My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 53 - 52: The Dragon Drawn by the Left Hand

Chapter 53: Chapter 52: The Dragon Drawn by the Left Hand

When the clay pot lid was lifted, steam rose.

The soup, tinged with a brown hue, contained lotus root slow-cooked to tender perfection, and the juices from the pork ribs infused in it, instantly filling the air with a rich meaty aroma.

Beihu people love their soups, and there’s a saying, "No feast is complete without soup," with the most famous being this rib and lotus root soup.

For many Beihu people, this is the taste of home.

Meng Lang took a deep breath and, unable to wait any longer, scooped up a spoonful to taste.

The broth was thick and savory, leaving a delicious aftertaste on the lips and teeth...

He tasted the ribs and lotus root as well.

The ribs were fall-apart tender, and the lotus root was soft and glutinous; he had truly captured the essence of this dish, and it was just as good as what his own mother made.

"Uncle, how’s the flavor?" Xiao Yu asked with a hint of anticipation in her voice.

Meng Lang put down his chopsticks with a serious expression.

"Master Xiao Yu, please put away your divine powers. I’m afraid if I can’t taste such delicious soup in the future, I’ll be depressed!"

"Hee hee!" Xiao Yu laughed happily.

"Then from now on, Uncle, you’re in charge of picking me up, and I’ll be in charge of cooking for you!"

Xiao Yu was sly, and with one glance, Meng Lang got her drift.

"It’s a deal! Come on, pinky promise!"

Seeing the two of them making faces and acting as if no one else was around, deciding to leave her out, Lin Haitang felt both amusingly annoyed and amused.

But thinking about Meng Lang’s miraculous "anti-reconnaissance skills," she opened her mouth to speak, then ultimately held her tongue.

Yan Weiwei, seeing that the person in question had completely defected to the rival team, realized her "escort privilege" was a lost cause, and she ground the pork rib in her mouth to shreds with gritted teeth, sucking out the marrow and then spitting it out.

Meng Lang, sensing the hostile gaze, turned his head and immediately laughed.

"Landlady, you sure know how to eat. This is exactly how you should eat ribs. You know, you look quite the part."

Yan Weiwei was taken aback and looked down at the bones she had left. She quickly realized what he meant.

"Are you saying I eat like a little dog!"

"Who was the one making the request just now?"

Yan Weiwei’s face reddened with anger and humiliation.

"You... how did you find me?"

"Hmm? Is that the attitude of someone looking for advice?"

Seeing Meng Lang’s infuriating expression, Yan Weiwei clenched her fists tightly.

Her eyes shot fire, almost unable to suppress the urge to hit him, while Meng Lang also felt a bit apprehensive inside.

Did he go too far? He was so focused on revenge that he didn’t consider the disparity in their strengths.

Fortunately, Yan Weiwei knew she was in the wrong for following him in the first place. She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, managing to suppress her desire to punch him until he looked like a pig’s head.

She forced a stiff smile and even took the initiative to pick up the soup spoon, "Meng... Master Meng, here, have some soup. Could you tell me how you discovered me?

Where did I slip up, exactly?"

"Sssluuurp!" Meng Lang leisurely took a sip of the soup.

"Since you’ve asked so sincerely, I... cough cough!" Seeing Yan Weiwei’s eyes narrow, Meng Lang dared not continue his act.

He looked Yan Weiwei up and down.

"Actually, it’s not a matter of where you slipped up. You’re practically covered in slip-ups!"

"You’re talking nonsense!" Yan Weiwei didn’t believe it.

I may not have had professional training, but surely I’m not that sloppy, am I?

Lin Haitang and Lin Xiaoyu also stared curiously at Meng Lang.

"Look, who wears what you’re wearing in broad daylight, a night ops suit? To highlight your pale face?

And if you’re going to wear that, could you not wear these tight sports clothes? Wear something looser to hide your iconic voluptuous figure and legs that turn heads?"

"And this baseball cap, it covers your face, but the earrings are still those dolphin blue crystals from yesterday, right?

What’s even less professional is that you didn’t even change your hairstyle. This ponytail’s color and length alone would let me recognize you as someone I know!"

Yan Weiwei listened in astonishment.

She looked down at herself.

Emm...

Indeed they couldn’t see her feet.

And her legs certainly were eye-catching...

Earrings... perhaps she had been a bit too complacent, but could you really see them from that far away? Do you have magnifying eyes or what?

But what’s with the hair color and length of the ponytail?

She pulled her ponytail around to the front, a look of bafflement on her face, "Just this? And you can tell it’s me?"

"Of course, haven’t you watched TV before? Experienced gunners can precisely calculate the distance to the enemy with just their thumb.

For someone like me with strong surveillance and anti-reconnaissance abilities, a glance is all it takes to size you up as if measured with a ruler, almost without fail!"

The three of them listened, dumbfounded.

Such characters were only seen in movies, who would have thought they existed in real life?

Anyone else and Yan Weiwei would have spit a mouthful of salt soda on them, but he had truly identified her from the crowd—a cold, hard fact right before her eyes.

This was beyond science, truly outrageous!

"You’re really that good? How did you train? Can you teach me?" Yan Weiwei’s eyes gleamed with eagerness, clearly excited by the prospect.

"Well, it’s mainly a matter of talent. If you’ve got the talent, a little goes a long way, but without it, you’ll never get there in a lifetime."

Meng Lang knew it was time to stop boasting when they asked him to actually demonstrate something.

Demonstrate what? How to develop a brotherhood?

What he had just said was obviously nonsense; he had never laid eyes on Yan Weiwei, let alone actually seen her.

But that’s the thing about spoiler dogs, they call you out and then what about evidence? Isn’t it ready-made?

Just use your eyes!

Forget about a ponytail, I could find you the patterns in a fingernail!

"Do I have such a talent? Can you test me?" Yan Weiwei hadn’t given up.

Meng Lang thought for a moment, "Well, go find two pens, draw a dragon with your left hand, and a rainbow with your right hand. When you can draw both simultaneously, I’ll teach you."

What? A dragon with the left hand and a rainbow with the right?

Isn’t this just a more advanced version of drawing a square with the left and a circle with the right?

Is this even humanly possible?

"You’re not pulling my leg, are you?" Yan Weiwei was skeptical.

"If you don’t believe it, forget it. I’m not begging you to learn... Xiao Yu, the ribs are well-cooked, but for the lotus root, it must be Honghu Lotus Root, renowned throughout the country for its sweet taste that melts in the mouth. It’s the perfect ingredient for this dish..."

Seeing Meng Lang turn away to discuss cooking techniques with Xiao Yu, Yan Weiwei felt terribly frustrated.

She gestured with her left and right hands as if trying the impossible feat of multitasking, only to end up discouraged.

No, I have to figure this out.

How could I, a once-in-a-century genius of my generation, be stumped by such a trivial challenge?

Seeing Yan Weiwei’s delusional state, Meng Lang actually started feeling a bit guilty.

Is this girl really that naive? She believes this stuff?

She’s a martial artist after all; her mind has always been focused on one track.

Feeling a tad guilty, he looked up only to meet Lin Haitang’s somewhat mocking gaze.

"Wait... she’s not going to get fixated and lose her mind, is she?"

"From the perspective of liability, you might want to consider whether you’ll be compensating for accidental injury or emotional distress."

Meng Lang was speechless.

He eyed Lin Haitang, suddenly curious.

"When did you change your coat?"

He had just noticed that Lin Haitang had slipped into a baggy home-ware, unbeknownst to him and Yan Weiwei during their conversation.

"Cough! Nothing, just feeling a bit cold."

Cold? How could she be cold while sipping hot soup?

I just told a tall tale, not a joke, right?

"By the way, how is that divorce case you’re working on progressing?" Meng Lang suddenly remembered to ask.

"Hm? You’re interested in that?"

"In intelligence, naturally, I am interested in all sorts of news. I could also learn some legal knowledge. You know, just in case I might need it someday, like making a will or getting a divorce."

Lin Haitang looked at him with a smile and a roll of the eyes.

"You sure know how to hold a grudge."

Without her glasses, Lin Haitang’s unprotected gaze was also quite potent; Meng Lang could hardly bear it and pretended to look down and sip his soup.

"It’s not really a secret as long as you keep it to yourself. I’m mainly investigating Xu Jingsong’s personal assets, which includes shares, cash, real estate, etc.

Among these, aside from a villa in Su City worth 5.32 million, cash, and stocks and bonds, the biggest asset to be divided is Xu Jingsong’s 8% equity in the Xu Group.

The Xu Group’s total assets are around 300 billion, with a net asset value of about 80 billion. By the principles of equal division, even 4% would equate to 3.2 billion. Including other assets, the divisible property exceeds 3.5 billion."

Meng Lang was astounded.

Rich people’s divorces are so thrilling, with tens of billions in assets at stake.

I’ve maxed out numerous credit cards and established partnerships with so many lending companies, and all this has barely earned me 14 million.

No wonder so many people dream of marrying into wealth.

"I thought the Xu Group was a family business? Xu Jingsong isn’t exactly poor, didn’t he sign any prenuptial agreements?" Meng Lang wondered.

Even if he had never been married, he still had heard of the usual proceedings in such wealthy marriages.

"If there had been a prenuptial agreement, there wouldn’t be any court case to fight.

Xu Jingsong and Miss Gao married ten years ago, and the Xu Group wasn’t as big then. It only rose to prominence in the past decade, mainly through the real estate sector.

So, this divorce case isn’t your typical case of marrying into wealth halfway through life; the sum involved is significant."

After Lin Haitang explained, she looked curiously at Meng Lang.

"Wait a minute? How come you can uncover Yuan Li’s illegitimate child but not know such basic information?"

Meng Lang found himself at a loss for words.

Blast it, you’ve finally noticed a discrepancy.

This is where the importance of keeping updated comes in. Can I claim I only pay attention to key information that matters most to me?

As for whether Xu Jingsong and his wife signed a prenup...

How could such word-padding information appear in my autobiography?

Words are worth their weight in gold, don’t you know? I’d rather spend my time predicting more lottery numbers.

"Cough! It’s pretty normal. Why would I bother my intelligence network for such trivialities? Deciphering ciphers is quite complicated, you know..."