Tang Cheng's man. If that was the case, it would be easier to explain.

"Look into Hei San's relationship with Tang Cheng, in detail..."

Having understood this, Li Rui immediately issued an order.

"And this Qin Fang..."

"Qin Fang is just a minor character, don't bother with him!"

Clearly, in Li Rui's eyes, Qin Fang had never been seen as a considerable adversary, even if Qin Fang had played a questionable role in his brother Li Feng's case, he still hadn't won Li Rui's attention.

If Qin Fang had known Li Rui's opinion of him, he would surely have felt relieved, as it effectively gave Qin Fang a relatively stable environment and time.

"When is Andre arriving in Ninghai?" Just as the man was about to leave, Li Rui suddenly remembered something and asked immediately.

"He should be arriving within the next day or two! Young Master Rui, do you really want to make contact with Andre?"

The usually calm young man also hesitated slightly.

"Don't worry about that, I have my own sense of judgment!"

Li Rui waved a hand dismissively, indicating the meeting was over. He obviously didn't want others to bring this up, even among his most trusted followers.

Li Rui was a very arrogant person, staunch in his decisions. Once he made up his mind, nobody could change it. If ever driven to desperation, he would personally throw any obstructer into the Yangtze River.

...

"Fourth Brother, the restaurant is booked. Why haven't you guys arrived yet?"

Xiao Nan's efficiency was indeed high. Qin Fang had only just entered the city area, and Xiao Nan had already got the restaurant booked.

"We'll be there soon, just wait a bit..."

Qin Fang looked at the address of the chosen restaurant, which was not far away, informed Xiao Nan briefly, and set off for the destination.

Xiao Nan had good taste. Despite his usual casual demeanor, he had chosen Ninghai's finest French restaurant this time, hearing that a beauty would be joining.

The class was very high, the cost also very high, but luckily Xiao Nan was not short on money. Nor was Qin Fang at the moment. Fan Ning readily accepted the choice, but Xia Yun seemed never to have been to such an upscale restaurant and appeared a bit nervous.

"Sister Yun, the host has been waiting for a while. If we don't go now, he might get angry," Qin Fang said with a chuckle at the entrance to the restaurant, seeing Xia Yun hesitating.

"Isn't it you two treating me?" Xia Yun was slightly startled and asked with some surprise.

"The person treating us is not us, but one of your admirers. We two are merely the third wheels..." Qin Fang and Fan Ning exchanged a glance, then said cheerfully.

"Admirer?"

Xia Yun was startled and then a faint blush appeared on her face. It was surprising to see such a sisterly figure show a moment of shyness.

"Sister Yun, let's hurry inside or else they'll start getting anxious..."

Qin Fang gave a look, and Fan Ning immediately understood. She took Xia Yun by the hand and practically dragged her into the restaurant. Qin Fang quickly spotted Xiao Nan's location, and the three of them headed over.

"Second Brother, look who I brought you..."

Xiao Nan was sitting there, bored to death, occasionally glancing at his watch, growing impatient as time dragged on. Qin Fang patted his shoulder from behind and spoke.

"Fourth Brother, you've finally arrived, uh, Teacher Fan, Teacher Xia..."

Xiao Nan immediately turned around with a beaming smile to greet Qin Fang but was taken aback upon noticing the two women with him. He managed fine with Fan Ning, but upon seeing Xia Yun, his normally nimble tongue seemed to tie itself in knots.

Qin Fang and Fan Ning couldn't help but snicker upon witnessing this scene.

"Xiao Nan?"

Compared to Xiao Nan's shyness, Xia Yun's face was full of surprise. She was somewhat eager to see who her admirer was but had not expected it to be one of her students, which was a bit unexpected and astonishing.

"Alright, let's sit down fast... I've been hungry for a while now!"

Qin Fang pushed Xiao Nan into his seat while Fan Ning nudged Xia Yun next to Xiao Nan. Fan Ning and Qin Fang then took their seats opposite with ease.

"French cuisine isn't too bad. Ladies first..."

Despite the brief astonishment, Xiao Nan, who came from a wealthy family, quickly regained his composure. Thankfully, he was dressed in a suit he had brought along, making Qin Fang's casual attire seem somewhat out of place. Qin Fang was helpless since he had only asked Xiao Nan to choose a stylish restaurant, never expecting it to be French.

"I'm not familiar with any of this, you go ahead!"

Xia Yun was still somewhat uneasy sitting with her student in such a setting, and being at a French restaurant for the first time, she quickly deflected the decision-making.

"I'll do it..."

Now that Xiao Nan understood Qin Fang's intentions, he shot a grateful look at Qin Fang and started to look after Xia Yun.

Qin Fang, although also new to French restaurants, quickly adapted and started chatting and laughing with Fan Ning as they ordered, whispering so as not to disturb Xia Yun and Xiao Nan.

"The suspect can be ruled out, Sister Yun isn't..."

While joking with Fan Ning, Qin Fang relayed the intelligence he had gathered to her.

With Xia Yun's emotional changes, Qin Fang's mind reading technique kicked in, and he quickly cleared her of any suspicion. She was just an ordinary woman, unrelated to the spy organization.

Although Fan Ning was not entirely sure how Qin Fang ruled out the suspicion, she chose to trust him. After all that had happened, the level of trust between them had grown significantly.

The drinks were served first, authentic French wines native to France, quite costly, but indeed very flavorful. The French cuisine arrived shortly after.

French food is recognized internationally as one of the most prestigious cuisines, renowned for its delicate taste, delicious sauces, and beautiful tableware settings, which could be considered an art form.

In the world of culinary culture, French cooking skills have always been world-famous. French cuisine is not only tasty but also offers a wide variety of dishes and unique cooking techniques.

Xiao Nan was somewhat familiar with this and gave a brief introduction to them when the food arrived, leaving even the nearby waiter amazed, seeing as he did not know as much as Xiao Nan.

Unfortunately, Qin Fang was skeptical. To his knowledge, no other country or ethnic group in the world could compete with the Dragon Country when it came to food. The millennia-old culinary culture was powerfully beyond compare, with the eight major cuisines each excelling in their ways; the historic Manchu Han Imperial Feast had even reached the peak of human culinary achievement.

Eating French food was quite a cumbersome affair, with a strictly defined sequence of servings. This restaurant was said to be the most authentic and traditional, with a total of thirteen courses strictly adhered to, whereas many restaurants within the country reduced this to just three to five courses.

Ironically, such traditions attracted many of Ninghai's wealthy to patronize, not necessarily for the food, but for the prestige – as if eating here would elevate their status and taste.

"Hiss... this flavor, nothing to rave about!"

Qin Fang clearly had a hard time adapting to the French cuisine, preferring Dragon Country fare and feeling that these exorbitantly priced dishes were less satisfying than street snacks that only cost a few bucks.

"Fourth Brother, you just don't get it. This is called having taste, class, understand?"

Xiao Nan would of course not pass up the chance to mock Qin Fang, even though Qin Fang had helped him fulfill a dream that day.

"Class my foot, I've never seen anyone raise their class by eating this! Look at you, you've eaten here plenty of times, and your class is still so low. As for your taste, well... it has indeed risen quite a bit!"

Qin Fang retorted with a grin, glancing subtlety between Xia Yun and Xiao Nan, which made everyone burst into laughter.

"Damn, a bunch of country bumpkins..."

The restaurant was usually quiet, frequented by the wealthy and prestigious who spoke in soft whispers, as if raising their voices was somehow embarrassing. At Qin Fang's laughter, mutterings of dissatisfaction could be heard.

(To be continued... To find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available and support the author by reading the legitimate version!)

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