flstandardbreds Chapter 180: Trying a Different Road
Chapter 180: Trying a Different Road
"Yeah, Shanshan! It’s like you’ve been using cheat codes these last few days. We can’t even keep up."
One of the guys said with a pained expression.
"You were still online at two in the morning yesterday, modifying the model. By the time we woke up, you had already submitted the third draft of the proposal. Who can possibly keep up with that?"
After finally managing to persuade her to leave, the entire team let out a collective sigh of relief.
Carrying her bag, Shanshan absentmindedly wandered to the school gate.
The wind whipped the bangs on her forehead about. She raised a hand to brush them aside, her pace slowing.
It was only then she realized she had no idea where she was going next.
She had barely steadied herself when a familiar car pulled to a stop in front of her.
The black car came to a smooth stop. The window rolled down, revealing a composed face.
"Dad? What are you doing here?"
She froze for a second, then glanced down at her wrinkled sweatshirt and sweatpants, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Your advisor called me. He said you should take a few days off, so I came to get you."
Ling Anxun’s voice was low as his gaze swept over the faint dark circles under her eyes.
"If you keep pushing yourself like this, your health will be the first thing to give out."
Shanshan’s eyes lit up. She tossed her bag into the trunk and quickly hopped into the passenger seat.
CLICK. The seatbelt buckled, and she let out a long sigh.
She sank into the seat, the tension finally leaving her tight shoulders.
Watching her grin, Ling Anxun couldn’t help but smile himself.
He started the car and turned up the heat.
"It’s windy out. Aren’t you cold, dressed like that?"
"So, I hear you’ve been doing outstanding work lately. And you’re still reluctant to take a break?"
He shot her a sidelong glance as he drove, his tone teasing.
"Eh, it’s not that I find it difficult. It’s just that they’re too slow. I can understand something after seeing it once, but they have to go over it again and again for ages. They’re the ones getting tired, not me."
She leaned against the back of the seat, her fingers tapping unconsciously on her knee.
"Sometimes I feel like just telling them the solution and getting it over with."
Shanshan shrugged, a look of resignation on her face.
"Sigh. It’s the fate of the brilliant, I suppose. We’re destined to be misunderstood."
"You’d better keep that to yourself. If your senior classmates heard you say that, they’d probably hunt you down."
Ling Anxun chuckled and gently pinched her soft cheek.
"Enough about me, Dad. The other day on the phone you said you were completely swamped. How are you back already?"
Shanshan mumbled as she secretly tried to sense the Jade Pendant she had given him.
Ling Anxun sighed and briefly explained what had happened.
"So, I’m free for the next few days. Want to go anywhere? I can take you."
"Hmph. You say you’ll spend time with me, but your mind is always on work. The last time we went to the amusement park, you took one phone call and ended up standing on the sidewalk for half an hour."
Shanshan pouted, her expression full of discontent.
"That’s not true! Spending time with you is my top priority. I’m truly on a break this time. I won’t answer no matter who calls."
They bickered playfully for a while before Shanshan finally relented.
She used her abilities to run some deductions for Ling Anxun and pointed him in the right direction.
"The guy’s on high alert now. You’d best not press the pursuit for the time being. I can tell he’s not someone to be trifled with. You have no evidence, and if you push him into a corner, he might just resort to violence."
Ling Anxun’s expression darkened, and his brows furrowed deeply.
"But we can’t drag this out any longer. If we wait a few more days and he bolts, catching him later will be next to impossible."
"You’re afraid he’ll flee the country, assume a new identity, and start over, right?"
Shanshan nodded solemnly, looking like a miniature adult.
The air around them seemed to go still for a moment.
"Then why are you so fixated on one approach? If it’s a dead end, just make a turn. Try a different path."
She turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Ling Anxun’s profile.
When he didn’t respond immediately, she continued.
"What do you have in mind?"
Ling Anxun turned to look at her while they were stopped at a red light.
The streetlights outside shone in, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across his face.
"Heh heh, isn’t Fourth Brother about to graduate? You could have him go into the same industry, pose as a rookie, and just wait for your guy to show himself."
Shanshan grinned, a sly glint in her eyes.
She had already run this scenario through her mind several times.
"Is he up to it?"
Ling Anxun was skeptical, lacking confidence in his nephew.
In his memory, that nephew of his was always a bit of a slacker, lacking the maturity needed for a serious task.
Sending him on a mission that required patience and good judgment felt like too much of a risk.
"Don’t worry. When it comes to putting on an act and fitting in, Fourth Brother is an expert."
Shanshan said with conviction.
"And another thing. Besides surveillance, you also need to reorganize your security detail. I think... the other side has already figured out your whole setup."
As soon as he heard that, it all clicked into place for Ling Anxun.
He drew a sharp breath, realizing the problem was far more serious than he had imagined.
"My daughter really is amazing! I’ll head back and get things arranged right now. Name your reward—anything you want, you’ve got it!"
With her feeding him ideas from behind the scenes, Ling Anxun successfully apprehended his target without a hitch.
Shanshan couldn’t be bothered to ask about the details of these matters.
To her, the outcome was the only thing that mattered.
She didn’t care how dramatic the process was; as long as her father was safe, that was all that mattered.
She finally managed to crack a key academic problem just in time for her eighteenth birthday.
Her advisor had been mentoring her for less than two years, but in that time she had taken him on a wild ride, winning so many awards they’d lost count.
While her brilliant achievements were cause for celebration, everyone was exhausted from desperately trying to keep up with her.
So, using Shanshan’s birthday as an excuse, her advisor generously approved a short vacation for her.
Delighted by the break, she happily packed her bags and headed home.
But the moment she stepped through the door, she was told:
Ling Anxun was on a top-secret mission and wouldn’t be able to make it back.
"Oh, Shanshan, don’t be upset. When Anxun gets back, we’ll make him get you two big presents to make up for it, how about that?"
"That’s right! He promised he wouldn’t miss your birthday, and then he bailed at the last minute. He deserves a spanking! As soon as he’s back, Grandma will teach him a lesson for you."
The words were barely out of her mouth when Eldest Aunt chimed in with a laugh.
Third Uncle, standing to the side, nodded vigorously, feigning a serious expression as he agreed.
Her family was the same as ever, coddling her as if she were still a little girl.
Grandma had made her a special slow-cooked soup, claiming it would boost her energy and spirit, and make her grow taller and smarter.
Her younger cousin, sitting beside her, mumbled that his big sister was already a head taller than him, so why did she need soup to grow taller?
Shanshan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she just waved her hands in surrender.
She stood up, untied an apron, and tossed it onto the sofa.
She put on a deliberately stern face and said that if they kept this up, she was going to flip the table.
Seeing that she was getting genuinely flustered, they finally stopped, though they couldn’t hide the laughter in their eyes.
"I’m fine, really. My heart just sank a little, that’s all. Now, let me see all the goodies you got for me!"
She bent over, picked up a box neatly tied with a pink ribbon, tested its weight, and asked who it was from.
Her older cousin immediately raised her hand to claim it, saying she had to run all over town to find it.
She gently unwrapped another square gift box, revealing a pair of hand-embroidered earrings.
Her grandfather sat in the seat of honor, leisurely sipping his tea and occasionally glancing over at Shanshan.
Even though this was for her coming-of-age, she’d had more than enough time in the spotlight over the years and had adamantly refused to let her family throw an extravagant banquet.