The Double

Yin Zhiqing stood at the doorway with a food basket in hand and saw Jiang Li. Her expression was somewhat complicated, but without saying anything, she turned around, closed the door, and placed the food basket on the table, saying, "You must be hungry, I have brought you some food."

Jiang Li watched her take out the food from the basket but didn’t walk over. Instead, she said, "There must be drugs in this meal, right?"

Yin Zhiqing paused, "I’m sorry."

Her face showed a guilty expression, seemingly genuine. Jiang Li said, "I really can’t eat it." Knowing that eating it would leave her at others’ mercy, if it were any other time, she might have let it go, but what would she do if she truly became Jih Heng’s weakness?

"If you won’t eat, we have ways to make you, for example, mixing it in water and forcing you to drink." She seemed to feel that she was being a bit too harsh and fell silent for a while before softly adding, "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to treat you this way on purpose."

Jiang Li knew that Yin Zhiqing wasn’t the mastermind behind this; she didn’t have that capability. Eager to inquire about Situ Jiuyue’s situation, she asked, "Where is the girl who was captured with me now? Do you know if she’s alright?"

The response from Yin Zhiqing made Jiang Li’s heart sink. She looked at Jiang Li in shock and said, "There was another person? No, when I came here, I only knew about you."

Jiang Li fell silent. It seemed she could not get any useful information from Yin Zhiqing. After hesitating for a moment, Yin Zhiqing said, "You don’t need to worry, your friend... should be in no danger."

"Do you know why I am here?" Jiang Li countered.

Yin Zhiqing shook her head, "They said it’s better for you to stay here."