Chapter 323 - 250: The Person with No Trace in the System

Chapter 323: Chapter 250: The Person with No Trace in the System

’Yunqing... wants to move in upstairs?’

This...

He looked at Yunqing’s bright and captivating face, at the glimmer of anticipation in her eyes, and his mind went blank.

All of Yunqing’s little actions from just now—

pulling his arm, straightening his collar, holding her wrist up for him to smell her perfume...

And now this...

If Chen Lin still didn’t understand what Yunqing meant by now, he might as well go bang his head against a wall.

But the problem was—

he understood. Now what?

Shen Yan’s face surfaced unbidden in his mind.

Although his relationship with Shen Yan hadn’t been made official, there was only a paper-thin barrier between them.

They just had a tacit understanding not to be the one to break it.

"Um... Yunqing."

Chen Lin cleared his throat, trying his best to keep his tone calm.

"Where you live is your own choice. I can’t control that."

"But... isn’t that a bit far from the university? Your commute would be a hassle, wouldn’t it?"

He didn’t answer her directly.

Yunqing froze for a moment.

Of course, she understood the meaning behind Chen Lin’s words.

"Is that so..."

She lowered her head, stirring the hot cocoa in her cup with a straw, her voice a little softer.

"It’s not far. It’s only a twenty-minute cab ride."

"Besides, if I live a little closer, I can help you out if you ever need anything, Boss."

"...Well, we’ll see."

Chen Lin picked up his coffee and took another sip.

He didn’t know how to respond.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew a little awkward.

Yunqing was silent for a few seconds, then she looked up again.

The smile on her face was as radiant as ever, as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, alright, let’s finish our drinks and go."

"I’m a little tired after shopping all afternoon."

But Chen Lin noticed that beneath her smile, a flicker of disappointment, almost imperceptible, passed through her bright eyes.

——

「Meanwhile, in another corner of the coffee shop.」

A blonde woman in sunglasses was pretending to look down at her phone, but she was actually watching the young man and woman not far away out of the corner of her eye.

Natasha.

Her mission today wasn’t to make contact with the target, but to gather more intelligence.

From the moment Chen Lin entered the mall, she had been tailing him from a safe distance.

After more than two hours, she had already collected a good deal of valuable information.

The target’s spending habits, behavioral patterns, social interactions...

But most important was the girl with the target.

Yunqing.

Natasha recognized her.

In the previous intelligence files, this girl was marked as "Administrative Assistant at Yanhai Company."

But what she observed today was clearly not a simple "boss and assistant" relationship.

The casual physical contact, the subtle exchange of glances...

Natasha knew all too well what these signals meant.

’Interesting...’

A cold smile touched her lips as she took out her phone, pretending to take a selfie.

In reality, she was using a hidden micro-camera in her phone to secretly take a picture of Chen Lin and Yunqing together.

’I originally thought the target was closest to that girl named Shen Yan...’

’I didn’t expect there to be another one.’

Natasha saved the photo, preparing to send it to Elena later.

This was good news.

The more women there were around the target, the more "weaknesses" there were to exploit.

However...

Natasha’s gaze sharpened slightly.

She had noticed a detail.

A moment ago, while she was observing Chen Lin, his gaze seemed to sweep in her direction for an instant.

It was only for a second or two, and Chen Lin had casually looked away afterward.

But that glance...

Natasha could feel it wasn’t the kind of look a normal person gives when casually scanning their surroundings.

It was a look of vigilance.

Like a wild animal, constantly on guard against potential danger.

’He’s highly alert.’

Natasha mentally tagged Chen Lin with this label.

This forced her to adjust her strategy.

She had been considering whether she should find an opportunity to "run into" Chen Lin and then approach him under some guise.

But now, it seemed that plan was too risky.

Chen Lin’s wariness was much stronger than she had anticipated.

If she approached him rashly, she would most likely tip him off.

’No need to rush...’

Natasha put down her phone, picked up her coffee, and took a sip.

——

And in a place unknown to Natasha.

Inside an inconspicuous van on the outskirts of the mall.

Two men in plain clothes were staring at the surveillance monitor in front of them.

On the screen was a live feed from inside the mall.

"Chief, that’s the woman."

The younger of the two men pointed to the figure of the mixed-race woman on the screen:

"She’s been following Professor Chen ever since he entered the mall. She’s keeping her distance, but she’s never let him out of her sight."

"And..."

He switched screens, pulling up the surveillance footage from the mall entrance.

"We checked the time she entered the mall. She appeared fifteen minutes after Professor Chen went in. In other words, she was waiting outside the mall beforehand."

The slightly older man’s brow furrowed.

"Did you run facial recognition?"

"We did." The young man shook his head. "We can’t find her information in any public database. Passport system, visa system, entry and exit records... all blank."

"It’s impossible for a living person to leave no trace in all systems."

"Unless..."

The older man finished the thought:

"Unless her identity was deliberately concealed."

They exchanged a look, both seeing the gravity in the other’s eyes.

This level of identity concealment wasn’t something an ordinary person could achieve.

There had to be a more powerful force pulling the strings.

The older man picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Captain Fu. There’s been a development."

"We’ve found a suspicious individual tailing Professor Chen. Female, mixed-race, estimated age between twenty-five and thirty. Facial recognition came up with no results."

Fu Yangqing’s steady voice came from the other end of the line:

"Understood. Continue to follow her, but don’t alert her. I want to know where she goes and who she meets."

"Roger that."

The older man hung up the phone and turned to his partner.

"Let’s go. Keep on her."

——

Fu Yangqing put down his phone. He stood by the window, gazing at the distant skyline.

’They’ve finally shown themselves...’

His eyes were as deep as pools of water.

’Faster than I anticipated.’

——

「Four-thirty in the afternoon, at the mall entrance.」

Chen Lin and Yunqing walked out, carrying bags of all sizes.

A blast of cold winter wind made Yunqing shiver, and she unconsciously leaned closer to Chen Lin.

"So cold~"

She shrank her neck into her collar and pulled the hood of her down jacket over her head.

"Boss, can you hail a cab for me?"

"Sure."

Chen Lin raised his hand and waved at a taxi by the roadside.

An empty cab quickly pulled over.

Just then—

Yunqing suddenly turned to face Chen Lin.

"Boss."

"Hm?"

"You have some dust on your clothes."

She reached out and gently patted Chen Lin’s shoulder.

Although they both knew there was actually nothing there.

Chen Lin didn’t move.

He felt Yunqing’s hand linger on his shoulder for a few seconds before she slowly pulled it back.

"Thank you for coming with me today."

Yunqing looked up at Chen Lin, her gaze both earnest and a little playful.

"If there’s a next time..."

She paused, a smile gracing her lips.

"Could you take me to the movies?"

"..."

Chen Lin was silent for a moment.

Of course, he understood what Yunqing was asking.

"...We’ll see."

In the end, he just offered those two words.

It was neither an agreement nor a refusal.

Yunqing’s smile faltered for a second.

But she quickly recovered her bright and gracious demeanor.

"Okay, okay, I get it~"

She waved her hand and pulled open the back door of the taxi.

"Well, I’m off then, Boss. See you at the company on Monday~"

"Okay, be careful on your way."

Chen Lin helped her put her shopping bags in the back seat, then closed the door.

The taxi started up and slowly merged into traffic.

The moment the car began to move—

Yunqing turned and glanced back at Chen Lin through the rear window.

In that gaze, there was expectation, probing, and a hint of unwillingness to give up.

She knew, of course, that there was someone else in Chen Lin’s heart.

She had seen it long ago in the way he treated Shen Yan, in the subtle, unspoken understanding between them.

But she didn’t want to give up.

At least... not yet.

’Chen Lin...’

Yunqing leaned against the car window, softly murmuring his name.

The scenery outside flew by, the silhouette of the mall gradually receding into the distance.

——

Chen Lin stood in place, watching the taxi disappear into the stream of traffic.

The cold winter wind blew past, and he tightened his overcoat.

He sighed.

A long, heavy sigh.