Chapter 37: Subduing the Aces (6)

Yan Qing Shan ignored the incredulous look Qin Jiran gave her. She fiddled with her tablet as she looked at the man who was still caught up in his thought.

"Are we starting now or you still need time to prepare?"

Qin Jiran turned to her. His chest heaving in...rage? Yan Qing Shan shrugged and started to set up the tablet. She looked at Qin Jiran once more who already turned on his laptop. With a wave of Qi Xia's hand, their hacking showdown began.

Yan Qing Shan's long, delicate fingers fluttered on top of the tablet. Fast yet graceful. After ensuring that her trail was masked and set to be untraceable she began cracking the mainframe. Her method was straightforward and no nonsense. A little bit similar to Yui. A few tense minutes later, the seemingly unending lines of codes after codes suddenly brightened.

She did it. She has taken control of the Central Investigation Bureau's mainframe. She smiled satisfactorily. 15 minutes. Yeah. She hasn't lost her flair yet. Yan Qing Shan glanced at Qin Jiran. The guy had sweat under his brows.

'Hmm. Seems like he's having a bit of difficulty.'

Yan Qing Shan shrugged. She decided to lurk around the CIB's database for a few minutes more before proclaiming her win.

There was one particular profile that she has taken interest to. Yan Qing Shan copied it into a compressed file and promptly sent it to her phone. All traces of this action were erased instantaneously, of course.

After finding nothing more of interest, Yan Qing Shan glanced at the man who was still grappling with codes.

"I'm done."

She said in her usual tone. However, Qin Jiran was too immersed at what he was doing that he didn't pay attention to her. She took a screenshot of the database before exiting and then double checked if all her traces were erased. Yan Qing Shan then put down her tablet and excused herself to the dumbfounded (again) Aces.

She proceeded to make tea and sandwiches for her and the others. Yan Qing Shan surmised that they would be a bit famished just like her. The snacks were all made in quick succession. Afterwards, she sauntered silently back to the recreation room.

The Aces who were busy being bored out of their wits all whipped their heads in the direction of the door. Two people specifically had drool about to trickle out of their mouths. Glutton 1 and Glutton 2, namely Ning Xie Zhi and Chen Luo rushed to Yan Qing Shan's side and saw the exquisite sandwiches and fragrant tea in the trolley she was pushing in.

"Snacks! Tea! Jie jie you have read my mind. Just in time, I was about to die from starvation. Jiran's taking too long."

Ning Xie Zhi's elated voice rang out. Yan Qing Shan couldn't help but let out a small smile, her aura warming considerably. This stunned the two men at her side. Chen Luo cleared his throat.

"Yan Qing Shan, I'll help you with the trolley."

He offered politely as he adjusted his glasses. Yan Qing Shan silently maneuvered to the side and allowed him to push the trolley himself.

Ning Xie Zhi was the one who transferred the already portioned snacks to the table. While Yan Qing Shan quietly poured tea in the teacups. Hong Zhen Yue, Qi Xia, Xu Lei, and the twins rushed to the table where the food was.

"It's already tea time. I figured you'd need a break."

The bunch of culinary incompetent people almost teared up at her words. They concluded that Yan Qing Shan may be cold and indifferent but she was warm in a unique way.

They munched happily on the sandwiches and relished the fragrant jasmine tea she prepared. They were in the midst of food heaven when Qin Jiran's ecstatic shout rang out.

"I did it! I'm in the CIB database."

He said jubilantly. Only to be met by silence emphasized by imaginary cricket sounds. Qin Jiran looked around for his companions. Only to be met by his friends' innocently blinking eyes and cheeks stuffed like a chubby squirrel.

His mouth formed a stunned 'O' as he took in the scene. What even made him more astounded was the absurdly relaxed manner of Yan Qing Shan. What was she doing? They were competing, right? Why is she drinking tea out of all times? Did she fail so badly, she resorted to just lay back and relax?

"What the hell is going on? Yan Qing Shan, what are you doing?"

Qin Jiran felt furious. The woman did not take their bout seriously and is making a joke out of him. Does she even realize how much effort he wasted cracking the damned CIB mainframe?