I Conquered the Villain Boss Chapter 90
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 90: Memories Of The Laboratory
After parting ways with the team, Si Xu did not leave the blockade zone immediately.
The two of them had a simple meal. Si Xu asked Jiang Ran, who was stretching her arms and legs, "Didn't you say yesterday that you found something interesting in the blockade zone?"
"Huh?" Jiang Ran touched the tip of her nose, recalling what she said yesterday. "I just said that casually."
"Why?"
"It’s because..." She had actually reached the door a while ago and heard the conversation between Si Xu and Guo Zhehao. Seeing that Guo Zhehao was about to fly into a rage, she went in and made up an excuse to take Si Xu away. "I was afraid that Deputy Captain Guo would rebuke you."
Si Xu was a little confused. "Why would he rebuke me?"
"Your words were maddening." Jiang Ran only found it funny when she mentioned this. "Si Xu, you’re really a weird person –– you clearly said in front of Captain Chu that you would kill Qin Huai. Why did you deny it when Deputy Captain Guo asked you if you would kill Qin Huai to avenge the members of the fourth team?"
"Oh." Si Xu said seriously, "It’s because I want to kill Qin Huai, but not specifically to avenge the fourth team."
Jiang Ran, "..." Dude, you were really honest.
Originally, Jiang Ran wanted to try to correct some of Si Xu's views on this matter, but after hearing the man's frank explanation and looking into his clear eyes, Jiang Ran suddenly gave up on her original idea.
Well, he was good this way.
……
When Chu Yuan left last time, he deliberately locked the large iron gate of the manor to prevent zombies from entering or exiting. Si Xu did not reopen the iron gate. Instead, he parked the car at the door and climbed in from the two-meter-high wall with Jiang Ran.
This time, Jiang Ran finally had enough time to look at the place where she once lived.
She walked around the villa following her memory.
The grass in front of the door had not been cleared for a long time and was overgrown with weeds. When the wind blew, it would make a slight rustling sound. Various indistinguishable flowers in the back garden had withered, and only the winter plum blossoms bloomed unyieldingly under the window on the second floor.
Jiang Ran stopped for a moment in front of the plum blossom tree.
She remembered that Shen Muxin liked plum blossoms very much, so Jiang Yize planted many plum blossom trees in the garden... The sketch in that notebook was of plum blossoms blooming in the cold winter.
"This is plum blossom."
While Jiang Ran was in a daze, she heard Si Xu whispering these words not far behind her. The emotions in his tone were somewhat complicated, just like the look in his eyes when he looked at the plum blossom tree.
Jiang Ran didn't know what he was thinking, so she just nodded and said, "Yeah, it's plum blossom."
"I know." Si Xu's eyes were bright, like a child asking for credit from his teacher. He told her about his experience in the laboratory with a slightly proud tone, "The first time I saw something outside the laboratory was a plum blossom."
Perhaps because he always stared at Jiang Yize’s notebook, when Jiang Yize went home again, he brought back a branch of wintersweet in full bloom.
"Here, for you." The young man placed the vase with plum blossoms on the table beside Si Xu’s bed. "You seem to like this, so I got you one."
The small room was filled with a cool and subtle fragrance. The boy curled up in the corner finally slowly raised his head and looked at the plum blossoms on the table.
"Oh, and this. It’s for you too." Without being bothered by the boy's silence, the man took out a bag of White Rabbit candies from his briefcase and placed it next to the vase. "My daughter asked me to bring this to you."
"Your... daughter?" The boy, who had been silent all this time, repeated his words slowly.
"Yes, my daughter." Speaking of his daughter, the man looked troubled. "She’s still very young, but she’s like a little bully. Every time I go home, I see her chasing her cousin and beating him up... She doesn't act like a little lady at all, and she always demands that I change her name."
Seeing that the boy wasn’t interested, the man lowered his voice and muttered, "I don’t see any difference between Jiang Ran and Jiang Ranran..."
Although he was complaining, there was a gentle smile in his eyes.
The boy couldn't hear what he was mumbling. He fell silent again, curling up again and burying his cheek in his knees.
"Hey, it's been so long since you were entrusted to me. Can you please stop acting so distant?" Speaking of his family, the man became interested in chatting and pulled a chair to sit next to the table. "Si Xu, no girl will like you in the future if you're like this."
The boy said nothing.
"Hey." Not good at coaxing children, the man recalled how he dealt with his daughter every time she cried... He opened the packet of White Rabbit candies on the table, took out a piece and threw it to the boy. "White Rabbit candy, this is for you."
The boy subconsciously reached out to grab the item that hit him.
He spread out his palm with some confusion and looked at the milk candy wrapped in white wrapping paper.
"My daughter said that eating candy can cheer one up when one is feeling down." The man unwrapped a candy and ate it. "Give it a try."
The boy stared at the candy for a long time, then imitated Jiang Yize’s movements. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.
The aroma of milk spread between his lips and teeth. The rich taste, which was completely different from the meals delivered by the staff every day, made him frown.
"Judging from your expression... you don't like it?"
"..." Ignoring the man’s question, the boy kept the candy in his mouth expressionlessly, letting the hard candy melt little by little on his tongue.
"It seems like you like it very much?" The man wanted to say something else when a gentle girl called his name over the corridor broadcast.
"Professor Jiang Yize, please go to Laboratory Three immediately after hearing the broadcast. Professor Jiang Yize, please go to Laboratory Three immediately after hearing the broadcast..."
"Hmm?" The man sighed and stood up. "It's time to go to work." He tapped the vase with his fingers and said helplessly, "I'm leaving now. I'll come back to see you later. If you like these plum blossoms, I'll bring you a few more next time."
……
"What happened later?" There was a slight difference between the Jiang Yize mentioned by Si Xu and the Jiang Yize in Jiang Ranran's memory. Jiang Ran held the young man's sleeve and asked curiously, "Did he often bring you plum blossoms?" and White Rabbit milk candies.
Si Xu twitched the corner of his mouth and patted the girl's head. "Jiang Ran, you’re so stupid. Plum blossoms don't bloom all year round."
Jiang Ran was stunned. "Oh yeah." Then she asked, "What about the White Rabbit candies?"
Si Xu looked at her, was silent for a moment, and shook his head. "Later, there was no more."
"Why?"
"It’s because..." Si Xu’s smile faded slightly. "His daughter got sick, and later, he died."
Sick? Oh, it should be the days when Jiang Ranran was hospitalized in Jiang Ranran’s memory. Indeed, when she was about to recover, Jiang Yize had an accident in the laboratory, and Shen Muxin committed suicide for love...
Jiang Ran pursed her lips and stopped continuing this unpleasant topic. "Si Xu, I saw on the surveillance footage that Qin Huai took away a notebook. That notebook..."
"I know." Si Xu said, "That was Jiang Yize's notebook."
It turned out he knew about it too. Jiang Ran asked tentatively, "Do you know what is written in that notebook?" Since Qin Huai took it away, it must be very important.
This time, the young man fell into a longer silence.
"Si Xu?"
"It's my experimental data." The man said coldly, "That notebook contains all the information related to me."
All the information related to Si Xu? Oh, Jiang Yize was the person in charge when Si Xu was an experimental subject.
The experimental data related to Si Xu fell into Qin Huai's hands –– Qin Huai came to the Jiang family just for those data?
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran blurted out, "Then let's go find Qin Huai quickly and get the notebook back..."
The girl's voice was trembling with worry. She tugged at his sleeve and looked at him anxiously with wide eyes.
"Qin Huai knows that he is no match for you. He must be trying to lay a trap for you, Si Xu. We..."
"Don't worry." Si Xu held the girl's hand tightly and smiled softly. "It's not important information. It's okay for him to take it."
"Huh?" Didn't he say that it contained all the information related to him?
"Those experimental data are no longer of use to me now."
He acted nonchalant, and Jiang Ran asked stupidly, "Why?"
"Didn't you also say that..." Whenever the girl encountered something related to him, she seemed to become less smart. Si Xu pinched her petite face and replied seriously, "It’s because I’m powerful."
It was just information left over from more than a decade ago. Even if Qin Huai read the notebook until it fell apart, it would be of no use.