Light Barrier - Chapter 54: Dinner
Old Cheng’s Hot Pot.
This was an old hot pot restaurant in a remote alley in the Azure River District. It was very popular, and people usually needed to reserve seats in advance. There was an open-air terrace on the second floor, where the evening breeze carried a fragrant aroma.
Tonight, the second-floor terrace was reserved by three young people.
“It smells so good.” Zhong Wei inhaled deeply, his mouth watering. “Where’s the smell coming from? It’s too fragrant. I’m about to cry from craving it. How long will it take Little Gu to arrive?”
Senior Sister Luo tapped him gently with her unopened chopsticks and warned, “Just wait patiently. Don’t touch your chopsticks until Little Gu gets here.”
Soon.
The hot pot was served. A small amount of tea water was poured on a large piece of beef tallow and simmered slowly in low heat. The tallow melted. The aroma of the peppercorns slowly spread, and small bubbles bubbled up.
“As expected of the hot pot restaurant Teacher found.” Zhong Wei looked at the chili oil in the broth and sighed. “It’s hidden so well. It must be delicious. I won’t use my chopsticks. Can I have a taste of the broth first?”
Senior Sister Luo gave him a stern look.
Zhong Wei retracted his spoon awkwardly.
With a light cough, Zhong Wei changed the topic. “Speaking of which, Little Gu is really surprising. Those people on the assessment team are all tough characters, and they don’t look like they would go easy on him. How did he pass the assessment?”
Nan Jin, dressed casually, was sitting at the edge of the terrace with one hand on the railing, looking at the street corner beyond the alley. She said softly, “I think Gu Shen is hiding something. Dream Decipher… might be his forte. Do you still remember Han Dang’s expression at the end?”
Senior Sister Luo and Senior Brother Zhong looked at each other.
In Gu Shen’s apartment, when they opened the lockbox, Han Dang had been in shock and disbelief.
“You mean that it’s very likely… Han Dang has already clashed with Gu Shen at the orphanage.” Zhong Wei narrowed his eyes, feeling this matter was becoming interesting. “And that old fox Han Dang was fooled by Gu Shen.”
“Interesting.” Luo Er’s interest was also piqued. “No wonder Han Dang went to the apartment to snatch the lockbox. He must have thought there was important evidence inside. But in the end, he was completely fooled by Gu Shen.”
“Han Dang’s ability is called True Words. He can release a powerful mental domain and forcefully pull people into his dream. In the dream, no one can lie to him,” Zhong Wei said.
“So, he pulled Gu Shen into his dream and thought he had obtained a clue in the True Words Domain, but in fact, the clue was fake.
“Impressive. So, the truth is that Gu Shen found the loophole in Han Dang’s dream. It’s unbelievable.”
“We don’t know the truth, and it’s not important. The assessment is over. What we can be sure of is that Little Gu isn’t as simple as we thought.” Senior Sister Luo smiled and shook her head. “We didn’t expect much from his results before. But in the end, he obtained an S-grade and even broke several records of the Adjudication Bureau.”
She recalled what Gu Shen had said to her on the training ground.
This young man did it.
It wasn’t easy and very impressive.
“They’re here,” Nan Jin said softly. She grabbed her cap from the table and pressed it firmly on her head.
At first, Zhong Wei was puzzled by Nan Jin’s action of wearing the hat, but he quickly understood why.
The roar of an engine rang in his ears.
A strikingly eye-catching black convertible supercar drifted around the corner and came to a sudden stop, its tires rubbing two marks on the road.
Everyone’s attention was attracted.
“Aha. Sorry to keep you waiting!” An old man with a cigar puffed out a large mouthful of smoke under everyone’s gazes and warmly greeted his disciples on the second floor’s rooftop. Mr. Tree had changed into an extravagant white gentleman’s suit and looked like a VIP guest attending a state banquet.
But beside him, Gu Shen covered his face tightly, unwilling to be exposed to anyone. How can this old man be so confident? Who dresses like that… to eat hotpot?!
“Why are you guys looking at me like that? Are you afraid of being seen with me?
“Relax. The second floor has been reserved.”
Zhou Jiren stepped onto the terrace and saw his three disciples wearing hats and shrinking their heads. He smiled. “After dinner, I have to meet a friend. It’s better to dress formally. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind being a simple citizen in a tank top and shorts.”
Following behind him, Gu Shen reached the terrace and let out a long sigh of relief.
The torment of this journey is finally over. Gu Shen had lost count of how many people had looked at him with strange expressions, eyes full of complex emotions such as surprise, envy, jealousy, and contempt.
He had felt something was wrong from the moment he got into the supercar. He only hated himself for being too young, too thin-skinned, and too lacking in experience in dealing with a certain old man.
If he could do it again, he would choose to wear a thick mask.
Mr. Tree took off his coat and sat down leisurely. He flicked the ash from his cigarette and said meaningfully, “Everyone must be impatient from waiting, right? Gu Shen’s assessment already ended, but Cui Zhongcheng dragged him away for a private conversation that lasted two hours.”
Zhong Wei gave Gu Shen a meaningful look and smiled. “Oh? Cui Zhongcheng is quite the figure. What did you two talk about? Come on, tell us!”
“We just walked around the University of Oto a few times.” Gu Shen took off his coat and said helplessly, “The assessment was over… He asked me if I had any requests.”
“You had this meeting because you obtained an S-grade rating. There is a consistent opinion about Cui Zhongcheng. This person is an extremely efficient but cold-blooded and ruthless machine. He only talked to you because you have value.” Senior Sister Luo asked, “What requests did you make?”
Is this everyone’s opinion about Mr. Cui? Gu Shen was a little surprised.
He could indeed feel his high efficiency.
But cold-blooded and ruthless… He didn’t feel this way at all. On the contrary, some of Mr. Cui’s characteristics made him feel warm, and he even vaguely resonated with him.
“I didn’t make many requests.” Gu Shen counted with his fingers. “Just some guarantees for the children of the orphanage and hiding some things from the matron.”
The people at the table looked at each other.
A brief silence ensued.
“…” Zhong Wei said, “That’s all? Nothing else?”
“Should there be anything else?” Gu Shen looked perplexed. “Oh, right. I also asked him to investigate the fire case to the end.”
“Those requests are hardly requests at all. Didn’t you propose some… heavyweight conditions?” Zhong Wei said. “For example, high-level access to Deep Sea, top-notch breathing techniques, or transcendental sealed objects?”
“Uhh…” Gu Shen was dumbfounded. “Can you choose those?”
He was too young.
Poverty had limited his imagination.
When talking to Cui Zhongcheng, he hadn’t even considered them.
Compared to what Senior Brother Zhong said, his requests were indeed too mundane. No wonder Cui Zhongcheng’s gaze had been so… thought-provoking.
For an S-grade, his requests were too easy to satisfy.
“Aha.” Mr. Tree smiled and patted Gu Shen’s shoulder. “I think you chose well! Zhao Xilai and Cui Zhongcheng are not good people. There’s no need to take advantage of them!”
When it came to Cui Zhongcheng, Nan Jin was silent.
She silently leaned against the terrace railing, letting the wind blow against her, her eyes drifting to the gradually darkening night sky in the distance.
“Alright. The assessment is over.” The old man smiled and raised his glass. “Let’s raise our glasses to congratulate the S-grade newcomer of the Adjudication Bureau!”