When he entered the bedroom, Qin Shuman was still sleep, her seductive figure sprawled luxuriously across the bed.
She lay on her side, her beautiful hair randomly strewn by the pillow like black velvet.
The soft, thin quilt wrapped around her jade-like body, faintly revealing the graceful lines of her back and a waist that one could seemingly grasp with a hand. With each breath, her lovely body contoured a bewitching and enchanting silhouette, igniting endless fantasies.
She was an incredibly beautiful woman, the likes of which Qiu Tu had seldom seen even in his past life, and she exuded an even stranger sense of being out of place in this world.
Standing by the bed, he silently admired this creature for a while, looking at the origin of all these troubles, Qiu Tu tugged at his collar and, without any hesitation, pounced....
Startled by Qiu Tu's sudden weight, Qin Shuman, who was in deep sleep, was taken aback. While struggling, she whispered softly, "Wait, wait a moment."
"Be good, I can't wait..."
Twenty minutes later, Qiu Tu leaned against the headboard, holding the sultry Qin Shuman and contentedly lit a cigarette: The mistress of a big shot is indeed different, very smooth!
Even if someday he stumbled while walking the tightrope and was killed by Yan Chen, at least he had had the experience, so he wouldn't be considered a fall guy.
At that moment, perhaps sensing a change in Qiu Tu, Qin Shuman leaned on his shoulder and asked curiously, tilting her head, "You, you seem a little different."
"Really?" Qiu Tu held her shoulder, took one final drag of his cigarette, crushed the butt on the table and said indifferently, "Maybe it's because I've died once."
"What? What?" Qin Shuman was a little stunned and turned her head in surprise to look at him upon hearing Qiu Tu's words.
Qiu Tu smiled and patted Qin Shuman's pale, smooth back, "Just kidding."
With a sigh of relief, Qin Shuman rolled her eyes at Qiu Tu, "You scared me to death."
Qiu Tu said, "What I mean is, we might be about to die."
"Yan Chen already knows about us."
Perhaps because the news was too shocking, Qin Shuman, with a clutch of the thin quilt to her chest, sat up abruptly, looking at Qiu Tu in utter amazement.
Qiu Tu appeared unconcerned, but the corners of his eyes were surreptitiously observing Qin Shuman, trying to determine whether her surprise was genuine or feigned.
But whether because her acting was too good or some other reason, after observing her closely for a full two seconds, he couldn't detect any flaw in Qin Shuman's reaction.
So he patted Qin Shuman's slender arm, then, feigning confusion, he asked, "Didn't you think we might get caught when you came out with me?"
Qin Shuman was clearly bewildered, her face a picture of cluelessness, "No."
"You just said you wanted to take me out to have fun."
"I... I never thought that we would..."
As she spoke, she looked down at their naked bodies and began to panic, hurriedly picking up their clothes to put them on.
Qiu Tu raised his hand to stop her, "If I were you, I'd take a shower first to clean up the traces."
"Otherwise, you might get stains on your clothes."
Qin Shuman halted in her actions.
Qiu Tu's hand gently glided over her smooth back, "But don't wet your hair, and don't use any toilet articles so as not to leave a scent."
"Try to make yourself as clean as possible."
"Yan Chen has a very sensitive nose."
After a brief two-second pause, Qin Shuman glared fiercely at Qiu Tu and then, clutching her clothes, jumped out of bed and ran "pitter-patter" towards the bathroom.
Watching Qin Shuman's bewitching back, Qiu Tu touched his chin with a puzzled expression on his face.
Something was off... still off...
Perhaps owing to his time in the past life, swindling day in and day out in a fraud syndicate, since crossing into this world, Qiu Tu couldn't help but doubt everything.
He felt that Qin Shuman's behavior seemed too naive and lacking in cunning.
If he were to make a comparison, the Planning Area of this world was like the Mexico and Laos from his previous life....
Chaos, bloody, lawless.
How could such a place give rise to someone as innocuous and clueless—yet beautiful—as a white lotus?
Could this be too much of a fantasy?
His predecessor, having grown up in the Planning Area, had not seen a beautiful girl and was blinded by "love (lust)" failing to notice anything odd. But he, from his previous life, had seen too many beautiful ladies.
The shrewd, the foolish, the innocent—all would be forced into degeneration, into numbness, in that environment... So Qiu Tu really did not believe that Qin Shuman could be such a pure flower.
'A shrewd woman who is good at disguising herself?'
Qiu Tu tried to come to a verdict about Qin Shuman. But then, he stumbled upon a new question...
Why would such a clever woman take such a big risk to have an affair with him?
Himself, or rather, his predecessor, what did he have that was worth her making such a large investment?
If Qiu Tu had just now, in order to save their lives, fabricated some half-true, half-false intelligence about Qin Shuman to deceive Yan Chen. Then now, he really started to doubt Qin Shuman....
Ten minutes later, Qin Shuman, neatly dressed, walked out of the bathroom.
As she stepped out of the door, she took a deep breath, raised her head, and was about to call Qiu Tu out for a chat.
Just then, a pistol was slowly pressed against her temple.
The metal barrel felt ice-cold.
In that moment, Qin Shuman completely stiffened, not daring to move an inch.
They were at a standoff for a good ten seconds; seeing that the other party did not proceed with further action, Qin Shuman stiffly turned her head bit by bit, following the direction of the pistol.
Then she saw Qiu Tu leaning against the door, with the gun pressed against her temple, while his gaze was deep, watching her intently.
And as Qin Shuman looked over, Qiu Tu slowly spoke up,
"Miss Shuman, who do you belong to?"
"The Municipal Committee? Commissioner An? Commissioner Wang?"
"Or... the military?"
Seeing that it was Qiu Tu holding the gun at her, disbelief etched on her face, Qin Shuman said, "What are you going crazy about?"
"What Municipal Committee, what military!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
Qiu Tu still did not see any flaws, so he retracted the gun without a change in expression, pretending to be satisfied, he nodded, "Good. You'll need to keep up this act when we go back."
He said, "I told Yan Chen that you might be a spy planted by 'The Military' at his side."
Seeing Qin Shuman's surprised attempt to argue, Qiu Tu raised his hand to stop her, "This is the only way to ensure we stay alive."
"Yan Chen is inherently distrustful. Unless he completely figures out your identity and fully assesses the gains and losses, he won't lay a finger on you."
"And if you want to live, we'll have to work closely together; there's no choice."
"Scenarios like the one just now, you might face quite often in the coming days."
"You must remain calm and not reveal any flaws."
Hearing Qiu Tu's words, fear was apparent on Qin Shuman's face.
Shaking, she said, "I'm scared. I dare not. I'm afraid he'll find out."
"If he finds out, he won't spare us."
"Is that right..." Qiu Tu thought for a while, then reached behind to pull out a police dagger, and handed it to Qin Shuman.