Betrayal

Warning: This chapter will include some violence and gritty details for fictitious purposes.

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Lin Anni brewed some hot tea as Qian Meigui waited at the kitchen table, looking out the window as she tucked a shawl over her, protecting herself from the cold chill. She sent Song Sheng a message before her aunt returned to the table.

Lin Anni poured two cups of Jasmine tea in front of her, passing it along. Qian Meigui took it, blowing the smoke away to drink it. She looked at the tea leaves on the bottom of the cup, and she recalled a time when she was younger, her mother taught her how to read dry tea leaves. But she had forgotten what any of them meant. Her mother told her she had learned from her time studying medicine abroad in Europe.

Lin Anni sat across her, her face grave and weary. Qian Meigui watched her cautiously, waiting. Her aunt took a deep breath, drinking some of the tea, Qian Meigui also drank it.